Pastor Leon’s SOAP:  Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer
November 01, 2022: SOAP #4716: Psalm 121; Mark 9-10

SCRIPTURE:  Mark (NIV) 9:20 So they brought him. When the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth. 21 Jesus asked the boy’s father, “How long has he been like this?” “From childhood,” he answered. 22 “It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.” 23 “‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for him who believes.” 24 Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”

OBSERVATION:  The dad was desperate.  His son needed more help than he was able to give.  But he had heard about Jesus.  Maybe Jesus could help his boy.  

The father challenged Jesus’ ability and willingness: “if you can do anything…”   I hear Jesus saying, “My ability and willingness is not in question!”  “Your faith needs to be lifted to a new height!” 

Jesus challenged the father’s faith. Jesus said, “Everything is possible for him who believes!”  Those words from Jesus expanded the faith in the father and he immediately exclaimed, “I do believe!”  Jesus responded to the faith in the father.  He had enough faith to bring his son to Jesus and now faith to confess that He did believe.  He had faith to confess his weakness. 

APPLICATION: Jesus challenges my faith too.  My faith is present, but sometimes I find that unbelief is also present.  I must mix the faith I have with the word.  The Word is my faith expander.  It is my faith developer.  God’s Word says, “Everything is possible!” Which causes me to exclaim, “I do believe!”

PRAYER:   Lord, thank you for responding to my faith.  Overcome my unbelief brings me to confess with you, “EVERYTHING IS POSSIBLE!”   Amen

Pastor Leon
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Pastor Leon’s SOAP:  Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer
October 31, 2022: SOAP #4715: Job 22; Mark 7-8

SCRIPTURE:  Mark (NIV) 7:24 Jesus left that place and went to the vicinity of Tyre. He entered a house and did not want anyone to know it; yet he could not keep his presence secret.

OBSERVATION:  The ministry of Jesus was a very public ministry.  Many of His miracles were done as He walked on public roads or in public places.  He became very recognizable!  It only took one person to see and recognize Him; then everyone would know.  Everyone knew of someone who needed the ministry of Jesus.  There were no medical centers available, the sick and lame were scattered in the homes.  The news of Jesus presence would cause a crowd of people to appear. 

APPLICATION: Jesus wants His Presence to be easily recognizable today.  Jesus wants people to know that He is alive—alive in me!   People who know me, should quickly recognize that there are some unique characteristics about how I respond to trouble, how I act, how I think, how I talk. 

The powerful presence of God in my life should make a seeable difference in how I live.  Living for Jesus cannot be kept a secret!  

PRAYER:   Lord, may you be easily seen in me.  May your presence have a profound influence on every aspect of my life. Amen

Pastor Leon
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Pastor Leon’s SOAP:  Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer
October 30, 2022: SOAP #4714: Job 21; Mark 5-6

SCRIPTURE:  Mark (NIV) 5:25 And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. …27 When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, 28 because she thought, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.” 29 Immediately her bleeding stopped, and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering. 30 At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?” 31 “You see the people crowding against you,” his disciples answered, “and yet you can ask, ‘Who touched me?’” 32 But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. 33 Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came, and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. 34 He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.”

OBSERVATION:  Jesus was walking in a large crowd; many people had touched Jesus that day.  They had jostled against him as they walked. 

It was not just being on the same road with Jesus.  It was not just going in the same direction as Jesus.  It was not the way she talked to Jesus!  It was how she touched Jesus.  She touched Him on purpose.  She intended to touch Him.  She had purposed in her heart to touch Jesus. 

She believed if she touched Jesus she would be healed; Jesus responded, “your faith has healed you.”   

APPLICATION: It is not just being in a church or being around people who love the Lord.  It is not just hearing others talk about Jesus.   It is when I realize that what is said—what I read—what I hear—is for Leon.  The Holy Spirit stirs within me that this is for me.  With that awareness in my heart, I respond to that word.  I obey and take action that shows I understand the Word from the Lord. 

I confess my sins; He forgives.  I obey and give; He provides and meets my needs. Often His answers come as I respond to His word!  

PRAYER:   Lord, it is an honor to be your child and a joy to serve you.  Living for you is a daily adventure. Amen

Pastor Leon
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Pastor Leon’s SOAP:  Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer
October 29, 2022: SOAP #4713: Job 20; Mark 3-4

SCRIPTURE:  Mark (NIV) 3:13 Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to him those he wanted, and they came to him. 14 He appointed twelve—designating them apostles— that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach 15 and to have authority to drive out demons.

OBSERVATION:  It was a simple calling, but it was a clear calling.  Jesus outlined their priority. 

They were called “to him!”  Their first priority of ministry was “to him!”  Being with Him prepared them to be sent out.  Their first priority prepared them for their second priority, to be sent out to minister to others. 

In ministry to others, there was also two parts:  first was to proclaim the Kingdom of God, and second was to demonstrate its authority by healing the sick and driving out demons. 

APPLICATION: The Kingdom of God that we are to preach is not some future government under which we will live in heaven.  It is a kingdom that has invaded earth and is to be proclaimed and demonstrated as having an effect here and now!  

The Kingdom of God does change our eternal destination, but it also changes our present lives where we presently live!  

PRAYER:   Holy Spirit, help me treasure that my first calling is to Jesus. Teach me to value the time I have to spend with Him.  Teach me to draw on His strength and wisdom to enable me to minister to others. Amen

Pastor Leon
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Pastor Leon’s SOAP:  Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer
October 28, 2022: SOAP #4712: Job 19; Mark 1-2

SCRIPTURE:  Mark (NIV) 2:15 While Jesus was having dinner at Levi’s house, many tax collectors and “sinners” were eating with him and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. 16 When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw him eating with the “sinners” and tax collectors, they asked his disciples: “Why does he eat with tax collectors and ‘sinners’?” 17 On hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

OBSERVATION:  They were just “tax collectors and sinners” to the Pharisees.  In eating with them, Jesus was wasting his time.  Those people were not able to add anything to the lives of “the teachers of the law” and “Pharisees.” 

But they were so much more to Jesus.  He would die for these people.  They were important to him!   They were valuable.  They were the reason He came!  They might not be able to add anything to Jesus’ life, but He would certainly add something to their lives!  

APPLICATION: I need to be careful not to treat people going through hard times as though they have no value.  They need Jesus and Jesus came for them.   I need to love them like Jesus loves them.  It may appear that they have nothing I need, but I definitely have something they need!  And I need the opportunity to witness for Jesus. 

PRAYER:   Lord, people going through hard times need You.  Love them through me.  Help me to see them as you see them.  Help me to reach out to them and not push them away. May they see you in me.  Amen.

Pastor Leon
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Pastor Leon’s SOAP:  Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer
October 27, 2022: SOAP #4711: Job 18; Psalm 114; Acts 27-28 (Re-worked SOAP from 2017)

SCRIPTURE:  Acts (NIV) 27:42 The soldiers planned to kill the prisoners to prevent any of them from swimming away and escaping. 43 But the centurion wanted to spare Paul’s life and kept them from carrying out their plan. He ordered those who could swim to jump overboard first and get to land. 44 The rest were to get there on planks or on pieces of the ship. In this way everyone reached land in safety.

OBSERVATION:  For the Roman soldiers, the decision was easy.  If the prisoners escaped, the soldiers would pay with their lives.  And since there was no way to control the prisoners in the sea, they should immediately kill them.  But there was one prisoner who had made quite an impression on the centurion in charge.  To save that one prisoner, the centurion he would not allow any of the prisoners to be killed.

Paul’s presence made a difference!  I am sure that those in danger of being killed were glad to have Paul as one of their number!

APPLICATION: God’s presence in me makes a difference in me.  My presence in the world makes a difference in my world, where I live, where I work, and where I worship.  I can speak words of cheer.  I can speak positive words of faith.  I am not a negative, complaining person.  I follow the leading of the Holy Spirit.

PRAYER:   Holy Spirit, lead me, guide me. Shine through me. May the love of our Heavenly Father be easily seen in me. Amen

Pastor Leon
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Pastor Leon’s SOAP:  Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer
October 26, 2022: SOAP #4710: Job 17; Acts 24-26

SCRIPTURE:  Acts (NIV) 26:30 The king rose, and with him the governor and Bernice and those sitting with them. 31 They left the room, and while talking with one another, they said, “This man is not doing anything that deserves death or imprisonment.” 32 Agrippa said to Festus, “This man could have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar.”

OBSERVATION:  Paul had just made his defense before visiting King Agrippa. In Agrippa’s mind, it was a miscarriage of justice. Paul was clearly innocent. Paul should have been set free. But God saw things differently. Paul would testify as to the Risen Savior in Rome and Rome was going to provide the transportation and the security for the journey. Also, Paul would need some settled, quiet time to write letters which would later become part of our Bible.

APPLICATION: More than once have things that appeared so wrong to me proved to be so right.  Instead of letting things get me unsettled in my spirit, I must remember just Who lives inside me; How powerful He is, He loves me immensely; He can turn what is against me to be for me. God enjoys working thing out for my good and for His glory!

Getting upset about things happening to me is proof that I am looking at them from the viewpoint of my limitations.  I ask myself questions like, “What am I supposed to do now?”  “Who do they think I am?”  What they think is unimportant.  What I think is critical.   What do I think I am?  

I am a child of the Most High God!   The Holy Spirit has made me His dwelling place!  Paul was not alone in the prison cells!  He had his most far-reaching ministry while in prison.  I, too, am not alone!  God is working in and through me.  I should see things from the viewpoint of heaven.   

PRAYER:   Holy Spirit, keep me focused on the big picture.  Help me focus beyond my current circumstances and catch a view of eternity.  Amen

Pastor Leon
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Pastor Leon’s SOAP:  Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer
October 25, 2022: SOAP #4709: Job 16; Acts 21-23

SCRIPTURE:  Acts (NIV) 23:23 Then he [the Roman Commander] called two of his centurions and ordered them, “Get ready a detachment of two hundred soldiers, seventy horsemen and two hundred spearmen to go to Caesarea at nine tonight. 24 Provide mounts for Paul so that he may be taken safely to Governor Felix.”

OBSERVATION:  The irony of the situation cannot be missed.  Here the same Roman government that crucified Jesus at the insistence of the Jews, now goes to great ends to protect Paul from those same Jews!!!

Consider how God used the Roman government for His glory.  First, the tax that brought Joseph and Mary to Bethlehem.  The crucifixion (Acts 4:28). The arrest of Paul by the Romans protected Paul from the Jews.  The peace of the Rome (Pax Roma) allowed Paul to move freely to spread the gospel. 

Like blowing wind and flowing water, when its movement is limited, it will find a new channel, around, or over, or under.  The Holy Spirit is more powerful and more creative than blowing wind and flowing water!  When Rome closed the channel for Paul’s preaching ministry by imprisonment, God opened a channel for writing letters. 

APPLICATION: That which seems to stand against my ministry may be used by God to expand my ministry!  Lack of resources may limit Leon’s plans, but it can never limit the gospel! 

When limitations stop what I want to do, or what I think He would have me do, I need to keep faithful as He has showed me in the past.   As He sees my faithfulness and continues to develop my life, He will open a channel for ministry.  

PRAYER:   You are LORD, You are my LORD.  So my ministry is YOUR ministry.  You have given me an opportunity to demonstrate my love for you by serving in Your ministry. Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!   
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For those who might be interested:  Another day in the SOAP saga:  54 years ago, Sharon and I were married at Layne’s Home for Servicemen in San Diego.  I am more than blest!  I am SOOOO blest!  We look back and see how our love for each other has grown.  We look back and see God’s hand all along the way.  It is my privilege to serve our LORD with such a wonderful wife.  😊  

Pastor Leon’s SOAP:  Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer
October 24, 2022: SOAP #4708: Job 15; Acts 19-20

SCRIPTURE:  Acts (NIV) 20:33 I have not coveted anyone’s silver or gold or clothing.  34 You yourselves know that these hands of mine have supplied my own needs and the needs of my companions. 35 In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”

OBSERVATION:  Paul’s is giving a farewell report of his own life and ministry.  He gave them a warning and committed them to God and God’s Word.  He ends with words about money. 

He gives himself as an example of working to supply his own needs and those who traveled with him.  He gives himself as an example of a “hard worker.”  He gives himself as an example of a giver.  His work had purpose: to supply his own needs and to enable him to help the weak.

APPLICATION: It is true: it is more blessed to give than to receive!  As a giver, God has added a joyful purpose to my work.  I am not just serving me; I am serving God; I am serving others.

When it is hard to get up early and go to work driving the school bus, the Lord provides joy in considering the blessing I will have in giving.  When the children are way too loud, when the weather is way too cold, when the country roads are way too dusty, I have found that the joy of the Lord is my strength!  HE rides my bus!

Since Christians are instructed to do everything for the glory of God (1Corinthians 10:31), my work should be to the very best of my ability. My attitude at work should make me a blessing to the other nearby workers. My supervisors should have no doubt that they are getting my best.

PRAYER:  Lord, make me a blessing to my boss. Make me a blessing to those who work near me. Make me a blessing to those who benefit from my work. But most of all, may my work be a blessing to you! Amen

Pastor Leon
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Pastor Leon’s SOAP:  Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer
October 23, 2022: SOAP #4707: Job 13-14; Acts 17-18

SCRIPTURE:  Acts (NIV) 17:2  [In Thessalonica] As his custom was, Paul went into the synagogue, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures,
Acts (NIV) 18:4 [In Corinth] Every Sabbath he reasoned in the synagogue, trying to persuade Jews and Greeks.
Luke (NIV) 4:16 He (Jesus) went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom.
Hebrews (NIV) 10:25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is … 

OBSERVATION:  Paul had a practice that was very much like Jesus.  They both had the same custom.  They regularly went to the place where God was honored. Among other things, their ministry was a ministry of presence.  Their presence said gathering together was important.  Their presence was an encouragement to others. 

APPLICATION: I accepted Christ as my Savior; He now lives inside me and has made me a part of His body, the church.  If those following the Old Testament scriptures were to meet regularly, how much more should the church regularly come together.  As I want my physical body to interact and work together, how much more does Christ want His body to do the same.  The writer of Hebrews mentions people with a different custom-that of NOT meeting together.  How unlike Jesus that custom is.

When I join with others, I recognize that my presence can be an encouragement to others.  My participation in worship can encourage the worship leader.  My actively listening to the preacher can encourage them to put their heart into the sermon.  By being present and interested, I can inspire someone sitting nearby to have faith that God will speak to them. 

Just a thought:  If I want to be present with the body in glory, I should make it a practice to be present with the body here on earth!

PRAYER:   Lord, may my presence in Your body (the church) be an expression of appreciation for Your Presence in my life!  Amen

Pastor Leon
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