Pastor Leon’s SOAP:  Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer
November 18, 2022: SOAP #4733: Ps 124, 2Corinthians 11-13

SCRIPTURE:  Psalm (NIV) 124:1 A song of ascents. Of David. If the LORD had not been on our side— let Israel say—
2 if the LORD had not been on our side when men attacked us,
3 when their anger flared against us, they would have swallowed us alive;
4 the flood would have engulfed us, the torrent would have swept over us,
5 the raging waters would have swept us away.
6 Praise be to the LORD, who has not let us be torn by their teeth.
7 We have escaped like a bird out of the fowler’s snare; the snare has been broken, and we have escaped.
8 Our help is in the name of the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.

OBSERVATION:  The help a person receives is only as good or bad as the helper.  It is only as strong or weak as the helper.  It is only as wise or foolish as the helper.  It only comes with the resources available to the helper.   We can have no better helper than the one who created the heavens and the earth.

APPLICATION: As I grow in the Lord, I have found that the emphasis is not so much Him being on my side, but for me to be on His side. 

But many times, He comes to my aid even when I am not walking in His perfect will.  In fact, that is what Calvary was all about.  Jesus came to the side of sinners in order to bring them to His side of righteousness.  Think of it:  “if the Lord had not been on my side” at Calvary, I would still be lost in my sin!

In reading the New Testament and better understanding the great judgment to which I was headed, and the great gulf that separated me from God, and the great grace that brought the LORD to my side — surely I can sing this with more appreciation and feeling than ever the psalmist.  Surely, I can add many of my own verses to this great anthem.  

PRAYER:   Heavenly Father, so many religions in the world today emphasize what the worshipper is to do for the god.  What a blessing to know that your emphasis is on what you do for us!!!  Our service to you is motivated by the love you stir in our hearts as you serve us!  Amen

Pastor Leon
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