March 31, 2016: SOAP #2310:

Scripture: 1Corinthians (NIV) 16:8-9 But I will stay on at Ephesus until Pentecost, because a great door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many who oppose me.

Observation: Paul did not interpret opposition to mean that he was out of God’s will and should be moving on. Paul saw opposition as a sign that he was where he was supposed to be and doing what he was supposed to do. He would stay in Ephesus. For Paul: opportunity + opposition + commitment = fruitful ministry. From this ministry came the book of Ephesians!

Application: If I am being effective doing God’s work, I should not be surprised if Satan works to hinder. He would love for me to get discouraged and quit or leave.

Prayer:   Lord, I pray that opposition will not hinder me from accomplishing your purposes for my life. Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!

March 30, 2016: SOAP #2309:

Scripture: 1Corinthians (NIV) 15:54 When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”

Observation: Many people have suffered through extremely hard times and then come into a place of great success in which they became very thankful for the hard times. The path to the victory was through the hard times. Their troubles were swallowed up in their blessings!

Women go through much pain in child bearing, but all is forgotten as their little bundle of joy is laid in their arms. The pain is swallowed up in the joy.

Until Jesus comes and calls the church to be with him, the only way to enter heaven is through the doorway called “death.” Some deaths happen in a clean environment; others in filth. Some deaths happen in a peaceful setting; others in violence. Some deaths happen quickly; others take days or weeks, even years. Whatever the dying process, those who are born again can all have the assurance that death will be “swallowed up in victory!”   The struggle will be forgotten in the rejoicing.

Application: So “until then my heart will go on singing.” I know “it will be worth it all when we see Jesus.” “When we all get to heaven” “everybody will be happy over there!” “What a day that will be when my Jesus I shall see!”

Prayer:   Lord, for you there must be two very special days in the life of each of your children—the day they made you the Lord of their life and the day they pass through death’s door into your presence! Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!

March 29, 2016: SOAP #2308:

Scripture: Judges (NIV) 6:1 Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the LORD, and for seven years he gave them into the hands of the Midianites. … 6 Midian so impoverished the Israelites that they cried out to the LORD for help.

Observation: God is faithful to Himself. He speaks truth. God is a Promise Keeper. The Israelites discovered that God kept His promise to bless them when they obeyed him. (Deuteronomy 28:1)   They also discovered that He kept His promise to discipline or punish them when they did not keep his commands. (Deuteronomy 28:15)  And when they got desperate, they knew Who could bring help: “they cried out to the LORD for help.”

Application: Any nation, any people group, any family, any individual—all need to understand God’s character—especially if they claim to be God’s people. God keeps His promises—both those to bless and those to punish.

Prayer:   Lord, you are perfectly holy and ever true. Your Word is to be trusted because you are faithful. Your character never changes. Thank you for being faithful to your Word. Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!

March 28, 2016: SOAP #2307: Judges 4-5;  

Scripture: Judges (NIV) 4:14 Then Deborah said to Barak, “Go! This is the day the LORD has given Sisera into your hands. Has not the LORD gone ahead of you?” So Barak went down Mount Tabor, followed by ten thousand men. 15 At Barak’s advance, the LORD routed Sisera and all his chariots and army by the sword, and Sisera abandoned his chariot and fled on foot.

Observation: Deborah was woman God was using to maintain social order in Israel. Israel needed to be free from the domination of Sisera and Israel looked to Deborah for guidance. Barak was the leader of Israel’s army and Deborah was giving him guidance and encouragement from the Lord. God had decreed victory for Israel. “Has not the LORD gone ahead of you?”

Application: I have found three things: 1. God sends me; 2. He goes with me; and 3. He is already there when I arrive!   It is so important that I listen to His voice! It is so important that I follow His directions. It is so important that I let Him be the first one on the scene!

Prayer:   Lord, what encouragement it is to know that when I arrive I will find you are already there. Remind me to look for what You are already doing.   Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!

March 27, 2016: SOAP #2306:  

Scripture: Judges (NIV) 1:1 After the death of Joshua, the Israelites asked the LORD, “Who will be the first to go up and fight for us against the Canaanites?” 2 The LORD answered, “Judah is to go; I have given the land into their hands.” … 4 When Judah attacked, the LORD gave the Canaanites and Perizzites into their hands and they struck down ten thousand men at Bezek.

Observation: God spoke to Moses. When Moses died, God spoke to Joshua. Now Joshua has died, but God is still speaking!   The Israelites knew that God had not died and they expected Him to answer their request for guidance. God did not disappoint them!

Application: My Godly grandparents died, but God still spoke to my parents. My parents have now been gone since the 1997 and 1999, but God has not stopped speaking. Many key people whom I trusted to hear from God have died, but God is still speaking. I must move ahead expecting God to continue speaking. I need His direction to make it through each day.

Prayer:   Lord, thank you that you spoke to Moses and Joshua. Thank you that you continued to speak when they were gone. Thank you that you spoke to my grandparents and parents. Now that they are gone, I am so thankful that you continue to speak to me! I appreciate you! Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!

March 26, 2016: SOAP #2305: 7 

Scripture: 1Corinthians (NIV) 11:26 For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

Observation:  Jesus started the practice of communion at the Passover Celebration He shared with His disciples on the night He was arrested. Here Paul is giving instructions for taking communion. Of course this is not the only scripture passage regarding communion, but here are three things I get from this verse.

Application:  First: it is to be personal. It is to be eaten—swallowed into my body. My relationship with God is personal!   Second: By the way I live, I proclaim that He is alive; but in communion I proclaim His death. I proclaim that I believe He died, and that He died for me. Third: I am to do this until He comes. I am looking forward to the day I will eat with Him in heaven. What I do on earth is directly tied to what I will do in heaven.

Prayer:   Lord, as I anticipate celebrating your resurrection Sunday, today I am drawn to Your death. What love and what grace; you have drawn me into the heart of the story! Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!

March 25, 2016: SOAP #2304:  

Scripture: Joshua (NIV) 21:45 Not one of all the LORD’s good promises to the house of Israel failed; everyone was fulfilled. Joshua 23:14 [Joshua speaking] Now I am about to go the way of all the earth. You know with all your heart and soul that not one of all the good promises the LORD your God gave you has failed. Every promise has been fulfilled; not one has failed.

Observation: On the church calendar, today is “Good Friday.” It is the day the church customarily celebrates the death of Jesus on the cross. Joshua is a type of Jesus, and Joshua would be the Hebrew name of Jesus. The above verses remind me of one of Jesus comments from the cross. Joshua said, “Every promise has been fulfilled, not one has failed.”   On the cross Jesus said, “It is finished!” Every promise God made through Jesus was fulfilled! Jesus mission was finished!

Application: The payment for my sins is already complete! It is finished! There is no more sacrifice for sin to be made, nor would it be accepted. I receive communion with both the somber realization that it was my sins that caused His suffering and with a rejoicing heart that it is finished! Now I can “glory in the cross.” (Galatians 6:14)

Prayer:   Lord, On the cross you did for me that which I could not do for myself. In the cross Your amazing grace and love were demonstrated for all creation to see. It was not just words; it was reality! Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!

March 24, 2016: SOAP #2303:

Scripture: 1Corinthians (NIV) 9:16 Yet when I preach the gospel, I cannot boast [of not receiving finances in return for his ministry], for I am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!    17 If I preach voluntarily, I have a reward; if not voluntarily, I am simply discharging the trust committed to me. 18 What then is my reward? Just this: that in preaching the gospel I may offer it free of charge, and so not make use of my rights in preaching it.

Observation: Paul has just presented the justification that those who preach the gospel should expect to receive money for living from that ministry. However, he rejoices that he does not rely on his preaching to earn his living. He does not preach in order to earn a salary, but because God has assigned Him to preach. He does not have a choice—yet he does have a choice—he can do it voluntarily/willingly, or as a requirement. His refusal to require a salary is proof that he is doing it voluntarily. His joy is in the giving of such a wonderful gift!

Application: I have been on both sides. For years I received a salary as the pastor of a church.   Now that I am retired, I have the joy of providing the ministry God has assigned me with no expectation of financial return. And I consider it a special joy to be able to provide finances to some who translate and distribute these SOAPs. The money comes from another of God’s assignment—driving a school bus.

Prayer:   Lord, thank you for the calling and the privilege of serving you. Thank you for the joy of providing ministry with no expectation or need of payment. I am blest! Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!

March 23, 2016: SOAP #2302:  

Scripture: Joshua (NIV) 15:1 The allotment for the tribe of Judah, clan by clan, extended down to the territory of Edom, to the Desert of Zin in the extreme south. 2 Their southern boundary started from the bay at the southern end of the Salt Sea, 3 crossed south of Scorpion Pass, continued on to Zin and went over to the south of Kadesh Barnea. Then it ran past Hezron up to Addar and curved around to Karka. 4 It then passed along to Azmon and joined the Wadi of Egypt, ending at the sea. This is their southern boundary.

Observation: The Land God promised to Abraham was now in the control of the Israelites. It remained for it to be divided among the tribes and assigned to each family. This was not communism in which each family worked the common fields for the common good of all the families in the nation. Each family was given ownership of property with boundaries that identified what was theirs and what was their neighbors.

Application: Boundaries are good for me. They identify what is mine and what are my responsibilities. Everything has not been given to me. I am not responsible for everything. On the other hand, I need to protect and guard what God has placed within my boundaries. For that I will be held accountable.

It was “We the people…” of the United States of America that established this nation. By our constitution we set boundaries on what the government can and cannot do. As citizens we need to know those boundaries and hold our government accountable.

Prayer:   Lord, help me to know the boundaries you have set for me. You have clearly set them in Your Word. I want to live joyfully within those boundaries. Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!

March 22, 2016: SOAP #2301:

Scripture: Joshua (NIV) 13: 9 So on that day Moses swore to me, ‘The land on which your feet have walked will be your inheritance and that of your children forever, because you have followed the LORD my God wholeheartedly.’ 10 … So here I am today, eighty-five years old! 11 I am still as strong today as the day Moses sent me out; I’m just as vigorous to go out to battle now as I was then. 12 … 13 Then Joshua blessed Caleb … and gave him Hebron as his inheritance.

Observation: All through the 40 years of wondering in the wilderness—Caleb remembered Moses’ promise to him. All through the fighting the godless inhabitants of the Promised Land—Caleb remembered those promises. The land is now securely in the hands of the Israelites and Caleb comes to claim his inheritance.

Application: Without a doubt, it is worthwhile to serve God wholeheartedly! It is good to remember the promises of God!   There comes a time when those promises must be claimed. There comes a time to take possession of what God has promised.

Prayer:   Lord, I can never go wrong in committing everything to you. Like Caleb, I want to serve You wholeheartedly. Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!