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

July 25: Isaiah 43-45; 1Peter 4

Scripture: Isaiah (NIV) 43:1 But now, this is what the LORD says—he who created you, Jacob, he who formed you, Israel: “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.”

Observation: I am better at remembering faces than names and I often have trouble remembering names. Many times I have silently and quickly prayed for the Lord to help me remember a name. And many times he has. In this verse God is speaking to Jacob and Israel, telling them not to fear. He has not just put out a general call to all the nations; he has specifically called them by name!

Application: God did not put out a general call for me to come to him. He called me personally. He even gave me His name to use in prayer. His call may come through a verse in the Bible, or a message preached to hundreds of people, or some other way, but however it comes, it comes personally. God addresses it to Leon and signs it personally!

Prayer: Lord Jesus, it is so good to know that I am on a first name basis with you, the creator of the universe and the savior of my soul! Thank you, Leon.

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!

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

July 24: Isaiah 40-42; 1Peter 3

Scripture: Isaiah (NIV) 41:13 For I am the LORD your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, “Do not fear; I will help you.”

Observation: This verse was on a scripture promise card that Sharon pulled out of a pack and gave me the morning I left our apartment to go to Viet Nam. I stuck it in my billfold where it stayed for several months. Then one day our unit was attacked by the enemy, killing several and wounding others. Before leaving that location we paused at the perimeter. We would be moving down a grassy finger of the mountain with forest lining both sides of the tall grass. In my mind I could see the enemy in the trees just waiting for us to get started. I was scared. As we waited I pulled out my billfold, probably to look at a picture of Sharon, but I found that scripture promise card. As I read it, I had a sense of strength being poured into my body. Fear totally left! It was like someone had switched on the light in a dark room. God was with me! I had His promise of help! There was no need to fear! In His Presence there was no place for fear.

Application: God is still with me! There is still no reason to fear! God still walks with me! God still helps me! The enemy may be waiting just out of my sight, but God remains with me!

Prayer: Lord, You still take hold of my right hand and say to me, “Do not fear. I will help you!” Amen

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!

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

July 23: 2Kings 20; Isaiah 38-39; Psalm 75; 1Peter 2

Scripture: Isaiah (NIV) 39:8 “The word of the LORD you have spoken is good,” Hezekiah replied. For he thought, “There will be peace and security in my lifetime.”

Observation: God had just spoken to Hezekiah through the prophet Isaiah that Hezekiah’s possessions and children would be carried away into captivity in Babylon. “Nothing would be left.” Hezekiah who had been a God-fearing King responds in an extremely selfish way. “What you say is good, because it will not happen in my days!”
I was taught that a politician looks to the next election but a statesman looks to the next generation. Our nation has been ruined by voters and politicians who like Hezekiah have no regard for the next generation. Without Godly citizens and statesmen the USA will perish!

Application: How far does my vision extend? Can I see beyond my years, or does my vision stop at my death? How will my building affect the next generation? I may be living in the last generation, but if not, the next generation needs to be prepared to withstand greater trials and tribulation than we have at present. What am I doing to make them strong in the Lord?

Prayer: Lord, make me strong and use me to strengthen others for the days ahead. Amen

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!

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

July 22: Isaiah 36-37; Psalm 76; 1Peter 1

Scripture: 1Peter (NIV) 1:15 But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do;
16 for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”

Observation: Some people feel that the end goal is so important that it is acceptable to use any means to accomplish it, but not God. He is not only interested in the end result of our actions, He is interested that they method we use to reach the goal is also holy.

Application: Of all God’s characteristics, I may want to be omnipotent, omniscient, or omnipresent. But God wants me to be holy! Being holy is so important to God that He sent His son to pay for all my sin and He sent His Holy Spirit to lead me into living a holy life in this present world.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, I need the help of your Holy Spirit to be holy “in all I do.” Amen

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!

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

July 21: 2Kings 18-19; 2Chronicles 32; James 5

Scripture: James (NIV) 5:14 Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord.
15 And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven.
16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.

Observation: God created man to live in harmony with Him and with each other. Allowing un-forgiveness and bitterness to remain in our lives is like putting a handful of dirt in the engine of a car. The nature of high speed parts moving against each other does not allow for the abrasiveness of even small particles of dirt. And the nature of the human body does not allow for un-forgiveness and bitterness. So the verses above instruct us to confess our sins to EACH OTHER and pray for EACH OTHER.

Application: My mind plays a big part in my health. I have long known that worry causes a lot of sickness. I know that many drug prescriptions are intended to help people feel and think differently. Forgiveness releases me from the heavy burden of getting even. Owning up to my sin and receiving forgiveness from someone else restores relationship. Forgiveness can up-root bitterness that gets sown in my thinking.

Prayer: Lord, harmony is such a wonderful gift. Thank you for making it possible to have harmony with you. Thank you for helping us to live in harmony with each other. Amen

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!

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

July 20: 2Chronicles 29-31; James 4

Scripture: 2Chronicles (NIV) 29:9 This is why our fathers have fallen by the sword and why our sons and daughters and our wives are in captivity.
10 Now I intend to make a covenant with the LORD, the God of Israel, so that his fierce anger will turn away from us.

Observation: Hezekiah has just become king of Judah. Earlier in verse 3 we are told that in the first month of the first year of his reign he repaired the doors of the temple and began cleaning it out. Hezekiah had clarity of understanding. "This is why … " Hezekiah had clarity of intent. "Now I intend … " He understood the problem and set himself to work on the solution.

Application: When I ask God to show me His purpose, I gain understanding as to my problems and what I need to do. This is true about my nation, my family, and my life.

Prayer: Lord, life is all about you! Keep me focused on why I am here and what I need to be doing. Amen

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!

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

July 19: 2Kings 17; 2Chronicles 28; Psalm 46; James 3

Scripture: 2Kings (NIV) 17:7 All this took place because the Israelites had sinned against the LORD their God, who had brought them up out of Egypt from under the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt. They worshipped other gods
8 and followed the practices of the nations the LORD had driven out before them…

Observation: God does what He does "because" … There is a reason for God’s actions. He can move in regards to our faith or in regards to our sin. And in all He does, He remains both holy and loving!

Application: At the beginning of our relationship Jesus loved me and died for me before I ever knew Him. I responded to His love by confessing my sins and receiving Him into my life as Lord. I still find Him taking the initiative but now I often find that He responds to me. God loves to reward me when I do His will. He is kind enough to extend mercy when I repent and turn away from evil. He is faithful to punish me when I continue to sin. His primary goal is my salvation, but He also wants to see me mature and see things as He sees them. He loves to reward me as a constructive member of His kingdom.

Prayer: Lord, there are reasons why you work in my life as you do. May I give you good reason to reward me. Amen

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!

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

July 18: Isaiah 32-35; James 2

Scripture: James (NIV) 2:17 …faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action is dead.
2:19 You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder
20 You foolish person do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless?
(21-25: examples of Abraham and Rahab)
2:26 As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.

Observation: Some people play God for a fool. They say they believe in Him, but live their lives as if He is unimportant. If faith is not strong enough to affect our actions then it is dead and not strong enough to save us.

Application: Sometimes I want God to have authority over sickness, and over people who oppose me, and over circumstances I cannot control, BUT I do not submit to His authority over ME. Duh! The proof of my belief that God has authority over these areas around me is found in my submission to His authority over me. My faith can be seen in my actions.

Prayer: Lord, today I want my faith to make a difference in some specific thing that I do. Amen

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!

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

July 17: Isaiah 29-31; James 1

Scripture: Isaiah (NIV) 31:1 Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, who rely on horses, who trust in the multitude of their chariots and in the great strength of their horsemen, but do not look to the Holy One of Israel, or seek help from the LORD.
31:3 …the Egyptians are mere mortals and not God; their horses are flesh and not spirit. When the LORD stretches out his hand, those who help will stumble, those who are helped will fall; all will perish together.

Observation: Israel was in trouble because they had turned away from God. They were looking to Egypt for help. But when God sends judgment, there is no one to help. In comparison to God, those giving help are just as weak as those needing the help. There is only one source of help—God Himself! How grateful man should be that God’s mercies are new every morning.

Application: When in trouble because I am reaping what sown, I should be quick to turn to God. (Any time I am in trouble God should be the first one to whom I turn.) He is willing and able to forgive; He has already paid the price on the cross for my sins. He is willing and able to help; He is loving, all-knowing and all-powerful.

Prayer: Lord, You are just the kind of God I need. You are loving and forgiving. Amen

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!

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

July 16: Isaiah 25-28; Hebrews 13

Scripture: Hebrews (NIV) 13:15 Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name.

Observation: A sacrifice is something that costs. It may cost effort. It does not flow out of pleasing circumstances in which everything is going our way. It flows out of a love commitment. It requires a definite choice. Feelings are set aside. The sacrifice of praise is not the fruit of one’s circumstances, but the fruit of one’s lips.

Application: There are times when I praise God because I feel it. My heart is so full that it would be hard not to praise God. But even when my heart feels empty, even when circumstances look bad, even then it is right to praise my God! He is worthy of praise; He is worthy of my praise!

Prayer: Heavenly Father, You are always worthy of my praise. At all times, in every situation, You remain worthy of my praise! Amen

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!