Avoiding the squeeze of the world

Late last night I was surfing the internet, trying to find out more about Aaron Baddeley. He's a professional golfer from Australia who won his first PGA tournament last Sunday. What I loved about his win is that when he was interviewed by CBS, he talked about his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ! On national television! It was great.

On his website I read his testimony -- how he came to Jesus Christ as a 12 year old, was later baptized in water and then later had an experience when he was baptized in the Spirit.

Besides his testimony, one of the other cool things about Aaron's website was a guide for reading Scripture in the morning (yes, it seemed odd -- this popular professional golfer showing fellow believers how to study God's word. I love it!)

He uses the acronym, S.O.A.P. Scripture. Observation. Application. Prayer.

First, you find a Scripture to meditate on. Then you observe it for a while. You then try to apply it to your situation, writing it in a journal. Finally, you pray -- asking the Lord to make this truth from His word real in your life and write this prayer in your journal.

I tried this S.O.A.P. guide this morning as I read Joshua 17. The verse that stuck out to me was vs. 13: "when the Israelites grew stronger, they subjected the Canaanites to forced labor but did not drive them out completely."

As I prayed over this passage, asking God to apply it to my life, this is what I wrote:

Leaving the Canaanites alive made the Israelites very vulnerable to being influenced by their practices. Of course, through hindsight, we know what happened to Israel -- the Canaanites became such a snare to Israel, which led to their downfall. It makes me realize how dangerous it is to tolerate sin. And I must ask myself: What or who are the “Canaanites” in my life? And how am I letting the world influence my thinking and my behavior?

Prayer: Father, please sanctify my mind through Your Holy Spirit. Help me to discern how I'm letting the world influence my thinking. Please grant me the power of discernment and the strength to reject worldly influences. I turn my life over to You once more. Please make me aware of the subtle ways in which Satan is working to pull me away from Your plan for my life and ministry. Help me to practice Romans 12:1-2, to not let the world squeeze me into its mold, as the J.B. Phillips translations says. Even if I become less popular or am criticized by others. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

What if some of you tried this S.O.A.P. approach to starting your day? I’d love to hear how God spoke to you as you allowed Christ to cleanse you and prepare you for the day, “by the washing with water through the word.” (Eph. 5:26)

Cleansed by the blood, all by His grace,

Jim