What's your theological worldview? created with QuizFarm.com | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| You scored as Evangelical Holiness/Wesleyan You are an evangelical in the Wesleyan tradition. You believe that God's grace enables you to choose to believe in him, even though you yourself are totally depraved. The gift of the Holy Spirit gives you assurance of your salvation, and he also enables you to live the life of obedience to which God has called us. You are influenced heavly by John Wesley and the Methodists.
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S - 1 Corinthians 16:2
On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with your income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made.
O - My observation is simply that I was looking for this verse yesterday . . .
A - I hear Jesus saying, "I am here."
P - Help me rest secure in your love today. Deut. 33:12
S - 2 Chronicles 7:14
If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.
O - God anticipates Israel falling away from him. In his promises to Solomon regarding the temple he prepares the people for what is to come in their relationship with him with a straight-forward truth accompanied with God's enduring grace. Time and time again God's people dedicate themselves, their families, their groups, their buildings, their churches to walking with God and being close to him. God embraces this moment, but does so soberly, knowing that people are forgetful and wayward.
A - I think about the words of the hymn that say "Let thy goodness, like a fetter, bind my wandering heart to thee. Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, prone to leave the God I love; here's my heart, O take and seal it, seal it for thy courts above." How I, we, need our hearts to be bound by God. His promise in these verses is that he will heal our wandering hearts through humility, prayer, and obedience.
P - Jesus, I know that my heart is in need of healing. It struggles to trust you. I can also see that your church is in need of healing. I believe you speak to us with the same truth and grace today. Oh that we would humbly seek you and find our wicked ways not as satisfying as our blessed life with you. Help us Lord to trust you for the impossible in and through our everyday lives.
S - Joshua 21:45
Not one of all the LORD's good promises to the house of Israel failed; every one was fulfilled.
O - 1 Cor. 10 talks about the way Israel is an example to us. It mainly focused on their failure, but in the midst of their failure were a litany of God's promises being fulfilled.
A - I hear Jesus saying, "I will not leave you AND all my promises will be fulfilled."
P - Jesus I want to trust you for the impossible.
S - 1 Corinthians 9:27
No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.
O - Paul won't let anything get in the way of others, and especially himself, receiving the blessings of life with God. His words, behavior, dress, money, and attitude are flexible for the benefit of those who need God. However, he would never let these things compromise his life with God.
A - How have my words, behavior, dress, money, and attitude been? Am I leading others to God's goodness, wisdom, and power? have I compromised my own life with God?
P - Lord help me be strong in courageous. Help me honor you and lead!
S - Joshua 14:6
Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him, "You know what the LORD said to Moses the man of God at Kadesh Barnea about you and me.
O - In the midst of battles Caleb reminds Joshua of God's promise for their faithfulness. Land. Rest. And alludes to Joshua's heritage as the "man of God" for his people.
A - I hear Jesus saying, "Be strong and courageous. You will lead people into the blessings of my promises. Enjoy being a blessing and trust me enough to lift me up as holy in the sight of the people."
P - I know your promises Lord. Help me walk in faith.
S - 1 Corinthians 2:2-5
For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God's power.
O - Paul was a gifted, disciplined, decorated, educated, and successful guy. Yet he chose to lay these things aside (see Jesus) in order for the Corinthians to see clearly God's kingdom/power at work. His heart was not for personal credit or admiration (though he defended the authority entrusted to him by Jesus). He was dedicated to God's glory.
A - How often are my actions about proving or showing my giftedness, discipline, education and success? Will I forgo being noticed or recognized for God's glory? I hear Jesus saying, "Trust me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of other people by not drawing attention to yourself or your 'strengths.'"
P - Lord help me honor you as good, powerful, and wise in my relationships, work, play, and everyday life. As I head to umpiring I know I carry your name. Help me not cling to my authority through exercising my "strength." Instead give me a humble heart and a willingness to serve that my light may shine before men that they would honor you.
NOTE: I then had one of the most humiliating games I have ever umpired. Traffic, along with a crammed day, made me arrive just in time. Flustered, I needed help from my field umpire to make some pretty simple calls and a couple corrections by the scorekeeper on the count. I was grateful for this prayer time before I had this experience. While I knew I was being humbled I had a peace about it and things did not get out of control (as the "should" have done). God is so faithful to speak directly into the moments of our lives that even umpiring can be a burning bush experience.
S - Joshua 1:6
Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors to give them.
O - Joshua faced a role that he must have been excited about and honored to have at first. Then the weight of the job must have been overwhelming. God root's Joshua's confidence and security in a promise, an example (Moses), and His Word (the Law). These things all point to the goodness, wisdom, and power of God. They usher Joshua into the trinitarian reality where Joshua's job is not just doable, but inevitable (for it is God's will for His people).
A - Am I confident in God's faithfulness and power to accomplish the desires He has placed in my heart? What promise am I banking on (Deut. 33:12)? What examples am I following (older godly men)? Whose voice am I listening to (God)? I hear Jesus saying, "Trust me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the people." (Num. 20:12)
P - Usher me into your reality God. Open my heart to trust you and your ways of doing so. Help my unbelief.
S - Deuteronomy 33:12
About Benjamin he said: "Let the beloved of the LORD rest secure in him, for he shields him all day long, and the one the LORD loves rests between his shoulders."
O - Those who know God is working things for their good (beloved) are able to live in peace (rest and security). They are able to face the trials of life with confidence in God's presence and work. God stands head and shoulders above the powers of this world. I hear Jesus saying, "Run to my Fatherly embrace!"
A - I want the posture of my heart to be "I am counting on you, God." I know there is risk of disappointment because my flesh (my tendency to live apart from God) messes up my expectations.
P - Help me count on you in disappointment and hurt. I wil be honest with you about my disappointment or hurt.
*I have switched to reading the TNIV from the ESV for those that care about the translation used in my SOAP readings.
**I was greatly encouraged by listening to Chad Miller's talk on "Faith and Tension" after I prayed about the above verse.
S - Matthew 6:21
For where your treasure is, there your heart is also.
I have been avoiding this truth all week . . .
O - Jesus has shaken things up in the Sermon on the Mount. He has changed how we think life with God is supposed to work . . . instead of for the select few, everybody matters and everybody is in. He has revealed what a Kingdom heart looks like . . . a more whole and powerful person that we have ever dreamed we could be. He has undermined our preconceptions about how to receive such a heart/life . . . it won't be through "religious" or "public" acts. Now in these verses Jesus turns his attention to our current condition. "How is your heart?" He asks. "What, or who, are you counting on?" In the midst of these deep questions he is understanding and tender towards our worries about this life. Willard says that these treasures Jesus speaks of "are the thing which we place value on."
A - I, most often, "feel" I can only count on myself. I place value on the things that make me "feel" satisfied. I want to not be led by my feelings about what I have placed value on or have counted on for my care. I want this kind of life which is eternal in quality and never-ending in quantity. It is anchored in God's reality of love, peace, and joy. He will care for and bless me. I don't want to ignore how my heart is doing for it is the wellspring of life.
P - Help me God to pay better attention to my heart. I want to be present to your care and blessing, which are always available in your Kingdom, no matter what my circumstances are.
S - Deuteronomy 20:2-4, 10
And when you draw near to the battle, the priest shall come forward and speak to the people and shall say to them, 'Hear, O Israel, today you are drawing near for battle against your enemies: let not your heart faint. Do not fear or panic or be in dread of them, for the LORD your God is he who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies, to give you the victory' . . . When you draw near to a city to fight against it, offer terms of peace to it.
O - The battle is God's. He will be with us. He will give us rest. So offer peace to your enemies.
A - During the long year of ministry it seems that March-May are the toughest to stay focused and energetic about what God is doing. Usually the summer has some amazing retreats, the beginning of the school year brings new people, Christmas is always a special celebration and welcome break, and the winter months bring another chance to retreat. After all that the long stretch from March to May can be a serious test of endurance. These verses are a welcome reminder that the fight belongs to the Lord. He is the one who will come with us. He is the one who will ensure victory. He is the one that gives us a break from the fight if we have responsibilities at home, need to focus on enjoying life, want to spend time with our families, or just have been overwhelmed. With a strong reminder that God is the one working, and that he offers a break/rest for many reasons, this certainly brings a sense of security.
P - Lord I don't want to be overwhelmed. Help me trust your faithfulness to be with me and do the work. I know this security will help me extend peace, even to those who I think are my "enemies."
S - Galatians 2:6
And from those who seemed to be influential (what they were makes no difference to me; God shows no partiality)—those, I say, who seemed influential added nothing to me.
O - I feel dismissed just by the bluntness of these words. Paul showed respect for, but was not bound by, the church leaders. He sought their input after hearing from God and beginning to put things into practice.
A - As a church leader I want to be "influential." Paul dismisses me so easily as "seeming influential." I am not comfortable with the prospect of "adding nothing" to someone who presents their spiritual growth to me. It's clear to me how needy I am for "feeling" significant. I wonder if this same insecurity is what makes me so easily be swayed by those I perceive to be "influential." Am I too concerned with the opinion of those who "seem influential"? How will I be able to discern and trust God's voice when I am so needy for significance and acceptance?
P - Jesus help me come to you first for acceptance and significance. Thank you that you wanted me in your family so much you died for me. Thank you that you wanted my life to count for your kingdom so you lived a victorious life for me. Help me come to you first for making plans and evaluating what is good. Help me be willing to simply affirm what you have been doing for others and not need to add my opinion or "influence." I want to stand firm on your word and voice, not be tossed about by my insecurities.
S - Deuteronomy 17:18-20
And when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, he shall write for himself in a book a copy of this law, approved by the Levitical priests. And it shall be with him, and he shall read in it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the LORD his God by keeping all the words of this law and these statutes, and doing them, that his heart may not be lifted up above his brothers, and that he may not turn aside from the commandment, either to the right hand or to the left, so that he may continue long in his kingdom, he and his children, in Israel.
O - Israel's kings were expected to have read, copied, and studied ALL of the Law. This rooted them in the story of God, his purposes, and his people. The fullness of life and goodness of God for the king's family and kingdom started with his personal devotion to God and his word. Learning to fear God comes through obedience to the Bible. Humility and faithfulness is found through the reading of scripture. The enjoyment of life and guarding of one's family is unearthed in the study of God's Word.
A - I have certainly struggled with devoting time and obedience to your Word. This picture of the kings helps me . . . especially recognizing how when we want what is not good for us (a king) you offer a step towards life that we can take (guidelines in the midst of compromise). I hear Jesus saying that he offers me life through his word and that though I fall short of the possibility of full life he extends the grace of his words to lead me to higher ground.
P - Lord help me develop the discipline of reading, copying, and studying your Word. I want to hear your voice clearly that I might not miss the steps of grace you offer me towards fullness of life.
The Ministry is the title of a new show coming to a TV near you about a near-megachurch. Written by Joel Kilpatrick, the creator of Lark News, the evangelical version of The Onion. Check out more about it here. I wonder if it will be as good as I think it can be. I'm hoping it grabs on audience so we can see his ideas unfold.
S - Psalm 43:3-5
Send out your light and your truth; let them lead me; let them bring me to your holy hill and to your dwelling! Then I will go to the altar of God, to God my exceeding joy, and I will praise you with the lyre, O God, my God. Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.
O - In the midst of trial David seeks God as a refuge. He longs for God's light and truth to pull him out of this spot. He wants the truth exposed. It will be his salvation.
A - How can I speak to my soul in the midst of turmoil? "Hope in God self! You know I will praise him again. He always comes through. When have you been forsaken? Never! God's the best, and he has the best in mind for me. You can count on him."
P - Jesus I don't like how expectations get me down. Most of them are mine, even when I think they belong to you or someone else. I feel like my own expectations our my worst enemy. Help me pray honestly about them like you (Mark 14:36) and not be afraid to embrace your light and truth (which I am often afraid will not be my salvation, but just be even higher expectations). Shed light and truth on my that I might be free to find you as my exceeding joy.
S - Deuteronomy 4:35, 40
To you it was shown, that you might know that the LORD is God; there is no other besides him . . . Therefore you shall keep his statutes and his commandments, which I command you today, that it may go well with you and with your children after you, and that you may prolong your days in the land that the LORD your God is giving you for all time.
O - All that God did for the Israelites was to secure their devotion. While this devotion was to secure the name and goodness of God himself, it also produced the blessing of healthy families, long life, and secure hope.
A - I began today discouraged by circumstances that I could not control. It would be my tendency to try to piece together a plan on my own that would smooth over, cover, or ignore the affects of these circumstances. I think this is the kind of thing God is talking about when he doesn't want the Israelites to form figures and idols as their gods. These false gods are tangible and physically present, but there is no substance to them or their affect. My plans have the same characteristics. They can be tangible, physically present, but they lack the substance to really deal with the problem in a lasting and healing. I hear Jesus calling me to trust that he is right. His presence and work, while mysterious to me at times, has goodness, security, and joy as a lasting result. My family, my days, and my future are secure in the hands of the one and only God.
P - Lord help me not turn to my own plans. Instead may there be only one plan but to submit to you and seek your voice. Help me trust your revealed word and work it out in daily life. May the promise of your love, peace, and joy be my security. I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand I will not be shaken. - Psalm 16:8
S- Deuteronomy 1:27,30-33, 35-36, 38
And you murmured in your tents and said, 'Because the LORD hated us he has brought us out of the land of Egypt . . . The LORD your God who goes before you will himself fight for you, just as he did for you in Egypt before your eyes, and in the wilderness, where you have seen how the LORD your God carried you, as a man carries his son, all the way that you went until you came to this place.' Yet in spite of this word you did not believe the LORD your God, who went before you . . . 'Not one of these men of this evil generation shall see the good land that I swore to give to your fathers, except Caleb . . . Joshua the son of Nun, who stands before you, he shall enter. Encourage him . . .
O - The Israelites believed that God was real and powerful. They were afraid that he might not be good or forgiving. God wanted them to see his goodness in all that he had led them to experience. To the Israelites it had been a dry, weary, and wild experience in the wilderness. To God it had been the wooing of their hearts. The Israelites were not ready to obey God because they did not trust him to lead them. They feared the cost, or sacrifice, of entering the land. Instead they were left outside by their own fear. Yet, in their midst were two young men who had been ready to follow God when no one else wanted to. Caleb and Joshua.
A - Here's the truth. I am afraid that I will never inherit the Promised Land (life to the full, mostly talking about here and now). I feel I am so not . . . right . . . that God could not possibly be loving, good, and forgiving enough to let me in. My son is named Caleb out of this fear. I desperately want him to be faithful (the literal meaning of Caleb) in the midst of a generation which certainly will think it is foolish to follow God. I want him to go beyond his fathers and seize what God had promised all along. He embodies a deep-seeded fear of how good God is and the hope of receiving all that God wants for us. I feel as though Jesus is saying to me, "Not only does Caleb get to go to the Promised Land but you (Joshua) get to go to. Let me encourage you."
P - Lord encourage my heart. May your perfect love cast out fear. Thank you for the promised inheritance of true and everlasting life, starting now. Help me trust and embrace you and your way of life today.
Exodus 20:20-21
Moses said to the people, "Do not fear, for God has come to test you, that the fear of him may be before you, that you may not sin." The people stood far off, while Moses drew near to the thick darkness where God was.
S - Mark 11:21
And Peter remembered . . .
O - Jesus did a lot of stuff. It was all to demonstrate and proclaim the wisdom, goodness, and power of life with God. Peter paid attention to the "little" stuff. This gave Jesus the chance to teach Peter more.
A - How easily I forget what God has done. This means I am prone to forget God's wisdom, goodness, and power. I also will not be able to learn all Jesus wants to teach. I want to remember the little things in my day which Jesus will use to teach me.
P - Jesus, help me receive each part of my day as an opportunity to grow. Help me remember your presence and work in my life.
