Becoming a Christ-follower transforms our lives and begins a life-long journey of becoming more like Jesus. Reading the Bible gives us a better understanding of who God is and what His plan is for our lives. As a church, it is our goal to infuse the Bible with everything we do, because we believe it becomes a catalyst for continued growth in Jesus.
One way to begin to incorporate the Bible into daily life is the SOAP personal daily devotional process. SOAP is an acronym: Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer. While doing this, write your thoughts down in a journal. Journaling is an excellent way to record and process what God has spoken to you.
SCRIPTURE
Take your time reading each chapter and allow God to speak to you. Look for a verse that particularly spoke to you and write it in your journal.
OBSERVATION
What do you think God is saying to you in this scripture? Ask the Holy Spirit to teach you and reveal Jesus to you. Paraphrase and write this scripture down in your own words in your journal.
APPLICATION
Personalize what you have read, by asking yourself how it applies to your life right now. Write how this scripture can apply to you today.
PRAYER
This can be as simple as asking God to help you use this scripture, or it may be a greater insight on what He may be revealing to you. Remember, prayer is a two-way conversation, so be sure to listen to what God has to say and journal about it.
The OWNit365 “One Story” plan takes you through the key stories of the Bible in one year. The plan shows how the many stories of the Bible make up one interconnected story – God’s story. The plan calls for reading between one to three chapters of Scripture a day from three separate chapters (i.e. the main storyline and key cross references), six days per week.
NT+ is a 6-day-a-week revolutionary way to read through the New Testament. Instead of reading straight through the New Testament, the NT+ plan is strategically divided into reading based on authorship. Five days a week, you’ll read one chapter in the New Testament. On the sixth day, you’ll read a chapter in the Old Testament that was referenced in the New Testament reading that week to give you context for its New Testament emphasis.