December 31, 2015:  SOAP #2219:  

Scripture:  Revelation (NIV) 19:5 Then a voice came from the throne, saying: “Praise our God, all you his servants, you who fear him, both small and great!”  6 Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting: “Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns.

Observation:  The description of the praise in heaven catches my attention.  It is like “rushing waters” and “loud peals of thunder.”   I have stood beside a river of rushing water where the ground shook.  It was difficult to hear the one shouting in my ear.  I have also been shaken by the sound of lightning and thunder.  The crack of the lightning strike and the deep thunder that seemed to engulf me like a wave of the ocean breaking on the shore.

Application:  No one sits to wait while others praise.  There does not seem to be a special choir.  Everyone in heaven is involved in the praise.  There are no spectators.  Special music is not available for the enjoyment of those gathered.  Those gathered are there to minister to the One on the Throne and the Lamb!

Prayer:   Lord, I expect to participate in that great worship service!  I am glad I do not have to wait until I get to heaven to be a worshipper. Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!

December 30, 2015:  SOAP #2218:  

Scripture:  Revelation (NIV) 16:4 The third angel poured out his bowl on the rivers and springs of water, and they became blood. 5 Then I heard the angel in charge of the waters say: “You are just in these judgments, you who are and who were, the Holy One, because you have so judged; 6 for they have shed the blood of your saints and prophets, and you have given them blood to drink as they deserve.”

Observation:   The angels make note of the appropriateness of God’s judgments.  God is just.  His holiness demands justice!  He is perfect in holiness!

Application:  Those whose sins are forgiven and forsaken will find that God is abundant in grace and mercy, far exceeding what we deserve!  Those who have not accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior will find that God’s judgments are appropriate in severity and appropriate in nature.

Prayer:   Holy God, I am amazed at your perfect character.  I join the psalmist in worshipping you in the beauty of your holiness.    Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!

December 29, 2015:  SOAP #2217:  

Scripture:  Revelation (NIV) 12:6 The woman fled into the desert to a place prepared for her by God, where she might be taken care of for 1,260 days.

Observation:  People have varying ideas about the identity of this woman.  But on this we can be certain:  God knows who she is and he takes the responsibility to prepare a place of safety for her.

Application:   Of this I can be certain:  God knows who I am and he takes the responsibility to prepare a place of safety for me!

The Lord showed me earlier today, I need fear no evil when I walk through the valley of the shadow of death because HE is with me!  (Psalm 23:4) The entry and exit of that valley may not always be clear.  I may see the entrance of that valley well in advance, or I may suddenly discover that I am already in it.  And so it is with the exit of that valley.  It may end in physical death to awake in His Presence.  It may lead to a place of restoration and a healing touch with a new appreciation for the life God has given me.  Either way, I can trust Him!

Prayer:   Lord, I trust you and your plans for my life!  My life is in your hands. I trust your preparation for me.   Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!

December 28, 2015:  SOAP #2216:  

Scripture:  Revelation (NIV) 5:9 And they sang a new song: “You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.

Observation:  What an amazing transition in heaven is shown in chapter five.  It starts with great weeping for no one is worthy to open the seals of the scroll in the hands of the one sitting on the throne.  Then in verse six the Lamb arrives!  He is worthy!  The throne room becomes a place of worship!  First the four living creatures are joined by the twenty-four elders in worship.  Second is a grand choir of 10,000 times 10,000 angels.  The third choir is made up of every living creature on earth and in heaven!   They join in a concert of worship to the lamb (Jesus) who was killed to pay for man’s sins!

Application:  Since worship has to do with recognizing worth, I do not have to wait until I get to heaven to worship Jesus!   He is as worthy today as He will be when He opens those seals.  Right here and right now He is worthy of my worship.  I will worship Him today!

Prayer:   Lord, You are without doubt already worthy of my worship. You need not wait for my worship.  You will never be more worthy of worship than you are right now.  I worship you here and now.  Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!

December 27, 2015:  SOAP #2215:  

Scripture:  Revelation (NIV) 2:2 I know your deeds… 9 I know your afflictions and your poverty—yet you are rich!… 13 I know where you live… 19 I know your deeds, your love and faith, your service and perseverance, and that you are now doing more than you did at first. 3:1 I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead…. 8 I know your deeds…. 15 I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot.

Observation:   What a comfort; He knows!  What a warning: He knows!  Our Judge knows!   He will not be fooled!   No one will be able to twist the truth when we stand before him.  We will not be able to change His mind with excuses.

Application:  I do not have to worry about what others say about me; my Judge knows!   No eternal decision will be affected by the accusations of someone else!  On the other side, I cannot be careless about my actions; He knows.  Eternal decisions will not be affected by my excuses.

Prayer:   Lord, I am so glad you are the Judge!  I know I can trust you.  I know that you are just and righteous.  I also know that you are loving and willing to forgive!   Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!

December 26, 2015:  SOAP #2214:  

Scripture:  Psalm (NIV) 119:124 Deal with your servant according to your love and teach me your decrees. 125 I am your servant; give me discernment that I may understand your statutes.

Observation:   The psalmist was not asking God to send him to school, but to become his teacher.  In acknowledging that he was the Lord’s servant, he requests that God impart discernment to him.  With wisdom from the Lord the psalmist would know how to live according to God’s Word.

The primary way God imparts discernment today is through the indwelling presence of His Holy Spirit, as Jesus promised.  Pastors and Bible School professors may be excellent teachers, but they will acknowledge there is no better teacher than the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit that lives in each believer is the same Holy Spirit that led Jesus in ministry.

Application:   There are several steps I can take to keep open to the Holy Spirit.  I can be faithful to read God’s Word.  I can listen to what the people around me hear the Holy Spirit speaking to them.  I can step out in faith and do what I believe the Holy Spirit is leading me to do.  I will make mistakes, but I will learn.  Then I will make fewer mistakes.

Prayer:   Holy Spirit, give me discernment that I may understand how live and minister each day like Jesus. Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!

Christmas Greetings!  May the Presence of Him who came, lived, died, rose again and ascended to a place of great glory be very noticeable today and in the coming year!   My gift to you—each morning passing along God’s daily gift to me—a scripture and a thought.   Leon

December 25, 2016:  SOAP #2213:

Scripture:   1John (NIV) 3:16 This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.

Observation:   A young person hearing someone saying something they strongly agree with might say, “Right on!”  In church someone might say, “Amen!”  In Viet Nam we said, “There it is.”  When I read the first sentence above it seem appropriate to say, “THERE IT IS!”  It cannot be said better than that!  If you want to know what love is, look at Jesus!  At Christmas we celebrate a life of love that led to death on a cross to pay for man’s sins.

Application:   And if I want to know how to love, I need to look at Jesus!  Love is not measured by good feelings or nice talk but by sacrifice.

Prayer:   Lord, teach me what love is; teach me how to love.  Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!

December 24, 2015:  SOAP #2211:  

Scripture:  John (NIV) 19:16 Finally Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified. So the soldiers took charge of Jesus.

Observation:   Yes, the soldiers took charge of Jesus, but in reality, it was Jesus who was in charge.  His death was the reason He had come to earth.  This was the moment.  He had always been in command of His environment and this time was no different.  He had previously made it clear to his disciples what was going to happen to him.  No one was taking His life—He was giving His life!  When I was in the Navy, it would seem that the Navy was in control of my life.  But really it was the Lord that directed my life.  Once I was given assignments for which I was not qualified, but someone had mistakenly penciled a code number in my record back in Washington D.C.  I was given orders based on that entry.  That assignment made it possible for me to become the pastor of Bayview Chapel.  Obviously God was in charge!

Application:   Jesus was “in charge” at the time of His death.  I belong to Him so I can rest assured that He will be “in charge” at the time of my death.  It is not how I leave this world that matters the most, but how I enter the world to come.  I must be ready.

Prayer:   Lord, You were in charge of your life and death and resurrection.  I can trust you to be in charge of my life and death and entrance into heaven!  Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!

December 23, 2015:  SOAP #2211:  

Scripture:  John (NIV) 15:2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful…. 8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples…. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last.

Observation:   Fruit must be important because Jesus spoke of it the last time he was with the disciples before going to the cross.  The fruit on a tree is an outward expression of the inner nature of that tree.  Oranges come from a tree that has the nature of an orange tree, etc.  And so it is with people in whom God dwells by his Spirit.  There are outward expressions of that inner nature.  Galatians 5 gives a list of fruit that can be seen:  love, joy, peace, etc.  Others who come to believe in Jesus through one’s testimony are also fruit.

Application:   A Christian who has no fruit is like a fruit tree that bears no fruit.  It is unnatural.  The branch that bears no fruit is to be cut off.  –When I do not feed the spiritual man, the flesh becomes stronger and begins to express its fruit.  I take on the attitudes and expressions of the world.  –But when I focus on building up the spiritual part by doing things that help me grow in my relationship to God, the fruit of the Spirit can be seen in my life more and more.
Prayer:   Lord, by your Holy Spirit make me more like you.  May my life bring you glory by having much fruit.  Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!

December 22, 2015:  SOAP #2210:  

Scripture:  John (NIV) 12:42 Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in him [Jesus]. But because of the Pharisees they would not confess their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue; 43 for they loved praise from men more than praise from God.

Observation:  They knew the truth and they believed in Jesus, but…  How sad! Today in eternity they surely must regret the day they did not value the praise of God more than the praise of men.

Application:  When I stand before the Lord, all the plaques and certificates of having done a good job will be meaningless.  Only His “Well done!” will have meaning.

Prayer:   Heavenly Father, even today Your smile means more than all the commendations of men.  In Your Presence all earthly rewards will be forgotten.  Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!