Pastor Leon’s SOAP: Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer

August 14: Jeremiah 16-17; Psalm 96; John 16

Scripture: John (NIV) 16:7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth; it is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.

Observation: Jesus was preparing his disciples to accept the idea that he would soon be leaving them. From the context one can get the idea that this idea would not be well accepted by the disciples. They had plans for Jesus. They would be part of those plans. But now Jesus is leaving and not taking them with him. He was leaving them behind. His words that this would be good for them was probably hard for them to receive; after all, what could be better than having Jesus among them and being a part of his kingdom? Jesus answered that question: having the Comforter, the Holy Spirit would be better.

Application: Do I appreciate what I have? I do not need to walk to the next town to hear Jesus. I do not have to wait until he visits my church on Sunday to talk with Jesus. I have the same Holy Spirit that was with Jesus living in my life 24 hours a day, 7 days a week! There is nothing I will face today that is beyond His power and authority.

Prayer: Lord, you were right, having the Holy Spirit is so much better that what the disciples had in the days of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Thank you for sending the Holy Spirit! Amen

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!

Pastor Leon’s SOAP: Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer

August 13: Jeremiah 13-15; John 15

Scripture: John (NIV) 15:4 Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
5. I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.

Observation: There are times when we want to run, but the Lord tells us to stay. He is cutting, and the cutting is not pleasant, but it is necessary for fruitfulness. We must remain where he has grafted us in. His goal is fruitfulness. For a branch to be fruitful it needs the uninterrupted flow of the sweet sap from the vine. We have to remain. The wonderful promise is that as we remain, He remains in us!
Fruitfulness is the responsibility of every branch, but fruitfulness is impossible unless it remains attached to the vine. So it is with us. We are to be fruitful. We were created to be fruitful. Yet the fruit God desires from our lives is impossible to bear unless we are attached! A daily walk is required to maintain the fruitful life God desires.

Application: As the branch draws its daily life from the vine, so I must draw my daily life from the Lord through prayer and reading His word. I might make it one or two days without input from Him, but if I go too long, my leaves will wilt and my fruit dry up before it matures.

Prayer: Lord, may the fruit of my life bring you glory and be a blessing to others. Amen

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!

Pastor Leon’s SOAP: Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer

August 12: Jeremiah 10-12; John 14

Scripture: John (NIV) 14:25 All this I have spoken while still with you.
26. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.

Observation: Jesus had laid aside his deity to walk on earth and minister as a man anointed with the Holy Spirit. Now He was promising that the same Holy Spirit would continue the ministry through people. Jesus was not depending on the disciples to carry on His ministry; He was depending on the Holy Spirit to lead, and guide, and empower them.

Application: Jesus is not depending on Leon to continue the ministry to Leon’s generation. Jesus is depending on the Holy Spirit living in Leon to flow through Leon. Theministry through Leon must be done in the anointing of the Holy Spirit.

Prayer: Lord, may I always be sensitive to the directions the Holy Spirit brings to my thoughts. Amen

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!

Pastor Leon’s SOAP: Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer

August 11: Jeremiah 7-9; John 13

Scripture: John (NIV) 13:31 …Jesus said, “now the Son of Man is glorified and God is glorified in him.
32 If God is glorified in him, God will glorify the Son in himself and will glorify him at once.

Observation: To glorify someone or something is to make the best qualities stand out. In a crude way, one glorifies their car when they wash and wax it. The wax makes the best qualities of the paint shine. I glorify God when I do things that make His qualities stand out and be visible to others.

In the above verses Jesus, the Son, was preparing to glorify the Father knowing that Father God would glorify Him. There is no place where Jesus so greatly glorified the Father than when He demonstrated the Father’s love by dying on the cross to pay for the sins of man!

Application: In every situation today, my goal is to make God look good. I can never make Him look as good as He really is, but I want the world to know I serve a wonderful God who is worthy of my life and my devotion.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, like your Son, Jesus, through my life today I want the world to see how special you are. Amen

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!

Pastor Leon’s SOAP: Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer

August 10: Jeremiah 5-6; John 12

Scripture: John (NIV) 12:13 They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting, “Hosanna!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.” “Blessed is the king of Israel!”
14 Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, as it is written:
15 “Do not be afraid, Daughter Zion; see, your king is coming seated on a donkey’s colt.”
16 At first his disciples did not understand all this. Only after Jesus was glorified did they realize that these things had been written about him and that these things had been done to him.

Observation: After the resurrection of Jesus, the disciples discovered that they had actually been a part of fulfilling some prophecies concerning Jesus. At the time Jesus was on the young colt, and coats were spread on the road as a walkway for the colt, they had no idea that this had been written by the prophet Isaiah many years before.

Application: I need to be walking close to God at all times because I never know when the Holy Spirit will use me, even when I might not realize it.

Prayer: Holy Spirit, I want it to be easy for you to lead me to say and do what will be a blessing to you and useful to others. Amen

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!

Pastor Leon’s SOAP: Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer

August 9: Jeremiah 3-4; John 11

Scripture: John (NIV) 11:14 So then he told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead,
15 and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.”

Observation: Jesus had been told Lazarus was sick. (verse 3). Jesus could have healed him, but Jesus purposefully waited two additional days before going to Lazarus. During that time, Lazarus died! After Jesus knew that he was dead, he starts out to see Lazarus. He tells the disciples, “I am glad…” When Jesus finally arrived, Lazarus’ sisters, Martha and Mary both said, “Lord if you had been here my brother would not have died.” (verse 21, 32) Jesus had missed their deadline by four days. (verse 39). But Jesus was “glad.” This story ends much better than they expected! It does not end with a healing, but a resurrection! (verses 43-44)

Application: There are times when my circumstances go beyond my deadline for Jesus to help. From my view point, I must have help by a certain hour on a certain day. If the answer does not come, I must trust Jesus that my deadline may not be His deadline. His answer may be different than what I expect. When it is all over, I can trust that it will always be better than what I expected!

Prayer: Lord, I trust you to know how to handle my problems. I trust your timing. I know you are working for my good and your glory. Amen

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!

Pastor Leon’s SOAP: Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer

August 8: Jeremiah 1-2; John 10

Scripture: Jeremiah (NIV) 1:8 “Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the Lord.

Observation: God can command us not to fear, because He is the only one who can promise to never leave or forsake us. He is the single greatest power in the entire universe! The source of Jeremiah’s boldness was the presence of God. If he counted on men, he would have reason to fear. Only if he counted on God’s eternal Presence would he not be afraid. Here God not only promised His Presence but also His deliverance.

Application: When I walk in obedience with my faith in God’s Word and His Presence, I have victory over fear. When the One with ultimate power loves me and is with me, I have no logical reason to fear.

Prayer: Lord, when I really believe you are who you say you are and will do what you say you will do, I have no reason to fear! Amen

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!

Pastor Leon’s SOAP: Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer

August 7: 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 have 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!

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

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!

Pastor Leon’s SOAP: Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer

August 6: Habakkuk 1-3; John 8

Scripture: Habakkuk (NIV) 3:17 Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls,
18 yet I will rejoice in the LORD! I will be joyful in God my Savior.

Observation: The prophet had asked the Lord what He was going to do about all the wicked people in Israel. God tells him that he is bringing the Chaldeans to punish Israel. Then the prophet is really confused; why would God uses the wicked Chaldeans to punish people who are more righteous than they are? God tells him what is in store for the Chaldeans. They will be destroyed, but Israel will be corrected so that Israel can fulfill its future! Today we read about the Chaldeans in the history books, but we can read about Israel in the daily newspaper. Israel still has a future. At the end of the book, Habakkuk knows that trouble is coming but he commits himself to be joyful and rejoice in God. He knew that Israel would outlast the trouble.

Application: I know that judgment is coming to the United States. God has used the USA but I do not see any promise of a future for this nation. BUT I am a part of the church and I do see a future promised for the church! So like Habakkuk, if our economy falls apart and the stock market crashes, if the grocery stores close and food is rationed, if gasoline is too expensive to purchase and we have to walk, “yet I will rejoice in the LORD! I will be joyful in God my Savior.” I know that the church has a glorious future!

Prayer: Sovereign LORD, you are my strength and I will rejoice in you! Amen

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!

Pastor Leon’s SOAP: Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer

August 5: 2Kings 23; 2Chronicles 35; John 7

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 quenches their thirst and then flows from them to bless others.

Application: I have taken a drink from water fountains that disappointed me. The stream of water was so low it was hard to drink. And the water was lukewarm and not very refreshing. In my opinion, a good drinking fountain has a stream of water that lifts the water to where it is easily available. A good fountain gives cool refreshing water. I want my life to be a drinking fountain where thirsty people can be refreshed.

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

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!