New Year’s greetings to my SOAP friends. When I woke up this morning, Sharon greeted me with, “The Lord has much for us this year, may we have much for Him!” It all starts with Him and His work in us, but it should end up with our work with and for Him. President Kennedy once said, “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country!” Maybe this year we should be more focused on what we can do for God than what He can do for us. May this be the best year the Lord has ever had in your life! Leon J

The Faithful Speaker!

Pastor Leon’s SOAP: Scripture, Observation, Application, and Prayer

January 1: Genesis 1-2; Luke 1

Scripture: Genesis (NIV) 1:1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. 3 And God said…

Observation: A person knowing nothing about God might pick up a Bible for reading. Beginning on the first page would first learn that God is. He exists.
–The second thing he would learn is that God is a creator. In fact, He is The Creator. The reader has learned nothing of His character, nothing of His holiness or of His love. He has learned only that God is and that God creates.
–The third thing he would learn of God in Genesis 1 is that God is a speaker. This is the most dominate characteristic of God seen in the whole of the Bible. Not only is the Bible the Word of God, there are pages and pages on which His Word is given as quotation. God is a speaker. God has something to say. God communicates.

Application: Over the past 1,400+ days, God has had something to say to me every day. Before starting the SOAP devotionals I believed God would speak specifically to me every week to give me a sermon for Sunday. Of course I knew that He could always speak and I would often hear His directions. I read the Bible on a daily basis to put it into my heart and to make myself available in case He had something specific to say. But for these last three years, I have read the Bible expecting God to speak to me. What a difference! I believe God to continue to speak to me in 2014. God is a Faithful Speaker!

Prayer: Lord, You have been faithful to me according to my faith. Now I pray for you to increase my faith according to your word. Amen

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!