August 06, 2020: SOAP #3899:  Habakkuk 1-3; John 8

Scripture:  John (NIV) 8:33 They answered him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?” 34 Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. 35 Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. 36 So if THE SON sets you free, you will be free indeed.

Observation:   Sin is a severe task master.  It draws a person into its web and turns them into a slave.  And they sin again, and again, and again. 

Oh, but the verses above tells us that there is a weakness.  The slave has no permanent place in the family!!!  That means there is a way for a slave to be broken away.  Sin is powerful, but not all powerful!  Being a slave does not have to be permanent!  There is freedom in THE SON!!! 

Application:   There is not only freedom in THE SON, there is sustaining freedom. 
If anyone who sins is a slave, then a son is free from the slavery of sin.  If the son has a permanent place in the family, then THE SON has the power to keep this son from sinning.  I must walk with Him and talk with Him every day and all day long.  His thoughts into my mind are not interruptions; they are welcomed input!  

Prayer:  Holy Spirit, Jesus has set me free from sin.  Your presence helps me to daily live free from sin.  Especially when I receive the communion elements, and at many other times, remind me of the terrible price Jesus paid for my freedom.  May I hate sin for what it did to the Father.  May I hate sin for what it did to Jesus.  May I hate sin for what it does to your church…and to me.  Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

August 05, 2020: SOAP #3898:  2Kings 23; 2Chronicles 35; John 7

Scripture:  John (NIV) 7:3 Jesus’ brothers said to him, “You ought to leave here and go to Judea, so that your disciples may see the miracles you do. 4 No-one who wants to become a public figure acts in secret. Since you are doing these things, show yourself to the world.” 5 For even his own brothers did not believe in him. 6 Therefore Jesus told them, “The right time for me has not yet come; for you, any time is right. … 8 You go to the Feast. I am not yet going up to this Feast, because for me the right time has not yet come.” 9 Having said this, he stayed in Galilee. 10 However, after his brothers had left for the Feast, he went also, not publicly, but in secret.

Observation:   Although Jesus brothers did not believe Him to be the Messiah, that did not stop them from trying to be his campaign managers.  The feast of Tabernacles would be bringing many people to Jerusalem.  It would provide a place for Jesus to perform some miracles and become better known.  They thought Jesus needed to be there quickly and take advantage of the opportunity to become even better known.  This was a perfect set up for Jesus!  (Little did they know!)  

For Jesus, the issue was not about going to Jerusalem or not going…the issue was timing.  He was on earth to do His Father’s will. 

Application:  Timing is important to the Heavenly Father.  Just look at creation and see the importance of timing.  Timing was important in the ministry of Jesus while on the earth.  Timing is just as important in my daily life.  When there is an urgency from the Holy Spirit to do something, I need to be quick.  When things are not working out as I want, it is ok to wait for God’s perfect timing.   The answer “Wait” is just as important as “Yes” or “No.” 

Prayer:  Heavenly Father, help me wait in your will.  Help me to trust that waiting for your perfect timing will accomplish more than my running ahead on my own.  Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

Note:  Thanks for all your prayers today.  The report from the heart cath was very good.  Praise the Lord!  Tonight, I am back to the SOAPs!  Sharon was allowed to stay in the waiting room where she had opportunity to pray with another lady waiting for her husband.  And the doctors will be able to work on my heart valve without opening my chest; the recovery time is much shorter.  I still may miss a day or two of SOAPs, but I will let you know if/when that happens.  Leon 😊 

August 04, 2020: SOAP #3897:  2Kings 22; 2Chronicles 34; John 6

Scripture:  John (NIV) 6:44 “No-one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day. 45 It is written in the Prophets: ‘They will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who listens to the Father and learns from him comes to me. 46 No-one has seen the Father except the one who is from God; only he has seen the Father. 47 I tell you the truth, he who believes has everlasting life. 48 I am the bread of life.

Observation:  What caught my attention was the number of personal pronouns in this passage, (verses 44-59).  There are 20 times Jesus said “I” or “me.”  And He also referred to himself as the “one who has seen the Father,” “the one sent from the Father,” and “the Son of Man.”  This is a good passage to read if one wants to know who Jesus thinks He is, or what He says about Himself. 

Jesus is clearly the central figure in all of God’s endeavors with mankind.  Everything that God has done in creation, in choosing Abraham and Israel, in prophetic utterances, in fulfillment of those prophecies and those yet to be fulfilled—it all centers around Jesus!     

Application:   Jesus must be the central figure in my life.  That is what it means to call Him Lord.  He is either Lord of all or He is not Lord at all.  It I call Him Lord, I must listen for His voice, respond when He calls, obey His commands, and give Him the credit for all that is accomplished through His direction. 

Prayer:  Jesus, there can be no doubt.  You are the only one worthy to be called, “Lord.”  You are central in my life.  There is no activity in which I am involved that you do not participate with me.  My life is in your hands. Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

Note:  In the morning I will be checking into the local veteran’s hospital to have a heart cath.  This procedure is to determine what will be needed to repair one of my heart valves.  That procedure will happen later in the week, or next week.  My plan is to write a SOAP tomorrow, but should I be detained, I thought I should let everyone know.  God might use this time for you to write your own SOAP.   Your prayers are appreciated.  Leon 😊

August 03, 2020: SOAP #3896:  Nahum 1-3; John 5

Scripture:  John (NIV) 5:20 For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does. Yes, to your amazement he will show him even greater things than these.

Observation:   I cannot read the Genesis 1 without pausing to think.  It contains an eyewitness of creation.  And when I read the John 1, my mind goes back to Genesis 1.  John says that the Word was with God, the Word created all things, and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.  The Word is Jesus, the son of God, the son of man…

Here in John 5:19-30, Jesus is speaking.  I hear Him speaking of something the preceded Genesis 1, and John 1.  He speaks of a relationship that existed before creation.  It is a love relationship.  It is before John 3:16, before “God so love the world…”  It is “…the Father loves the Son…”

We miss so much in the Bible, if we do not understand that the Father loves the Son, and the Son knows that the Father loves Him. 

Application:  The Father loves me, and I know that He does! 

The love God wants me to display to the world does not originate in me.  My love falls short of God’s plan for me.  Yes, God designed me to be able to love others.  Yes, the second commandment if for me to love my neighbor as myself.  Yes, I am to love my brothers and sisters as Christ loved me.  No, it is not in my fallen nature to love like that.  But YES, God loves me enough to move inside and display His love through me. 

Prayer:  Love through me, Holy Spirit, love through me. 
I will be my brother’s keeper, love though me,
Hearts are bleeding deep inside
Love can dry their weeping eyes,
Love through me, Holy Spirit, love though me.  (D.Rambo) Amen
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWOfjvbIr2g

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

August 02, 2020: SOAP #3895:  2Kings 21; 2Chronicles 33; John 4

Scripture:  John (NIV) 4:33 Then his disciples said to each other, “Could someone have brought him food?” 34 “My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work. 35 Do you not say, ‘Four months more and then the harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest.

Observation:  Jesus had been hungry and sat down at the well while His disciples went to get some food.  While they were gone, Jesus had a conversation with a Samaritan woman who had come for water.    After she left, the disciples returned with food, but he now refused.   In fulfilling His life purpose, Jesus had lost his appetite for physical food.

In the verses above, Jesus told his disciples, “Open your eyes and look at the fields.”  Opening their physical eyes at that moment, they would have seen a crowd of Samaritans who had heard the woman’s report and were coming out to see Jesus for themselves!  (vs 39, 40)

Application:  The fields that were ripe and ready for harvest were the people.  The fields that Jesus wants me to see—they are full of people!  Today’s fields that are ripe and ready for harvest—they are full of people!  In every scene onto which I focus my physical eyes, God wants me to see people!  Every problem that challenges me is formed around people!  There is no place that I can go where there are no people! 

Prayer:  Holy Spirit, may I see the world around me as Jesus sees it.  Help me see people as He sees them.  Use me to bring in your harvest.  Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

August 01, 2020: SOAP #3894:  Isaiah 65-66; Psalm 62; John 3

Scripture:  John (NIV) 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

Observation:   When people are “sent,” there is always a specific assignment they are to complete.  Jesus was “sent.”  He was not sent on a fact-finding trip to see how people were doing on earth.  Jesus was not sent to condemn those who had the perfect law of God for 1500 years, even though not one had ever successfully fulfilled it.  Jesus was not sent to encourage us, nor to teach us, although He did both.  Jesus was sent from the heart of a loving heavenly father “to save” us!  

As Jesus lived his life, He was purposefully moving toward the sacrifice he would make on the cross—the sacrifice that would save.  He was also preparing those around him to accept that sacrifice as the payment for their sins.  And He was setting an example for them to go and tell others. 

Application:  Jesus said He was sending me just as He had been sent. (John 20:21) The salvation of those around me is to be my priority.  I need to serve them with the thought that the goal of our relationship is that they too will come to know and trust Jesus. 

Prayer:   Lord, to know you better every day and to grow in my appreciation for what you have done for me.  Anoint me to better make you known!   Amen.

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

July 31, 2020: SOAP #3893:  Isaiah 63-64; Psalm 107; John 2

Scripture:  Psalm (NIV) 107:19 Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress. 20 He sent forth his word and healed them; he rescued them from the grave. 21 Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for men. 22 Let them sacrifice thank-offerings and tell of his works with songs of joy.
Zephaniah 3:17 The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.”

Observation:  The book of Revelation gives us a glimpse into heaven.  There we find singing to be a major activity of the saints.  Zephaniah tells us that even God gets involved in singing.  The longest book in the Bible, Psalms, is a song book.  Moses used a song to teach the Israelites their history.  Paul wrote to the church in Ephesus to speak to one another in “psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord in your heart.” (Ephesians 5:19)

Historically, music has always been a part of our worship.  We sing our prayers; we sing our praises; we sing our worship; we sing our testimonies.  We sing to build our faith; we sing to gain peace; we sing to prepare our hearts to recognize His Presence. 

Application:  There is within my heart a melody.  After all the Lord has done for me, how could I not sing.  It is a blessing to lift my voice in praise with others.  It is also a blessing to lift my voice alone to the One who accompanies me throughout every day!  

Prayer:  Lord, singing; what a good way to acknowledge your presence!  I pray that you enjoy my singing as much as I do, for it comes from my heart.  Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

July 30, 2020: SOAP #3892:  Isaiah 60-62; John 1

Scripture:   John (NIV) 1  Word, God, Life, Light, the One and Only, Jesus Christ, Lord, Lamb of God, Son of God, Rabbi, Messiah/Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, Son of Joseph, King of Israel, Son of Man

Observation:     In the 51 verses of the first chapter of John, we have 15 names for Jesus. 

Application:   As a diamond cutter carefully prepares the uncut diamond, plans each cut, then carefully makes each cut.  Each cut is expertly designed to reflect the beauty of the stone. 

And with even more care and provision, the Holy Spirit leads John to present many of the aspects of the Beautiful Son of God to be revealed on earth. Each name reveals something special and unique.  Taken all together they reflect His nature and character as the diamond reflects the light.  What a Savior!  

Prayer:  Lord, You are more precious than silver.
    Lord, You are more costly than gold.
    Lord, You are more beautiful than diamonds;
    and nothing I desire compares with you.  Amen  (Lynn DeShazo)

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

July 29, 2020: SOAP #3891:  Isaiah 57-59; Psalm 103; 2Peter 3

Scripture:  Psalm (NIV) 103: 13  As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him; 14 for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust.

2Peter (NIV) 3:5 But they deliberately forget that long ago by God’s word the heavens existed and the earth was formed out of water and by water.

Observation:   God remembers how we were formed.  He should; He was there.  He is more than an eyewitness of creation; He is the Creator!  He remembers how we were formed.   

Man, who was not there, must rely on the witness of the One who was there.  Man has become rebellious; he conveniently and deliberately ignores/forgets what he has heard.  Man does not like to think about someone to whom He will give an answer for his actions in this life. 

God knew that we would have trouble remembering things; He had a plan:  He would send the Holy Spirit!  John (NIV) 14:26 “But the Counsellor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.”

Application:   What a special privilege to have the Holy Spirit living inside my life.  Often, He brings to my memory scriptures that I need.  Sometimes He brings things to my memory for which I need to repent and ask forgiveness.  He is always reminding me of the Father’s love for me. 

Prayer:  Holy Spirit, you are the great Memory Assistant!  I need you to drop your thoughts into the mix of my thoughts.  Work with me until I am quick to recognize when you are speaking to me.  Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

July 28, 2020: SOAP #3890:  Isaiah 53-56; 2Peter 2

Scripture:  Isaiah (NIV) 54:7 “For a brief moment I abandoned you, but with deep compassion I will bring you back. 8 In a surge of anger I hid my face from you for a moment, but with everlasting kindness I will have compassion on you,” says the LORD your Redeemer.

Observation:  God had done so much for Israel and had such high plans for them!  Yet they turned their back and went their own way.  That was why God had abandoned them.  That was why God was angry and hid His face from them.  BUT He has everlasting kindness and compassion.  HE NEVER STOPPEED LOVING THEM!!!   That is why in the very next chapter we read: 

Scripture:  Isaiah (NIV) 55:6 Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near. 7 Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the LORD, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will freely pardon.

Application:  Dear reader, know that God brought these verses to you today because He loves you.  He is open to you.  IF you call on Him, you will find that He is near.  IF you confess your sins, He will show you mercy and will freely forgive.  IF you invite Him to be the LORD of your life, He will help you live each day. 

Prayer:  Heavenly Father, do for those who call out to you the same thing you did for me.  You forgave me; forgive them.  You came into my life; come into their lives.  You showed me how to live and helped me live to please you; do the same for them.  And you filled my heart with peace and joy; do the same for them, I pray in Jesus Name, Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!