April 01, 2021: SOAP #4137:  Judges 11-12; Psalm 50; 2Corinthians 1

SCRIPTURE:  2Corinthians (NIV) 1:9 Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. 10 He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, 11 as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many.

OBSERVATION:  Paul recognized that the hard trials had a purpose. 
-They were not to cause Paul to rely on his own strength or wisdom.  He did not need some special training to deal with the hardships.
-They were not to teach him how to rely on others.  They were not to give him practice in sending out appeals for help. 
-They were to give him practice in relying on God.  …and not just any god, but THE GOD WHO RAISES THE DEAD!!!  

APPLICATION:  What God has done for me in the past, gives me faith that He will help me in the present and hope of His continued help in the future. 

Like Paul, the Lord brought Sharon and I through a recent time when we had to rely on God.  We could feel being lifted in the prayers of our church family and friends and many SOAP readers.  It was an unexpected blessing received from writing the SOAPs.  Now, some people give “thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many.”

PRAYER:  Heavenly Father, thank you that you are reliable.  I can depend on you!  And thank you for “the prayers of many.”  You granted me “gracious favor” in answer to those prayers.  Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

March 31, 2021: SOAP #4136:  Judges 9-10; Psalm 49; 1Corinthians 16

SCRIPTURE:  1Corinthians (NIV) 16:2 On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made.
3 Then, when I arrive, I will give letters of introduction to the men you approve and send them with your gift to Jerusalem.
4 If it seems advisable for me to go also, they will accompany me.

OBSERVATION: Paul was gathering money to help the church in Jerusalem.  He would be coming to Corinth and wanted the money ready.  There were to be no last-minute appeals for an offering.  Each one was to evaluate his income and give accordingly.  Their giving was to be in accordance with their income, not in accordance with the need or some emotional appeal.  And since each one was to give according to their income, everyone could participate. 

APPLICATION:  God often gives a congregation a giving assignment, be it a mission emphasis or a building program or something else from the Lord.  Like tithing, giving should be according to income.  It should be done regularly when the church meets together.  Timing and amount should be in accordance with income.  Monthly income provides for monthly giving.  Weekly income provides for weekly giving.  The first response to a God given assignment is not to look elsewhere for finances, but to lay it before the congregation and give God the opportunity to build their faith. 

When a congregation is faithful in their giving, God increases the offerings in several ways.  He may add new believers to the church.  He may increase the income of the individual givers in the congregation.  Or He may provide what would have cost the church money—someone donating what is needed. 

When a church looks elsewhere for money to build, they rob God of the opportunity for God to prove what He can do.  They also rob the congregation of seeing what God can do through them.   

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, your plan is for me to be a giver.  You also have plans for each congregation to be made up of givers.  Find me faithful. Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

March 30, 2021: SOAP #4135:  Judges 8; Psalm 42; 1Corinthians 15

SCRIPTURE:  1Corinthians (NIV) 15:16 For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. 19 If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.

OBSERVATION: Without the resurrection of Jesus, His death on the cross would be meaningless.  It would be only the painful, suffering crucifixion of another man. 

The resurrection of Jesus is proof that death is not the end.  There is life beyond death.  The resurrection provides a hope that reaches beyond what can be seen in this life. We do not have all the specifics about eternity, but we have a general sense that it is going to be GREAT! 

APPLICATION:  What joy filled my life, and still fills my life, because my sins were forgiven, and Christ came to dwell in my heart.  Hope flooded my heart.  Hope is always future focused.  Hope is believing that something good will come out of the past and present circumstances.  Hope is believing that all things will work together for good (Romans 8:28). 

Faith is specific; it says, “Christ died for my sins, and Christ lives in my heart.”  Hope leads me to have confidence that everything will work out for good.  Hope in Christ reaches beyond death; it says eternity is going to be GREAT!!! 

PRAYER:  Lord Jesus, thank you for dying in my place to pay for my sins.  Thank you for forgiveness and your presence in my life.  And thank you for the hope you give me, a hope that reaches into eternity!  Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

March 29, 2021: SOAP #4134:  Judges 6-7; Psalm 52; 1Corinthians 14

SCRIPTURE:  Judges (NIV) 7:4 But the LORD said to Gideon, “There are still too many men. Take them down to the water, and I will sift them out for you there. If I say, ‘This one shall go with you,’ he shall go; but if I say, ‘This one shall not go with you,’ he shall not go.” …
7 The LORD said to Gideon, “With the three hundred men that lapped I will save you and give the Midianites into your hands. Let all the other men go, each to his own place.”

OBSERVATION: The Midianites had oppressed Israel for seven years.  They had invaded and took the crops and livestock.  God is ready to answer their prayers for deliverance and goes to Gideon.  32,000 men responded to Gideon’s call.  God told him that was too many men.  Tell all who were afraid to go home.  12,000 went home.  God said, “There are still too many men!”  At God’s direction, Gideon took the remaining 10,000 to get a drink.  Also, at God’s direction, he separated those who lifted the water to lap from their hands.  Those who lay face down in the water to drink he sent home.  Now he was left with 300! 

With 32,000 they might have had a chance to defeat the Midianites.  With only 10,000 there was probably no way they could have defeated Midian.  With only 300, there was no question, there was no way they could defeat Midian.  And if they did, it would be obvious that God gave them the victory! 

APPLICATION:  When God gives me an assignment, I need to trust Him.  It would have been a major defeat if Gideon had tried to take on the Midianites with the 32,000 or 10,000 men.  Sometimes I can be tempted to move ahead of God’s provision.  I try to use my wisdom and resources to accomplish God’s will.  I must move at His command!  His voice activates my faith and my actions. 

PRAYER: Whatever the assignment, Lord, I can count on you to provide what is needed.  You will often use what I have available and multiply it to meet the need, or you will provide from another source.  But however you do it, You get all the glory!  Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

March 28, 2021: SOAP #4133:  Judges 4-5; Psalm 39, 41; 1Corinthians 13

SCRIPTURE:  1Corinthians (NIV) 13:4-8
Love is patient,
love is kind.
It does not envy,
it does not boast,
it is not proud.
It is not rude,
it is not self-seeking,
it is not easily angered,
it keeps no record of wrongs.
Love does not delight in evil but
rejoices with the truth.
It always protects,
always trusts,
always hopes,
always perseveres.
Love never fails.

OBSERVATION:  Paul’s description of Love brings understanding to John’s description of God.  1John 4:8 “Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love…16 And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him.”

God is as loving as He is holy.  Everything God does is holy and loving.  He does not cease to be holy to be loving.  He does not cease to be loving to be holy.  How could a perfectly holy God ever love a sinful man.  The answer is only found in the cross where a holy Jesus died for sinful men. 

APPLICATION:  I am amazed at the love of God.  I rejoice in the love God has for me.  But does God rejoice in the love I have for others?  That is a question worthy of consideration!

PRAYER: Holy Spirit, as you live within me, work the love of God into my words and my actions—into my whole life.  Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

March 27, 2021: SOAP #4132 (from #2170):  Judges 1-3; 1Corinthians 12

SCRIPTURE:  1Corinthians (NIV) 12:12 The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ.

OBSERVATION: I remember one dark rainy night when Sharon and I were traveling in heavy traffic through an area of road construction. A car was parked just barely off the traveling lane with its hazard lights on. We stop, and found a car with a flat tire and two ladies who did not know what to do. (It was the day before many cell phones.) Since it was the passenger side rear tire, I thought I should be able to safely change it. Afterward, the driver came to me and looked in my face and thanked me for the help. My hands had really done all the work, but she did not thank my hands at all. She never mentioned how hard they had worked, or how dirty they got. She just looked at my face as if she was thanking my head.

I am glad to report that my hands did not get their feelings hurt because they had not been properly recognized.  They did not stop being a part of the body.  They did not stop working for the good of the body.  They seemed to be content that the head received appreciation for their efforts.

APPLICATION: As a part of the body of Christ, it should make no difference if I am overlooked when my work is appreciated. My joy is seeing the appreciation going to the “Head,” — to Jesus!

PRAYER:  Lord, I want my work to make you look good. I want people to appreciate you for what you do through me. Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

March 26, 2021: SOAP #4131:  Joshua 23-24; Psalm 44; 1Corinthians 11

SCRIPTURE:  1Corinthians (NIV) 11:8 For man did not come from woman, but woman from man; 9 neither was man created for woman, but woman for man. …                                         

11 In the Lord, however, woman is not independent of man, nor is man independent of woman. 12 For as woman came from man, so also man is born of woman. But everything comes from God.

OBSERVATION: If man did not come from woman, then from whom did he come?  He came from God.  He is caught in between.  He has authority above Him and as the spiritual head of the home, responsibility below him.  He has One TO Whom he is responsible.  He has those FOR whom he is responsible. 

God took responsibility for those under Him; and it is for man to take responsibility for those under him.  Man must always remember that the One to Whom he is responsible also created those for whom he is responsible.  He will be required to answer for how he served those given to him.  Man is to follow God’s example of sacrificial love in serving those under his care.

APPLICATION:  Authority is a tool God gives me to make me a better servant.  Authority is the right and responsibility to make decisions and to hold others accountable.  It is not given to make one a dictator, but a servant.  The man has authority in the home for the benefit of the wife.  The parent has authority for the benefit of the children.  The pastor has authority for the benefit of the congregation.  The ruler has authority for the benefit of the citizens. 

Everyone has a measure of authority.  It may only be over their own life, their own thinking, their own actions, and their own attitudes.  Those who do well in these areas can expect God to increase the territory over which they have authority. 

PRAYER: Holy Spirit, work in my heart to respond properly to the authority you have placed in my life.  Then help me use authority to benefit those I am serving. Amen. 

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

March 25, 2021: SOAP #4130:  Joshua 21-22; Psalm 47; 1Corinthians 10

SCRIPTURE:  1Corinthians (NIV) 10:6 Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did. …
11 These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfilment of the ages has come.

OBSERVATION:  Paul was giving his readers a review of some of their history.  In this passage, he was not recounting the great victories God had brought to Israel, but the times they had turned from God to sin!  Yes, these bad things were also a part of their history.  Remembering these things would not bring any joy, but there were important lessons to learn. 

Paul was saying they should not ignore this part of their history but learn from its examples. 

APPLICATION:  History is the truth about the past.  Some would like to change history or re-write history, but history is history; changed history is just fiction.  We can learn from history, but we cannot change it. 

What I do in the next 30 minutes will be history in an hour.  The present moves quickly into history.  If I want to have a good history, I must live a good present. 

Politicians may not like that the news media has recording of every speech they gave in the past.  The media likes to use their archives to show people how the politician has changed.  But if we think that the news media has large archives—just wait until the Judgment Seat of Christ!  Heaven’s archives are complete; it is all there!   The only things missing are those things which are under the blood of Jesus! 

PRAYER:  Holy Spirit, you are present; you are with me NOW.  You can help me write my history by working in me, and with me, and through me in the present.  Amen. 

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

March 24, 2021: SOAP #4129:  Joshua 18-20; 1Corinthians 9

SCRIPTURE:  1Corinthians (NIV) 9:19 Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible.
20 … To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law.
21 To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law.
22 To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some.
23 I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.

OBSERVATION:  According to the above scriptures, Paul loved and defended freedom, his and those who read his letters.  But there was something he valued above his freedom.  Winning people to Jesus meant more to Paul than demanding his freedom!    

God is so great and His plan is so noble.  Although He has all power and can force His creation to serve Him.  He is far too great for that.  The aspects of God’s character (love and holiness) are more important to Him than the aspects of His being (omnipotence and omniscience).  It gives God no glory when people serve Him because they have no choice (sometimes to accomplish a greater purpose, He forces a person to accomplish His will.)  It glorifies God when the one serving Him is because they believe He is worthy of their devotion, worthy of their service, worthy of their life! 

APPLICATION: God set me free so that I can choose to serve Him.   When I use my freedom of choice to serve those around me, I bring great joy to the One Who Used His freedom of choice to serve me by dying for my sins!  The greatest way I can serve others is to lead them to Jesus!  

PRAYER:  Lord, you are worthy of my devotion.  You are also worthy of the devotion of those around me.  Holy Spirit, help me live in such a way that causes others to want to know and love Jesus also. Amen. 

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

March 23, 2021: SOAP #4128:  Joshua 15-17; 1Corinthians 8

SCRIPTURE:  1Corinthians (NIV) 8:1 … We know that we all possess knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. 2 The man who thinks he knows something does not yet know as he ought to know. 3 But the man who loves God is known by God.

OBSERVATION: God’s knowledge of those who love Him is limitless.  If He desired, He could use that knowledge to destroy us, but He uses it in love to correct us and build us up.

No one who has ever walked on earth has had knowledge equal to Jesus, God’s Son.  Yet we do not talk about His knowledge, but His love.  He did not impress people with his knowledge, but with His love.

One of the best every-day examples is a loving parent using their knowledge to guard and guide the young child they love.

Who can count all the love songs sung today.  In comparison, there are very few songs about knowledge. 

APPLICATION: Love motivates me to serve God and others. Knowledge is important because it makes me more useful to God and to others. Knowledge must always be ruled by love.

I must always have more love in my heart than knowledge in my head.  Then the knowledge in my head should flow out of me through a heart of love.

PRAYER:  Heavenly Father, of all the love songs I know, those about you stand above all others.  Your love for me is the strength of my life.  Amen. 

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!