October 19, 2018: SOAP #3242:  Job 5; Psalm 108; Acts 10-11

Scripture:  Psalm (NIV) 108:1 A song. A psalm of David. My heart is steadfast, O God; I will sing and make music with all my soul.  2 Awake, harp and lyre! I will awaken the dawn. 3 I will praise you, O LORD, among the nations; I will sing of you among the peoples. 4 For great is your love, higher than the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the skies. 5 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens, and let your glory be over all the earth.

Observation:  As I read the Bible every day, I listen in my spirit to hear what God is saying to me—to Leon.  Then I am careful to put the thoughts I believe He has given me into the SOAP I am writing for that day. The passage above was written by Israel’s King David.

Today as I was reading verse 3 above, I thought of it as: “I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations; I will send SOAPs of you among the people.”  Then God started speaking to me as clearly as He did to Philip, and Saul, and Ananias in yesterday’s SOAP.  (Yesterday’s SOAP was a set up so that Leon would be listening to what God would say today!)

Application:  The SOAP ministry has been focusing mainly on USA, India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan.  A few Christian believers in those countries translate them and/or publish them to encourage believers in their daily relationship with the Lord.  This is not a public ministry to large crowds gathered to hear God’s word and witness the moving of the Holy Spirit; this is a faithful ministry to individuals imparting understanding of how to apply God’s word to their daily lives.  God uses both the “up-front” and the “behind-the-scene” ministries for His glory!  The SOAP ministry is the latter.  The Lord showed me the pattern He has established in my life and it is now time to expand.  Those of you who have been reading these SOAPs, please pray that I will recognize the doors God opens.  If the SOAPs have been a blessing to you, please pray that God will use them to bless others.

Prayer:   Heavenly Father, find me faithful in serving You and Your people. May I bring joy to your heart and a smile to your face! Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!

October 18, 2018: SOAP #3241:  Job 3-4; Acts 8-9

Scripture:  Acts (NIV) 8:26 Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Go south to the road—the desert road—that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.”
8:29 The Spirit told Philip, “Go to that chariot and stay near it.”
10: 4  He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” 5  “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked. “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. 6 “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”
10:10 In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, “Ananias!” “Yes, Lord,” he answered. 11 The Lord told him, “Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying.

Observation:  My attention has been drawn to the various ways God spoke to people in the book of Acts.  The copies of the Old Testament that were available were written on scrolls—too cumbersome to be carried from place to place—and there were not enough copies for even the leaders to have their own copy.  But lack of the written Word did not hinder God from speaking to His people.  God spoke to them.  They recognized that God was speaking and understood what He was saying.  They asked questions and heard His answers.  Their relationship was more than with words in a scroll or a letter, but with the Living Word and the Holy Spirit.   God spoke to them about things that would not have been found in the written scriptures.

Application: Holy Spirit, I appreciate how you speak to me through the scriptures.  I also need you to talk to me about my everyday life and the specific things you want me to do.

Prayer:   Holy Spirit, thank you for opening my heart and mind to the scriptures.  And, thank you for walking with me through each day.  Keep talking to me, I pray. Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!