S.O.A.P. It Up!

Scripture Observation Application Prayer

The S. O. A. P. Bible Study method is a great way to deepen your devotion time and allow the scripture to teach you practical application to everyday life.

Today we will start out with a verse that is very familiar to all of us and I’ve used it quite often as a topic for teaching. That verse is Joshua 1:8. Let’s turn there, put the S. O. A. P. on it and allow the Holy Spirit to speak to our hearts.

Scripture

• Joshua 1:8 (NKJV) This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.

Observation: What do we see when we take a closer look at this scripture?

• Who is speaking? God.
• Who is being spoken to? Joshua
• When, where and why was it spoken? After 40 years of wilderness wandering. On the banks of the Jordan River opposite the Promised Land to equip him and the Israelites to have victory in what God had promised them.
• What instructions were given?
  • This book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth
  • Meditate in it day and night
  • Observe to do all that is written in it 
  • Then you will make your way prosperous
  • Then you will have good success

Application:

• How is this applied to my life?
  • It is my responsibility to not let the Word depart from my mouth.
  • Deuteronomy 6:3-9 (NKJV) Therefore hear, O Israel, and be careful to observe it, that it may be well with you, and that you may multiply greatly as the Lord God of your fathers has promised you―a land flowing with milk and honey.’ 4 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one! 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. 6 “And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
• What instructions are given to me?
  • Read the Bible daily to see what the Lord is saying and be careful to do it.
  • Muse, mull over, mutter and think about what it says 
  • Say only what the Bible says
• What are the results of obedience to the instructions?
  • Success and prosperity, God’s way not the world’s way.
• What is the key(s) to this verse?
  • Keeping the word of God before me as much as possible, thinking about it continually, taking time to understand it, and doing what it says.

Prayer:

Father, I thank You for giving me the Bible to give me instruction for my life. I will keep it in my mouth and purpose to meditate on it every day. I will not stop there. The things that you show me, I will be careful to do all of it, not just the things that I like. You promised that if I do what is written, I will of my own doing make my way prosperous and have good success. 

S.O.A.P.ing up scripture will take you past just reading scripture to check off a box on your to-do list. It will open the eyes of your understanding and scripture will come alive, speaking to you, and guiding you in the Lord’s wisdom and way. I encourage you get in your Bible daily, multiple times a day to see what the Lord is saying, then think about what He’s saying to you and do it! Then watch the word work as the Lord makes your way prosperous and blesses you with good success.

Dr. Sheila D. Poole

Now I See, Everything is Going My Way In the Lord!

2020! Not only a new year, but a new decade. We naturally think of 2020 as it pertains to vision. However, 2020 is not perfect vision, it is normal vision. It is vision that requires no aid or assistance. From a Christian standpoint, one can hear God for themselves, by themselves.

In biblical numerology 20 deals with redemption, it’s a cycle of completeness, the celebration of the end of a wait. Such as the 20 year wait of Isaac and Rebekah before she gave birth.

Our mantra for the year at Destiny Christian Center is: Now I see, everything is going my way in the Lord. It comes from Isaiah 58:9-12 in the Message Bible:
9 Then when you pray, God will answer.
You’ll call out for help and I’ll say, ‘Here I am.’
10 “If you get rid of unfair practices,
quit blaming victims,
quit gossiping about other people’s sins,
11 If you are generous with the hungry
and start giving yourselves to the down-and-out,
Your lives will begin to glow in the darkness,
your shadowed lives will be bathed in sunlight.
12 I will always show you where to go.
I’ll give you a full life in the emptiest of places—
firm muscles, strong bones.
You’ll be like a well-watered garden,
a gurgling spring that never runs dry.
You’ll use the old rubble of past lives to build anew,
rebuild the foundations from out of your past.
You’ll be known as those who can fix anything,
restore old ruins, rebuild and renovate,
make the community livable again.

If you go back to verses 1-5 in Isaiah 58, you will find that God’s people had gotten so used to the rituals of God, that they had put Him out of the ritual. They had exchanged relationship for religion.

This mantra calls us to a relationship with God that will allow us to see beyond religion. How do we get things to go our way?

1. Recognize that as Christians religious behavior is not pleasing to the Lord and gain an understanding that obedience includes willingness. Stop religious ceremonies and have a relationship with God. Simply put, recognize what God doesn’t like and stop doing it!
2. Repent. Things will not go our way if we do not repent before the Lord. When we have no conviction, there is no connection to the Convictor.
3. The only way we will see that things are going our way is if we refocus. Sometimes we need to just close our eyes; shutting everything out so that when we open them we can see better. We can see that God has been there all along. We are to refocus, do what the word says and, “Fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.”

I encourage you to start with Him, finish with Him and trust that whatever is in between is because of Him. If we can see it, we can receive what the Lord has in store for us this year. Now I see, everything is going my way in the Lord!

—Dr. Robert Poole

Welcome to the Pathway to Purpose Blog!

We are glad you are here for the first post to the Pathways to Purpose blog! Why a blog? This is an opportunity to provide insight to the awesomeness of God, His word and His love through social media. It’s a chance to reach outside the walls of the church to encourage people to come inside the walls of the church to learn more about God’s plan and purpose for our lives.

The Pathway to Purpose blog is an extension of Destiny Christian Center located in Las Vegas, Nevada, where our Pastors, Drs. Robert and Sheila Poole have been illuminating the Pathway to Purpose through the teaching of God’s word since 2001.

When you stop by our blog, you’ll find insight from Dr. Robert Poole from the messages he is currently teaching; you’ll learn from Dr. Sheila Poole how to break down scripture using the S.O.A.P. method of study to gain a better understanding of the Bible.

You will also find Biblical insight on marriage, finances, prayer and so much more!

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