Most churches around the globe, including First Baptist Oviedo in the Greater Orlando, Fla area – handed out a Bible reading plan at the beginning of the year to have everyone in the congregation on the same page – so to speak. Many pastors would try to teach on the readings or touch upon topics that the members are reading in.
One of the things that many Christians find helpful is doing a method of Biblical journaling on what they read in the Bible during their devotions. New Hope Christian Fellowship in Honolulu, Hawaii; pastured by Wayne Cordeiro created a simple method of journaling called S.O.A.P.
S is for scripture. Pastor Wayne would say start off in prayer and ask the Lord to speak, teach and reveal to you what His Word is saying. Write one scripture in your journal notebook and only one.
O is for Observation – what is this scripture mean literally? Write that down in your journal.
A is for Application – how can you apply this scripture to your life? Write that down in your notebook.
P is for prayer – you begin and end your daily devotions in prayer. The first prayer like I said is to ask the Lord and the Holy Spirit that dwells within you when you received Christ to guide and teach you. The second prayer at the end is to pray about whatever it is that the scripture has taught you. Here’s a link to a devotional done in the SOAP method: Time for God.
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