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

June 20: 2Kings 4, 5; Psalm 83; 1Timothy 2

Scripture: Psalm (NIV) 83:3 With cunning they conspire against your people; they plot against those you cherish.
4 “Come,” they say, “let us destroy them as a nation, so that Israel’s name is remembered no more.

Observation: 3,500 years later, not only is Israel’s name still remembered, it can be found on the map of current nations. Of course there are still people saying what their enemies said 3,500 years ago, but the same God is still God! He was able to sustain Israel then, and He is able to do so today!

Application: Israel’s God is Leon’s God! I do not serve a lesser god. My God is bigger than any enemy or any problem I may face. I don’t have a problem; it’s my enemies that have the problem. They have to find a way to defeat God!

Prayer: Lord, You are Israel’s God and You are Leon’s God. I am so glad I do not have to face my problems alone. Compared to me, my problems are large. But compared to you, my problems are small. Amen

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!

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

June 19: 2Kings 1-3; Psalm 82; 1Timothy 1

Scripture: 1Timothy (NIV) 1:15 Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst.

Observation: For those desiring to be like Jesus it would be good to note the purpose statements Jesus made throughout the Gospels. What Paul wrote to Timothy is the same thing Luke recorded in his gospel (Luke 19:10): “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

Application: Knowing the purpose statements of Jesus will help me better understand the life He lives in me. Why is my attention drawn to someone who does not know Jesus as Lord and Savior? It is because the One living in me came “to seek and to save” that person. God is giving me the joy of sharing in His special plan. His purpose is becoming my purpose.

Prayer: Lord, Help me not to miss any opportunities today to speak to someone about your great love. Amen

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!

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

June 18: 1Kings 22; 2Chronicles 18,19; Colossians 4

Scripture: Colossians (NIV) 4:17 Tell Archippus: “See to it that you complete the ministry you have received in the Lord.”

Observation: In closing his letter to the church in Colossae, Paul writes this personal comment to Archippus. An assignment from the Lord should always be taken seriously. It should not be left undone. If we follow His directions, we are not responsible for its results only its completion.

Application: This SOAP ministry is so simple. It seems to me anyone could do it, and many do. Yet God has given me the assignment of sending these out by Face Book, email, posting on several Web/blog sites and on the bulletin board at the YMCA. They are translated into a couple of languages in Southeast Asia. Those written in 2012 are put in monthly booklets for some senior citizens who do not get on the computer. They are also printed quarterly for some in Bangladesh. A faithful heart is the fertile ground in which God can plant a simple ministry and make it grow.

Prayer: Lord, may everyone who reads these SOAPs be encouraged to be faithful in the simple things you give them to do. Our faithfulness allows you to use these ministries far beyond our initial dreams. Lord, May I faithfully complete my assignment! Amen

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!

The Umpire

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

June 17: 1Kings 20-21; 2Chronicles 17; Colossians 3

Scripture: Colossians (NIV) 3:15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.

Observation: The word translated “rule” in this verse means “to be an umpire.” The “peace of Christ” is to be the umpire calling the balls and strikes in my life.

Application: If I am uneasy about something, I should consider it outside the strike zone and let it go. If I have peace, I can swing away!

Prayer: Lord, Help me to be sensitive to your call regarding the many choices that come my way each day. Amen

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!

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

June 16: 1Kings 17-19; Colossians 2

Scripture: Colossians (NIV) 2:13 When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins,
14 having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross.
15 And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.

Observation: Here it is! The triumph was on the cross. There is where the battle was fought! And there is where the victory was won! In the eyes of man, when Jesus was taken off the cross he was defeated. But in the light of eternity He was the VICTOR! Of course we did not realize how great the victory was until the resurrection, even yet we do not grasp the fullness of that victory. But we enjoy it and we celebrate it. When we partake of communion, we are "showing the Lord’s death until He comes." (1Corinthians 11:26) In the Bible we have no direct command to celebrate the resurrection, but we do have the command to celebrate His death by taking communion.

Application: I have had victories that first looked like defeats. I should now know enough to wait before complaining about something that looks like a defeat. The greater the struggle, the greater the victory and my victory is assured because the VICTOR lives inside!

Prayer: Lord, thank you for your victory on the cross. Thank you for paying the price for my sins. I enjoy the results of that victory now and will for all eternity! Amen

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!

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

June 15: 1Kings 16; 2Chronicles 15,16; Colossians 1

Scripture: Colossians (NIV) 1:15 The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.
Colossians 1:19 For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him

Observation: Jesus enabled people to see the unseen. He brought the invisible to light. He made the un-seeable seeable. As the Father God was seen through Jesus, now Jesus wants to be seen through me.

Application: It is impossible for me to imitate the Life of Christ. The only hope of Jesus being seen in me is if Jesus actually comes and lives His life in me. Amazingly, that is exactly what he does!

Prayer: Lord, I desire you to be seen in my life more and more. Amen

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!

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

June 14: 1Kings 15; 2Chronicles 13,14; Philippians 4

Scripture: Philippians (NIV) 4:6 Do not be anxious about anything but in every situation, by prayer and thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
7 And the peace of God which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Observation: Peace comes when we know we have presented our needs to the Only One Who truly understands and is able to meet those needs. When they are left with Him, we can rest in His care and promises. Then we have peace. It is not our peace, but His peace that we need. His peace transcends human understanding. God’s peace will guard our hearts and minds from worry, undue care, doubt, and thoughts put there by the enemy.

Application: When I have taken to God those things about which I know very little and can do nothing, I can have peace knowing that I have done the very best thing I could have done even if I had perfect understanding of the matter.

Prayer: Lord, you have proved your love for me. I have peace and can rest in your love! Amen

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!

Walk the Talk

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

June 13: 1Kings 13, 14; 2Chronicles 12; Philippians 3

Scripture: Philippians (NIV) 3:16 Nevertheless, whereto we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule; let us mind the same thing.
17 Brethren, be followers together of me, and mark them which walk so, as ye have us for an example.

Observation: There is much more to learn, but we do need to “walk” according to the level of knowledge that we already have. The believers in Philippi were encouraged to use the Apostle Paul and those with him as an example of how we should live.

Application: I want to live my life so it can be an example for others. For that to happen, I must be careful as to how I talk. But how I walk must be even more important.

Prayer: Lord, talk and walk with me and through me. When people look at me, may they see you. Amen

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!

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

June 12: 1Kings 12; 2Chronicles 10, 11; Philippians 2

Scripture: Philippians (NIV) 2:12 Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling.

Observation: For a number of years I read in a Bible in which verse 12 came at the end of the column. Before continuing to the next column I would pause and think about the awesome responsibility I had to “work out my salvation.” Then one day, the Lord spoke to my heart, “Read on.” So I did.

Scripture: Philippians (NIV) 2:13 for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.

Observation: What a sense of joy entered my heart as I realized that God is in me working with me to accomplish His purposes! Wow! He carries the responsibility.

Application: I am learning that it is not a heavy burden to do God’s will. It is rather a joy! We (God and I) are in this together! Not that He might be with me, but HE IS working in me!

Prayer: Lord, What a relief to know that I am not walking alone in this world. I am to depend on you for wisdom and strength! Amen

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!

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

June 11: Song of Solomon 5-8; Philippians 1

Scripture: Philippians (NIV) 1:4 In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy 5 Because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, 6 Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

Observation: As Paul prayed for the believers in the city of Philippi, he prayed with confidence, not so much with confidence in their ability, but with confidence in God’s ability to complete what God started.

Application: I need to live each day with confidence in God’s ability and willingness to complete the work that he has started in me. This includes my salvation and any ministry the Lord has assigned me. This includes being a husband, a father, and a bus driver.

Prayer: Lord, The more I keep you current in my thoughts the more I have confidence that you are both able and willing to complete what you have started in me. Amen

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!