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A S.O.A.P.
Series around St. Paul’s passage to the Romans; Romans 5:1-8 By Nicole Collins
Scripture || Observation||
Application|| Prayer
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For Monday March 17th,
2014
Romans 5:1-8
1Therefore, since
we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus
Christ, 2through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which
we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. 3And
not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering
produces endurance, 4and endurance produces character, and character
produces hope, 5and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love
has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to
us.
6For while we
were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7Indeed,
rarely will anyone die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person
someone might actually dare to die. 8But God proves his love for us
in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us.
Today’s Verses Scripture: 1Therefore, since
we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ
Observation: Realizing the reality of GRACE which is the fruit of the
faith journey aligns one with Jesus Christ and blesses one with shalom.
Application: Realizing the reality of GRACE on one’s faith journey takes
intentional discipline to be led by the Holy Spirit to live into the lifestyle
of GRACE. This is accomplished through
prayer, Bible study, fellowship—the recipe for individual spiritual formation.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, help us to grow to be ready to go in
your name
Empowered by your Word, fueled by
your Love and guided by your Holy Spirit
May we realize much more than your
GRACE but bear forth Your Will and Precepts
The reality of the Kingdom of God—
In Your Most Precious Name we Pray,
AMEN
For Monday March 24th,
2014
Today’s Verses Scripture: 2through whom we
have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope
of sharing the glory of God.
Observation: Freedom from the bondage of sin takes total awareness from
the heart outward to enable us to become empowered and intentional witnesses
for the Glory of God.
Application: Being and becoming takes spiritual discipline fueled by the
love revealed in the Grace poured out upon us through the Cross of Christ. It is a cross-shaped motivation that we seek
to thrive as witnesses for the Gospel.
Prayer: Gracious and Loving God,
We stand in the presence of the
reality of GRACE when our hearts focus upon your Cross.
Help us to continue to build that
solid foundation from the heart on outward—Where we stand.
May we continue to discipline and
disciple one another to become, BE the bold witnesses you need for us to be
Help strengthen us to persevere,
stay encourage to truly battle Satan’s stumbling blocks to our sharing your
Word and rebuilding the world according to your will and precepts.
In Your Most Precious Name We Pray—
AMEN
For Wednesday March 26th,
2014
Today’s Verses Scripture: 3And not only
that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces
endurance,
Observation: Taking pride or ‘glorying’ in persevering persecution,
distress and affliction is the cost of discipleship and its endurance is built
upon a sound foundation of faith.
Application: In order for us to truly become fully developed which was
for Jesus lesson to impart to us is spiritual formation into the New
creation—New life—in, with and through Him; We must be willing to be
intentionally accountable to standing firm for the Love of Jesus &
Neighbor.
Prayer: Heavenly Father,
May your Holy Spirit continue to
empower our wearied and challenged selves
Especially in the face of evil, with
its trials, oppression and stumbling blocks
Help us to break away from our
comfort zones of self-preservation to become truly self-sacrificial
Help us to break Satan’s bind upon
the world & our imprisonment to his empty promises.
Help us to know when we must
continue to stand firm
For it is by your GRACE you give us
New Life
AMEN
For Monday March 31st,
2014
Today’s Verses Scripture: 4and endurance
produces character, and character produces hope,
Observation: Perseverance, steadfastness, patience in waiting can be
suffering turned into blessing. It
cannot only be a blessing spiritually for developing a strong foundation of
faith but also of the self.
Application: An important aspect of our faith journey is fighting our
existential tendency to operate from the ego as well as fear and not trust
enough in God to help you to REMAIN in hope, live into optimistic thinking and
allow those tears of uncertainty and insecurity baptize you towards growing
away from the chrysalis of the Old Nature and putting truthfully, spiritually
and wholly—the New Nature planted within you by Christ Jesus.
Prayer: Gracious and Most Loving God,
You are there, even when we feel
weak and uncertain
You are there, even when we want to
shrink away into our self-concerns
By facing our stumbling blocks head
on is how we grow
We grow when we allow those wings to
break through the Chrysalis cocoon
We grow even more when we stretch
beyond ourselves fearlessly, to love our neighbor
And continue to grow when we allow
ourselves to be strengthened by your Love and GRACE
To venture to love ourselves as your
children subject to your will and precepts
In your most Holy and Precious Name,
We pray—
AMEN
For Tuesday April 1st,
2014
Today’s Verses Scripture: 5and hope does
not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through
the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.
Observation: Hope and Love are two the beautiful gifts we are given by
God to rebuild and align our hearts to God’s Will and Precepts. It is His Holy
Spirit that is both our great comforter and our encouragement.
Application: Realizing the reality of the Holy Spirit in one’s life is
fighting our human tendency to fear being alone. It is also a fight against cynicism and
idolatry which the Evil One placates around us to become stumbling blocks to
knowing and faithfully living into the lifestyle of GRACE. For how can we
really understand deeply, “gift from God” if we are centered in ourselves—our
pain and insecurities. It is when we
look past ourselves to trust in God’s Holy Spirit grounding us and building
that firm foundation we need to know and grow with, GRACE.
Prayer: Heavenly Father,
Help us to fight away Satan’s
efforts to make us self-concerned, exiled and despairing
May your Holy Spirit continue its
reconstructive work upon our hearts
To build us up so that we may
realize your love within us and through us as we reciprocate
A natural spiritual fruit grown by
your GRACE actively working in our lives
May we never, not be grateful for
everything you have freely given us
As your loving children, may we
continue to grow in your heavenly light
In Your Most Precious Name etched
upon our hearts, we pray—
AMEN
For Thursday April 3rd,
2014
Today’s Verses Scripture: 6For while we
were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.
Observation: At the right time is the key aspect of this verse—are we
truly prepared? For most likely we are still very much weak and “ungodly” in
our further advancement in sin.
Application: The victory at the cross of Christ Jesus defeating sin,
death and Satan at the cross as well as his Resurrection should never be put
back into our memories more than treated as a present reality—Spiritually. In another of St. Paul’s letters, he tells
those whom he is pastoring to be actively dying to the Old Nature and Rising to
the New—as an aspect of reflection, confession, repentance & renewal—our
daily Baptismal walk. The right time is always
now for us to know deeply the power of Christ’s Resurrection upon our lives to
be lived in GRACE.
Prayer: Gracious & Loving God,
May we daily die to sin, its ungodly
temptations and captivity it tries to place upon our lives.
May we daily rise into the lifestyle
of GRACE as restored, renewed, resurrected people—
Obedient to your motivation and
intentionally accountable to the cost of discipleship
Which is discipline to remember our
Baptism—a life-time of reconciling our sins, loving you and neighbor through
our “teleloi”(full spiritual development) of faith.
In your Most Precious Name, we pray—
AMEN
For Friday April 4th,
2014
Today’s Verses Scripture: 7Indeed, rarely
will anyone die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person someone
might actually dare to die.
Observation: The thought of sacrifice on as high as a level as it is
here is something to hope to strive for when living truthfully, into the
lifestyle of GRACE. It is out of a
Beatific shaped heart that such love could make this possible.
Application: ‘Rarely,’ needs to be a word in our vocabulary that we
rebel against with intentional, obedience and accountability. Christ has been calling us into righteousness
by living truthfully, into our faith.
Christ is calling for us to be spiritually transformed to become
‘perfected’ (fully developed) in our loving and gracious responses to a most
loving and gracious God. There is so
little the Lord asks of us yet we would rather through our own stumbling block
in the way—“rarely, might, dare, perhaps...”
How about DO!
Prayer: Lord of GRACE,
Teach our hearts to fight “spinning
our wheels...”
Teach us to be shaped and
transformed by your Word to live truthfully into our Baptism
To be the true priesthood of all
believers, fighting the good fight of faith
Let us be prophetic for your sake to
spread the Gospel
May we be not afraid
In Your Most Precious Name, We Pray—
AMEN
For Saturday April 5th,
2014
Today’s Verses Scripture: 8But God proves
his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us.
Observation: The true victory of Christ work upon the cross is when we
realize, are truthfully aware of God’s love as something both profound and
truly humbling. Living into that realization is developing a humility that
should help us put sin to death in our hearts and in our actions.
Application: We are a people always needing proof... Perhaps, however
this proof seeking needs to be reflected upon, confessed and repented for we
must not deny our sinful nature. The Old
Nature is fed by the empty promises of the Evil One to be laden in doubt and
“proud.” The magnitude of God’s love is ubiquitous around us but we are blinded
by the ways of the world. We need to
develop an inner humility that opens the eyes of the heart to the true power of
God—the cross and resurrection of Christ Jesus.
Prayer: Heavenly Father,
Guide our hearts to live
cross-shaped lives
Help us to know deeply the power of
your cross
The GRACE it imparts in our lives
Living into the lifestyle of GRACE
demands inward obedience—true humility
Help us to strive to develop this
spiritual fruit as we strive to love you more each day
Growing in our faith and service to
you and neighbor.
In Your Most Precious Name, We Pray—
AMEN
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