10 Applications from 2010

2010 is coming to a close which means you have probably seen countless lists this last week or so. You know what I'm talking about, right? The top whatever songs, movies, videos, sports highlights, etc, of 2010. Well, I would like to add one more list to the, um....list.

Since May, I have been using the acronym SOAP for my devotional/quiet times. The way this works is you record the Scripture that you read, write down any Observations, determine the Application for yourself and then write out a Prayer. I did this, on average, 3-5 times per week and I would like to share with you 10 Personal Applications from 2010:

1. There are times when it feels like nobody else is following God, that I am alone. The fact is that I am not alone. (based on Romans 11:1-10)
2. My job is to be obedient to Jesus, to glorify Him and to point people to Him. I can't judge other people for their actions or try to make them follow in the exact way that I do. (based on Romans 14:1-12)
3. If Christ, who is God, can come to serve, then shouldn't I, a mere man, who owes my life to God, be able and willing to serve? I mostly serve myself right now - that needs to change! I look to many things, other than God, for hope, joy, peace, satisfaction, etc. None of them work for long, if at all. I must look to God, I must dwell in Him. (based on Romans 15:8-13)
4. If God takes sin seriously, so should I. I need to not mess around with it, not look past or dismiss it and not justify it. (based on Ezra 10)
5. I have received more grace than I can really even understand, yet, so often I don't extend grace to others. Grace isn't just to be received but also to be given. (based on Matthew 18:21-35)
6. How often I am more concerned with how I appear to others instead of my heart. I need to be right in my heart with God and not pretend to be right for others to see. (based on Matthew 23)
7. Jesus deserved better. He was on the cross literally dying for those who were mocking and chastising Him. He didn't have to, he chose to! I often lose sight of the fact that my sin placed Him on that cross too. I have just as much responsibility for His death as everyone else. Jesus still deserves better. Better from me! (based on Matthew 27:27-44)
8. I am not one to make hasty decisions, but I don't think anyone is truly able to count the cost of following Jesus before choosing to do so as the costs change. It is kind of like being "ready" for marriage or children. I must daily pay the price. When I do, I get a bargain. When I don't, I go broke. In other words, it is far more costly not to follow Jesus. (based on Luke 14:28-33)
9. What do I smell like? Do I smell like manure, do I smell like nothing? Which is worse? People should be attracted to Jesus by the way I live, I should have the aroma of Christ. When I yell at referees and umpires, I smell like the polluted world I live in. I need to put aside my ideas of right and wrong and my desire for "justice" and I need to give off the aroma of Christ. (based on 2 Corinthians 2)
10. Far too often I depend on myself and doing so makes me like a bush in the wasteland, on my own, desperately trying to survive. I need to draw from the spring of life where I will never struggle for life no matter what may happen around me, as I will always be connected to life giving water. (based on Jeremiah 17-18)

Well, there you go, 10 personal application from my devotions in 2010. I hope that these are beneficial for you and maybe even encourage you to record your time with God in 2011.

Happy New Year. May it be a year that brings you closer to the one who made you.