Pastor Leon’s SOAP:  Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer
August 12, 2024: SOAP #5366: Jeremiah 10-12; John 14

SCRIPTURE:  John (NIV) 14:2 In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.

OBSERVATION:  Our Lord was returning to His Father’s House where there are many rooms, many living spaces.  He was going there to get them ready for our arrival. 

He is preparing a place appropriate for our use.  It will be furnished with everything we will need. 

APPLICATION:  Not only is Jesus preparing a place for us, but He is also preparing us for that place!  He has been here, so He knows what is needed to prepare us for that place.  He uses our circumstances to help us grow.  He uses the troubles we endure to build character. 

We look at our troubles and wonder why we must go through such hard times.  God looks at our hard times in this temporary place and sees that we are being perfectly prepared to fit into the eternal place He is preparing.

He has a plan, and we can trust Him.  He is not trying to destroy us.  He is not seeing how much we can take before we break.  He is working to prepare us for something much greater!   It will be worth it all!!!  

PRAYER: Lord, I keep my eyes on you.  Knowing that you love me, knowing how you suffered for me, and knowing that you are preparing a place for me…knowing this helps me keep faithful in the struggles I must endure.  It will be worth it all!!!  Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!   
On Facebook:  Today’s SOAP from Pastor Leon

Pastor Leon’s SOAP:  Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer
August 11, 2024: SOAP #5365: Jeremiah 7-9; John 13

SCRIPTURE:  John (NIV) 13:1 It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love. 2 The evening meal was being served, and the devil had already prompted Judas Iscariot, son of Simon, to betray Jesus. 3 Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God;

OBSERVATION: The time had come for Jesus to complete His assigned task.  It was not 30 years away; it was not 3 years away; it was not 3 months away; it was today!  He knew this was His to do.  He was responsible for completing the Father’s plan.  He knew He had been sent for the suffering and dying on the cross.  And He knew that when it was over He would be returning to the Father! 

That knowledge strengthened Him and kept Him moving forward, even though later He would pray, that this might “pass from him.”  (Mark 14:35) 

APPLICATION:  Knowing this world is not my home, knowing I too will be going to my Heavenly Father, knowing that this is my assignment, and it will not last forever—such knowledge serves to keep me faithfully moving forward. 

Knowing “It will be worth it all when we see Jesus” encourages me through hard times—even through all times.  The good and the bad things all work together for good!  (Romans 8:28)  Andre Crouch sang, “Through it all, through it all, I’ve learned to trust in Jesus, I’ve learned to trust in God…I’ve learned to depend upon His Word.” 

PRAYER: Lord, I believe that you have not given me anything to do that does not work for my good and your glory.  When I look back from heaven’s point of view, I will see you have always been at work in my life.  You have been with me through it all.  Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!   
On Facebook:  Today’s SOAP from Pastor Leon

Pastor Leon’s SOAP:  Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer
August 10, 2024: SOAP #5364: Jeremiah 5-6; John 12

SCRIPTURE:  John (NIV) 12:49 [Jesus speaking] …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 is God, the Son, but the Father sent Him to walk as the son of man on the earth.  He came to earth to do the Father’s will and to speak the Father’s words.  He revealed His Father to us.  If I want to know what Father God is like, I need to get to know Jesus!  

Jesus claimed that the Father told him “what to say” AND “how to say it!”

APPLICATION:  What a difference Christians would make in this world if they purposed in their hearts that their words and actions would reveal Jesus as Jesus revealed His Father.  The Holy Spirit has been sent to indwell believers and guide them in responding like Jesus would. 

It is not so important that the world hears what I think and how I feel but they desperately need to hear what God thinks and how He feels.  There are some people in the world that need to hear it in my language, they need to hear it the way I say it, they need to see the way I live out His word. 

And the same is true for each SOAP reader.  Your children, your family, your neighbors, your landlord, your fellow workers, etc.:  you may be the one the Holy Spirit will use to speak the words of Jesus for them to hear. 

I pray these SOAPs will reveal the words of Jesus and how He wants us to live. 

PRAYER:  Holy Spirit, you dwell within us and influence our thoughts, giving us divine thoughts about what to say and how to say it.  Fill us like you did the early church on the Day of Pentecost.  Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!   
On Facebook:  Today’s SOAP from Pastor Leon

Pastor Leon’s SOAP:  Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer
August 09, 2024: SOAP #5363: Jeremiah 3-4; John 11

SCRIPTURE:  John (NIV) 11:3 So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one you love is sick.” 4 When he heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” 5 Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus….
35 Jesus wept. 36 Then the Jews said, “See how he loved him!”

OBSERVATION:  Jesus did not immediately respond to Mary and Martha’s message—but He loved Lazarus; and he loved them.  Jesus did not speak a word of healing—but He loved them.  Jesus waited until Lazarus died and was buried for four days—but He loved Lazarus and his sisters.  Jesus even wept at the grave—but He loved him. 

I wonder if at least one of the disciples had the thought, “Jesus, you sure missed it this time.  You said this sickness would not end in death.”  For those of us who now know the rest of the story we see that the end results was not death but death was only one step in the pathway that led to “God’s glory.”

John (NIV) 11:43 When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” 44 The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.”

APPLICATION:  It is good for us to understand that Jesus’ love for us does not always mean that he will do what we want when we want it.  His actions may seem to us that he has ignored our request, or not taken it very seriously.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  He loves us!  Even in this passage that fact is repeated in verses three, five, and thirty-six. These were people that Jesus loved!  We are important to him, the issue of His love was settled on the cross! 

For the Christian nothing ends in death‼  Death is the doorway into eternity! 

PRAYER: Lord, that you love me cannot be questioned.  You care about what troubles me.  And you are using those troubles for my good and Your glory!   Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!   
On Facebook:  Today’s SOAP from Pastor Leon

Pastor Leon’s SOAP:  Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer
August 08, 2024: SOAP #5362: Jeremiah 1-2; John 10

SCRIPTURE:  John (NIV) 10:7 Therefore Jesus said again, “I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. 8 All who ever came before me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. 9 I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life and have it to the full.

OBSERVATION:  Jesus is the gate.  He is my gate, the only gate, into the presence of the Heavenly Father.  It is through Jesus’ death on the cross that my sins are forgiven, and I enter the relationship that begins here in this life on earth and ends in eternity in heaven.  And even now I have access to the throne room of heaven!  I have entered a relationship in which I am learning to recognize His voice, and the value of doing what He says! 

Verse 9 says we can enter “and go out.” To me that tells me that I can go out to love the world the way God loves the world.  I go out to carry His love to others. 

APPLICATION:  It is as we learn both to spend our time in His presence and to take His life to others, that we enjoy His abundant life.  He really meant it when He said we can “have life and have it to the full!”  Wow! 

PRAYER: Lord, the song in my heart:  “Friendship with Jesus, fellowship divine.  Oh, what blessed sweet communion, Jesus is a friend of mine!”  Truly, “life to the full” is enjoying your presence all day, every day.  I enjoy being a part of what you are doing!  Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!   
On Facebook:  Today’s SOAP from Pastor Leon

Pastor Leon’s SOAP:  Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer
August 07, 2024: SOAP #5361: Zephaniah 1-3; John 9

SCRIPTURE:  John (NIV) 9:11 He replied, “The man they call Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes.  He told me to go to Siloam and wash.  So, I went and washed, and then I could see.”

OBSERVATION: Some religious leaders were questioning this man who had been born blind.  They wanted him to tell them something about Jesus and about this healing on a Sabbath day.  He told them all he knew.  He could not explain who Jesus was, or how the healing worked.  All he knew was what Jesus put some mud in his eyes and told him to go and wash.  He obeyed, went and washed and now he could see!  

APPLICATION:  I do not have to be able to answer all the questions.  I only need to believe in the One speaking to me and obey.  It is really that simple.  Faith in God expressed in obedience to His Word brings miracles!  

How is God going to bring healing to those who will help me today, I do not know, I just know what He said! 

PRAYER: Lord, thank you for not requiring that I understand how everything works.  Thank you for responding to simple faith.  My faith is not in my ability to understand, but in your ability and character to keep your word!  Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!   
On Facebook:  Today’s SOAP from Pastor Leon

Personal note:  I usually prepare and post the SOAPs the night before their date.  (When it is evening for me it is already morning in Africa and Asia.) However today I am up early and not sure how I will be feeling after the medical procedure, I thought I should prepare the SOAP early.  After reading the assigned passages, nothing stood out.  So, I went to old files and immediately found four in which God was speaking ahead of time for me today!  A good example of yesterday’s SOAP!   He knew what I would need today!   The one above is from 08/07/2013.

Pastor Leon’s SOAP:  Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer
August 06, 2024: SOAP #5360: Habakkuk 1-3; John 8

SCRIPTURE:  John (NIV) 8:19 Then they asked him, “Where is your father?” “You do not know me or my Father,” Jesus replied. “If you knew me, you would know my Father also.” 20 He spoke these words while teaching in the temple area near the place where the offerings were put. Yet no-one seized him, because his time had not yet come.

OBSERVATION: Timing was so important in the life and ministry of Jesus.  He was introduced as the Lamb of God who would take away the sins of the world.  On Passover, the Israelites sacrificed The Lamb as they were freed from bondage in Egypt.  And now Passover was just a few days away and if the Jewish leaders had their way they would have crucified him as soon as they could. 

But in the REAL PICTURE, Jesus was to be the Passover Lamb that would be sacrificed as Passover was celebrated!  His death frees us from sin as the Israelites were set free from Egyptian bondage.  As the death angel came through Egypt, he saw the blood on the Israelite door posts and passed over their homes.  In the above verses, the Priests and synagogue leaders were upset in what they saw as blasphemy, but “his time had not yet come.”  

APPLICATION:  Timing for me is not as crucial with such long reaching effects as it was in Jesus, yet God’s timing is often an important aspect of what God is doing in my life.  There have been times when God has given me some instructions a year prior to when it was needed.  Then when it happened, I knew that God had prepared me for that assignment.  More often it seems that God waits until the last minute to give me information or provision.  Without giving specific testimonies of each, let me assure you that, in looking back, I can say God’s timing is perfect! 

He knows what He is doing.  He sees the BIG PICTURE.  He is working for our good and His glory.   

PRAYER: Lord, I trust you, so I trust your timing in my life.  My death will not stop the fulfillment of your promises, it may even bring me closer to realizing the fullness of what you have promised.  You teach me to wait patiently for your timing.  Amen. 

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!   
On Facebook:  Today’s SOAP from Pastor Leon

Just a personal note:  Tuesday (8/6) I am scheduled to have a biopsy taken from my prostate.  In praying, the Lord has not specifically assured me of healing, but He clearly told me that He would heal those who touched me to serve me in this process.  Rejoice with me and pray for God to be glorified.  I will not know the results until 8/16.  Leon 😊 

Pastor Leon’s SOAP:  Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer
August 05, 2024: SOAP #5359: 2Kings 23; 2Chronicles 35; John 7

(reworked from earlier SOAP)

SCRIPTURE: John (NIV) 7:37 On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” 39 By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. 

OBSERVATION: Thirsty people coming to Jesus both take in and give out.  The water first quenches their thirst and then flows from them to bless other thirsty people.  They are satisfied and then work to bring that same satisfaction to others. 

APPLICATION: Several times I have tried to drink from a water fountain that disappointed me.  The stream of water was so low it was hard to drink.  And the water was lukewarm.  It was not a refreshing experience.    

In my opinion, a good drinking fountain has a stream of cool refreshing water with enough force that lifts the water to where it is easily available.  I want my life to be a drinking fountain where thirsty people can easily drink and be refreshed. 

My life has been changed by the truth of Jesus.  Seeing my life should make others thirsty for what I have.  I should share the truth of Jesus in ways that will be easily understood and accepted. 

PRAYER: Lord, May the “river of living water” that you promised flow from me and bring refreshing to others.    Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!   
On Facebook:  Today’s SOAP from Pastor Leon

Pastor Leon’s SOAP:  Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer
August 04, 2024: SOAP #5358: 2Kings 22; 2Chronicles 34; John 6

SCRIPTURE:  John (NIV) 6:38 For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. 39 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me but raise them up at the last day. 40 For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.”

OBSERVATION:  Yesterday’s SOAP was about Jesus living to please the Father.  That should be my goal also.  If I am going to please someone, I need to know something about them, what do they like, what they are trying to accomplish, what is important to them.  In the above passage, we see that the Father’s will is for everyone who trusts in Jesus the Son to have eternal life, and that none of them should be lost.  (Note: Matthew 18:14) 

APPLICATION:  Here I see two very important goals for Leon.  To help people put their faith in Jesus and to encourage those who may be discouraged—that none be lost. 

Sometimes my goals can become very immediate as I am too concerned about how things affect me.  But here we see a goal of being raised up “at the last day.”  I must keep my vision on eternity. 

PRAYER: Holy Spirit, help me keep eternity in my view.  May I bring joy to my Heavenly Father by bringing others to Jesus and encouragement to those discouraged.  Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!   
On Facebook:  Today’s SOAP from Pastor Leon

Pastor Leon’s SOAP:  Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer
August 03, 2024: SOAP #5357: Nahum 1-3; John 5

SCRIPTURE:  John (NIV) 5:30  (Jesus speaking) By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me.

OBSERVATION: Did you ever see someone and wonder what motivates them.  What makes them act like they do?  What moves them to do what they do?   Well, in this verse we see the motivation behind the deeds of Jesus.  Whenever we consider the works of Jesus, we can be assured that we are seeing what pleases the Father. 

APPLICATION:  As it was Jesus mission in life to please His Father, so it is our mission in life to please God.  To me, the simplest way to say it:  I want to make God smile. 

Surely God’s heart is broken as He sees all the evil in the earth.  I see only what is near me and what comes to me through the news media. The news media I can shut off or quit reading.  However, God sees it all.  Nothing is hidden to Him! 

But neither is all the good hidden! Praise His Name!   He sees every act of kindness, little or big. He sees the sacrifices made to serve others.  As the evil deeds bring Him sadness, may my good deeds bring Him cheer.  My goal: to make God smile.

PRAYER: Holy Spirit, as you were with Jesus while he walked on this earth, I need you to be with me while I am here on the earth.  You led Him to do what was pleasing to the Father and bring Him glory.  Lead me to also do what is pleasing to my Heavenly Father and bring Him glory.  In Jesus Name I pray, Amen. 

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!   
On Facebook:  Today’s SOAP from Pastor Leon