June 30, 2017: SOAP #2766: Amos 7-9; Psalm 104: Titus 2

Scripture: Psalm (NIV) 104:33 I will sing to the LORD all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.
34 May my meditation be pleasing to him, as I rejoice in the LORD.

Observation: For my meditation to be pleasing to Him, He must be aware of what I am thinking. Of course, He is aware of my thoughts because He lives inside me.

For my meditation to please to Him, my meditations should be full of appreciation of Him. My meditations should be expressions of faith.

Application: I need to think through my day and recall my meditations. The Holy Spirit will help me evaluate my thoughts. Worry and doubt are not meditations that please the Lord.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, forgive me for letting worry and doubt take over my meditations. I want you to enjoy being a part of my life. Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!

June 29, 2017: SOAP #2765: Amos 4-6; Psalm 86,87; Titus 1

Scripture: Psalm (NIV) 86:8 Among the gods there is none like you, O Lord; no deeds can compare with yours.
9 All the nations you have made will come and worship before you, O Lord; they will bring glory to your name.
10 For you are great and do marvelous deeds; you alone are God.

Observation: David, in his prayer to the Lord, comments on the great deeds of the Lord! There is no god like the Lord! The gods of the nations surrounding Israel were idols. Idols can say nothing and do nothing! Obviously, the deeds of the idol gods could in no way compare with the deeds of the Lord God of Israel! They could not answer the prayers of their worshippers, not only because they could not speak, but also because they could not hear! There is only ONE God!

Application: What David had discovered as truth is just as true for me today. There is no god like my God!

Prayer: My God, you alone are God! Your deeds are marvelous. I am greatly blest to be your child, your servant! Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!

June 28, 2017: SOAP #2764: Amos 1-3; Psalm 80; 2Timothy 4

Scripture: 2Timothy (NIV) 4:5 [The Apostle Paul writing to young Timothy] But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.

Observation: “Keep your head” (NIV); “be watchful” (NKJV); “keep a clear head” (HSCB); “keep your eye on what you are doing” (Message); “be steady” (RSV); “exercise habitual self-control” (Wey); “watch in all things” (YLT). Paul was instructing Timothy not to get so emotionally involved that he could not think properly. He was not to let the things of the world cloud his thinking.

Many politicians today present their arguments in such a way to sway the emotions of the public for support. The logical arguments of right or wrong, or existing law, or financial effect are pushed aside as stories designed to bypass the head and sway the heart are paraded on the news. We need politicians who “keep their head in all situations.”

Application: I remember receiving a prescription for oxycodone from a dentist for a toothache. The first pill caused such a buzz in my head that I did not take a second. I should be careful not to let my thinking become “fuzzy.” There are many things in the world designed to keep me from thinking clearly—from clearly hearing what God is saying to me.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank you for including such wise directions in your Word. May your Holy Spirit interrupt my fuzzy thinking. Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!

June 27, 2017: SOAP #2763: 1Kings 20-21; 2Chronicles 17; Colossians 3

Scripture: Colossians (NIV) 3:1 Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3 For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. … 5 Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.

Observation: In these verses we see two facts. First: I have died to my old way of life and now I am alive with Christ! (verse 3) What a change. It requires a whole new way of thinking. Second: I am to “put to death” the things of the sinful nature that hang on to me. The life of Christ within me stops some actions and starts others.

Application: For several months after we were settled into our present home, I often missed the turn going home because my mind had been trained to go to WheatState Camp where we stayed with my parents our first month in Kansas. I knew where we lived. I could give you the address. But when my mind was not “set” on going home, it seemed “programmed” to go to the camp. I had died to living with my parents; I now had a new address. I had to “put to death” the old thinking and way of getting home. But when I was driving, I sometimes drove as though I still lived at the camp.

The same is true in my spiritual life. Sometimes I still live as though the old worldly man is still alive!

Prayer: Holy Spirit, remind me that I have “died” and help me “put to death” thoughts and actions that displease my Heavenly Father. I know I cannot succeed without you living in me. I need your life power and wisdom. Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!

June 26, 2017: SOAP #2762: Jonah 1-4; 2Timothy 2

Scripture: 2Timothy (NIV) 2:8 Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David. This is my gospel, 9 for which I am suffering even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But God’s word is not chained.

Observation: Paul was experiencing the limitations of being in prison. But of this he is confident: God’s Word does not have those limitations! God’s Word has the same characteristics as God. It is eternal, and not limited by time. It is omnipresent, and not limited by space. It is omniscient, and not limited by something unknown. It is omnipotent, and not limited by weaknesses. It is spirit, and not limited by physical characteristics. It is truth, and not limited by error.

Application: My love for God can be seen in my love for His Word. The better I know God’s Word, the better I know God. By knowing His Word, I know what to expect. I know what He thinks about the situations I face. I understand His reactions. I know what He expects me to do.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, your wisdom can be seen in your Word. That you want people to know you can be seen in that you gave us your Word. Thank you. Holy Spirit, teach me through your Word. Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!

June 25, 2017: SOAP #2761: Joel 1-3; 2Timothy 1

Scripture: 2Timothy (NIV) 1:15 You know that everyone in the province of Asia has deserted me, including Phygelus and Hermogenes.
16 May the Lord show mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, because he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains.
17 On the contrary, when he was in Rome, he searched hard for me until he found me.
18 May the Lord grant that he will find mercy from the Lord on that day! You know very well in how many ways he helped me in Ephesus.

Observation: Every play has BOTH main characters and supporting characters. Every church as BOTH leaders and followers. Paul knew the value of loyal friends. Onesiphorus had learned that Paul was in Rome and went to great effort to find him. He did not let Paul’s circumstances, being a prisoner, stop him from reaching out to Paul. He found “many ways,” various ways to minister to Paul.

Application: Everyone does not need help in the same way. I appreciate the “many ways” people have helped me. May they too find mercy in this life and in the next. May the Lord supply the help they need as the Lord has used them to supply the help I needed.

Prayer: Holy Spirit, show me the “many ways” I can be of help to others. Use me to bless others as you have used others to bless me. Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!

June 24, 2017: SOAP #2760: 2Kings 11,12; 2Chronicles 24; 1Timothy 6

Scripture: 2Kings (NIV) 11:17 Jehoiada [the priest] then made a covenant between the LORD and the king and people that they would be the LORD’s people. He also made a covenant between the king and the people.

Observation: The religious leader, Jehoiada, did not try to become king, the political leader. He served in three ways; in removing a godless woman who had made herself queen, in establishing the proper king on the throne, and by influencing the young king to rule in a godly way. His service was so appreciated by the people that he was buried with the kings when he died at the age of 130. (2Chronicles 24:2,15-16)

Application: Without doubt, I believe that Godly leaders were greatly used to bring a change in the government of the USA. Now is not the time for them to step back, but to use their influence to encourage our new leaders to govern with righteousness and wisdom, with the counsel of God’s Word. Many believers prayed for the elections; now they should pray for the safety and decisions of those elected.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, we prayed for our elections, now we pray for those elected. They need you now more than ever. Thank you for recently sparing many lives! Protect them, and give them wisdom. Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!

June 23, 2017: SOAP #2759: 2Kings 10; 2Chronicles 22,23; 1Timothy 5

Scripture: 1Timothy (NIV) 5:8 If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.

Observation: Christianity is a very practical religion. True Christians are NOT so heavenly minded that they are of no earthly good. They are aware of the needs of their family members. And they are concerned enough to provide for them.

Application: If I am sensitive to the Holy Spirit, I may be aware of my family’s needs even before they ask for help. The gift I may give can become an extra special blessing when I discover that it is an answer to a need known only to God! Their request was made only to God. God’s answer came through me!

Prayer: Holy Spirit, you know the needs of my natural and spiritual family. May you find me an open vessel you can use to assist them. Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!

June 22, 2017: SOAP #2758: 2Kings 8,9; 2Chronicles 21; 1Timothy 4

Scripture: 1Timothy (NIV) 4:7 Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives’ tales; rather, train yourself to be godly.
8 For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.

Observation: Paul is writing to a young preacher. It is important not to become sidetracked on issues that have no value. Physical conditioning has value but Godliness has great value. Allowing the character of God to be developed in a leader’s life not only has value for the present life, but for the life to come. Godliness in a leader’s life not only benefits the leader, but also those who are following.

Application: If the enemy can get me focused on non-essential issues, time and resources are robbed from priorities. It is God’s desire that Jesus be recognized living in me.

Prayer: Holy Spirit, help me keep the main thing the main thing! Help me not to get sidetracked. As I age, may it be easier for You to be seen in me. Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!

June 201, 2017: SOAP #2757: 2Kings 6,7; 2Chronicles 20; 1Timothy 3

Scripture: 2Chronicles (NIV) 20:2 Some men came and told Jehoshaphat, “A vast army is coming against you from Edom, from the other side of the Sea. It is already in Hazezon Tamar” (that is, En Gedi).
3 Alarmed, Jehoshaphat resolved to enquire of the LORD, and he proclaimed a fast for all Judah.

Observation: Many people remember the end of this battle, but not the beginning. The crisis ended with the choir leading the army into battle only to find that the only thing left to do was to pick up the spoil!

It is good to consider the beginning of the crisis. When King Jehoshaphat first received the news, his first response was to call the nation to fast and pray! The great victory started with prayer!

Application: For every crisis I face, prayer is the place to start!

Prayer: Heavenly Father, how foolish of me to think that I can face any crisis in my own strength and with my own wisdom. Surely, I have been a believer long enough to know that I need you in everything I do! Thank you for re-emphasizing this today. Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!