The following is a guest post from my sister-in-law Amy. From the first day I met her I knew we were going to be great friends and we seem to grow closer every year.
I find that days that begin with SOAP are the best days for me… And the mornings I miss it, just don’t seem to go nearly as well.
No, I’m not talking about a shower. I’m talking about a simple acrostic which has changed my Bible study technique and drastically improved my relationship with my heavenly Father. And as a result, I can say it has also improved my life immeasurably.
It helps me to start the day focused on Him and it helps me break down the Bible and find a message just for me almost every day.
It is so super easy, that I can do it anywhere, and apply it to any study and jump right back in if I miss a day.
And really, the days I skip it are the days I am much more scattered. The mornings I wake 30 minutes earlier and spend time with Him I am much more focused and ready to tackle the other items on my To-Do list for the day.
I typically use it with a Bible in one year reading plan, but you could use it with any reading plan or adapt it to fit in a study.
Here’s how it works:
You need your Bible, a notebook, pen and about 20 minutes, depending on the length of your passage.
Pray, asking God to guide you through His Word and clear your mind of distractions.
Read your passage for the day and find the one thing you believe God is telling you that morning. Then write about it using the acrostic SOAP as a guide. (Leave the first few pages of your notebook blank for a Table of Contents.)
- S: Scripture—Write the ONE scripture you feel is especially speaking to you.
- O: Observation—Rewrite the verse in your own words and determine what He might be telling you with that scripture.
- A: Application—How can you apply it to your life?
- P: Prayer—Write out your prayer to God asking for His help in making that application.
When you are finished, look back over the entry and come up with a short title, write it on the top of the page and take that and list it on the first page of your notebook along with the date, so you’ll have a Table of Contents listing each SOAP observation in bite-size morsels. This way, you can easily look back and find the messages God has sent you.
The idea of getting up an extra 30 minutes or so each morning may not appeal to you. But for me, on those mornings I have found that God not only gives that time and rest back to me, he multiplies it. And for some, you may find your SOAP time to be better at night. Whenever is best for you, set the time and keep to it. You will be rewarded greatly.
If you would like to see an example of SOAP in action, please swing by MomsToolbox.com where I post almost daily SOAP observations, among a few other things.
And let me know what you think if you give it a try.
If you would like to receive a bookmark with this quarter’s part of the Bible in a year reading schedule I use, send me an email at amy at momstoolbox dot com with your address and I’ll drop one in the mail to you. I find that keeping the bookmark in my Bible makes it super easy to keep up to date.
When Amy isn’t working on her SOAP devotional, she serves as a wife, mom to three small children and one foreign exchange student, cyclist, scrapbooker, traveler, online missionary, kitchen explorer and blogger at Moms Toolbox and Moms Travel Tales.
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We call this Fresh Bread. Many in our church do it, including our pastor. I think you can buy notebooks with the reading plan, etc. in it online — they sell them at cost at church — I think $5. Our Small Group does Fresh Bread and really enjoys it — occasionally we will all share ours from a certain day — it is always amazing to hear the different things that people pull out of the passages.
I really get a lot out of Amy’s SOAP posts. As soon as I finish the study I’m doing now, I’m incorporating it into my daily quiet time. It is a great system to think about how you can apply scripture that you read.
I loved this post. I actually thought about getting a box (stool) that I could prop my feet on during my SOAP time and call it my SOAP Box! We definitely need to spend time each day with God regardless of how busy we are. It’s hard, I know, with a household to run, but it is necessary. It makes my day go so much better if I’ve spent time with God first.
I am new to Christianity, and recently purchased a Bible. I was confused after reading the first 10 pages or so, and was wondering for all you “seasoned readers”, is it more confusing to “jump around” in the Bible, or just suck it up and read it front to back?
Denise…many “seasoned” Christians feel confused about how to read the Bible. So, you’re not alone. The only wrong way to read your Bible is to neglect reading it. And there are numerous, if not countless, opinions on “how” to read your Bible.
I can offer two things:
#1 – Pray & ask God for wisdom & direction in reading your Bible.
#2- My verbose details on the info in the Bible. I grew up in church, but spent many years confused by the Bible too simply because I didn’t understand it’s full purpose. So, maybe some of these details can help demystify a bit of it for you.
Generally, the Bible consists of 66 books and is split into two sections: Old Testament & New Testament.
The Old Testament (OT) can be broken down into categories: Law, History, Poetry, & Prophecy. It consists of the history of God’s Creation, the history of the Jews (aka Hebrews, Israelites), practical teachings of wisdom, & the prophecies of the Messiah (which can be found throughout the OT, not just in the prophetic books).
The New Testament (NT) consists of the life, death & resurrection of Christ & the early church (which is a term that encompasses all who believe & trust in Christ). A good majority of the NT is instructions for daily living as Christians…striving to be more Christ-like. The final book in the NT, Revelations, is prophecy that has not yet been fulfilled.
I know that doesn’t answer your question about how you should read your Bible, but maybe knowing more about the structure of the Bible will make it less foreign.
Thanks Anne-Marie!
I would encourage you to start with the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John). These 4 books detail Jesus’ life on earth. The whole bible points towards Jesus but it might be helpful to read about Him first. I would start with John, but that is a personal preference.
Toni
Excellent! Thanks! There is SO MUCH I want to learn, and at the same time, it is a bit overwhelming.
Our church is encouraging everyone to use the SOAP method of Bible study. People have really enjoyed it. We use the same reading plan & it seems like it jumps allover the place. But if you stick with it, it is very cool to see how all of the Bible actually ties together. Thanks for sharing!