September 28: Zechariah 1-3; Luke 11 Scripture: Luke 11:13 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him? Observation: … Continue reading
Category Archives: My responsibility
Willing to be sent!
Reply
September 27: Haggai 1-2; Psalm 129; Luke 10
Scripture: Luke 10:2 He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.
3 Go! I am sending you out…
Observation: They were to be aware harvest, seeing the grain fields ready for harvest as a picture of the people needing God. Not only were they to be aware, they were to pray. They were to pray specifically for workers. And not only were they to be aware and to pray, they were to “Go!” They would become the answer to their own prayers.
Application: When I become aware and concerned about someone’s salvation, it is not uncommon for me to pray about them. Sometimes I even specifically pray for God to send someone to speak to them. Help me remember that you have already sent Someone—Jesus. So now I must be willing to be sent in answer to those prayers.
Prayer: Father, Lord of the Harvest, you have already sent your Son, Jesus to provide the needed salvation. May I be as willing as He to be sent to those for whom I am praying. Amen.
Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!
A disappointment to God; A waste to me
September 25: Ezra 2-3; Luke 8
Scripture: Ezra 3: 10 When the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the LORD, the priests in their vestments and with trumpets, and the Levites (the sons of Asaph) with cymbals, took their places to praise the LORD, as prescribed by David king of Israel.
Observation: I have noticed that every time of restoration and revival in Judah, the Bible mentions that they returned to the ways of King David. It is never mentioned that they returned to the way he reigned, or administered, or built, or organized, or dressed, but to the way he worshipped!
Application: My worship is important to God because He is worthy and it means more to Him when it comes from those who do not worship with arms twisted (being forced to do so) but because they choose to (being convinced it is the right thing to do).
My worship is important to me because it gets my eyes off of me and places them on One who is so much greater than any problem I will ever face and the One who loves me far more than I will ever deserve! Wow!
Prayer: Lord, life without worship—what a disappointment to you and a waste to me. John 4:23 says you are seeking worshippers; may you find one in me. Amen.
Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!
His Words
September 24: Ezra 1; Psalm 84-85; Luke 7
Scripture: Luke 7: 6 So Jesus went with them. He was not far from the house when the centurion sent friends to say to him: “Lord, don’t trouble yourself, for I do not deserve to have you come under my roof.
7 That is why I did not even consider myself worthy to come to you. But say the word, and my servant will be healed.
8 For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go’, and he goes; and that one, ‘Come’, and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this’, and he does it.”
Observation: In Luke 5:5 Simon said, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so…”
In this verse the Centurion simple asked Jesus to “say the word.” There is power in the “word” of Jesus.
Application: Oh, how I need to be faithful in reading the Bible. Not only does it contain the “words” of Jesus as He walked on earth, it IS the “Word of God.” Oh, how I need to let the Holy Spirit speak to my heart bringing the written Word of God into personal daily application.
Prayer: Lord, I know you understand my circumstances perfectly and can speak to me, giving me direction in how I am to live. May you always find me listening and trusting in your word. Amen.
Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!
It starts with me!
September 23: Daniel 11-12; Luke 6
Scripture: Luke 6:31 Do to others as you would have them do to you. …
37 “Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.
38 Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”
Observation: Verse 31 is an often quoted verse. The verses immediately following give the specifics of how we are to live verse 31. Today I noticed that the admonitions in verses 37 and 38 all begin with how I am supposed to treat others, rather than how others are to treat me.
Application: The Bible does not give me the option of blaming someone else for the trouble coming my way. It gives me the responsibility of taking the first steps in doing things right.
Prayer: Lord, I want my actions not be in response to what others have done to me, but in response to what you have done for me. You took the initiative in doing me good; help me to take the initiative to do good to others. Amen.
Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!
Why am I here?
September 19: Ezekiel 47-48; Luke 2
Scripture: Luke 2:49 “Why were you searching for me?” he asked. “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?”
Observation: To Mary and Joseph, Jesus had been lost. They had been searching through the streets of Jerusalem for three days, and had just found him talking with the religious leaders in the temple.
These are the first recorded words of Jesus. How appropriate that they concern His Father—the priority of Jesus life. These words set the tone for the rest of His life. Other places in the gospels we read that he had been sent to do the works of the Father and to speak the words of the Father. He was present in the world to do His Father’s work.
Application: I have been placed on earth for a purpose. I am to faithfully represent my Heavenly Father by the way I live and how I speak. The Holy Spirit has taken up residence in me to help me.
Prayer: Lord, I want to be a good representative of you to those around me. Amen.
Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!
It’s a daily thing!
September 18: Ezekiel 45-46; Luke 1
Scripture: Ezekiel 46: 13 “‘Every day you are to provide a year-old lamb without defect for a burnt offering to the LORD; morning by morning you shall provide it.
14 You are also to provide with it morning by morning a grain offering, consisting of a sixth of an ephah with a third of a hin of oil to moisten the flour. The presenting of this grain offering to the LORD is a lasting ordinance.
15 So the lamb and the grain offering and the oil shall be provided morning by morning for a regular burnt offering.
Observation: Here we have the phrase “morning by morning.” Daily things are so important. They may become routine, but they are so important. They may not be exciting, but they are so important. They may be overlooked for a day, maybe two, but they are so important.
So much of my life is planned around a daily routine. Many of those routines enable me to have meaningful interaction with other people, like a family eating dinner together or weekly business meetings.
Application: I should not be surprised that what is true of my physical, mental, and social life is also true of my spiritual life. I should not try to fool myself into thinking that my spiritual life is a priority if there is no daily routine to maintain it.
Prayer: Lord, help me be faithful to spend time with you in my daily life. I need it the most when it is the least convenient. Amen.
Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!
A Missing Link?
September 15: Ezekiel 38-39; Psalm 145; Revelation 20
Scripture: Psalm 145:3 Great is the LORD and most worthy of praise; his greatness no-one can fathom.
4 One generation will commend your works to another; they will tell of your mighty acts.
Observation: Every generation has two responsibilities. The first is to listen. They should listen to the older generation tell of the special ways God has worked in the past. The second is to tell. They are to tell the next generation. They are the link from the past to the future.
Application: May I not be a missing link. I must be careful to pass along what I have heard and what I have experienced.
Prayer: Lord, I need your Holy Spirit to bring to memory what I have heard, and remind me of what I have experienced. I want to be faithful to pass along what you have done for me. Amen.
Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!
Respecting All Creation
September 14: Ezekiel 36-37; Psalm 110; Revelation 19
Scripture: Ezekiel 36: 6 Therefore prophesy concerning the land of Israel and say to the mountains and hills, to the ravines and valleys: ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I speak in my jealous wrath because you have suffered the scorn of the nations.
Observation: In this verse God speaks through His prophet, not to the people, but to the land. As God’s creation, we know that God cares about us so much that He sent His Son to pay the penalty for our sins. Sometimes we need to be reminded that the earth is God’s creation also, and He cares about it too.
Application: I am bothered when someone takes something I have created and treats it disrespectfully and wastefully. I should expect that God would feel the same way about His creation.
Prayer: Lord, forgive me for not treating your creation with more respect. I am not showing much love for you when I waste what you have made. Amen.
Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!
Called, Chosen, & Faithful
September 12: Daniel 3-4; Psalm 81; Revelation 17
Scripture: Revelation 17:14 These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.
Observation: Jesus was introduced to the world by John the Baptist as the Lamb. The context of this verse shows a ten nation confederacy submitting their power to Satan’s kingdom to make war against the Lamb. The outcome of this war is not in doubt.
With the Lamb are those who have been called, then they have been chosen, and finally they have proven faithful.
Application: I cannot do the calling. God calls me as the Holy Spirit convicts me of sin and draws me to His forgiveness. I cannot do the choosing. God chooses to place His Spirit within me. But I can be faithful. I can be faithful to listen and to obey.
Prayer: Lord, you have loved me and proved again and again your love for me. How can I not be faithful to you! Amen.
Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!
SOAPs by Pastor Leon 