Pastor Leon’s SOAP:  Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer
December 22, 2022: SOAP #4767: John 12-14

SCRIPTURE:  John (NIV) 12:47 “As for the person who hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge him. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save it.  48 There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; that very word which I spoke will condemn him at the last day. 49 For I did not speak of my own accord, but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and how to say it. 50 I know that his command leads to eternal life. So whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say.”

OBSERVATION:  Jesus understood that He had been sent to the earth by the Father.  He was here with a purpose.  He was representing the Father.  His words and actions would be communicating the Father’s heart.  The Father who sent Jesus made sure Jesus knew “what to say and how to say it.”  So, Jesus spoke “just what the Father” told Him to say. 

In light of these verses, it is not hard to understand why Jesus spent so much time with the Father in prayer.  Jesus lived in constant communion with His Father, but there were key times when it was just the two of them. 

APPLICATION: I also have a purpose for my life.  I am representing Jesus.  God has sent the Holy Spirit to be my constant companion.  I am never alone!   He is fully aware of everything that happens to me and around me.  As I spend quiet time with Him in the Scriptures, He sets the course of my life and prepares me for the major decisions I need to make.  As He is my constant companion, He often guides my individual steps to protect me from danger or to place me in the center of the Father’s will. 

PRAYER:  Holy Spirit, how I need your guidance so that I will say “just what the Father” tells me to say.  Help me do “just what the Father” has given me to do.  Amen

Pastor Leon
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Pastor Leon’s SOAP:  Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer
December 21, 2022: SOAP #4766: John 9-11

SCRIPTURE:  John (NIV) 10:11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 The hired hand is not the shepherd who owns the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. 13 The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. 14 “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me—15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep.

OBSERVATION:  It is the teacher’s responsibility to communicate truth to the students in ways they can understand.  It is not for the students to learn the teacher’s vocabulary; it is for the teachers to limit themselves to the vocabulary of the student.   In this, and the surrounding passage of scripture, the Master Teacher takes that responsibility.  Wanting his listeners to understand the relationship they could have with him, He spoke of shepherds and sheep.  To teach them about their heavenly family, Jesus started with the common relationship between a shepherd and his sheep. 

APPLICATION: A good shepherd would sacrifice his life to protect the sheep in his care.  This is what the Lamb of God, Jesus, did for us on the cross.  A good shepherd would know the individual sheep, and the individual sheep would know him.  Which is the relationship God desires with each of us today. 

The question is:  How well do I know Jesus?  Am I as interested in knowing Him as He knows me?  Am I willing to have a relationship with Jesus like the one Jesus has with the Father?  Hmmm…

PRAYER:  Lord, I am trusting your death on the cross to be the payment for my sins.  You have come to live with me in this physical body.  I want to live counting on your presence and your promises.   Amen

Pastor Leon
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Pastor Leon’s SOAP:  Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer
December 20, 2022: SOAP #4765: John 7-8

SCRIPTURE:  John (NIV) 8:28 So Jesus said, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am the one I claim to be and that I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me. 29 The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him.”

OBSERVATION:  Jesus said things that were hard for people to understand and accept as true.  He looked every bit human, Jewish human, for that is what He was/is.  He had laid aside his God-nature to live as a man, but not just as a man, but as a man full of the Holy Spirit, walking in the blessing and presence of His Heavenly Father!   Of course, the Father did not leave Jesus; Jesus always and only did that which pleased the Father!  

APPLICATION: As a Christian, it is my desire to be like Jesus.  I know that on my own, I do not have the strength or will power to make my life a copy of His.  When I confess my sins and invite Jesus to live in my life, I discover that He does just that!!!  He lives in me!   It is not for me to copy His life; He lives His life in me! 

I set my life to do that which pleases the Lord. Even when I sin, I want to be quick to confess and repent.  I want an attitude toward sin that pleases the Lord.  My attitude toward sin will change as I spend time with Jesus, allowing the Holy Spirit to impress truth in my thoughts.  He formats my mind to think the thoughts of God, to see things like God sees them. 

PRAYER:   Lord, make my heart your home.  I want my heart to be a comfortable and enjoyable home for your residence.  As a new tenant rearranges the furniture and uses fresh paint to suite their taste, rearrange my thoughts and priorities to be as suit your taste.  Amen

Pastor Leon
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Pastor Leon’s SOAP:  Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer
December 19, 2022: SOAP #4764: John 5-6

SCRIPTURE:  John (NIV) 5:39 You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, 40 yet you refuse to come to me to have life.

OBSERVATION:  In preparation for the Living Word coming to live on earth, God provided the written Word.  The Holy Spirit inspired Old Testament men of God to write historical and prophetic scriptures pointing the reader to Jesus, the promised Messiah. 

In the first chapter of the gospel of John, Jesus is introduced as the Word of God who became flesh and lived among us.  In the verse above, we see the Living Word carefully explaining this relationship to the religious leaders of Israel—to people who prided themselves on knowing the Old Testament scriptures.  They knew the written word, but they missed Jesus, the Living Word.  

One of the purposes of the Holy Spirit being sent after Jesus ascended back to heaven is to help believers make the connection between the written and the Living word.  (John 16:13)

APPLICATION: I need the Holy Spirit to ensure that I make the connection between the written and Living word.  (Romans 8:16)

Knowing the Bible will help me to know Jesus but knowing the scriptures alone will not get me into heaven.  For that, I must personally know Jesus.  (John 17:3) 

PRAYER:   Heavenly Father, I acknowledge that I am a sinner and am unable to pay for my sins.  I believe that Jesus died on the cross in payment for my sin and rose to life again.  Forgive me and come live in my life as my Lord and Savior. May my life I bring joy to you.  Amen

Pastor Leon
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Pastor Leon’s SOAP:  Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer
December 18, 2022: SOAP #4763: John 2-4

SCRIPTURE:  John (NIV) 4:34 “My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work. 35 Do you not say, ‘Four months more and then the harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. 36 Even now the reaper draws his wages, even now he harvests the crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together. 37 Thus the saying ‘One sows and another reaps’ is true.  38 I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor.”

OBSERVATION:  The sower and the reaper work in different seasons, but they work for the same goal and share the same satisfaction.  It is all for the harvest.  Their work is “harvest-driven.” 

The different yet coordinated work results in them being “glad together.”   Surely one of the joys of heaven will be learning about the others who planted the seeds we had the privilege of reaping.  And even others who reaped the seeds we planted.  There will be great joy shared by sowers and reapers with the souls they brought to Jesus!  

APPLICATION: I need to keep my eyes open and focused on the field.  Today I will be a sower or a reaper.  God will bring into my field of vision, someone who needs to hear the gospel, or someone who is ready to commit their life to Jesus. 

PRAYER:   Lord, use me this day for your glory.  May I meet someone in heaven, someone in whom I planted a seed today, or someone I led to Jesus today.  May there be much rejoicing in heaven because I have been faithful today.   Amen

Pastor Leon
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Pastor Leon’s SOAP:  Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer
December 17, 2022: SOAP #4762: 2Peter 1-3; John 1

SCRIPTURE:  John (NIV) 1:32 Then John gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. 33 I would not have known him, except that the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is he who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 I have seen and I testify that this is the Son of God.” 35 The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. 36 When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!”

OBSERVATION:  Christmas is not only an expression of God’s love in sending His Son Jesus to die for our sins, but also an expression of God’s holiness. The sacrifice for sin had to be prepared in a way that would stand the scrutiny of the highest court in the universe. Only a sinless sacrifice could pay for the sins of others. The sacrifice had to be proven sinless not because it had no opportunity to sin, but because it had every opportunity to sin, yet resisted and remained pure! Oh, what a Savior! He met the righteous demands of the One and Only Perfectly Holy God!

APPLICATION: In love, God forgives me and pays for my sins by the death of Jesus. In holiness, He sent the same Holy Spirit that came upon Jesus — that same Holy Spirit to live within me and help me overcome temptation. Oh, what a God!

PRAYER:   Heavenly Father, you are amazing! You know me perfectly. You have perfectly supplied for my needs! I am blest to be yours! Amen

Pastor Leon
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Pastor Leon’s SOAP:  Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer
December 16, 2022: SOAP #4761: 1Peter 1-5

SCRIPTURE:  1Peter (NIV) 4:10 Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms. 11 If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.

OBSERVATION:  We all enjoy receiving gifts.  Someone thought of us enough to give us something we did not earn.  We are blest! 

But wait, there is something more.  There is another joy in receiving gifts.  It is that the gift can then be used to bless someone else.  It is “using the gift received to serve others.”  Often, the joy of using the gift to bless others is greater than the joy experienced in first receiving the gift.

APPLICATION: Oh, what joy I miss when I take God’s gifts selfishly.  God wants me to experience a greater joy beyond the joy of receiving.  He wants me to experience the joy of giving — so He gives me something I can give others.  He blesses me to make me a blessing.

Note:  My heart overflows with great appreciation when I see how God is working in Africa.  People who have received the SOAP ministry are giving from their finances to enable others to receive the SOAP ministry!  Even this weekend preparation is being made to install 15 computers and printers in Sierra Leonel, with about 90% of the money raised in Africa!  

PRAYER:   Lord, thank you for giving me gifts that I can use to bless others!  Indeed, I am doubly blest!  I am blest in receiving the SOAP thoughts from you, and I am blest in passing them on!   Obviously, this is YOUR ministry.  Thank you for letting me be a part.  Amen

Pastor Leon
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Pastor Leon’s SOAP:  Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer
December 15, 2022: SOAP #4760: James 1-5

SCRIPTURE:  James (NIV) 3:13 Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.
14 But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. 15 Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil. 16 For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.
17 But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. 18 Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness…
4:10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.

OBSERVATION:  True wisdom from God is expressed in humility.  We are called to be servants.  Any authority one may have is only a tool for serving others.  Humility is the natural response for those who know the price Jesus paid on the cross.  Humility is the proper response for those who understand the greatness of God’s plan!  In God’s service there is no room for pride! 

APPLICATION: Many people have characteristics that make them attractive to others.  Others are drawn to the way they fix their hair, or their accent when they talk, maybe their smile or laugh.  Humility is a characteristic that makes one attractive to God. 

PRAYER:   Holy Spirit, help me make humility a dominant characteristic in my life. Let it be like a suit of clothes that fit me well. Amen

Pastor Leon
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Pastor Leon’s SOAP:  Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer
December 14, 2022: SOAP #4759: Hebrews 12-13; Jude

SCRIPTURE:  Hebrews (NIV) 12:1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. 2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

OBSERVATION:  When the Bible was written, the books were not broken into chapters and verses.  The verses above directly follow the previous passage about Old Testament heroes that overcame by their faith.  Some accomplished great things, some merely stood true, some were killed, but all were commended for their faith. 
— So, now what are these “heroes of faith” doing?  They are the “great cloud of witness” observing us. 

APPLICATION: I have had opportunity to watch several world cup soccer games the past few weeks.  Of course, the games take place on the field of play, but I can always hear the roar of the crowd cheering on their team.  From time to time, the camera focuses on the people in the stands.  Obviously, they are as involved in the game as the players on the field!  They respond to everything that happens on the soccer field.  And when their team scores…one would think that every fan personally kicked the ball into the goal!!!  
— And it is all for a game!  …a game to kick a ball into your goal more times than the opposing team kicks the ball into their goal!  
— But there is a crowd in heaven watching and rejoicing over every sinner who repents!  It must be a thunderous roar!!!  
— As I watch the excitement and congratulations poured onto the ones who made the goals, I think I get a picture of how heaven reacts when a believer prays with one to become a new creation in Christ Jesus!  Leading someone to Jesus has to be one of the greatest joys we can experience on earth!!!  

PRAYER:   Lord, I think that leading someone to you is the one thing I can do that is most closely tied to your sacrifice on Calvary.  Amen

Pastor Leon
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Pastor Leon’s SOAP:  Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer
December 13, 2022: SOAP #4758: Hebrews 9-11

SCRIPTURE:  Hebrews (NIV) 11:38 the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground.      39 These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. 40 God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.

OBSERVATION:  Consider how God planned a place for man which had everything needed to sustain man’s life.  Consider how God planned and prepared for the nation of Israel and how He planned and prepared for the arrival of His Son, Jesus.  Consider the way Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament prophecies.  What a plan!!  What great preparation!   What great fulfillment as the Lamb of God died for the sins of people!  What great rejoicing when He rose from the dead!!!  

Consider the plan of God for the church.  Consider the plan for the Bible to be written and so widely spread.   

Considering all of this, can there be any doubt that God has a great celebration planned when all believers are together in heaven!!!   Those who are already experiencing the wonder of heaven and the thrill of seeing the Lord of lords and King of Kings, they have “something better” ahead that they cannot enjoy until we join them!!!  

APPLICATION: Some have been waiting a long time.  But two things should be noted:  First:  Heaven is not a bad place to be waiting!   Away from the temptations of the devil!   And second: Their wait is almost over!  My spirit is stirred with the thought that He’s coming soon; it will not be long.   We will soon be joining our loved ones in that great host of worshippers.    In joining with those already there, we will be “made perfect!”   “What will it be when we get over yonder and join the throng upon that glassy sea!” (WEMercer)

PRAYER:   Oh, Lord, what a day that will be!  To gather with the saints of all the ages.  To be a part of the culmination of your Man-plan!  Amen

Pastor Leon
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