June 05, 2019: SOAP #3471:  Proverbs 30,31; Psalm 33; Ephesians 1

Scripture:  Ephesians (NIV) 1:4 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:   Although grace reached to us through the life and work of Jesus, it is clearly found in the heart of our Father God!  In verse six, the grace that is extended freely to us through Christ is seen as belonging to the Father. How He must have suffered to stand aside while His Son purchased our redemption.  Jesus sacrificed His life; but the Father sacrificed His Son!

Jesus is not the “One He used,” but the “One He loves.” Jesus is here spoken of as the “beloved” or the “One he loves.” Do not think that the Father did not hurt when His beloved Son died!

Who can understand the greatness of God’s grace to us? I wonder if we will even understand it better when we get to heaven. We will appreciate it more, for we will understand better the love the Father has for the Son. We will appreciate it more for we will better understand the glory the Son was willing to leave to bring many sons to the Father!  But will we ever fully understand the motivational depths of that grace? Only then will we know!

Application:   This verse helps me better appreciate: “For God so loved the world that He gave His Only Begotten Son…”  (John 3:16)   The sacrifice for me of Jesus on the cross is because of the sacrifice of God the Father for me in heaven!  Father God determined that what He would gain by sending His Only Begotten Son would make the sacrifice worth the pain and suffering.

Prayer:  Heavenly Father, thank you for your sacrifice in sending your Son to die for my sins.  May you be rewarded in gaining a large family of sons and daughters just like Jesus. Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

June 04, 2019: SOAP #3470:  Proverbs 28-29; Psalm 60; Romans 16

Scripture:  Romans (NIV) 16:1 I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a servant of the church in Cenchrea. 2 I ask you to receive her in the Lord in a way worthy of the saints and to give her any help she may need from you, for she has been a great help to many people, including me.

Observation:   As the Apostle Paul finishes his letter to the church in Rome, he mentions more than twenty-five names plus others associated with them to receive his greetings.  The first one is Phoebe a lady who has been of help to many believers, including Paul.  They are to receive her and give help as she may need.  They are to receive her as one child of God should receive another child of God.

When asked which commandment was the greatest, Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ (Matthew 22:37-39)

Later Jesus said, A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. (John 13:34)

So the “way worthy of the saints” must be loving her the way Christ loved them.

Application:  Jesus has raised the bar for me.  More than loving my brothers and sisters as I love myself, I am to love them the way Jesus loves me!   If we all obeyed this command, what a difference it would make in the church!!!

Prayer:  Holy Spirit, to do this I need your help.  Fill me with the Jesus-kind-of-love.  Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

June 03, 2019: SOAP #3469:  Proverbs 25-27; Romans 15

Scripture:  Proverbs (NIV) 25:26 Like a muddied spring or a polluted well is a righteous man who gives way to the wicked.

Observation:  Certain expectations are common from a righteous person.  One expects truthfulness and honesty.  One expects kindness.  One expects that their counsel would be wise and in line with God’s word.  One expects that what flows from their life to be a clear, clean stream.  Receiving their counsel is like a drink of fresh water.

But when it is discovered that their counsel is being tainted by some ungodly friends our faith in their counsel is destroyed.  The stream of wisdom flowing from their life is “polluted” and “muddied.”

Application:  A steady flowing stream of clean water will carry out the mud and debris in the puddle.  I need to keep a steady flow of the scriptures through my heart and mind to carry out muddy and polluted thoughts.

Muddy and polluted thoughts can get stuck in my heart so easily as I walk in this polluted world.  I must be faithful every day to allow the pure and clean scriptures to carry off mud and junk stuck in my heart and mind.

Prayer:  Holy Spirit, help me not to let input from friends, input from what I see and hear, and input from reading pollute what flows from my life.  Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

April 02, 2019: SOAP #3468:  Proverbs 22-24; Romans 14

Scripture:  Romans (NIV) 14:20 Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All food is clean, but it is wrong for a man to eat anything that causes someone else to stumble. 21 It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother to fall. 22 So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God.

Observation:   The issue was eating meats that had been offered to an idol when killed or prepared as food.  Some believed that the idol was not really a god; it was a “nothing” when it comes to gods.  No harm could be received when eating food that had been dedicated to a “nothing.”  The idol had no power to bless or curse the food.  But others felt that the idol was worshipped as a god and eating meat that was dedicated to that idol was showing disrespect to the true God.  They were offended when they saw a brother or sister in Christ eating such meat.

Paul’s admonition was to value each other so much that we would not purposefully offend them.  Their value to God should be their value to us.

Application:   I read this passage thinking that this is not an issue for me.  To my knowledge, where I live, meat is not dedicated to an idol or false god when prepared in the market.  Then I read “…or to do anything else that will cause your brother to fall.”  That phrase puts this passage in a whole new light for me.  Now I am thinking about the style of clothes I wear? (-how revealing? -how tight fitting?) I am thinking about how I drive my car? (-full stop at stop signs?  -five miles faster than the speed limit?)  I am thinking about how I talk?  (-complaining at the referee’s call?  -use euphemisms for “God?”)

Prayer:  Holy Spirit, remind me that I am not living this Christian life for myself.  It is not all about me.  May my life be an encouragement and not a hindrance to others. Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

April 01, 2019: SOAP #3467:  Proverbs 19-21; Romans 13

Scripture:  Romans (NIV) 13:14 Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature.

Observation:   The general concept of the Bible, as I read it, is that I have a mind, not that I am a mind. The Bible holds me responsible for my thoughts. The Bible tells me how to use my mind. My thoughts are not to control me, but I am to control my thoughts. I am not being told “not to think,” but “not to think about” what would please the sinful nature. The only way I can “not think about” something is to actively think about something else. I should actively think about clothing myself with the Lord Jesus Christ.

Some religions teach that meditation is emptying the mind of all thoughts. That leaves the mind open and unprotected from thoughts that the evil one would insert. The Bible teaches that I am to meditate on God and His Word. I fill my mind with Him. Philippians 4:8 tell me “whatsoever things are nobel … think on these things.” As my mind is meditating on Him and His Word, I am being trained to recognize Him and what He would say to me. In that setting He often inserts thoughts that give strength, encouragement, direction and more.

Application:   People who understand the importance of training the mind may do everything possible to get me to agree with them.  But the reality a mind pleasing to God comes down to me!   When I am not pleased with what is in my mind, I must think on something better.  Through reading the scriptures, through prayer, through worship, through interacting with others, I need to provide my mind so many good things to think about that it has no time to think about fleshly pleasures.

Prayer:  Holy Spirit, your help is vital in winning the battle in my mind.  Help me honor you with my thoughts.  Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

May 31, 2019: SOAP #3466:  Proverbs 16-18; Romans 12

Scripture:  Proverbs (NIV) 16:2 All a man’s ways seem innocent to him, but motives are weighed by the LORD.

Observation:  The One who knows the thoughts, knows the motives.  He cannot be fooled.  Others may misjudge, but not God.

A person may declare their innocence, but God knows the heart.  Others may declare their guilt, but God knows the heart.  It is to Him we will all answer.

To God, the motive is more important than the action and/or the results of the action.

Application:   There is comfort when I fail; God knows my heart; He understands what I was trying to accomplish.

There is frustration when I sin; God knows my heart; and I know that I cannot hide it.

There is forgiveness and peace when I repent; God knows my heart; He is working in me; He is giving me new “want to-es” on the inside that will result in new “do-es” on the outside.

Prayer:  Holy Spirit, you know the thoughts and purposes of my heart.  You know the motive behind every word and action.  Keep working on me until the motives of Jesus are established in me.  Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

May 30, 2019: SOAP #3465:  Proverbs 13-15; Romans 11

Scripture:  Proverbs (KJV) 15:30 The light of the eyes rejoiceth the heart: and a good report maketh the bones fat.
(MSSG) 15:30 A twinkle in the eye means joy in the heart, and good news makes you feel fit as a fiddle.
(NIV) 15:30 A cheerful look brings joy to the heart, and good news gives health to the bones.

Observation:  Attitudes have a great effect on a person’s life.  They are like colored glasses, tinting everything that the eyes see.  Good attitudes color everything in a good way; bad attitudes color everything in a bad way.

And attitudes not only affect me; they affect everyone around me.  A cheerful person entering a room improves the general feelings of the others in the room.  A person with a bad attitude can soon have others agreeing with their negative viewpoint.

Application:  Praise the Lord, attitudes do not have to be set in cement!  They can be changed!   With the help of the Lord, with filling my heart with His word, my bad attituded can be changed to God-honoring attitudes.

The largest book in the Bible is a song book.  The book of Psalms is full of phrases that we can sing to the Lord.  We can make up our own melody as we repeat the Psalms in our own words.

It is hard to maintain a bad attitude when our mouth is proclaiming the greatness of God.   And when I establish a good attitude in my life, God can use me to bring them same changes to those around me.

Prayer:  Heavenly Father, let the joy you have placed in my heart be expressed in my facial expressions, my words, and my actions.  May that joy have a good effect on others.  Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

May 29, 2019: SOAP #3464: Proverbs 10-12; Romans 10

Scripture: Romans (NIV) 10:14 How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? 15 And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”

Observation: Here is the word that Jesus used to describe himself more than any other word. There are words that are used more than this word to designate Jesus (Jesus, Lord, Son) but this one is unique because mostly it is use by Jesus himself. It is the word “sent.” Jesus saw himself as “sent.”

Just before He left, He said, “As the Father hath sent me, so I am sending you.” And here Paul picks up the thought. We too are sent. Jesus sent us with the Great Commission. We are to go. When we give out the word of God to the one or two, to the one hundred or two hundred, to the one thousand or two thousand, we must realize that we are sent. It is not our message we bring. We have a message from A Higher Authority, even The Highest Authority!

Application: It is my privilege to carry God’s message! What a privilege to speak for Him to the individual or the crowd! Sometimes we base our success on the size of the crowd, but the scripture is clear. John 3:16 was given to one man. And consider the truth Jesus revealed to one woman at a well. Jesus was “preaching” to an individual and the eternal truth continues to us even as the truth presented to the crowd at the Sermon on the Mount.

Prayer: Holy Spirit, to the individual or to the crowd help me faithfully carry God’s message. At church, at work, in school help me faithfully make God’s message known. Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!

May 28, 2019: SOAP #3463:  Proverbs 7-9; Romans 9

Scripture:  Romans (NIV) 9:17 For the Scripture says to Pharaoh: “I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.”

Observation:   God wanted Israel to know that no power on earth could stop Him!  In the eyes of the Israelites, surely Pharaoh was great.  He had brought great suffering to them as they served him.  He had made their lives miserable.  But no matter how great he was, and no matter how impossible their situation, he could not stop God from working.  God had put Pharaoh in authority for this very purpose!

It is amazing to me how God worked.  He did not just put Pharaoh to death and raise up another leader who would be kindly disposed toward the Israelites.  If He had, the Israelites might have been inclined to stay in Egypt.  But God did not want the Israelites in Egypt.  He wanted them to leave.  He wanted them in the Promised Land.  They might have been willing to stay in Egypt, but with Pharaoh in charge, they were more than willing to leave. (Remember, even in the journey, there were some wanting to go back to Egypt!)

Application:   I know God has put difficult people in my life for His divine purpose.  Through some He wanted to refine me.  Through others He wanted to teach me to live in victory.  And through others He was making me willing to accept His plan to move me.  When moving is assured to be God’s will, like the Israelites leaving Egypt, I am to leave in victory, headed for a sure destination!   They carried the wealth of Egypt as they headed for the Promised Land!

Prayer:  Holy Spirit, I greatly need your guidance in my life.  I do not just need you for the big decisions and issues, but for my every-day life.  Walk with me, speak to me; help me respond to the difficult people you have placed around me. Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

May 27, 2019: SOAP #3462:  Proverbs 4-6; Romans 8

Scripture:  Romans (NIV) 8:33 Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.

Observation:   What a wonderful word “justify!” The simplest definition and the one that most quickly comes to my mind is “just as if I’d” never sinned. Since we cannot go back and rewrite history, we cannot but admit that we are guilty. Yet not “are” guilty, but “were” guilty. Jesus, in His miracle working death on the cross paid for my sin in such a thorough way that it is now as if I had not even committed it!

Satan may not think it is fair. He may not like it. But Satan cannot do anything about it. Justification is all God’s idea. God designed it. God developed it. And God declares it! I am justified!

The word of the one who justifies is stronger than the word of the one who condemns!  The one who justifies is stronger than death. It is not just His death that is testifying that I am justified. It is His LIFE that testifies!

Application:    I can walk through the cemeteries and point out the graves of those who have died for others. The tombstone gives witness that their lifeless bodies are below. But the One Who justified me is alive and present at the Throne room of heaven declaring my guiltlessness, justified by His sacrifice!

Prayer:  Jesus, you are a unique defense attorney.  You do not defend my guilt.  With your death on the cross You paid for it. Then with your life in me you give me a new life that is truly guiltless.  Your Holy Spirit   Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!