Pastor Leon’s SOAP:  Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer
January 06, 2026:  SOAP #5878   Genesis 15-17; Luke 6

SCRIPTURE:  Luke (NIV) 6:47 I will show you what he is like who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice. 48 He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When the flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. 49 But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete.”

OBSERVATION:  God is a speaker who speaks to us in many ways.  If you have committed your life to him…is you realized that you were a sinner and needed His forgiveness…if you sensed in your heart that you should make Jesus the Lord and Savior of your life—that is proof that you have heard His voice.  It probably was not a voice you heard with your ears, but a strong conviction you heard in your heart. 

That is the way God speaks.  Whatever it is God uses to get the message to us, He convinces us, assures us in our heart and mind that He is talking to us. 

When I read the Bible asking God to give me a scripture portion for today’s SOAP, I listen in my spirit for something that catches my attention and causes me to re-read that verse. 

APPLICATION:  If you do not have a Bible, that does not mean that God cannot talk to you.  Just know that HE LIVES IN YOUR HEART!  He can talk to you wherever you are and at any time of the day!!!  If something grabs your attention, pause and consider if God is showing you something you can do for Him.  …or someone who needs prayer. …or someone needing a word of encouragement. 

PRAYER:  Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.  What can I do for you today? Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!   
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Pastor Leon’s SOAP:  Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer
January 05, 2026:  SOAP #5877   Genesis 12-14; Luke 5

SCRIPTURE:  Luke (NIV) 5:1 One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, with the people crowding round him and listening to the word of God, 2 he saw at the water’s edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. 3 He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat. 4 When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.” 5 Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.” 6 When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break.

OBSERVATION:  When I read this story, I cannot help but think about Joshua, the owner of a second-hand business in Freetown, Sierra Leon.  When Pastor Andrew, looking to buy printers for the SOAP ministry, first walked into the store, Joshua was joining 4 or 5 other businessmen to purchase a container of used items from the USA.  They would divide up the laptops, computers, etc. and sell them in their stores.  Like Simon’s boat, Jesus got into Joshua’s “boat,” his business.  He began giving to the SOAP ministry.  If we bought 8 printers, he would donate one.  He began printing the SOAPs and taking them to his church.  His business, under the blessings of God, grew to where he purchases whole containers himself.  Then he started providing, at a good price, the paper needed for printing the SOAPs.  With God’s blessings, he has become a major part of the SOAP ministry!  

APPLICATION:  Jesus got into Simon’s boat, and Jesus has gotten into Joshua’s “boat.”  Whatever our “boat,” it is good to have Jesus in it with us!  He can work far beyond our ability.  And what joy it is to know that He is being blest by being a part of what we are doing. 

PRAYER:  Lord, whatever my “boat,” I want you to be in it.  I want to follow your directions.  Use me for your glory!  Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!   
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Pastor Leon’s SOAP:  Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer
January 04, 2026:  SOAP #5876   Genesis 9-11; Luke 4

SCRIPTURE:  Luke (NIV) 4:17 The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written: 18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” 20 Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him, 21 and he began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”

OBSERVATION:  In this chapter we see dealing with a demon (vs.35), rebuking a fever (vs.39), healing various kinds of diseases (vs.40), dealing with multiple demons (vs.41), and explaining that he was sent to preach. 

Later he said that “as the Father” had sent Him, He was sending us! (John 20:21) 

APPLICATION:  In kindergarten, my teacher had “show and tell” times.  We brought something special from home and would tell the rest of the class about it. 

Such was the ministry of Jesus.  It was tell them about the kingdom and demonstrate/show the power of the kingdom! 

I fear the church’s ministry today is almost all “tell” and very little “show.”

I have noticed that the mighty move of God in Sierra Leon has a good balance of both “Show” and “Tell.”  The demonstration of God’s power through healings and miracles causes the preached and read Word to take great hold in the minds and lives of the new believers!  

PRAYER:  Lord, as your Holy Spirit anoints us to share the Word of truth, so anoint us to demonstrate the power of the gospel.  May people not only hear our witness, but may they see your life living in and through us.  Let your power be seen in our changed lives and then demonstrated through us.  Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!   
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Pastor Leon’s SOAP:  Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer
January 021, 2026:  SOAP #5874: Genesis 3-5; Luke 2

SCRIPTURE:  Genesis (NIV) 3:1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”

OBSERVATION:  In the first chapter of Genesis, we find a major characteristic of God is that He speaks. And now in chapter three we find Satan also speaking and sowing doubt about what God said. We often think that the first sin was the eating of the forbidden fruit, but it really started by doubting God’s word.

In Sierra Leone, where, in the last month, thousands of people have come to make Jesus the Lord of their lives, a man has come from the USA to try to convince the people not to listen to the Christians.  He is sowing doubt in minds that Jesus is God and that He did not really die on the cross. 

APPLICATION:  God’s word is as faithful and true as God’s character.  (The same can be said about any person.)   It is important to know that God is completely trustworthy.  And it is important to know what God has said.   Satan will use whatever voice is available to him to try to get us to doubt God’s Word.     

How important is the ministry of the indwelling Spirit of God who becomes a part of our lives when we are born again.  He is the author of the scriptures, leading people as they penned the scriptures.   And by living in each born again person, He can direct us to truth and to avoid lies.  We may not be able to read, or have a copy of the Bible to read, but we have the Holy Spirit in our lives!!!   And God has places Spirit called and anointed leaders to serve His people.  The Holy Spirit will never lead us contrary to the scriptures. 

PRAYER:  Heavenly Father, what a blessing to know that you, my God, are totally trustworthy.  Your word is true and a good foundation for my life. Holy Spirit, help me quickly recognize the truth from the false.   Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!   
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Pastor Leon’s SOAP:  Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer
January 01, 2026:  SOAP #5872: Genesis 1-2; Luke 1

SCRIPTURE:  Genesis (NIV) 1:1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. 2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved on the face of the waters.
3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.

OBSERVATION:  God just appears in the first verse of the Bible.  There is no character development.  There is no background development.  All we know about God from the scriptures comes later in the Book.  In the beginning, He just is!

A person knowing nothing about God who picked up the Bible for reading, beginning on the first page would first learn that God is. He exists.

The second thing he would learn is that God is a creator.  In fact, He is The Creator.  The reader has learned nothing of His character, nothing of His holiness nor of His love.  He has learned only that God is and that God creates.

The third thing he would learn about God in Genesis 1 is that God is a speaker.  This is the most dominate characteristic of God seen in the whole of the Bible.  Not only is Bible the Word of God, but there are also pages and pages on which His Word is given as quotation. God is a speaker.  God has something to say.  God communicates.

APPLICATION:  If God is a creator and a speaker then surely, he would make His creation with the ability to hear.  Being a God who loves, He would give His most prize creation the ability to hear, and to understand His words, and of course, the ability to respond—to return the communication! 

PRAYER:  Heavenly Father, you have spoken to us in so many ways, most clearly through your Son, Jesus.  And you have given us the Holy Spirit to make your words clearly understood in our hearts.  Today, and every day this year, we ask you to speak to us.  We set our hearts to listen carefully and do as you say.  Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!   
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Pastor Leon’s SOAP:  Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer
December 31, 2025:  SOAP #5872: Revelation 19-22

SCRIPTURE:  Revelation (NIV) 22:20 He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.
21 The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s people. Amen.

OBSERVATION:  As we come to then end of the last chapter in the last book of the Bible on the last day of 2026, it is a time to look back.  I started writing SOAPs back in 2009, a few in October, a few in November and a few in December.  I was hesitant about doing one on January 1, 2010.  I thought if I did it the first day of the year I would need to do one every day of the year.  Could I believe God for something every day for a year?   The answer is YES!  …every day for a year, a second year, a fifth year and now a 16^th year! 

Even as a small child I knew that God was calling me to be a missionary.  Knowing that, I tried to carefully follow the Lord’s directions, even when they did not seem to fit into God’s calling.  Even when Pastor Dayton asked me to write the SOAPs, I did not understand what God was doing.  But today I do!  SOAPs are going into 20+ nations in Africa and Asia.  They carry a fresh word from the Lord every day.  God is using the SOAP team in Sierra Leon to do the ground work of a great spiritual awakening.  I get several reports every week of God’s hand being extended.  It is like reading the book of Acts: healings, miracles, dreams, etc. 

APPLICATION:  The question was not would God speak to me every day.  The question was: would I take time to listen every day? 

If we really believe God is omnipotent (all-powerful), omniscient (all-knowing), and omnipresent (present everywhere), we would be very foolish not to pay attention to what He says.    

PRAYER:  Lord, thank you for your willingness to speak to us.  Holy Spirit, teach us to listen and obey.  Thank you for the joy you give us as we follow your directions.  Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!   
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Pastor Leon’s SOAP:  Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer
December 30, 2025:  SOAP #5871: Revelation 15-18

SCRIPTURE:   Revelation (NIV) 18:4 Then I heard another voice from heaven say: “Come out of her, my people, so that you will not share in her sins, so that you will not receive any of her plagues. 5 for her sins are piled up to heaven, and God has remembered her crimes.

OBSERVATION:   God remembered the crimes of this city; He is preparing to send judgment.  But God also remembers His people.  He will spare them.  He calls them out.  They are FREE from the coming judgment. 

As a holy God, He cannot ignore the sins; as a loving God he cannot withhold mercy from those who are His people. 

APPLICATION:   Since all have sinned and come short of the glory of God, what makes His people different from all the others?  Why can they escape judgment?  It is because their sins have already been judged.  They were judged as deserving death but are included with those covered by the blood of Jesus’ death on the cross.  They had judged themselves guilty and confessed their sins.  They had received the death of sinless Jesus as the payment for their sins; they have been FORGIVEN!

Jesus’ death on the cross is still available to cover the sins of anyone who will repent and receive Him as their Lord and Savior.  (Romans 6:24-26)   Pray with me now…

PRAYER:  Lord, I confess that I have sinned and deserve judgment.  I believe that you lived a sinless life and your death can be accepted as the payment for my sins.  Please forgive my sins and take your rightful place in my life as LORD.  Come and live in my heart.  Make my life your home.  With a humble and grateful heart, I receive you now as my Savior and my Lord.  Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!   
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Pastor Leon’s SOAP:  Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer
December 29, 2025:  SOAP #5870: Revelation 10-14

SCRIPTURE:  Revelation (NIV) 11:15 The seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, which said: “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign for ever and ever.” 16 And the twenty-four elders, who were seated on their thrones before God, fell on their faces and worshipped God, 17  saying: “We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, the One who is and who was, because you have taken your great power and have begun to reign. …
19 Then God’s temple in heaven was opened, and within his temple was seen the ark of his covenant. And there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake, and a great hailstorm.

OBSERVATION:  In verses 16-17 we see that what happens on earth, “the kingdom of the world becoming the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ,” affects what happens in heaven.  In response “the twenty-four elders fell on their faces and worshipped…the One who had begun to reign!” 

In verse 19, we see that what happens in heaven affects what happens on earth.  The God on earth is the God in heaven!

APPLICATION:  Heaven and earth are wedded together in one grand scheme to fulfill God’s purposes.  It is ALL ONE STORY!  People in heaven are interceding for me.  What I do on earth may affect people’s eternal location. 

Not only are heaven and earth welded together, so is the past, the present, and the future.  God has been at work in my life, He is at work in my life now, and for eternity I will glorify Him by fulfilling His purpose.   

PRAYER:  Heavenly Father, in creation, you designed that earth and all heaven show forth your glory.  In your Son’s death on the cross you brought it all together for your glory.  Thank you, Lord, thank you for including me and all those who have recently received you as their Lord and Savior!  Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!   
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