My Future

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November 16: 2Corinthians 3-6

My Future

Scripture: 2Corinthians 5:4 For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.
5 Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.

Observation: What a grand purpose God had in making us! Here we see the purpose God had in creating man was not to live in mortality but immortality! This earth suit in which we dwell was created to be temporary. We will soon be clothed with that which cannot die!

Application: My expectations of the future have a great influence on how I cope with my present circumstances. My expectation of coming before a Holy God makes me want to be sure that my sins are forgiven and that Christ is living in my heart. I do not have to get all my rewards in this life; God will have all eternity to take care of matters. My expectation of coming before a Loving God makes me want to please Him by loving those around me. If it costs me to love, I recall how much it cost Him to love me.

Prayer: Lord, with all my heart I can sing: “It will be worth it all, when we see Jesus; life’s trials will seem so small, when we see Christ. One glimpse of His dear face, all sorrow will erase. So bravely run the race, till we see Christ.” Amen.

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!

The Classroom of Life

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November 15: Job 41, 42; 2Corinthians 1, 2

The Classroom Of Life

Scripture: 2Corinthians (NIV) 1:3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort,
4 who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.

Observation: Here we have two descriptions of God: “…the Father of compassion” and “the God of all comfort…”

Application: It is hard to wrap my thoughts around all these two phrases contain. It is difficult to grasp their full meaning by simple reading them on the pages of a book. But it was when my mom died, and later when my dad died that I began to see the depth in these verses that I had often so quickly passed over. The Holy Spirit teaches in the classroom of life. It is in daily living that we gain greater understanding.

Prayer: Holy Spirit, be my teacher. Bring things to my remembrance and help me understand. Amen.

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!

A New Song

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November 14: Psalm 149; 1Corinthians 15, 16

Scripture: Psalm (NIV) 149:1 ¶ Praise the LORD. Sing to the LORD a new song, his praise in the assembly of the saints.

Observation: The book of Psalms ends with a crescendo of praise. Here in the first verse of the next to last chapter we are encouraged to praise the Lord when we meet together. Congregational singing gives strength to our praise. Although the old songs are well known here the Psalmist tells us to sing “NEW” songs. God made Himself known in special ways when those old songs were written, BUT He has not stopped working. He continues to work among us today. We should have many reasons to sing NEW songs!

Application: Most of the new songs I hear in church today come from a new generation. Although some of the songs are difficult for me to follow, my heart rejoices as I watch and hear them praise the Lord I love. I am blest to hear new expressions of eternal truths that I have sung for years. Hearing those truths expressed with new words and new melodies is like laying down the King James Version and picking up the New International Version or The Message. The words may be different, but the truth is the same!

Prayer: Lord, hear my heart as I stumble through the NEW songs. May I see the new songs as an indication that You are reaching my children’s generation. I will rejoice with them with a grateful heart and today write a new song that I can sing. It may not be something others will sing with me, but it will be from my heart. Amen.

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!

Delight

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November 13: Job 39, 40; 1Corinthians 13, 14

Scripture: 1Corinthians (NIV) 13:6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.

Observation: My attention is drawn to the word “delight.” This week our granddaughter’s school was out for a day and we were privileged to have her in our home. While she was painting some plaster-of-Paris things “Nandi” had prepared, she was quite critical of her own work and told us how a teacher had criticized her art work in school before the class telling her how bad it was. She had worked very hard on it and she felt quite hurt. The Lord brought her to the right place because the true art experts, Nandi and Papa, took great delight in the work of this budding artist with so much talent.

Application: What a wonderful thought to know that my Heavenly Father delights in me as I delight in my granddaughter. Also, when love reigns in my life, my delights will not be in doing evil or in hearing evil reports but will be aligned with God’s delights.

Prayer: Holy Spirit, please check me when I begin to take joy in things that displease you. Amen.

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!

Similarities and Differences

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November 12: Job 37, 38; 1Corinthians 12

Scripture: 1Corinthians (NIV) 12:17 If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be?
18 But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be.

Observation: It is a fact that we have various body parts, but there is another fact that can only be understood with special revelation. That these parts are present in the body is obvious, but how they got there must be deduced from an outside source. Here the Bible says that the parts of the body were designed and placed by God, just as He wanted them to be. They are present at His pleasure and His design!

Application: There is no part of my body that is before my eyes more than my hands. (What an excellent place to have a reminder of the vows I made to my wife.) The similarities of my hands cause them to work together well, but their differences enhance their usefulness.

God designed me so similar to those around me, yet so different. The similarities help me interact with them. The differences make me valuable and useful in my family, my work place, and my church.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for both similarities and differences. May you be blest as I fulfill your calling on my life. Amen.

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!

For His Glory!

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November 10: Job 35, 36; 1Corinthians 7, 8

Scripture: 1Corinthians 10:31 So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.

Observation: Here is a good scripture to take as one to build my life around; however I cannot build my life around it if I do not build my day around it.

Application: Even the things I consider insignificant things like eating and drinking need to be done for the glory of God.

Prayer: Lord, I want to live my life in a way that makes you look good. May people readily see that I consider it a high honor to serve You. Amen.

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!

Eternity in view

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November 10: Job 35, 36; 1Corinthians 7, 8

Scripture: 1Corinthians 7:16 How do you know, wife, whether you will save your husband? Or, how do you know, husband, whether you will save your wife?

Observation: “But God wants me to be happy,” is the reason I have heard from a “believer” wanting to justify their desire to divorce, and subsequently their desire to marry someone else. “God would not want me to stay unhappy all my life.” No! No! No! What God wants is for your spouse to be saved! God wants you to rejoice all through eternity because the one who was your husband/wife is in heaven too. God wants us to love our wives/husbands the way Christ loved us, even when we were unlovable! Should an unbelieving spouse get a divorce (verse 15), may they never be able to say that they were not loved!

Application: Living for God is so worthwhile, however it is not always easy. Doing my best to keep the wedding promises I made as a solemn vow before God is always worthwhile, but that too is not always easy. But we have the promise of His presence every moment of every day!

Prayer: Lord, thank you for those who have been married for 50, 60, and some even 70+ years. What a blessing their example is to us. Amen.

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!

Whose body?

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November 9: Job 34; 1Corinthians 4-6

Scripture: 1Corinthians (NIV) 6:19 Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;
20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.

Observation: My body has great value to God as it is a temple in which the Holy Spirit can live. My body has great value to me as I use it to interact with the world around me. It provides many opportunities to honor God by doing those things that please Him.

Application: I think of my mind like a computer. My computer has two types of memory: a large amount stored on a hard drive, and a lesser amount that is active and can quickly interact with whatever is happening. It seems my mind also has two types of memory, memory that requires some thought to recall and memory that is available instantly.

This verse contains information that I need to keep in my active memory. Wherever I am, whatever I am doing, I need keep aware that my body is a temple of the Holy Spirit.

Prayer: Lord, may you be honored by the way I present and use my body today. Keep reminding me of the great price you paid for me. I am yours! Amen.

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!

Faithful

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November 8: Job 33, 1Corinthians 1-3

Scripture: 1Corinthians (NIV) 1:9 God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.

Observation: A major characteristic of God is faithfulness. God is holy and a major expression of His holiness is faithfulness. He is faithful to His people. He is faithful to truth. He is faithful to Himself and His character.

Application: In desiring God to do something for me, I may be asking Him to slight His holiness or ignore the truth. I should be extremely happy to find that God will not break His faithfulness to truth, for only then can I count on His faithfulness to me.

Prayer: Lord, may your faithfulness be expressed through me. Amen.

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!

Choices = proof of love

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November, 7: Job 31, 32; Galatians 5,6

Scripture: Galatians (NIV) 5:1 It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.

Observation: Our freedom is so important to God; He wants us to love Him because that is our choice. Love is expressed through our choices. If there is no choice, it is not an expression of love. Some choices can lead to bondage when what begins as a choice becomes the master. It is our responsibility to make choices that protect our freedom.

Application: Making choices to serve and please my wife is a major way of saying, “I love you,” especially when not what I would personally like to do. The same is true with God. I choose to serve God because I love Him and am convinced that He is worthy of my devotion. I must remember: the greater the sacrifice, the greater the expression of love. My choices are the proof of who I love and how much I love.

Prayer: Lord, what can I do today to please you? Amen.

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!