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

June 15: 1Kings 16; 2Chronicles 15,16; Colossians 1

Scripture: Colossians (NIV) 1:15 The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.
Colossians 1:19 For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him

Observation: Jesus enabled people to see the unseen. He brought the invisible to light. He made the un-seeable seeable. As the Father God was seen through Jesus, now Jesus wants to be seen through me.

Application: It is impossible for me to imitate the Life of Christ. The only hope of Jesus being seen in me is if Jesus actually comes and lives His life in me. Amazingly, that is exactly what he does!

Prayer: Lord, I desire you to be seen in my life more and more. Amen

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!

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

June 14: 1Kings 15; 2Chronicles 13,14; Philippians 4

Scripture: Philippians (NIV) 4:6 Do not be anxious about anything but in every situation, by prayer and thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
7 And the peace of God which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Observation: Peace comes when we know we have presented our needs to the Only One Who truly understands and is able to meet those needs. When they are left with Him, we can rest in His care and promises. Then we have peace. It is not our peace, but His peace that we need. His peace transcends human understanding. God’s peace will guard our hearts and minds from worry, undue care, doubt, and thoughts put there by the enemy.

Application: When I have taken to God those things about which I know very little and can do nothing, I can have peace knowing that I have done the very best thing I could have done even if I had perfect understanding of the matter.

Prayer: Lord, you have proved your love for me. I have peace and can rest in your love! Amen

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!

Walk the Talk

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

June 13: 1Kings 13, 14; 2Chronicles 12; Philippians 3

Scripture: Philippians (NIV) 3:16 Nevertheless, whereto we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule; let us mind the same thing.
17 Brethren, be followers together of me, and mark them which walk so, as ye have us for an example.

Observation: There is much more to learn, but we do need to “walk” according to the level of knowledge that we already have. The believers in Philippi were encouraged to use the Apostle Paul and those with him as an example of how we should live.

Application: I want to live my life so it can be an example for others. For that to happen, I must be careful as to how I talk. But how I walk must be even more important.

Prayer: Lord, talk and walk with me and through me. When people look at me, may they see you. Amen

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!

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

June 12: 1Kings 12; 2Chronicles 10, 11; Philippians 2

Scripture: Philippians (NIV) 2:12 Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling.

Observation: For a number of years I read in a Bible in which verse 12 came at the end of the column. Before continuing to the next column I would pause and think about the awesome responsibility I had to “work out my salvation.” Then one day, the Lord spoke to my heart, “Read on.” So I did.

Scripture: Philippians (NIV) 2:13 for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.

Observation: What a sense of joy entered my heart as I realized that God is in me working with me to accomplish His purposes! Wow! He carries the responsibility.

Application: I am learning that it is not a heavy burden to do God’s will. It is rather a joy! We (God and I) are in this together! Not that He might be with me, but HE IS working in me!

Prayer: Lord, What a relief to know that I am not walking alone in this world. I am to depend on you for wisdom and strength! Amen

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!

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

June 11: Song of Solomon 5-8; Philippians 1

Scripture: Philippians (NIV) 1:4 In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy 5 Because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, 6 Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

Observation: As Paul prayed for the believers in the city of Philippi, he prayed with confidence, not so much with confidence in their ability, but with confidence in God’s ability to complete what God started.

Application: I need to live each day with confidence in God’s ability and willingness to complete the work that he has started in me. This includes my salvation and any ministry the Lord has assigned me. This includes being a husband, a father, and a bus driver.

Prayer: Lord, The more I keep you current in my thoughts the more I have confidence that you are both able and willing to complete what you have started in me. Amen

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!

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

June 10: Song of Solomon 1-4; Ephesians 6

Scripture: Ephesians (NIV) 6:10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.

Observation: People have a combination of strong and weak character traits. Some are strong in patience. Others seem to have great knowledge. Some love sports. But each one has areas of weakness. Our strengths enable us to serve others. Our weaknesses cause us to need others. However there is one area in which we should all be strong. We should all be “strong in the Lord.”

Application: In areas where I am weak, it is obvious that I need to depend on the Lord and his strength. But I am finding that God’s strengths make my strengths look like weaknesses. It is much better to rely on God even in areas where I think I am strong.

Prayer: Lord, I want to be strong in my knowledge of you, strong in my relationship with you, and strong in depending on you. In dealing with temptation and the devil, I want to be strong in you! Amen

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!

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

June 9: Ecclesiastes 10-12; Psalm 94; Ephesians 5

Scripture: Ephesians (NIV) 5:1 Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children
2 and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
3. But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people….

Observation: We best imitate God by loving. We are to be more than just people who love, but lovers. More than just people who love in response to love received, more than just people who love when it is easy, more than just people who love the lovely. We are to be lovers, lovers of God, lovers of our brothers and sisters, lovers of those who mistreat us, lovers of the world (in the John 3:16 sense), and lovers of the unlovely.
The best example for us to imitate is that of Jesus Christ who loved us while we were yet sinners. His love cost, not others, but Himself. He loved to the point of great personal sacrifice. That is what we are to imitate–His holy love!

Application: I am to love “just as Christ loved” me. Jesus tells me to love, but he also shows me how to love. He wants to express His holy love through me.

Prayer: Lord, to love like you, I need your help. Thank you for living in me and never leaving me. Amen

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!

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

June 8: Ecclesiastes 7-9; Ephesians 4

Scripture: Ephesians (NIV) 4:11 So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers,
12 to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built us
13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

Observation: Church leadership is not to do the work of the church. Church leadership is to equip God’s people for “works of service.” As God’s people mature they become productive and do the work of the church. They help others grow and become productive. As they do the work of the church, it is built up; it grows.

Application: God has so much more planned for me than just my salvation. He has created and formed me for service. He wants me to share in His joy of seeing others brought into the Kingdom and become fruitful.

Prayer: Lord, use me to equip and enable and encourage those around me to actively serve you. Amen

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!

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

June 7: Ecclesiastes 4-6; Psalm 18; Ephesians 3

Scripture: Ecclesiastes (NIV) 5:1 Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Go near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools, who do not know that they do wrong.
2 Be not quick with your mouth, do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God. God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few.

Observation: When I go to church, I should go ready to listen. I should expect God to speak to me. I should not go to be seen by people. I should not go to make some sacrifice expecting God to forgive me on the basis of that sacrifice. That would be the sacrifice of a fool. God forgives me on the basis of the sacrifice of the sinless Christ Jesus on the cross. No amount of money, prayers, or good works can ever erase my sins.

Application: While in the Navy, God directed us to attend the military base chapel. Once I complained to God about some of the chaplains. I was not getting “fed.” God told me if He could speak to his prophet through a donkey (Numbers 22), He could surely speak to me through a chaplain! The problem was not with the chaplain, it was with my attitude! After that I could always tell you what God said to me after leaving the chapel. Listening is such a key part of my life. It is a key part of my relationship to people and to God. As I learned, and continue to learn, to listen to God in church I am recognizing his voice throughout the coming week.

Prayer: Lord, I draw near to you with open ears. What do you want to say to me today? Tell me what can I do today that would please you? Amen

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!

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

June 6: Ecclesiastes 1-3; Psalm 45: Ephesians 2

Scripture: Ephesians (NIV) 2:21 In him (Christ) the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord.
22 And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.

Observation: The emphasis in this scripture is not that God lives in me, but that God lives in us.

Application: My life is being formed and fitted to properly fit into God’s temple of people. While I greatly enjoy this personal relationship I have with the Lord, I must not forget that it is not just “my” relationship; it is “our” relationship. Jesus taught us to pray “Our Father.” John says that if I cannot love my brother whom I can see, how can I love God whom I cannot see! Hmmm.

Prayer: Lord, I know you will keep chipping away and sanding my rough edges until I fit perfectly into your temple. Don’t quit until I please you in all ways. Amen

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!