March 22, 2019: SOAP #3396:  Joshua 12-13; 1Corinthians 7

Scripture:  Joshua (NIV) 14: 6 …Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him, “You know what the LORD said to Moses the man of God at Kadesh Barnea about you and me. 7 I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the LORD sent me from Kadesh Barnea to explore the land. And I brought him back a report according to my convictions, 8 but my brothers who went up with me made the hearts of the people sink. I, however, followed the LORD my God wholeheartedly. 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 “Now then, just as the LORD promised, he has kept me alive for forty-five years since the time he said this to Moses, while Israel moved about in the desert. 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. … the LORD helping me, I will drive them out just as he said.” 13 Then Joshua blessed Caleb son of Jephunneh and gave him Hebron as his inheritance. 14 So Hebron has belonged to Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite ever since, because he followed the LORD, the God of Israel, wholeheartedly.

Observation:  Caleb and Joshua were the two oldest people in the nation of Israel.  Their generation had died in the wilderness during their 40 years of wandering.  It had taken them 5 years to conquer and divide up the promised land.  Now, at age 85, Caleb is still strong and ready for battle.

Application:  It is good to hear testimonies of God’s deliverance from life controlling sins.  We can rejoice in the victories.  But it is even greater to see what God can do with a life that has not been scared by sin—one that has “wholeheartedly followed the LORD!”  Young people need to be told this story!

Prayer:  Lord, fill your church with people who have a testimony like Caleb!  Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

March 21, 2019: SOAP #3395:  Joshua 9-11; 1Corinthians 6

Scripture:  Joshua (NIV) 9:1 Now when all the kings west of the Jordan heard about these things—those in the hill country, in the western foothills, and along the entire coast of the Great Sea as far as Lebanon (the kings of the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites)—2 they came together to make war against Joshua and Israel.
Observation:   Israel was doing what God had commanded them to do.  They had victory over Jericho and Gilgal.  But then something happened that they did not expect.  Five kings made an alliance to fight Israel!

Scripture:  Joshua (NIV) 10:13 So the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, till the nation avenged itself on its enemies, as it is written in the Book of Jashar. The sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day. 14 There has never been a day like it before or since, a day when the LORD listened to a man. Surely the LORD was fighting for Israel!
Observation:  Waging war with five kings seemed impossible to them, but it was not their battle!  God was just simplifying things—He was taking care of five kings at once.  God was using His power in support of Israel!

Scripture:  Joshua (NIV) 11:20 For it was the LORD himself who hardened their hearts to wage war against Israel, so that he might destroy them totally, exterminating them without mercy, as the LORD had commanded Moses.
Observation:  The same God who hardened Pharaoh’s heart did the same to the inhabitants of the Promised Land!  The added challenge was God’s plan!

Application:  With Jesus as my Lord, I need to see Him as the Lord of my circumstances.  When He brings, or allows, increased challenge, I can count on Him to “fight for me.”  Afterall, it is HIS plan!  I can count on Him to use His power in support of me.  Walking in obedience and in His Presence assures victory!

Prayer:  Heavenly Father, any challenge I face is not too big for you!  I am going to keep my eyes on you and my ears open to your voice. Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

March 20, 2019: SOAP #3394 (from #2299): Joshua 7-8; Psalm 69; 1Corinthians 5

Scripture: Psalm (NIV) 69:30 I will praise God’s name in song and glorify him with thanksgiving. 31 This will please the LORD more than an ox, more than a bull with its horns and hoofs. 32 The poor will see and be glad—you who seek God, may your hearts live!

Observation: Verses that give a way to please God stand out to me. There is so much in this world that causes Him pain, there muse be some people whose highest goal is to Him pleasure. I want to be one of those people.

Even more than doing what was required in the law, the Psalmist realized that God desired a personal relationship with His people. If he was going to really please God, he had to bring something from his heart.

Application: God is blest when I choose to please Him and do what is required. He is even more pleased when I do what is required with a willing heart. And He is even more pleased when I go beyond what is required. How His heart must overflow when He finds someone doing something, not because they have to, and not because they want something from Him, but simply because they want to honor Him and bring Him pleasure. I want to be like the Psalmist and know the heart of God and know what pleases Him!

Prayer: Heavenly Father, I was created for your pleasure. May your heart be pleased with what you see in me. Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!

March 19, 2019: SOAP #3393:  Joshua 3-6; 1Corinthians 4

Scripture:  Joshua (NIV) 4:10 Now the priests who carried the ark remained standing in the middle of the Jordan until everything the LORD had commanded Joshua was done by the people, just as Moses had directed Joshua. The people hurried over, 11 and as soon as all of them had crossed, the ark of the LORD and the priests came to the other side while the people watched.  …
18 And the priests came up out of the river carrying the ark of the covenant of the LORD. No sooner had they set their feet on the dry ground than the waters of the Jordan returned to their place and ran in flood as before.

Observation:   The people had seen the priests step into the waters of the Jordan river.  They had seen the river stop running.  They had seen the dry land appear.  They saw the priests with the ark on their shoulders standing in the middle of the river bed.  Then the writer adds a short descriptive note.  It is not needed to add to the narrative.  If it was not included, any reader would assume that it was true.  “The people hurried over…”  They were not taking a leisurely stroll.  They did not take time to sit in the sun.  They did not build castles in the river-bottom sand.  They were in a hurry.

God had promised this land to the Israelites.  This had been their destination since leaving Egypt.  The river was held back, and they hurried in.

Application:  When God opens a door of opportunity to a vision He has been building in my life, I need to be quick to move through it.   When God arranges an unexpected time together with a person for whom I have been praying, I need to hurry to the opportunity.  I need to walk in faith that God has arranged that opportunity in answer to prayer.  That is not the time to be dragging my feet.

Prayer:   Heavenly Father, when a door of opportunity opens, may I hurry through it, expecting to find you already at work.   Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

March 18, 2019: SOAP #3392:  Joshua 1-2; Psalm 37; 1Corinthians 3

Scripture:  Psalm (NIV) 37:1 Of David. Do not fret because of evil men or be envious of those who do wrong; 2 for like the grass they will soon wither, like green plants they will soon die away.
3 Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. 4 Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart. 5 Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this: 6 He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.

Observation:    Verse 1-2   My mind has an important part in my walk with the Lord!  I am not a mind walking around, under the control of my thoughts.  I am a person with a mind.  My mind is to be under the control of my will.  I am not to let my thoughts get “agitated” or to “bother my head” over the wicked people or their actions.  I should not waste mental energy with concern for the wicked.

Verse 3-5   Instead, I am to set my thoughts on the Lord and how trustworthy He is.  I am to delight myself in the Lord.  I should apply my mental energy considering the greatness and goodness of God.  I should focus my thoughts on how I can best bring Him joy.

Application:  The more I know about God; especially the more I know God, I have fewer reasons to be concerned about what man can do to me.  It is greatly to my benefit to become familiar with God’s character.  God is bigger than…!  I can choose to focus my thoughts on God!

Prayer:  Heavenly Father, you alone are God!  You rule supreme.  Out of your desire to be loved, you created man and give him time on this earth to love you by making choices that honor you.   But a day is coming when your greatness will be evident to all creation.  So, there is no need for me to fret now. Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

March 17, 2019: SOAP #3391:  Deuteronomy 32-34; 1Corinthians 2

Scripture:  1Corinthians (NIV) 2:11 For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man’s spirit within him? In the same way no-one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 12 We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us….
16 “For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.

Observation:    Verse 16 makes me think of the book of Job.  Job has so many questions He wants God to answer.  Then in chapters 38-41 God is asking Job the questions.  God asked Job twice as many questions as Job had asked of God.  There was no way Job could answer God’s questions.  Job had no way of knowing how God had created the world.  He had to acknowledge God’s wisdom (Job 41:1-7) and repent of questioning God.

There are other places in the Bible we read of people trying to give God counsel.  There is no way man’s wisdom can ever compare with God’s wisdom.  But the verses above tell us that people in whom God’s spirit dwells, have the mind of Christ!

Application:  I cannot instruct Him, but He can instruct me!!!   How foolish of me not to listen.  How foolish to run off in my own wisdom before taking time to ask God for His wisdom.  I do not need to run off to a church; I do not need to go to someone special; God’s spirit dwells within me!!!  As a believer, learning to listen to the voice of the Spirit is PRIORITY ONE!!!

Prayer:  Holy Spirit, you are with me 24 hours of every day!  Your wisdom is available to me for each problem I face.  Hold me steady.  Do not let me run off in my human wisdom.  Give me the wisdom of heaven. Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

March 16, 2019: SOAP #3390:  Deuteronomy 30-31; Psalm 40; 1Corinthians 1

Scripture:  1Corinthians (NIV) 1:26 Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 28 He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, 29 so that no-one may boast before him.

Observation:   Does God use people with talent and wisdom and status?  Yes, He does.  He uses everyone who surrenders to Him.  Of course, He wants to use the talents He has given us.  But, when it comes to serving God, no one can use their lack of talent or wisdom as an excuse.  God loves to accomplish His will through people who have no way of accomplishing it on their own.  God loves to give us assignments that far surpass our limited abilities.  Then everybody knows that all the credit can only go to God.

Application:  When God calls me to do something that I have no ability to do, I can step out in faith with confidence that He will accomplish His will through me.  He understands my lack of ability.  He did not give me the assignment based on what I can do.  He gave me the assignment based on what He can do through me!!!  The key is for me to recognize His voice and obey.

Prayer:  Heavenly Father, I know you are not committed to do my will, but Your will.  Help me align my will with yours.  May I become so familiar with your voice that I can readily recognize when you are speaking to me.  Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

March 15, 2019: SOAP #3389:  Deuteronomy 28-29; Galatians 6

Scripture:  Deuteronomy (NIV) 28:1 If you fully obey the LORD your God and carefully follow all his commands that I give you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations on earth. 2 All these blessings will come upon you and accompany you if you obey the LORD your God: 3 You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country. …

Observation:  Moses was repeating God’s promises for the nation of Israel.  What amazing blessings were promised if they obeyed the Lord and kept His commands.  What a good God they served!  Was He able to bless them?  Absolutely.  God had proved that in their personal history!   Was God able to keep His promises to bless them?  Absolutely!

But one must read on:  God had more to say.  “15 However, if you do not obey the LORD your God and do not carefully follow all his commands and decrees I am giving you today, all these curses will come upon you and overtake you: 16 You will be cursed in the city and cursed in the country. …”  The same God who promised the blessings, also promised the curses!

Application:  People who claim to be God’s children, and who claim God’s promises, need to pay attention to all His promises!   If we know God, we know that He is as holy as He is loving!   As a nation, we have experienced both God’s blessings and judgment.  God was honored in the founding of our nation and we were blessed with growth.  God was dishonored in slavery and we experienced a civil war.  We have been a great force for spreading and financing the gospel around the world and our economy has been blessed.  We have murdered 70 million children formed in God’s image and God is invading our nation with an army of illegal immigrants.

Prayer:  Heavenly Father, you are faithful to your character and to your word.  You were faithful in dealing with Israel.  You are faithful in dealing with the USA!  And you are faithful in dealing with me!  May I be faithful to you and to your Word.   Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

March 14, 2019: SOAP #3388:  Deuteronomy 25-27; Galatians 5

Scripture:  Galatians (NIV) 5:18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law. … 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.

Observation:  Jesus said we must be “born again.”  We need a new life source in our physical body.

Application:  If we were talking about computers, I would say that I needed a new operating system.  I kept the old laptop.  What’s left of the hair has changed colors; the eyes are still blue.  But when I was born again, a whole new operating system was installed.  I am working to make it the dominant system!  I have many old programs that were accustomed to operating according to the old operating system; I am still working on upgrading them to be used by my new system.  Some can make the switch; others need to be removed and replaced with completely new programs.  Some programs are so full of the old operating system that if left in the laptop, they would begin to infect the other programs.  They need to be uninstalled and deleted from the computer.  I am thankful that the new operating system has a great “clean disk” capability!

The new operating system has great uplink capability!  It can download vital information needed to protect from viruses and make this laptop more beneficial to its new owner!

The more I learn about this new operating system, the more grateful I am for the change.  Even though it has been many years, I am still discovering the new exciting possibilities of having this new operating system permanently installed.  The blessing of having a continuous and instantaneous link to the throne room is beyond description!

Prayer:  Holy Spirit, what a great plan our Heavenly Father had.  He knew that I would not be able to live as He desired, so He cleaned me up by the blood of Jesus and sent you to live in me!  May you find me a gracious host.  Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

March 13, 2019: SOAP #3387:  Deuteronomy 22-24; Galatians 4

Scripture:  Galatians (NIV) 4:8 Formerly, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those who by nature are not gods. 9 But now that you know God—or rather are known by God— how is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable principles? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again?

Observation:   Paul knew the believers in Galatia.  He had visited them twice.  He knew their past, and he knew their present.  He knew their “formerly” and he knew their “but now.”  He knew that they had been set free from being slaves to idols.  They had been motivated by fear to serve the idols.  But they had been set free from fear.  Now they served the true and living God being motivated by love.  What a difference!!!  But someone had told them that they needed to obey the law that had served to bring them to Christ and had been fulfilled by Christ.  Paul was concerned that they might give up their freedom in serving God to be enslaved by the legal system that Christ had fulfilled.

Application:  Everyone has a “formerly” and a “but now.”  Much of my life was built around rules.  My parents’ rules, school rules, etc.  Even now I deal with rules in my life.  But now, in Christ, I am a child of God; I am His son!  It is my joy to serve Him.  I serve Him because I love Him.  It is my pleasure to bring a smile to His face!  Some of the rules that once enslaved me, now serve me as they show me how I can please my Heavenly Father.  His character can be seen through the rules he has given.  I can learn what brings Him joy as I consider His commandments.  It brings Him much joy because I keep His commandments because I want to, and not because I have to!

Prayer:  Heavenly Father, You are so amazing!  Your love for me is beyond my comprehension!  I consider the wickedness around me; I know that it grieves your heart, I pray that I may bring you joy.  May I bring a smile to your face today!  Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!