July 22, 2018: SOAP #3153: Isaiah 36-37; Psalm 76; 1Peter 1

Scripture:  Isaiah (NIV) 37:28 “But I know where you stay and when you come and go and how you rage against me. 29 Because you rage against me and because your insolence has reached my ears, I will put my hook in your nose and my bit in your mouth, and I will make you return by the way you came.

Observation:   The army of Assyria was staged to take Jerusalem.  The message from the King of Assyria was that Jerusalem should surrender.  The gods of all the nations they had conquered could not help their worshippers against the Assyrian army and the God of Judah was no better than the other gods.  The army was set to attack Jerusalem, but their words were an attack against Jerusalem’s God.

But the God of Jerusalem was not like the other gods.  The other gods were carved out of wood and stone, Jerusalem’s God was alive!   The other gods had ears of wood and stone.  Jerusalem’s God not only heard the prayers of His people, He also heard the disrespectful words of the Assyrian king!

God took the king’s words seriously.  God had a message for the King.  God knew the king’s movements.  The next morning 185,000 men in the Assyrian camp were dead.  (Isaiah 37:36)   So, King Sennacherib broke camp and returned to Nineveh as the Lord said.  (verse 29 above.)

Application:  Jerusalem’s God is my God!  He claims me as His child!  He hears me!  His power is greater than anything that comes against me.  I cannot hide from God, and neither can those wanting to hurt me.  He knows where I live; He knows where they live!   He knows my thoughts; He knows their thoughts.

Prayer:   Heavenly Father, I trust your wisdom and power.  You have more than enough wisdom to work through my problems.  You have more than enough power to make things right.  And, you have more than enough love to continue treating me as your child!  I am blest! Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!

July 21, 2018: SOAP #3152: 2Kings 18-19; 2Chronicles 32; James 5

Scripture:  2Chronicles (NIV) 32:7 “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged because of the king of Assyria and the vast army with him, for there is a greater power with us than with him. 8 With him is only the arm of flesh, but with us is the LORD our God to help us and to fight our battles.” And the people gained confidence from what Hezekiah the king of Judah said.

Observation:   The Assyrian army had recently taken the northern nation of Israel captive and now they were ready to take Judah.  From all logical observations, King Hezekiah should have surrendered without a fight.  But Hezekiah was leading Judah in a time of national repentance and honoring God.  Hezekiah’s confidence was not in Judah’s ability to resist the Assyrian army; his confidence was in Judah’s God, the God of creation!

In verses 7 and 8 above, King Hezekiah addressed the nation.  His words were full of faith and imparted faith and confidence to the people!

Application:  Our nation needs people of faith to be leaders and to speak out their faith.  We need leaders who act and talk like God is with them and is greater than any problem we face as a nation!

God is with me and is greater than anything I will face today.  That is the truth, and I need to talk and act like it is true!  My words should encourage the faith of others.

Prayer:   Holy Spirit, raise up national leaders whose faith in you can be seen and heard.  Keep reminding me to speak the truth of Your presence and power.  You are not only with me, you are for me!  Your wisdom and power are more than sufficient for anything I will face today.  May those around me gain confidence in you. Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!

July 20, 2018: SOAP #3151: 2Chronicles 29-31; James 4

Scripture:  James (NIV) 4:17 Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins.

Observation:   About the time pride sets in because I have done quite well in keeping the 10 Commandments, I come across this verse!  Sin is more than doing what is forbidden, it is also not doing what I know I should do!   Sin is more than committing evil, it is also omitting good!

Application:  I need not feel guilty for every opportunity to do good, but for “the good I know I ought to do.”  It is when the Holy Spirit draws my attention to something I can do, or someone I can help.  It becomes a task assigned to me.  Perhaps I am tired, and I shrug it off.  Perhaps there are other things I would rather do.  Perhaps I do not like the person the Lord shows me to help.  When my preference overrides my obedience—that is sin.

Prayer:  Heavenly Father, forgive me for dragging my feet in doing some of the things you have assigned me.  Forgive me for questioning your direction.  Holy Spirit, I need your assistance to do the things assigned to me.  Amen.

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!

July 19, 2018: SOAP #3150: 2Kings 17; 2Chronicles 28; Psalm 46; James 3

Scripture:  James (NIV) 3:1 Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.
2 We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check.

Observation:   When I came to this passage, I had to smile.  How clearly verse 2 has been demonstrated in President Trump’s recent press conference where he misspoke.  What a storm the news media has made of his mistake!   Obviously, our President is not perfect, which should not be a surprise to anyone.  He needs our prayers.

The first verse speaks of the responsibility of teachers who mold the minds of our youth.  What they teach will be lived out in the lives of their students.  Perhaps the same strictness will be reserved for all who work to mold the thinking of others.  That would include pastors.  It would also include the news media.

Application:  Having more years of living experience, and more knowledge than when I was younger, I tend to think a little more before speaking.   Reviewing what I am about to say with what I know about God can keep me from misspeaking.  Allowing time for the Holy Spirit to give me the “go ahead” or “not now” keeps me from a lot of trouble.

Knowing that I am not perfect, I need to be quick to acknowledge when I have misspoken and apologize.

Prayer:   Holy Spirit, as David prayed, “Set a guard over my mouth, O LORD; keep watch over the door of my lips.”  (Psalm 143:3) Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!

July 18, 2018: SOAP #3149: Isaiah 32-35; James 2

Scripture:  James (NIV) 2:12 Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, 13 because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment!

Observation:  Interesting!  A law that brings freedom!  The emphasis of the Law, through the Ten Commandments is to define sin.  And since we have all sinned, the law brings condemnation.  But it is good to acknowledge that the same law that defined and judged sin also mercifully provided a way to be forgiven.  The law graciously accepted animal sacrifices in Old Testament days, looking forward to the perfect sacrifice.  It was in keeping the law that Jesus demonstrated the greatest action of love and mercy ever seen.   He lived without breaking the law, then died as though He had broken the law.  He did it as the necessary payment for those who had broken the law.

Application:  In perfectly keeping the law, Jesus set me free!!!  In breaking the law, I reap the wages of sin—death.  In keeping the law, including the sacrifice demanded for sin, Jesus provided me freedom from the penalty of sin.  With my sins covered by the sinless blood of Jesus, I am justified—made just as if I had never sinned!   I receive mercy!  I am free from the penalty of the law!  The law that once condemned me, now brings me freedom!

Prayer:   Holy Spirit, help me to “speak and act” as one who generously gives mercy because I have received mercy in abundance.  Jesus provided me enough mercy to cover all my sins, and even more so that I can be merciful to all around me.  Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!

July 17, 2018: SOAP #3148: Isaiah 29-31; James 1

Scripture:  James (NIV) 1:27 Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

Observation:  If I want to please my wife, I need to know what she thinks and likes.  And If I want to please God, I need to know what God thinks and likes.  In this passage, we see something that is very important to Him.

Application:  How we treat those who are dependent on others for their livelihood (like orphans and widows in their distress) is important to God.  This verse tells me that I need to know those I am helping—know them well enough to help them personally and appropriately.  If “their distress” is hunger, I should feed them.  If “their distress” is clothing, I should cloth them.  If “their distress” is loneliness, I should visit them and spend time with them.  Some “distresses” can be helped with money, but all need personal involvement.

AND there is more.  Pleasing God means that I “keep myself from being polluted by the world.”  How I think, speak, and act is also very important to God!  It is too easy to pick up the world’s attitudes.  Those attitudes are like the “hitchhiker” stickers that stick to my clothes when walking through a field of weeds.  Afterwards I must sit down and carefully pick them off one at a time.

Prayer:   Heavenly Father, pleasing you is my daily goal.  Holy Spirit help me bring a smile to my Father’s face.  Help me bring joy to His heart.  Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!

July 16, 2018: SOAP #3147: Isaiah 25-28; Hebrews 13

Scripture:  Isaiah (NIV) 28:24 When a farmer ploughs for planting, does he plough continually? Does he keep on breaking up and harrowing the soil? 25 When he has levelled the surface, does he not sow caraway and scatter cumin? Does he not plant wheat in its place, barley in its plot, and spelt in its field? 26 His God instructs him and teaches him the right way.
27 Caraway is not threshed with a sledge, nor is a cartwheel rolled over cumin; caraway is beaten out with a rod, and cumin with a stick.
28 Grain must be ground to make bread; so, one does not go on threshing it forever. Though he drives the wheels of his threshing-cart over it, his horses do not grind it. 29 All this also comes from the LORD Almighty, wonderful in counsel and magnificent in wisdom.

Observation:   God in His Wisdom made the seeds different and, in His Wisdom, teaches the farmer how to properly harvest the seeds.  Applying the differences insures a successful harvest.

Application:  The Same God who gives the farmer wisdom in harvesting the various types of seed can give us wisdom for the hearts of people.  Knowing what worked to reach one group of people, does not always work with another group.  We need to spend time with the Lord of the Harvest for His wise counsel.  He is “wonderful in counsel and magnificent in wisdom.”  What worked in one city or village, may not be the key in another location.

The Lord is teaching me that ministering to senior citizens is much different from ministering to the youth.  We need to ask God for specific keys for the hearts of our families and those to which he sends us.

Prayer:   Holy Spirit, you are “wonderful in counsel and magnificent in wisdom.”   Teach me, and those reading these SOAPs, how to specifically reach the individuals, and families, and nations to whom you have sent us.  Give us the key for each heart, we pray.  Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!

July 15, 2018: SOAP #3146: Isaiah 22-24; Hebrews 12

Scripture:  Isaiah (NIV) 24:1 See, the LORD is going to lay waste the earth and devastate it; he will ruin its face and scatter its inhabitants—2 it will be the same for priest as for people, for master as for servant, for mistress as for maid, for seller as for buyer, for borrower as for lender, for debtor as for creditor…. 17 Terror and pit and snare await you, O people of the earth. 18 Whoever flees at the sound of terror will fall into a pit; whoever climbs out of the pit will be caught in a snare. The floodgates of the heavens are opened, the foundations of the earth shake. 19 The earth is broken up, the earth is split asunder, the earth is thoroughly shaken. 20 The earth reels like a drunkard, it sways like a hut in the wind; so heavy upon it is the guilt of its rebellion that it falls—never to rise again.

Observation:   There are many things in life that separate people into different groups.  Sex, nationalities, skin color, language, wealth, education…  Some people live in huge gated homes, others live on the streets.  So many differences, yet we all live on the same earth.  What happens to the earth happens to all of us.  Volcanoes, earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes, tornadoes—no one escapes.  Disasters that come from nature do not check to which group we belong.  And so, eternity awaits all.  As Hebrews 9:27 says, “It is appointed unto man once to die, and after death, the judgment.”   No one escapes.

Application:  The holy nature of God, the Judge, demands that sin be punished.  But the loving nature of God, the Heavenly Father, demanded that a way of escape be made for those who trust Him.

Prayer:   Heavenly Father, thank you, thank you, thank you.  Thank you for your love for me and your wisdom to provide a way for me to share eternity in your heaven!  Thank you for your Son, Jesus who died for me and rose again.  Thank you for your Holy Spirit who is helping me to grasp the wonder of your perfect holiness, your immeasurable love and your great wisdom Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!

July 14, 2018: SOAP #3145: Isaiah 19-21; Hebrews 11

Scripture:  Hebrews (NIV) 11:1 Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see…
13 All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth.

Observation:  All the people mentioned in this eleventh chapter of Hebrews had one thing in common—they had faith.  Yet each one mentioned in the chapter did something different.  Their actions were based on something they accepted as truth even though it was unseen and unprovable.

Application:  Faith is a common and normal part of our everyday life.  I accept someone’s word and adjust my actions accordingly even though I cannot prove that they will keep their promise.  I order food at a restaurant and eat it with faith that those I could not see have prepared it properly.   I drive at 65 miles an hour down a two-lane road with faith that the cars coming toward me will remain in their lane.  That is faith!

If I can have faith in people, how much more should I have faith in God!  If I trust the word of man, how much more should I trust the Word of God!  But God has an enemy, satan, who sows doubting thoughts in my mind.  He makes doubt seem so logical that it appears I have no choice but to believe what he says.  But, in reality, I do have a choice!  I can choose to believe God and His Word!

Prayer:   Holy Spirit, God has an enemy, but I have YOU!  Keep whispering truth into my mind.  Keep planting truth in my thoughts.  Keep pointing me in the right direction.  Keep reminding me of what I have been reading in God’s Word!  Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!

July 13, 2018: SOAP #3144: Isaiah 15-18; Hebrews 10

Scripture:  Hebrews (NIV) 10:1 The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming— not the realities themselves. For this reason, it can never, by the same sacrifices REPEATED ENDLESSLY YEAR AFTER YEAR, make perfect those who draw near to worship…3 But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins, 4 because it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.

9 Then he said, “Here I am, I have come to do your will.” He sets aside the first to establish the second. 10 And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ ONCE FOR ALL. 11 Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; AGAIN, AND AGAIN he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. 12 But when this priest had offered FOR ALL TIME ONE SACRIFICE for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God.

Observation:  Reading through the book of Hebrews thrills me as I consider the great work of Jesus on the cross.   In one mighty act, Jesus showed the sinfulness of sin and the holiness of God, the cruelty of man and the Love of God.  Having been tempted and tested in every way as man, he died as a sinless man—the only man who did not deserve to die.  Truly He died for the sins of others—for my sins.

Application:  Today we can rejoice in the cross.  We can glory in the cross because, as He declared on the cross, “It is finished!”   He does not need to suffer and die again.  His sacrifice of himself was sufficient to cover the sins of “for all time.”

Prayer:   Heavenly Father, how proud you must be of your Son.  How thankful I am for my Lord.  Holy Spirit, help me to live in a way that expressed my thanks and honors Him.  Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!