June 01, 2021: SOAP #4198:  Proverbs 19-21; Romans 13

SCRIPTURE:  Romans (NIV) 13:11 And do this [from previous verse, love our neighbor], understanding the present time. The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. 12 The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. 13 Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. 14 Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature.

OBSERVATION:  The “works of darkness” are to be put off.  The “armor of light” is to be put on.  It is not enough to just “put off” the one, we must “put on” the other!

Nine of the ten commandments tell us what NOT to do, things to be “put off.”  Both of the new commandments given by Jesus tell us what to do, things to be “put on:” 1.  love God and 2.  love our neighbor.  Here Paul not only tells people what to put off, but what to put on. 

APPLICATION:  The key for Leon is found in verse 14.  I must put off thinking about what my flesh wants to do.  I must fill my mind with God’s Word.  With my thoughts filled with the Word and influenced by the Holy Spirit, my actions will follow.  My inward thinking has great influence on my outward actions.

PRAYER: Holy Spirit, continue to remind me of what I am reading in the Word.  Show me how to apply it in my daily life.  Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

May 31, 2021: SOAP #4197:  Proverbs 16-18: Romans 12

SCRIPTURE:  Romans (NIV) 12:4 Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5 so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.
6 We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. 7 If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; 8 if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.

OBSERVATION: The value of each member of the body is found in its differences.  If all the members were the same, any other member could replace any member and the value would diminish.  When there is only one member able to do something specific, the value of that member increases. 

The beauty of a choir is in the blending of different voices.  The beauty of a garden is in the different colors.  The beauty of a sunset is in the different colors.  A good leader recognizes the differences in people and assigns tasks that will help them to succeed. 

APPLICATION:  I rob God of His enjoyment of my differences when I try to be just like everybody else.  Instead of blaming God for not making me like someone else, I need to discover the unique opportunities I have because of my differences. 

PRAYER: Holy Spirit, help me to recognize and utilize my differences.  May God have joy is seeing me live and serve with the differences He put in me. Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

May 29, 2021: SOAP #4195:  Proverbs 13-15; Romans 11

SCRIPTURE:  Romans (NIV) 11:33 Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out! 34 “Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counsellor?” 35 “Who has ever given to God, that God should repay him?”
36 For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen.

OBSERVATION: The word “For” ties the eternal truth in verse 36 to the previous verse.  Who has ever given something to God that would cause God to repay him?  The reason no one can make God indebted by giving God something so valuable—it is because everything came from Him and exists at His pleasure and purpose!   

APPLICATION:  Of course, the “all things” in verse 36 includes me.  So, I must consider myself as originating in God, living through Him and for His glory. 

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, there is only one thing I can give you that would make you inclined to give to me—MYSELF!  I submit to your ownership of my life.  I am your child.  I count on the promises you made to your children. Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

May 29, 2021: SOAP #4195:  Proverbs 10-12; Romans 10

SCRIPTURE:  Romans (NIV) 10:11 As the Scripture says, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.” 12 For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, 13 for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

OBSERVATION:  It is not just faith.  It is faith in Jesus!   It is not just a confession.  It is the confession that “Jesus is Lord!”  Faith can be good, but misplaced.  Many people with good faith have placed their money in a financial institution only to see it go bankrupt later.  There was not anything wrong with their faith; their faith was just placed in an unworthy foundation.  Jesus is the only worthy basis for faith.  Our faith is not in our confession but in Jesus.

We all stand before the Lord with equal value.  We all have the same potential of pleasing Him, of bringing a smile to His face. As members of the body of Christ have the same value, but different assignments, so it is with the nations of the world.  Whether we live in the mountains, or on the planes, we all come to Christ by faith.  Farmers, sailors, engineers—rich, poor—everyone, all come by faith.  Africans, Asians, Americans—everyone, all come by the same faith.  And here Paul emphasizes that though the Jews have had a major role in bringing Christ into the world, yet they too come to Him by the same faith.

OUR Heavenly Father richly blesses all who call on him.  He blesses us with His Son.  It is impossible to be more blest than that!

APPLICATION:  What a foundation is mine!  To put my faith anywhere else would be so foolish.

PRAYER: Lord, my faith is in you, in your death on the cross for my sins, in your willingness to forgive, and in your Holy Spirit who now lives within me. Amen.

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

May 28, 2021: SOAP #4194:  Proverbs 7-9; Romans 9

SCRIPTURE:  Proverbs (NIV) 8:12 “I, wisdom, dwell together with prudence; I possess knowledge and discretion… (verses 13-36 are wisdom speaking)
33 Listen to my instruction and be wise; do not ignore it. 34 Blessed is the man who listens to me, watching daily at my doors, waiting at my doorway.
35 For whoever finds me finds life and receives favor from the LORD. 36 But whoever fails to find me harms himself; all who hate me love death.”

OBSERVATION:  Favor is an attitude of pleasure inclining one to do good for the one to whom the favor is directed.  The favor of the right person has the potential to change a life.  The favor of God changes a life for eternity! 

How does one gain the favor of God?  The above verses give “finding wisdom” as one way to gain the favor of God. 

APPLICATION:  Wisdom is the application of truth to one’s daily circumstances.  So, wisdom requires some knowledge of truth.  Jesus claimed to be “the way, the truth, and the life.”  So, the basis of wisdom is knowing Jesus. 

Knowledge of my sin and the death of Jesus on the cross leads me to apply that truth to my life by confessing my sins and making Jesus the Lord of my life.  That is wisdom. 

That wisdom brings God to favor me as His son!  Growing in understanding of Jesus and my relationship to Him causes the favor of God to increase. 

PRAYER: Jesus, having you as my Lord leads me to walk in the Father’s favor.  It was wisdom to apply truth to my finances by tithing, and now we walk in your favor.  Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

May 27, 2021: SOAP #4193:  Proverbs 4-6; Romans 8

SCRIPTURE:  Romans (NIV) 8:38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

OBSERVATION: Paul is certain.  He has no doubts.  None of the things listed have the power within themselves to separate us from God’s love!  Satan will try to use them to pry us out of God’s loving arms, but He cannot. This verse presents a great security for the believer!  It is an amazing love from an amazingly powerful Heavenly Father expressed through His Son and the keeping power of the Holy Spirit!

Should we choose to walk away, we will never be able to blame it on anything but ourselves.  We must judge ourselves guilty.  The God of love gives us a choice because love is only satisfied when the one returning the love chooses to do so.  It is not a choice unless we are free to make it, and God allows us to do just that. Nothing on the outside can be held responsible for our choosing to push away or walk away from God.  It is a heart matter.

Does this verse (and others in this chapter) give license to sin? NO!  Consider Psalm 66:18; John 15:1-2; Hebrews 6:4-6; 2Peter 2:20.

APPLICATION:  When I sin, I must repent; every sin can be confessed and forgiven, and I can be justified by the blood of Jesus.  The danger is in allowing unconfessed sin to remain in my life.  Soon I am thinking that my sin is not really so bad.  Soon I am thinking that God overlooks my sin.  Satan wants me to forget that “the wage of sin is death!” (Romans 6:23)

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, I want to value our relationship as much as you do.  You have set it that nothing can separate us.  I want to commit myself that I will also allow nothing to separate us.  When I have allowed sin to hinder our fellowship, I will do my part to repent and confess it to you, knowing that you will do your part to forgive.  Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

May 26, 2021: SOAP #4192:  Proverbs 1-3; Romans 7

SCRIPTURE:  Romans (NIV) 7:4 So, my brothers, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit to God.

OBSERVATION: Not only did Christ die for my sins on the cross, I died with him. I died to the ownership of the law.  The law no longer has control over me.  That does not mean that I am now free to live on my own.  Mankind was not created with the option of living successfully without outside input.  Adam and Eve chose to place more value on Satan’s input than on God’s.  That brought all men under bondage to Satan.  Jesus died to purchase our freedom.  Through seeing ourselves in Him on the cross, we died to the slavery of sin.  We are now free to choose to surrender to another master.  This new Master (Jesus) uses His authority and our surrender to continue to free us.

The US Army had a recruitment slogan a few years back, “Be all that you can be … in the army.”  How much more is that true in God’s army.  Only under His authority are we free to be all that we can be!

We have died to the law and come alive in Christ Jesus.  The purpose was not merely for our existence, but so that we can bear fruit. Our lives are to increase God’s kingdom.

APPLICATION:  I am now free from the bondage of the law.  What I once did because I had to, I now do because I want to.  Under the law, “had to-s” ruled my life.  Now, having experienced the freedom brought by God’s love, “want to-s” have replaced the “had to-s.”  Love can never be satisfied unless the one returning the love is free to love or not to love. 

PRAYER: Lord, the more I understand your love, the more I love you.  The more I love you, the more I want to please you.  Today I want to bring you pleasure. Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

May 25, 2021: SOAP #4191:  1Kings 10, 11; 2Chronicles 9; Romans 6

SCRIPTURE:  Romans (NIV) 6:1 What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning, so that grace may increase? 2 By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? 3 Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.

OBSERVATION: The sovereign God created man with the ability to choose.  It is in man’s choices that God is glorified. What a wonderful opportunity we have, to bring glory and honor to God, to choose to obey Him, even though we do not see Him, yet we are so convinced of His existence and of His desires that we place Him above all else in our lives.

As to our past “sins” (actions) , Jesus died to pay for them.  They are forgiven.  As to our present struggle with “sin” (nature that tends toward disobedience), we must die.  Water baptism is our statement that we are counting ourselves dead to “sin.”  But to live out our confession, we must rely on the Spirit that is now present in our lives.  Victory does not come through relying on the strength of our confession or will power, but acknowledging that we have no power, we rely on Him, who has all power!

When Paul speaks of life, there is one key ingredient without which victory over sin is impossible:  the presence of the Holy Spirit.

APPLICATION:  I may come close, but I cannot imitate my brother’s life, nor can he imitate mine.  Only I can live my life.  And the same is true with living like Jesus.  I cannot do it on my own.  If Jesus wants me to live like Him, He must come and live His own life in me!  AND THAT’S WHAT HE DOES!!!  Jesus lived His life in the power of the Holy Spirit, and He has given me the same Holy Spirit to live in me the life He lived through Jesus!!!  WOW!!! 

PRAYER: Jesus, the key to our new life in you is allowing you to live your life in me.  Jesus, be Jesus in me!  Fill me with your Holy Spirit.  I submit myself to you.  Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

May 24, 2021: SOAP #4190:  1Kings 9; 2Chronicles 8; Psalm 136; Romans 5

SCRIPTURE:  Romans (NIV) 5:14 …death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who was a pattern of the one to come….
19 For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.

OBSERVATION: Even before the 10 commandments were given to Moses, the wages of sin has always been death!  That principle was revealed by God in the garden to Adam.  Adam did not break the 10 commandments.  They had not been given.  But Adam disobeyed God and disobedience brought death. Adam became a negative pattern of Jesus.  What he did that affected all mankind for evil, what Jesus did affected all mankind for righteousness!

The trespass in the garden opened the door for many to be sinners.  Jesus opened the door for many to be righteous!  In Genesis it was disobedience.  In the gospels it was obedience.  Adam disobeyed just one law, “Do not eat of the fruit of the tree.” Jesus obeyed all the law of Moses!

APPLICATION:  Death entered the picture because of a deed done in disobedience.  The law described deeds that could be done to demonstrate sorrow and repentance.  What Jesus brings is not some deed we need to do, but a gift we must receive!  

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, I am blessed to live on this side of the cross.  Thank you for sending your Son, Jesus, to take the penalty for my sins and to give me the gift of His righteousness.  By faith, I accept.  I set my life to live for your glory. Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

May 23, 2021: SOAP #4189: 2Chron 6, 7; Psalm 135; Romans 4  (From 5/23/2010)

SCRIPTURE:  Romans 4:16 Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham’s offspring-not only to those who are of the law but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all.

OBSERVATION: Here is the summation.  Here is the principle.  Here is the heart of the matter.  Here is the hope.  Here is where we have security.  The promise to us is given by grace; it is received by faith.  It comes from the gracious hand of a loving Heavenly Father.  It is received as a gift with the hands of faith.  We are assured of our possession because we have confidence in the One who made the promise! 

We are justified freely by His grace! For a gift to fulfill its purpose it must be both given and received.  God, the Giver, in grace gives His Word.  Man, the receiver, in faith receives the gift.

If justification was given based on works, one could never be secure.  How many works would it take to earn this cleanliness? Who would ever know whether they had done enough?  What if some of our works were given less value in heaven than we give them on earth?  If 500 good works were needed, would not it be a shame if we only had 499?  If 1000 were needed, it would be a shame if we ended up with only 998! 

The Bible tells us that our righteousness is like filthy rags.  In comparison with heaven’s bright shining perfect righteousness, ours looks a dingy yellow.  I remember taking what I thought was a white piece of paper and laying it my desk close to a white piece of paper.  Then I saw that the first was not white at all.  In comparison to its surroundings, it first appeared white.  In comparison to whiteness, it was shown for what it really was.  It was obvious. We need a righteous that passes heaven’s standard, not one compared to the world around us. 

APPLICATION:  Heaven’s righteousness is only available to me from heaven.  It is only given through God’s grace.  It is only received through faith.  That is the way Abraham received justification.  That is the way I receive justification.  I must come in faith, believing that when I pray, He will hear me and forgive me just as He promised!

PRAYER: Lord, thank you for forgiving me!  Thank you for providing for me what I could not provide for myself, eternal life!  Amen.

Pastor Leon   
Making friends for time and eternity!