Luke 11:28 He replied, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.”

Many people were deeply touched by hearing Jesus, which is why large crowds often followed Him. The woman who cried out, prompting this response, was probably meaning, “I wish you were my son!” However, Jesus’ response is perfectly in line with what His half-brother James later wrote: “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.” (James 1:22) In the Upper Room just before His crucifixion, Jesus said, “Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.” (John 13:17) Lip service doesn’t cut it! To the crowds and to His closest disciples, Jesus stressed the importance of follow-through. We all have the tendency to say, “That’s wonderful,” and then never do anything about what we have heard. The devil will do all he can to distract us from the truth we hear, but he really doesn’t have to work very hard at it. We all need to be on our guard against our own tendencies, not just hearing or reading the Word but actively applying it in every area of our lives. It is when we do that, that we can look forward to hearing our Lord say, “’Well done, good and faithful servant! Come and share your master’s happiness!” (Matthew 25:21)

This issue has always been very close to home for me, because I was raised in a home that was steeped in the Bible, and I essentially could never say, “I didn’t know that” about any Biblical principle. And that’s not at all to say that I have always lived consistently by Biblical principles! I immediately latched onto and started practicing this SOAP system of personal devotions after I heard Wayne Cordeiro explain it at a conference here in Japan, not just because it is effective in generating an expectation of hearing from God, but because it stresses the application of what we hear. The acronym stands for Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer. The Scripture is whatever part of that day’s reading particularly resonated. The Observation is a restating of what God has spoken to you through that passage. The Application is, what am I going to do about it? We all tend to fall down on that point, and I am very grateful to Wayne for expressing it so clearly and simply. And of course, the Prayer is a response to God for what He has just said, because we don’t have the ability to follow through without His help. I’ve been using this system for quite a few years now, and around nine years ago I started editing and posting my devotions as a blog, with the prayer that others would discover that God speaks to them as much as He does to me, but we’ve all got to be careful with our obedience.

Father, thank You for Wayne and His faithfulness to You. Thank You for the opportunity to share what You say to me. I do pray that all of Your children would grow in receiving the blessings of obedience, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!