June 12, 2021: SOAP #4209:  1Kings 12; 2Chronicles 10,11; Philippians 2

SCRIPTURE:  Philippians (NIV) 2:1 If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose.

OBSERVATION: Yes, there is encouragement from being united with Christ!  Yes, there is comfort from his love.  Yes, there is fellowship with the Holy Spirit.  Yes, there is tenderness and compassion. 

Being united with the Creator of the Universe, with the Lord of Glory, with God-the Son, with the One who loved me enough to die for me, with the one who defeated death!!!  Being united with Him—how could I not be encouraged?  He is my eternal source of encouragement! 

What do I face that is greater than the one with whom I am united?  What problem do I face that He cannot solve?  How can I be discouraged when He is with me?

APPLICATION:  Since I am united with Christ, and since I have such encouragement, what am I to do?  I am to encourage others!  I am to be a source of encouragement for others.  I am to point them to Christ, the true source of encouragement.  I am to encourage others to have confidence that God will do for them what He has done for others.  I am to encourage them in the word and to build their faith.   

PRAYER: Holy Spirit, let the Word mix in my thoughts in such a way that I can give understanding and build the faith of SOAP readers.  Increase their faith, I pray.  Help me to encourage them to have faith to take their needs to you instead of man.  Speak to each of us on how you would use us to encourage and help others.  And help us to respond in obedience to your voice more than to the voice of the need. Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!

June 11, 2021: SOAP #4208:  Song of Solomon 5-8; Philippians 1

SCRIPTURE:  Philippians (NIV) 1:2 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 3 I thank my God every time I remember you.

OBSERVATION:   God is presented as “our Father.”  What a comforting understanding this brings to us.  This is how Jesus taught us to pray.  This is how Jesus referred to God. He is the Father, the source of life.  He is the Father, ever loving and caring for His children.  He is the Father, ever providing.   And He is OUR Father.  Many Christians like to think of Him as MY Father, but that is not what is written.  To claim God as my Father, I must claim others as my brothers and sisters, so He really is OUR Father.

Grace and peace have their source in God the Father and God the Son — the only source of true grace and peace.  What comes from the Father, must flow through the Son.

APPLICATION:  I must never forget that all people have the same Creator, having been created in God’s image.  I should treat them with respect for Who He is.  Additionally, those who have accepted Jesus as Savior and Lord have been born again into God’s family.  We share the same Heavenly Father.   I acknowledge them in prayer by praying, “Our Father.”  I acknowledge them in my life by loving them as spiritual brothers and sisters.

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, what a wonderful family you have.  It is my honor to be a part. Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!

June 10, 2021: SOAP #4207:  Song of Solomon 1-4; Ephesians 6

SCRIPTURE:  Ephesians (NIV) 6:12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled round your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place,

OBSERVATION: Sin did not start on earth.  Adam and Eve were not the first sinners.  Satan/the serpent brought sin into the heavenlies.  Earth was created as a place where God could display His holiness and love for all to see.  The stage was set, the Son was sent, the struggle was started, and the Servant subdued the serpent!    The Son of Man/Son of God now leads His body, the church, in triumphant battles against evil. 

APPLICATION:  So, what does that mean to me?  It means I need to “put on the full armor of God.”  This armor is not something to be read about, or to be studied in a history class, or to be viewed in a museum display.  It is to be worn!  The belt of truth is to be buckled around my waist.  The breastplate of righteousness is to guard my vital organs.  The helmet of salvation is not to be left behind.  The shoes are to be on my feet.  I always need the shield of faith and the sword of the spirit. 

Even as I faithfully wore a flak jacket and helmet in Viet Nam, how much more should I faithfully PUT ON THE WHOLE ARMOR OF GOD today and every day! 

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, You have so willingly and generously provided for me.  Holy Spirit, remind me and show me how to put on this armor.  Remind me to keep it in place.  Check me if I start to lay it aside. Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternityl

June 09, 2021: SOAP #4206:  Ecclesiastes 10-12; Psalm 94; Ephesians 5

SCRIPTURE:  Ephesians (NIV) 5:25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her 26 to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, 27 and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. 28 In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.

OBSERVATION:  To the husbands, Paul commands us to love our wives.  To not love our wives would be disobedience to God’s word.  It would violate God’s expressed will.

 For Paul to make such a command is a good indication that this is not a love based on feeling.  It far surpasses natural feelings.  It is a love based on choice.  It is choosing the highest good of the other. If we can break into semantics, it is not a love one discovers that he has for his wife, but a love one chooses to give to his wife.

If we do not understand, we have an excellent example.  Do it in the same way Christ loved the church.  No believing husband should ever be able to say that he does not know how to love his wife.  If he has ever read Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, he has a clear picture of the love he is to give to his wife.

Jesus gave himself up for her (the church). It was not something done in response to a demand. It was done willingly. He said, “No,” to Himself to say, “Yes,” to the church. Men must learn to say, “No,” to themselves to say, “Yes,” to their wives.

APPLICATION:  If I live according to seven verses (25-31), it should be joy for Sharon to live according to three verses (22-24).  Verse 33 again emphasizes that the husband is to love his wife (as he loves himself) and the wife is to respect her husband (treat him as one having great value).

PRAYER: Holy Spirit, this passage is more than head knowledge about marriage; it is the basics of how husbands and wives interact.  Help us to live it out.  Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity.

June 08, 2021: SOAP #4205:  Ecclesiastes 7-9; Ephesians 4

SCRIPTURE:  Ephesians (NIV) 4:1 As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. 2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.

OBSERVATION: Paul was writing from a Roman prison, but he was not a prisoner of Rome.  He was “a prisoner for the Lord!”  Rome contained Paul in a cell.  Rome had built the prison.  But the Roman prison did not hold Paul.  The Lord held him there.  He had Paul right where He wanted Paul.  Instead of being busy moving on his evangelistic journeys, Paul had time to write letters!   

It was not that the Lord was with Paul in prison, Paul was with the Lord!  The Lord was not there to help Paul (although I am sure He did,) Paul was there to do the Lord’s bidding (writing letters to the churches.) 

Paul’s ministry in writing the letters far surpassed any other ministry he had.  Those letters are still ministering to people.  I doubt if Paul had any idea of how far those letters would take his ministry.  His dream was to go to Rome and beyond to regions that had never heard the gospel.  He probably never thought about France, Spain, and England.  He had probably never even heard of North and South America.  Yet his ministry reaches all the way to the middle of the USA, and then on around the world to the orient. 

APPLICATION:  Setbacks and limitations need not hinder the ministry God has for me.  Instead of calling for God to be with me and help me out of my problems, I need to start confessing that I am with God.  I need to ask Him what He wants me to do. 

PRAYER: Holy Spirit, you have ways to take even small things and making great things out of them.  You can take a woman’s infant child and make him to be a great leader. (Moses, Jesus)  May we be faithful in doing the small things and the unseen things. Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

June 07, 2021: SOAP #4204:  Ecclesiastes 4-6; Psalm 18; Ephesians 3

SCRIPTURE:  Ephesians (NIV) 3:12 In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.
13 I ask you, therefore, not to be discouraged because of my sufferings for you, which are your glory.
14 For this reason I kneel before the Father, 15 from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. 16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being,

OBSERVATION: Paul often strings thoughts through several verses.  Here we see that with faith in God we have the privilege of approaching God.  Because (Therefore) we can approach God we should not be discouraged.  Paul was concerned that the difficult times he was going through might be a reason for them to be discouraged.  Not wanting them to be discouraged, what does Paul do?  He prays that they will experience the strengthening ministry of the Holy Spirit. 

APPLICATION:  What am I to do when I see someone discouraged?  I can speak encouraging words to them.  I can give them a testimony of what God has done for me.  But best of all, I can pray for them. 

PRAYER: Holy Spirit, as I encounter people who need your help, anoint me to pray for them.  When I do not know how to pray, pray through me.  Then give me your words to pray.  Encourage them through your mighty presence.  Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

June 06, 2021: SOAP #4203:  Ecclesiastes 1-3; Psalm 45: Ephesians 2

SCRIPTURE:  Ephesians (NIV) 2:4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved….
9 not by works, so that no-one can boast….

OBSERVATION: A dead person cannot do anything.  If they are going to sit up, someone has to sit them up.  If they are going to stand, someone else has to stand them up…and hold them up.  If they are going to come alive, someone else must resurrect them.  And that is just what happened!!! 

We are made spiritually “alive with Christ.”  It is His life that makes us alive.  The life is the Life of Christ.  Without Him We do not have the spiritual life that is eternal.  With Him we have the eternal life we share together here on earth and will continue to share in heaven.   

APPLICATION:  It is my responsibility to maintain my part of this life I share with Christ.  It is a living relationship.  It is giving time each day for the Spirit to speak to me through the Bible.  It is talking to Him, spending time with Him.  It is acknowledging His presence throughout each day and in every conversation.  It is introducing Him to others.  It is learning to hear the voice of the Spirit and doing what He says. 

PRAYER: Holy Spirit, as you lived in Jesus while He was on earth, so live in me.  Help me hear your voice and understand what you are saying to me.  Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

June 05, 2021: SOAP #4202:  Proverbs 30,31; Psalm 33; Ephesians 1

SCRIPTURE:  Ephesians (NIV) 1:3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. 4 For HE CHOSE US in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5 he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will—6 to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.

OBSERVATION: You might not have chosen me; I might not have chosen you, BUT God chose us. God took a risk in choosing man (you and I). There is a risk that it will not work out, that sin will abound. At times in this world, we who see with the natural eye may wonder if it was worth the risk. But God who sees all things and knows all things and understands all things says to us, “Fear not, my child, when you see sin abound, be not dismayed when chaos reigns, when evil and greedy men seem bent on destroying you, your home, your nation and even the world. Do not be disheartened when even nature seems to be out of control. Not all things are now as they will be. The One who paid the price for sin will return to destroy sin and its consequences in this world. And as truly as I live, though this world is full of sin, it shall be filled with My Glory as the waters cover the sea. Though your life seems filled with darkness and chaos, though you walk in difficult places, keep your eyes on Me for I have chosen you and will bring you through to see My Glory revealed among men.”

APPLICATION:  God chose me to receive the good news about Jesus.  God accepted me when I asked for forgiveness.  God ordered my life when I made Jesus my Lord.  If God is for me, who can be against me!   (Romans 8:31)

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, you did the choosing.  So, I am on your team.  Forgive me for treating you as though you are on my team.  It is not my team; it is your team. I trust you to work through all things for my good and your glory but my priority is to work for your good and your glory!  Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

June 04, 2021: SOAP #4201:  Proverbs 28-29; Psalm 60; Romans 16

SCRIPTURE:  Psalm (NIV) 60:9 Who will bring me to the fortified city? Who will lead me to Edom? 10 Is it not you, O God, you who have rejected us and no longer go out with our armies? 11 Give us aid against the enemy, for the help of man is worthless. 12 With God we shall gain the victory, and he will trample down our enemies.

OBSERVATION: The Psalmist is looking for help.  He knows that he needs God’s help, but he also knows that their sins have caused God to turn away from helping them.  Yet he turns to God.  Where else can he go?  Man’s help is “worthless.”  With God’s help victory is sure!  

APPLICATION:  Instead of waiting on God, we sometimes turn to man for help.  We use our best logic to convince men that they should be helping us.  We need their finance and support.  We spend more time to get man’s help than we do in asking God for help.  We even promise that God will bless them if they bless us!  (Why is He not blessing us?)  We have more faith that man will help us than we do that God will help us! 

PRAYER: Lord, you are the God of miracles!  The task you have before me is more than I can do without help.  I need your help.  You are the only one who can truly meet my need for help.  In faith I wait for you. Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

June 03, 2021: SOAP #4200:  Proverbs 25-27; Romans 15

SCRIPTURE:  Romans (NIV) 15:1 We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. 2 Each of us should please his neighbor for his good, to build him up.

OBSERVATION: This verse gives some guidelines to be considered when we have opportunity to help our neighbor. Our help should be done for their good and to build them up.

God uses us to help our neighbor. As our hearts are open to Him, He speaks to us, makes us aware of a need, and tells us what we can do to help.  If He tells us to give, we should give joyfully and generously.  If He tells us to pray, we should pray faithfully.  If He tells to give encouragement, we should give encouragement from the scriptures and from the Holy Spirit. 

But when people spend more time to get help from man than they do to get help from the Lord…  when that happens, they are putting man in the place of God.  If they know that God has given them a ministry, they can have faith that God will provide.  With no grocery stores within miles, God provided bread for the Israelites for 40 years.  God is a better provider than any man could ever be. 

APPLICATION:  I do not want people to become dependent on me and my help, but on God and His help. Along with any help I give, I need to explain how to trust God, I need to give an example of trusting God, and I need to encourage them to trust God.  If I can help people to trust God, then I am helping them “for their good and to build them up.”

PRAYER: Lord, use me for your glory and for the good of others. Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!