July 29, 2021: SOAP #4256:  Isaiah 57-59; Psalm 103; 2Peter 3

SCRIPTURE:  2Peter (NIV) 3:18 But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.

OBSERVATION: This is the closing verse of Peters second letter to the church.  It is God’s desire that I grow in my knowledge of Him.  He loves to reveal Himself to His people.  But my attention was drawn to the phrase, “…grow in the grace…”  God wants me to grow in grace. 

First:  I must grow in my understanding of grace.  It is God’s undeserved favor.  He is kindly disposed to me, especially when I have made His Son, Jesus, to be the Lord of my life. 

Second:  I must grow in living a grace filled life.  God’s grace is a foundation for my trust.  I can look at everything through God’s grace.  I live because of God’s grace so I should live in honor of God’s grace.  Others should see the difference God’s grace makes in my life.  God’s grace in my life should result in a life of thanksgiving!

Third:  I must grow in giving grace.  I have received grace; I should be graceful to others.  God loves to give grace to me, but even more He loves to give grace through me.  Kindness and forgiveness should be readily extended to those around me. 

APPLICATION:  The thought of God’s amazing grace should be mixed with all my thoughts.  They should be a part of every conversation.  Gratitude for God’s grace should be identified with an attitude of thanksgiving.   Even when going through the toughest times, I have sufficient reasons to be thankful for God’s grace. 

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, your grace has been abundantly provided by your Son, Jesus.  Holy Spirit, help me grow in grace.  Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

July 28, 2021: SOAP #4255:  Isaiah 53-56; 2Peter 2

SCRIPTURE:  2Peter (NIV) 2:18 For they mouth empty, boastful words and, by appealing to the lustful desires of sinful human nature, they entice people who are just escaping from those who live in error. 19 They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves of depravity—for a man is a slave to whatever has mastered him.

OBSERVATION: If one could speak to a locomotive and convince it that it was in bondage to the rail; that the tracks kept the locomotive from enjoying the freedom that was available to other vehicles with wheels.  If the locomotive would leave the track and join the vehicles on the highway, it would soon come to find that what was seen as freedom was actually bondage!   The locomotive was designed to run on a railroad track.  Without the track it is both helpless and useless.  It loses the ability to fulfill its designed purpose.

The world promises us freedom if we just go along with them.  But like the locomotive, we will soon find ourselves bogged down with sin and unable to fulfill our purpose.

APPLICATION:  God designed me to be filled with His Holy Spirit.  I cannot please Him if I let the world set my agenda.  Sometimes His way seems limiting, and the world is always ready to show me a way to be free to do my own thing and live my own life.  But staying on God’s track always proves to be the wise choice.

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, you designed me.  Now that I am living is a world that is rebelling against your design, help me remain faithful. Help me not to be focused on what I am missing by staying on your track, but on what I am gaining!  Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

July 27, 2021: SOAP #4254:  Isaiah 50-52; 2Peter 1

SCRIPTURE:  2Peter (NIV) 1:10 Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. …
12 So I will always remind you of these things, even though you know them and are firmly established in the truth you now have. 13 I think it is right to refresh your memory as long as I live in the tent of this body, 14 because I know that I will soon put it aside, as our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me. 15 And I will make every effort to see that after my departure you will always be able to remember these things.

OBSERVATION: How was Peter going to remind the believers?  He would do it by writing a letter.  Of what would he remind them?  Of things they already knew.  How long would he be reminding them?  As long as he lived…and even beyond his life.  He would remind them in a way that they could remember after his death.  Although he does not tell us how he would do that…he showed us. He wrote them a letter! 

Writing them down was a priority to Peter.  He wrote that he would “make every effort” to see that his reminders would continue. 

APPLICATION:  There are important things that I want to leave behind.  God has given me a unique way through these SOAPs.  From a small child, God began preparing me for this ministry.  His word has been placed in my heart, truth by truth.  God has revealed His character to me and showed me His priorities. 

For me, it is SOAP by SOAP that I can remind believers of truth. 

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, as a parent, as a family member, as a friend, and as a Christian leader, use me to share your Word and to remind others of your Word.  When I am gone, may I leave behind memories that honor you.   Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

July 26, 2021: SOAP #4253:  Isaiah 46-49; 1Peter 5

SCRIPTURE:  1Peter (NIV) 5:6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. 7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

OBSERVATION: The more one knows God, the more logical this passage becomes.  God’s hand is mighty, and it is better to willing humble oneself than to be humbled by that mighty hand.  It is that mighty hand that will lift us up at the proper time. 

God loves to be believed.  He loves for His people to depend on Him.  He receives the glory when we wait in faith for Him to do as He has promised.  He receives glory when He meets our need!  He receives the glory when we tell others what God has done for us. 

APPLICATION:  My faith based on knowledge is an important foundation for humility.  How foolish to acknowledge God as the omnipotent Creator and then allow pride to fill my heart!  

And if God really is all powerful, all knowing, wise and loving, who better is there to take my anxieties.  My concerns are often too big for me, but NEVER too big for God! 

If these scriptures are true, then the greatest testimonies should come from the areas of the world that have the greatest needs!  The greatest testimony of God’s faithful provision did not come from Egypt nor from the Promised Land, but from the 40 years the nation of Israel was in the wilderness!  If you are serving God in a place of great need, take these verses, and others, to Him in prayer every day! 

PRAYER: Lord, you are able, and willing to meet my needs.  I trust you.  I cast my cares and anxieties on you because I know you care for me.  Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

July 25, 2021: SOAP #4252:  Isaiah 43-45; 1Peter 4

SCRIPTURE:  Isaiah (NIV) 43:1 But now, this is what the LORD says—he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. 2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. 3 For I am the LORD, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior; I give Egypt for your ransom, Cush and Seba in your stead. 4 Since you are precious and honored in my sight, and because I love you, I will give men in exchange for you, and people in exchange for your life.

OBSERVATION: What does it mean that God “summoned you by name?”
1.  It means He knows me.  He knows my name. 

2.  It means He wants my attention.
3.  It means He has a specific assignment for me.  It is personal and unique to me.    

What a privilege it is to know that the Creator knows me by name.  He can identify me uniquely from every other person on this planet.

APPLICATION:  So, what does that mean to me? 
1.  I must never think that I am unimportant to God.
2.  I must be quick to listen to what He is saying to me. 
3.  I must carefully follow through with what He says to me. 

PRAYER: Holy Spirit, keep speaking to me through your word.  Reveal truth to me and through me to others.  Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

July 24, 2021: SOAP #4251:  Isaiah 40-42; 1Peter 3

SCRIPTURE:  Isaiah (NIV) 40:6 A voice says, “Cry out.” And I said, “What shall I cry?” “All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field. 7 The grass withers and the flowers fall, because the breath of the LORD blows on them. Surely the people are grass. 8 The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever.”

OBSERVATION:  Of the four things listed in these verses, only one “stands forever.”  The word of God remains the same through every generation.  The Word is true today; the Word will be true tomorrow.  The Word is true for our parent’s generation; the word is true for our generation; the word will be true for our children’s generation…and our children’s children…and their children… 

The Word remains true through death.  When I enter eternity/heaven, I will find that the truth of the Word has not change.  My death will not change the Word of God.  This flesh body known as Leon will be gone, but the soul and spirit of Leon will live on according to the unchanging Word of God. 

The Word of God is an expression of the unchangeable nature of our holy and loving God.  Our God is a Spirit, eternal, omnipresent, omniscient, omnipotent.  Those natural characteristics of His being would make God a terror if it was not for the unchanging nature His character.  He is holy and loving.  He will never use His power and knowledge in an unholy or unloving way!  His Word is bound to His nature. 

APPLICATION:  To wrap my life around the Word of God is completely logical when I consider it is eternal and never changing.  To hide His word in my heart should be a priority.  The written Word becomes the living Word in my life.  The Holy Spirit gives me the understanding and shows me the application. 

PRAYER: Holy Spirit, lead me into deeper understanding and greater application of the Word of God.  Help me give understanding and application to those who read the SOAPs.  Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

July 23, 2021: SOAP #4250:  2Kings 20; Isaiah 38-39; Psalm 75; 1Peter 2

SCRIPTURE:  1Peter (NIV) 2:2 Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, 3 now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.

OBSERVATION: Sometimes in feeding babies, we touch their lips with the spoon that has the food.  If we can just get them a taste.  Hopefully they will like it and open their mouth for what remains on the spoon.  If they like what they taste and if they like the first spoonful, then they will finish the portion.  When they are hungry, they will anticipate being fed. 

…now that you have tasted…crave pure spiritual milk.  God’s plan is our growth.  The taste awakens the hunger.  Fulfilling the hunger leads to growth. 

APPLICATION:  God has many ways to bring me spiritual food.  Usually, it comes into my life through the eye gate, or the hearing gate—through reading or hearing.  It also comes through life experiences. 

In my beginning, God used Spirit-anointed parents, nursery workers and Sunday School teachers to give me a little taste of His word.  As I matured, my desire for more of God’s word grew in my heart and mind.  Year after year, God was laying a foundation.  Layer by layer God was and is building a structure for His glory to be used for ministry. 

PRAYER: Lord, here we are.  We have arrived at this level of growth by applying the Word we have heard and read.  We set ourselves to grow.  Next year, may our growth be noticeable.  Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

July 22, 2021: SOAP #4249:  Isaiah 36-37; Psalm 76; 1Peter 1

SCRIPTURE:  1Peter (NIV) 1:23 For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. 24 For, “All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, 25 but the word of the Lord stands forever.” And this is the word that was preached to you.

OBSERVATION:  The word of God not only addresses life, but also how to live.  In John 1, we see that Jesus is the Word.  He is alive and living in our hearts.    

The flesh in which we live is temporary, weak, and fading but the word of God is enduring.  Beyond this life and all through eternity, God’s Word remains the truth.  When we die and leave our body of flesh, we will take our place with the Living Word around the throne of truth. 

He is strong.  He stands forever true.  When the Word is firmly established in me, I stand straight and true.  The Holy Spirit gives me understanding as I hide God’s word in my heart. 

APPLICATION:  The better I know the written word (scriptures), the better I will know the Living Word (Jesus).  The word of God is the flagpole set in my life.  The word keeps me standing straight.  When I get “bent out of shape” the Holy Spirit convicts me to straighten my life to conform to the Living Word living with in me. 

PRAYER: Holy Spirit, work in me to correct and straighten me to conform to the Living Word dwelling in my life.  Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

July 21, 2021: SOAP #4248:  2Kings 18-19; 2Chronicles 32; James 5

SCRIPTURE:  2Chronicles (NIV) 32:7 “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged because of the king of Assyria and the vast army with him, for there is a greater power with us than with him. 8 With him is only the arm of flesh, but with us is the LORD our God to help us and to fight our battles.” And the people gained confidence from what Hezekiah the king of Judah said.

2Kings (NIV) 19:35 That night the angel of the LORD went out and put to death a hundred and eighty-five thousand men in the Assyrian camp. When the people got up the next morning—there were all the dead bodies! 36 So Sennacherib king of Assyria broke camp and withdrew. He returned to Nineveh and stayed there.

OBSERVATION: Sennacherib’s army had come to Jerusalem.  Before fighting he sent threatening messages to King Hezekiah as to what he and his great army would do.  Hezekiah had no hope in being able to withstand the enemy, …but he did not need to have hope in his strength to fight back.  His hope was in the Lord!  God was present with them.  

It took only one angel to wipe out 185,000 soldiers of King Sennacherib!  The Assyrian king withdrew and shortly afterwards he was killed by his own sons.    

APPLICATION:   The same God that WAS with King Hezekiah IS with me!  When I must deal with someone’s “arm of flesh,” I need not fear or be dismayed!  Like King Hezekiah, I need to state the truth.  I can feel sorry for the enemy; he does not know who he is up against!  He has no idea of the power and authority of Almighty God. 

I need to make sure that I have a higher regard for the power of my God than I have for the “arm of flesh” that is against me!  

PRAYER: Holy Spirit, Help me not to become focused on the strength and ability of the “arm of flesh.”  Help me always be realistic about the power and wisdom and authority of God, my Father!  Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

July 20, 2021: SOAP #4247:  2Chronicles 29-31; James 4

SCRIPTURE:  James (NIV) 4:2 You want something but don’t get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God. 3 When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.

OBSERVATION:  Here are two reasons why people do not have what they need.  First, we do not ask God.  Who we ask has a great affect on receiving the desired answer!  Did we ask someone able to meet our need?  Did we ask someone who was inclined to meet our need? 

Second, we ask with wrong motives.  God is not inclined to answer selfish prayers.  The love of God causes Him to make great sacrifices for others.  God wants us to be like Him. 

Third, not mentioned in this passage, but a particularly important issue for not receiving answers to prayer: faith.  We do not ask with faith.  We do not really believe God will answer.  God is not our source; He is just a possible source.  Yes, we ask Him, but when He does not immediately answer, we find another possible source.  We ask someone who has a sympathetic ear.  We have more faith in a person who has a history of helping than we have in God. 

APPLICATION:  BUT… With God, all things are possible!  (Matthew 19:26)
If I ask anything according to His will…  (1John 5:14-15)
I cast my care on you because you care for me.  (1Peter 5:7)
Faith = Forsaking All I Trust Him. 

PRAYER: Lord, you are able and willing to answer.  So, in faith, I reach out to you.  Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!