August 12, 2015: SOAP #2078:

Scripture: John (NIV) 14:16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever—17 the Spirit of truth. …But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.
26 But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.

Observation: What a wonderful plan our Heavenly Father has. He understands our need and makes proper provision! He sends his Son to die to provide the way that he could forgive those he loves without just ignoring their sin as though it was of no importance. Then He sends His Holy Spirit to enable us to live in a way that pleases even though we remain in an environment where we are surrounded by temptations to sin. He covers all the bases!

For those walking in sin, the Holy Spirit’s counsel convicts them and makes them uncomfortable. For those desiring to please God, the Holy Spirit’s counsel comforts them and guides them to do right.

Application: What a wonderful benefit it is to have the Holy Spirit with me “forever” –not just when I am in church or just on Sundays. As I go through each day I need Him to remind me of what God has spoken to me.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, in your great wisdom you show your love for your children by sending both your Son and your Holy Spirit. Amen

August 11, 2015: SOAP #2077:

Scripture: John (NIV) 13:1 …Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. … 3 Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God;

Observation: Jesus knew that the culmination of His time was just before Him. He knew He had come from God and was soon to return to His place in the heavens—so what did He do? Did he force His authority on them? Did He take charge and give orders? Did He impress them by making sure they understood just who He was?

Scripture: John (NIV) 13:4 so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. 5 After that he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.

Observation: He knew who He was, yet He took the position and responsibility of a servant.

Application: When I know who I am, I become a better servant. The One who lives within me came to serve. Knowing that the Creator God lives by His Spirit within me should not make me arrogant, or demanding, or pushy because of the authority I have in His name—it should make me a better servant.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, I want to please you by being like Your Son, Jesus. Holy Spirit, help me to serve others like Jesus did. Amen

August 10, 2015: SOAP #2076:

Scripture: John (NIV) 12:26 Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.

Observation: What great benefits there are in serving Jesus! First, as I follow Him, I am where the action is taking place. Instead of reading about it, I can write about it. Instead of hearing what others say, I have something myself to say! Second, I have the greatest traveling Companion! I am never abandoned! I am never out of resources! Circumstances may be more than I can handle, but they are never more than He can handle! Third, I am honored by Jesus’ Father!

Application: As a servant, I must listen and obey.

Prayer: Jesus, you are my Lord and I am your servant. I want my life to bring you much joy. I want you to find me a faithful and trustworthy servant. Amen

August 9, 2015: SOAP #2075:

Scripture: John (NIV) 11:45 Therefore many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did [raising Lazarus from the dead], put their faith in him. 46 But some of then went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done.

Observation: It is interesting how two people who witness the exact same thing can respond in two totally different ways. Everyone present had witnessed Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. Some of them responded by believing in Jesus; others responded by reporting him to the religious leaders who were jealous of Jesus.

Application: First, I need to be careful to respond to things around me in ways that demonstrate my faith. Second, it should not surprise me when people do not respond as I think they should. With the help of the Holy Spirit, I need to find another way to present the truth so that it can be accepted. Third, I need to be careful not to let the response of others discourage me.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, when I see you working in someone nearby, help me respond in faith. May my faith in what you are doing be an encouragement to them. Holy Spirit check me if I start to spread a negative report. Amen

August 8, 2015: SOAP #2074:

Scripture: John (NIV) 10:3 The watchman opens the gate for him [the shepherd] and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5 But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.”

Observation: Jesus is teaching his followers, here referred to as sheep, about his position as their shepherd. In these three verses we see the importance of the sheep knowing the voice of their shepherd. They follow him because they know his voice.

People who spend daily time reading God’s Word are training themselves to recognize His voice. The more they know God’s Word, the better they will recognize the voice of The Good Shepherd and the more they will realize from which voices they should flee.

Application: When I hear something that seems questionable, I do not ask myself, “To which college did they go?” or “How long have they been preaching?” or “Will God really give me a thousand dollars if I send this ministry one hundred dollars?” NO! I ask myself, “Is that the voice of my shepherd talking?” I ask myself, “Is that what my shepherd would tell me to do?”

Prayer: Holy Spirit, there has never been a day on earth when a nation had more Bibles on the shelves of their homes than in the homes of the United States today. May they be read and valued more than ever before in history. Help us understand what we read so we can better recognize the voice of The Good Shepherd. Amen

August 7, 2015: SOAP #2073:

Scripture: Zephaniah (NIV) 1:12 At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps and punish those who are complacent, who are like wine left on its dregs, who think, “The LORD will do nothing, either good or bad.”

Observation: What a mistake—to think that the LORD is disinterested and stands off in a distance. What a mistake—to think that God is not going to get involved! Yet reading further we find “The LORD within her is righteous…” (3:5) and “The LORD your God is with you…” (3:17). Clearly, God is not far away and clearly not disinterested!

Application: God was interested in Judah in Zephaniah’s day; God is interested in Israel today. God is also interested in my life and involved. He is not off somewhere in the sky without a concern about what happens on earth. That He sent His Son, Jesus, to die for my sins tells me that he is very interested and very involved!

Prayer: Heavenly Father, a day is coming when everyone will know that you are very interested in how we live. I want to live in such a way that I see your involvement in loving mercy rather than in fiery judgment. Amen

August 6, 2015: SOPA #2072:

Scripture: Habakkuk (NIV) 2:3 For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay. 4 See, he is puffed up; his desires are not upright—but the righteous will live by his faith.

Observation: Habakkuk is waiting for the answer to his question as to why God would use a wicked nation (Babylon) to bring judgment on a more righteous nation (Judah). God tell the prophet that in the end Babylon would be destroyed because of their evil, however Judah would be spared. Babylon was “puffed up” with arrogance and had no desire to serve God. The righteous people in Judah would live by their faith.

Application: The God who brought judgment to the sins of Judah, and ultimately to the wicked nation of Babylon can be expected to bring judgment to a nation that has killed 50+ million babies in the womb. Surely we cannot claim to be so ignorant that we did not know what happened during an abortion! Surely we did not need a series of video tapes of abortionists explaining what happens to the little bodies. As judgment comes, the true church will need live by their faith. Today I should be encouraging people to actually live by their faith as that is what will be required. The older generation must show the younger generation how to put their faith into action.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, prepare your church for times of judgment. Make our living faith shine as a light in the darkness bringing hope and salvation to those nearby. Amen

August 5, 2015: SOAP #2071: 2Kings 23; 2Chronicles 35; John 7

Tolerance/Intolerance

Scripture: John (NIV) 7:7 [Jesus speaking to his earthly family] The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify that what it does is evil.

Observation: Jesus was so loving and willing to forgive those who were beat down or approached Him in humility! Yet He was so unbending in pointing out sinful action in those whose pride prevented them from repenting! Jesus knew that God is BOTH loving and holy. Jesus was so tolerant—no sin was too great to keep someone from him. Jesus was so intolerant—no sin was acceptable or ignored. When it came to people He was tolerant, everyone was acceptable! When it came to sin He was intolerant, none was acceptable. Even His disciples did not escape His correction.

Application: Jesus is so tolerant of me that He forgives and forgets my past! Jesus is so intolerant of sin that He even suffered and died that I can approach Him and I can discover that His grace is sufficient for me. When I discover what price Jesus paid to forgive my sins, how can I continue in them and think that it does not matter?

Prayer: Heavenly Father, when I share your love, may I share that it is a holy love. And when I share your holiness, may it always be in the context of your love. Amen

August 4, 2015: SOAP #2070:

Scripture: John (NIV) 6:25 When they found him [Jesus] on the other side of the lake, they asked him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?”

Observation: The day before, Jesus had fed 5,000. It had been a long day, and when the darkness of evening had come, the disciples got into a boat and headed for Capernaum. Many in the crowd saw the disciples leave and knew that Jesus was not with them. Jesus walked on the water to join the boat in the middle of the sea while it was going through a storm. In the morning, the crowd began looking for Jesus. He was nowhere to be found. A few boats came by and some of the crowd got into them going to Capernaum in search of Jesus. When they found him, they asked him the obvious question: “When did you get here?”

Application: Jesus is still doing things that defy human understanding. The longer I live, the more I find that the only answer to some questions is “Jesus.” How is it that I have not had a migraine headache since that first night at the home base of my unit in Viet Nam? The answer is “Jesus.” So many things in my life—the only answer is “Jesus.” Healings…provisions…circumstances that mysteriously work out for good…receiving important information just before needing it…meeting someone at just the right time…—they all give evidence that Jesus was present and involved in my life!

Prayer: Lord, you are amazing, and by your Spirit you do so many things that can only be explained by your presence and involvement. Today, help me to be more aware of those things that you do around me. Amen

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!

August 3, 2015: SOAP #2069:

Scripture: John (NIV) 5:16 So, because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jews persecuted him. 17 Jesus said to them “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working.” 18 For this reason the Jews tried all the harder to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.

Observation: I am just as much human as my father is human. Jesus is just as much God as His Father is God. Jesus was born of a virgin impregnated by the Holy Spirit of God. Jesus is God, the Son. Yet he lived on earth as the Son of Man. That is how he most often referred to Himself.

Application: There is no mistake that we are given four gospels. The gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, show us how God the Father wants us to live on earth as mankind. Jesus laid aside his God-ness and lived on earth as the Son of Man anointed and led by God the Spirit—the same Holy Spirit that lives in me. The gospels show me how to deal with the circumstances that I face every day.

Prayer: Holy Spirit, as you lived and moved in Jesus, I need you to do the same in me. And as Jesus was careful to follow your leading, may you find me just as careful. Amen