August 18, 2016: SOAP #2450:  Jeremiah 26, 35-36; John 20

Scripture:  John (NIV) 20:15 “Woman,” he said, “why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?” Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.” 16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned towards him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher).  17 Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”  18 Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her.

Observation:   Mary’s emotions had so quickly changed from grief to ecstatic joy!  Jesus then gave her a task, “Go and tell…”  Would she do it?  Of course she would!   I can easily imagine the excitement in her voice as she told the disciples, “I have seen the Lord!”  This was personal.  She had seen Jesus!

Application:   How sad it is when our testimony becomes stale.  In walking with Jesus, we should have something fresh to share with others every day.  This is what God said today!   This is what God did today!  I’ve got to tell somebody!

Prayer:    Holy Spirit, keep me fresh in my relationship with Jesus and my testimony will also be fresh!   Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!

August 17, 2016: SOAP #2449:  Jeremiah 23-25; John 19 

Scripture:  John (NIV) 19:16 Finally Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified. So the soldiers took charge of Jesus.

Observation:   They took charge of Jesus, but were they really in charge?  In this very chapter, four prophetic words are fulfilled.  Obviously, they were not in charge.  They were merely fulfilling prophecies from the book of Psalms and Zechariah (those mentioned in John 19.)

Application:   Jesus was in the perfect center of His Father’s will, yet he was enduring great suffering.  Suffering is not always an indicator that I am out of God’s will.   Hardship and suffering provide unique opportunities to demonstrate the level of my commitment to Jesus.   Sometimes those causing my greatest troubles have been put in their place by my Heavenly Father who is wanting me to grow deeper in my commitment and higher in my appreciation for His grand purpose.

Prayer:    Heavenly Father, I trust you!  Your plan goes far beyond what I can see.  Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!

August 16, 2016: SOAP #2448:  2Kings 24; Jeremiah 22; Ps 112; John 18

Scripture:  Psalm (NIV) 112:4 Even in darkness light dawns for the upright, for the gracious and compassionate and righteous man.  5 Good will come to him who is generous and lends freely, who conducts his affairs with justice.

Observation:   The promise is not that the righteous will not have dark days, but that in those times light will dawn to drive back the darkness.

Application:  When the days are dark, I must life my eyes to the horizon and look for the light!    When the light begins to shine in the darkness just before morning, I know the sky will soon fill with light.

Prayer:    Holy Spirit, keep reminding me to look for the dawning light.  Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!

August 15, 2016: SOAP #2447:  Jeremiah 18-20; Psalm 93; John 17

Scripture:  Psalm (NIV) 93 3 The seas have lifted up, O LORD,         the seas have lifted up their voice;         the seas have lifted up their pounding waves.  4 Mightier than the thunder of the great waters,          mightier than the breakers of the sea          —the LORD on high is mighty.

Observation:  Sharon and I were recently blest to spend a couple of nights on the Oregon coast and listen to the never ending crashing waves.  In the 48 hours or so we were there, never once was there a break in the waves.  They were continually coming and going.  A wave would break on the shore then flow back into the sea.  The coming wave would mount over the returning water and then crash into the beach.   It was an endless cycle.   As long as we were there, it never ceased.  It continues today.  At this moment there are waves breaking on the shore.

Application:  In my 50+ years of knowing God, there has never been a break in His goodness.  His love and holiness have never changed.   Sometimes they are like a storm, and sometimes like a calm sea, but His faithfulness continues.

Prayer:    Heavenly Father, you are mighty.  You are more powerful than the waves of the sea and You are more faithful than the waves.  You never cease working in the lives of mankind.   Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!

August 14, 2016: SOAP #2446:  Jeremiah 16-17; Psalm 96; John 16

Scripture:  Jeremiah (NIV) 16:14 “However, the days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when men will no longer say, ‘As surely as the LORD lives, who brought the Israelites up out of Egypt,’  15 but they will say, ‘As surely as the LORD lives, who brought the Israelites up out of the land of the north and out of all the countries where he had banished them.’ For I will restore them to the land I gave to their forefathers

Observation:   In the days of the Gospels and the Book of Acts, one can find many references to God’s great miracle working power in delivering Israel from Egypt.  But those who are alive today do not have to go all the way back to the book of Exodus to see God’s had at work in Israel.  We need only to look at 1948 when Israel was re-birthed as a nation and people came from all over the planet to the homeland God gave the Jews.  (Genesis 12:7; 13:15; 15:7 and 18-21)

Application:   If I ever think that God does not keep His promises, I need to just consider Israel.  If I ever think that God cannot work out the circumstances surrounding my live, I need to just consider Israel.  If I ever doubt God’s concern in the affairs of man, I need to consider Israel.   Israel is a nation planted among the nations of the earth as a banner of testimony to God’s judgment on sin and willingness to restore.

Prayer:    Heavenly Father, in your holiness you judged Israel for their backsliding; in your love you have and are restoring them.  If I ever doubt your desire to be involved in my life, bring Israel to my mind.  Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!

August 13, 2016: SOAP #2445:  Jeremiah 13-15; John 15

Scripture:  John (NIV) 15:12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.

Observation:   The law taught us to do unto others as we would have them do unto us. (Matthew 7:12)   Jesus gave us the first and greatest commandment to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength.  The second command is to love our neighbor as we love ourselves.  (Matthew 22:39)   Here Jesus raises the bar.  We are to love each other AS HE loved us!!!

Application:  It is impossible for me to keep this command in my own strength.   If I am going to love others like Jesus loves me, I need Him to do His loving through me.   But that was His plan from the beginning.

Prayer:    Jesus, love though me today.   Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!

August 12, 2016: SOAP #2444:  Jeremiah 10-12; John 14

Scripture:  John (NIV) 14:27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

Observation:   Jesus was speaking to his disciples just before going to the garden for prayer—the garden where he would be arrested, taken to trial and then crucified.  Instead of them speaking encouragement to Jesus, Jesus was speaking encouragement to them!  The word in the above verse that springs out to me, is the word “my.”  It is not the peace found in anything the world offers.  It is His peace.  It is the peace of His presence!  It is a deep, settled peace that passes understanding.  It is an inside peace that is greater than the outside storm.

Application:   With His inner peace, I can face the storms that come with living in a world that is falling apart.  I am depending on His peace; I am also depending on His strength and His wisdom.

Prayer:    Jesus, thank you for promising me Your peace!  The world’s peace in no way compares with what you give me.  May Your peace in me bring peace to others.  Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!

August 11, 2016: SOAP #2443:  Jeremiah 7-9; John 13

Scripture:  John (NIV) 13:14 Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet.
15 I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.
16 I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him.
17 Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.

Observation:   Jesus had set an example for his disciples, now He commands them to do the same for others.  He did not just tell them what to do, He showed them.  His example was not in what He had done for someone else, but in what He had done for them.     

Application:   The command is that I do for others what Jesus has done for me!   I have not just read about His example; I have not just see what He did; I have not just heard others tell me—I have personally experienced.  He has forgiven me; I am to forgive others.  He has provided for me; He can use me to help provide for others.   He has been kind to me; He has not overlooked me; He has comforted and encouraged me.   

Prayer:    Holy Spirit, speak through me.  Touch through me.  Encourage through me.  Do through me what you have done to and for me.  Amen         

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

August 10, 2016: SOAP #2442:  Jeremiah 5-6; John 12

Scripture:  Jeremiah (NIV) 6:10 To whom can I speak and give warning? Who will listen to me? Their ears are closed so that they cannot hear. The word of the LORD is offensive to them; they find no pleasure in it.

Observation:  What a sad thing to say about a group of people, especially for those known as Jehovah’s people—especially for people who have had such a rich history of God working on their behalf.  But now they did not like the what God was saying.  God was identifying their sins and speaking judgment.  God’s word was not politically correct: it was offensive!

Application:   Today God is speaking in a very similar way.  He is identifying sin and promising judgment.  The United States of America has been known as a Christian nation.  We have a history of God involved in the establishment of our nation.  Yet to many today the word of God has become offensive.  “Political correctness” has more value than God’s Word in determining what is “acceptable.”

Prayer:    Holy Spirit, empower the church today.  Burn truth in our minds and on our hearts.  Fill us with a supernatural courage to speak truth.   Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!

August 9, 2016: SOAP #2441: Jeremiah 3-4; John 11

Scripture: Jeremiah (NIV) 3:12 Go, proclaim this message towards the north: “‘Return, faithless Israel,’ declares the LORD, ‘I will frown on you no longer, for I am merciful,’ declares the LORD, ‘I will not be angry forever. 13 Only acknowledge your guilt—you have rebelled against the LORD your God, you have scattered your favors to foreign gods under every spreading tree, and have not obeyed me,’” declares the LORD.

Observation: How disappointed God had become with Israel. He had chosen them and set them up in their own land making them a nation under His authority. They had forgotten what He had done for them and ignored His warnings he had sent again and again. YET God is willing to show mercy! He promises not to be angry with them forever. They only must acknowledge their sin. They must own up to their rebellion and return to Him.

Application: I understand the great love God has for man more than those in the Old Testament time. God loved me so much he was not only willing to show me mercy—He loved me enough to send His Only Begotten Son to die for my sins! It is truly amazing!

Prayer:   Heavenly Father, may my love for You keep me from sinning and when I do, may I be quick to repent. Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!