Pastor Leon’s SOAP:  Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer
June 23, 2023: SOAP #4950: 2Kings 10; 2Chronicles 22,23; 1Timothy 5

SCRIPTURE:  1Timothy (NIV) 5:1 Do not rebuke an older man harshly but exhort him as if he were your father. Treat younger men as brothers, 2 older women as mothers, and younger women as sisters, with absolute purity.

OBSERVATION:  The above verses written to a young pastor are available for everyone to read.  God has not provided one Bible for the believer and another Bible for the leaders.   Everyone reads the same Bible; all Christians have the same Holy Spirit!  I believe we are all responsible for whom we follow, and we all have areas of influence as leaders.

Leaders should be mature, but they do not become leaders because they are perfect.  They will make mistakes and need forgiving.  It is also true that believers should come to know the Word enough to recognize which leaders should be followed and which leaders should not be followed.  True believers would stop following unscriptural leaders.

APPLICATION:  I am responsible as a follower and as a leader.  I need to be careful about who I follow and how I lead.

For thirty-three years Jesus walked on the same earth I walk.  When I read the Bible (especially the Gospels) I ask the Holy Spirit to help me get to know Jesus, to walk like Jesus.  I should look for leaders who best walk like Jesus. The letters in the New Testament contain many instructions to help me live like Jesus.

PRAYER:  Father, make me a follower in whom you can see your Son, Jesus.  Make me a leader (in my home, and in my church) who leads like your Son, Jesus.  Amen.

Pastor Leon
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