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

July 5: Hosea 2-5; Hebrews 2

Scripture: Hosea (NIV) 2:23 I will plant her for myself in the land; I will show my love to the one I called, “Not my loved one.” I will say to those called, “Not my people, You are my people;” and they will say, “You are my God.”

Observation: The nation of Israel today serves as a monument for the entire world to see the truth that God keeps His promises! In this verse He promised to bring them back to the land He gave Abraham. People in the world may say that they are not the people of God, BUT GOD SAYS, “You are my people!” And soon they will say, “You are my God.”

Application: This is the relationship God wants with me. God wants everyone to know that Leon belongs to Him! I am HIS child! I am HIS servant!” But not only does Leon belong to God, God belongs to Leon! He is MY God! I am HIS; He is MINE!

Prayer: Lord, I hear you tell me that I am your child; today I want to tell you and show the world that You are my God! Amen

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!

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

July 4: 2Kings 15-16; Hosea 1; Hebrews 1

Scripture: Hosea (NIV) 1:7 Yet I will show love to Judah; and I will save them—not by bow, sword or battle, or by horses and horsemen, but I, the LORD their God will save them.

Observation: God did not need the customary means to save His people. He did not need a great army to fight a great war. In Himself, He was able to save His people!

Application: God is the same today! When I am in trouble, I have my own ideas of how God might help me. They are logical and would work quite well. But when I trust Him, I often find that He does not use any of my ideas. And I find that His ways work out so much better than mine would have done. How logical to trust one who knows so much more than I do and who loves me so much that He sent His Son to die for me—as payment for my sins!

Prayer: Lord, Your wisdom and Your love make it logical to trust You at all times, especially in times of trouble! Amen

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!

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

July 3: Isaiah 6-7; 2Chronicles 26-27; Philemon

Scripture: 2Chronicles (NIV) 26:5 …As long as he (King Uzziah) sought the Lord, God gave him success.
2Chronicles (NIV) 27:6 Jothan (Uzziah’s son) grew powerful because he walked steadfastly before the LORD his God.

Observation: The success of this father/son duo is credited not to their great leadership, but rather to their relationship with God. Their success as kings was given to them from God because they honored God as God.

Application: Seeking God to know His will AND walking steadfastly before God is my formula for success in any endeavor of life. To know God, to hear God, and to obey God brings me purpose, confidence and success.

NOTE: Feelings of success are often wrapped up in others. I feel successful when the significant people around me think I am successful. As a Christian, my most significant other is God. When God thinks I am successful, it does not matter what anyone else says! I take my greatest joy from His joy in me. I am like the little boy playing soccer who is always looking to see if his father is watching.

Prayer: Lord, life is really all about you! I am successful when I make you smile! Amen

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!

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

July 2: Isaiah 4-5; Psalm 115-116; Jude

Scripture: Psalm (NIV) 116:1 I love the LORD for he heard my voice; he heard my cry for mercy.
2 Because he turned his ear to me, I will call on him as long as I live.

Observation: The writer of this psalm was happy for two things. First he served a God with ears! God can hear! What a difference between Israel’s God and the gods of the nations around them; their gods were but idols and could not hear. If the first was important, the second is even more important. God specifically heard his prayers. God focused in on what the psalmist was saying! God listened to the psalmist as though what the psalmist said was important!

Application: I know important people who have ears; I can see them. But they do not listen to me. They are too busy. They have more important people to whom they must listen. However, there is no one more important than God! There is no one busier than God. There is no one who has important people clamoring for His attention. But God listens to LEON! Wow! God listens to me!

Prayer: Lord, like the psalmist, if you are listening, then I am going to call on you as long as I live! Amen

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!

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

July 1: Isaiah 1-3; Titus 3

Scripture: Isaiah (KJV) 1: 17 Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow.
18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.

Observation: Here is our loving, hurting God reasoning with his beloved. If they will but do right, they will enjoy their lives. If not, they will be "devoured by the sword." In the surrounding verses, the Reasoning God puts His requirements in very reasonable terms. They are simple and easy to understand.
What about the guilt of their past sins? He will take care of that! He will make them as "white" and like "snow."

Application: God created man with a mind and the ability to reason. He interacts with me to engage my mind and my emotions. The more I understand the Bible, the more reasonable are God’s requirements. The more unreasonable it is to ignore his will.

Prayer: Lord, you love to interact with me as I love to interact with my son and granddaughter. Train my mind to think like you. Amen

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!

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

June 30: Amos 7-9; Psalm 104: Titus 2

Scripture: Amos (NIV) 7:8 And the LORD asked me, “What do you see, Amos?”
Amos 8:2 “What do you see, Amos? He asked.

Observation: Amos was not born into the priestly tribe. He called himself a “shepherd” who also took care of “sycamore-fig trees.” (7:14) He had no reason to expect God to speak to him or through him to the nation. Yet God “took him from tending the flock.” The LORD spoke to him, and even called him by name!

Application: Amazingly, God knows me by name. It is a personal relationship I have with God, and it is a personal relationship He has with me. Among the billions of people on earth, God knows my name! May God’s name be safe in my mouth. Although many speak His name thoughtlessly, God allows me to use His name. And what a privilege it is to know that He uses my name. He calls me by name!

Prayer: Lord, I often have trouble remembering names, but you have never forgotten mine. May I always speak your name respectfully and in a meaningful way! Amen

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!

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

June 29: Amos 4-6; Psalm 86,87; Titus 1

Scripture: Psalm (NIV) 86:1 Hear me, LORD, and answer me, for I am poor and needy.
2 guard my life, for I am faithful to you; save your servant who trusts in you. You are my God’ have mercy on me Lord, for I call to you all day long. …
5 You, Lord, are forgiving and good, abounding in love to all who call to you….
10 For you are great and do marvelous deeds; you alone are God.

Observation: David was in trouble, but he knew what to do. He called out to God. He knew God’s character and God’s capability. He knew what God was able to do, and what God could be expected to do.

Application: The more I know God’s being and God’s character, the more I know what to expect. The more my first inclination in times of trouble will be to call upon God.

Prayer: Lord, “you alone are God.” Thank you for revealing yourself to me. Amen

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!

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

June 28: Amos 1-3; Psalm 80; 2Timothy 4

Scripture: Amos (NIV) 3:1. Hear this word, people of Israel, the word of the LORD has spoken against you—against the whole family I brought up out of Egypt.
2 You only have I chosen of all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for all your sins.

Observation: For the other nations, God would punish them for three or four sins. (See chapters 1 and 2) However with those God brought out of Egypt it will be different. God will hold Israel to a higher standard. To them He gave The Law. To them He sent the prophets. Their history consisted of God’s dealings. God gave them more and He expected more. God will not punish Israel for only three or four sins, but for all their sins.

With Israel, God had a history, but more importantly, God had a future. It was through Israel that Jesus would come. If the other nations disappeared nothing would change. If Israel disappeared, then the channel for fulfilling prophecy would be gone, there would be no atonement for sin, and all would be lost.

Application: When God holds me to a higher standard, it is not only because God and I have a history; we have a future! That God still holds me accountable for sins is proof that He is not finished with me. He does not want my present to mar my future.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for loving me enough to correct me in preparation for the amazing future you have for me. Amen

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!

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

June 27: 2Kings 13,14; 2Chronicles 25; 2Timothy 3

Scripture: 2Timothy (NIV) 3:16 All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,
17 so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Observation: God’s plan is that Christians grow in the knowledge and application of the scriptures, His Word, The Bible. Doing so will result in the believer becoming useful in doing good works. We are not saved by our works, but by His “work” on the cross. We are not saved BY our works, but we are saved TO work.

Application: By God’s word I am equipped for every good work that comes my way as His servant. When I refuse to work or serve in the body of Christ I am not useful to the Kingdom. I am wasting what God has given me. I am not living up to the potential God has placed in me. Simply put, I am not very Christ-like. Jesus “went around doing good…” Acts 10:38.

Prayer: Lord, Make me more like you; may your Word not be wasted in my life. May I share your love with others by serving them. Amen

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!

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

June 26: Jonah 1-4; 2Timothy 2

Scripture: 2Timothy (NIV) 2:24 And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful.

Observation: Teaching is not only how information is presented by
speaking in public, but also presented by setting an example of how to live. It can be easy for leaders to become resentful because of the actions of those they are leading. It helps to remember how people treated Jesus and follow His example. God forgives and forgets. He has no hidden barbs with which to jab us when we get close. He does not hold us at arms distance when we draw close. He is an amazing example of how we are to treat others.

Application: I have had several great examples of people who did not become resentful when mistreated. Like Jesus, they freely forgave and did not hold grudges. I definitely need the help of the Holy Spirit to keep out resentment from the past. And I need His help to reveal resentment before it takes hold in my heart.

Prayer: Lord, I want to follow your example in teaching and living. Amen

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!