July 12, 2019: SOAP #3508: Isaiah 11-14; Hebrews 9

Scripture:  Hebrews (NIV) 9:24 For Christ did not enter a man-made sanctuary that was only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God’s presence.

Observation:  Jesus does not appear in God’s presence as the prosecutor bringing evidence against me; He appears as the defense attorney FOR me!  I am declared innocent not on the basis of a lack of evidence, but on the basis that the penalty has already been paid in full!!!

Application:   That I am guilty is not the question.  My adversary, the devil does not have to look far to find evidence against me.  But there is One now appearing on my behalf who still bears the scars in His hands.  I would have been found guilty, but I am declared innocent!  The proof of my innocence can be seen in the hands of Jesus!

On earth the Son of God lived and walked as the Son of Man.  Jesus was presenting our Heavenly Father to us.  Now in heaven, the sinless, sacrificed, resurrected Son of God and Man presents me to my Heavenly Father.  He is there right now and He is FOR ME!

Prayer:  Lord, forgive me for not telling you every day how much I appreciate what you have done for me!  May my words and deeds clearly show my appreciation to you and to everyone around me.  Amen.

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

July 11, 2019: SOAP #3507:  Isaiah 8-10; Hebrews 8

Scripture:  Isaiah (NIV) 8:11 The LORD spoke to me with his strong hand upon me, warning me not to follow the way of this people. He said: 12 “Do not call conspiracy everything that these people call conspiracy; do not fear what they fear, and do not dread it. 13 The LORD Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy, he is the one you are to fear, he is the one you are to dread,

Observation:  What the people were calling a conspiracy was the judgment of God.  God was using the Assyrians to bring judgment.  The people were afraid of what their “conspiracy” would do; but they should have feared the holy LORD God Almighty.

In a few verses, God reveals that He will be taking care of the Assyrians and delivering His people.

Application:   We are quick to blame others for our trouble.  It is a conspiracy against us.  We do not like to consider that we might be the source of our trouble.  We may need to repent.

The United States is experiencing the judgment of God along our southern border.  God is bringing illegal immigrants to replace all the children we have aborted.  It is easy to call those standing against the President’s efforts to close off the border a conspiracy.  If we truly feared the Lord, we would repent.

Prayer:  Holy Spirit, reveal truth to us. May the fear of the Lord lead us to repentance. Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

July 10, 2019: SOAP #3506:  Micah 5-7; Hebrews 7

Scripture:  Hebrews (NIV) 7:1 For this Melchisedec, king of Salem, priest of the most high God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him; [at the same time the following incident takes place]
Genesis (NIV) 14:21 The king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the people and keep the goods for yourself.” 22 But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have raised my hand to the LORD, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, and have taken an oath 23 that I will accept nothing belonging to you, not even a thread or the thong of a sandal, so that you will never be able to say, ‘I made Abram rich.’ 24 I will accept nothing but what my men have eaten and the share that belongs to the men who went with me—to Aner, Eshcol and Mamre. Let them have their share.”

Observation:  Abram and his servants had regained all the captives and plunder that had been robbed from his camp and from Sodom.  The king of Sodom told Abram to return the people but keep all the “goods.”   It was a logical offer, but Abram was living on a higher level.  He was living/working for “the LORD, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth;” he was not working for the king of Sodom.  He did not need any wages or rewards from man.  His welfare depended on God alone.

What a special blessing Abram received as God promised, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.” (Genesis 15:1)

Application:   I know it is right to work for wages, but…  I wonder how many times I might have settled for “man’s” reward and not been willing to wait for God’s “very great reward.”  When God gives me a special assignment out of my ordinary daily routine… when God calls me to enter the battle on behalf of someone else… when God brings a temporary opportunity… I can do it for His pleasure with my pay being His smile.

Prayer:  Heavenly Father, Surely the greatest pleasure of life will be hearing you say, “Well done,” and seeing your smile.   Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

July 09, 2019: SOAP #3505:  Micah 1-4; Hebrews 6

Scripture:  Hebrews (NIV) 6:10 God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them.

Observation:   The opening statement of this verse is a declaration of the character of God.  He is not unjust.  He is just.  He is faithful!

And there is something He will not forget!  He will not forget people who have shown him love.

How did they show HIM love?  What was the way they expressed their love for HIM that caught His attention?

They helped His people.  And it was not just a onetime expression of love; they continued to do so!

Application:   If God remembers what I do for others, I want to remember that he takes what I do as an expression of love to Him!  When I want to show my appreciation for what He has done for me, I need only look around and see what I can do for one of “his people.”

Prayer:  Holy Spirit, remind me that Jesus said that what I do for his children I am doing it as unto him. (Matthew 25:40)  Help me bring joy to the heart of Jesus. Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

July 08, 2019: SOAP #3504:  Hosea 13-14; Psalm 100, 102; Hebrews 5

Scripture:  Psalm (NIV) 100:1 Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.
2 Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.
3 Know that the LORD is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.
5 For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.

Observation:   In this psalm, we are given some special keys for life.  We are told how to enter the presence of God.  What can be more important than that!

We are to come before him with joyful songs.  We enter his gates with thanksgiving.  We enter his courts with praise.

Application:   Since God is omnipresent, I am always in His presence.  However, I am not always aware of His presence.  When I sing a joyful song of thanksgiving and praise, I become aware of His presence!  Joyful songs of thanksgiving and praise might not change my circumstances, but they will change the focus of my heart and the focus of my thoughts.

Knowing that I can enter the gates of the King of heaven, that I can enter the courts of Creator God, why would I want to stand outside with my mind locked into the hopelessness of the world around me?  Why would I hesitate to use these special keys to enter an awareness of the loving God who gave His Son to die for me?

Prayer:  Holy Spirit, remind me of what is available to me and how to use these keys.  May my joyful songs of thanksgiving and praise bring joy to the courts of heaven.  Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

July 07, 2019: SOAP #3503:  Hosea 10-12; Psalm 73; Hebrews 4

Scripture:  Hosea (NIV) 11:9 I will not carry out my fierce anger, nor will I turn and devastate Ephraim. For I am God, and not man — the Holy One among you. I will not come in wrath.

Observation:   God did not punish Judah and Israel in wrath, for that would have destroyed them.  He punished them in love, to correct them, to preserve them.  The prophecies of the Messiah still had to be fulfilled.

In the following verses God speaks of a time of returning as He once again gathers His people from the nations.

Application:   I believe there yet remain prophecies to be fulfilled for Israel.  Though people and nations may rant against Israel and threaten to wipe them off the map, that cannot happen.  They still have a prominent place in prophecy as God wraps up His plans.

If I want to be assured of future blessing, I must be a part of the church.  And as a born-again member of the church in whom Christ dwells by His Spirit, I am promised a future of blessing and joy in heaven.  And I am promised His correction when needed.

When God corrects me, He does so in love.  His goal is not to destroy me, but to improve me.  His correction is proof that he believes I can do better.  His correction is proof that He has not given up on me!

Prayer:  Heavenly Father, your love for me, and your plans for me, make you desire only the best for me. I pray that you find me correctible and improvable. Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

July 06, 2019: SOAP #3502:  Hosea 6-9; Hebrews 3

Scripture:  Hebrews (NIV) 3:8 do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion, during the time of testing in the desert, 9 where your fathers tested and tried me and for forty years saw what I did.
10 That is why I was angry with that generation, and I said, ‘Their hearts are always going astray, and they have not known my ways.’ 11 So I declared on oath in my anger, ‘They shall never enter my rest.’”

Observation:   It is not enough to know about God.  It is not enough to know that God exists.  It is not enough to know that there is a “man upstairs.”  God wants us to know Him.  He wants to communicate with us.  He wants to love us and to have us love Him.  He wants us to know more than what He does; He wants us to know why; He wants us to know His ways.

Application:   There are people in my life that I have come to know very well.  I do not need to ask them about what would please them.  I know what brings them joy and what distresses them.

God has revealed Himself in His word and the Holy Spirit helps me to grow in knowing God and His ways.   When suddenly confronted with something new, I want to be able to quickly evaluate it and know how God considers it.  I want to know what brings Him joy and what distresses Him.

Prayer:  Lord, I love to sing:
Lord, there’s just one thing; One think I ask of Thee.
Cause me to excel; excel in loving Thee.
There’s nothing in the world, that I would rather be,
Than by thy grace just one, who excels in loving Thee.
Holy Spirit, for this to be true, I need your help to better know God’s ways!  Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

July 05, 2019: (reworked from July 5, 2014) SOAP #3501:  Hosea 2-5; Hebrews 2

Scripture:  Hebrews (NIV) 2:18 Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.

Observation:   Love demanded that He help us; holiness demanded that the help come from one who had personally experienced temptation.  God is so HOLY that love cannot be allowed a short cut to help the one loved.  But God is so LOVING that he was willing to do what holiness required.  It is amazing!   It was God’s Holiness and Love that held Jesus on the cross to suffer and die for our sins.

Because Jesus suffered through times of temptation when he was living as a man here on earth, he is able to help those who are being tempted now.  Jesus understands our trials not because someone told him about them, not because he read about them, not because he overheard someone talking about them, but because he experienced them!   He has been here; He has done that!  No one will say to the Judge, “You have no right to judge me; you do not know how bad my life was.”

Application:   Jesus can help me; He has experience dealing with the devil; he knows how to defeat Satan.  Jesus can help me; He has experience dealing with the weaknesses and limitations of being human; he knows I cannot rely on the flesh, so he gives me His Holy Spirit.  Jesus can help me; He is finished dealing with his own trials; Satan cannot distract Him from helping me.   Praise the Lord!

Prayer:  Heavenly Father, you were the only one who could do for me what I needed. In great love, you sent your son to die in my place.  My life is yours.  It is the least I can do. Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

July 04, 2019: SOAP #3500:  2Kings 15-16; Hosea 1; Hebrews 1

Scripture:  2Kings (NIV) 16:11 So Uriah the priest built an altar in accordance with all the plans that King Ahaz had sent from Damascus and finished it before King Ahaz returned.
16:16 And Uriah the priest did just as King Ahaz had ordered.

Observation:   A few days ago, we read about King Uzziah going into the temple to offer sacrifices—which was the priests responsibility. (2Chronicles 26) When the priest, Azeriah, along with 80 priests, stood against the King, God struck the King with leprosy.  In today’s passage, instead of standing against King Ahaz, the priest went along with the king to replace the old altar with a new fancier altar and to re-arrange other items in the temple as the King of Assyria had suggested.

Application:   As the United States pauses for the annual celebration of our independence, we need religious leaders who will boldly speak the word of the Lord to our political leaders.

Prayer:  Heavenly Father, send a Holy Spirit revival to your church today, especially to the leaders.  When political leaders close their ears to what you are saying, embolden religious leaders to speak your word clearly. Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

July 03, 2019: SOAP #3497:  Isaiah 6-7; 2Chronicles 26-27; Philemon

Scripture:  2Chronicles (NIV) 26:7 God helped him against the Philistines and against the Arabs who lived in Gur Baal and against the Meunites.
14 Uzziah provided shields, spears, helmets, coats of armor, bows and sling stones for the entire army.
15 In Jerusalem he made machines designed by skillful men for use on the towers and on the corner defenses to shoot arrows and hurl large stones. His fame spread far and wide, for he was greatly helped until he became powerful.

Observation:   As men have “advanced” and become “more civilized” they have “improved” their ability to wage war.  Having the most “modern” of weapons not only enabled a king to defeat his enemy but also to defend his cities.  Here skillful men under the reign of a righteous Uzziah are credited with designing some of the ancient, defense machines of war.

Application:  The better we can fight an offensive war against the enemy of our souls, the better we will be able to defend our families and homes.

Prayer:  Holy Spirit, keep me alert and awake.  Use me to attack the enemy.  Use me to defend those closest to me.  Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!