Author Archives: SOAPs by Leon

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About SOAPs by Leon

At the end of my first year in Bible College, the Lord sent me into the US Navy. It was at a serviceman's center in San Diego where I met and married Sharon. During the final years of the ten years I spent in the US Navy, most with the US Marine Corps as a hospital corpsman, I became the pastor of Bayview Chapel A/G in Kaneohe, Hawaii. After 17 years, the Lord sent us back to my birth state, Kansas, where we were pastors of Andover Assembly of God for 20 years. In retirement, the Lord has given me two assignments: first is to write these daily devotions. You are being allowed to eves drop in on what He is saying to me. You will notice the applications are usually in the first person. The second assignment is to drive a school bus. What a privilege to serve others in this practical way and to interact with people outside the church environment. My heart smiles as I continue to joyfully serve my God and others. :) A third assignment from the Kansas Assemblies of God is to be the ministry coordinator for the Kansas Senior Adult Ministries. My wife, Sharon and myself enjoy traveling around the state of Kansas, visiting the churches and encouraging ministry to senior adults and the ministries of senior adults.

The Greater Joy

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July 25: Isaiah 43-45; 1Peter 4

Scripture: 1Peter 4:10 Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms.

Observation: Most people enjoy receiving gifts. Someone thought of them enough to give them something they did not earn. Another part of the joy of receiving gifts is that the gift can be used to bless others. Many times the joy of using the gift to bless others is greater than the joy experienced in receiving the gift.

Application: Oh, what joy I miss when I take God’s gifts selfishly. God wants me to experience a greater joy beyond the joy of receiving. He wants me to experience the joy of giving—so He gives me something I can give others. He blesses me to make me a blessing.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for giving me gifts I can use to bless others! I am truly blest! Amen.

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!

Promise Keepers

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July 24: Isaiah 40-42; 1Peter 3

Scripture: Isaiah 40:27 Why do you say, O Jacob, and complain, O Israel,
“My way is hidden from the LORD; my cause is disregarded by my God”?
28 Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.
29 He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.
30 Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall;
31 but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.

Observation: For those whose hope is in the Lord, there is a wonderful promise in verse 31. But what makes it such a wonderful promise is the revelation of the character of God found in the previous verses! A promise (from God, from a spouse, a parent, a boss, a politician) is no better than the character of the one who made it.

Application: The better I know God, the better I can trust His promises.

Prayer: Lord, may others be able to rely on my promises as I rely on Yours! Amen.

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!

Doubly blest!

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

Scripture: Psalm 75: 1 We give thanks to you, O God, we give thanks, for your Name is near;  men tell of your wonderful deeds.

Observation: As I read through this verse, I recalled the verse in Proverbs 31 about the husband praising his wife. It is proper for a husband to do so for then the wife is not so drawn to praise and appreciation from other sources. But if it is proper for a husband to praise his wife, how much more appropriate is it for those called Christians to praise the Lord whose name they carry!

Application: I need to make it a priority to praise my wife and my Lord! May neither of them feel unappreciated in my presence.

Prayer: Jesus, I am so blest to have Sharon as my wife and double blest to have you as my Lord! Amen.

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!

The Goal of My Faith!

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

Scripture: 1Peter 1: 7 These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. …9 for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

Observation: Faith is such a wonderful part of my life. I act according to my faith. The foundation of my faith is the Word of God, and the foundation of my faith in the Word of God is the character of God. He is ever faithful and can be trusted.

Application: As I struggle to apply my faith to the various needs and problems I face in my every-day life, I must not forget that the goal of my faith is the salvation of my soul.

Prayer: Lord, this song still rings in my heart: “Thank you, Lord, for saving my soul; Thank you Lord, for making me whole; Thank you Lord for giving to me; Thy great salvation so rich and free.” Amen.

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!

Patience with Anticipation

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

Scripture: James 5: 7 Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains. 8 You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near.

Observation: For an example of patience James has us consider the farmer. In Bible days, once the ground had been prepared and the seed planted, there was not much to do but wait and let the natural processes take place. He waits through the autumn and spring rains. He waits with anticipation for the harvest.

Application: I too need patience and anticipation for seeds I have planted. The storms I dislike so much may be just what is needed to prepare for the harvest. And I need to remember that I am a seed God has planted in this world and The Great Farmer will soon be coming for His harvest. I need to let God work His work in me. He is preparing me for the harvest.

Prayer: Lord, like the farmer, You wait patiently for harvest. Thank you for your patience. Have your perfect way in my life. Amen.

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!

The battle inside comes first.

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July 20: 2Chronicles 29-31; James 4

Scripture: James 4: 7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.

Observation: Yesterday I noted how that the success of Hezekiah was preceded by his trusting and “holding fast” to the Lord and His commandments. Here in the book of James we the same progressions. Resisting the devil should be preceded by submitting myself to God. Desiring God to come near to me should be preceded by my coming near to God. Being lifted up by God is preceded by humbling myself.

Application: So many of the victories God brings are preceded by having the proper attitude of heart. As I work with the Holy Spirit in winning the battle on the inside, God works in my circumstances to win the battles around me.

Prayer: Lord, I draw near to you by keeping you in my thoughts; I submit myself to you by obeying you; and I humble myself before you by seeing myself as Your servant. Amen.

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!

The Starting Place

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July 19: 2Kings 18-19; 2Chronicles 28; Psalm 46; James 3

Scripture: 2Kings 18: 5 Hezekiah trusted in the LORD, the God of Israel. There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before him or after him. 6 He held fast to the LORD and did not stop following him; he kept the commands the LORD had given Moses. 7 And the LORD was with him; he was successful in whatever he undertook.

Observation: In reading the passage above, I would like to be like Hezekiah, “successful in whatever” I do. But taking a step back in the presentation, I find the reason for his success; “the LORD was with him.” And in taking a second step back I discover the reason the Lord was with Hezekiah: Hezekiah “held fast” to the Lord, keeping His commandments. No wonder God wanted to be with Hezekiah and made him successful and if I want Him to help me be successful, that is where I must start too.

Application: I want to live my life in such a way that God wants to help me succeed. And since He has taken up residency in my life, I want the inside of my life (my heart, desires, attitudes, and thoughts) to be acceptable too.

Prayer: Lord, Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in your sight, Oh Lord and my strength and my Redeemer. (Psalm 19:14) Amen.

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!

Vital Signs

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July 18: Isaiah 32-35; James 2

Scripture: James 2: 22 You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did….
26 As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.

Observation: We are saved by faith, by faith in the power of Jesus death on the cross. Yet if our faith is not strong enough to cause us to do anything, then it is not strong enough to save us. Faith is something inside that only God can see. Actions/deeds are something that man can see. Like my pulse, respirations and heart beat for my physical life, deeds are the vital signs that my faith is alive.

Application: How will people today know I am a Christian? Will they see or hear evidence of my faith? I should live my life in such a way that people can clearly see my faith

Prayer: Lord, I want my faith to be visible. Amen.

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!

Bite my tongue

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July 17: Isaiah 29-31; James 1

Scripture: James 1: 26 Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless. 27 Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

Observation: I am saved by faith, but if that faith is not strong enough to find expression in my life, it is dead and cannot save me. My mouth is a major avenue through which faith expresses itself. Confessing that Jesus is Lord is the first work of faith, but it does not stop there. Faith also demonstrates its presence through words of love and kindness to others. My words are windows through which people can see into my life.

Application: Instead of bragging that I speak my mind, I need to learn to rein in my tongue (as we would say today: bite my tongue.) It is more important that my mouth speaks God’s thoughts.

Prayer: Lord, I want my mouth to be your servant, an instrument you can use to express your truth and love. Amen.

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!

Of course…

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July 16: Isaiah 25-28; Hebrews 13

Scripture: Isaiah 25: 1 LORD, you are my God; I will exalt you and praise your name, for in perfect faithfulness you have done wonderful things,
things planned long ago.

Observation: God does as only God can. He works in “perfect faithfulness.” “Perfect faithfulness” requires perfect understanding and unlimited resources. God has both!

Application: Of course I will let those around me know of this wonderful God I serve.

Prayer: Lord, “many things about tomorrow, I don’t seem to understand, but I know YOU hold tomorrow, and I know YOU hold my hand.” Amen.

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!