May 20, 2021: SOAP #4186:  1Kings 6; 2Chronicles 3; Psalm 97; Romans 1

SCRIPTURE:  Romans (NIV) 1:9 God, whom I serve with my whole heart in preaching the gospel of his Son, is my witness how constantly I remember you 10 in my prayers at all times; and I pray that now at last by God’s will, the way may be opened for me to come to you.
11 I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong—
12 that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith.
13 I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that I planned many times to come to you (but have been prevented from doing so until now) in order that I might have a harvest among you, just as I have had among the other Gentiles.
14 I am bound both to Greeks and non-Greeks, both to the wise and the foolish.
15 That is why I am so eager to preach the gospel also to you who are at Rome.

OBSERVATION: Serving God with his “whole heart” is seen in the following passage in expressions of commitment, emotion, and thought. 
verse 9:  he constantly remembers them…they are always in his thoughts.
verse 10:  he prays for them all the time.
verse 11:  he desires to see them and be with them.
verse 13:  he planned many times to visit them.
verse 14:  he is bound, required, assigned.
verse 15:  he is eager to fulfill his assignment.

APPLICATION:  Obviously, being “whole-hearted” can be seen.  The attitude of the heart becomes visible to others. It is a characteristic that cannot be easily hidden. 

Am I serving God with my whole heart?  Ask those who see me every day. 

PRAYER: Lord, you deserve whole-hearted devotion.  May those who know me have no doubt about my devotion to you.  Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

May 19, 2021: SOAP #4185:  1Kings 4, 5; 2Chronicles 2; Psalm 101; 2Thessalonians 3

I am repeating this SOAP from 2010.  Today, unemployed people can get more money from the government than if they went to work!  It has become difficult for businesses to find employees.  People are looking to the government, not God, for their provision.  The government is taking the place of God in many lives.  We must turn our eyes to Jesus.  We must follow His Word!

SCRIPTURE:  2Thessalonians (NIV) 3:10 For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: “If a man will not work, he shall not eat.” 11 We hear that some among you are idle. They are not busy; they are busybodies. 12 Such people we command and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and earn the bread they eat.

OBSERVATION: The rule is: “If a man will not work …” not “If a man can not work …”  It has to do with those who are able but not willing.  Paul was for helping the needy.  He had helped gather money for the needy in Jerusalem and had been a part of delivering it to the Jerusalem church.  But generosity is not to be misapplied.  This is a very practical word to BOTH those who waste their time on nonproductive tasks AND to those who might be asked for “help.”

APPLICATION:   This rule applies to those receiving and to those providing government handouts.  It applies to employees giving a day’s work for a day’s wage and to employers who might carry a non-productive employee.  It applies to adult children living with their parents and to parents supporting adult children.  It applies to anyone requesting financial aid and to those from whom it is requested.  Work loses its value, its dignity, and its honor when its rewards can be gained for nothing.

PRAYER: Lord, You are a giver and make your people givers.  May we be both generous and wise in our giving.  Amen.

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

May 18, 2021: SOAP #4184:  1Kings 3; 2Chronicles 1; Psalm 78; 2Thessalonians 2

SCRIPTURE:  2Thessalonians (NIV) 2:16 May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, 17 encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.

OBSERVATION:  To his readers, Paul is expressing his desire that both the Lord Jesus Christ and our Father God who has already shown us His great love by giving us encouragement that will last for all eternity along with a hope that is trustworthy—that this God who has already done so much for us, would continue to bless us by his work in our lives.  Paul desires God to give them special encouragement to bring them through the persecution they are experiencing.  Paul also desires that God will give them the strength to perform and speak.

Paul’s blessing has a look back at history and forward to the future.  Looking back to how God had given them encouragement and hope would encourage and strengthen them to continue to serve and speak for God. 

APPLICATION When I consider what God has done, I am encouraged that He will continue with me.  He did not bring me this far, and it was by His grace that I have come this far, He did not bring me this far to drop me off or leave me.  I am encouraged when I look back at what God has done. 

PRAYER: Lord, you have helped me in so many ways; I have faith that you will continue with me. Your grace has kept me, and your grace will keep me. How thankful I am that your mercies are new every morning. Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

May 17, 2021: SOAP #4183:  1Kings 2: 1Chronicles 29; Psalm 95; 2Thessalonians 1

SCRIPTURE:  2Thessalonians 1:6 God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you 7 and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels. 8 He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9 They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power 10 on the day he comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed. This includes you because you believed our testimony to you.

OBSERVATION: God, who is just, will make everything right.  He will surely punish those who do wrong.  He will just as surely reward those who do right. 

But His promise in the above passage is not necessarily for this life.  Verses 7 and 10 above tell us that making things right will happen when He returns to rule and reign on the earth. 

APPLICATION: Our faith-walk is for now—in this life.  We walk by faith even to and through our death.  We do not need to get our rewards in this life.  God, who is just, is also eternal.  He has all eternity to punish the wicked and reward the righteous. 

PRAYER: Lord, help my faith to not only be strong enough, but also long enough.  I want to be still living by faith when I die.  I do not want my faith to run out before my physical life runs out.  My faith will carry me to and through death’s doors.  In faith I accept that Jesus’ death is the payment for my sins.   Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

May 16, 2021: SOAP #4182:  11Kings 1: 1Chronicles 28; Psalm 91; 1Thessalonians 5

SCRIPTURE:  Psalm (NIV) 91:1 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. 2 I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” 3 Surely, he will save you from the fowler’s snare and from the deadly pestilence. 4 He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.

OBSERVATION:  What a wonderful benefit there is for those who live in the “shelter of the Most High” and who “rest in the shadow of the Almighty.”  These are not those just visiting for an hour on Sunday morning, but who live 24 hours each day with an awareness of His presence. 

God does not find them a place of refuge.  God does not find them a fortress where they can rest.  No, God does not find them a refuge or fortress; no, no—God IS their refuge and fortress!!! 

APPLICATION: Like the turtle, I do not need to look for a place of safety.  The turtle carries his shell every place he goes.  And the Lord is with me everywhere I go.  I do not need to get out of the battle to be safe.  I do not need to find a get-away place to rest.  I can rest in the presence of the Lord wherever I am. 

When I get frazzled, discouraged, or worried I need to remember that the God who created the universe is with me, and He is my refuge and fortress!   I need to fill my thoughts with His word and what He has said to me! 

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, you are my refuge and fortress!  I can trust you.  You are working for my eternal good.  My faith is in you to lead me through each day and each challenge. Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

May 15, 2021: SOAP #4181:  1Chronicles 25-27; 1Thessalonians 4

SCRIPTURE:  1Thessalonians (NIV) 4:1 Finally, brothers, we instructed you how to live in order to please God… 2 For you know what instructions we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus. 3 It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; 4 that each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable…
7 For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life.
8 Therefore, he who rejects this instruction does not reject man but God, who gives you his Holy Spirit.

OBSERVATION: The reason for such admonition and warning is found in God.  God our Creator has the right to set such boundaries.  He has the right to determine what is appropriate and what is inappropriate.  He created us with a purpose in mind.  He created us with to excel in certain areas, and in order for us to excel in those areas, we have limitations.  Doing some things will harm us, and harm our potential.  God has placed those things off limits for our own good. He calls them sin.  They are against His nature, and we were created in His image. God created us to live holy lives for that is the only way we can fulfill His purpose.

God gave us these guidelines; God also gave us His Holy Spirit!   Since the fall, God has known that man could not keep His holy commandments.  Man must have help!  At the same time God gave the commandments to Moses, He also gave the sacrifices to be made when they would be broken!  There was only One Who kept the law perfectly and His sacrificial death is accepted as payment for our sins.  After Jesus died, rose, and ascended back to heaven, God sent His Spirit, the Holy Spirit, to dwell in our lives.  He is the “help” we needed to motivate us and empower us to lives pleasing to God.

APPLICATION: The only hope I have of living a life pleasing to God is to acknowledge the presence of the Holy Spirit, learn to hear His voice, and to follow His leading. 

PRAYER:  Holy Spirit, I need your help in understanding how God’s word applies to my life.  Then I your help to live in a way that pleases God.  Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

May 14, 2021: SOAP #41.80:  1Chronicles 22-24; 1Thessalonians 3

SCRIPTURE:  1Thessalonians (NIV) 3:11 Now may our God and Father himself and our Lord Jesus clear the way for us to come to you. 12 May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you. 13 May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones.

OBSERVATION:  The people in Thessalonica had accepted Paul and his message even though it resulted in suffering.  (2:14)   But Paul did not pray for a stressful, easy life.  He did not pray for financial blessings.  He did not pray that their every endeavor would be successful.  Paul had eternity in view as he prayed.  He prayed that they would be strong and withstand temptation.  He desired that they would be “blameless” when they appear before God. 

APPLICATION:  I often hear myself and others praying for temporal blessings like good health, good job, increased finances, etc.  … but do I pray for their eternal life and reward?  Do I pray that the Lord who shed His blood for their salvation be pleased when they appear before Him!   May He know that His sacrifice was worth the suffering!

PRAYER: Holy Spirit, guide my words as I pray.  Help me to pray from the heart of God.  Help me pray with eternity in view.  Help me pray prayers that will enhance eternity.  Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

May 13, 2021: SOAP #4179: 2Samuel 24; 1Chronicles 21; Psalm 30; 1Thessalonians 2

SCRIPTURE:  1Thessalonians (NIV) 2:4 …We are not trying to please men but God, who tests our hearts.

OBSERVATION: Two things come to my mind as I think about pleasing God.  First, pleasing God is easy — He knows my heart.  Second, pleasing God is hard — He knows my heart.

APPLICATION: God does not test my efforts by how successful I am, but by how faithful I am.  People may judge me as a failure, but God knows my heart.  He knows my thoughts. He knows what I was trying to do. 

On the other side, it takes more than success to please God.  Just because something appears successful does not mean I have passed God’s test.  He is looking at my heart. He sees my motives.  He sees why I did it.

PRAYER:  Heavenly Father, there can be no more worthwhile goal in life than pleasing you.  Hearing your “Well done!” will make every struggle worth it all.    Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

May 12, 2021: SOAP #4178:  2Samuel 21-23; 1Thessalonians 1

SCRIPTURE:  1Thessalonians (NIV) 1:6 You became imitators of us and of the Lord; in spite of severe suffering, you welcomed the message with the joy given by the Holy Spirit. 7 And so you became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia. 8 The Lord’s message rang out from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia—your faith in God has become known everywhere. Therefore, we do not need to say anything about it, 9 for they themselves report what kind of reception you gave us. They tell how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God,

OBSERVATION: These verses describe early church growth.  In a day when much of the Bible had not been written and what was written was not available to the believer, their lives set the example for others to follow.  

Those in Thessalonica imitated Paul and what they knew about the Lord Jesus.  Their lives became examples for believers in Macedonia and Achaia.  Their lives were the original audio-visual presentation of the gospel.  People could hear a witness of Jesus.  People could watch how their lives changed by accepting Jesus as Savior and Lord. 

APPLICATION:  I should live my life as an audio-visual presentation of the gospel.  Listen to how I talk.  Watch how I live.  Without ever opening the Bible, people should hear and see enough in me to make them want to know more. 

PRAYER:  Holy Spirit, impress in my mind and heart how I should talk and live.  May your presence in me make me a witness for Jesus.  Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

May 11, 2021: SOAP #4177:  2Samuel 19, 20; Psalm 55; Matthew 28

SCRIPTURE:  Matthew (NIV) 28:11 While the women were on their way, some of the guards went into the city and reported to the chief priests everything that had happened. 12 When the chief priests had met with the elders and devised a plan, they gave the soldiers a large sum of money, 13 telling them, “You are to say, ‘His disciples came during the night and stole him away while we were asleep.’

OBSERVATION: The chief priests and the elders used good money for bad.  Money that had been given to the Lord at the temple.  Money for sacrifices.  Money for offerings.  They took good money and gave it to Judas to betray Jesus and then to the Roman soldiers to spread a self-condemning lie!   (It must have been a large amount of money because it influenced the soldiers to spread a lie that could have sentenced them to death!) 

APPLICATION: Much money today has been stained by sin.  I have heard that much money even has traces of drugs on it.  Who knows where the dollars in my wallet have been and how they have been used? 

The religious leaders of Jesus day used good money from the temple to perpetrate a lie.  May I use bad money from today’s economy to perpetrate the truth! 

PRAYER:  Heavenly Father, the use of my money shows a picture of my heart.  The picture shows I like to eat, as much money goes to food.  The picture shows that I need clothing and my automobile needs gas.  But Oh, God, may the picture show how much I love you!  May you be pleased with the money you have placed in my care.  May I use money to bring joy to your heart and a smile to your face!  Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!