Pastor Leon’s SOAP:  Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer
November 20, 2022: SOAP #4735: Matthew 5-7

SCRIPTURE:  Matthew (NIV) 6:1 “Be careful not to do your ‘acts of righteousness’ before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. 2 “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.
3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

OBSERVATION:  I believe it pleases God when we do an act of service or kindness in a place that no one will notice.  Oh, people may notice that something was done, but they will not notice who did it. 

It concerns me when I see pictures posted on the internet of people distributing food and clothing to the poor. 

It concerns me when people are offered a “gift” based on the size of their offering which is publicly announced.  People are being enticed to give based on what they can receive now instead of waiting for the Father’s reward. 

Have these people never read the above scriptures?  The honor and attention they receive from men is their “full” reward! 

APPLICATION:   I believe it is the Father’s joy to reward His children.  He loves to catch us doing things that please Him.  …doing things that only He can see.  It is my opinion that we offend Him when we settle for our “reward in full” from men rather than wait for what God has in store for us. 

PRAYER:   Holy Spirit, in the Scriptures, reveal to me personally how I can best honor my Heavenly Father.  Help me please Him with every part of my life…with everything I say and all I do.  Help me be more concerned about what He sees rather than what man sees.  Amen

Pastor Leon
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Pastor Leon’s SOAP:  Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer
November 19, 2022: SOAP #4734: Matthew 1-4

SCRIPTURE:  Matthew (NIV) 4:1 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil.
Luke (NIV) 4:13 And when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from him for a season 14 And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee: and there went out a fame of him through all the region round about.

OBSERVATION:  Here we have the two main characters in the New Testament.  No, one of them is not the devil!!!  First, of course God the Son, Jesus, who came to live a sinless life as a man and then give His life in payment for sin.  Second is God the Spirit who anointed the sinless man, Jesus, to do the works of God. 

After Jesus was risen from the dead and ascended into heaven, the Spirit was poured out on the church.   The Bible was written by people anointed by the Spirit.  And it is the Spirit who reveals the truth of the Bible to us today, and who empowers us to live a life that glorifies God.    

APPLICATION: I like to think of the Holy Spirit leading me in ways of overcoming and victory.  But the Spirit led Jesus into “the desert!”  …to a place where Jesus was “tempted by the devil!”  The Spirit does not always lead us in the most pleasant places; the goal is that we move in the “power of the Spirit!” 

A friend of mine told me when people are working with iron, they put it in the fire then beat it with a hammer; then they put it back in the fire, take it out and beat it again with the hammer; then they do it again…and again!  …until it has reached the desired goal.   Sometimes we are in God’s blacksmith shop.

In times like this, it is good to remember that God truly loves me.  He is an expert blacksmith and does not make mistakes.  God has a plan for my good and His glory.  It will be worth it all when I see Jesus! 

PRAYER:   Lord, I am trusting you. You see the future and you know what is best.  What you have done in the past assures me that I can trust you for the present and the future. Make me like you!  May you be glorified in me. Amen

Pastor Leon
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