A Greater Grace

 

"And Jacob lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, Esau came, and with him four hundred men.  And he divided the children unto Leah, and unto Rachel, and unto the two handmaids.  And he put the handmaids and their children foremost, and Leah and her children after, and Rachel and Joseph hindermost. And he passed over before them, and bowed himself to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother.  And Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck, and kissed him: and they wept.  And he lifted up his eyes, and saw the women and the children; and said, Who are those with thee? And he said, The children which God hath graciously given thy servant.  Then the handmaidens came near and their children, and they bowed themselves.  And Leah also with her children came near, and bowed themselves: and after came Joseph near and Rachel, and they bowed themselves.  And he said, What meanest thou by all this drove which I met? And he said, These are to find grace in the sight of my lord.  And Esau said, I have enough, my brother; keep that thou hast unto thyself."

Genesis 33:1-9

Twenty years earlier Jacob, after deceiving his father Isaac into giving him his brother Esau’s blessing, fled to his mother's brother’s house to escape the anger of his brother.  Genesis 27:41 says that Esau hated Jacob and that after the days of mourning for his father were over he had plans to slay Jacob.  For twenty years Jacob worked and served his uncle Laban and God had prepared and blessed him during that time.  God was now calling Jacob to return to the land of his fathers but what would he be met with?  Did Esau’s anger still burn so strong that he wanted to slay Jacob? 

Have you ever so messed up or even allowed the busyness of “life” to put distance between you and God that you didn’t know how you could get back into God’s favor?  Or maybe you thought you had to come to Him with works and offerings.  Thinking you must deny or prove your devotion to Him in order to be accepted.  Oh dear heart, have you?  I have.  I’ve tried to appease God – so many times I have allowed the enemy to skew my view of God or have taken my finite knowledge and relational experience and applied it to my relationship with God.  If we were honest, I believe we all have.

Beloved, His LOVE and GRACE and MERCY and TENDERNESS and FORGIVENESS towards us is SO great and He desires for each of us to know it.

“…that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that you might be filled with all the fullness of God.” 

Ephesians 3:17-19

I know my own anxiousness and trepidation when coming before Him after times of separation.  What was Esau’s response?

He RAN!

Esau ran to meet Jacob!  He embraced him, fell on his neck, kissed him and wept!   He didn't want the droves sent as an offering - he wanted only the restoration between himself and his brother.  Oh the grace!  I read that and heard the Spirit of God speak these grace words to me.

 “Theresa, why did you bring all of this to Me?  Sweet, precious, daughter, I do not require this of you.  You do not need to appease Me or buy back My love toward you.  I have already secured your place in My Son!  My love for you is everlasting.  My grace for you is in Jesus.  Daughter, I desire you to have a broken and contrite heart before Me (Psalm 51:17).  A heart that trusts and is wholly Mine – surrendered (Proverbs 3:5-6).   You are a chosen generation, chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world that you should show forth the praises of Me who has called you out of darkness and into my marvelous light (1 Peter 2:9, Ephesians 1:4).

 Why do I complicate something that is so simple – Come before Him with a broken and contrite spirit.  Confess my sins (1 John 1:9), trust in His forgiveness and faithfulness and show forth His praises (goodness). 

Father, I lift up each one that might read here today, Lord I pray that we might wholly surrendered to You and allow Your Holy Spirit to lead and guide us into all Truth.  Father I pray that we would no longer allow the enemy or our humanness to replace Your words spoken to us and over us.  May we be renewed in mind as we read and meditate on Your word and have complete trust and confidence in You.  Thank you for Your Son, Jesus and for the picture of grace you showed to me today in this story of Jacob and Esau.   May we give as we have been freely given,  In your name I pray, Amen.   

 

  Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. 

Isaiah 1:18

Learning to S.O.A.P.

 

 

There are so many different ways to study Scripture.  This summer, I went through the book of 1 John.  I studied out one verse each day (in context) and then looked up key words in my Greek/Hebrew Study Bible.  I also read through any Scripture references and did the same with those verses that captured my attention.  It was slow and very deliberate.  I enjoyed this method of study very much and felt the Holy Spirit revealed many truths to me through the extensive study of one book over many months.

Currently I am reading through the Bible 1 chapter a day and following a study method known as S.O.A.P.  I first heard about this method of study years ago through the ministry of Good Morning Girls, but am unsure of where it originated. 

The S.O.A.P study method is a very solid method of Scripture study because you are studying in context.  I also love how it gives structure in its approach which makes it an ideal method for those that are new to Bible study or need a little more direction.

SOAPing takes me between 15-45 minutes each morning.  I begin with prayer, asking the Lord to bless my time in His word and for the Holy Spirit to bring understanding and reveal truth to me as I read.  I then read through the chapter and S.O.A.P the verse or verses that really stood out to me.

So what exactly is the S.O.A.P method? 

The S.O.A.P method focuses on 4 different key areas each day. 

S – Scripture – Read through your chosen selection or chapter of Scripture. In your notebook, hand write the part of the scripture that has captured your attention or that the Holy Spirit spoke to you.  Some days this is just a verse, on others it might be a longer passage.

O – Observation – Carefully and deliberately examine the verse or verses you wrote down. Ask yourself some of the following questions.  Who is speaking?  What was said?  Are there others there?  How did they react?  Where is this taking place?  What kind of details are mentioned as to location, time, etc.?  What is happening?  Is there a command or promise?  To whom is the command or promise given?  Really take your time here and study to learn everything you can about the selected passage.

Some days I have more time available and I’m able to look up commentary on the verses.  This is especially helpful if I’m having trouble understanding something in the passage.  Sometimes there are cultural aspects that I am unfamiliar with and reading through commentaries, while not necessary, can help to bring further clarification. I use a Bible study software called PC BibleSoft but you can find study helps and resources online at places like Bible Gateway (com) or Bible Study Tools (.com) Bible Study Tools has Matthew Henry’scommentary and others free to use.  I also like to use the 1828 Webster dictionary online.

A – Application –  Here is where our study gets personal.  How does this passage personally apply to my life?  Has the Holy Spirit revealed truths within the passage that I need to give attention to?  Are there attitudes or actions I need to respond to through repentance and obedience in light of what I’ve read? Are there relationship conflicts that I need to resolve or give to the Lord, people I need to forgive, truths I need to meditate on and receive?  Write it all down and then…

P – Prayer –  Commit all you’ve learned today to the Lord in prayer.  Ask the Holy Spirit to seal the truths of the passage to your heart and for the strength to move forward in trust and obedience where He has asked.

 

What a blessing that in America we can study the Scriptures so freely and have so many resources available to aid us in our study.  I hope this post will be a practical help to you if you are wanting to read and study the Scriptures but are unsure of where or how to start.  If you have any questions feel free to ask below in the comment section.  :)