Pastor Leon’s SOAP:  Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer
January 12, 2022: SOAP #4423:  Genesis 29-30; Luke 12

SCRIPTURE:  Luke (NIV) 12:29 And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. 30 For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. 31 But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.

OBSERVATION: Do we need food?  We are instructed to consider the ravens. (vs. 24)   Do we need clothing?  We are instructed to consider the lilies. (vs. 27) 

Why?  Because we are more important than ravens and lilies! 

To whom are we more important?  To God, but Jesus does not call Him God; Jesus calls Him Father! 

Whose Father is He?  Jesus says He is “your Father!!!” 

APPLICATION:  God feeds the ravens. (vs. 24)   God clothes the lilies. (vs. 27-28)   But when it coming to taking care me, Jesus calls Him my Father! 

The One Jesus called “Father,” is my Father too!  He is my Heavenly Father but I need not wait until I get to heaven to enjoy His loving care! 

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, when I accepted the payment of Jesus on the cross for my sins, I became a member of your family.  You have always been and will always be God.  But through Jesus, you have become my Father!  What a blessing is mine!  Amen.

Pastor Leon
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January 11, 2022: SOAP #4422:  Genesis 27-28; Psalm 4; Luke 11

SCRIPTURE:  Genesis (NIV) 28:10 Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Haran.  11 When he reached a certain place, he stopped for the night because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones there, he put it under his head and lay down to sleep.  12 He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. 13 There above it stood the LORD, and he said: “I am the LORD, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. 14 Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. 15 I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”

OBSERVATION: The Creator of the Universe was talking to one man, Jacob.  God was not demanding that Jacob serve Him and fulfill His plans.  God was telling Jacob what He (GOD) would do for Jacob!!!  God was not looking for promises from Jacob; He was making promises to Jacob!

APPLICATION:  God does want me to serve Him.  He wants me to be committed to doing His will.  But the more I understand what God is doing, the more I see that what God does for me is much more than what I will ever be able to do for Him! 

God is a promise-maker and promise-keeper.  His greatest joy is for me to believe Him and act like His promises are true. 

God wants me as a trophy of His love and grace.  He wants the world to see what He has done for me and what He is doing in me.  And not only that, consider Ephesians 3:10.  God is using us to demonstrate His great wisdom to “principalities and powers” in “heavenly places.”  WOW!!! 

PRAYER:  Heavenly Father, you have me as a trophy of your love and grace. You have set me on display so that others can see your work in and through me.  You want people to see me.  You want beings in the heavenlies to see how much I love you.  Amen.

Pastor Leon
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Pastor Leon’s SOAP:  Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer
January 10, 2022: SOAP #4421:  Genesis 25-26; Psalm 6; Luke 10

Note:  This SOAP was written in 2010 and repeated in 2019, but the SOAPs are primarily for me, and this is something I still need to consider!Very seldom do I repeat a SOAP and when I do, it usually has a different point.  I believe this is the first time I have repeated one a third time without any changes. 

SCRIPTURE:  Luke (NIV) 10:41 “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, 42 but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

OBSERVATION: Jesus was in the village and Martha had opened her house to him.  The visit to her house seems not to have been planned, so now that he was present there were many things needing her attention, very likely the preparation of a meal.   There was so much to do and Martha needed more help.  Her sister Mary should be helping, but where was she?  Mary was with the honored guest, just listening!  In Martha’s mind, Mary was doing nothing-but to Jesus what Mary was doing was the most important.  Martha was doing something for Jesus (“making preparations”);  Mary was doing something to Jesus (listening).  Martha was serving, but Mary was pleasing.

APPLICATION:  Today, I too will have many things demanding my attention.  I too have that same “Honored Guest” in my life.  I too will be misunderstood.  I too need to take time from my busy-ness and listen to Him!  I want to do more than just serve Him, I want my serving to please Him!

PRAYER:  Lord, many things will demand my time today.  You are the Honored Guest in my life.  I want to listen to you!   Your pleasure is my goal.   Amen.

Pastor Leon
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Pastor Leon’s SOAP:  Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer
January 9, 2022: SOAP #4420:  Genesis 23-24; Luke 9

SCRIPTURE:  Luke (NIV) 9:24 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. 25 What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self? 26 If anyone is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.

OBSERVATION: What a question!  The answer should come quickly.  But if the answer is slow in coming, one should take time to ponder it carefully. 

Earth living is temporary.  Life on the other side of death is eternal.  The things that should be valued in this temporary life are the things that will be most valuable in eternal life. 

Some people live their lives as though death is the end-all. They do not consider life after death.    

Some people live their lives as though this life will have no effect on a future life after death.  They live this life to please their present desires.  They do what seems good now. 

APPLICATION:  To spend my time and resources to gather things that will not fit into my casket—that is foolishness.  To spend my time and resources in helping those whom I will meet in heaven—that is wisdom.

To confess my sins to Jesus, to thank Him for His forgiveness and cleansing, and to take Jesus as my Savior and Lord—this is the beginning of wisdom. 

PRAYER:  Holy Spirit, help me to live a life that lets everyone around me know that Jesus is my Savior and Lord.  Amen.

Pastor Leon
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Pastor Leon’s SOAP:  Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer
January 8, 2022: SOAP #4419:  Genesis 20-22; Luke 8   (Repeat from 2010)

SCRIPTURE:  Luke (NIV) 8:22 One day Jesus said to his disciples, “Let’s go over to the other side of the lake.” So, they got into a boat and set out.

OBSERVATION: There were only two things the disciples needed to know: 1) they were going to the other side of the lake and 2) Jesus was going with them.  He did not tell them about the storm they would pass through, nor about the demon possessed man they would encounter when reaching the other side.  The storm put them in “great danger,” but the One with them was greater than the storm!  The man was possessed with a “legion” of demons (a full Roman legion consisted of 6,000+ men) but the One with them was greater than the demons!    

APPLICATION:  When the Lord says, “Let’s go…,” he is not promising a trouble-free trip.  But he is promising to go with me!   When the Lord says, “Let’s go…,” he may not tell me what I will encounter, but I can proceed with confidence that “greater is he that is in me than he that is in the world.” (1John 4:4) And although I may not know it, he has a plan and a purpose for the trip. 

PRAYER:  Lord, As I go through this day, not fully knowing what is ahead, I am assured that you are with me, and you are greater than any storm or need I will encounter.  Lord, I am counting on you!  Amen.

Pastor Leon
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Pastor Leon’s SOAP:  Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer
January 7, 2022: SOAP #4418:  Genesis 18-19; Psalm 3; Luke 7

SCRIPTURE:  Psalm (NIV) 3:1 A psalm of David. When he fled from his son Absalom. O LORD, how many are my foes! How many rise up against me!
2 Many are saying of me, “God will not deliver him.” Selah
3 But you are a shield around me, O LORD; you bestow glory on me and lift up my head.
4 To the LORD I cry aloud, and he answers me from his holy hill. Selah
5 I lie down and sleep; I wake again because the LORD sustains me.
6 I will not fear the tens of thousands drawn up against me on every side.

OBSERVATION: King David heard his enemies trying to convince him that it was foolish to trust God.  According to them God would not help David.  David was on his own in dealing with his enemies.  

So, what does David do?  He tells God what his enemies are saying.   He confesses his faith to God.  God is not only going to help David, God, Himself is a shield around David!  God gives David His favor and brings David a new point of view. 

David lifts his head from looking at the problems around him to looking at the blessings above him!

APPLICATION:  I serve the same God as David!  David’s God, who is my God, is a shield around me!   He looks on me with favor!  He causes me to lift my head from looking at the problems surrounding me to looking at the blessings above me!

Looking at the problems around me depresses me; looking at the blessings above me encourages me and assures me of victory! 

PRAYER:  Lord, I know my life is affected by where I focus my eyes.  I set the focus of my life on you and your word.  Amen.

Pastor Leon
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Pastor Leon’s SOAP:  Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer
January 6, 2022: SOAP #4417:  Genesis 15-17; Luke 6

SCRIPTURE:  Luke (NIV) 6:31 Do to others as you would have them do to you.

OBSERVATION: Treat others the way you want to be treated.  The way you want to be treated is the way you should treat others.  I think it comes down to this: do not tell other people how you would like to be treated, show them! 

It is interesting that the following seven verses (32-38) all are telling us what to do!!!  …you do good…  …you lend…   …you love…  …you be merciful…   Do not judge…  …you forgive…  …you give…  Doing these things will bring these things into our lives. 

APPLICATION:  By my life, I should set a good example of how I would like others to treat me. 

The emphasis in these verses is not on how others should treat me, but how I should be treating others. 

PRAYER:  Holy Spirit, keep watch over my life.  Help me live in line with the scriptures.  Show me how to minister to those around me.  Amen.

Pastor Leon
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Pastor Leon’s SOAP:  Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer
January 5, 2022: SOAP #4416:  Genesis 12-14; Luke 5

SCRIPTURE:  Luke (NIV) 5:6 When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break….
37 And no-one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins, the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined.

OBSERVATION:  Luke chapter five begins and ends with important issues concerning the church.  Verses 2 through 6 tell of nets gathering many fish—so many that the nets broke.  Nets need washing and mending.  Washing and mending are proof that the nets are useful—proof of intended future use.  The church is the net God is using to catch men.  He is often working to wash and mend His church. 

The chapter ends (verses 36-39) with the importance of having new wineskins to hold the new wine.  The immediate reference is to Judaism’s inability to contain the New Wine to be poured out on the day of Pentecost.  Among other issues, Judaism had been contained by the nation of Israel, more importantly by the temple in Jerusalem, but something was needed that would include the whole world! 

I believe these verses also show the difficulty for believers who have loved and served the Lord for many years to accept the changes brought into the church by younger generations.  Styles of worship music, types of discipleship groups, types of facilities, etc.  Truly the church is for all generations! 

APPLICATION:  As a retired pastor, I often come face to face with changes.  I must be careful to learn and grow.  I must be sensitive to what the Holy Spirit is doing.  God is at work today and I rejoice!  When I have trouble singing some of the newer songs, I look around at younger believers who are wholeheartedly and fervently worshipping the one I love!  My heart overflows with appreciation! 

NOTE:  being in the Word every day writing these SOAPs keeps me fresh and able to see God’s big picture. 

PRAYER:  Lord, rub the oil of the Holy Spirit into my heart.  Soften the areas that have become hard and entrenched in old routines.  Keep me open to the freshness of the Holy Spirit’s revelation of the Word.  Amen.

Pastor Leon
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Pastor Leon’s SOAP:  Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer
January 4, 2022: SOAP #4415:  Genesis 9-11; Luke 4

SCRIPTURE:  Luke (NIV) 4:17 The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written: 18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
20 Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him, 21 and he began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”
22 All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips. “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” they asked.

OBSERVATION: Although Jesus did not stop being God, He laid aside His deity to live and die as a sinless man.  His sinless death provided forgiveness of sin for those who put their faith in Him.  The Holy Spirit empowered the ministry of this One who called Himself the “Son of Man.” One of the proofs of the presence of the Holy Spirit in the life of Jesus was in His speaking.  He taught, He spoke to sickness and to demons.  His words had authority. 

Verse 22 tells us that people were amazed at “the gracious words that came from His lips!”   His words were proof of the presence of the Holy Spirit.   

APPLICATION:  If “gracious words” can be a sign of the Spirit’s presence in a life, then surely those closest to us should be able to experience God’s presence through how we talk. 

Members of my family hear my words.  My words become windows through which they can see into my inner person.  They see me when things are good and when I am under pressure.  They hear my words of encouragement and of frustration. 

PRAYER:  Holy Spirit, do in me what you did in Jesus.  May your presence be easily seen in me.  May “gracious words” be common in my conversation. Amen.

Pastor Leon
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Pastor Leon’s SOAP:  Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer
January 3, 2022: SOAP #4414:  Genesis 6-8; Luke 3

SCRIPTURE:  Genesis (NIV) 7:1 The LORD then said to Noah, “Go into the ark, you and your whole family, because I have found you righteous in this generation. 7 And Noah and his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives entered the ark to escape the waters of the flood….
Genesis (NIV) 8:15 Then God said to Noah, 16 “Come out of the ark, you and your wife and your sons and their wives.

OBSERVATION: The Lord told Noah and his family to enter the ark.  Noah did.  At the end of their floating excursion, Noah opened the window, (8:6) but they did not leave the ark.  He sent out raven (8:7) which did not return.  But Noah did not leave the ark.  Then he sent out a dove which returned (8:8).  Noah stayed in the ark.  After another seven days he sent the dove out again (8:10) which returned with an olive leaf.  Then he waited another seven days and sent out the dove again (8:12) and it did not return; but Noah stayed in the ark.  The first day of Noah’s 601st year, Noah removed the cover from the ark and looked out at the dry ground; but Noah did not leave the ark.  The 27^th day of the second month the ground was completely dry, and God finally said, “Now you can come out of the ark!”

God told Noah to enter the ark and Noah stayed until God said it was time.  Obedience is my responsibility; timing is God’s responsibility!  

APPLICATION:  The ark was not a luxury ocean liner where no effort has been spared to make the accommodations comfortable.  There was not a special crew to take care of the animals.  The passengers were the crew!  As soon as the ark settled onto the ground, they probably were ready to disembark.  But the one who instructed them to board had not yet given them permission to disembark. They had to stay until…

When God has assigned me a place in His kingdom, I cannot move away at my own discretion.  My life is not my own. 

PRAYER:  Lord, the kingdom is yours and I am yours.  It is for you to direct my steps.  It is for me to serve you joyfully where you have placed me.  It is a great privilege to serve in your kingdom! Amen.

Pastor Leon
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