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

August 31: Ezekiel 12-14; Revelation 5

Scripture: Revelation (NIV) 5:11 Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands,
12 saying with a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!”
13 And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!”

Observation: There will clearly be some times in heaven when the noise will be deafening! Countless angels will be singing with a “loud voice.” Every created living creature will give their praise. It will not be quiet!

Application: It has been my privilege several times to worship with large numbers of people each singing their new song to the Lord. To me it was like the sound of many waters going over a water fall. It reminded me of a trip once to Niagara Falls.

Prayer: Lord, you are worthy of the joined praise of all creation. May I find today some special way to add my praise to the praise already being lifted to you. Amen

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!

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

August 30: Ezekiel 8-11; Revelation 4

Scripture: Revelation (NIV) 4:2 At once I was in the Spirit, and there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it.
3 And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and ruby. A rainbow that shone like an emerald encircled the throne.

Observation: I noticed that heaven’s throne is not an empty throne! And I also noticed that the one sitting on the throne has more glory than the throne. The throne does not give its occupant glory, the occupant gives the throne glory! God is not glorious because He sits on the throne in heaven; the throne in heaven is glorious because God sits on it!

Application: In John 14:23 Jesus told us that if we love Him and keep His commandments the Father in Glory will loves us. Jesus and the Father will come to us and make their home in us! What a thought! The one who sits on the throne in heaven sits on the throne in my heart!!! The One who gives glory to the throne in heaven gives glory to the throne in my heart! He adds value to my life!

Prayer: Lord, there is always something new about you to discover in the Bible. You give my life meaning! You give my life value! Amen

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!

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

August 29: Ezekiel 4-7; Revelation 3

Scripture: Ezekiel (NIV) 7:8 I am about to pour out my wrath on you and spend my anger against you. I will judge you according to your conduct and repay you for all your detestable practices.
9 I will not look on you with pity; I will not spare you. I will repay you for your conduct and for the detestable practices among you. Then you will know that it is I the Lord who strikes you.

Observation: In God’s holy economy, all sin will be judged. For those who have made Jesus Christ their Lord and Savior, the punishment for their sins was completed by the death of Jesus on the cross. All others will experience the judgment for sin in their own person.

In the verses above God is speaking to the nation of Israel. If the nation of Israel was judged because they rejected the law given to Moses, how much more will people today be judged who have rejected God’s Son, Jesus!

I believe the Lord has shown me that He is bringing one unwanted alien into our country for every unwanted child we have aborted.

Application: I like to focus on the promise of God’s blessings. But the same faithful character behind those promises of blessings also stands behind the promises of judgment! If he keeps His promises of blessing, I can be assured that He will keep His promises of judgment.

Prayer: Lord, those who refuse to acknowledge that you are the author of our blessings, will be forced to admit that you are the author of our judgment. I want to be quick to acknowledge your blessings and live my life in ways that please you. Amen

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!

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

August 28: Ezekiel 1-3; Revelation 2

Scripture: Ezekiel (NIV) 1:1 In my thirtieth year, in the fourth month on the fifth day, while I was among the exiles by the Kebar River, the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God.
Ezekiel 1:3 the word of the Lord came to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, by the Kebar River in the land of the Babylonians. There the hand of the Lord was upon him.

Observation: He was a long way from home and the temple of the Lord; he was among people taken captive from Israel to Babylon. It was THERE the heavens were opened for Ezekiel to see visions of God! It was THERE the hand of the Lord was upon him!

Application: I am on a school bus trip, sitting in a Burger King—it is HERE God draws my attention to these verses. It is HERE the Lord assures this former senior pastor that hearing His voice and obeying are still keys to a joyful life. Joy comes from making Him smile.

Prayer: Lord, my location and vocation are not problems to you! May I never let them be problems to me! Amen

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!

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

August 27: Jeremiah 52; Revelation 1; Psalm 143-144

Scripture: Psalm (NIV) 143:8 Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I entrust my life.

Observation: From the context I get the idea that the Psalmist was going through a hard time. I can hear him praying this prayer before going to sleep at night. After a long stressful day he might pray, “May I wake in the morning with a reminder that you have not forsaken me. I trust you to show me what to do.”

Application: In times of trouble I can sleep knowing that the Lord will watch over me through the night and give me some new expression of his unfailing love in the morning. In the jungles of Viet Nam I would often go to sleep with Psalm 3:5 on my mind. “I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the LORD sustains me.”

Prayer: Lord, there is no better way to close my eyes in sleep than in knowing that I will awake in the morning to discover a new expression of your love. Amen

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!

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

August 26: Jeremiah 50-51; 3John

Scripture: 3John (NIV) 1:3 It gave me great joy when some believers came and testified about your faithfulness to the truth, telling how you continue to walk in it.
4 I have no greater joy than to hear than my children are walking in the truth.

Observation: Though not John’s physical children, John had been instrumental in the lives of his readers and he refers to them as his children. Children can bring joy in three ways. First, there is the joy of the relationship. Second is the joy of observing their growth. Third is the “great joy” received when someone else has a good report.

Application: I need to watch for opportunity to give a good report. Instead of being a gossip spreading bad reports about others, I want to be known for spreading good reports and compliments. May I bring joy to someone today by giving them a good report about someone they love. I might have opportunity to tell one of my bus rider’s parents something special I have noticed about their child.

Prayer: Lord, use me today to spread this special kind of joy. Amen

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!

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

August 25: Jeremiah 37-39; Psalm 79; 2John

Scripture: 1John (NIV) 1:1 The elder, to the lady chosen by God and to her children, who I love in the truth—and not I only, but also all who know the truth—
2 because of the truth which lives in us and will be with us forever:
3 Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Father’s Son, will be with us in truth and love.
4 It has given me great joy to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as the Father commanded us.

Observation: Knowing truth does not make us arrogant; it makes us humble. It does not make us haughty; it makes us loving. It does not make us tyrants; it makes us servants. Instead of becoming threatened, those knowing truth rejoice when others discover truth. Knowing truth becomes a reason for fellowship.

Application: Knowing Jesus, Who is the way, the truth and the life, causes me to be humble and loving. He causes me to enjoy serving others. I rejoice as others discover the truth available in relationship with Jesus. Knowing the truth brings a strong bond of fellowship with others who know the truth!

Prayer: Lord, it is your desire that I walk in truth. You want me to recognize and understand truth. Make me restless when I am not growing in truth. Amen

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!

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

August 24: Jeremiah 33-34; Psalm 74; 1John 5

Scripture: Jeremiah (NIV) 33:1 While Jeremiah was still confined in the courtyard of the guard, the word of the LORD came to him a second time:
2 This is what the LORD says, he who made the earth, the LORD who formed it and established it—the LORD is his name:
3 Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.

Observation: King Zedekiah did not like Jeremiah’s message so he confined him. But the limitations put on the prophet could not limit the prophet’s God. God spoke to and through the prophet while the prophet was confined.

Application: My location and restrictions do not apply to my God. Limitations have no effect on Him. If I am listening and obedient to Him, all things are possible. Whatever my limitations may be, I am never limited in calling on Him!

Prayer: Lord, Help me remember that you are an awesome God who is able to overcome all the limitations or restrictions set on me by man. Amen

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!

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

August 23: Jeremiah 31-32; 1John 4

Scripture: Jeremiah (NIV) 31:31 “The days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah.
Jeremiah 31:33 This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time,” declares the LORD. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.”

Observation: What a plan. As God has been the nation’s God, He will become the individual’s God. As He wrote the Law on stone and gave it to the nation at Sinai, He would now give it to the individual by writing it on their hearts.

Application: God desires personal and individual relationships with each of us. Having a secondary level relationship with God through people who are in the inner circle is NOT what God desires. He wants every one of us to be a part of the inner circle!

Prayer: Lord, by your death, you have wonderfully provided for me to be a part of your inner circle, to hear your voice and know that you speak to me! Amen

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!

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

August 22: Jeremiah 28-30; 1John 3

Scripture: Jeremiah (NIV) 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
12 Then you will call on me and come and pray to me and I will listen to you.
13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.
14 I will be found by you,” declares the LORD, “and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,” declares the LORD, “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.”

Observation: Because of their sins, God had raised up the Babylonians to punish Israel. They were carried in exile away from Jerusalem to Babylon. This beautiful prophetic promise was given to them while they were in exile! Their circumstances did not mean that God did not care about them or have any plans for their future. God would restore Israel!

Application: My circumstances do not determine God’s will for my life. God is working through all things, even the hard things, for my good and His glory.

Prayer: Lord, I trust you with the details of my life. I know your plan goes into future generations. May I not treat your plans and workings as insignificant. Amen

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!