August 26, 2021: SOAP #4284:  Jeremiah 50-51; 3John

SCRIPTURE:  3John 3 It gave me great joy to have some brothers come and tell about your faithfulness to the truth and how you continue to walk in the truth.

OBSERVATION: John had heard Jesus speak about the first and greatest commandment— “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ (Matthew 22:37) John had heard Jesus speak about the second commandment—Love your neighbor as yourself. (Matthew 22:39)   Then John had heard Jesus give a new commandment—to love each other as Jesus loved us.  (John 13:34)

John had obviously taken Jesus words to heart.  Good news about those he loved pleased him.  He took “great joy” in those he loved. 

APPLICATION:  When someone gives me good news about someone dear to my heart, it pleases me; it gives me “great joy.” 

PRAYER: Holy Spirit, help me pass along good news that will bring “great joy” to others.  Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

August 25, 2021: SOAP #4283:  Jeremiah 37-39; Psalm 79; 2John

SCRIPTURE:  2John (NIV) 5 And now, dear lady, I am not writing you a new command but one we have had from the beginning. I ask that we love one another. 6 And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love.

OBSERVATION: The commandment is that we love each other.  Love is walking in obedience to His commands.  And what is His command?  It is that we walk in love! 

Love leads us to keep God’s command.  Keeping God’s command is to love! 

APPLICATION:  Businesses trying to establish a market often pay to have a trademark designed to represent their new product.  They want a strong link between their product and the trademark.  They desire that people who see the trademark think of their product. 

The church has a trademark; it is love! 

PRAYER: Lord, may the love that flows out of your church make people think of you.  And may the love that flows out of my life be an expression of your presence in me.  Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

August 24, 2021: SOAP #4282:  Jeremiah 33-34; Psalm 74; 1John 5

SCRIPTURE:  1John (NIV) 5:3 This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome [grievous KJV}.

OBSERVATION: John was writing to the church.  To people who have not made Jesus their Savior and Lord, keeping God’s commands can seem very hard to do.  They like their own freedom too much to willing submit to another.  BUT for those who are living for the glory of Jesus, His commands are not a burden. 

APPLICATION:  In serving the Lord, I have found: 
First, obedience to God’s commands is for my good. 
Second, God’s commands are motivated by His love for me!
Third, my obedience is motivated by my love for Him!
Fourth, God graciously placed His Holy Spirit in me to help me! 

The Holy Spirit teaches me God’s law and its reasons. 
The Holy Spirit convicts me when I do something that disappoints God. 
The Holy Spirit empowers me to joyfully obey God’s will. 

John wrote it well: “And His commands are not burdensome!”

PRAYER: Yes, Lord, your commands are not burdensome. The more I know you, the more reasonable your commands appear. Being your child gives me a sense of belonging; being your servant gives me a sense of usefulness. Keeping your commands develops my direction.  What an honor to be known as yours.  Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

August 23, 2021: SOAP #4281:  Jeremiah 31-32; 1John 4

SCRIPTURE:  1John (NIV) 4:4 You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world….
12 No-one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is made complete in us. 13 We know that we live in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit.
14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15 If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God.

OBSERVATION: God is in me!  I am in God!  God lives in me, and I live in God! 

APPLICATION:  That truth means that God is as close to me as my breath.  If I ever complain that I am all alone, I am ignoring truth! 

The same God who lives in me delivered the Israelites from Egypt and fed them in the wilderness for forty years!  He is the same God who opened blind eyes and fed 5000 people with a small boy’s lunch!  He is the same one who proved His love for me by dying on the cross.  He is the same one who rose from a borrowed grave! 

PRAYER: Lord, I am blessed to know that you are with me!  It is my privilege to be with you.  I want my presence to be as pleasing to you as your presence is to me.  Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

August 22, 2021: SOAP #4280:  Jeremiah 28-30; 1John 3

SCRIPTURE:  1John (NIV) 3:10 This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother….
18  Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth….
21  Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God  22 and receive from him anything we ask, because we obey his commands and do what pleases him….
24 Those who obey his commands live in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us.

OBSERVATION: When the emergency medical technicians arrive at the scene of an accident, they begin by checking for key vital signs; they feel for a pulse and check for breathing.  Vital signs are not life, but they are expressions of life.  Physical life always finds some way to express itself. 

The same is true for spiritual life.  The presence of God’s life within a person cannot be hidden for long. 

APPLICATION:  I am saved by faith.  I cannot do enough works to earn my salvation.  It is a gift of God that I receive by faith!  That basic truth is the foundation which is followed by another truth.  Saving faith grows.  It finds ways of expression in what I do.  I do what it right; I love our brother; I obey His commands; I do what pleases Him.  Faith without works is dead!  (James 2:20 & 26) The proof of saving faith in my life is in my living.

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, the proof of my faith, and of your life in me, can be seen in my living.  I want the love and holiness of your presence to find expression in what I do and say.  Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

August 21, 2021: SOAP #4279:  Jeremiah 21, 24, 27; Psalm 118; 1John 2

SCRIPTURE:  1John (NIV) 2:4 The man who says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 5 But if anyone obeys his word, God’s love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: 6 Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.

OBSERVATION:  In every walk of life, actions are the proof of belief!  People often speak of their beliefs.  People believe in airplanes.  People believe in medicine.  People believe in many things they cannot explain, and their actions are proof of their belief. 

We speak of religion as belief.  But the verses above state very clearly that Christianity is more than a belief.  It is a way of life.  It is walking “as Jesus” walked.   

One’s actions do not turn into belief; but real belief turns into action; and the actions become proof of the belief.

APPLICATION:  If I am going to take these scriptures to heart, learning about Jesus is very important.  I must do more than believe in Him; I “must walk as Jesus did.”  Walking as Jesus is so important that four books in the Bible are dedicated to telling us how Jesus walked.  Especially Matthew, Mark, and Luke are very similar.  Repetition is God’s way of saying, “This is important!”  “Look at this!”  “Do not miss this!” 

PRAYER: Holy Spirit, Jesus said you would teach us about Jesus and help us remember what He said.  Work with me to make me more like Jesus.  Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

August 20, 2021: SOAP #4278:  Jeremiah 48-49; Psalm 67; 1John 1

SCRIPTURE:  1John (NIV) 1:6 If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth.
7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.
8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
10 If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.

OBSERVATION: Here is one of the biggest words in the Bible.  The meaning of whole passages swings on this one, two—lettered word.  It is a word found through out the Bible.  It sets the condition of the promised reward, or the promised judgment.  …IF…

APPLICATION:  At times I like to take the passage of scripture following the “if” and claim it as applying to me.  But the promise is true only IF I fulfill the condition. 
“IF” I confess my sins… 1John 1:9, 2Chronicles 6:37-38
“IF” I forgive my brother… Matthew 6:14
“IF” I abide in him… John 15:7
“IF” I ask anything according to His will… 1John 5:14
…and many, many, many others!  
Sometimes I memorize what follows the “if” and quote it when it fits my need, but God is not obligated to answer those prayers.  I need to align my life with the whole counsel of God!

PRAYER: Holy Spirit, show me the conditions to be met when I need your help.  May my life be one you enjoy blessing because I enjoy doing those things that please you.  Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

August 19, 2021: SOAP #4277:  Jeremiah 45-47; Psalm 105; John 21

SCRIPTURE:  John (NIV) 21:19 Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, “Follow me!” 20 Peter turned and saw that the disciple whom Jesus loved was following them. (This was the one who had leaned back against Jesus at the supper and had said, “Lord, who is going to betray you?”) 21 When Peter saw him, he asked, “Lord, what about him?” 22 Jesus answered, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me.”

OBSERVATION: Jesus had just talked to Peter about how Peter would die.  Peter wanted to know how John would die. 

In all the ways God deals with us, He does it personally.  He treats us as individuals.  We will be rewarded as individuals. 

APPLICATION:  That another believer has a more difficult life, or easier, should make no difference in my relationship to God.  Living in a beautiful home, or homeless, makes no difference.  I must keep my eyes on Jesus!  Living in freedom or under oppression makes no difference.  I must follow Jesus. 

What God is preparing for us far surpasses anything we have here on earth; it will make all our differences seem small.  Everyone in heaven will be rewarded for faithfulness.  My focus must be on where God has placed me and using what God has made available to me.  I must be faithful in whatever opportunity God has provided for me to serve Him. 

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, what a great privilege to be a part of what you are doing in the earth today.  Thank you for the opportunities to serve You and others.  Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

August 18, 2021: SOAP #4276:  Jeremiah 26, 35-36; John 20

SCRIPTURE:  John (NIV) 20:30 Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. 31 But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
John 21:24 This is the disciple who testifies to these things and who wrote them down. We know that his testimony is true. 25 Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.

OBSERVATION:  Matthew presents Jesus as King to the Jews.  Mark presents Jesus as the Perfect Servant to the Romans.  Luke presents Jesus as the Perfect Man to the Greeks.  And John wrote to present Jesus as God to the church.

During His time on earth, Jesus usually referred to Himself as the Son of Man, however he never denied or tried to correct being called the Son of God.  Everyone could see that Jesus was a man-child of a woman.  John, and others, came to see Jesus as much more.  Jesus is the Promised Messiah, the Christ.  Jesus is God in the flesh.  John wrote to present Jesus as the life-giver for those who believe in Him. 

APPLICATION:  Through my life, I am to present Jesus as “the Christ, the Son of God” so that others can believe and find “life in His name.”  My life is to be a letter for people to read. 

PRAYER:  Lord, may YOU be the first thing people think about when they think of Leon.  I want my life to be a letter that YOU write to the people who know me.  Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

August 17, 2021: SOAP #4275:  Jeremiah 23, 25; John 19

SCRIPTURE:  John (NIV) 19:10 “Do you refuse to speak to me?” Pilate said. “Don’t you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?” 11 Jesus answered, “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore, the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.” 12 From then on, Pilate tried to set Jesus free, but the Jews kept shouting, “If you let this man go, you are no friend of Caesar. Anyone who claims to be a king opposes Caesar.”

OBSERVATION: Pilate claimed to have the power to free or crucify Jesus.  But when it came to his opportunity, Pilate was unable to set Jesus free. 

He could not free Jesus because there would be a riot by the Jews who were demanding crucifixion.  The Jews claimed that Pilate would not be a friend of Caesar if he let Jesus go.  There was a lot of pressure on Pilate. 

But greater than the pressure from man, was the divine will of God.  It was God’s will for Jesus to be crucified.  There was no other one who could die as payment for man’s sin! 

APPLICATION:  In Pilate, I see a parallel to our president.  I wonder why he does not take any action to stem the tide of undocumented people coming across our southern border.  It seems his hands are tied.  I believe his hands are tied by the same power that stopped Pilate from setting Jesus free. 

God is judging America for the sin of abortion.  As God called the animals to come to Noah’s ark, as God has called Jews to return to Israel, so God has called for an army of people to walk into the United States. 

There is only one thing man can do to stop God’s judgment: repent.  Judgement is a holy God’s response to sin; forgiveness is a loving God’s offer to those who repent. 

PRAYER:  Heavenly Father, the violence of the abortion clinic has spilled out into the streets of America.  We repent and turn from our wicked ways.  (2Chronicles 7:14) Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!