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

February 16: Leviticus 26-27; Acts 23

Scripture: Leviticus (NIV) 26:3 If you follow my decrees and are careful to obey my commands, 4 I will send you rain in its season and the ground will yield its crops and the trees of the field their fruit…
14 But if you will not listen to me and carry out all these commands, 15 and if you reject my decrees and abhor my laws and fail to carry out all my commands and so violate my covenant, 16 then I will do this to you: I will bring upon you sudden terror, wasting diseases and fever…

Observation: People like to read God’s promises He has given to those who obey him, but they do not like to consider that the same God made promises for those who disobey Him! If He is faithful to one set, His character demands being faithful to the other!

Application: I need to know God for who He really is, not who I want Him to be. God is faithful to His character, not to what I want Him to be.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, reveal to me your great love and the beauty of your holiness. As I respond to your love, help me to bring you joy by living according to your holiness. Amen

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!

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

February 15: Leviticus 25; Psalm 25-26; Acts 22

Scripture: Psalm (NIV) 26:8 I love the house where you live, O LORD, the place where your glory dwells.

Observation: As the shepherd King, David, was singing to the Lord, out of his mouth and from his pen comes this statement. Of all the places in the earth to love, David loved the temple. It was the place where God was honored. The temple was set apart by the blood sacrifice of animals made to honor the LORD! I can only imagine how furious David would have been to find someone defiling God’s temple.

Application: How I should respect my inner being. God lives in me. My heart and mind is the place where His glory dwells. I should be careful what I put in my heart and mind. My heart was set apart for His dwelling by the blood sacrifice of God’s Son, Jesus. It was made on the cross as the holy payment for my sins. He has chosen to make my heart His dwelling place. I should be even more furious than David when this temple is defiled!

Prayer: Holy Spirit, keep reminding me of Jesus’ sacrifice to set apart my heart as a place where God’s glory dwells. Amen

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!

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

February 14: Leviticus 23-24; Psalm 24; Acts 21

Scripture: Acts (NIV) 21:4 Finding the disciples there [in Tyre], we stayed with them seven days…
7 …landed at Ptolemais, where we greeted the brothers and stayed with them for a day.
8 …and stayed at the house of Philip the evangelist…
16 …[in Caesarea] brought us to the home of Mnason, where we were to stay…

Observation: The church was growing and spreading across the Roman Empire. Many cities had a group of believers. So Paul looked for disciples in each city where they stopped during their trip to Jerusalem.

Application: I need to keep my heart open to the Holy Spirit and my eyes and ears open to those around me. I never know where I will find another believer. I may be a source of encouragement to them or they may be a source of encouragement for me.

Prayer: Holy Spirit, today help me to notice other believers sharing my space. Help us make a connection that builds both of us up in our most holy faith. Amen

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!

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

February 13: Leviticus 20-22; Acts 20

Scripture: Acts (NIV) 20:22 And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happened to me there. 23 I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me.

Observation: Even though he was warned by the Holy Spirit about trouble ahead, Paul had a strong conviction, also by the Holy Spirit, that he should to go to Jerusalem.

Application: Yesterday evening while Sharon and I were at a restaurant, I received a phone call from Betty King, a dear elderly lady in our church. She was having some physical troubles and her daughter was coming to stay with her. Later on the way home, we drove by the hospital and I had a strong knowing/feeling that Betty was there. I knew if I did not stop, I would drive on thinking that I had missed the Lord. I was compelled to stop. We parked by the emergency room and noted an ambulance that had recently arrived. As I walked to the entrance I saw Betty’s daughter through the window. What a surprised, happy look on Betty’s face when she saw me walk into her room behind her daughter! Sharon and I had been sent by the Holy Spirit to encourage and pray for Betty. She is now back home.

Prayer: Holy Spirit, like in Paul’s day, You still have a special way of speaking into my heart. Thank you for helping me to know what I have no way of knowing. Amen

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!

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

February 12: Leviticus 18-19; Psalm 13; Acts 19

Scripture: Acts (NIV) 19:10 This [daily discussions in a lecture hall in Ephesus] went on for two years, so that all the Jews and Greeks who lived in the province of Asia heard the word of the Lord.

Observation: In Acts 16:6 we read that the Holy Spirit stopped them from going into Asia. Instead they received a call to Macedonia where a church was established in the city of Philippi, the leading city of Macedonia. God’s timing is so important. Chapter 19 above was God’s time for the province of Asia and Paul’s ministry was so effective in the city of Ephesus that everyone in that province heard the word of the Lord!

Application: Timing is just as important in my life as it was in Paul’s—and just as important in today’s church as it was in the early church. To move in God’s timing, I must learn to listen to the Holy Spirit. To listen to the Holy Spirit, I must recognize His voice.

Prayer: Holy Spirit, in whatever I do, being effective is following Your lead. Keep working with me so that I more quickly recognize and obey Your voice. Amen

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!

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

February 11: Leviticus 15-17; Acts 18

Scripture: Acts (NIV) 18:23 After spending some time in Antioch, Paul set out from there and traveled from place to place throughout the region of Galatia and Phrygia, strengthening all the disciples.

Observation: Paul had a traveling ministry. He took all opportunities to tell about Jesus. When there were believers in the area, he would meet with them to strengthen them in their faith. The early church did not have Bibles but relied on the knowledge of their leaders and the traveling preachers. Paul, with his great knowledge of the Old Testament, could build their faith that Jesus was indeed the promised Messiah. And when he was in prison and not able to travel, he wrote the letters we have today. In person, and by mail, he strengthened the church. That is a good goal for everyone. If it was available, surely Paul would have used email! (Thank you, Missionary Ralph Hiatt for your great example of this ministry.)

Application: God has brought my attention to these verses about Paul moving from place to place and strengthening the disciples. I had never paid them much attention before, but now the Lord is bring a change to our ministry. The Kansas Senior Adult Ministry team is in agreement that we should visit Kansas churches to establish a mailing list for senior citizens. God is showing me that he desires to use us to encourage and strengthen them. He wants to plant in them a vision for the next generation.

Prayer: Holy Spirit, use us for Your glory and the good of Your church. Amen

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!

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

February 10: Leviticus 13-14; Acts 17

Scripture: Acts (NIV) 17:16 While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols. 17 So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and God-fearing Greeks, as well as in the marketplace day by day with those who happened to be there.

Observation: While Paul was waiting for Silas and Timothy to join him, he took note of his surroundings. There were idols of false gods all around the city. In their spiritual darkness, the people of Athens were looking for a god to worship. What he saw caused Paul to be greatly distressed. It was a holy distress.

Application: Surely, as I look around me, I can see things that should greatly distress me. There are so many signs in our nation that we are already bankrupt. People, even our leaders, do nothing. Our nation seems open to attack by terrorists. Our courts call sin an acceptable life-style. Even with all our knowledge about the development of human life, abortion is still widely practiced. Judgment is coming, but we are too blind to see.

Prayer: Holy Spirit let your light within me show me the darkness around me. Put a holy distress in me—motivate me to take advantage of every opportunity to speak out for you. Amen

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!

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

February 9: Leviticus 10-12; Acts 16

Scripture: Acts (NIV) 16:40 After Paul and Silas came out of the prison; they went to Lydia’s house and encouraged them. Then they left.

Observation: What makes this verse interesting is that the ones who had just been released from prison were the ones doing the encouraging! Not only were they in prison, they had been “severely flogged” and their feet placed in stocks. They had been freed by an earthquake and the jailer had washed their backs. They had baptized the jailer and his family who became believers. They had been released from prison and stopped by Lydia’s house on their way out of town. They were not looking for a “pat on the back” or someone to show them some pity for what they had suffered. They were not looking for encouragement from those gathered at Lydia’s house; they were the ones giving encouragement!

Application: God has ways of focusing our attention on others rather than on the trials we are going through. If we sincerely look around, the Holy Spirit will show us someone who needs encouraging or a helping hand.

Prayer: Holy Spirit, help me keep my eyes on you and on ways I can be a blessing to those around me. Amen

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!

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

February 8: Leviticus 7-9; Acts 15

Scripture: Acts (NIV) 15:41 He [Paul accompanied by Silas] went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.

Observation: Paul was beginning his second missionary journey. He went back to the churches he had started on his first missionary journey. I believe he strengthened them by his presence, his teachings and his prayers. I believe he strengthened them by setting an example of living victoriously in tough times.

Application: When I am away from home and stop in to visit a church, my goal should be to strengthen that church. If I strengthen and encourage one member, I strengthen the whole church. When I am at work and encourage and strengthen another believer who attends a different church, I strengthen their church.

Prayer: Holy Spirit, use me like you used the Apostle Paul to strengthen others. With my testimony and my example I encourage others to be faithful. Amen

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!

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

February 7: Leviticus 4-6; Acts 14

Scripture: Acts (NIV) 14:19 …They stoned Paul and dragged him outside the city [of Lystra], thinking he was dead. 20 But after the disciples had gathered around him, he got up and went back into the city. The next day he and Barnabas left for Derbe. 21 They preached the good news in that city and won a large number of disciples. Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch, 22 strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith. “We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,” they said.

Observation: Paul was hit with rocks to the point he was considered dead. His body was drug outside the city, probably to some cemetery or garbage dump. Disciples gathered around Paul, probably praying, and God worked a miracle. God restored Paul and he got up and went back into the city! One would think that he would take a few days to recover from the stoning, but that is not what we read. The next day they left, walking to Derby, a distance of 20 miles [Nelson]! After ministry in Derbe, they stopped again in Lystra on their way home.

Application: Two things I see in this passage. First, the Christian life is not trouble free. Problems and persecution are not signs I am out of God’s will. Second, having Christ is my life is well worth any troubles that come my way. As my father’s life taught me, it is worth the sacrifice to follow Jesus.

Prayer: Holy Spirit, make me a useful servant. Work Your miracles in and through me. Let your power and grace be seen in me. Amen

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!