Monthly Archives: August 2011

WWJD?

Posted on by
Reply

August 21: Jeremiah 21, 24, 27; Psalm 118; 1John 2

Scripture: 1John 2:3 We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands.
4 The man who says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
5 But if anyone obeys his word, God’s love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him:
6 Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.

Observation: The proof is not in what we say, but in the actions that line up with what we say. If we say we are Christians, we are to be walking as Jesus walked.

That being heaven’s goal for us can be seen in that we do not have just one book in the Bible about how Jesus walked on this earth, but four! We call them the gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

That being our goal, it is good for us to regularly read the gospels so we can better understand how we are to be walking here on this earth.

Application: The gospels are so much more than the history of Jesus’ time on earth. They are my guide as to how I am to be living on earth. After all, if I claim to be a Christian, then WWJD (What Would Jesus Do) should be a priority and not just letters on a bracelet.

Prayer: Holy Spirit, as I walk through this day, remind me of something specific I have read in the Gospels. I want Jesus’ life to be my example. Amen.

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!

The Flashlight from Heaven

Posted on by
Reply

August 20: Jeremiah 48-49; Psalm 67; 1John 1

Scripture: 1John 1:5 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.

Observation: In the first chapter of his gospel, John introduces Jesus as “The true light that gives light to every man…” In considering the many thoughts of “light” in the scriptures, one comes to realize how important this subject is to God. Paul wrote about the “light of the knowledge of the glory of God.” The written Word (the Bible) reveals Our Holy Creator God to us; the living Word (Jesus) reveals Our Loving Heavenly Father. It is wise to walk in the light of both revelations.

NOTE: Not reading the Bible at the start of the day is somewhat like starting to walk at night across a room where a young child has been playing; one never knows what they might step on; it is always best to turn on the light.

Application: I am finding that the Holy Spirit continues to bring light into my life, helping me to understand the scriptures and see how they apply to my daily life.

Prayer: Lord, You are light, like a great flashlight from heaven. Shine on the path where you want me to walk. My commitment to you is to walk in the light and not run into the darkness to try another path. Amen.

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!

The Stranger on The Shore

Posted on by
Reply

August 19: Jeremiah 45-47; Psalm 105; John 21

Scripture: John 21:10 Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish you have just caught.”

Observation: The irony of this verse amuses me. The disciples were out on the lake fishing. To them, Jesus was just some stranger standing on the shore. He called out to them as to how their fishing was going to which they replied they had caught nothing. Jesus told them to cast their net on the other side of the boat and when they did, the net was so full of fish that they could not load them into the boat but had to pull the net to shore. Now Jesus asks them to bring some fish “you have just caught.” The fact is that they had caught nothing! It was not until they had heard and obeyed the direction of Jesus that their net was full.

Application: I must be careful not to limit Jesus to just “spiritual” things. He may speak to fishing, to bus driving (which started this week), to my studies, to my check book, to my life at the office, or to anything concerning my life. I must be listening and quick to obey.

Prayer: Lord, You were that stranger standing on the shore. And you may be speaking to me through that customer across the counter or the voice on the phone. I want to be quick to hear and obey your word. Amen.

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!

Accepting His Love

Posted on by
Reply

August 18: Jeremiah 26, 35-36; John 20

Scripture: Jeremiah 26:2 “This is what the LORD says: Stand in the courtyard of the LORD’s house and speak to all the people of the towns of Judah who come to worship in the house of the LORD. Tell them everything I command you; do not omit a word.
3 Perhaps they will listen and each will turn from his evil way. Then I will relent and not bring on them the disaster I was planning because of the evil they have done.

Observation: Here we see the same inner conflict within the heart of God that can be often seen within the heart of a parent. The parent knows that their child needs punishment, but does not want to proceed, so they give their child another opportunity to obey. They hope their child obeys. They want them to obey. They surely do not want to be forced to carry out the threats so they give their child opportunity to make a change.

Application: 2Peter 3:9 says to me that the Lord is not slack concerning his promise to Leon; but is longsuffering to Leon, not willing that Leon should perish, but that Leon should come to repentance.
God loves me as His son; I should respond to Him quickly!

Prayer: Lord, may I accept your love through the rebuke and correction you give me as quickly as I accept your love through the gifts I enjoy! Amen.

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!

The Man

Posted on by
Reply

August 17: Jeremiah 23-25; John 19

Scripture: John 19:26 When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Dear woman, here is your son,”
27 and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.

Observation: Ed Cole taught that a man takes responsibility not only for himself, but also for others. Earlier in this chapter after enduring the Roman whipping Pilate had introduced Jesus as “the man.” (Verse 5.) Here Jesus, during the intense suffering of the cross, takes responsibility for his mother. He sets aside His pain to provide care for His mother.

Application: There are times when the pressure of life and the pain of the circumstances have an iron grip on my thoughts. Maturity brings me to a level where I can control my thoughts instead of letting them control me. Maturity helps me set aside that which is screaming for attention and applying my thoughts to more important matters.

Prayer: Lord, you hold me responsible as a man, to reach out and care for those around me. Make me an instrument of your love. Amen.

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!

The Big Picture!

Posted on by
Reply

August 16: 2Kings 24; Jeremiah 22; Psalm 112; John 18

Scripture: John 18:36 Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place.”

Observation: Jesus was standing before Pilate, who could condemn Jesus to death. Even there—and especially there, Jesus has the bigger picture in mind. Jesus was in the world, but not of the world.

Application: I have been born again and the life within me, as I live in this world, is eternal life that makes me a part of Jesus’ kingdom. He is my Lord! My time in this world is preparation for my part in His kingdom when my physical life on earth is over.

Prayer: Lord, help me keep the big picture always in my thoughts. Help me to understand the things happening to me in light of Your kingdom. Amen.

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!

The “Then” & The “There”

Posted on by
Reply

August 15: Jeremiah 18-20; Psalm 93; John 17

Scripture: Jeremiah 18:2 “Go down to the potter’s house, and there I will give you my message.”
3 So I went down to the potter’s house, and I saw him working at the wheel.
4 But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him.
5 Then the word of the LORD came to me:

Observation: God had a “message;” God had a “there;” and God had a “then.” The timing was based on the prophet being in a certain place.

Application: I do not have to be in church to hear God’s message. Although He speaks to me in church, He speaks even more outside the church.
Like God’s message to the prophet at the potter’s house, many times His message to me is contained in what is happening around me.

Prayer: Lord, my location may be the very place to which you have sent me to receive your message. May I not limit the places you speak to me and may I always be opening to hear what you are saying. Amen.

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!

Still Keeping His Word

Posted on by
Reply

August 14: Jeremiah 16-17; Psalm 96; John 16

Scripture: Jeremiah 16: 14 ¶ “However, the days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when men will no longer say, ‘As surely as the LORD lives, who brought the Israelites up out of Egypt,’

15 but they will say, ‘As surely as the LORD lives, who brought the Israelites up out of the land of the north and out of all the countries where he had banished them.’ For I will restore them to the land I gave to their forefathers.

Observation: Jeremiah was living in the days of the first saying; Israel had been delivered from Egypt. We are now living in the days of the second: the nation of Israel has been restored! The people both have been and are being restored. God is the Great Promise Keeper!

Application: God, who has been faithful to keep His word to Israel, also keeps his word to me. For me, the present existence of the nation of Israel is a great visible proof that I can trust God to keep His promises to me.

Prayer: Lord, how blest I am to know that the Almighty God is holy and faithful to keep His word. Amen.

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!

Bringing joy…

Posted on by
Reply

August 13: Jeremiah 13-15; John 15

Scripture: John 15:11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.

Observation: We always desire to bring joy to the one we love. It becomes our goal. In this verse we see the joy Jesus has and the joy we have. He is the source of our joy, and in a wonderful way, we are the source of His joy. What an amazing thought, that we have the power to bring joy to God. I wonder if there are times when heaven rings with the joyful laugh of God as He watches His children do those things that please Him! (I wonder what the devil thinks when he hears God laugh?)

Application: My goal: to make Jesus smile! May He even get a good laugh from me from time to time!

Prayer: “I love you Lord; and I lift my voice; To worship you, Oh my soul rejoice. Take joy my king, in what you hear; may it be a sweet, sweet song in your ear.” (Laurie Klein) Amen.

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!

Proof

Posted on by
Reply

August 12: Jeremiah 10-12; John 14

Scripture: John 14:15 “If you love me, you will obey what I command.

Observation: Words are not enough. The only way love can be proved is through actions. People who say they love God but do not do what He says prove that they really do not love him. David Wilkerson said that God proves His love for us by giving; we prove our love for Him by obeying.

Application: People should be able to see proof of my love for God by looking as how I keep His commands. But more important than people seeing my love for God, I want God to see my love for Him!

Prayer: Lord, let your Holy Spirit work in and through me demonstrating my love for you by my obedience to your will. Amen.

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!