Hi there, my brothers and sisters,

 

                It is always a privilege for me to write to you each week. It makes me glad when I hear from you that you are encouraged with these little emails as I pray that God would use them in that way.

 

                I have been reminded again of the importance of reading God’s Word. This is one of the primary ways that we will grow in our faith. Do you want to be encouraged spiritually? Do you want to hear from God on a regular basis? Do you want direction for your life? Do you want to be a part of something bigger than yourself?

 

                If you answered yes to any of those questions, reading the Bible is the way to go.

 

                Now, when I say “reading” it’s more than just scanning the Bible like you might scan the newspaper for an article that interests you. It means taking your time and really listening to what’s being said.

 

                It means asking the Holy Spirit to reveal the heart of God to you and then paying attention to what He might be saying.

 

                Sometimes it means journaling what God is saying. You choose a passage of scripture, a Psalm or a chapter in the New Testament or somewhere else in the Bible and then you open up your heart to hear from Jesus. One simple way to do this is through what is called a SOAP study.

 

                S – Scripture: Choose your passage (not too long) and read it through several times asking God to highlight a verse to you as you read. Maybe write out that verse in your own words.

 

                O – Observation: What is God saying to you through that verse? Why did it jump out to you? What do you think it means?

 

                A – Application: How does Jesus want you to apply this verse to your life? What is the next step of obedience that He is asking from you?

 

                P – Prayer: Write out a prayer to God based on what He is asking you or showing you from that verse. Pray that prayer back to God believing that He has heard you and will respond to you.

 

                That’s it. It’s simple and practical and repeatable. God wants to speak to you. His Word is alive and active, and it will point you to Jesus where all your hope is found.

 

                May you enjoy great times in the Word this week. If you don’t know where to begin, I would suggest the Psalms or the Book of John or the letters to the Philippians or Ephesians.

 

                This Sunday will be the third in our IMPACT series and I will be teaching on the impact that Jesus made on non-believers. There are reasons why people won’t believe in Jesus but in Acts 2 we will see that Jesus’s story is one that holds up under scrutiny and that because He is the Truth and the Way and the Life, people far from Him will turn to Him and receive eternal salvation. 

 

                I hope you have a great weekend, and we will see you on Sunday!

 

                I love being your pastor.

 

Pastor Tim