August 30, 2021: SOAP #4288:  Ezekiel 8-11; Revelation 4  (Re-worked SOAP from 122709)

SCRIPTURE:  Revelation (NIV) 4:1 After this I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.”

OBSERVATION: John had just witnessed the revelation of Jesus in the middle of the golden candlesticks. (Chapter 1)   There he was given a message for each of the seven churches in the province of Asia. (Chapters 2&3)   Now He hears the word “Come…”    

I am already here.  “Come” to where I am.  The same One John had just seen in the middle of the candlesticks was already in the future.   He would now be receiving a whole new revelation of Jesus.   

As we read the rest of the chapter, we see that John received a revelation of throne in heaven and the one sitting on it!

APPLICATION:  In the midst of the unknown, or the change, or the storm, it is good to hear the word, “come.”  It speaks of presence, the presence of the one speaking.  It is saying, “Come to where I am.”  It is saying, “Come with me.”  It is saying, “Come…and I will show you.”  

As I look back on my life, I can say that each “Go” I heard from the Lord was really a “Come.”  He has never sent me to a place He was not already there!  He has never sent me alone, but always gone with me. 

PRAYER: Lord, Your command to go is really Your promise to go with me.  When you say “come,” you are assuring me that you are already at the place to which you are leading me.  Lord, I want a new revelation of You, so I will enter the open door.  Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

August 29, 2021: SOAP #4287:  Ezekiel 4-7; Revelation 3

SCRIPTURE:  Ezekiel (NIV) 5:12 A third of your people will die of the plague or perish by famine inside you; a third will fall by the sword outside your walls; and a third I will scatter to the winds and pursue with drawn sword.  13 “Then my anger will cease and my wrath against them will subside, and I will be avenged. And when I have spent my wrath upon them, they will know that I the LORD have spoken in my zeal.

OBSERVATION: These words should strike fear in the hearts of God’s people.  God had done great things for Israel.  He had delivered them from Egypt and given them their own land.  He blessed them in many ways, but they turned away from Him. 

If they do not respond to His blessings, He will bring judgment.  In “anger” he will show them His “wrath.”  But His anger and wrath will come to an end and “they will know” that the LORD had spoken. 

APPLICATION:  We love to consider the great love of God.  BUT He who loves much, hurts much when we reject His love.  The world will soon discover that God is not only a God of love; He is also a HOLY God!  One does not have to look very long to discover that the USA is experiencing God’s judgment.

Our God is kind, and gracious, and merciful, and generous, and compassionate; He is also good, and righteous, and just, and faithful.  God’s judgment is an expression of His holiness and His love.  His holiness is expressed in the perfect standard by which we are judged.  His love is expressed in His desire to protect us from the destruction of sin. 

On the cross, Jesus took my judgment.  The cross is an expression of holiness in that Jesus had to pay the full price for sin, even though he had not sinned.  The cross is an expression of love; the Father sent the Son to take my place!  

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, your great love draws me to you, and your perfect holiness protects me from the devils’ ways to destroy me with sin.  You are the perfect God for me!  Amen

Pastor Leon   
Making friends for time and eternity! 

August 28, 2021: SOAP #4286:  Ezekiel 1-3; Revelation 2

SCRIPTURE:  Ezekiel (NIV) 3:24 Then the Spirit came into me and raised me to my feet. He spoke to me and said: “Go, shut yourself inside your house.
25 And you, son of man, they will tie with ropes; you will be bound so that you cannot go out among the people.
26 I will make your tongue stick to the roof of your mouth so that you will be silent and unable to rebuke them, though they are a rebellious house.
27 But when I speak to you, I will open your mouth and you shall say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says.’ Whoever will listen let him listen, and whoever will refuse let him refuse; for they are a rebellious house.

OBSERVATION:  The Spirit of God told Ezekiel what to do and what was going to happen to him.  His mouth would be so dry that he would be unable to talk, to complain, or to defend himself. 

BUT when God gave him something to say, God would open his mouth and enable him to speak. 

APPLICATION:  When God gives me something to do, He will provide what is necessary for me to accomplish the assignment. 

When God assigns something beyond my abilities or my resources, He will use it to build my faith.  God may use others to help or provide, but I should not pressure anyone to help or give.  They will respond to God much better than to me.  Rather than twisting a man’s arm to convince them that they should help me, I should wait patiently for God’s provision.  Waiting in faith is a way of twisting God’s arm because God responds to faith. 

God’s enabling and provision provides proof of His calling.  He is not depending on my abilities and resources; He wants me to depend on His ability and His resources! 

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, as you enabled Ezekiel to speak when he had a word from you, so enable me to carry out what you have assigned me. I rest in your will. Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

August 27, 2021: SOAP #4285:  Jeremiah 52; Revelation 1; Psalm 143-144

SCRIPTURE:  Revelation (NIV) 1:1 The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John…

OBSERVATION: God is at work to reveal Himself.  We approach Him by faith, and He reveals Himself.  Then with renewed understanding we step out in faith again and He reveals Himself again.  Our understanding of Him grows bit by bit.  He becomes more and more amazing!  

John was not the revelator; God was/is the revelator.  John was in the focus of God.  John did not dream this up; John did not combine the thoughts in his own mind; God revealed this truth to John. 

John had several qualifications for receiving such a revelation from God, but the one that pierces my heart today:  John was a man!  God works through people!  Even God, the Son, had to become a man to be qualified to die for the sins of man.  A major theme in the whole Bible is that God works through people to reach people. 

APPLICATION:  God is at work in me.  I too am qualified.  I am a man.  I am human.  Even my sin uniquely qualified me to be one who could be saved only by His grace.  Only He could receive the glory for His work in me, and through me to others.  In love, God’s grace is extended to me; in faith I reach out to receive forgiveness and restoration to His purpose for me. 

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, with love and deep appreciation for what you, and your Son, have done for me, I dedicate my life to live for your glory.  May I bring joy to your heart today.  I pray that your work in me will be a blessing to you and to others.  Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

August 26, 2021: SOAP #4284:  Jeremiah 50-51; 3John

SCRIPTURE:  3John 3 It gave me great joy to have some brothers come and tell about your faithfulness to the truth and how you continue to walk in the truth.

OBSERVATION: John had heard Jesus speak about the first and greatest commandment— “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ (Matthew 22:37) John had heard Jesus speak about the second commandment—Love your neighbor as yourself. (Matthew 22:39)   Then John had heard Jesus give a new commandment—to love each other as Jesus loved us.  (John 13:34)

John had obviously taken Jesus words to heart.  Good news about those he loved pleased him.  He took “great joy” in those he loved. 

APPLICATION:  When someone gives me good news about someone dear to my heart, it pleases me; it gives me “great joy.” 

PRAYER: Holy Spirit, help me pass along good news that will bring “great joy” to others.  Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

August 25, 2021: SOAP #4283:  Jeremiah 37-39; Psalm 79; 2John

SCRIPTURE:  2John (NIV) 5 And now, dear lady, I am not writing you a new command but one we have had from the beginning. I ask that we love one another. 6 And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love.

OBSERVATION: The commandment is that we love each other.  Love is walking in obedience to His commands.  And what is His command?  It is that we walk in love! 

Love leads us to keep God’s command.  Keeping God’s command is to love! 

APPLICATION:  Businesses trying to establish a market often pay to have a trademark designed to represent their new product.  They want a strong link between their product and the trademark.  They desire that people who see the trademark think of their product. 

The church has a trademark; it is love! 

PRAYER: Lord, may the love that flows out of your church make people think of you.  And may the love that flows out of my life be an expression of your presence in me.  Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

August 24, 2021: SOAP #4282:  Jeremiah 33-34; Psalm 74; 1John 5

SCRIPTURE:  1John (NIV) 5:3 This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome [grievous KJV}.

OBSERVATION: John was writing to the church.  To people who have not made Jesus their Savior and Lord, keeping God’s commands can seem very hard to do.  They like their own freedom too much to willing submit to another.  BUT for those who are living for the glory of Jesus, His commands are not a burden. 

APPLICATION:  In serving the Lord, I have found: 
First, obedience to God’s commands is for my good. 
Second, God’s commands are motivated by His love for me!
Third, my obedience is motivated by my love for Him!
Fourth, God graciously placed His Holy Spirit in me to help me! 

The Holy Spirit teaches me God’s law and its reasons. 
The Holy Spirit convicts me when I do something that disappoints God. 
The Holy Spirit empowers me to joyfully obey God’s will. 

John wrote it well: “And His commands are not burdensome!”

PRAYER: Yes, Lord, your commands are not burdensome. The more I know you, the more reasonable your commands appear. Being your child gives me a sense of belonging; being your servant gives me a sense of usefulness. Keeping your commands develops my direction.  What an honor to be known as yours.  Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

August 23, 2021: SOAP #4281:  Jeremiah 31-32; 1John 4

SCRIPTURE:  1John (NIV) 4:4 You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world….
12 No-one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is made complete in us. 13 We know that we live in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit.
14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15 If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God.

OBSERVATION: God is in me!  I am in God!  God lives in me, and I live in God! 

APPLICATION:  That truth means that God is as close to me as my breath.  If I ever complain that I am all alone, I am ignoring truth! 

The same God who lives in me delivered the Israelites from Egypt and fed them in the wilderness for forty years!  He is the same God who opened blind eyes and fed 5000 people with a small boy’s lunch!  He is the same one who proved His love for me by dying on the cross.  He is the same one who rose from a borrowed grave! 

PRAYER: Lord, I am blessed to know that you are with me!  It is my privilege to be with you.  I want my presence to be as pleasing to you as your presence is to me.  Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

August 22, 2021: SOAP #4280:  Jeremiah 28-30; 1John 3

SCRIPTURE:  1John (NIV) 3:10 This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother….
18  Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth….
21  Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God  22 and receive from him anything we ask, because we obey his commands and do what pleases him….
24 Those who obey his commands live in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us.

OBSERVATION: When the emergency medical technicians arrive at the scene of an accident, they begin by checking for key vital signs; they feel for a pulse and check for breathing.  Vital signs are not life, but they are expressions of life.  Physical life always finds some way to express itself. 

The same is true for spiritual life.  The presence of God’s life within a person cannot be hidden for long. 

APPLICATION:  I am saved by faith.  I cannot do enough works to earn my salvation.  It is a gift of God that I receive by faith!  That basic truth is the foundation which is followed by another truth.  Saving faith grows.  It finds ways of expression in what I do.  I do what it right; I love our brother; I obey His commands; I do what pleases Him.  Faith without works is dead!  (James 2:20 & 26) The proof of saving faith in my life is in my living.

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, the proof of my faith, and of your life in me, can be seen in my living.  I want the love and holiness of your presence to find expression in what I do and say.  Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

August 21, 2021: SOAP #4279:  Jeremiah 21, 24, 27; Psalm 118; 1John 2

SCRIPTURE:  1John (NIV) 2:4 The man who says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 5 But if anyone obeys his word, God’s love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: 6 Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.

OBSERVATION:  In every walk of life, actions are the proof of belief!  People often speak of their beliefs.  People believe in airplanes.  People believe in medicine.  People believe in many things they cannot explain, and their actions are proof of their belief. 

We speak of religion as belief.  But the verses above state very clearly that Christianity is more than a belief.  It is a way of life.  It is walking “as Jesus” walked.   

One’s actions do not turn into belief; but real belief turns into action; and the actions become proof of the belief.

APPLICATION:  If I am going to take these scriptures to heart, learning about Jesus is very important.  I must do more than believe in Him; I “must walk as Jesus did.”  Walking as Jesus is so important that four books in the Bible are dedicated to telling us how Jesus walked.  Especially Matthew, Mark, and Luke are very similar.  Repetition is God’s way of saying, “This is important!”  “Look at this!”  “Do not miss this!” 

PRAYER: Holy Spirit, Jesus said you would teach us about Jesus and help us remember what He said.  Work with me to make me more like Jesus.  Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!