Monthly Archives: October 2011

Play it smart!

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October 31: Job 22; Mark 7-8

Scripture: Mark 8:36 (NIV) What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?

Observation: Some questions stand alone; they do not need an answer; the answer is obvious. What in this world could possibly be worth gaining at the cost of our eternal soul?

For some who enjoy playing sports, the cost is not fully realized until their body begins to age.

And there are some things for which the full cost will not be realized until eternity.

Application: When tempted to do something I think is wrong, I need to ask myself if doing it is worth losing my soul. I must play it smart.

Prayer: Holy Spirit, I will be eternally grateful if you bring this question to my mind when I am tempted to sin. Amen.

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!

Don’t forget!

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October 30: Job 21; Mark 5-6

Scripture: Mark 6:51 (NIV) Then he climbed into the boat with them, and the wind died down. They were completely amazed,
52 for they had not understood about the loaves; their hearts were hardened.

Observation: With five loaves and two fish, Jesus had just fed 5000 with 12 basketsful of left overs. Then He had sent the disciples across the sea. During the night and in the midst of a storm, Jesus comes walking on the water to them; He gets into the boat and the storm subsides. They were completely amazed because they could not connect the feeding of the 5000 with the walking on water and calming the wind. They could not connect their past with their present.

Application: It is so important that I connect what God did for me yesterday, last week, or last year with what I am going through today. What He has already done for me is proof that He cares for me and that He will work on my behalf. God’s interaction in my history is proof that He is with me in the present and has victory for me in the future.

Prayer: Lord, sometimes I need to be reminded of what you have done for me in the past. I know you are just as faithful now as then. Amen.

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!

Looking for what?

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October 29: Job 20; Mark 3-4

Scripture: Mark 3:2 (NIV) Some of them were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath.

Observation: What a sad commentary on these religious leaders, “…looking for a reason to accuse…”

Application: But what about me? What am I looking for today? I want to look for opportunities to encourage and appreciate people rather than accuse them. I want to catch people doing something good, rather than something wrong.

Prayer: Lord, I pray for our police officers who serve us by catching people doing things wrong. When they go home after their shift is over, help them look for their spouse/children doing things right. Amen.

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!

Prepare the way of the Lord

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Scripture: Mark 1:3 The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.

Observation: John the Baptist was the voice crying in the wilderness and his message was “Prepare ye the way of the Lord…”

Application: I can take it as my assignment. There are those around me that the Lord wants to use me to “prepare the way of the Lord.”

Prayer: Lord, may I act and speak in such a way that causes those around me to be prepared to receive you when you call them. Amen.

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!

Kindness

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October 27: Job 18; Psalm 114; Acts 27-28

Scripture: Acts 28:2 (NIV) The islanders showed us unusual kindness. They built a fire and welcomed us all because it was raining and cold.

Observation: They had been aboard ship in a storm for 14 days and just been shipwrecked. Surely the warm fire and kindness of the islanders meant a lot to them. But it was not without benefit to the islanders as well. In the following verses we read that many of them were healed through Paul’s ministry. This is a good example of Hebrews 13:2 “Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.”

Application: Kindness is best given and best received when nothing is expected in return, however the reward of being kind is great. 1) It may be just the reward of knowing we have done something good. 2) Or it could be received in words of thanks and appreciation from those to whom we have been kind. 3) Often the reward comes as a surprise to us from the Lord through one or many of the channels available to Him. Sometimes I have received all three, but I like the last one best!

Prayer: Lord, may I be an instrument of your kindness to someone today. Remind me that the one most needing kindness may not be the one to whom I am most inclined to be kind. Amen.

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!

An assignment with a promise

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October 26: Job 17; Acts 24-26

Scripture: Acts 26: 15 “Then I asked, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ “‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,’ the Lord replied.

16 ‘Now get up and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen of me and what I will show you.

17 I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them

Observation: Here the Apostle Paul is telling of how he met the Lord. He must have been greatly surprised that the Lord was the very one He had been persecuting! He was probably even more surprised that this Jesus did not come with revenge, but with an assignment. Paul was being sent to people from whom he would need to be rescued. Even before Paul first needed to be rescued, he had already received the promise of rescue from the Lord.

Application: Experiencing trouble is not an indication that I have missed the Lord. I should not be surprised when trouble comes my way. And I too have the promise of the Lord to be with me and to bring me not to a life free from trouble, but to a life victorious over trouble. Like Andre Couch sang: “…if I never had a problem, I’d never know that God could solve them; I’d never know what faith in God can do.” “

Prayer: Lord, if you are sending me to a place in which I will need rescue, you will rescue. If you are sending me to a place that needs provision, you will provide. If you are sending me to a place that needs a message, you will give the message. Amen.

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!

My Friend, The Lawyer!

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October 25: Job 16; Acts 21-22

Scripture: Job 16:19 Even now my witness is in heaven; my advocate is on high.
20 My intercessor is my friend as my eyes pour out tears to God;
21 on behalf of a man he pleads with God as a man pleads for his friend.

Observation: Job’s suffering had brought him to a place where he needed someone to take his cause before God. For some reason his prayers were not getting through. He could not trust his visiting friends to take his cause before God, for they obviously did not understand it either. Somehow it was revealed to Job that he already had what he needed. He had a “friend” in heaven who would speak on his behalf. This “intercessor” would not represent Job as a hired lawyer, but passionately as a friend!

Application: When I read this passage, I wish I could be there to tell Job about this “friend.” I would tell Job that our “friend” did not only intercede for us, but came to earth to die in payment for our sins. I would tell Job that our “friend” is also a “friend” of the court. Oh, there are so many things I would like to tell Job. I would tell Job, “Our ‘friend’s’ name is Jesus!”

Prayer: Lord, I am so grateful that you are not a lawyer who represents me as a friend because you love or need the money; you are my friend who represents me as a lawyer because you love me! Amen.

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!

God knows my need!

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October 24: Job 15; Acts 19-20

Scripture: Acts 19:1 (NIV) While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul took the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus. There he found some disciples
2 and asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” They answered, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.”

Observation: I notice that Paul had the same emphasis as Jesus. Jesus had given His disciples the great commission to go into the entire world and preach the gospel… But just as He was leaving, He told them to not go anywhere until they had received the Holy Spirit. Here Paul is concerned that these new believers in Ephesus also receive the Holy Spirit.

Application: Again and again I see that God is not depending on my strength and wisdom. He already knows that without Him I can do nothing. (John 15:5) But he also knows that with Him I can do all things! (Ephesians 4:13)

Prayer: Holy Spirit, if I am ever going to accomplish the Father’s will for me today, I need you to be with me, to speak through me, and to touch others through me. Amen.

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!

Get rich!

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October 23: Job 13-14; Acts 17-18

Scripture: Job 13:5 (NIV) If only you would be altogether silent! For you, that would be wisdom.

Observation: Although this verse always brings me a smile, I know it was spoken out of Job’s frustration at the counsel of his “friends.” They were thinking that Job’s troubles were the result of some great sin and he needed to confess it. If Job was living today maybe he would have said it like my mom would laughingly tell me, “If silence is golden, then shut up and get rich!” Ha!

Application: There are times when I need to apply this verse to me. I need to listen more than talk as the one with whom I am speaking knows much more than I. There is no place this is more important than in prayer. I know God loves us and it pleases Him for us to talk to Him, but what can I tell Him that He does not already know? Absolutely nothing!! On the other hand, what can He tell me that I do not already know? Almost everything!!!

Prayer: Lord, thank you for listening to me. I am blessed to know you love me and care to let me express my thoughts and feelings. But more important, thank you for talking to me! I need your wisdom and guidance. Amen.

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!

Already free!

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October 22: Job 11-12; Acts 15-16

Scripture: Acts 16:35 (NIV) When it was daylight, the magistrates sent their officers to the jailer with the order: “Release those men.”

Observation: Paul and Silas had been preaching the good news about Jesus in the city of Philippi. They were brought before the city officials on a false charge they were beaten and thrown into jail. During the night an earthquake set all the prisoners free, not just Paul and Silas. The jailer was about to kill himself, thinking everyone had escaped, but Paul called out that everyone was still there. Then the jailer took Paul and Silas to his home and washed their wounds and became a believer. So…
When the word came for their release, they had already been set free!

Application: Often God has given me freedom in my own heart before the problem is solved. The circumstances may indicate that I am “still in the jail” but my heart is already free!

Prayer: Lord, when you set us free, we are free indeed! No circumstances on earth can control those you have freed! Even in death our spirit will be free long before our bodies are placed in the grave! Amen.

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!