Pastor Leon’s SOAP:  Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer
January 07, 2023: SOAP #4783: Genesis 18-19; Psalm 3; Luke 7

(mostly a repeat from 2012)

SCRIPTURE:  Genesis (NIV) 19:15 [The LORD was preparing to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah] With the coming of dawn, the angels urged Lot, saying, “Hurry! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you will be swept away when the city is punished.” 16 When he hesitated, the men grasped his hand and the hands of his wife and of his two daughters and led them safely out of the city, for the LORD was merciful to them. 17 As soon as they had brought them out, one of them said, “Flee for your lives! Don’t look back, and don’t stop anywhere in the plain! Flee to the mountains or you will be swept away!”

OBSERVATION:  Lot was hesitant and dragging his feet.  There was so much that they would have liked to take with them.  They were literally being pulled by their hands out of their home and out of the city of Sodom.   The impatience of those pulling them from their home was really an expression of mercy in saving them from the judgment that was fast approaching!  

Lot was unaware of the magnitude of the disaster coming. The forest ranger with news of an approaching forest fire; the police officer with the news of a fast-moving hurricane; the doctor with information about a fast-growing cancer; each has a message of mercy that can come across in a very impatient manner.  Patience is not the virtue needed in urgent situations.

APPLICATION: The conviction of the Holy Spirit is an urgent matter.  He is saying, “Now is the time!”  The enemy of our soul is present to say, “You have plenty of time.  Do it tomorrow.”  Our eternal destiny lies in the balance.  Heaven or hell. 

When God brings me into a place of urgency and demands instant obedience, it is not because He is impatient, but because He is merciful.  It is to my harm when I ignore the urgency of the Holy Spirit.

PRAYER:  Holy Spirit, as I grow in you, help me to respond quickly to your direction for my life.  Amen.

Pastor Leon
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Pastor Leon’s SOAP:  Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer
January 05, 2023: SOAP #4781: Genesis 15-17; Luke 6

SCRIPTURE:  Luke (NIV) 6:31 Do to others as you would have them do to you.
35 But love your enemies, do good to them…
36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
38  Give, and it will be given to you…

OBSERVATION:  Jesus is teaching us how to live lives pleasing to the Father.  It is worthy to note that Jesus was not teaching us what to expect from others, but what others should expect from us.  He is not telling us to expect mercy from others, but to be merciful to others.  We do not use these verses to get others to give to us, but to motivate us to give to others. 

God expects us to be merciful.  He clearly commands us to be merciful.  He expects us to be forgiving to the point that we should not expect to receive forgiveness if we do not forgive.  But not only does God expect to see mercy in our lives, He, Himself, gives the example we are to follow!  He sets a high standard for mercy!

APPLICATION: I am to be merciful “ … just as … ” my Heavenly Father is merciful.  The mercy I have received, I am to extend to others.  The more I understand the mercy I have received, the more I understand the mercy I am to show. 

Receiving mercy is a “feel good” matter.  It definitely makes me feel better knowing that God has forgiven me.  But it is also a “do good” matter.  I am to pass on what I have received.  The blood of Jesus that covers my sins against God can also cover the sins of others against me!

PRAYER:   Heavenly Father, you graciously accept the death of your Son as the payment for my sins.  May I learn to be merciful and accept that same death as the payment for those who sin against me.  Amen

Pastor Leon
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Pastor Leon’s SOAP:  Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer
January 05, 2023: SOAP #4781: Genesis 12-14; Luke 5

SCRIPTURE:  Luke (NIV) 5:1 One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, with the people crowding round him and listening to the word of God, 2 he saw at the water’s edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. 3 He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat.

OBSERVATION:  What was the draw that people would crowd Jesus into the water?  What was it about Jesus’ teachings?  I believe it was that the spoken word of God was being presented by the Living Word of God.  The Word which had brought the worlds into existence was now teaching the written Word of God.  The Word had become flesh (John 1:14) and was now teaching and explaining the Word of God!  No wonder people were crowding around!  

It is a powerful combination:  God the Son speaking the Word of God!  

APPLICATION: That same combination is available today.  It is when the Holy Spirit of God anoints a person to speak the Word of God.  People are drawn to hear.  Faith is stirred in their hearts.  Miracles happen.  God is glorified.  And more people are drawn through testimonies of what God is doing. 

I need a fresh relationship with the Holy Spirit every day. 

PRAYER:   Holy Spirit, your anointing brings understanding of the Word.  Your anointing stirs my heart and mind in how to phrase the observation and application above.  Your anointing accompanies this SOAP containing the Word of God. Stir the hearts of your people who read this SOAP.  Fill us and give us a fresh anointing today.  Amen

Pastor Leon
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Pastor Leon’s SOAP:  Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer
January 04, 2023: SOAP #4780: Genesis 9-11; Luke 4

SCRIPTURE:  Luke (NIV) 4:17 The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written: 18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
20 Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him, 21 and he began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”
Luke (KJV) 4:19 To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.

OBSERVATION:  A part of Jesus’s assignment was to “proclaim/preach the year of the Lord’s favor.”  Because of Jesus’ death, sinful man could approach the Holy God and be accepted; he could find favor. 

APPLICATION: Very likely, every Jew living in Jerusalem, probably in all of Israel, knew the limitations of Jewish worship.  Gentiles were not accepted in the temple area.  Only Jewish men could enter.   And only the high priest could enter the Holiest of Holies; all others were not accepted. 

But in Jesus, God’s favor was shown to man.  When Jesus died, the veil that hung before the Holiest of Holies was torn from top to bottom.  (Matthew 27:52)  The veil that once said, “Keep out,” now said “Welcome!”

PRAYER:  Heavenly Father, Your Son, Jesus, died to make a way for me to enter your presence where I am now accepted and welcomed.  Today is the day of salvation; this is the year I find favor and I am accepted. Today, may my life express my appreciation.  Amen

Pastor Leon
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Pastor Leon’s SOAP:  Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer
January 03, 2023: SOAP #4779: Genesis 6-8; Luke 3

SCRIPTURE:  Luke (NIV) 3:16 John [the Baptist] answered them all, “I baptize you with water. But one more powerful than I will come, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.

OBSERVATION:  My attention was drawn to the word “fire.” 

Fire is hot.  It can be felt.  The same is true of the Holy Spirit.  His presence moving in a life can be felt! 

Fire is the release of energy.  When energy is released, there is motion and change.  The Holy Spirit releases the life and ministry of Jesus in a believer’s life.  There is definitely change in that believer’s life, and it often brings change in the lives of others. 

Fire is seeable.  One can see the fire, and when it is not seeable, definitely the results of the fire are seeable.  The presence and ministry of the Holy Spirit are definitely seeable! 

APPLICATION: The Presence of the Holy Spirit in my life brings into action the life of Jesus in me.  He initiates changes needed.  He sets a holy standard for my life, my words, and actions. 

The anointing of the Holy Spirit brings into action the ministry of Jesus through me.  NOTE: The ministry of Jesus came into fruition when He was baptized and the Holy Spirit descended on Him (Luke 3:22), He was then led by the Spirit into the dessert to be tempted (Luke 4:1), and returned in the power of the Spirit (Luke 4:14) to the synagogue where He read, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me…and Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” (Luke 4:18&21). 

PRAYER:   Holy Spirit, be the fire in my being that of which John the Baptist was speaking.  Make the life of Jesus feelable by me and seeable by others.  Amen

Pastor Leon
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Pastor Leon’s SOAP:  Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer
January 02, 2023: SOAP #4778: Genesis 3-5; Luke 2

SCRIPTURE:  Genesis (NIV) 3:1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” 2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3  but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’” 4 “You will not surely die,” the serpent said to the woman.

OBSERVATION:  In Genesis 1 we saw that God is a talker.  He spoke the worlds into existence.  Then in Genesis 2 we saw that God spoke to man giving instructions about how to live in the garden.  Here in chapter 3 we see another talker—the serpent. 

Eve entered into a conversation with the serpent and was deceived into disobeying God. 

APPLICATION: Satan is still a talker.  He has many ways to sow doubt into my mind.  But God has provided two sources of protection for me.  The first is the Word of God—the Bible—the scriptures.  The better I know God’s Word, the better I can recognize how Satan is twisting truth.  The second source of protection for me is the presence of the Holy Spirit living inside me.  The better I learn to recognize the Holy Spirit’s voice, the better I am prepared to withstand Satan’s attempts to deceive me. 

Through the scriptures and the presence of God, the Holy Spirit, the Heavenly Father has programmed me for victory.  When I ignore the Bible and do not actively listen to the Holy Spirit, I am programming myself for failure. 

PRAYER:   Heavenly Father, obviously, you want me to be victorious over Satan and his deceptive ways.  Holy Spirit, continue to draw my attention to the Word of God.  Amen

Pastor Leon
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Pastor Leon’s SOAP:  Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer
January 01, 2023: SOAP #4777: Genesis 1-2; Luke 1

SCRIPTURE:  Genesis (NIV) 1:1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. 2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. 3 And God said…

OBSERVATION:  God just appears in the first verse of the Bible.  There is no character development.  There is no background development.  All we know about God from the scriptures comes later in the Book.  In the beginning, He just is!

A person knowing nothing about God, and who picked up the Bible for reading, beginning on the first page would first learn that God is. He exists.

The second thing he would learn is that God is a creator.  In fact, He is The Creator.  The reader has learned nothing of His character, nothing of His holiness nor of His love.  He has learned only that God is and that God creates.

The third thing we learn of God in Genesis 1 is that God is a speaker.  This is the most dominate characteristic of God seen in the whole of the Bible.  Not only is the Bible the Word of God, it contains pages and pages on which His Word is given as quotation. God is a speaker.  God has something to say.  God communicates.

APPLICATION:  I am so glad I know God as a speaker.  One of my favorite songs is, “And he walks with me, and he talks with me…” It goes on to say: “…and the joy we share as we tarry there…”  (by C.A.Miles)  What a privilege is mine!  God talks with me!  

And even more amazing:  He feels the same way.  He created me to “walk” with Him and “talk” with Him.  He loves it when I walk and talk with Him. 

PRAYER:   Lord, what a joy is mine, to talk with you and count you as my Friend. May I live each day in a way that makes you glad that I am your friend.  Amen

Pastor Leon
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Pastor Leon’s SOAP:  Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer
December 31, 2022: SOAP #4776: Revelation 19-22

SCRIPTURE:  Revelation (NIV) 19:1 After this I heard what sounded like the roar of a great multitude in heaven shouting: “Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God, 2 for true and just are his judgments. He has condemned the great prostitute who corrupted the earth by her adulteries. He has avenged on her the blood of his servants.”

OBSERVATION:  Yesterday in chapter 16 we saw that the angels who poured out the judgment of God declared that God is “just” (verse 5).  Those at the altar responded that God is “true and just” (verse 7).   

Here, today, in chapter 19, we find a “great multitude in heaven” declaring the same.  “True and just are his judgments!”  It is a major theme of the worship in heaven. 

APPLICATION: Although I see things around me that do not appear just, and right, and fair, and true, I know that God has all the time needed to set things right.  His timeline reaches far beyond my temporal life into eternity.  God is the ultimate fair judge!  

I have every intention of being in that great multitude in heaven shouting, “Hallelujah!  Salvation and glory and power belong to our God for true and just are his judgments!”  The HOLY God could be no other than “True and just!”

PRAYER:   Lord, whatever I see around me, I know you are Holy and that you Love me.  Even now I can declare that you are true and just.  Amen

Pastor Leon
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Pastor Leon’s SOAP:  Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer
December 30, 2022: SOAP #4775: Revelation 15-18

SCRIPTURE:  Revelation (NIV) 16:4The third angel poured out his bowl on the rivers and springs of water, and they became blood. 5 Then I heard the angel in charge of the waters say: “You are just in these judgments, you who are and who were, the Holy One, because you have so judged; 6 for they have shed the blood of your saints and prophets, and you have given them blood to drink as they deserve.” 7 And I heard the altar respond: “Yes, Lord God Almighty, true and just are your judgments.”

OBSERVATION:  The angels can clearly see that God’s judgments are “just.”  God is perfectly holy, so He judgments could be nothing other than perfectly holy.  They have never been, nor will ever be, other than “true and just.”

APPLICATION: Sometimes we who live on earth have limited insight into all that God does.  We judge God as being unfair, showing favorites, being too hard, etc.  Of course, Satan will always be encouraging us to misjudge God. 

But we walk by faith and not by sight.  The more we know about God, the better we will be able to understand what happens to us and what happens around us.  Proverbs 9:10 “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.”  Our faith is developed by the Word of God, and in the Word of God is a revelation of the character of God.  The better we understand God’s character the better our confession will be, “Just and true are your judgments!”  “Just and true” is everything you do! 

PRAYER:   Heavenly Father, you do nothing that is not in-line with your character.  The better we know You, the better we understand what happens around us.  Amen

Pastor Leon
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Pastor Leon’s SOAP:  Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer
December 29, 2022: SOAP #4774: Revelation 10-14

SCRIPTURE:  Revelation (NIV) 10:1 Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven. He was robed in a cloud, with a rainbow above his head; his face was like the sun, and his legs were like fiery pillars. 2 He was holding a little scroll, which lay open in his hand. He planted his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land, 3 and he gave a loud shout like the roar of a lion. When he shouted, the voices of the seven thunders spoke.

OBSERVATION:  Angels have always had an important role in God’s plan.  Hebrews 1:14 says, “Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?”

From that verse, it seems to me that angels have their purpose in working for the good of people for whom Christ died.  They are involved in influencing individuals, groups and governments to decisions that will cause people to accept Jesus as Lord and Savior.  They are God’s servants.  They serve God by serving His creation.    

APPLICATION: Knowing that God has mighty angels at His command, who are working for our good, should breathe fresh courage into our lives. 

Sometimes we see angels in the form of people.  Sometimes we just see what they do.  An army destroyed by the angel of the Lord in 2Chronicles, or an angel leading Peter out of prison in Acts. 

PRAYER:  Thank you, Lord.  I know you are working all things for my good.  Thank you for your angels.  Holy Spirit, help me to recognize their presence and involvement in my circumstances.   Amen

Pastor Leon
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