\July 29, 2019: SOAP #3525:  Isaiah 57-59; Psalm 103; 2Peter 3

Scripture:  Psalm (NIV) 103:19 The LORD has established his throne in heaven, and his kingdom rules overall.
20 Praise the LORD, you his angels, you mighty ones who do his bidding, who obey his word.
21 Praise the LORD, all his heavenly hosts, you his servants who do his will. 22 Praise the LORD, all his works everywhere in his dominion. Praise the LORD, O my soul.

Observation:   The throne is the heart of the kingdom from which authority flows.  The throne establishes the priorities of the kingdom.  The actions of the throne establish the attitudes of kingdom.

That the LORD’s throne has been established in heaven sets it above all the kingdoms of the earth!

Application:  If I claim Jesus as my LORD, then my priorities and attitudes should be in line with what is proper for heaven.  If Jesus lives within me, and He surely does, then people coming into my presence are coming into the presence of the KING.  In me, the priorities and attitudes of God’s kingdom should be easily seen.

Prayer:  Holy Spirit, I need your help to continually exhibit the attitudes and priorities appropriate for living in the throne room.  Help me today.  Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

July 28, 2019: SOAP #3524:  Isaiah 53-56; 2Peter 2

Scripture:  Isaiah (NIV) 55:10 As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, 11 so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

Observation:   What a wonderful cycle God put into creation.  The rain and snow gather in the storm clouds and fall upon the earth.  Then they return to the sky in evaporation.  But before returning to the clouds, the life-giving moisture enables the plants to grow and produce food.  Producing life is an intended part of the cycle.

And so it is with God’s Spoken Word.  Producing life, bringing growth, correcting, warning, teaching, encouraging, training…all part of the intended cycle of God’s Word.  It goes forth with purpose!  It goes forth with power!  It goes forth with an assignment to accomplish God’s will!  It goes forth as a part of God’s overall plan!

No wonder to each church in Revelation 3 and 4, we are told “Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”

Application:   I am finding that the more faithful I am in reading God’s written word, the more clearly I hear God’s spoken word!  In reading, I am learning to listen.  My hearing is more acute.  God’s spoken word to me never crosses His written word.  Often I find that what God is saying to me, is written on the pages of the Bible.  Sometimes pondering the written word starts a thought process that leads me to know what God is saying to me.  Sometimes what I read prepares me to recognize His spoken word that comes later.

Prayer:  Heavenly Father, thank you for your written Word!  AND thank you that you are still speaking.  Help me be a good reader and good listener. Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

July 27, 2019: SOAP #3523:  Isaiah 50-52; 2Peter 1

Scripture:  Isaiah (NIV) 52:7 How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, “Your God reigns!”

Observation:  This verse has a central place in a chapter about the restoration of Jerusalem and of God’s blessings.  In this verse we see God’s appreciation for those who bring good news.  He considers their feet to be beautiful for they carry those with good news, and peace, and good tidings, and the truth of salvation!  All things He dearly loves!

Application:   How God must appreciate those who carry the good news of the new life He has provided in Jesus!  The Gospel of Jesus is “Good News!”  Those who proclaim it are called evangelists, bringers of good news. (Acts 21:8; 2Timothy 4:5)

I may not be officially called an evangelist, but like every believer, I can do the work of an evangelist.  I have good news that should be proclaimed to every person.  When I am young, when I am old; when I am at work, when I am working around my home; when I am healthy and moving through a shopping mall, when I am sick and laying in a hospital bed…I should always be doing the work of an evangelists!

Prayer:  Heavenly Father, may my feet be beautiful in your sight.  Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

July 26, 2019: SOAP #3522:  Isaiah 46-49; 1Peter 5

Scripture:  Isaiah (NIV) 46:8 “Remember this, fix it in mind, take it to heart, you rebels. 9 Remember the former things, those of long ago; I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me. 10 I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say: My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.

Observation:   There are some things that I need to “fix in mind.”  There are things not to be forgotten.  In taking them to heart, they become an integral part of every decision and action.  More than being placed in my memory, these things become a part of my identity.

Application:   Truth about God needs to be a permanent part of my memory.  Truth about God needs to affect every thought and decision I make.  It is truth that should never be set aside when considering something urgent.  Urgent things seem to be shouting, “Take care of me now!  Do not worry about your knowledge of God.  You can deal with that later.”  But the truth of God is remembered, it is fixed in my mind, it is taken to heart.  It is a part of my identity.  It is how I see myself.

Prayer:  Heavenly Father, my life has been captivated by your love and now I see myself in the light of your purpose for me.  I am not my own.  Holy Spirit, keep renewing my mind; keep shining your light on those things that are fixed in my mind and heart.  Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

July 25, 2019: SOAP #3521:  Isaiah 43-45; 1Peter 4 (Repeat from 12/16/2009)

Scripture:  1Peter 4:7 The end of all things is near. Therefore, be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray.

Observation:  Here in the New International Version, and in 5 other translations (NAS, NLT, NRSV, RSV, and WEY) we see clear-mindedness and self-control affecting our prayers.  It is probably not something we think about too often, but maybe we should consider how God hears our prayers.  We complain about visiting with people who ramble and seem to endlessly repeat themselves.  We would rather visit with someone who does not always cover the same material, with most of it coming from the past.  Could it be that God feel the same way about our prayers?  Think about it!

Application:   I wonder if God does not listen to my prayers and say something like, “It would be good for Leon to stop rambling.”  “If Leon would cut out all the repetition and just think about what he is saying I might be able to identify a prayer I can answer.”  Or He might say, “I am going to answer that prayer, but Leon will not recognize the answer because he did not put much thought into the request. He will not recognize the answer when it hits him in the face.”  (Sometimes it is good for me to write out my prayer because it forces me to write it in legible and understandable sentences.)

Prayer:  Lord, remind me to be clear-minded and self-controlled in my prayers.  May you be blessed in hearing my prayers!  Amen.

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

July 24, 2019: SOAP #3520:  Isaiah 40-42; 1Peter 3

Scripture:  Isaiah (NIV) 40:3 A voice of one calling: “In the desert prepare the way for the LORD; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God.
4 Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain.
5 And the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all mankind together will see it. For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”

Observation:   God is wanting a road people can travel from where they are to His presence.  It is a road that goes right through our hearts. The scenery is whatever is happening in our lives.

Even when I am in a dessert or wilderness time in my life, God wants me to build an on-ramp.  I may want to get through that time as quickly as possible, but God wants me to stop and build an on ramp for someone stuck in that dessert.

Sometimes the interstate highways need repair.  For a while, people must proceed with caution as heavy equipment and workers move near the traffic.  It is only a temporary slowing as the goal is to return the highway to usefulness to handle the speed of normal traffic.  May repairs needed in my life be accomplished quickly.

Application:  Like the interstate highways across our nation, may the “Leon” entrance to this highway be well marked and easily assessable for everyone.  May any hazard preventing people from taking this highway to heaven be removed from my life.

Prayer:  Heavenly Father, may the people living close to me find my life to be an easy entrance onto the highway that leads into your Presence.  Work on the road through my life.  Remove any hindering obstacles.  Smooth out my life.  Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

July 23, 2019: SOAP #3519:  2Kings 20; Isaiah 38-39; Psalm 75; 1Peter 2

Scripture:  1Peter (NIV) 2:15 For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish people.

Observation:  How people see me is very important to God.  What people say about me is vey important to God.

Application:  One important factor in what people say about me is my behavior.  God wants me to do good.

Prayer: Holy Spirit, I need your help.  I need your help to react to each challenge I face.   Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

July 22, 2019: SOAP #3518:  Isaiah 36-37; Psalm 76; 1Peter 1

Scripture:  1Peter (NIV) 1:3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade— kept in heaven for you, 5 who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.

Observation:   My attention has been drawn to the mercy out of which our new life has come.  It is not just mercy.  It is not just sufficient mercy.  According to the KJV, it is abundant mercy.  It is great mercy.

It is great mercy because it comes from the One with ultimate authority to an undeserving sinner.  It is great mercy because it actually works.  It is great mercy for it saves one from the ultimate punishment which is rightly deserved.  It is great mercy because the one extending the mercy remains perfectly holy. It is great mercy because the sins covered are not just forgiven but atoned for with an appropriate sacrifice.  It is great mercy because the ones forgiven are made just as if they never sinned! It is great mercy because it reaches to and through people.

Application:  It is amazing.  God has extended to me abundant mercy.  My appreciation can only be shown by being merciful to others.

To refuse to be merciful could be an indication that I truly do not appreciate what I have received.

Prayer:  Heavenly Father, the mercy that came through the resurrection of your Son, Jesus, also came through his suffering, and your suffering in giving Him.  Thank you!  Make me a channel through which your mercy can reach others. Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

July 21, 2019: SOAP #3517:  2Kings 18-19; 2Chronicles 32; James 5

Scripture:  2Kings (NIV) 18:11 The king of Assyria deported Israel to Assyria and settled them in Halah, in Gozan on the Habor River, and in towns of the Medes. 12 This happened because they had not obeyed the LORD their God but had violated his covenant—all that Moses the servant of the LORD commanded. They neither listened to the commands nor carried them out.

Observation:   The king of Assyria had taken Israel as captives to Assyria.  In these verses, God gives the “because.”  There was a reason why this had happened to Israel.  Their captivity was directly in response to their relationship to the LORD their God!

Application:   When trouble comes, people often try to figure out why it happened.  I do not make it a habit to look for some sinister cause behind every trouble.  We live in a world full of evil.  Bad things happen to us all.  But there are times when trouble is BECAUSE.  When there is a reason, I want to know!  God forgives and He blesses those who please Him.

People who discipline their children want to make sure their children know WHY they are being disciplined.  One of the goals of discipline is to prevent future misbehavior.

Surely God, the Perfect Parent, will make sure a nation can link His discipline to the sin that displeases Him.  There is a “because.”  God has made it clear to me that the trouble at our southern border is His judgment BRCAUSE of the sin of abortion.

Prayer:  Holy Spirit, help me quickly recognize when God is wanting me to make a change.  That you correct me, shows me that there is still something good in me that you are working on.  Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

July 20, 2019: SOAP #3516:  2Chronicles 29-31; James 4

Scripture:  James (NIV) 4:6 But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” …
11 Brothers, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against his brother or judges him speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it

Observation:   We all have sinned; we all need grace.  We all live in a sinful world from which we pick up sinful attitudes.  We can all be thankful that God is graceful and does not reject us.  His merciful-kindness is extended to us.

But God is not only interested in getting grace to us; He wants to get grace through us.  May others be thankful that we are graceful too.

Application:   It is when people fall below my expectations. mistreat me, or slander me, that I have opportunity to express grace.  Human nature may be wanting to get even, to respond in kind, to express anger or frustration, but the presence of the Holy Spirit encourages me to express grace.

Prayer:  Heavenly Father, may the grace you have shown me find expression through me to others.  May merciful-kindness be woven into my character.  Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!