This Week's Reading: Devotional Thought Like the whole story of the Bible, discipleship begins with God’s action – God’s initiative. Light shines in the darkness, where we are found. Our first step in the discipleship journey is response–response to God’s awesome arrival, brilliant presence, and bold invitation. We reject or receive; the Light either blinds [...]
SOAP Reading: Matthew 9 "She said to herself, 'If I only touch his cloak, I will be healed.' Jesus turned and saw her. 'Take heart, daughter,' he said, 'your faith has healed you.' And the woman was healed at that moment." – Matthew 9:21-22 This woman’s faith is extraordinary. After suffering for 12 years and [...]
SOAP Reading: Acts 1-2 "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." – Acts 1:8 The baptism of the Holy Spirit is a transformative experience that empowers believers to live [...]
SOAP Reading: Exodus 16 & Matthew 6 "Give us today our daily bread." – Matthew 6:11 Anxieties related to food, drink, shelter, and clothing might be some of the most common human emotional experiences in the history of mankind. It also doesn’t seem that human progress in the modern age has much changed the cold, [...]
SOAP Reading: Daniel 6 & Psalm 35 "My God sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions." – Daniel 6:22 God’s favor is a funny thing. While He “adds no sorrow to it,” (Prov. 10:22), other people often do. Like Joseph, Daniel’s exceptional ability and excellence is attributed to the “excellent spirit” [...]
SOAP Reading: Luke 15 & Isaiah 1 "But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him." – Luke 15:20 A lost son, rejecting His generous Father is a well-worn theme in the Old Testament, and Jesus’ brilliant repurposing of the trope was just as [...]
SOAP Reading: Matthew 14:22-36 & Joel 2 "But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, 'Lord, save me!'" – Matthew 14:30 Hudson Taylor (1832-1905) took a courageous step of faith when he set out to share the gospel with the peoples of inland China. He made a daring [...]
SOAP Reading: John 4 "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst." – John 4:13-14 (Trigger Warning: description of violence and rape from the Old Testament) Location, location, location. Our stories and identities are unavoidably tied to locations. Sychar (or Shechem) of Samaria [...]
SOAP Reading: Judges 6 & 7 "The Lord said to Gideon, 'With the three hundred men that lapped I will save you and give the Midianites into your hands.'" – Judges 7:7 We struggle with weakness. It’s never on the list of values at any successful organization or corporation. It’s not popular to share on [...]
SOAP Reading: Acts 16 "About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them." – Acts 16:25 Jesus gave his followers the very clear warning: any confrontation with the systems of this world and spiritual darkness would result in vicious backlash by the only weapons [...]
