November 16, 2021: SOAP #4366:  2Corinthians 3-6

SCRIPTURE:  2Corinthians (NIV) 5:4 For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.
5 Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. 6 Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. 7 We live by faith, not by sight. 8 We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. 9 So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it.

OBSERVATION: Here we find another verse, verse 5, that says the same as yesterday’s SOAP.  (2Corinthians 1:2)   God has given us the Holy Spirit as a guarantee for what we will receive in life following death!  This passage tells me that God’s purpose in creating man is not in this earthly, mortal life.  God’s purpose in creating man is in our life after death.  Just as our mother’s womb was preparation for this life, this life is preparation for our heavenly life. 

APPLICATION:  I can see what surrounds me, but I live by faith in what God has prepared for me.  Although I cannot see the future life, I am absolutely convinced that it will far exceed my present life.  I just need to consider what God has given me as a guarantee of what is coming!!!   He has given me His Holy Spirit!!!  The presence of the Holy Spirit in me is my proof that God has much in store for me in the next life. 

I am designed to live with God in heaven, however sin will keep me from enjoying what God has prepared for me.  Jesus died as payment for my sin and when I asked, He forgave me and cleansed me from all unrighteousness! (1John 1:9)   Those who carry their sins into eternity will be unable to live in the presence of the Holy God.  God has prepared a place for the devil and his angels; those carrying their sin into eternity will join them in hell. 

PRAYER: Lord, you are faithful and just.  You forgive me and cleanse me.  You make me your home as you prepare my home in glory! Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

November 15, 2021: SOAP #4365:  Job 41, 42; 2Corinthians 1, 2

SCRIPTURE:  2Corinthians (NIV) 1:21 Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, 22 set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.

OBSERVATION:  This verse is another proof that God is for us.  He wants us to succeed!  He wants us to resist temptation and avoid the heartaches brought on by sin.  As I remain “in Christ” I have the assurance of His help. 

His anointing is the empowering to accomplish what He has designed for me.  His seal of ownership on me identifies me to all my enemies as one belonging to God.  I am a part of His family.  I am His child.  I am His son! 
His “Spirit in my heart” is a guarantee something even better is ahead! 

APPLICATION:  The guarantee is usually appropriate to the promise.  If the promise is $10, then maybe a $1 deposit will work as a guarantee.  If the promise is $1,000, then the guarantee should be more, maybe $100.  When purchasing our home, the guarantee was a deposit of several thousands of dollars. 

So…when the guaranteeing deposit is the Holy Spirit, I can only imagine the value of the promise!!! 

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, I have been blessed with the presence of the Holy Spirit in my heart.  As I near the finish of this period of the life you have given me, I eagerly anticipate what is ahead.  Amen.

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

November 14, 2021: SOAP #4364:  Psalm 149; 1Corinthians 15, 16

SCRIPTURE:  Psalm (KJV) 37:4 Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.

Psalm (KJV) 149:4 For the LORD taketh pleasure in his people: he will beautify the meek with salvation.
Psalm (NIV) 149:4 For the LORD takes delight in his people; he crowns the humble with salvation.

Zephaniah (NIV) 3:17 The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.”

OBSERVATION: When I hear the word “delight,” my mind first goes to the truth that I am to “delight myself in the LORD.”  I do that by meditating on the greatness and goodness of God.  I brag about my God and what He does.  I talk about Him in a way that makes other people know that God is my hero, my best friend, my life!  When I am alone, I like to sing to Him. 

But there is another truth that I must not overlook.  It is that God delights in me!!!   He delights in me because I am His creation.  He delights in me because I have received the forgiveness of my sins by trusting the death of Jesus on the cross to be the payment.  He delights in me because I honor His Son, Jesus with my words and actions.  He delights in me because I honor His written Word.  He delights in me because I am His child. 

APPLICATION:  It is a humbling thing to know that the Creator of the universe delights in me!  I want to live every day in a way that brings Him joy.  I want to give Him many reasons to delight in me. 

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, I am amazed to think that I may be the cause of joy in heaven.  Amen.

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

November 13, 2021: SOAP #4363:  Job 39, 40; 1Corinthians 13, 14

SCRIPTURE:  1Corinthians (NIV) 14: 26 What then shall we say, brothers? When you come together, EVERYONE has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. All of these must be done for the strengthening of the church.

OBSERVATION: When we gather for our church meetings, we expect the pastor to have something prepared to say; we expect the teachers to have their lessons prepared for their class; we expect the worship leader and musicians to have songs prepared.   Many go to church prepared to receive, but not prepared to give.  However, this verse says that “EVERYONE” has something to give.

APPLICATION:  What the Lord has for me to give may not be a public expression of God’s grace from the front of the congregation when everyone is listening to me.  It may be a word of comfort or encouragement to give to an individual who is hurting. 

It may be more than the tithes I put in the offering; it may be extra money the Lord has me give to pass on to someone with a special need.  God can use me to help lift someone’s burden.   

I must go to church ready to give as the Lord shows me a need.  Even before I arrive, I should begin looking for an opportunity to share God’s grace.

PRAYER: Lord, prepare me to be a useful instrument of Your grace when I gather with other believers.  “Make Me a Blessing” is my song and my prayer.  Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

November 12, 2021: SOAP #4362:  Job 37, 38; 1Corinthians 12

SCRIPTURE:  1Corinthians (NIV) 12:1 Now about spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be ignorant. 4 There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5 There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. 6 There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men. 7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good….
11 All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines….
27 Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.

OBSERVATION:  To manifest is to take what is hidden and make it seeable.  The working of God is to be expressed in each one!  The Presence of God is to be seeable in each believer.  Through the gifts of the Holy Spirit in each person, God is made seeable. 

APPLICATION:  The gifts are expressed through me, but not because of my abilities.  They are expressions of the One living inside me!   They enable me to be a blessing to others. 

PRAYER: Lord, I know that you are living inside me.  I want others to see proof of Your Presence.  Make your Presence known through me.  Use me for your glory.  Amen.

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

November 11, 2021: SOAP #4361:  Psalm 122; 1Corinthians 9-11

SCRIPTURE:  1Corinthians (NIV) 11:23 For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” 25 In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

OBSERVATION: What a wonderful gift—the gift of memory.  Our memory is sometimes faulty.  We can disagree about what we remember.  Here the Lord gives us a memory assist.  The communion elements are held in our physical hands and placed in our mouth to be swallowed into our physical bodies.  And as we do, we are to remember what Jesus did (past) and how it affects us now (present).  We are to do this “until he comes” (future).

Remembering brings the past into the present and helps us prepare for the future.  Communion refreshes our memory. 

APPLICATION:  Some memories need healing.  Every time we remember those hurts it refreshes them and we feel like it happened yesterday.  When God heals memories, He takes the sting away.  We still remember those things, but it is like we read about them in a book instead of personally experiencing them. 

Some memories need to be refreshed.  As we celebrate birthdays and anniversaries, we are refreshing memories.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, what an honor to celebrate your death.  By taking the bread and cup, I remember what you did in the past and how you personally applied it to my life. I look forward to the celebration in heaven. Amen.

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

November 10, 2021: SOAP #4360:  Job 35, 36; 1Corinthians 7, 8

SCRIPTURE:  Job (NIV) [Elihu speaking] 35:5 Look up at the heavens and see; gaze at the clouds so high above you. 6 If you sin, how does that affect him? If your sins are many, what does that do to him? 7 If you are righteous, what do you give to him, or what does he receive from your hand? 8 Your wickedness affects only a man like yourself, and your righteousness only the sons of men.

OBSERVATION: Elihu had accompanied Job’s friends on their visit.  Since he was a young man, he sat quietly and just listened as the older men had their say.  But when they run out of things to say, Elihu speaks his peace.  His thoughts had been growing while he listened to the others speak. 

It is hard for me to remain quiet while listening to these friends try to make Job admit that he has sinned.  To them, Job’s great suffering is all the proof they needed to know Job had terribly sinned. 

Occasionally, I jump into the middle of the conversation and write out my understanding.  Here, I interrupt the speech of Elihu, “How does our sin affect God?  Is that what you are asking, Elihu?  I am glad you asked!  If only you knew!  It affected Him so much that He sent His only Son to die on a cruel cross in payment for our sins!  Everyone will have to admit that is a great affect!”

APPLICATION:  If I think that my sin does not hurt anyone, I am forgetting how much God paid to forgive my sins.  Jesus humbled Himself to take on the form of man and break the eternal fellowship He enjoyed with His Father to die for my sins!!!  Jesus forever bears the scars of that sacrifice. 

PRAYER: Lord, please forgive me for thinking that my sins do not affect you. The celebration of communion is a clear reminder of your death, your broken body and shed blood.  You have instructed us to do it “often.” (1Corinthians 11:26) Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

November 09, 2021: SOAP #4359:  Job 34; 1Corinthians 4-6

SCRIPTURE:  1Corinthians (NIV) 6:19 Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore, honor God with your body.

OBSERVATION:  Becoming a Christian elevates one’s perspective of their physical body.  The physical body has value because the God who created the universe is the one who created the human body.  It is God’s handiwork. 

The physical body has value because houses my soul and spirit.  Through my body I interact with the world around me. 

The physical body is important because a body was prepared in the womb of the Virgin Mary for God the Son to be born and to live and minister to people with physical bodies.  It was with His physical body he made the sacrifice to pay for our sins! 

For believers, the physical body has value because it is a temple of the Holy Spirit.  It is worthy of respect and care. 

APPLICATION:  Some years back, I bought a twelve-string guitar.  As I recall, it cost about $1,000USD.   So, I also bought a proper guitar case.  It has a hard shell (rather than a cloth covering) to properly protect the instrument.  It has several clasps to secure.  It has a soft inner covering.  The guitar was valuable and as such was worthy of a proper case. 

How much more is Jesus worthy of a proper temple in which to dwell.  I need to care for His temple and make it a proper dwelling for the God of all creation!!! 

PRAYER: Holy Spirit, help me to make my body a home Jesus enjoys. Amen.

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

November 08, 2021: SOAP #4358:  Job 33, 1Corinthians 1-3

SCRIPTURE:  1Corinthians (NIV) 3:1 Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly—mere infants in Christ.  2 I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. 3 You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarrelling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere men?
NOTE:  I wonder if today, Paul might have written the following verses like this:
For when one says, “I like the old songs,” and another, “I like the new songs,” are you not showing immaturity? What, after all, are the old songs? And what are the new songs? Only music styles being sung when you came to believe. The old songs were, and are a blessing to the older generation, the new songs bless the new generation, but God is blessed by them all. So, neither the old songs, nor the new songs are anything, but only the worship that blesses God.

OBSERVATION:  The church is the body of Christ.  Jesus is the head, and we are the members of the body.  The members move in coordination with the head.  The pleasure of the head is the goal of each member.  Yet our Head, cares for the members and coordinates the activities of the body for the benefit of the members.   

APPLICATION:  The church does not run on my preferences.  God’s preferences take priority.  My heart rejoices when I see young people worshipping God with their faces turned upwards and their hands raised, singing songs of worship that I do not know or have difficulty singing.  God is blessed and that makes my heart rejoice.  Sometimes their music is loud enough that I can worship with my own words and melody, and it does not bother them.  I sing words that agree with the thought of their song.     

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, you deserve the praise of all creation!  You deserve the worship of every generation!  Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

November 07, 2021: SOAP #4357:  Job 31, 32; Galatians 5,6

SCRIPTURE:  Galatians (NIV) 5:13 You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. 14 The entire law is summed up in a single command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
6:10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.

OBSERVATION:  When a person is set free after a long time in prison, they may not know, or remember, how to live free.  They lived in an environment controlled by rules made by someone else.  Their day had been planned out for them.  Their choices were very limited.  Their freedom brings choices.  They can set their own schedule.  They can choose where to live.  They need to learn how to live in this new experience of freedom.  They will need to learn a new set of rules that apply to their life of freedom.  Otherwise, they may end up back in bondage. 

Being set free from the Old Testament law of how we must relate to God, I am free to choose to follow the two basic rules of life set by Jesus; first, love the Lord our God with all my heart, mind, and strength; and second, love my neighbor as myself. 

The passage between the two verses above contains some guidelines on who is our neighbor and what it means to love our neighbors. 

APPLICATION:  As we would expect, Acts 10:38 tells us that Jesus “went around doing good…”  The love that motivated His sacrifice on Calvary, also motivated Him to do good wherever He went. 

Jesus, who lives in me, is still going about doing good.  He is now working through those who call Him Lord; those in whom His Spirit dwells.  Doing good is a hallmark of His people. 

PRAYER: Holy Spirit, I know I cannot meet all the needs presented to me every day, so I am depending on you to bring to my attention those places where you would have me do something good.  May the good that I do glorify you. Amen.

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!