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S O A P

02 Mar

Posted at 14:54h in S O A P

S. O. A. P. Here’s Your 90 second AM Devotional! S-cripture: Mark 9:3 His clothes became dazzling white, whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them. O-bservation: It was Peter, James, and John who went with Jesus to the Mount of Transfiguration. Once there, a spiritual illumination of divine light came upon the clothes of Jesus. The brightness of the WHITE of his clothes was brighter than anyone could have BLEACHED them, and then Moses and Elijah appeared from heaven and spoke with Jesus while the 3 disciples looked on. A-pplication: When I read this verse, I’m immediately reminded of Moses coming off of Mt. Sinai, and his face glowed so brightly that they had to put a covering over his face so the brightness would not blind the people! There truly is something about being in the presence of the Almighty that produces a cleansing glow of righteousness on and in us! I believe Peter was the author of this book, and Mark was his scribe and associate. Peter says Jesus’ clothes were brighter than anyone on earth could have BLEACHED them. In Psalm 51:7, David wrote, “Cleanse me with hyssop and I will be clean; wash me and I will be whiter than snow.” More...

01 Mar

Posted at 14:55h in S O A P

S. O. A. P. Here’s Your 90 second AM Devotional! S-cripture: Mark 8:36 What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? O-bservation: Jesus asked one of the most poignant, if not the most important, question He ever asked while here on earth. I say that because it’s a question that demands a response. You can’t hear the King of all creation ask this question and walk away. Look at it again, maybe with a different personal slant. Here’s the question from my view. Let’s say you are the richest person in the world, but you don’t have eternal life in Christ. So what good is it if you have all that and die and go to an eternity without Christ? My answer would be, it would be considered “The Greatest Loss Of All Time! A-pplication: You have to consider the powerful train of thought presented by Jesus. Let’s say you were to develop a network of wealth that knew no limits. Let’s say that you controlled the fossil fuel of the world. Let’s say you controlled all of the telecoms in the world. Let’s say you controlled the satellites because you owned them all. Let’s say you owned all of the...

28 Feb

Posted at 13:54h in S O A P

S. O. A. P. Here’s Your 90 second AM Devotional! S-cripture: Numbers 26:11 The line of Korah, however, did not die out. O-bservation: In Numbers 16, we read how Korah, Dathan, and Abiram rebelled against Moses and Aaron. When they did, God opened the earth and killed 250 people, including those three men. Here we read that Korah’s children, however, did not die out! Think of the anger of God at three Levite men who held up a nation of three million people because of their rebellion towards God’s appointed leaders. That God did not kill Korah’s entire lineage can only be attributed to “The Mercy Of God.” A-pplication: Scholars tell us that the great prophet Samuel came from Korah’s lineage. We read in Psalms of the many songs sung by Korah’s lineage. What happened? Well, either Korah’s children rejected their father’s action at the time of his rebellion, or if they did rebel with their father, they quickly repented, and God forgave them. The redeeming power of God knows no limits. Just because a man sins doesn’t mean his children have to pay the price for what their father has done. This is certainly the case of the sons of Korah. Because of that, you and I...

27 Feb

Posted at 14:54h in S O A P

S. O. A. P. Here’s Your 90 second AM Devotional! S-cripture: Numbers 23:19 God is not human, that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill? O-bservation: These are the words of Balaam, the prophet who had gone against the will of God to follow the desires of Balak, King of Moab. God judged him so that future generations would refer to this prophet’s sin as the “Sin of Balaam.” But the truth is, Balaam was not allowed to curse the people of Israel. God would not let him. One of the directives God gave Balaam to give to King Balak was, “Our God Cannot Lie!” A-pplication: How does that one promise impact you and me? I believe it helps us remember that every promise in the Bible is for you and me personally. If God said it, He will do it. If He said He is the God that heals us, then we must believe that promise is for you and me. If He said, “I am your provider,” then whatever you and I need, we must believe our God will supply our needs. If He said He has...

26 Feb

Posted at 14:55h in S O A P

S. O. A. P. Here’s Your 90 second AM Devotional! S-cripture: Numbers 19:9 A man who is clean shall gather up the ashes of the heifer and put them in a ceremonially clean place outside the camp. They are to be kept by the Israelite community for use in the water of cleansing; it is for purification from sin. O-bservation: Here we see the directions for how a man or woman was to cleanse themselves from sin in the Israeli nation. The high priest, Eleazar, was to take a heifer outside the camp and burn it with wood. After the smoldering had cooled, the priest would separate the ashes of the heifer from the wood and keep it in a jar to be used for people’s sins. When an individual came, they would take some ashes and place them in water and pour it on themselves as a right of holy purification. “The Water Of Cleansing” was God’s way of keeping the nation pure. A-pplication: Some historians say that this one heifer, slain by Eleazar and with its ashes pounded and condensed into powder, may have been used up until Israel’s captivity. In fact, until Ezra killed another heifer! It doesn’t matter whether these Israeli legends are true....

24 Feb

Posted at 14:56h in S O A P

S. O. A. P. Here’s Your 90 second AM Devotional! S-cripture: Mark 3:19 And Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him. O-bservation: Mark, the writer of the second gospel, talks about Jesus choosing His twelve disciples. After naming each, he writes, “And Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.” The last disciple Jesus chose was the very man who betrayed Him and sent Him to the cross. In other words, “He Chose His Own PUSH-BACK!” A-pplication: It has been said that every man and woman needs “PUSH-BACK” on their dreams to realize their dreams. I guess another way of saying it is that only through real STRUGGLE is a person STRENGTHENED. When your muscles are weak, you must strengthen them through resistance. PUSH-UPS, in this case, would be someone’s  PUSH-BACK to grow one’s muscles into a formidable force. But Jesus was the one in scripture who gives an entirely different slant on this theme. He chose the most infamous human to ever live as His PUSH-BACK—the man Judas. It’s almost as if Jesus, knowing who the man was, chose him anyway to keep his PUSH-BACK in front of Him to remember why He had come. The more apparent He became as the PUSH-BACK to Jesus’ dreams, the stronger and more determined Jesus...

23 Feb

Posted at 14:55h in S O A P

S. O. A. P. Here’s Your 90 second AM Devotional! S-cripture: Psalm 90:12 Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. O-bservation: The prayer the Psalmist employs in this chapter is actually a prayer of the great Prophet Moses. In it, he says, “Teach us to number our days so that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” I believe the idea Moses was promoting in this prayer is to slow down and make the most of every day we encounter. If not, the days will pass without us fully comprehending the lessons that could have been discovered. A-pplication: Think about each day you live. Then ask yourself the question, “Do I really squeeze out every bit of information this day has for me?” It’s only as we “Number each day” that each day is purposely lived. I can’t even count the days in my life that, unfortunately, I wasted. Do you feel that way? Moses, the greatest leader in world history, was certainly writing these words in the last third of his life because it takes an older person to look back and realize that so many days of our lives have not been fully consumed. If we will fully number...

22 Feb

Posted at 13:54h in S O A P

S. O. A. P. Here’s Your 90 second AM Devotional! S-cripture: Numbers 11:23 The Lord answered Moses, “Is the Lord’s arm too short? Now you will see whether or not what I say will come true for you.” O-bservation: The Israelites had pulled up stakes and were leaving Sinai. At the onset of their journey, they began to complain of no meat to eat. Their complaining was so overwhelming to Moses that he went to the Lord and said, “I can’t take it! If this is the way it’s going to be, kill me. But if I have found favor in your sight, please HELP ME!” God said to Moses, “Is my arm too short? Now you will see whether or not I will supply your need.” From that point on, every morning of their wilderness journey, God brought low-flying quail for the people to pluck from the sky. Until they reached their home in Canaan, God’s supply of fresh protein never ceased! It happened because of “The Long Arm Of The Lord.” A-pplication: Have you ever been so discouraged that you said, “Lord, I can’t take it anymore! If you’re not going to help me, then kill me.” I can say if I haven’t said that before,...

21 Feb

Posted at 14:55h in S O A P

S. O. A. P. Here’s Your 90 second AM Devotional! S-cripture: Acts 28:10 They honored us in many ways; and when we were ready to sail, they furnished us with the supplies we needed. O-bservation: This begins Paul’s final journey to Rome. They had crashed their ship at sea, yet everyone had arrived safely on the shores of Malta. The islanders welcomed them, but then, while Paul was building a fire, a viper bit him. He survived and the islanders worshipped him. The head of the island, Publius, brought him into his house where his father lay sick. Paul prayed for him and he got well, then the entire island got well because of Paul’s prayers for the sick. After this, the people served their every need. When the prepared to set sail, the islanders gave them every supply they would need for their sea travel. It’s obvious “Serving Brings Reward.” A-pplication: This story is such an indicator to me that, “Serving Brings Reward.” Jesus said, “Do unto others as you would have others do unto you” (Luke 6:31). This statement is known as the Golden Rule. And yet Jesus was borrowing it from the Old Testament Levitical Law found in Leviticus 19:33-34. Often, when you treat someone...

20 Feb

Posted at 15:55h in S O A P

S. O. A. P. Here’s Your 90 second AM Devotional! S-cripture: Psalm 23:5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. O-bservation: These are the words of the Psalmist, David. He praises the Lord when he says, “You prepare a table for me to sit down and feast in the very middle of surrounding enemies. I’m so blessed because you have anointed my head with oil.” In other words, David was saying, “I’m anointed!” Because God had anointed his servant, David learned “The Anointed Can Live Free Of Fear.” A-pplication: Throughout my life, whenever I have been tempted by the evil one to fear, I’ve always reminded myself that the devil can’t take me out until God calls me home! God has a mission of some kind for all of His followers. Because of that, He has anointed each one of us for His service. David knew that well. Certainly, He had been in hand-to-hand combat many times in battles. Perhaps he had felt the wind of passing arrows intended to take him out. Yet always, he knew that whatever situation he was involved in, God had anointed him. Like you this AM, and like...