First 15 Challenge

Our pastor encouraged us to spend the first 15 minutes of our day with God. I did good for the first few days, then with all the chaos in my life, I have slipped. I just got this outline from our pastor and I thought I would share it with anyone who wanted to take the challenge with me:)
First 15 Challenge: 15 minutes with God during the first hour of the day

I am encouraged and grateful that so many of us are going to take this challenge together! You are not alone…. I even encourage you to find someone else who is “IN” with us so you can partner together, encourage one another, even check up on and help each other out.

Some of you may have not missed a day yet. Some of you have already missed a day or two…it’s okay. Don’t give up, don’t quit! Let’s keep going and help each other throughout the process. Just remember if we only invest 15 minutes a morning, 5 days a week, 50 weeks this year, which will be nearly 4000 morning minutes with God. That is going to transform our lives radically!

I am so excited about the stories I am already receiving from some who have taken the First 15 Challenge. I would love to hear yours!

I am attaching an outline that will be helpful for your 15 minutes with God…it follows an acrostic called S.O.A.P. I have been working with a few interested adults the last few weeks who have used this SOAP outline effectively, and after 26 years of having a quiet time and morning devotionals….this is a fresh and simple way for me to spend time with God and be able to also have devotions with someone else. I want us to be able to share what we are hearing from God with each other. We could do this when we get together for coffee or following our ministry teams….(like set up, sound or tech) once we are finished we can take some time to share with each other some of the “applications” we have been writing out.

If you hear of someone who would like to join in with us…have them email me and I can include them in future email updates.

Privileged to be your Pastor,
Paul
TCaL

Here it is….

S.O.A.P. Daily Devotional/Bible Study Acrostic

Here is a simple plan for your daily devotional time with God…. S.O.A.P. is the acrostic to help you during your 15 minutes!

s- scripture…. Find a book in the Bible to read through. Read 5-10 verses each day, a chapter if you so desire. I can also give you a reading plan later that has different scriptures for each day if you are interested to help you through this process.
Each Day: Write out in a journal, the verse that MOST stands out and speaks to you that day.

o- observation…. Each Day: Write out what you observe in the passage…
look past the words ….. to the setting,
to where the writer is physically,
what is his mood or the climate of his environment…is it hostile, friendly, persecution etc
what’s going on around him, are there other people with him, etc…

a- application… Each Day: Write out how you will apply what you have read and observed through the scripture to your OWN life. In other words…How does what I have read and observed… challenge me, my attitude, my thoughts, and the impact I can have on others?
Great questions to ask for application are………. Is there a:
S-SIN I need to confess

P-PROMISE I need to claim

A-ATTITUDE I need to change

C-COMMAND I need to obey

E-EXAMPLE I need to follow

Under the application area, this acrostic of S.P.A.C.E. will help you remember HOW to apply what you have read and observed by writing out the answer to these questions in your journal. Plus, you can apply it any way else the Lord speaks to you!

p- prayer… Each Day: Write out a prayer- asking God to guide you,
thanking Him for all He means to you and has done for you
asking Him to help you LIVE OUT what He is teaching you.

The Bible say we are do be “doers of the word, not just hearers only….deceiving ourselves”