July 31, 2015: SOAP #2066:

Scripture: John (NIV) 2:9 And the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside 10 and said, “Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now.”

Observation: The benefits of being a servant: having the best seat in the house. They were the first to know what had happened. The nature of being a servant put them at the center of the action.

Application: What a privilege to be God’s servant! It often gives me a unique perspective on what is happening.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, it is a wonderful honor to be your servant. May I never cease to be amazed at your works! Amen

July 30, 2015: SOAP #2065:

Scripture: Isaiah (NIV) 62:6 I have posted watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem; they will never be silent day or night. You who call on the LORD, give yourselves no rest, 7 and give him no rest till he establishes Jerusalem and makes her the praise of the earth.

Observation: God was speaking to Israel of a time, as I see it in the near future, when the Lord would take delight in Israel and restore her to a place of prominence in the world. In these two verses we read of fanatics who see God as the only answer to the world’s problems. In calling on the Lord, they will not take any time off even to rest. They do not even give God any rest from their prayers until they see His will being established.

Application: God likes to see passion in my life, especially when it is for Him. God wants me to serve and worship him with my whole heart for my whole day, for my whole week, for my whole month, for my whole year, and for my whole life. God likes it when people around me can see my passion for Him. I believe God is worthy of passionate worshippers.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, of all the things in this earth over which one can be passionate, You alone are worthy! Amen

July 29, 2015: SOAP #2064

Scripture: Psalm (NIV) 103:1 Praise the Lord, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. 2 Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits…

Observation: In order to “forget not” we must do some active remembering. We must purposefully focus our minds on recalling the benefits of the Lord. It is not that his benefits are hard to remember, but that the world is full of thoughts seeking our attention. We are not minds with wills of their own to think whatever comes along. We are spiritual beings who have minds needing to be disciplined and focused.

Application: I could spend all morning recalling the benefits I have experienced in my past. I could spend all afternoon recalling the benefits I presently enjoy. I could spend all evening contemplating the benefits I will experience in my future and for all eternity! After all the scripture says, “forget not ALL his benefits!”

Prayer: Heavenly Father, as your child, I should be known as a thankful person. Holy Spirit, keep bringing to mind those things for which I should be thankful. Amen

July 28, 2015: SOAP #2063

Scripture: 2Peter (NIV) 2:18 For they mouth empty, boastful words and by appealing to the lustful desires of sinful human nature, they entice people who are just escaping from those who live in error. 19 They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves of depravity—for a man is a slave to whatever has mastered him.

Observation: If one could speak to a locomotive and convince it that it was in bondage to the rail; that the tracks kept the locomotive from enjoying the freedom that was available to other vehicles with wheels. If the locomotive would leave the track and join the vehicles on the highway, it would soon come to find that what was seen as freedom was actually bondage! The locomotive was designed to run on a railroad track. Without the track it is both helpless and useless. It loses the ability to fulfill its designed purpose.

The world promises us freedom if we just go along with them. But like the locomotive, we will soon find ourselves bogged down with sin and unable to fulfill our purpose.

Application: God designed me to be filled with His Holy Spirit. I cannot please Him if I let the world set my agenda. Sometimes His way seems limiting and the world is always ready to show me a way to be free to do my own thing and live my own life. But staying on God’s track always proves to be the wise choice.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, you designed me. Now that I am living is a world that is rebelling against your design, help me remain faithful. Help me not to be focused on what I might miss by staying on your track, but on what I am gaining! Amen

July 27, 2015: SOAP #2062

Scripture: Isaiah (NIV) 51:12 I, even I, am he who comforts you. Who ae you that you fear mortal men, the sons of men, who are but grass,
13 that you forget the LORD your Maker, who stretched out the heavens and laid the foundations of the earth…

Observation: God was speaking through the prophet Isaiah to the nation of Israel. How illogical it is to fear men who are as temporary as grass yet forget the one who made the heaven and the earth! Duh! If they should fear anyone, it should be the Creator. If they should forget anyone, it should be those who are like grass.

Application: It is all too easy to be concerned about what I can see and touch while at the same time forgetting about what I cannot see and touch. I must discipline my thoughts to be governed by the truth I know in my spirit rather than by the things I see with my five senses.

Prayer: Holy Spirit, help me keep my priorities in logical sequence. Amen

July 26, 2015: SOAP #2061

Scripture: 1Peter (NIV) 5:2 Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, serving as overseers—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve; 3 not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock.

Observation: When I entered the US Navy and went to boot camp, we studied the Blue Jacket Manual. It contained the basic information every sailor needed. Those moving on to leadership positions were required to study additional manuals, especially those attending Officer Candidate School. The lowly seaman did not need to know much about leadership. He had no choice as to whom he followed.

But in God’s kingdom, every leader and every follower has the same manual—the Bible! The newest and/or youngest believer can read the requirements for leaders. After all, we ALL have the same goal: with the help of the Holy Spirit, we are to glorify our Heavenly Father by becoming like His Son Jesus! In the Bible we read about leaders who succeeded and leaders who failed. If new believers would get into the Word they would soon be able to discern between which leaders to follow and which ones to avoid.

Application: Authority is not given to me to make me a tyrant or to provide a way to get rich. Authority is a tool to make me a more fruitful servant. Before long I will answer to the One who has all authority.

Prayer: Holy Spirit, teach me to use the authority and gifts you have given me to best benefit the Kingdom of God. Amen

July 25, 2015: SOAP #2060:

Scripture: Isaiah (NIV) 43:25 I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more.

Observation: God blots out our transgressions for His own sake. It is not because we deserve it, but because He deserves it. He is worthy of having sinless people serving Him. None of mankind can ever be sinless for all have sinned. The only way for God to have sinless people serve Him is if He makes us sinless! And so, by the blood of the sacrifice of His own Son, Jesus, He does just that! He makes us sinless! He blots out our transgressions for His own sake!

Application: Loving God and knowing that sin is such an offence to him I should be quick to ask forgiveness. What does it say about me when I hesitate to acknowledge my sin and repent when He is so willing to forgive? Obviously sin is a more important issue to God than it is to me.

Prayer: Lord, forgive me for thinking that it makes you no difference if I sin. By your Holy Spirit, mold my heart to look at sin just as you do. Amen

July 24, 2015: SOAP #2059

Scripture: Isaiah (NIV) 40:3 A voice of one calling: “In the desert prepare the way for the LORD, make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God. 4 Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. 5 And the glory of the LORD will be revealed…

Observation: One would think that the prophet Isaiah had witnessed the building of some of our highways. Our modern vehicles of today would not get very far on the first trails made by wheeled vehicle pulled across our nation by oxen. Modern vehicle require modern roads. Great earth-moving equipment was used to lower high places and raise the low places and make the rough places smooth. Explosives were used to break up large boulders. But now one can drive in 3 days what it took 5 months to drive 150 years ago.

I do not believe the prophet Isaiah was speaking of highways for motor vehicles. I believe he was speaking of a time when many people would need a quick, safe way to get into the Kingdom of God.

Application: Today many people travel the road marked “Leon.” God wants to take down the high places of pride in my life so that people will keep their eyes on Jesus. God wants to build up the low places of discouragement so that people will not have to slow down as they move closer to the Kingdom. God wants to smooth out the rough places in my life that might cause others to get off course. With my help, it should not take people as long to arrive at my location as it took me.

Prayer: Holy Spirit, make my life a super-highway over which people can easily travel to reach the throne of God. Amen

July 23, 2015: SOAP #2058

Scripture: 1Peter (Message) 2:12 Live an exemplary life among the natives so that your actions will refute their prejudices. Then they’ll be won over to God’s side and be there to join in the celebration when he arrives.
2:15 It is God’s will that by doing good, you might cure the ignorance of the fools who think you’re a danger to society.

Observation: As our nation is going through cultural changes, Christianity seems to no longer have a most favored status. In the news media, in the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of our government, in institutions of “higher learning”—people who hold to God’s word and standard of holiness are seen as out of touch with today’s society. If there ever were scriptures relevant for today and the days ahead, it is these.

Application: Living in a world that is hostile to God’s standards, it is important for me to carefully honor God in the way I live. Not only is it important for me, it is important for them! They need to hear the truth and they need to see it lived. I experienced this when I left Central Bible College to join the US Navy. How I lived was as important as what I said.

Prayer: Holy Spirit, help me speak and live in a way that causes people to see what a mighty God I serve! Amen

July 22, 2015: SOAP #2057

Scripture: 1Peter (NIV) 1:23 For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. 24 For, “All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, 25 but the word of the Lord stands forever.”

Observation: This body of flesh that God created has been greatly affected by sin. Sin introduced death into this world. Now “it is appointed for man once to die and after death to face judgment.” (Hebrews 9:27) Death does not end our existence. After death comes the judgment. The flesh is temporary, but the word of God is eternal! It stands forever!

Application: Every funeral reminds me that this body is temporary. The word of God tells me that there are two destinations for my spirit—heaven or hell. No matter what people may say, no matter what my circumstances, I can trust the word of God. It stands as true. It is eternally trustworthy. Laws cannot change truth. History cannot change truth. Man’s interpretations and explanations may change, but they cannot change truth. Truth can never change. What is true is eternally true. The better I know His Word, the better I understand His creation and His plan—and the better I enjoy this relationship I have with Him!

Prayer: Heavenly Father, your word is based on your character. It is true because you are true. Amen