February 01, 2021: SOAP #4078:  Exodus 30-32; Acts 8

SCRIPTURE:  Acts (NIV) 8:26 Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Go south to the road—the desert road—that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” 27 So he started out, and on his way, he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians. This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, 28 and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the book of Isaiah the prophet. 29 The Spirit told Philip, “Go to that chariot and stay near it.”

OBSERVATION:  Philip was directed to the road running between Jerusalem and Gaza.  Philip could have assumed that God was sending him to Gaza and taken a shortcut.  But He would have missed God’s assignment.  As Philip was moving in the direction (on his way v.27) God sent him, he met the Ethiopian eunuch. 

APPLICATION:  It was as I was “on my way” in preparation to be a missionary, that God sent me into the US Navy.  It was as I was “on my way” to a retirement in the military that God directed me to be the pastor of Bayview Chapel, Kaneohe, Hawaii.  It was as I was “on my way” as the pastor that God showed me to move to Kansas.  It was as I was “on my way” into retirement that God directed me to begin writing SOAPs.  God was leading me in directions, not to destinations. 

I have found that as I traveled in the direction God sent me, at the right place, He changed my direction.  He was not pointing to another destination; He was pointing in another direction.  In looking back, I remember those calls to a life as a missionary.  I remember the songs I sang.  I remember the times of surrender to His will.  Yet God did not direct me to a specific mission field.  But now my heart is full of awesome gratitude at how God is fulfilling His first call on Leon.  Through the SOAP ministry, every day I get to minister in 3-4 countries in Asia and 4-5 countries in Africa. 

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, I know that there are times when you lead people to destinations (like Jonah to Nineveh) but the pattern for me is in direction.  Continue to lead me by your Holy Spirit for my good and your glory!  Amen 

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

My personal SOAP saga: 

January 31, 2021: SOAP #4077:  Exodus 25-27; Acts 6

SCRIPTURE:  Exodus (NIV) 27:44 “So I will consecrate the Tent of Meeting and the altar and will consecrate Aaron and his sons to serve me as priests. 45 Then I will dwell among the Israelites and be their God. 46 They will know that I am the LORD their God, who brought them out of Egypt so that I might dwell among them. I am the LORD their God.

OBSERVATION:  In these verses, God is not claiming the Israelites as His children, but He is claiming to be their God!  In these verses I see that God in his great love is not emphasizing that the Israelites identify with Him, but that He identifies with them!  It was the LORD God who delivered them from Egypt.  He brought them out of Egypt!  They did not come out on their own strength.  At His direction they had built a tabernacle and now it is the LORD God who would be living among them!  He was coming down to live at their level.   The LORD God wanted to be known as their God. 

APPLICATION:   Claiming to be God’s child may not impress the enemy, but when God claims to be my God…that is different!   When my enemy is attacking, I may call out, “I am a child of God.”  If the enemy does not listen to me, the Creator speaks up, “Back off, I am the LORD!  I am the LORD Leon’s God!”   

PRAYER:  Holy Spirit, teach to depend on the LORD my God.  Teach me trust that He will do for me as He did for the Israelites when they crossed the wilderness. Instead of looking to friends on earth for help, teach me to go to the LORD my God.   Amen. 

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

My personal SOAP saga:  Yesterday I finished my first full week of bus driving since my heart surgery and follow-up problems.  I am still not asking God to go with me through each day, but to confess that I am going with Him!  He is my Lord; He directs my path.  My heart is so full of gratitude for everyone’s prayers, I must say “Thank you,” one more time!   😊 

January 30, 2021: SOAP #4076:  Exodus 25-27; Acts 6

SCRIPTURE:  Exodus (NIV) 25:2 “Tell the Israelites to bring me an offering. You are to receive the offering for me from each man whose heart prompts him to give. 3 These are the offerings you are to receive from them: gold, silver, and bronze; 4 blue, purple and scarlet yarn, and fine linen; goat hair; 5 ram skins dyed red and hides of sea cows; acacia wood; 6 olive oil for the light; spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense; 7 and onyx stones and other gems to be mounted on the ephod and breast piece.

OBSERVATION:  God tells them to bring an offering.  Then He tells them what to give!  This is a nation that has been in Egypt for 430 years, the last long portion as slaves.  How could God expect a nation of slaves to give gold, silver, bronze, etc.?  God had thought of that problem ahead of time.  On the night the Israelites left Egypt, they were told to ask the Egyptians for silver, gold, and articles of clothing. The Egyptians were glad to be rid of the Israelites, so they gave them anything they desired.  It was because of the Israelites that every first born had died. (Exodus 12:35-36) 

When God told them what to give, He already knew what they had!  He was the one who caused the Egyptians to be “favorably disposed” to the Israelites.  So, God was only asking them to give what had been given to them!  They carried out of Egypt what was needed for the assignment to build the tabernacle. 

APPLICATION:   I find myself in the same situation as the Israelites.  God desires an offering from me.  He knows what I have because He gave it to me.  He often tells me what to give.  In giving, I am becoming a part of something much greater than myself, or my own plans.  God has already given me what He desires from me.  If I believe He gave it to me, then I can freely give it away; He gave it to me, and He can do it again!   God values a gift based on the sacrifice; sometimes the smaller gift includes the larger sacrifice. 

PRAYER:  Heavenly Father, when I became a part of your family, you are making me like you.  You are a giver; You are making me a giver.  You gave the greatest gift when you gave your Son.  Amen. 

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

January 29, 2021: SOAP #4075:  Exodus 23-24; Psalm 14; Acts 5

SCRIPTURE:  Acts (NIV) 5:42 Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Christ.

OBSERVATION:  It was not until 1440 that Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press.  So, the church in the book of Acts had no Bibles in their home.  They could not have a daily Bible reading plan.  Yet the early church did not have a lack of spirituality due to a lack of Bibles.  The Holy Spirit was present in their gatherings.  Anointed teachers taught them spiritual truth. 

There are places in the world today where no Bible is available in their language, or affordable in the marketplace.  Yet they too need daily spiritual input.  As in the book of Acts church, daily gatherings would be a priority for teaching, fellowship, worship, and prayer.  As in the book of Acts, these could be in public places and from house to house.    

In all places we need the spiritual provided through gathering with other believers, but it would be a greater requirement in places where personal Bible reading is not available. 

APPLICATION:   If I am serious about my physical life (which will eventually die), then I am serious about food.  I do not consider it an inconvenience to pause several times a day just to eat.   So, if I am serious about my spiritual life (which will never die) I must be serious about spiritual intake.  I need it daily!

PRAYER: Lord, it is not my Sunday life, but my daily life that shows how much I love you.  May my daily life show how important you are to me. Amen. 

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

January 28, 2021: SOAP #4074:  Exodus 21-22; Psalm 12; Acts 4

SCRIPTURE:  Acts (NIV) 4:34 There were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales 35 and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone as he had need.

OBSERVATION:  What politicians want to do by taxing the rich and distributing to the poor became reality in the book of Acts church because the Holy Spirit moved in the hearts of the wealthy to give willingly.    The wealthy pay taxes grudgingly when the government makes tax laws.  When the Holy Spirit moves on their hearts, they give willingly and joyfully and generously.   On the receiving side, the poor are more inclined to receive with thankful hearts what is cheerfully and willingly given.  However, when they are given what has been taken from others by the government, they often begin to expect it and become dependent on “free” money.

The real looser is God.  He loses seeing the wealthy giving joyfully in response to what they have been given.  He loses hearing the heart cry of the needy and the joy He has of answering their prayers.  He loses the glory that should have been his through the generosity that comes in response to His sacrifice of His Son.  He loses the glory of praise coming from those who are totally dependent on Him.

APPLICATION:  The wealth God has given me is not in an abundance of money, but in appreciation of the Word of God.  For years, the Holy Spirit has given me an understanding of the heart of God and what He desires.  He has trained me to see things as He sees them.  He has taught me to consider how things affect God.  He shows what things make Him smile and what things hurt His heart.  And now, in my older years, God has specifically directed me to this simple but unique ministry: Daily SOAP.  Day by day God speaks to me and draws out of me what He has put into me.  It is humbling to be used of God!

PRAYER:  Heavenly Father, I want to share joyfully and generously what you have so generously sown into my heart.  Amen. 

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

My personal SOAP saga:  A most blessed day, spending my 73^rd birthday in the presence of God, with my wife and the students on the bus.

January 27, 2021: SOAP #4073:  Exodus 17-20; Acts 3

SCRIPTURE:  Acts (NIV) 3:2 Now a man crippled from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those going into the temple courts. 3 When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money. 4 Peter looked straight at him, as did John. Then Peter said, “Look at us!” 5 So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them. 6 Then Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.” … 8 He jumped to his feet and began to walk…

OBSERVATION:  The beggar was looking for money.  He was probably expecting to receive a few small coins.  Peter and John did not have any money to give; but they had something better.  And what they had; they were willing to give. 

APPLICATION:   As the SOAP ministry expands on Facebook, I receive requests for money every day.  I believe I have something better than money to give.  I have a fresh word from the Lord!  God is alive today; God speaks today!   

The God who fed the Israelites for 40 years in the wilderness is alive today!  The God who fed 5000 with a young boy’s lunch is still alive today! 

When we try to convince man to give, we only get what man can give.  But when we take our request to God in faith believing that He hears and He answers, we get what God can give.  One way, man gets the glory, the other God! 

PRAYER:  Holy Spirit, I pray that you use the SOAPs to build faith in our hearts.  May our eyes of faith be focused on You and not on man.  Help us to look to you, expecting you to provide our needs.  It brings you glory when people respond to you rather than to our arguments to convince them to give to us.  Amen. 
Heavenly Father, I pray for people experiencing hunger and poverty.  Hear their prayers.  See their suffering.  Respond to their faith and meet their needs. May they become a testimony of the value of faith being placed in you and not man.  Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

My personal SOAP saga:  Praise the Lord for 73 healthy years He has given me for His glory!  What a blessing to call God my Father; may He be blessed to call me His son. 

January 26, 2021: SOAP #4072:  Exodus 14-16; Acts 2

SCRIPTURE:  Exodus (NIV) 14:13 Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. 14 The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.”

OBSERVATION:  The Israelites were trapped between the Red Sea and Pharaoh’s army.  They feared the worst until God spoke through Moses.  Deliverance is God’s work.  The plagues on the nation of Egypt were all God’s work.  God had them prepare a Passover lamb, but the deliverance was totally God’s work.  And trapped between Pharaoh’s army and the sea—they could do nothing.  If they were to be delivered God would have to do it for them!  AND HE DID!!!  He parted the waters and they walked across on dry ground.  When Pharaoh and his army followed, the waters closed on them. 

The Israelites had to fight to establish God’s rule and kingdom in the Promised Land but the deliverance from Egypt was all God’s fight. 

APPLICATION:   There is nothing I can do to gain my salvation.  The song says: “Jesus paid it all; all to Him I owe…”  Sin was defeated on the cross!  Satan’s defeat is guaranteed.  Satan is guilty of the death of the Only One who had no sin and did not deserve to die! 

Now that I am saved by the work of Jesus on the cross, it is my challenge to establish God’s rule and kingdom in my own life and my environment.  I am to work out my salvation. (Philippians 2:12-13) I am so thankful for the Holy Spirit who came to guide and help me. 

PRAYER:  Jesus, thank you for all you have done and still do for me.  You forgave me, filled me with your Holy Spirit.  You have directed my life for your glory and your good.  I also thank you for what you enable and empower me to do.  You use me in establishing and strengthening your kingdom.  I am doubly blest, first by what you do for me, second by what you do through me. Amen. 

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

My personal SOAP saga:  PRAISE THE LORD!  He has answered our (yours and mine) prayers!  The x-ray taken today of my chest showed no fluid in the chest cavity!   The doctor said I did not need any follow-up visits!  Hallelujah!  

January 25, 2021: SOAP #4071:  Exodus 12-13; Psalm 21; Acts 1

SCRIPTURE:  Acts (NIV) 1:8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

OBSERVATION:  The assignment was too big for them—to go into every nation, baptizing and teaching.  Before they went out to fulfill their assignment, they needed an empowering.  They would face persecution.  They would spend time in jail.  They would be beaten.  Jesus had been with them to teach and encourage them, but they would need something more.  Jesus had been WITH them.  The Holy Spirit would be IN them and empowering them.   

APPLICATION:   The longer I am a believer, the more I realize my dependence on the Holy Spirit.  His presence in my life keeps me walking in joy.  Sometimes He speaks in feelings, impressions, and inclinations.  Sometimes it is so obvious that I cannot miss what he is saying.  Every day I am learning more how He speaks to me.     

PRAYER:  Holy Spirit, how I need you more and more.  Move in and through me to bring honor to Jesus and joy to the Father. Amen. 

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

My personal SOAP saga:  Tomorrow I will have an x-ray and meet with the chest surgeon.  I am feeling good and am expecting a good report.  God is at work!   😊 

January 24, 2021: SOAP #4070:  Exodus 9-11; Luke 24

SCRIPTURE:  Luke (NIV) 24:5 In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? 6 He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: 7 ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’” 8 Then they remembered his words.

OBSERVATION:  This should have been no surprise.  This had all been explained to them earlier.   Now it was coming back.  Their minds found their way back to the words of Jesus.  Yes, He had said this would happen.  They remembered His words. 

How much better it would have been for them if they had remembered earlier.  The cross would have not seemed so final.  They would have looked forward to this day with expectation!  They could have left their spices brought to perfume the body of Jesus—they could have left them at home. 

But only afterward did they remember! 

APPLICATION:   I considered the past two and a half months of surgery recovery as a challenge.  Four or five times a day I reminded God (and myself) of what He said to me few hours before checking into the hospital.  “He was not going to go with me; I was going to go with Him!”  He was not there for my purpose; I was there for His purpose. 

Remembering His words kept me living in victory, even when in quarantine for the virus.  Remembering His words caused me to look for opportunities to witness and minister to those coming into my room.  Remembering His words filled my heart with joy that the Creator of the Universe would speak to me personally.  When it was discovered that an accident during the heart repair was causing my chest cavity to fill with fluid, and I was readmitted to a hospital, I remembered His words. 

PRAYER:  Holy Spirit, continue to bring God’s words to my memory.  Let me not forget.   Amen. 

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

My personal SOAP saga:  Today as yesterday!   Praise the Lord! 

January 23, 2021: SOAP #4069:  Exodus 6-8; Luke 23

SCRIPTURE:  Exodus (NIV) 6:1 Then the LORD said to Moses, “See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron will be your prophet. 2 You are to say everything I command you, and your brother Aaron is to tell Pharaoh to let the Israelites go out of his country. 3 But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and though I multiply my miraculous signs and wonders in Egypt, 4 he will not listen to you. Then I will lay my hand on Egypt and with mighty acts of judgment I will bring out my divisions, my people the Israelites. 5 And the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring the Israelites out of it.”

OBSERVATION:  It was time for God to keep His promise to Abraham.  The Israelites would need to fight to take over the Promised Land.  The book of Joshua describes their battles. 
     But before they could conquer their Promised Land, they must first get out of Egypt!  The deliverance was to be God’s work.  God did not give Moses a battle plan; He only gave Moses information of what HE would do!  This whole sixth chapter of Exodus is God declaring what HE was going to do! 
     Deliverance from Egypt—God did the fighting.  Conquering of the Promised land—Israel did the fighting.   

APPLICATION:   In considering the above, I see a large picture of God’s plan for me/each believer.  My deliverance from sin comes totally at Christ’s expense.  As the Israelites could do nothing to save themselves, so I can do nothing to save myself! 
     Now that I am saved, God gives me instructions on how to live.  Through His Word He shows me how to live and establish His kingdom in my life. 

PRAYER:  Jesus, thank you for delivering me from sin.  And now, under the direction of the Holy Spirit, and in following Your example, you want ME to bring my life into the fullness of your Kingdom.  Amen. 

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

My personal SOAP saga:  Day three of bus driving!   Monday, I have a follow-up appointment for an x-ray and meeting with a surgeon to see if there is any fluid in my chest cavity.  I am believing he will find all as God created it, within normal limits.  😊