May 22, 2019: SOAP #3457:  1Kings 8; 2Chronicles 5; Psalm 99; Romans 3

Scripture:  Psalm (NIV) 99:8 O LORD our God, you answered them; you were to Israel a forgiving God, though you punished their misdeeds.

Observation:   Here we see the beauty of God’s character displayed in His interaction with His people.  His love is seen in that He forgives. His holiness is seen in that He punishes.

God does not stop being holy in order to show His love.  Nor does God stop loving in order to be holy.  His punishment is to teach those he loves not to continue in sin.  Our punishment does not cover the cost of sin; that can only be covered by the shed blood of His sinless Son on the cross.  Jesus paid the price, took the full punishment for sin!  The punishment that comes our way is an expression of a loving God working His holiness into our lives by training us to live holy.  Forgiveness without punishment could lead us to believe that sin is not very important!

Punishment is a topic found throughout the scriptures.  The value and limitations of punishment are readily seen in God’s interaction with man.  To ignore the value of punishment is to refuse to learn from scripture. To overemphasize the value of punishment is to refuse to learn from scripture.

Punishment is to make sure we know we have done wrong.  We need to know for sure the difference between right and wrong. It is to protect us from the results of sin.

Application:   Loving punishment will not be expressed in anger but in thoughtful consideration. It will encourage rather than limit interaction with God.

Prayer:  Heavenly Father, I want to embrace both your love and your holiness.  I want to be correctable and moldable.  Make me like Jesus.  Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

May 21, 2019: SOAP #3456:  1Kings 7; 2Chronicles 4; Psalm 98; Romans 2

Scripture:  Psalm (NIV) 98:4 Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all the earth: make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise.
5 Sing unto the LORD with the harp; with the harp, and the voice of a psalm.
6 With trumpets and sound of cornet make a joyful noise before the LORD, the King.
7 Let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.
8 Let the floods clap their hands: let the hills be joyful together 9 Before the LORD…

Observation:   God’s creative power is seen in making things that give praise to their Creator.  The Creator made the sea to give praise.  The creator made the floods and hills to express praise.  God made man to make a “loud noise and rejoice and sing praise.”

God has blessed man to be creative and man should use his creative talents to give praise to God!  Man creatively combines words and thoughts then expresses them with rhythm, melody, and harmony to praise God.  Man creatively combines wood and string to make instruments for worship.  Man takes metals from the earth and fashions trumpets and cornets.

All of God’s creation, AND all of man’s creations should be used to glorify and praise our Holy and Loving God!

Application:  There will never be an end to creating songs and melodies to express praise and worship of our wonderful God.  Many instruments are still to be created with which to honor our great God.

Prayer:  Heavenly Father, you are worthy of all creations praise and worship.  Using every word in every language could not begin to express the fullness of what you deserve.  Holy Spirit, continue to anoint people to write new songs and invent new instruments for worship.  Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

May 20, 2019: SOAP #3455:  1Kings 6; 2Chronicles 3; Psalm 97; Romans 1

Scripture:  Romans (NIV) 1:11 I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong—12 that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith.

Observation:  Paul had a yearning to meet his brothers and sisters in Christ who lived in Rome. He wanted to see them succeed.  He wanted to see them grow.  He wanted to see them strong.  He knew that he would have a part in their growth if he could just spend some time with them.

Not only would Paul be able to encourage the believers in Rome by his visit, they would be an encouragement to him.  Believers often discover that in ministering to someone in need, they too are recipients of God’s blessings.

Application:   Most Sundays Sharon and I travel somewhere in the state of Kansas to encourage the ministry of, and to, senior adults.  This Sunday I was asked to fill in at a church without a pastor.  As always, we arrived early enough to be a part of a Sunday School/Bible Class.  As every Sunday, we were blessed.  We have never been disappointed.  We find what Paul was expecting to find when he would visit Rome—mutual encouragement!

Prayer:  Heavenly Father, how special it is that you created your body to “mutually encourage” one another.  You created us so that everyone would need ministry, and everyone could give ministry.  You planned that we would minister to each other.  Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

May 19, 2019: SOAP #3454:  1Kings 4, 5; 2Chronicles 2; Psalm 101; 2Thes. 3

Scripture:  2Thessalonians (NIV) 3:1 Finally, brothers, pray for us that the message of the Lord may spread rapidly and be honored, just as it was with you. 2 And pray that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men, for not everyone has faith.

Observation:   The KJV has “unreasonable” where the NIV has “wicked.”  The word has to do with something being “amiss” or “out of place,” “unbecoming” or “improper.”  It has been said that there is no one so blind as those who will not see.  There is none so “unreasonable” as those who have refused the gospel.  In Isaiah, God called, “Come, let us reason together.”

When a person has faith in God, they begin to evaluate everything according to that faith.  Things fit into place in God’s kingdom. Evil is clearly seen as evil.  Righteousness is valued.  It is logical.  It makes sense.  When people receive Christ into their lives, they have a clearer point of reference for evaluating the things around them.

Application:   When I came to Christ, my point of view did not change.  I was still walking on planet earth, eating the same food, living in the same house, etc. I still saw the same things.  I still drove down the same streets and saw the same people.  My point of view did not change; but my reference point totally changed!  I looked at the same old things with a completely different reference point.  Things looked so different when I began to see them from God’s perspective.  I began to ask myself, “How does God see this?  What does He think about what I just saw?”

Prayer:  Holy Spirit, keep me seeing things from God’s perspective, especially those things that seem to grab my thoughts.  Help me to align my thoughts with yours. Amen

Pastor Leon|
Making friends for time and eternity! 

May 18, 2019: SOAP #3453:  1Kings 3; 2Chronicles 1; Psalm 78; 2Thessalonians 2

Scripture:  2Thessalonians (NIV) 2:3 Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. 4 He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshipped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God.

Observation:   This lawless one will oppose anything that is called God or worshipped.  In that he will exalt himself we see the very nature of the devil, the very opposite of the nature of our Lord Jesus Christ. He desires total worship.  There is no room for any other god.

With such a desire, this lawless one does not go to the capitol building in Washington D.C., nor to the Supreme Court of the USA.  He does not go to the United Nations building in New York City.  He does not go to the European Common Market headquarters.  He does not go to the courts in Geneva, Switzerland.  He does not go to the major temples of other world religions.  He sets himself up in the temple in Jerusalem.  He is confronting the God of creation!

Paul uses the descriptive phrase “the man doomed to destruction.” This man is present to fulfill God’s judgments on the earth, not to dominate God’s plan.  He plays only a small role.  His destination is sure, having already been determined.

Application:  The world is involved in a spiritual war.  People may call it an economic war, or a military war, or a political war, or a border war, or what-ever, but I have come to believe that all war is spiritual.  Spiritual forces manipulate people who open themselves to the influence of the spirit world.

Prayer:  Heavenly Father, help me recognize the influence of the spirit world.  Help me respond positively to the Holy Spirit and to refuse the influence of spirit world influencing the world today.  Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

May 18, 2019: SOAP #3452: 1Kings 2: 1Chronicles 29; Psalm 95; 2Thessalonians 1

Scripture: 1Chronicles (NIV) 29:16 [David’s prayer after receiving an offering for the building of the temple.] O LORD our God, as for all this abundance that we have provided for building you a temple for your Holy Name, it comes from your hand, and all of it belongs to you. 17 I know, my God, that you test the heart and are pleased with integrity. All these things have I given willingly and with honest intent. And now I have seen with joy how willingly your people who are here have given to you.

Observation: I want my life to please God. Pleasing God is such a small price when I consider everything He has done for me. I know that when my life on earth is over, I will stand before God for His evaluation of my works. (Note: entrance into heaven is not dependent on my works but on my faith in the work of Jesus on the cross.) Rewards will be given based on our works. So, it is always good to consider verses that show what pleases God.

God looks at our hearts. He is pleased when He finds integrity. He is pleased when my words and actions flow from a heart with right motives.

Application: May my works of service be expressions of the love in my heart and not from a desire to look good in the eyes of others. May my words and actions bring joy to God’s heart. May God’s smile be the only reward desired.

Prayer: Holy Spirit, keep a current check on my motives. I desire that every word and act bring you joy.  Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!

May 16, 2019: SOAP #3451:  1Kings 1: 1Chronicles 28; Psalm 91; 1Thessalonians 5

Scripture:  1Thessalonians (NIV) 5:23 May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it.

Observation:   What a statement!  It is a statement of God’s character and His willingness to carry through.  In considering God’s character, I see basically two major sides: Love and Holiness.  These two qualities mix together into Goodness. If either were missing, we would not think of God as Good. At times Love and Holiness seem to oppose each other but they are completely reconciled in the cross.  For it is there the righteous demands of our Holy God are paid in Love by none other than God Himself!

Holiness is expressed in justice, righteousness, purity, faithfulness, etc.  Faithfulness is an expression of Holiness.  God’s holiness demands faithfulness!

God is faithful to act according to His character.  When Paul writes, “He will do it,” he is referring to the prayer of blessing in the previous verse.  God will bless them by sanctifying them through and through.  God will keep them blameless!

Application:   In desiring to be holy and pure, what a special blessing to know that God is more desiring of this than I am!  Of course, I want to live holy, but on my own, I do not find much success.  It is only as I rely on Him and live in an abiding relationship with Him that I have any hope of succeeding.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, through your Son, you paid the ransom you demanded.  Through the indwelling Holy Spirit, you provide the righteousness for daily living you require.  There is nothing you desire of me that you have not provided for me!  What a gracious God you are!  Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

May 15, 2019: SOAP #3450:  1Chronicles 25-27; 1Thessalonians 4

Scripture:  1Thessalonians (NIV) 4:13 Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. 14 We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. 15 According to the Lord’s own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so, we will be with the Lord forever. 18 Therefore encourage each other with these words.

Observation:  What hope!  Our hope does not end at the grave!  The grave may interrupt our relationships, but certainly does not end them!  As we once moved from our mother’s womb to a bright new world, so our bodies will move from the tomb to an even brighter new world where we will join the other believers to be “with the Lord forever!”

Application:  In times of grief, we often do not know what to say.  In these verses, God gives us something to say.  We can use these “words” to encourage each other.  Here are some specific things to say.  Here are some thoughts we can ponder together.

Prayer:  Holy Spirit, speak your words of comfort through me to those who are grieving.  Minister your comfort through God’s word as I encourage others. Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

May 14, 2019: SOAP #3449:  1Chronicles 22-24; 1Thessalonians 3

Scripture:  1Thessalonians (NIV) 3:2 We sent Timothy, who is our brother and God’s fellow-worker in spreading the gospel of Christ, to strengthen and encourage you in your faith, 3 so that no-one would be unsettled by these trials. You know quite well that we were destined for them. 4 In fact, when we were with you, we kept telling you that we would be persecuted. And it turned out that way, as you well know.

Observation:   Surely these three verses are underlined in very few Bibles.  If I asked one thousand people for their top ten favorite verses, I do not think that these verses would appear on any list.

Was it only those in Thessalonica who were to expect trials and persecution?  I don’t think so.  We are fighting the same satanic kingdom today as Paul did in his day.  We are all “destined” for satan’s interference in our lives. We should not become “unsettled.”

Application:  Do not be surprised if satan wants to get us back into his kingdom.  He may try to make our lives uncomfortable.  Through worship, through Bible reading and meditating on what I have read, through bringing every thought into obedience to God’s word, through yielding my being to the Holy Spirit I discover that not only am I destined for trials, I am also destined to be an overcomer!!!

Prayer:  Lord Jesus, you have already defeated satan.  Live in my life as the Lord of my life and enforce the victories you have already won! Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

May 13, 2019: SOAP #3448:  2Samuel 24; 1Chronicles 21; Psalm 30; 1Thess. 2

Scripture:  1Thessalonians (NIV) 2:8 We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us.

Observation:   In doing the will of God, and in doing whatever we do for God’s pleasure, we find that the doing becomes a joy to us as well.  Paul was sent by the God he loves to those loved by God.  In obeying, Paul discovered that it was his delight to share the gospel (and his life) with those he came to love.  Not only were they loved by God, they were loved by Paul.

God the Father so loved the world that He sent Jesus.  The priority in the life of Jesus was to do the will of the Father.  Yet Jesus loved those to whom He was sent.  (#Mark 10:21; John 11:3,5; 13:1; 13:23; 19:26; 20:2; 21:7,20).

Application:   As I love God, I grow in my love for those to whom He sends me.  I love God; I love people.  The people around me are loved by God; they are also loved by me.

Prayer:  Heavenly Father, you are love; you are holy.  You love me.  You send me to those you love.  You love them through me.  It pleases you when I grow to love them as you love them.  The greatest tragedy in the world today is that the church does not love the world as you love the world.  Love through me and teach me to love through you. Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!