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

March 6: Deuteronomy 3-4; Psalm 36; Mark 13

Scripture: Deuteronomy 4:37 Because he loved your ancestors and chose their descendants after them, he brought you out of Egypt by his Presence and his great strength,
38 to drive out before you nations greater and stronger than you and to bring you into their land to give it to you for your inheritance, as it is today.

Observation: The Israelites did not escape Egypt; they were “brought out” by the Presence and the strength of God! God’s plan was to give them a land with people more in numbers and stronger than they were! By relying on their wisdom and strength, there was no way they could get out of Egypt and there was no way they could get into the Promised land. The only one getting the glory for their escape and new home land was God!

Application: God purposefully gives me assignments that require more wisdom and/or strength than I possess. If I rely on myself, I will fail. But when I rely on Him, He succeeds! He does this so that people will not be able to praise me, but Him!

Prayer: Lord, when I rely on you and carefully follow your directions, I get to enjoy the victory and you get to enjoy the glory! Amen

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!

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

March 5: Deuteronomy 1-2; Mark 12

Scripture: Mark 12:14 They came to him and said, “Teacher, we know that you are a man of integrity. You aren’t swayed by others, because you pay no attention to who they are; but you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it right to pay the imperial tax to Caesar or not? (NIV)

Observation: After making such a high commendation of Jesus, how could they ignore His teaching? They condemn themselves by their own confession.

Application: If I believe and say that Jesus really is a "Teacher," and "a man of integrity," who is not "swayed by men" but "teaches the way of God" and does it "in accordance with the truth," then I must listen to what He says. I must do more than listen, I must obey and do! How foolish to give such high commendations, then not follow through in obedience!

Prayer: Lord, I want my life to show that I really do believe what I say about you! Amen

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!

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

March 4: Numbers 34-36; Mark 11

Scripture: Mark 11:22 “Have faith in God,” Jesus answered.
23 “truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them.
24 Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.
25 And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins. (NIV)

Observation: From what I read in these four verses there must be agreement with what I believe in my heart and the words that come out of my mouth. Faith without works is dead, and the first work of faith will commonly be speaking. The emphasis is not on my faith supporting my words, but my words expressing my faith. It is a heart matter, not a mouth matter.

Application: My words are an expression of the faith I have in my heart. The more I get to know the Lord and the more my heart and mind align with Him, the more faith will be heard in my words.

Prayer: Lord, may my confidence in you be easily recognized in my conversation! Amen

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!

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

March 3: Numbers 32-33; Mark 10

Scripture: Mark 10:1 Jesus then left that place and went into the region of Judea and across the Jordan. Again crowds of people came to him and as was his custom, he taught them.

Observation: We see that Jesus had some "customs." In Luke 4:16, the custom mentioned is reading from the scriptures.
And we know that Judas knew where to find Jesus, because it was his custom to pray, and the garden was probably a favorite prayer place of Jesus.
In the verse above we see that teaching was a customary thing for Jesus to do. They called him, The Teacher. People may have come to Jesus for many reasons, but it was his priority that they left with better understanding. They would have something to think about and discuss on their trip back home.

Application: What are the customary things in my life? When people think of me, what comes first to their mind?

Prayer: Lord, with prayer and the word strong in my life, may people know that it is customary for me to do what pleases you. Amen

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!

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

March 2: Numbers 30-31; Mark 9

Scripture: Numbers 31:48 Then the officers who were over the units of the army—the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds—went to Moses
49 and said to him, “Your servants have counted the soldiers under our command, and not one is missing.
50 So we have brought as an offering to the Lord the gold articles each of us acquired—armlets, bracelets, signet rings, earrings and necklaces—to make atonement for ourselves before the Lord.” (NIV)

Observation: Twelve thousand had been sent out to war and twelve thousand returned! No parent had lost a son; no wife had lost a husband; no child had lost a father! As the spoils of war were being divided, those who had fought in the battle wanted to express their appreciation to the Lord. They wanted to give to the Lord in appreciation.
These verses remind me of a testimony I heard years back. A mom and dad were sitting in a church service in which a memorial was being given in memory of a son who had died in Viet Nam. The man turned to his wife and quietly said, “Let’s give an offering for our son too!” She replied, “But our son returned; he was not killed in Viet Nam.” He said, “That’s why!”

Application: Why should I give to the Lord and to needs I see around me? That’s why! And, that’s why! And there’s another reason why! Oh, yes, and that’s why! I have so many reasons to show my appreciation.

Prayer: Lord, my endless appreciation must be expressed through endless giving! Show me what, when, and where to give. And may you never have to tell me twice! Amen

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!

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

March 1: Numbers 28-29; Mark 8

Scripture: Mark 8:17 Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked them: “Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not see or understand? Are your hearts hardened?
18 Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear? And don’t you remember?
19 When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?” “Twelve,” they replied.
20 “And when I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?” They answered, “Seven.”
21 He said to them, “Do you still not understand?”

Observation: About 1500 years earlier, the children of Israel were afraid because the did not remember God’s miracles in delivering them from Egypt. And here the disciples of Jesus had the same problem. Their memory was faulty!

Application: My faulty memory is not a surprise to God. John 14:26 tells me that the Holy Spirit the Father sent will teach me all things and will remind me of everything He has said to me.

Prayer: Holy Spirit, I am depending on you to bring to my memory the things you have done and what I have read in Your Word, Amen

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!

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

February 28: Numbers 24-27; 1Corinthians 13

Scripture: 1Corinthians 13:13And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. (NIV)

Observation: Some consider 1Corinthians 13 the greatest chapter ever written on the subject of love. In finishing this passage, Paul compares love to both faith and hope.
Faith is so important that without it one cannot please God. Yet love is greater than faith. Hope is so important that without it one finds it difficult to live. Yet love is greater than hope.
The greatest commandment is to love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. The second greatest commandment is to love our neighbor as we love our self. The new commandment that Jesus gave was to love each other as He loved us!

Application: I am incapable of such love. If God wants me to love like that, He will have to come and live in me and love through me. Amazingly, He agrees with my assessment and that is exactly what He does. He lives in me and loves through me! Wow! And in so doing, He is making me more like Him!

Prayer: Lord, make me like you. Give me a heart that is filled with love! Amen

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!

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

February 26: Numbers 19-20; Psalm 28; Mark 5

Scripture: Numbers 20:2 Now there was no water for the community, and the people gathered in opposition to Moses and Aaron. 3 They quarreled with Moses and said, “If only we had died when our brothers fell dead before the Lord! 4 Why did you bring the Lord’s community into this wilderness, that we and our livestock should die here? 5 Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to this terrible place? It has no grain or figs, grapevines or pomegranates. And there is no water to drink!” (NIV)

Observation: These are the people God had delivered from Egypt with the ten plagues! These are the people who walked through the Red Sea on dry ground! These are the people who were eating manna! These were the people whose shoes did not wear out! These people had a problem: a short memory!

Application: When I come to similar situations, may my response be, “Lord, I remember what you did in the past, what are you going to do now?”

Prayer: Lord, you have been good! You have been faithful in every season of my life! Amen

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!

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

February 25: Numbers 17-18; Psalm 29; Mark 4

Scripture: Mark 4:2 He taught them many things by parables, and in his teaching said:
3 “Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. (NIV)

Observation: Jesus was a Master Teacher. He often used stories from common everyday life to present truth. He never used fairy tales, but only stories that were true to life. Everyone could identify with His stories. They had experienced the story, they were in the process of working though the story, or they knew a close friend who was just like the people in Jesus’ story.

Application: Jesus wants to use my everyday life to teach and demonstrate the principles of the Kingdom of God. People should better understand peace, and joy, and love, etc. by watching me.

Prayer: Lord, use my life to demonstrate the truth of your teachings. Amen

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!

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

February 24: Numbers 14-16; Mark 3

Scripture: Mark 3:1 Another time Jesus went into the synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there.
2 Some of them were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath.
3 Jesus said to the man with the shriveled hand, “Stand up in front of everyone.”
4 Then Jesus asked them, “Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” But they remained silent.
5 He looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored.
6 Then the Pharisees went out and began to plot with the Herodians how they might kill Jesus. (NIV)

Observation: Some people watched Jesus because they loved Him. Some people watched Jesus because of His teachings. Some people watched Jesus because they needed healing. Others watched Jesus because they had a family member or a friend who needed help. But there were some with stubborn hearts who watched him, hoping to catch him doing something wrong. He did not always follow their rules and they wanted to criticize Him.

Application: I want to be one who closely watches Jesus at work in the world around me. I want to be quick to recognize His hand at work. I want to be watching with a heart of love. I want to be quick to rejoice and give Him praise when I see Him working in someone’s life. Sometimes He may even let me have a small part! Wow!

Prayer: Lord, may my eyes be quick to notice Your work around me. May my ears be quick to hear You speaking. Use me to bring the attention of those around me to what you are saying and doing! Amen

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!