Today our pastors met for lunch to share victories, challenges, our "SOAP's" and to pray for one another.
We also discussed Ephesians 5, which calls us to be "imitators of God," and to live a life reflective Jesus' light in our lives. This is not an exhortation to pastors, it's an exhortation to all who follow Christ. And some of the words there were convicting. Including the last words of this particular passage "submit to one another out of reverence for Christ."
How do we offer accountability to be imitators of God? To not fall prey to behavior that is common in the world in some effort to satisfy selfish desires or to be deemed the same and therefore acceptable by the very people we seek to influence for Jesus?
It can be so easy, even as pastors, to slip into worldly habits of coping with stress, fatigue, loneliness, anger, stress, lust, you name it. Are we willing to answer to the higher calling of being "imitators of God?" And then are we willing to submit to our friends who call us out and tell us "Dude (or dudette) that doesn't look like God...?"
The refreshing conclusion to our discussion was that we all need to spend more time in the Bible reminding ourselves who God is so we can imitate Him, and sharing what we're learning with each other. That's where SOAP comes in. This is a devotional tool we're introducing to our church family this summer. It stands for Scripture, Observation, Application, and Prayer. What scripture stood out to you as you read the Bible today? What did you observe? How does it apply to you? What do you want to say to God about it?
As we all do our SOAP's, each day we'll have new insights from God that we can meditate on, and also share with our friends. "Hey, what was your SOAP today?" can be a great conversation starter, and also a great way to share what God is teaching you, as well as learn from what God is teaching others. And I guarantee, the more time we spend knowing God, the less we'll struggle to imitate Him.
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