July 19, 2021: SOAP #4246:  2Kings 17; 2Chronicles 28; Psalm 46; James 3

SCRIPTURE:  2Kings (NIV) 17:9 The Israelites secretly did things against the LORD their God that were not right. From watchtower to fortified city they built themselves high places in all their towns. 10 They set up sacred stones and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every spreading tree. 11 At every high place they burned incense, as the nations whom the LORD had driven out before them had done. They did wicked things that provoked the LORD to anger. 12 They worshipped idols, though the LORD had said, “You shall not do this.”

OBSERVATION: Secretly!  Did they really think that their actions were done in secret?  Did they really think that no one would know?  Certainly, it was not a secret hidden from God.  And now people from every generation and in every nation have read about their “secret” things. 

APPLICATION:  I am only fooling myself to think that I can live in secret.  The “all-knowing” God is also the “all-seeing” God, and the “all-hearing” God.  To think that the One who has promised to never leave me, the One who lives in my heart—to think that He does not know what I am thinking is just fooling myself.  Of course, He is merciful, gracious, forgiving.  He must be in order to put up with me!   He knows me better than I know myself! 

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, thank you for being a quick forgiver.  May the secrets I carry in my heart only be the kind that bring you joy.  Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

July 18, 2021: SOAP #4245:  Isaiah 32-35; James 2

SCRIPTURE:  James (NIV) 2:22 You see that his [Abraham’s] faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. 23 And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend. 24 You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone.

OBSERVATION: It is one thing for God to be Abraham’s friend, but what an honor to be known as God’s friend.  Many people would like to claim God as their friend, but how special when God claims us as His friend. 

God called Abraham His friend; their friendship was God’s idea.  From the context above, we see that there were two things that made Abraham attractive to God.  They are two things that go together for both are dependent on the other:  Faith and Actions.  Faith without actions/works is dead and worthless.  Actions not based on Faith are worthless for attracting God.  But when they are joined together, they are powerful!  They are the key to our salvation.  They are the key to how we live our life with Jesus. 

APPLICATION:  Faith comes by hearing.  As I hear with my heart what I read or what someone tells me, I gain knowledge.  The Holy Spirit witnesses in my heart that the knowledge is truth.  Being convinced in my heart that it is true, I decide to act on the truth.  My actions line up with the truth.  The actions are proof of my faith.  God sees my actions proving my faith and responds.  God likes to be believed.  God likes it when our actions line up with our faith in Him!  

PRAYER:  Lord, you have proved yourself trustworthy.  You are a worthy foundation for my faith.  You have become the reason for my life. Pleasing you has become my purpose.  I want you to call me your friend.  Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

July 17, 2021: SOAP #4244:  Isaiah 29-31; James 1

SCRIPTURE:  Isaiah (NIV) 31:1 Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, who rely on horses, who trust in the multitude of their chariots and in the great strength of their horsemen, but do not look to the Holy One of Israel or seek help from the LORD. 2 Yet he too is wise and can bring disaster; he does not take back his words. He will rise up against the house of the wicked, against those who help evildoers. 3 But the Egyptians are men and not God; their horses are flesh and not spirit. When the LORD stretches out his hand, he who helps will stumble, he who is helped will fall; both will perish together.

OBSERVATION: As I read these verses, I wonder what really bothered the Lord?  Was He upset that His people called to Egypt for help?  Yes, but even more, I think He was hurt that they did not call upon Him?  Here was an opportunity for them to allow God to show them His love, but they looked elsewhere.  Here was an opportunity to demonstrate their love for God and their faith in what He could do. 

They needed horses and many chariots, and strong horsemen.  It seemed that God did not have what they needed, so they looked where they could find what they thought they needed!   They found help in Egypt, but they offended the source of their true strength!  They should have remembered that God could rescue them without using horses and chariots. 

APPLICATION:  When I am looking for help, I need to be careful not to offend my Lord!  When I take my needs to Him, He may use someone to supply for my need, but when they are responding to Him, He gets the glory.  God may send me to someone, (like Elijah to the widow woman in 1Kings 17) but He will do it specifically, and their willingness to help is proof that God was involved in the sending. 

PRAYER: Lord, when it comes to providing, you are the champion!   I know you respond to faith, and I am asking the Holy Spirit to help me grow in faith.  I trust you.  Amen

Pastor Leon
Making Friends for Time and Eternity!

July 16, 2021: SOAP #4243:  Isaiah 25-28; Hebrews 13

SCRIPTURE:  Hebrews (NIV) 13:5 Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” 6 So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?”

OBSERVATION: Thoughts about God should affect my thoughts about money.  If God is with me, then I do not need to depend on money.  God has many ways to provide.  I cannot think of a time in the New Testament when Jesus allowed the people with Him to go hungry.  His presence assured enough food for 5000.  His presence is also my supply of needed provision. 

APPLICATION:  The presence of the Lord is my assurance that my needs will be met.  He will never leave me.  He is my helper; I will not be afraid.  What can man do to me?  Of what circumstances do I need to fear?  Of what lack do I need to fear? 

Many times, God uses people to be a part of meeting my needs.  If not careful, I can begin to depend on people rather than God.  My faith must remain in God.  He may use other people, but He is my helper!   He does not need to tell me how He will meet my need, or who He will use.  He wants me to depend on HIM!  Of all those I could ask for help, no one is more inclined to help me.  HE DIED FOR ME!   …none is more able than God.  He is the omnipotent, all sufficient ONE!   I should not desperately pressure others to do what only God can do. 

PRAYER: Lord, you said you would never leave me.  So, I do not have to search for you.  I do not have to chase you down.  I can cast all my cares on you because you care for me!  (1Peter 5:7) Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!

July 15, 2021: SOAP #4242:  Isaiah 22-24; Hebrews 12

SCRIPTURE:  Hebrews (NIV) 12:28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, 29 for our “God is a consuming fire.”

OBSERVATION: The writer of Hebrews has just expressed the great need for reverential fear by the Israelites who were at Mount Sinai and received the Law and the method of worship within the tabernacle Moses built.  It was a frightful thing.  On penalty of death, no one could step on the mountain as God gave the Law to Moses. 

God’s voice shook the earth when the Law was given, but there is a time coming when God’s voice will shake both the earth and the heavens!  If a reverent fear was needed at Mount Sinai, how much more should we worship our Holy God with fear and great respect!  When the earth and heavens shake, how privileged we are to be in a kingdom that cannot be shaken!

APPLICATION:  The USA recently celebrated our Independence Day.  It is customary to celebrate with various fireworks.  There are simple burning sparklers that can be held in our hand and waved in the dark of the night while they burn away the glistening, glowing fire.  They do not explode, just sparkle as they burn for a minute or two.  At the other extreme of fireworks are the cannons that shoot a shell loudly into the night sky.  At the height of its flight, it bursts with a mighty sound and shoots out other firecrackers that also explode and fill the night with sound and color. 

In reading the above chapter, I hear the Holy Spirit saying that we often like to consider Jesus as one of the sparklers we wave in the darkness of the night.  But really, Jesus is as one of the cannons that light up the darkness and awaken anyone asleep.  He should be treated with reverential fear!  

PRAYER:  Jesus, you are my Loving Shepherd.  Forgive me for not remembering that you are as holy as you are loving.  May I worship you “acceptably with reverence and awe.”  Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

July 14, 2021: SOAP #4241:  Isaiah 19-21; Hebrews 11

SCRIPTURE:  Hebrews (NIV) 11:8 By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed, and went, even though he did not know where he was going. 9 By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. 10 For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.

OBSERVATION: Abraham moved out in obedience without planning the trip.  How far would he go each day?  Where would he stop to purchase food?  And even what direction would he be going?  These were all issues left to his Guide.  Abraham would follow each day knowing that the Lord would lead him.  If he followed the Lord each day, he had faith that he would end up where he was supposed to be. 

APPLICATION:  The emphasis in my life is not what will I be doing in a year, or in two years; the emphasis in my life is what am I to be doing today?  What can I do today that will please my Lord?  What will make Him smile today?  What is His direction for today?  He may want me to spend my day looking ahead but I need to make sure I am looking at HIS plans and not mine. 

I have personally discovered that God leads me in direction more than in destination.  I want to look ahead to see where He is sending me.  Then I can try to figure out a short-cut to reach the goal faster.   But before I reach the goal, He was sending me toward another goal.  God was not giving me a destination, but a direction in which to move.  Now as I move into what I originally thought was my original destination, I am discovering that each turn in God’s directions brought me another strength in preparation for God’s plan.  What I would have missed if I had taken all the short-cuts!!!  The destination is much more demanding than I originally thought.  It looks different than I thought.  It has a greater scope than I ever dreamed as a teenager.  What I would have missed if I had taken a short-cut. 

PRAYER: Lord, it is my pleasure to follow your direction.  It is my privilege to serve you. It is my joy to know that you have a plan for my life.  Amen

Pastor Leon   
Making friends for time and eternity! 

July 13, 2021: SOAP #4240:  Isaiah 15-18; Hebrews 10

SCRIPTURE:  Hebrews (NIV) 10:11 Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again, and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. 12 But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God. 13 Since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool, 14 because by one sacrifice he has made perfect for ever those who are being made holy.

OBSERVATION:  Animal sacrifices must be repeated.  They could be an indication of remorse for sin, but they never could remove sin and clear a guilty conscience.  But, it was the best they had.  God accepted the insufficient animal sacrifice because it was made in obedience and faith.  Obedience to God’s command and faith that God would provide a sacrifice that could take away sin. 

When Jesus made that sacrifice, the Sinless dying for the sinful, it made an end of all the repeated sacrifices!  It was ONE sacrifice for all time.  It covered all the animal sacrifices of the past, all the way back to the garden where an animal was sacrificed to cover Adam and Eve. 

AND it covers all the sins up to this very day in July of 2021!!!  The faith of those in the Old Testament was that God WOULD PROVIDE the acceptable, sinless sacrifice.  The faith of Christians since the cross is that God HAS PROVIDED the acceptable, sinless sacrifice. 

APPLICATION:  Just knowing about Jesus’ death for sin is not enough.  By faith, His death must be personally accepted as the payment for my sins.  I must acknowledge that I have sinned.  I request His forgiveness available to me because of His death on the cross.  I invite Him into my life and acknowledge His presence with gratitude and living a life that honors Him. 

PRAYER: Lord, thank you for dying on the cross for my sins.  I accept the forgiveness you offer.  I invite you to be the Lord of my life.  I am going to need your help in living my life in a way that is best for me and pleases you.  May my life bring joy to your heart and a smile to your face.  Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

July 12, 2021: SOAP #4239:  Isaiah 11-14; Hebrews 9

SCRIPTURE:  Isaiah (NIV) 12:1 In that day you will say: “I will praise you, O LORD. Although you were angry with me, your anger has turned away and you have comforted me. 2 Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The LORD, the LORD, is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation.” 3 With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.
4 In that day you will say: “Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done, and proclaim that his name is exalted. 5 Sing to the LORD, for he has done glorious things; let this be known to all the world. 6 Shout aloud and sing for joy, people of Zion, for great is the Holy One of Israel among you.”

OBSERVATION: In this short psalm of praise, we see that what God did for Israel was meant to be broadcast to the world.  It was not just for Israel’s benefit.  They received the blessing of God’s goodness, but there was a blessing for God too!  They were to make the works of God well known “among the nations” and in “all the world.”  

APPLICATION:  I too have a debt of gratitude.  I too have things to share with the world.  I too need to make God look good by the things I say about Him. 

PRAYER: Lord, forgive me for the times I did not take the opportunity to make you look good.  You have done so much for me.  The first thing I should do is thank you.  The second thing I should do is to tell someone!  Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

July 11, 2021: SOAP #4238:  Isaiah 8-10; Hebrews 8

SCRIPTURE:  Hebrews (NIV) 8:10 This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time, declares the Lord. I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.

OBSERVATION: The first covenant centered around laws written on tablets of stone. We call them the Ten Commandments.  Motivation was very self-centered — there was a reward promised if it was kept.  AND there was punishment promised if it was broken. 

The New Covenant is not written on stone tablets, but on hearts of flesh.  Jesus’ forgiveness removes the fear of punishment.  AND His Presence is better than the rewards.  The more we know Him the more we love Him. Our motivation changes from selfishness—the fear of punishment and hope for reward.  Our motivation changes to love.   Once we were being forced into a mold by an outside influence; but now we live to please Him because we love Him.

APPLICATION:  How can I not love the One Who loved me so much that He took my penalty.  It is my desire to please him — to bring joy to His heart, to bring a smile to His face.

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, to live my life in honor of your Son who died in my place, to please you and to make you smile; this is my daily goal.  Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

July 10, 2021: SOAP #4237:  Micah 5-7; Hebrews 7 (Reworked from 2014—too good not to repeat!)

Scripture:    Hebrews (NIV) 7:19 (for the law made nothing perfect), and a better hope is introduced, by which we draw near to God.
7:25 Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.    

Observation:   What a difference!!!  The law could tell what was done wrong and give a token penalty offering, but it could never change the heart.  It is the heart from which our actions proceed.  But Jesus can save COMPLETELY.  He makes an acceptable sacrifice to more than cover the penalty for sin, AND by His Spirit He lives inside, working to change the heart!  Wow!  

Application:   The sacrifice of the dying Jesus is more than sufficient to pay for all my sin!  The presence of the living Jesus is more than sufficient to establish victory in my daily life.      

Jesus’ sacrifice fills my need for my past; His life within fills my need for my present; His promises fill my need for my future!   For sure, Jesus is my everything!

Prayer:   Lord, thank you for understanding my weaknesses and knowing how to be what I need.  Thank you!  Thank you!  Thank you!  Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!