Pastor Leon’s SOAP:  Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer
November 19, 2023: SOAP #5099: Matthew 1-4

(reworked SOAP from 2010)

SCRIPTURE:  Matthew (NIV) 4:1 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil.

OBSERVATION:  “Jesus was led by the Spirit.”  That sounds good.  But He was led “into the desert.”  That does not sound very good.   Led “to be tempted.”  That is even worse!   “Tempted by the devil.”  Was Jesus really following the Spirit?  Did the Spirit make a mistake? 

This wilderness time was important for laying out the principles by which Jesus would live His life, i.e.  He would live by the word.  He would bow only to His Father God.  And He would not force God to prove that He (Jesus) was the One with God’s favor.

APPLICATION:  When I am in the “desert” I should not immediately think that I have done something wrong.  It may be that I am exactly where God wants me.   Even if God did not specifically lead me into hard times, I can take advantage of them to clearly demonstrate the principles by which I live.  And if the devil had something to do with the difficulties around me, may I so glorify God that the devil ends up saying, “I never want to do that to Leon again.”

PRAYER:  Holy Spirit, I trust you to lead me, even if it is through tough times.  Guide each word and each action so that others can see Jesus living in me.  Amen.

Pastor Leon
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Pastor Leon’s SOAP:  Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer
November 18, 2023: SOAP #5098: Ps 124, 2Corinthians 11-13

SCRIPTURE:  2Corinthinas (NIV) 12:7 To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

OBSERVATION:  Paul had a problem that irritated him.  Like many people who live in this area say, “It got under his skin.”  It irritated him so much that he prayed, “pleaded with the Lord” to fix it or take it away three times. 

God did not do what the Apostle Paul wanted.  He told Paul that his weaknesses would make opportunity for God’s grace and power to be seen in Paul. 

APPLICATION:  I have heard that Paul’s “thorn in the flesh” was poor eyesight.  I have also heard that it was the opposition that seemed to follow Paul wherever he went.  But since I believe that this verse was inspired by the Holy Spirit, I believe the specific description of the “thorn” is not important.  It was not included on purpose! 

So, with whatever I am struggling, and with that which God has not answered my prayer for its removal—these are opportunities for God’s strength to be seen through my weakness!   He will take care of the issue in another way that brings Him even more glory!!!  My weakness will showcase His strength!   

PRAYER:  Lord, I trust you to be working even when I do not see you working.  I know you and I know your character!   I trust you to be working through sources of which I am not familiar.  I know your ways are higher than my ways.  Amen   

Pastor Leon
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Pastor Leon’s SOAP:  Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer
November 17, 2023: SOAP #5097: 2Corinthians 7-10

SCRIPTURE:  2Corinthians (NIV) 9:10 Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. 11 You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.

OBSERVATION:  This is a chapter with blessings for givers.  If one desires the blessings in this chapter, they must become a part of God’s givers. 

It all starts with recognizing that the seed and the bread both come from Him.  He is the supplier of seed and bread.  Bread is for eating and provides the nutrition needed for our personal lives.  Seed is for planting (for giving into God’s ministry) which produces the next harvest.  If the seed is eaten, it will never be more that it was and it will be gone.  But if the seed is planted, it will produce more seed of which a portion can be used for bread and a greater portion for planting. 

APPLICATION:  When I understand the truth of this passage, I realize that it all comes from God.  He may have used the place I am working to provide finances, but I recognize that it all came from HIM!   The seed which becomes bread came from HIM.  It is right to pause before our meals and thank HIM!   The seed which is sown for a future harvest came from HIM.  He will help me understand where to plant His seed. 

When I plant seed (give an offering) I am only giving what He has given me. If the seed is eaten, it will never be more; if the seed is given it will never be less. 

PRAYER:  Jesus, you are the Lord of the harvest (Luke 10:2) You are the one who established seedtime and harvest in the world you created.  You are the LORD of every harvest.  You created a single seed that when planted would grow into a plant with hundreds of seeds.  Take the small seed I am planting in your kingdom today and cause it to multiply for your glory.  Show me where to plant this seed.  Amen

Pastor Leon
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Pastor Leon’s SOAP:  Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer
November 16, 2023: SOAP #5096: 2Corinthians 3-6

SCRIPTURE:  2Corinthians (NIV) 5:4 For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. 5 Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.

OBSERVATION:  Paul is writing about the continuation of our life after death.  It may appear that life has been swallowed up by death, but for those who have made Jesus the Lord of their lives and in whom the Spirit dwells it is totally different.  Our temporary physical body which is subject to death is swallowed up by life! 

The Holy Spirit who entered my life when I was born again, the Holy Spirit who flooded my life when He filled me is just a deposit guaranteeing more to come!   To me that says that life in heaven will be a life led by the Spirit and flowing in the full power of the Holy Spirit!     

APPLICATION:  The stirring of the Holy Spirit in my life; the leading of the Holy Spirit in my Bible reading and daily life; the gifts of the Holy Spirit—all these are good indicators of what is coming!   Heaven will surely to be better than what I have now.  The fullness of what is promised is surely greater than the deposit!   The deposit is GREAT!  The fullness will be even GREATER!!!  

PRAYER:  May the Holy Spirits part in my daily life become normal.  May I become very familiar with this Heavenly visitor.  Prepare me for the day when the “deposit” becomes the fullness.  Amen. 

Pastor Leon
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Pastor Leon’s SOAP:  Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer
November 15, 2023: SOAP #5095: Job 41, 42; 2Corinthians 1, 2

SCRIPTURE:  2Corinthians (NIV) 1: 3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.

OBSERVATION:  “All our troubles” do not happen when gathered with other believers.  Trouble can come any day, any night.  It may seem that trouble can find us easier than the pastor can find us. 

It is in the classroom of life that we discover that HE is with us and comforts us every day throughout the week.  Then what we have learned and received from God, we can pass along to others in trouble. 

APPLICATION:  When my mom died, and later my dad I began to see the depth of these verses that I had often so quickly passed over.  The Holy Spirit was teaching me in the classroom of life.  It was in walking through the valley that I gained greater understanding of this truth. 

God does not give me comfort like a gift that I can take with me as I go throughout my day!   No, God does not give me comfort; God IS my comfort!  He is not giving me something that will enable me to live without Him.  He is becoming someone that I cannot live without! 

PRAYER:  Heavenly Father, with a heart of gratitude, I give you thanks for walking with me through life, and teaching me.  Holy Spirit, quicken my mind to be able to pass on what You teach me.  In Jesus Name, Amen

Pastor Leon
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Pastor Leon’s SOAP:  Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer
November 14, 2023: SOAP #5094: Psalm 149; 1Corinthians 15, 16

(with few revisions from earlier SOAP)

SCRIPTURE:  1Corinthians (NIV) 15:14 And if Christ has not been raised, or preaching is useless and so is your faith …  17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins …  20 But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead …

OBSERVATION:  The death of Jesus on the cross as the payment for our sins is meaningless without His resurrection.  Without the resurrection, there would be no forgiveness of sin, there would be no basis for our faith, and there would be no reason for preaching.

APPLICATION:  Without the resurrection I would still be trying to work off my sins.  I would still be trying to do enough good to outweigh the load of my sin.  I would still be without the presence of the Holy Spirit dwelling within me.  If Jesus could not conquer death, then I would have no hope of conquering it. 

But Jesus did indeed complete the payment for my sins and returned to his physical life!   The payment for my sins is completed!  The Holy Spirit does dwell in me!  I do have hope to conquer death!   My life, as Jesus’ life, will not end in death. 

Death will be my servant, a doorway through which I will pass into a life that will never die!   Life — I am just passing through!  Death — I will be just passing through…to heaven, my permanent home!   !

PRAYER:  Lord, thank you for the reality of forgiven sins!  Thank you for the reality of your Holy Spirit living in me!  And thank you for the reality of death being the doorway into eternal life with you!   Amen

Pastor Leon
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Pastor Leon’s SOAP:  Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer
November 13, 2023: SOAP #5093: Job 39, 40; 1Corinthians 13, 14

SCRIPTURE:  1Corinthians (NIV) 12:31 But eagerly desire the greater gifts. And now I will show you the most excellent way.
13:1 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.

OBSERVATION:  When Paul was writing this letter to the church in Corinth, he did not have chapter breaks and the present chapters were not divided into verses.  It was all one letter.  Sometimes we can miss a connecting thought when we stop reading after completing a chapter or when we start reading a new chapter without going back and reading what came before. 

In chapter 12, Paul writes about the gifts of the Holy Spirit and how they are to be used in the church.  He ends those comments with “now I will show you the most excellent way.” 

APPLICATION:  Greater than all the gifts, greater than all the ways that the gifts are used, and greater than all the offices that use the gifts—LOVE is greater than all!  It is the most excellent way!  

Paul obviously knew the words of Jesus.  Jesus gave love as the heart of commandments: 1. love God and 2. love people as you love yourself. Jesus then gave a new command that we love one another as God loves us! Jesus said that it was love that motivated the Father to send the Son. Jesus said the world would take note of how we love one another.

PRAYER:  Lord, you have taken up residence in me.  So I want you to love through me.  May your love flow from me to those around me.  In Your Name I pray, Amen.

Pastor Leon
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Pastor Leon’s SOAP:  Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer
November 12, 2023: SOAP #5092: Job 37, 38; 1Corinthians 12

SCRIPTURE:  1Corinthians (NIV) 12:27 Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. 28 And in the church, God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues. 29 Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? 30 Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? 31 But eagerly desire the greater gifts.

OBSERVATION:  In this chapter Paul is teaching us about the body of Christ. Here he used our physical bodies to teach us about HIS body. Our bodies have many members (hands, feet, ears, etc.) but we have only one body. That is the way it is with Christ. Though each part is different, we are joined as only one body.  Just as each member of a physical body is uniquely different from all other members, so in the body of Christ, a person’s uniqueness makes them useful to the whole body.   None of us are the same even though we all share the same life. 

APPLICATION:  The truth Paul presents above is obvious in every church—and especially in the SOAP ministry.  Some have used their resources and contacts to provide computers and printers.  Others have installed them where they can receive the internet. Others program them to receive the SOAPs.  Still others print copies of the SOAPs.  In Freetown two motorcycles are used to distribute them to locations around the city.  Someone takes the copies and distributes them to individual readers.  Others read them and pass them along to their friends and neighbors.  The people printing are doing something very different from those on the motorcycles, or those traveling to various locations to install computers and printers.  But we are all members of one ministry.  The SOAP ministry would be very limited if God only relied on Leon’s resources and abilities.

PRAYER:  Lord, You are the head of this SOAP ministry.  I started writing them because of your specific direction.  You are the One who assigned others to translate and post or to print and distribute the SOAPs. You are the provider to which we all look.  It is our privilege to honor and serve the name of Jesus.  Amen 

Pastor Leon
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Pastor Leon’s SOAP:  Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer
November 11, 2023: SOAP #5091: Psalm 122; 1Corinthians 9-11

SCRIPTURE:  1Corinthians (NIV) 9:9 For it is written in the Law of Moses: “Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain.” Is it about oxen that God is concerned? 10 Surely, he says this for us, doesn’t he? Yes, this was written for us, because when the ploughman ploughs and the thresher threshes, they ought to do so in the hope of sharing in the harvest.
11 If we have sown spiritual seed among you, is it too much if we reap a material harvest from you?

OBSERVATION:  In the Kingdom of God, the value of money is enhanced.   It provides an avenue for us to express our appreciation.  Those receiving spiritual seed sown into their lives should willing and joyfully return a “material harvest” to those sowing.  They should expect to do so.

APPLICATION:  The application of this truth comes very strong to me today.  The message in the SOAPs is free, but the ink and paper, the computers and printers cost money.  God has assigned me to drive a school bus and use much of what I earn for the SOAP ministry.  God has raised up several people who have been supporting monthly.  And God has laid it on some to give larger amounts to a specific need.  I see this ministry as God’s, so it does not surprise me that He provides what is needed…I am not surprised, but I am amazed at how He does it!  

In my heart I hear God saying He wants to use the SOAP ministry to start financial blessings in the heart of Africa and in Asia.  As people learn to give to God, they will find He enjoys giving to them.  It is not the size of the gift in our hands, it is the size of the faith in our hearts that God sees.  God does not want continued dependence on First World Countries for ministry funds.  He wants to grow Africans and Asians to provide the funds, even for ministry beyond the borders of their continents! He starts with the little in our hand; it grows to be more than enough. 

Start small and give to the ones who provide you the SOAP.  They will use it to purchase ink and paper, computers and printers as needed.  Your gift is the harvest for those providing the SOAPs!  Then expect a harvest from your gift! 

PRAYER:  Do it Lord!   Amen

Pastor Leon
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Pastor Leon’s SOAP:  Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer
November 10, 2023: SOAP #5090: Job 35, 36; 1Corinthians 7, 8 (a repeat)

SCRIPTURE:  1Corinthians (NIV) 7:17 Nevertheless, each one should retain the place in life that the Lord assigned to him and to which God has called him. This is the rule I lay down in all the churches…
20 Each one should remain in the situation which he was in when God called him…
24 Brothers, each man, as responsible to God, should remain in the situation God called him to.

OBSERVATION:  In writing to the church in Corinth, Paul was setting down some general rules of behavior.  He starts off by saying that if you are a Jew, do not try to become an un-Jew, and if you are a Gentile, do not try to become a Jewish.  If you are married, do not seek a divorce.  In the light of eternity, our status or position has no bearing.  Everything will change in eternity, so if you are planning on going to heaven, do not worry about such things.  People who do not know God or understand His plan sometimes have the idea that they must make changes to be comfortable and pleasing for them on earth.

Yet Paul is saying our status is very important!  We should be content with the way God made us.  To apply Paul’s teaching to today, if we were made male, we should not try to be female.  If we were made female, we should not try to be male.  People may try to change their outside, but to my knowledge, no one is able to change their DNA.  Our DNA will always be a witness to how God made us.

APPLICATION:  As opportunity presents itself, it is good to improve my standing, however that should never be done because I am discontent with my present circumstances and how God made me.  (Philippians 4:11-12; Hebrews 13:5)

PRAYER:  Heavenly Father, life here is so short compared to eternity.  Knowing that you are with me — knowing that you have something for me to do — changes my perspective of everything.  Amen.

Pastor Leon
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