S.O.A.P. Jonah 1

Book of Jonah is one of my favorites because I see myself in so much of his story. As I read Ch. 1 today, I was impacted by 3 thoughts:

1. Jonah 1:9 where Jonah said, "I'm a Hebrew and I worship the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the land.

• Even though Jonah's words say the right things about him, his life's actions say something different because when God told him to go to Ninevah, he went the opposite direction.
• Our words and our actions need to connect to say the same thing or else our lives will have no meaning.
• Am I doing the OPPOSITE of what God has told me and still saying I worship Him?
• Is that even possible?

2. Jonah 1:12-14 The sailors asked, "What should we do to stop this storm? Jonah said, Throw me into the sea and it will become calm. Instead, the sailors rowed even harder to try to make it to shore."

• When we aren't willing to listen to God, then others will not be willing to listen to us.
• This causes a ton of hardship in families and elsewhere because even though you may be in a leadership position, people don't follow positions, they follow people who have credibility because of obedience.
• Are you willing to follow the Spirit's leading? if so, then others will see that in our lives and be willing to follow us.

3. Jonah 1:6 The captain to Jonah, "How can you sleep at a time like this? Wake up and pray

to your god. Maybe he will pay attention to us and spare our lives."

• How can we sleep(spiritually) now?
• These times require us to be alert, awake, and at our stations.
• Your family needs you, your church needs you, and your community needs you to wake up.
• Going the opposite direction from God produces sleep(spiritual) in our lives.
• Am I asleep below deck or awake and in my place?

S.O.A.P. Jude 6

Jude 6 And I remind you of the angels who did not stay within the limits of the authority God gave them, but LEFT THE PLACE WHERE THEY BELONGED....... Wow something happens when a person chooses to leave the place where they belong. All of us have the need to belong somewhere, and that somewhere is in God's house, the local church. The rest of that chapter gives us a look at what a person's life will look like once they have left the place where they belong. The most defining statement is in verse 10 which says they do whatever their instincts tell them. I've realized that there are only 2 ways to live: 1)by your instincts or carnal nature or 2) led by the Spirit of God. We can either rely on worldly thinking or spiritual guidance. Worldly thinking will lead us into destruction while Holy Spirit guidance will take us from grace to grace and glory to glory. Have you left the place where you belong? Gotten offended, gotten angry, felt betrayed, felt like you were done wrong? It's possible, but no reason to leave the place where you belong. That's why we must forgive and talk together and get it right and love despite our faults, which we all have. Go back to that place, make it right, and let God bless your life again.

Awake21 Prayer

Last night was off the chain for prayer, it was the high water mark so far of our prayer times this year and they have all been good. The focus was on breaking people through who have never prayed corporately or maybe not in front of people. Pastor Wade had a good word that if you want a testimony that can be shared in front of many then you have to be willing to pray a prayer in front of many. Bridget Stevens gave a tremendous testimony of how God gave her a breakthrough in her life when you humbled herself and prayed. Tonight we have another opportunity with S.O.A.P. prayer tonight, it's gonna be great. Come and let God do something in you as you do something for Him.

S.O.A.P. : Make Them Cry

My S.O.A.P. verse today was 2 Tim. 1:4(NLT) :

4 I long to see you again, for I remember your tears as we parted. And I will be filled with joy when we are together again.

Make Them Cry

Paul is speaking to a young man he discipled named Timothy, who is now overseeing a church that they planted together. Paul remembers when the parted ways, and that Timothy cried when he left and stepped into what God has for him. I want to have that kind of impact on people, and here's what I mean, I see 2 things.

1. Paul loved Timothy and fathered him to the place where he was ready to go out and step into God's will for his life. He helped him find his purpose and get there. So many never have someone to help them find their reason for being. It takes a great God kind of love to see potential, develop it, nurture it, release it for the good of God's kingdom and the person. Lord help me live and love like that.

2. The verse says, "i remembered your tears". My desire is to have the kind of loving relationships that causes people to cry when they leave. You know you have to because it's God's will, but you don't want to because it's been so good. I want to love people so much that they will cry when God moves them on. Love so Jesus-like that parting hurts. I think that kind of love is what we are called to live as a church.

S.O.A.P. for Today: 1 Tim 6 The Zero's

⁶[And it is, indeed, a source of immense profit, for] godliness accompanied with contentment (that contentment which is a sense of inward sufficiency) is great and abundant gain.⁷For we brought nothing into the world, and obviously we cannot take anything out of the world; 1 Tim. 6:6-7 AMP

Since I'm an engineer by training my mind goes to this equation:

Godliness + contentment = profit

Paul says that we come into life with "0" and we leave with "0", so we shouldn't let our lives be all about the "0's". Too often we make our decisions based solely on the "0's". Your life is not for sale to the highest bidder, because God has already paid the highest price when He gave His Son, Jesus, for us. The "God" job may not be the highest paying job. The "God" purchase may not be the one with all the bells and whistles. Contentment with what we have is a great place to be especially when everything around us is screaming, "I want more". The scripture talks about how the eyes want more and our flesh wants more all the time. If we cave in to those earthly sensual demands then we'll get off track spiritually and financially. Work the equation and God will work in you.

Soap for Today: Personal Responsibility

In reading our S.O.A.P. for today, 1 TIm. 5, I'm struck by the theme I see of personal responsibility. Starts out by outlining our responsibility in how to deal with people, young and old, male and female. Then our responsibility towards parents, and the churches responsibility towards widows. Then the people in church's responsibility towards elders(leadership) and finally leadership's responsibility in leading. Then this last couple of verses:

24 Remember, the sins of some people are obvious, leading them to certain judgment. But there are others whose sins will not be revealed until later. 25 In the same way, the good deeds of some people are obvious. And the good deeds done in secret will someday come to light.

1 Ti 5:24-25 NLT

From this I see that I can't judge by what I see, because I can't see everything about the good or the sin in other's lives. What I can do is purpose to handle my responsibilities. I can treat others well, do my part as the church, take care of myself and lead well. If I handle the things that God has given me to do, then it will go well for me. I must live from a perspective of personal responsibility and not what others do or don't do.

Bro. Ed's 79th birthday today

I'm spending time tweeting and blogging about the impact that a father can have because today is my dad's 79th birthday. My dad, known as Bro. Ed, was the founder of our church 35+ years ago and his life is the primary reason I'm serving the Lord today. I had great parents, but it was that authentic Christianity of my father's example that impacted me and still impacts me today. I'm not going to tell you he was perfect, but he was real and by real I mean that he lived what he preached. I saw him in every kind of environment: the pulpit, the home, the fishing camp, and vacation and he was just who he was, Bro. Ed. Nothing flashy, but you could count on him to always be a man of God. In fact, he's still living out what he preached when he was the "pastor". He still comes to church every time we have service unless sick or preaching somewhere. He prays with us, runs with the vision of HOF though maybe different from the way he saw it in his day. Never tries to interfere, being a former leader, nor does he ever stir up dissension, but is always one for peace and unity. When he just sits in one of our seats he's a stabilizing influence for HOF. The scriptures say:

15 For even if you had ten thousand others to teach you about Christ, you have only one spiritual father. For I became your father in Christ Jesus when I preached the Good News to you. 16 So I urge you to imitate me.

(1 Co 4:14-16)NLT

There are thousands who would love to teach you, but respond to the one who wants to be a father to you because they have made the choice to love you. Don't imitate teachers, they often just want to impress you with how much they know. Imitate fathers in the faith, they care about you, spend time with you, consistently live in front of you, and are willing to have the hard talks with you. Many today can't handle a real father figure because of past hurts. When God decides to bless you He puts a father in your life. When I grow up, I want to be just like my dad, Bro. Ed, without the Bro. part.:-)

Faith Academy Cheerleaders Take 1st Place

This is shout out to the FA cheerleaders who took 1st place in the WSA competition this past Saturday at the Alario Center in Westwego, LA. The girls competed at a higher level with more tumbling and they absolutely pegged their routine. Wendy Carter and Devon Brignac do a tremendous job coaching them and I want to thank them for our girls representing the House, the school and Jesus well. Also, I have to say that the parents of all these girls are great to work with and have a real heart to see them excel. Here is a video of their winning performance:

New Look for a new year

Hey check out the redesign of the HOF webpage here and see what's going on at the house. Find links to all the stuff happening and the new mobile access to the S.O.A.P. Bible reading we are talking about this weekend. It's going to be a great New Year and God wants to change your life.

Countdown to Awakening

We are in the final few days before Awakening21. I feel like this could be a really pivotal time for our church. Bottom line is that no matter what our plans are it's the plans of the Lord that are going to be fulfilled.

21 You can make many plans, but the Lord’s purpose will prevail.

Pr 19:21 NLT

This is a time of quieting down and saying, "God, what do You want for me?" It's normal to want God to bless what we are doing, but we need to be doing what God wants. Hearing a clear direction for this year will make all the difference in our lives. It seems like the things that have been most beneficial in my life happened when I've gotten a clear direction from God. Jesus spoke to us that "My sheep hear my voice". God will speak to you and it'll change your life.