Category Archives: Encouragement

TUESDAY SOAP: His door is already open!

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August 30: Ezekiel 8-11; Revelation 4

Scripture: Revelation 3:20 Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.

Revelation 4:1 After this I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.”

Observation: Usually when I read the Book of Revelation, I stop at the end of chapter three and then pick up later with chapter 4. So I never noticed that in the space of four verses we find reference to two different doors.

The first is for Jesus to enter and He is waiting for us to hear Him knocking and open it for His entrance. The second door was for John to enter; it was already open!

Application: Jesus is the open door to heaven for all who receive Him as their Savior (accepting His death as the payment for their sins) AND Lord (accepting Him as their master or owner.) When I open the door to my life, I find he has already opened the door to God’s kingdom.

Prayer: Lord, I thank you for dying to pay for my sins. I admit that I am a sinner and do not deserve your great love. Please forgive me and be the Lord of my life. I open the door to my heart. I welcome you into my life. I commit my life to please you by loving you and living in such a way that makes you feel at home. Amen.

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!

Able AND Willing

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August 28: Ezekiel 1-3; Revelation 2

Scripture: Revelation 2:7 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.

Observation: The individual messages to each of the seven churches mentioned in Revelation, chapters 2 and 3 follow the same outline. Each ending shows us the Holy Spirit is/has been speaking to the churches; we need to be listening. God is not some distant disinterested deity. He is with us, interested in us, and speaking to us!

Application: God knows life is not easy and there are tough choices, but He has designed me to overcome and has special blessings for me when I do.

Prayer: Lord, I know I cannot overcome depending on my own strength, but you are with me and have already overcome the things I have yet to face. You are able and willing to help me. Thank you, Lord! Amen.

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!

The Touch

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August 27: Jeremiah 52; Revelation 1; Psalm 143-144

Scripture: Revelation 1:17 When I saw him (Jesus), 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 hand that broke the bread and multiplied the fish, the hand that touched the blinded eye now touched John. The touch was not just a casual touch of a friend, but a significant touch, a touch full of meaning. It was such an important touch that John mentions it here in his writings. It was a touch of presence. The touch was Jesus way of saying, “I am here.”
Along with the touch came the assuring words, “Do not be afraid.” John’s courage was not to be based on who John was, but on who Jesus is.

Application: The courage I have to face the issues of this day is not based on my strength or wisdom. It is not based on my ability to figure things out and to come up with a workable plan. As I pray, read His Word, and meditate on Him, I feel His touch and sense His presence. I look ahead into this day actively acknowledging the fact that Jesus is with me and will be with me all day long; my faith is in him.

Prayer: Lord, I am depending on you. From my point of view, I cannot see ahead around the bend. From your point of view, nothing is hidden. In faith I am moving ahead counting on you to show what to do. Amen.
(P.S. Lord, reach through me to touch someone in need today.)

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!

The Big Picture!

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August 16: 2Kings 24; Jeremiah 22; Psalm 112; John 18

Scripture: John 18:36 Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place.”

Observation: Jesus was standing before Pilate, who could condemn Jesus to death. Even there—and especially there, Jesus has the bigger picture in mind. Jesus was in the world, but not of the world.

Application: I have been born again and the life within me, as I live in this world, is eternal life that makes me a part of Jesus’ kingdom. He is my Lord! My time in this world is preparation for my part in His kingdom when my physical life on earth is over.

Prayer: Lord, help me keep the big picture always in my thoughts. Help me to understand the things happening to me in light of Your kingdom. Amen.

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!

The “Then” & The “There”

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August 15: Jeremiah 18-20; Psalm 93; John 17

Scripture: Jeremiah 18:2 “Go down to the potter’s house, and there I will give you my message.”
3 So I went down to the potter’s house, and I saw him working at the wheel.
4 But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him.
5 Then the word of the LORD came to me:

Observation: God had a “message;” God had a “there;” and God had a “then.” The timing was based on the prophet being in a certain place.

Application: I do not have to be in church to hear God’s message. Although He speaks to me in church, He speaks even more outside the church.
Like God’s message to the prophet at the potter’s house, many times His message to me is contained in what is happening around me.

Prayer: Lord, my location may be the very place to which you have sent me to receive your message. May I not limit the places you speak to me and may I always be opening to hear what you are saying. Amen.

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!

Still Keeping His Word

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August 14: Jeremiah 16-17; Psalm 96; John 16

Scripture: Jeremiah 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: Jeremiah was living in the days of the first saying; Israel had been delivered from Egypt. We are now living in the days of the second: the nation of Israel has been restored! The people both have been and are being restored. God is the Great Promise Keeper!

Application: God, who has been faithful to keep His word to Israel, also keeps his word to me. For me, the present existence of the nation of Israel is a great visible proof that I can trust God to keep His promises to me.

Prayer: Lord, how blest I am to know that the Almighty God is holy and faithful to keep His word. Amen.

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!

He sees and hears!

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August 11: Jeremiah 7-9; John 13

Scripture: Jeremiah 7: 11 “Has this house, which bears my Name, become a den of robbers to you? But I have been watching!” declares the LORD….

Jeremiah 8: 6 I have listened attentively, but they do not say what is right. No-one repents of his wickedness, saying, “What have I done?” Each pursues his own course like a horse charging into battle.

Observation: People often act as though God is deaf and blind. But the truth is: God both hears what we say and watches what we do. He is not fooled.

God hears all our excuses, is waiting for us to acknowledge our sin and repent.

This reminds me of the present USA government administration, making excuses for our financial troubles by blaming previous administrations. Then they blame environmental disasters around the world to which we have sent aid. They blame the trouble in the Middle East. They blame the other political party. They blame the financial institutions that have lowered our status. Will there ever be an admission that we have spent too much money with any specifics as to where to make cuts? I keep waiting to hear, but so far …

Application: how foolish to think I can make excuses and hide things from God! May the One who sees everything I do not have to wait long to hear my repentance and see the change in my actions.

On the other hand, knowing that my loving Heavenly Father both sees and hears is a source of peace and comfort. He knows what I am going through and He hears my prayers.

Prayer: Lord, I am so glad that you see and hear. I need you to hold me accountable for sin and to help me in times of temptation. Amen.

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!

Lord, if you…

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August 9: Jeremiah 3-4; John 11

Scripture: John 11:32 When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”

Observation: Because I know the end of the story, I can say, “But Mary, if the Lord had healed Lazarus, he would not later had the opportunity to raise him from the dead!”

“Lord, if you … ” I wonder how many times the Lord hears questions that start with those words. We often have it all figured out. All we have to do is get the Lord to do “his” part. And when He does not do “his” part, we have questions.

Questions like these come before the story is over; the Lord knows the end of the story. He sees our circumstances from heaven’s point of view. Jesus had healed many people. Now the resurrection of Lazarus would be the key to turning many to believe in Jesus, which then motivated the religious leaders to desire His death. (Note verses 45-48) His death is accepted as the payment for my sin and His resurrection proved that even in death, He had the power to rise again!

Application: I can trust the Lord to see a bigger picture. I wonder how many problems have been averted for me because the Lord did not do it my way.

Prayer: Lord, I can trust you even when you do not do it the way I think you should. You do know what is best. Amen.

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!

Come in & Go out

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August 8: Jeremiah 1-2; John 10

Scripture: John 10: 7 Therefore Jesus said again, “I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep.
8 All who ever came before me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them.
9 I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture.
10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

Observation: Gates work two ways, one can “come in” and one can “go out.” Upon release from active duty (ten years in the Navy, six in Hawaii), one thing I missed was being able to drive through the gates to places Sharon, Doron and I had enjoyed. I felt limited. Now there were places on the island I could not go.

Other gates seemed a welcome to a place of safety. And after being refreshed, and restocked, it was through that same gate of Camp Vandergrift that Golf Company, 2/4 would go out to patrol below the DMZ.

Application: Jesus is my gate into the Presence of God. Through Jesus and because of His sacrifice, I have access into the throne room of heaven. Jesus is also my gate back into the world to love the world the way God loves the world.

Prayer: Lord, I am blest that you have made a way for me into your presence! May I not be a stranger there! I am also blest that you send me out into the world you love. May I be useful there. Amen.

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!

Quenching my thirst and more!

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August 5: 2Kings 23; 2Chronicles 35; John 7

Scripture: John 7:37 On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink.
38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.”

Observation: If anyone is thirsty for a more satisfying life, Jesus invites them to come to Him and to drink. They are invited to come and enter into a relationship with Him by “drinking” Him—taking Him into their life. With Him on the inside, our lives become a spring from which water flows to bless those around us. “Coming” to Jesus and “Drinking” in His life, first quenches my thirst and then flows outward to bless others.

Application: God’s presence in my life is better than a cold glass of water on a hot day. Not only does He make my life more satisfying to me, the overflow of His life within blesses others.

Prayer: Lord, how empty this life would be without you! How blest this life is with you! Amen.

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!