June 4: Proverbs 28-29; Psalm 60; Romans 16

Giving appreciation

Scripture: Romans 16:14 Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas and the brothers with them.
15 Greet Philologus, Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas and all the saints with them.

Observation: As Paul closes his letter to the Romans, he mentions many people by name. These are people with whom he has had contact in the past and are now living in Rome. They will either be present when this letter is read, or the people present will know them and can pass along his greeting. Mentioning them by name is Paul’s way of appreciating these people. He is saying I remember what you have done, and you are important to me.

Application: It is good for me to take opportunities to appreciate people. I can do it in person or with a letter or email. I can also do it by asking another to convey my appreciation. This increases the appreciation because others become aware of it and are involved it passing it along. It lets the one I appreciate know that people are speaking good things about them.

Prayer: Lord, I want everyone to know how much I appreciate you! Show me ways to express my appreciation to others. Amen.

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!

June 3: Proverbs 25-27; Romans 15

Unity in me!

Scripture: Romans 15: 5 ¶ May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus,
6 so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Observation: Not only is as important as endurance and encouragement, it also has the same source. It comes from God! God wants me to endure; God wants me to be encouraged; and God wants me to live in unity with my brothers and sisters.

Application: If I am to have one heart and mouth with others in the body of Christ, I must have one heart and mouth within my own body. There should be unity between the faith in my heart and the words in my mouth. I need to listen to myself talk and then ask myself, “Is that what I really believe?” Is my mouth being directed by the faith in my heart or running off some carnal response.

Prayer: Holy Spirit, set a guard by my mouth. May there be unity with what I believe and how I speak. Amen.

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!

June 2: Proverbs 22-24; Romans 14

Acting in Love

Scripture: Romans 14:14 As one who is in the Lord Jesus, I am fully convinced that no food is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for him it is unclean.
15 If your brother is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy your brother for whom Christ died.

Observation: I am beginning to understand that the invisible basis for the Old Testament law was love expressed in restraining our mistreatment of others. The basis for the New Testament commandments is also love, love that can be seen by what we do. It is an emphasis on the “do’s” rather than the “do not’s.” The “do not lie” becomes “do speak the truth humbly and kindly.” The “do not covet” becomes “do help them and rejoice in their blessings.”

Application: The emphasis of love is not on how I expect others to treat me, but on how I treat others. If people do not love me perfectly, I can still rejoice and love them because the Source of Perfect Love lives in me! With Jesus living inside His love fills my heart and overflows to others. My love for others is not a response to their love for me, but a response to His love for me!

Prayer: Lord, thank you for loving me. May your love in me be visible in how I treat others. Amen.

NOTE: to the Senior Citizens in the church today, I think Paul may have written, “Do not by your insistence on the music of your generation destroy the younger brothers and sisters for whom Christ died.” As they mature they will need to learn this lesson we should have already learned. Let us show them how to gracefully apply this truth.

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!

June 1: Proverbs 19-21; Romans 13

An Inside Job

Scripture: Romans 13:9 The commandments, "Do not commit adultery," "Do not murder," "Do not steal," "Do not covet," and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: "Love your neighbor as yourself."
10 Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

Observation: One could say that the law was given to us to protect our neighbors from evil in our hearts. The law does not judge our thoughts, but the actions that may come from those thoughts. When the Spirit of God lives inside and helps us control our inner thoughts, we no longer need the law controlling our outward actions.

Application: The Spirit of the Loving and Holy God living within me now works on the inside. I do not have to focus on the law that says, “do not commit murder.” The Spirit works on my thoughts and helps me love the one I once wanted to kill. The Holy Spirit helps me lovingly give to the one from whom I once wanted to steal. His work on the inside helps me fulfill the law on the outside.

Prayer: Holy Spirit, how I appreciate your presence! Without you I would unable to live a life that pleases my Heavenly Father. Amen.

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!

S.O.A.P.

May 31: Proverbs 16-18: Romans 12

What a difference!

Scripture: Romans 12:2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Observation: We are not to let our lives be copies of the world. Since we are becoming like Jesus, the difference in how we think and act should be obvious.

Application: This starts with the transforming of my mind. My actions start as thoughts. It is only as my mind is made new that I am able to understand and do God’s will. With a renewed mind I am able to recognize how good God’s will really is. It is pleasant. It is enjoyable. It is perfect!

Prayer: Holy Spirit, today show me the difference between your thoughts about certain people and my thoughts about them. Help me see them through your eyes. Amen.

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!

May 30: Proverbs 13-15; Romans 11

Love AND Holiness

Scripture: Romans 11:22 Consider therefore the kindness and sternness of God: sternness to those who fell, but kindness to you, provided that you continue in his kindness. Otherwise, you also will be cut off.

Observation: There are two sides to the character of God: kindness, coming from His love, and sternness, coming from His holiness. From the verses in this chapter His kindness is seen in His grace allowing foreign branches to be grafted into Himself. His holiness is seen in His sternness removing the faithless original branches. The grafted branches need to be careful to continue in His grace or they, like the original branches will be cut off. His kindness is seen in his willingness to re-graft the original branches if they return.

Application: I should be thankful, humble, and faithful. I should be thankful that God has “grafted” me into his family! I should be humble because I did not start out as his child, but he still accepted me! I should be faithful because I too can be removed if I do not “continue in his kindness.”

Prayer: Lord, I am eternally thankful for your grace to me. I am amazed that you use me for your purposes. Under the guidance of the Holy Spirit I am committed to faithfully serving you. Amen.

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!

May 29: Proverbs 10-12; Romans 10

My Heart – His Home

Scripture: Romans 10:9 That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.

Observation: The heart and mouth are very closely tied together. Spoken words are the window of the heart. By listening to words we can see what is in the heart. Anger, love, displeasure, compassion, etc.—they all come from the heart but are easily recognized by the words coming from the mouth.

The words “confess” and “believe” are present tense words. This is not something that happened in the past; this is the way it is now!

If I think I am saved because once in my past I made a confession of faith, I should probably think that I am a sinner because I recently said a curse word. This is more than what I did at one time—this is how I live!

Application: My heart expresses itself through my actions and words. People can see my heart by watching what I do and listening to what I say. When I am alone my words reveal more about my heart than when I am in church or around others I want to impress. I need to listen to myself, because I know the Lord hears every word and knows every thought. I want Him to feel at home in my heart! I want Him to enjoy living in me.

Prayer: Lord, I am confessing you as my Lord because I am believing that you died for my sins and rose again. You are alive and living in me! Holy Spirit, check me when I say things that do not line up with the truth that Jesus is living in my heart. Amen.

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!

On this Memorial Day, let’s remember those who gave their lives that we might continue to enjoy our freedom. Freedom is costly! Freedom brings the responsibility of bringing freedom to others for if we do not fight so others can experience the freedom we have, we will soon experience the oppression they have. The responsibility of bringing freedom to others is costly too! (Just ask Jesus!)

Enjoy your family times knowing that if those we miss were here, they would be joining with us and celebrating Memorial Day too. Pastor Leon J

S.O.A.P.

May 28: Proverbs 7-9; Romans 9

A Stumbling or Standing Stone

Scripture: Romans 9:33 As it is written: "See, I lay in Zion a stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame."

Observation: Jesus is the rock laid in the nation of Israel. He came in God’s plan, to God’s place, and in God’s time. He was sent with the purpose of providing a proper sacrifice for man’s sins. To those refusing to believe the simplicity of the gospel, He is a stumbling stone. But to those choosing to stand on His promises He is a foundation stone!

Application: I made it over the stumbling stone and discovered that trusting Jesus for forgiveness and salvation really is that easy. Now I am learning to stand in the storms of life and finding He is a solid foundation—a good place to stand!

Prayer: Lord, I can sing: “Standing on the promises that cannot fail, When the howling storms of doubt and fear assail, By the living Word of God I shall prevail, Standing on the promises of God.” (RK Carter) Amen.

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!

May 27: Proverbs 4-6; Romans 8

The Law of The Spirit!

Scripture: Romans 8:2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. …
5 Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.

Observation: Every one working in the airplane industry is working according to the laws of aerodynamics. If they were only thinking of the law of gravity, there would be no airplanes. Obviously the laws of aerodynamics would continue to be true but they would have no effect on us today. What a good picture of our spiritual walk! Just as “the law of aerodynamics” releases us from “the law of gravity,” the law of “the Spirit of life” releases us from “the law of sin and death.”

Application: Those in airplane factories must think and work as though the law of aerodynamics is really true; I must think and live as though the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus is really true. God’s Spirit really does live inside me and He really talks to me. He really is greater than anything I will face today. I will always accomplish more when listening to the Holy Spirit than I will ever be able to do depending on myself.

Prayer: Holy Spirit, continually remind me of your Presence. There will not be a minute of this day that you will not be with me. Amen.

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!

May 26: Proverbs 1-3; Romans 7

What a difference!

Scripture: Romans 7:6 But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code.

Observation: Once the way to serve God, was to work to keep the Law. Our goal is still to serve God, but now we serve Him by allowing the Holy Spirit to direct our lives. Instead of focusing on a list of things that we should not do, we focus on hearing what the Spirit would have us do moment by moment.

Application: Once I relied on my memory of the law, now I rely on the Presence of the Holy Spirit. Once the emphasis was on remembering, now the emphasis is on hearing. Once I sharpened my reading skills, now I sharpen my listening skills. Once the emphasis was on what I had heard, now it is on what I hear. Once I relied on what He said, now I rely on what He is saying!

Prayer: Lord, you knew I needed help to please you so you sent your Holy Spirit to live inside me! I am glad to know you will be walking and talking with me all day. Amen.

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!