July 4, 2017: SOAP #2770: 2Kings 15-16; Hosea 1; Hebrews 1

Scripture: 2Kings (NIV) 16:11 So Uriah the priest built an altar in accordance with all the plans that King Ahaz had sent from Damascus…
15 King Ahaz then gave these orders to Uriah the priest: “On the large new altar, offer the morning burnt offering and the evening grain offering, the king’s burnt offering and his grain offering, and the burnt offering of all the people of the land, and their grain offering and their drink offering. Sprinkle on the altar all the blood of the burnt offerings and sacrifices. But I will use the bronze altar for seeking guidance.”
16 And Uriah the priest did just as King Ahaz had ordered.

Observation: God gave the priest the responsibility of maintaining the temple and the order of worship. The priest represented the people to God, and God to the people! However, Uriah, the priest let King Ahaz usurp his priestly authority.

Application: The highest authority is God. Neither the state, nor its citizens are supreme. Government leaders and private citizens live best when submitted to God.

God has placed spiritual leaders in each nation. Franklin Graham’s call for prayer at each state capitol prior to the election and the response of many Godly people shows him to be a spiritual leader. We should pray that Franklin Graham and other spiritual leaders have boldness and clarity in speaking to the political leaders of our nation. Spiritual leaders need not wait for an invitation from the political leaders, they go when sent by God!

Prayer: Holy Spirit, give boldness to myself and to the spiritual leaders in this nation to proclaim Your word clearly. Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!

July 3, 2017: SOAP #2769: Isaiah 6-7; 2Chronicles 26-27; Philemon

Scripture: 2Chronicles (NIV) 26:16 But after [King] Uzziah became powerful, his pride led to his downfall. He was unfaithful to the LORD his God, and entered the temple of the LORD to burn incense on the altar of incense.
17 Azariah the priest with eighty other courageous priests of the LORD followed him in. 18 They confronted him and said, “It is not right for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the LORD. That is for the priests, the descendants of Aaron, who have been consecrated to burn incense. Leave the sanctuary, for you have been unfaithful; and you will not be honored by the LORD God.”
19 Uzziah, who had a censer in his hand ready to burn incense, became angry. While he was raging at the priests in their presence before the incense altar in the LORD’s temple, leprosy broke out on his forehead.

Observation: People who were not priests, including kings, were to stand aside while the priests took care of their responsibility.

It took courage for the priests to stand against King Uzziah. Some priests had been killed for taking such a stand. The limitations were of God and God enforced them.

Application: Today there is a need for spiritual leaders to stand before political leaders and proclaim God’s truth. We must proclaim both the fullness of God’s love and the blinding brilliance of God’s holiness. We must recognize and accept the limitations that God has set for our lives and nation.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, you are the most loving being in all the universe, also the most holy. Help me to see your limitations as protective, not restrictive. Your limitations are expressions of Your love. Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!

July 2, 2017: SOAP #2768: Isaiah 4-5; Psalm 115-116; Jude

Scripture: Psalm (NIV) 116:1 I love the LORD, for he heard my voice; he heard my cry for mercy.
2 Because he turned his ear to me…
6 …when I was in great need, he saved me.
7 Be at rest…O my soul, for the LORD has been good to you..
8 …delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling…
16 …you have freed me from my chains.

Observation: In the world in which the Psalmist lived, most, if not all, of the nations served idols. Made out of wood or stone, obviously they were powerless to do anything for their worshippers. What a difference from the God the Psalmist served. The Psalmist’s God heard his prayer, understood his need, and saved him! The Psalmist’s God saved him from death, wiped away his tears, kept his feet from stumbling, and freed him from what bound him! The Psalmist’s God served the Psalmist in greater ways than the Psalmist served his God.

Application: I serve the same God the Psalmist served! And along with the Psalmist I can say, “The Lord has been good to me!”

Prayer: Heavenly Father, surely you have been good to me! May all who know me, know that you have been good to me! May they hear me proclaim your many blessings. Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!

July 1, 2017: SOAP #2767: Isaiah 1-3; Titus 3

Scripture: Isaiah (NIV) 2:10 Go into the rocks, hide in the ground from dread of the LORD and the splendor of his majesty!
11 The eyes of the arrogant man will be humbled and the pride of men brought low; the LORD alone will be exalted in that day.
12 The LORD Almighty has a day in store for all the proud and lofty, for all that is exalted (and they will be humbled),
13 for all the cedars of Lebanon, tall and lofty, and all the oaks of Bashan,
14 for all the towering mountains and all the high hills,
15 for every lofty tower and every fortified wall,
16 for every trading ship and every stately vessel.
17 The arrogance of man will be brought low and the pride of men humbled; the LORD alone will be exalted in that day,

Observation: What a day that will be! It will be a day when everything is put in its proper order. All will see the LORD for who He is! The splendor of His majesty will prove that He alone is worthy of being exalter.

And when everyone sees the LORD for who He is, they will truly see themselves in comparison to the only one worthy of exaltation! They will be brought low. Their pride will be humbled.

Application: People should be able to understand my words and actions in the light of Jesus being highly exalted in my life. If the exaltation of Jesus is evident in my live, my humility should also be evident.

Prayer: Holy Spirit, show me how to keep Jesus exalted in my life. Show me how to act and how to talk so that others will see that Jesus is worth. Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!

June 30, 2017: SOAP #2766: Amos 7-9; Psalm 104: Titus 2

Scripture: Psalm (NIV) 104:33 I will sing to the LORD all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.
34 May my meditation be pleasing to him, as I rejoice in the LORD.

Observation: For my meditation to be pleasing to Him, He must be aware of what I am thinking. Of course, He is aware of my thoughts because He lives inside me.

For my meditation to please to Him, my meditations should be full of appreciation of Him. My meditations should be expressions of faith.

Application: I need to think through my day and recall my meditations. The Holy Spirit will help me evaluate my thoughts. Worry and doubt are not meditations that please the Lord.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, forgive me for letting worry and doubt take over my meditations. I want you to enjoy being a part of my life. Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!

June 29, 2017: SOAP #2765: Amos 4-6; Psalm 86,87; Titus 1

Scripture: Psalm (NIV) 86:8 Among the gods there is none like you, O Lord; no deeds can compare with yours.
9 All the nations you have made will come and worship before you, O Lord; they will bring glory to your name.
10 For you are great and do marvelous deeds; you alone are God.

Observation: David, in his prayer to the Lord, comments on the great deeds of the Lord! There is no god like the Lord! The gods of the nations surrounding Israel were idols. Idols can say nothing and do nothing! Obviously, the deeds of the idol gods could in no way compare with the deeds of the Lord God of Israel! They could not answer the prayers of their worshippers, not only because they could not speak, but also because they could not hear! There is only ONE God!

Application: What David had discovered as truth is just as true for me today. There is no god like my God!

Prayer: My God, you alone are God! Your deeds are marvelous. I am greatly blest to be your child, your servant! Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!

June 28, 2017: SOAP #2764: Amos 1-3; Psalm 80; 2Timothy 4

Scripture: 2Timothy (NIV) 4:5 [The Apostle Paul writing to young Timothy] But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.

Observation: “Keep your head” (NIV); “be watchful” (NKJV); “keep a clear head” (HSCB); “keep your eye on what you are doing” (Message); “be steady” (RSV); “exercise habitual self-control” (Wey); “watch in all things” (YLT). Paul was instructing Timothy not to get so emotionally involved that he could not think properly. He was not to let the things of the world cloud his thinking.

Many politicians today present their arguments in such a way to sway the emotions of the public for support. The logical arguments of right or wrong, or existing law, or financial effect are pushed aside as stories designed to bypass the head and sway the heart are paraded on the news. We need politicians who “keep their head in all situations.”

Application: I remember receiving a prescription for oxycodone from a dentist for a toothache. The first pill caused such a buzz in my head that I did not take a second. I should be careful not to let my thinking become “fuzzy.” There are many things in the world designed to keep me from thinking clearly—from clearly hearing what God is saying to me.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank you for including such wise directions in your Word. May your Holy Spirit interrupt my fuzzy thinking. Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!

June 27, 2017: SOAP #2763: 1Kings 20-21; 2Chronicles 17; Colossians 3

Scripture: Colossians (NIV) 3:1 Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3 For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. … 5 Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.

Observation: In these verses we see two facts. First: I have died to my old way of life and now I am alive with Christ! (verse 3) What a change. It requires a whole new way of thinking. Second: I am to “put to death” the things of the sinful nature that hang on to me. The life of Christ within me stops some actions and starts others.

Application: For several months after we were settled into our present home, I often missed the turn going home because my mind had been trained to go to WheatState Camp where we stayed with my parents our first month in Kansas. I knew where we lived. I could give you the address. But when my mind was not “set” on going home, it seemed “programmed” to go to the camp. I had died to living with my parents; I now had a new address. I had to “put to death” the old thinking and way of getting home. But when I was driving, I sometimes drove as though I still lived at the camp.

The same is true in my spiritual life. Sometimes I still live as though the old worldly man is still alive!

Prayer: Holy Spirit, remind me that I have “died” and help me “put to death” thoughts and actions that displease my Heavenly Father. I know I cannot succeed without you living in me. I need your life power and wisdom. Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!

June 26, 2017: SOAP #2762: Jonah 1-4; 2Timothy 2

Scripture: 2Timothy (NIV) 2:8 Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David. This is my gospel, 9 for which I am suffering even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But God’s word is not chained.

Observation: Paul was experiencing the limitations of being in prison. But of this he is confident: God’s Word does not have those limitations! God’s Word has the same characteristics as God. It is eternal, and not limited by time. It is omnipresent, and not limited by space. It is omniscient, and not limited by something unknown. It is omnipotent, and not limited by weaknesses. It is spirit, and not limited by physical characteristics. It is truth, and not limited by error.

Application: My love for God can be seen in my love for His Word. The better I know God’s Word, the better I know God. By knowing His Word, I know what to expect. I know what He thinks about the situations I face. I understand His reactions. I know what He expects me to do.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, your wisdom can be seen in your Word. That you want people to know you can be seen in that you gave us your Word. Thank you. Holy Spirit, teach me through your Word. Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!

June 25, 2017: SOAP #2761: Joel 1-3; 2Timothy 1

Scripture: 2Timothy (NIV) 1:15 You know that everyone in the province of Asia has deserted me, including Phygelus and Hermogenes.
16 May the Lord show mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, because he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains.
17 On the contrary, when he was in Rome, he searched hard for me until he found me.
18 May the Lord grant that he will find mercy from the Lord on that day! You know very well in how many ways he helped me in Ephesus.

Observation: Every play has BOTH main characters and supporting characters. Every church as BOTH leaders and followers. Paul knew the value of loyal friends. Onesiphorus had learned that Paul was in Rome and went to great effort to find him. He did not let Paul’s circumstances, being a prisoner, stop him from reaching out to Paul. He found “many ways,” various ways to minister to Paul.

Application: Everyone does not need help in the same way. I appreciate the “many ways” people have helped me. May they too find mercy in this life and in the next. May the Lord supply the help they need as the Lord has used them to supply the help I needed.

Prayer: Holy Spirit, show me the “many ways” I can be of help to others. Use me to bless others as you have used others to bless me. Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!