Bible in a Year with Pastor Tony
Discover a deeper way to engage with God’s Word through the four-step S.O.A.P. approach:
1. Scripture: we’ll start each day reading passages from the bible.
2. Observation: we’ll reflect on what the passage is saying. What is the message? Who is it speaking to?
3. Application: we’ll ask "How can this scripture apply to my life today?" allowing God’s Word to shape our thoughts, actions, and decisions.
4. Prayer: we’ll close in prayer, inviting God to guide us, strengthen our faith, and help us live out His Word in our daily life.
This simple yet powerful method is a great way to grow spiritually and stay connected with God.
DAY 1, January 1, 2025
Scripture: Ephesians 1:1-14
1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To God’s holy people in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus: 2 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Praise for Spiritual Blessings in Christ
3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. 4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace 8 that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, 9 he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, 10 to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.
11 In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, 12 in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. 13 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory. (NIV)
Observation:
“13 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.”
I look to this pericope (means cut out) for this excerpt is cut out of the larger reading to focus on a singular truth of this scripture from Ephesians 1:1-14. Paul writes that we who have received the Holy Spirit in our belief of Jesus as Christ and Lord of our lives have been sealed with The Holy Spirit which Paul writes is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance. It is like the “Earnest Money” that you would place on a home that you intend to purchase. By putting the deposit of “Earnest Money” as a down payment you are saying to the seller that you will secure a mortgage and will complete the purchase of that home. No one else can purchase that home from the seller once the Earnest Money is received from the buyer unless the buyer can-not complete the purchase. In our case as being sealed in The Spirit, it is the Spirit that is placing the “Earnest Money” upon us. It is the Holy Spirit’s Deposit guaranteeing that we are being saved through the actions of our faith and the involvement of the Holy Spirit in our lives. This is what we call Blessed Assurance!
Application:
So how do I apply this truth from scripture in my life? First, I can be confident in knowing that the ongoing work of God’s Holy Spirit in my life is a constant and very real presence and that whatever good work the Spirit is doing in me will be carried out to completion, because it is what God is doing in my life. Second, the Holy Spirit’s role in our salvation is the wooing, the inviting us into an acceptance of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Third, the Spirit is there to remind me of everything that Jesus ever taught his disciples. So, I have no excuse but to become a fully devoted follower of the Living Christ by the power and the presence of His Holy Spirit, I lack nothing because of this seal and because of the active participation of The Holy Spirit in my life. I therefore, will allow the Spirit to inform me and transform me on a daily basis as I approach the Scripture with trust and an open mind. Fourth, The Spirit is there to show me myself, convicting and convincing me to follow the truth of God’s word. When, God’s Word is counter to what I have come to believe or practice, I am the one who is convicted by the Spirit to conform my ways to God’s ways.
Prayer:
Lord, thank you for your guarantee of my salvation in your Holy Spirit. Help me in my life to have ears to hear your word and allow your Spirit to aplly your truth to my life. Help me adjust my will to your will. The truth is that when I have adjusted my ways to your Spiritual direction in my life, I find that your will fits me just right and I am extremely blessed because of it.
Amen!
DAY 2, January 2, 2025
Scripture: Ephesians 1:15-23
Thanksgiving and Prayer
15 For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God’s people, 16 I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. 17 I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. 18 I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, 19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength 20 he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, 21 far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. 22 And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way. (NIV)
Observation:
“17 I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. 18 I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, 19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength 20 he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms,…”
Like Paul, I too am praying for you, the people of Rock Church to first of all receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior, and then for the Spirit of God to enlighten you, opening your eyes and your hearts to his plan for your life. And the same power that raised Jesus from the dead and seated him above the heavenly realm is at work in you. Can you imagine the power of the Holy Spirit to move in people’s lives is available to all who believe that Jesus is the Christ. This power can move mountains and can influence lives all to the Glory of God! Do not be afraid to use the power of the Spirit in you to make a difference in this world.
Application:
The “Spirit of wisdom and revelation,” (Ephesians 1:17) The Spirit of God is given to every believer so that we might know God better. As we cooperate with God’s Spirit in us, God will reveal God’s Self to the believer so that the believer may be built up in their faith and actions. As we trust God and move in God’ Spirit we can be very powerful influencers in the world, bringing people to faith in God.
Prayer:
Dear Lord, I give thanks for the people at Rock Church. I give thanks for their faith in you as Lord and God of their lives. My prayer is that the Power of the Holy Spirit in them will encourage them to be bold in their faith and cause their faith to move into action. All this through the Power and the Presence of Your Holy Spirit in them. Allow others that know them to know you as well because they will be able to see You in them. May we all be better reflections of your love, grace, and justice all to the Glory of God. Amen!
DAY 3, January 3, 2025
Scripture: Ephesians 2:1-10
Made Alive in Christ
2 As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. 4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. 6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Observation:
Each one of us were dead in our transgressions, but because of God’s great love for us, through his great mercy made us alive in Christ. “8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast.”” There is nothing that we can do or have done to merit our own salvation. Our very faith in Christ is a gift from God so that no one can boast about their own saving faith. Our salvation is what God does in us because we are his handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works.
Therefore, since God gives us faith in Christ to become new creations, we are then encouraged and expected to do the good works in our lives that God has prepared in advance for us to do. We then need to live into the grace that we have received and become extenders of grace to the others in our lives.
Prayer:
Dear Lord, help us to be ever mindful of your all-sufficient grace that we do not deserve, but you grant to us because of your great mercy and love. Enable us then to live into the grace that you have provided and use that blessing in our lives to be a blessing in the world. Help us to be ever mindful of your love and help us to accomplish the works that you have planned for us to do in your honor and all to your glory. Amen!