Pastor Leon’s SOAP: Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer

December 21: John 9-11

Scripture: John 10:25 Jesus answered, "I did tell you, but you do not believe. The miracles I do in my Father’s name speak for me,
John 10:32 but Jesus said to them, "I have shown you many great miracles from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?"
John 10:37 Do not believe me unless I do what my Father does.
38 But if I do it, even though you do not believe me, believe the miracles, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father."

Observation: Three times in this chapter, and more in the following chapters, Jesus points to his works as proof of his words. The people did not want to accept his words, so Jesus pointed them to his works. His works demonstrated who he was.

Application: I am not saved by my works, but by my faith in His work. However if that faith is not strong enough to produce works, then it is not strong enough to save me. People should not have any trouble believing that I am a child of God. My life, what I say and do, should make that easy to believe.

Prayer: Lord, I pray that the things I do today will be evidence of your presence in my life. Amen

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!

Listening

Pastor Leon’s SOAP: Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer

December 20: John 7-8

Scripture: John 7:45 Finally the temple guards went back to the chief priests and Pharisees, who asked them, "Why didn’t you bring him in?"
46 "No-one ever spoke the way this man does," the guards declared.

Observation: The temple guards were not the decision makers, but were servants of the priests and rulers. They had been given an assignment. They had been sent to arrest Jesus. But they returned empty handed. By listening to Jesus, they became convinced that Jesus was not someone to be arrested. He was Someone to be heard!

Application: I want my words to carry the message that Jesus has something to say to us today. He has something to say to people who live where I live and work where I work. It is not difficult to hear Him speak and it is worth while taking the time to listen.

Prayer: Lord, as I listen to you, give me words that will make others want to listen to you also. Amen

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!

Pastor Leon’s SOAP: Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer

December 19: John 5-6

Scripture: John 6:5 When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming towards him, he said to Philip, "Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?"
6 He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do.

Observation: From Genesis 3:8, through the final chapters in the book of Job, through John 6:5 (above), and to this very day, there is a common characteristic in the questions God asks people. When God asks a question, it is not for his benefit, but for ours. He already knows the answer.

Application: When God puts a question in my mind, it is to teach me, or to focus my attention on what he is about to do near me or with my involvement. In the above verse it was to draw attention to a need Jesus was going to use the disciples to help meet. They would be the waiters in the restaurant bringing food to our table. They would be the delivery boy carrying the pizza to our front door.

Prayer: Lord, Thank you for using questions to teach me and involve me in your many ministries. Amen

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!

Pastor Leon’s SOAP: Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer

December 18: John 2-4

Scripture: John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
John 3:35 The Father loves the Son and has placed everything in his hands.
36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him."

Observation: In verse 16 we read that God the Father loved the world so much that he gave his Son to die as a blood sacrifice to pay for man’s sins. Then in verse 35 we read of His great love for His Son. After what the Son did in coming to earth and suffering the death on a cross—noting that he did it for the Father—no wonder that the Father loves the Son and is angry with everyone who rejects Him! Any parent would feel the same!

Application: I enjoy singing: Thanks for the blood, the blood of Calvary. Thanks for the blood, the blood that set me free. Thanks for the blood; thanks for your love. Thank you Father for Jesus. Thank you Jesus for bleeding. Thank you Spirit for leading me, to the blood.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, The more I understand about your love and the more I understand about Jesus’ sacrifice in payment for my sin, the more I love you and want to bring joy to your heart. Amen

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!

Pastor Leon’s SOAP: Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer

December 17: 2Peter 1-3; John 1

Scripture: 2Peter 3:1 Dear friends, this is now my second letter to you. I have written both of them as reminders to stimulate you to wholesome thinking.
2 I want you to recall…
3 …you must understand…
5 But they deliberately forget…
8 But do not forget…

Observation: Billions of dollars are spend every year by students in school to fill their minds with facts and to train their minds how to process those facts. The mind is such an important part of our life. Our thoughts set our parameters. Peter was concerned about what his readers were thinking. To spend so much time, money and effort on preparing our minds for our temporary life, and then to ignore the issues that deal with our eternal life is foolish. Peter was right to be concerned.

Application: I am the gatekeeper for my thoughts. I too must be concerned about where my thoughts are focused.

Prayer: Holy Spirit, you who share my life, check my thoughts and guide me to focus them on what is beneficial to my eternal life. Amen

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!

Pastor Leon’s SOAP: Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer

December 16: 1Peter 1-5

Scripture: 1Peter 3: 15 But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,
16 keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.

Observation: The Lordship of Jesus will not stay in the heart, but it must start in the heart. When Jesus becomes Lord of the inner life, He will then become Lord of the outer life.

Application: The One who is truly Lord of my heart will become Lord of my words and actions. He will direct and help me to give gentle answers that are respectful. He will help me to act in such a way makes my accusers look foolish.

Prayer: Lord, I surrender my thoughts to you. You are Lord of my mind. And you are Lord of my words and actions. Amen

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!

Pastor Leon’s SOAP: Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer

December 15: James 1-5

Scripture: James 4:13 Now listen, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money."
14 Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.
15 Instead, you ought to say, "If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that."

Observation: The nature of living is that we must make important decisions without knowing for sure what the future holds. We often speak with foolish confidence. This is why marriage vows traditionally contain: “for better, for worse; for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health.” We just do not know what lies ahead.

Application: James tells me that when I make commitments I should acknowledge my limited knowledge of the future and trust the Lord’s unlimited knowledge of the future!

Prayer: Lord, many things about tomorrow I don’t seem to understand, but I know YOU hold tomorrow, and I know YOU hold my hand (from Ira Stanphill with changes.) Amen

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!

Pastor Leon’s SOAP: Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer

December 14: Hebrews 12-13; Jude

Scripture: Hebrews 12:7 Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father?

Observation: Not all hardship is discipline. Sometimes we go through hard times because we are reaping what we sowed. At other times it might be because we are reaping what someone else sowed. But all hardship can be endured as though there is something to learn from the experience and as though our Heavenly Father is working through it for our good.

Application: Hard times are not something I enjoy, but I can rejoice because God will use them for my good.

Prayer: Holy Spirit, keep reminding me that all things really do work together for good. (Romans 8:28). Help me walk in faith that you are really bigger than these problems. Help me keep a good attitude. Amen

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!

Dear friends,

Merry Christmas! May you enjoy the Presence of our Living Lord in all of your special celebrations.

Your name is in my email list so I am taking the opportunity to send this your way. If you consider it an intrusion please forgive me.

I am coming to the end of three complete calendar years of sending out the daily SOAP (Scripture, Observation, Application, and Prayer). God has been faithful every day for three years to give me a thought for my life and to send out to others. As I meditate on the scriptures it takes me 30-90 minutes to write them, but they can be read in about a minute.

As the New Year begins, I believe I am to offer those in my email file several options:

First: If you are not receiving them and would like to, hit reply to this email and let me know.

Second: If you are receiving them and want to continue into 2013, do nothing. I will leave your name on my mailing list.

Third: If you are receiving but deleting them because you receive so much email, let me know. It will be easier for me one time to remove your name from the mailing list than for you to delete them every day. The SOAP is what God is saying to Leon; he may not be speaking to you in the same way.

Forth: If you know of someone who might like to be added to the SOAP list, send me their email.

Fifth: Sharon’s mom is 95 and does not use email. This coming year we will print up last year’s SOAP and send them to her a month at a time. There may be others that would benefit from such a ministry. You are free to print out your email and pass them along.

As I was considering possibilities of how to improve the SOAP, I heard the Lord say, “It is hard to improve on obedience!” One cannot argue with that! Special fonts, background color and design, special effects are all nothing compared to basic obedience. When God gives me something to do, I need to just do it! Improve I should, but lack of opportunity or ability to improve should never be a hindrance or an excuse for not just doing it!

Leon J

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!

Pastor Leon’s SOAP: Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer

December 13: Hebrews 9-11

Scripture: Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.
Hebrews 11:6 And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

Observation: God could have set any criteria as a basis for His favor. He could have chosen to favor those with great abilities. He could have chosen to favor those with physical beauty …or with great knowledge …or those who make great accomplishments. In these areas, we may excel in comparison to others, but in comparison to God, we all fall way short. But God chooses a criteria for His blessings in which we all start at the same level. God chose FAITH! Our faith pleases God!

Application: Faith in God is very reasonable. It is just as reasonable as believing something weighing thousands of pounds can move through the air without touching the ground. To me it is so reasonable to believe that airplanes fly that I pay money to ride. And it is even more reasonable to believe that the God of the universe created me for His glory. He is pleased when I become convinced that He is and that He loves me. I am learning to love Him and trust His word!

Prayer: Lord, you are believable! Believing in you gives meaning to my life. Amen

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!