February 11: Leviticus 15-17; Acts 18

He has many people

Scripture: Acts (NIV) 18:9 One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision: “Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent.
10 For I am with you, and no-one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city.”
11 So Paul stayed for a year and a half, teaching them the word of God.

Observation: Paul was an itinerate preacher who moved from town to town teaching about Jesus and starting churches with people who accepted his message. Shortly after he arrived in Corinth the Lord told him to stay put for a while. God said, “I have many people in this city.”

Application: My enemy wants me to think that I am all alone in serving the Lord—that there is no one to help. Often God has people already in place to help me do His will. Just because I do not see them or recognize them does not mean they are not there. The Holy Spirit will help me identify who they are.

Prayer: Lord, I want to be quick to recognize your people. And may we encourage each other to live in a way that makes you look good. Amen.

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!

February 2: Exodus 33-34; Psalm 16; Acts 9

What a change!

Scripture: Acts (NIV) 9: 1 ¶ Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest
2 and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem.

Observation: Saul is first mentioned in Acts 7 as giving his approval to the stoning of the Steven. In chapter 8 he goes from house to house in Jerusalem to find people believing in Jesus and take them to jail. Here at the beginning of chapter 9 we see his passion moving out beyond the city limits of Jerusalem. He was a man on a mission. BUT it all changed when he met Jesus! Saul’s mission changed! From passion to destroy the church, he now had passion to plant and build up the church! Later his name was changed to Paul.

Application: Reading and thinking about the change in Saul’s life builds faith in my heart to believe for similar changes in people today.

Prayer: Lord, What a change you made in Saul’s life and You are still making changes in lives today! Amen.

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!

January 26: Exodus 14-16; Acts 2

He is God!

Scripture: Exodus 14: 1 ¶ Then the LORD said to Moses,…
3 Pharaoh will think, ‘The Israelites are wandering around the land in confusion, hemmed in by the desert.’
4 And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will pursue them. But I will gain glory for myself through Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD.” So the Israelites did this.

Observation: Earlier in Exodus and twice in this chapter we read, “…and the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD.” Not only did God want to bring the Israelites out of Egypt to the land He had promised Abraham, God also was interested in the Egyptians. John 3:16 says, “…God so loved the world…” The Egyptians were as important to God as the Israelites.

Application: Sometimes the hard times I go through are not for my benefit alone, but so that others too may know that He is God! When they see the Lord working to bring me through a hard time, they come to know that He is God! Sometimes the struggle that comes to parents is so that their children may know that they serve the true God!

Prayer: Lord, may I remain faithful through the good times and tough times. May others see you in me and know you are God! Amen.

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!

January 25: Exodus 12-13; Psalm 21; Acts 1

With me!

Scripture: Acts 1:1 In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach
2 until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen.

Observation: It does not take long before Luke introduces the Holy Spirit into the book of Acts. The Holy Spirit is a shared emphasis in both books written by Luke. In the gospel of Luke we see the importance of the Holy Spirit in the life of Jesus. In the book of Acts we see the importance of the same Holy Spirit in the lives of believers.

Application: The disciples walked with Jesus. They were with Him when in HIS location. The Holy Spirit walks with me! He shares MY location! He is always with me! My body is a living temple of the Holy Spirit!

Prayer: Holy Spirit, how amazingly blest I am to have you with me. You are my teacher to give me understanding and my guide to give me direction. I am so blest! Amen.

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!

January 24: Exodus 9-11; Luke 24

Not as expected…

Scripture: (NIV) Luke 24:2 They found the stone rolled away from the tomb,
3 but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.

Observation: The ladies went to the tomb where they had seen the body of Jesus laid (Luke 23:55). But when they arrived, things were not as they expected. They expected to have trouble getting the stone moved so they could place spices around the body. As it turns out, things were so much better—far better than they could have ever dreamed!!!

Application: When facing the unknown, it almost seems human nature to expect the worst. God is teaching me not to fear the worst and not to worry about how things will work out. Many times I am wonderfully surprised by what I find.

Prayer: Lord, you are amazing, often surprising me with blessings when I am expecting trouble. Amen.

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!

January 14: Genesis 34-36; Luke 14

How special is that!!!

Scripture: Genesis 35:13 Then God went up from him at the place where he had talked with him.
14 Jacob set up a stone pillar at the place where God had talked with him, and he poured out a drink offering on it; he also poured oil on it.
15 Jacob called the place where God had talked with him Bethel.

Observation: The Creator God who made the heavens and the earth talked to Jacob! How special is that!! It was something to celebrate. Jacob marked the spot in such a way that it would always be remembered as special. He named it Bethel which means “the house of God.”

Application: I have special memories of places where God has spoken to me. When I think of those places, I remember the specific things God told me which in time brought major change to my life. AND just a special are the daily times when God speaks to me from the Bible. God talks to me. How special is that!!!

Prayer: Lord, from one of my favorite songs, “And You walk with me, and You talk with me. And You tell me I am Your own. And the joy we share as we tarry there—none other has ever known.” Amen.

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!

January 5: Genesis 12-14; Luke 5

Temporary/Permanent

Scripture: Genesis (NIV) 12:8 From there he went on towards the hills east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to the LORD and called on the name of the LORD.

Observation: As Abram (later renamed Abraham) moved in the direction God had directed we see in the wording of this verse the priority in his life. Abram “pitched” his tent but “built” his altar. His earthly living was in a “pitched” (temporary) residence but his worship was around a “built” (permanent) altar.

Many people today are working to build their house, but too willing to worship wherever it is convenient, strikes their fancy, or is where their parents worshipped. Some will even stay home from church to accomplish some project around their house.

Application: The songwriter put it well: “This world is not my home; I’m just a passing through…” The one “permanent” thing in my life is my relationship with God. I remember the words I have seen hanging on many walls: “Only one life, will soon be past; Only what’s done for Christ will last.”

Prayer: Lord, help me live today with this truth in mind. Amen.

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!

January 4: Genesis 9-11; Luke 4

Gaining Strength

Scripture: Luke (NIV) 4:14 Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside.

Observation: In the first three chapters of Luke we read that Jesus had been conceived by the Holy Spirit, greeted by the Holy Spirit, filled with the Holy Spirit, and led by the Holy Spirit. It is interesting that only after being tempted by Satan do we read that Jesus returned from the wilderness “in the power of the Spirit.”

Application: The opposition of weights against the muscles results in the strengthening of those muscles. Similarly the devils opposition and temptations can be used to increase my spiritual strength. That is probably why James (1:2) tells me to count it all joy when I fall into various temptations.

Prayer: Lord, living for you does not mean a trouble free life. But it does mean that you are with me and that the troubles will work for my good. Amen.

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!