August 28, 2016: SOAP #2460:  Ezekiel 1-3; Revelation 2

Scripture:  Ezekiel (NIV) 1:2 On the fifth of the month—it was the fifth year of the exile of King Jehoiachin— 3 the word of the LORD came to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, by the Kebar River in the land of the Babylonians. There the hand of the LORD was upon him.

Observation:   The land of Judah had been taken into captivity.  Ezekiel was among the many who had been taken to Babylon.  Although they were in a foreign land, and although they were far from the temple in Jerusalem, and although they were in a land that served false gods—even there “the word of the Lord came to Ezekiel” and “there the hand of the LORD was upon him!”  Ezekiel’s location was not a problem to His God!

Application:   My location is not a problem to my God.   He knows where I am and He can speak to me “there!”  My circumstances may not be my first choice, or even God’s first choice for me, but as long as my heart is right with God, He can speak to me there!   He can make His Presence known to me there!

Prayer:    Heavenly Father, you are with me in every there.  May my ears always be open to hear your voice.   Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!

August 27, 2016: SOAP #2450:  Jeremiah 52; Revelation 1; Psalm 143-144

Scripture:  Revelation (NIV) 1:13 and among the lampstands was someone “like a son of man,” dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest.  … 17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last.  18 I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.

Observation:   The touch was an expression of presence.  It shouted, “You are not alone!  I am with you!”

The touch enhanced the words.  The words said, “Do not be afraid…”  The touch implied, “We are in this together!”

The touch personalized the words that were spoken.  “Be sure you listen.  I am saying this for your benefit!”

Application:   Holding the hand of a suffering friend; putting my hand on someone’s shoulder; gently squeezing a hand; patting them on the back; a hug; –many ways of ministering God’s presence to those around me.

Prayer:    Holy Spirit, teach me the ministry of presence and the ministry of touch.    Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!

August 26, 2016: SOAP #2458:  Jeremiah 50-51; 3John

Scripture:  Jeremiah (NIV) 51:17 “Every man is senseless and without knowledge; every goldsmith is shamed by his idols. His images are a fraud; they have no breath in them.  18 They are worthless, the objects of mockery; when their judgment comes, they will perish.  19 He who is the Portion of Jacob is not like these, for he is the Maker of all things, including the tribe of his inheritance—the LORD Almighty is his name.

Observation:   Some men make idols then bow and worship the work of their own hands.   They worship what they create!    What a difference for those who worship the God of Israel.  Instead of worshipping what they create, they worship the one who created them.

Application:   What a God I serve.  I did not make Him; He made me.  He is worthy of my worship.   He is not a god that must be carried from place to place; He is the God who carries me!   He is the God I want with me when in trouble.  He is not just mighty; He is ALL Mighty!

Prayer:    Almighty God, you are the maker of all things.  You have chosen to reveal yourself to me.  You are worthy of my worship!  Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!

August 25, 2016: SOAP #2457:  Jeremiah 37-39; Psalm 79; 2John

Scripture:  Jeremiah (NIV) 39:16 “Go and tell Ebed-Melech the Cushite, ‘This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: I am about to fulfil my words against this city through disaster, not prosperity. At that time, they will be fulfilled before your eyes. 17 But I will rescue you on that day, declares the LORD; you will not be handed over to those you fear. 18 I will save you; you will not fall by the sword but will escape with your life, because you trust in me, declares the LORD.’”

Observation:   Ebed was not a Jew, but an Ethiopian in King Zedekiah’s court.   In spite of danger to himself, he had been instrumental in saving Jeremiah from death in a damp, muddy dungeon where Jeremiah would have starved to death.  In these verses God recognizes and rewards Ebed’s faithfulness and trust.  God was bringing judgment to sinful Jerusalem, but God would save this trusting foreigner!   He would see what God was doing, but his life would be spared.

Application:   God is no respecter of nationality and is faithful to those who are faithful to Him!  It is definitely worth any effort to remain faithful to God.  It is worth experiencing danger.  We may see God’s judgment on the sins of our nation, but we can trust God for our lives.

Prayer:    Heavenly Father, you are faithful because that is who you are.  You have many ways to protect and reward those who are faithful to you.  As we used to sing, “Keep me true, Lord Jesus, keep me true. Keep me true, Lord Jesus, keep me true.  There’s a race that I must run; there are victories to be won.  Give me power – every hour – to be true.” (author unknown) Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!

August 24, 2016: SOAP #2456:  Jeremiah 33-34; Psalm 74; 1John 5

Scripture:  1John (NIV) 5:3 This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, 4 for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.  5 Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.

Observation:   Faith is being convinced to the point of action.   Our confidence in Who God is and what He can do is seen in the words we speak and in our behavior.  The enemy tries to get us to talk and act like God does not exist or that He is unconcerned about our lives.   Our faith overcomes the enemy.

Application:   My faith is seen in my speech and actions.  There is not a single event in my life, not a single worry, not a single person who walks into my life that is not an opportunity to recognize God’s presence and involvement.  Recognizing God’s presence establishes in my life His victory over the world.

Prayer:    Holy Spirit, continually bring God’s Word to my thoughts.  May I live every moment with a recognition of his presence and an expectation that He will do what I cannot do.  Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!

August 23, 2016: SOAP #2455:  Jeremiah 31-32; 1John 4

Scripture:  1John (NIV) 4:10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.  11 Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another…   19 We love because he first loved us.  20 If anyone says, “I love God,” yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen.  21 And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother.

Observation:   Where does my love for my brother start?   Where does the love I have for God start?  Both loves start in the heart of God.  It all started with Him loving us!   Our love for God is a response to God’s love for us.  Our love for our brothers and sisters is a response to God’s love for us.

Application:   God enjoys the love I give to Him.  But He is honored by the unconditional love I give to people who may not return it.  His love for me is a love of action.  My love is to be a love of action.  It is not a love hidden away in my heart, but a love that those around me can see.      Surely one of the worst pains in life must be when a spouse walks away from his/her marriage vows.  I wonder if God does not whisper in the hurting heart of the one rejected, “now you know how I hurt when you walk away from me!”

Prayer:    Heavenly Father, it all started with You!   Your love could not be satisfied until it was returned by those who had a choice to love you, or not to love you.  Today I choose to love you, and I choose to let your love flow through me to those nearby.   May my love for you be well known.  Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!

August 22, 2016: SOAP #2454:  Jeremiah 28-30; 1John 3

Scripture:  Jeremiah (NIV) 29:4 This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: 5 “Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. 6 Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. 7 Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.”

Observation:   Because of their many sins, God caused the Babylonians to take Israel into captivity.  Some of Israel’s prophets were saying that God would soon deliver them, but Jeremiah told them they would be in exile for 70 years.  (Jeremiah 25:11)   Since they were going to be there, they should prepare for the years ahead by planting gardens, building houses, etc.  They were to pray for the peace and prosperity of Babylon because they could prosper too.

Application:   This should be my attitude about living in the United States of America.  This world/nation is not my home.  I too have been told to expect 70 years, maybe 80.  (Psalm 90:10)   I need to be living, working, and voting to bring our nation under God’s blessing and not His judgment.   I too should pray for this nation to have peace and to prosper.  However, when God’s judgment does come upon this nation for our many sins, as a part of God’s church, I can trust Him.

Prayer:    Holy Spirit, lead me to use the freedom and resources available to me to further the Kingdom of God.  Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!

August 21, 2016: SOAP #2453:  Jeremiah 21, 24, 27; Psalm 118; 1John 2

Scripture:  1John (NIV) 2:1 My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.  2 He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world. 3 We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. 4 The man who says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him.  5 But if anyone obeys his word, God’s love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him:  6 Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.

Observation:  John, the author of the Gospel of John, is here writing a short letter to the church encouraging them to continue in a loving relationship with their Heavenly Father and with the other members of the church.  To his fellow believers he writes about current sins.  He tells them that the same sacrifice that paid for our past sins also is available to cover our present sins!   There is only one atoning payment for sin—the blood of Jesus. (1John 1:7)

Application:   Appreciation for what it cost Jesus to pay for my sins motivates me to stop sinning.   Thankfulness that His great sacrifice covers past and current sins overflows my heart.  It finds expression in my prayers and my conversations with those around me.

Prayer:    Heavenly Father, thank you for sending your Son, Jesus, to make the only sacrifice that could pay for my sins.  May my appreciation and thankfulness be easily seen by others.  Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!

August 20, 2016: SOAP #2452:  Jeremiah 48-49; Psalm 67; 1John 1

Scripture:  1John (NIV) 1:7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.  8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.  9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

Observation:   What does God want?  He wants a church that is pure.  Of course that is impossible because “all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23)    But wait!   God’s Son made a sacrifice that has more value than all the sins that have ever been committed and will ever be committed!!!  It becomes effective for everyone who “walks in the light” and “confesses their sins.”

Application:   The blood of Jesus purifies me from ALL SIN!   When I confess my sins, he faithfully forgives me and purifies me from ALL UNRIGHTEOUSNESS!  My Heavenly Father is faithful to honor the death of His Son as more than sufficient payment for ALL MY SINS!

Prayer:    Heavenly Father, my appreciation starts with saying, “Thanks.”  But it does not stop there.  It continues with the dedication of ALL MY LIFE to honor You!   Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!

August 19, 2016: SOAP #2451:  Jeremiah 45-47; Psalm 105; John 21

Scripture:  Psalm (NIV) 105:40 They asked, and he brought them quail and satisfied them with the bread of heaven. John (NIV) 21:9 When they landed, they saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it, and some bread.

Observation:   In the Psalms 105 we read of God’s mighty deliverance for the nation of Israel.  Among the many miracles God performed was the provision of the daily manna and the time when so many quail flew near the camp that the Israelites were able to get all they wanted.  (Numbers 11)    Then the daily reading takes us to John 21.  We see Emmanuel (God with us), the post-resurrection Jesus going to where the disciples were fishing.  The One who brought the quail to the Israelites now gathers the fish to the disciples’ boat.  And when they brought all the fish to the shore, what did they find?  They found that Jesus already had fish and bread on the fire!

Application:   What God did for the Israelites as they crossed the wilderness in the Old Testament days; what Jesus did for the disciples as they were fishing in New Testament days: God can do for me in these days!   As Stewart Hamblin wrote: “It is no secret what God can do; what He’s done for others He’ll do for you.”        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=472ap1E4LTY  Look at what God can do! 

Prayer:    Heavenly Father, it is true.  I know your wisdom, love, power and ability have not changed.  You are the same today as you were then!  I am so glad!  Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!