July 14, 2017: SOAP #2780: Isaiah 19-21; Hebrews 11

Scripture:  Hebrews (NIV) 11:17 By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had received the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, 18 even though God had said to him, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.”
19 Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death.

Observation:  By faith we stand beside the casket holding the body of one dear to our hearts, and rejoice through our tears.  Parting is temporary for those in whom Christ dwells.  It hurts, but there is a joy that is deeper, much deeper.  We will meet again!  The sorrow bubbles to the top, but underneath is a deep settled joy.  Underneath the joy is our faith!  And the foundation for our faith is none other than Jesus Christ.

Faith is that mental confidence in something we cannot prove.  Faith is that anchor that holds us steady in the midst of pain and sorrow.

Application:  Three things I have found that cause my faith to grow.  The first is reading God’s Word.  The second is taking a look at the world around me.  The intricacies and the immensities of creation working together!   The third is acting on my faith.  As I see God responding to the little steps of faith I take, I am encouraged to take a little bigger step.

Prayer:  Heavenly Father, the more I know you and about you, the easier it is to have faith in you.  The more I see you at work in creation, the easier it is to have faith in you.  And the more I step out in faith and find you filling in the things I could never provide, the easier it is to have faith in you!  Faith is logical!   Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!

July 13, 2017: SOAP #2779: Isaiah 15-18; Hebrews 10

Scripture:  Hebrews (NIV) 10:32 Remember those earlier days after you had received the light, when you stood your ground in a great contest in the face of suffering.
33 Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution; at other times, you stood side by side with those who were so treated.
34 You sympathized with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions.

Observation:   The author of this letter to Jewish believers reminded them of their first days as Christians.  Their faith had been solid and withstood persecution, suffering and insults.  When others were persecuted, they stood with them, even when they were in prison.

One important aspect of being a Christian is how one looks at possessions.  The possessions awaiting them beyond the grave was so valuable that they “joyfully accepted” the loss of their possessions this side of the grave.
Application:  When it comes to possessions, I must keep my focus on eternity.  Like Nate Saint said, “He is not fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.”

Prayer:   Holy Spirit, help me invest earthly possessions to gain eternal souls. Help me see the eternal value possible in my earthly possessions.   Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!

July 12, 2017: SOAP #2778: Isaiah 11-14; Hebrews 9

Scripture:  Hebrews (NIV) 9:27 Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, 28 so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.

Observation:   Just as all men are destined to die and stand before God in judgment, so Christ came and died.  Christ alone died without sin.  He died for the sins of others.  He returned from the grave alive and returned to His Father in victory!  But that is not the end!   Not even close to the end!  He will come “a second time!” His second coming will not be to die for sin, but to rescue those who have been and are trusting in Him!

Application:  In reading about the last days in the Bible, I find many references to Israel and the surrounding nations.  In watching the news, I find many stories about Israel and the surrounding nations.  Jesus second coming appears to be soon.  I must be ready!  This is not the time to put off until tomorrow what I should do today!

Prayer:   Lord Jesus, I confess my sins and ask you to forgive me and cleanse me from all unrighteousness. (1John 1:9)   I want to be ready when you come the second time.  I want to be ready to go with you.  Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!

July 11, 2017: SOAP #2777: Isaiah 8-10; Hebrews 8 

Scripture:  Isaiah (NIV) 8:19 When men tell you to consult mediums and spiritists, who whisper and mutter, should not a people enquire of their God? Why consult the dead on behalf of the living?
20 To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, they have no light of dawn.

Observation:  There seems to always be people wanting someone to tell them what their future will be.   In Isaiah’s day, it was the medium or spiritist; today it is the fortune teller, palm reader, tarot cards, or horoscope.   Rather, we should consult God!

Only God can accurately predict my future.  He holds tomorrow and I trust Him only to provide information to me about my future.

Application:  When God speaks, He always speaks in agreement with His Word, the Bible.  The better I know the scriptures, the better I will be able to recognize when God is speaking to me.  To claim to I desire God to speak to me, then To ignore Bible reading is to show God I am  not really interested in hearing from Him!

Prayer:  Heavenly Father, thank you for the Holy Bible.  You are as faithful to speak to me through the scriptures as I am faithful to read it.  Forgive me for the times I have not read it.  Forgive me for the times I read it, but did not allow changes to come to my life.  Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!

July 10, 2017: SOAP #2776: Micah 5-7; Hebrews 7

Scripture:  Micah (NIV) 7:7 But as for me, I watch in hope for the LORD, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me.
8 Do not gloat over me, my enemy! Though I have fallen, I will rise. Though I sit in darkness, the LORD will be my light.
9 Because I have sinned against him, I will bear the LORD’s wrath, until he pleads my case and establishes my right. He will bring me out into the light; I will see his righteousness.

Observation:   Evil has taken over the land.  The godly have been “swept” out of the land.  The rulers, judges, and powerful people conspire together to do evil.  Family members cannot be trusted.

Application:  What am I to do when evil appears to take over my nation?
1. Watch in hope: live with expectation that God will work things out for my good. Though I have fallen I will arise!
2. Wait: be patient and ready to respond to God’s call.  Wait for the light!
3. Think truth: think positive!  The LORD will hear me; the LORD will be my light!  Do not let my mind think that He is not listening.  He will bring me out of these troubles!

Prayer:    Lord, like Micah, help me live with confidence in you.  I watch in hope because I know you hear me.  I wait for you and keep my thoughts set upon you.  Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!

July 9, 2017: SOAP #2775: Micah 1-4; Hebrews 6

Scripture:  Hebrews (NIV) 6:13 When God made his promise to Abraham, since there was no-one greater for him to swear by, he swore by himself, 14 saying, “I will surely bless you and give you many descendants.”
15 And so after waiting patiently, Abraham received what was promised.

Observation:  Verse 15 says, “Abraham received what was promised.”  The promise was to Abraham and Sarah his wife.  It was a promise of MANY descendants.  Yet Abraham and Sarah had only one son, Isaac.

I am thinking that Abraham was, and is, as alive as was Elijah and Moses when they visited Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration.   When the book of Hebrews was written, the whole nation of Israel was a testimony that God had kept His promise to Abraham.  It is a promise that God continues keeping, for Abraham continues living!  Abraham has received the promise, and is still receiving the promise!

Application:  If I die before receiving a promise from God, I need not feel that God has forgotten His word.  To be not living in this body clearly does not mean that I am not living.  God does not need me present to make things happen.  If Jesus is ever interceding for us, when I join him in heaven, I am quite certain that I will join His ministry of intercession.  I can continue interceding in heaven as I can intercede while on earth.  And God will continue keeping His promises!

Prayer:  Heavenly Father, I trust you to keep your promises.  You have the character of a promise keeper!  Continue to develop that same character in me.  Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!

July 8, 2017: SOAP #2774: Hosea 13-14; Psalm 100, 102; Hebrews 5

Scripture: Hebrews (NIV) 5:11 We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain because you are slow to learn. 12 In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! 13 Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness.

Observation: The author of Hebrews, probably the Apostle Paul, takes his readers to task because they were not mature. These people did not have copies of the scriptures personally available to them. The Old Testament was available in their synagogue, but it is doubtful if they had a copy at home. They had only heard the New Testament letters read aloud. The book of Revelation had not yet been written. They met together to hear Holy Spirit anointed leaders teach them the Word of God.

Application: I wonder what he would say to the church today, especially the church in the USA. Almost all Christians have a personal copy of the Bible in their home; most have multiple copies. Many have several translations in their cellular phone. A large percentage even have a Bible dictionary or other reference books. And yet so many seem unaware of their own weakness and lack of spiritual maturity. So many should be teachers, yet are still looking for others to teach them. They are offended if you ask them to teach a Sunday School class or other Bible study!

Prayer: Holy Spirit, anoint and use the believers who have a knowledge of the scriptures. Stir up and convict those who have remained immature and are not faithful in reading the Bibles they have in their homes. Release into the world a mighty army of spiritual warriors who are armed with your Word hidden in their hearts. Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!

July 7, 2017: SOAP #2773: Hosea 10-12; Psalm 73; Hebrews 4

Scripture: Hosea (NIV) 10:12 Sow for yourselves righteousness, reap the fruit of unfailing love, and break up your un-ploughed ground; for it is time to seek the LORD, until he comes and showers righteousness on you.

Observation: … it is time … The previous verses are all negative, having to do with their sin and God’s punishment. Little, if any hope has been given. The prophet, with great urgency here states the obvious: it is time to seek the Lord. Truly, they should have been doing this all along. Instead they have followed their neighbors into sin.

It was their responsibility to sow righteousness. They were responsible for their future harvest in which they would reap what they were to be sowing then.

Application: When the prophet spoke, it was the time for Israel. As I read this today, I hear God saying it is the time for our nation to seek the Lord. In the verses that followed, the prophet did not hold out hope that Israel would do so, but this is what they should have done. May better be spoken of us!

Prayer: Heavenly Father, even as judgment was being spoken for Israel, your Father’s heart can be seen in calling your people to change their ways and seek your face. May many hearts in our nation respond to your call. Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!

July 6, 2017: SOAP #2772: Hosea 6-9; Hebrews 3

Scripture: Hebrews (NIV) 3:14 We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first. 15 As has just been said: “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion.” 16 Who were they who heard and rebelled? Were they not all those Moses led out of Egypt? 17 And with whom was he angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the desert? 18 And to whom did God swear that they would never enter his rest if not to those who disobeyed? 19 So we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief.

Observation: What a terrible truth these verses present. God kept his promise to Israel, but many individual Israelites did not make it into the promised land! They exited Egypt but did not enter the Promised Land. They had heard what God wanted them to do. They had seen God’s miraculous deliverance and provision. Yet they refused when God directed them to enter. So, God led them in circles for forty years until that generation died in the wilderness.

Application: Through faith in Jesus, many people have been delivered from their sins. They believed His word, confessed their sins, and received His salvation. Their lives were changed by the Life of Christ that took up residence inside. But like the Israelites who found out it was more than just being delivered from Egypt, the Christian life is more than just the start of being saved from sin. Jesus is coming for His Church. I must continue in the same faith in which I started. I must end with the same faith in which I started and continued.

Prayer: Holy Spirit, help me end with the same faith with which I started. And may it be even stronger at the end than at the beginning! Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!

July 5, 2017: SOAP #2771: Hosea 2-5; Hebrews 2

Scripture: Hosea (NIV) 5:10 Judah’s leaders are like those who move boundary stones. I will pour out my wrath on them like a flood of water.
Deuteronomy (NIV) 27:17 “Cursed is the man who moves his neighbor’s boundary stone.”

Observation: Boundary stones served to mark the perimeter of property. My property extends to this point and my neighbor’s property begins at the same point. They represented the authority that established the limits.

Similarly, God has set “boundary stones” to show what is holy and what is sinful, what is acceptable and what is not acceptable. In the Bible we find where God has placed those stones and we move them to our hurt. Leaders who move God’s boundary stones can cause many people to walk into sin, thinking that it is OK. No wonder God holds the leaders highly accountable.

Application: When driving at night in a heavy rain storm, I pay close attention to the lines on the side of the road. I do not see them as a hindrance but as a help for me to drive safely, especially when approaching on-coming traffic. And so the word of God sets the boundaries for me to live safely.

Prayer: Holy Spirit, you moved on holy men to write the scriptures. Move on and in my life to help me understand the scriptures and recognize the boundaries you have provided for my benefit. Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!