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

November 2: Job 23-24; Mark 11-12

Scripture: Mark 12:41 ¶ Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts.
42 But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny.
43 Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others.
44 They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on."

Observation: Jesus not only paid attention to who was giving, but also to how much they gave! Jesus did not say that the rich were giving little, but that they were giving from their wealth. However the widow out-gave them all, for from her poverty she gave everything she had!

Application: My giving is important to God. He watches what I do with the money He has entrusted to me. How I use my money is one way I demonstrate my love for Him!

Prayer: Lord, I know you watch me give; may it bring joy to your heart! Amen.

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!

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

November 1: Psalm 121; Mark 9-10

Scripture: Mark 9:37 "Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me."

Observation: I can look at ministry to children as though I must be bringing Jesus to them. I think that when they accept me, they are accepting Jesus. But that is not what this verse says. It is not when they welcome me, they welcome Jesus. It is when I welcome them, I welcome Jesus!

Application: I need to encourage people who minister to children to begin to expect Jesus to reveal Himself to them in special ways. They need to expect to see and hear Jesus talking to them through the children they have welcomed into their lives. What I do to children, Jesus takes personally. And what I do to Jesus, the Father takes personally! Sometimes I act as though my ministry to children is a blessing to the children. It is really a blessing to me!!!

Prayer: Lord, help me not to forget this truth. I expect to find you working in my life in special ways because I minister to children. Amen.

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!

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

October 31: Job 22; Mark 7-8

Scripture: Mark 8:31 He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again.
32 He spoke plainly about this, and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.
33 But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. "Get behind me, Satan!" he said. "You do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men."

Observation: Peter heard the struggle but not the victory. Jesus did not deserve such treatment. Peter loved Jesus and did not want to see anything bad happening to him. Jesus recognized Satan’s influence in stirring Peter’s emotions. I would have expected Jesus to say, “You do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of Satan.” But He said, “the things of man.” Satan was getting Peter to think man-centered thoughts rather than God-centered thoughts.

Application: Satan loves to get me to focus on the struggle rather than the victory. He tries to get me to think man-centered thoughts especially when the God-centered thoughts may include going through hard times. I need to pay attention to everything Jesus says. Words are important especially when they are HIS words!

Prayer: Holy Spirit, help me to carefully listen and to give attention to your every word. Help my thoughts to be God-centered rather than man-centered. Amen.

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!

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

October 30: Job 21; Mark 5-6

Scripture: Mark 6:31 Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, "Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest."
32 So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place
33 But many who saw them leaving recognized them and ran on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them.
34 When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things.

Observation: Jesus knew his disciples. He knew they were tired. He invited them to come WITH HIM in a boat. When they arrived at their destination, a crowd was already gathered and Jesus began ministering to them. Later in the day, these tired disciples helped Jesus feed 5,000 men plus the women and children! Where did they get the strength? They got it from being WITH HIM!

Application: At times I too experience the weariness of being busy serving the Lord. But God provides renewed strength and joy to sustain me in my weariness. It is found in HIS Presence! It is found in the knowledge that I can be useful to HIM! It is found in being in the boat with HIM on the way and then ministering with HIM when He and I arrive. The key is not to run ahead, nor to lag behind, but to go WITH HIM!

Prayer: Lord, it is in Your Presence that my strength is renewed and I am refreshed to continue when I am weary. Thank you. Amen.

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!

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

October 29: Job 20; Mark 3-4

Scripture: Mark 4: 38 Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, "Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?"
39 He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, "Quiet! Be still!" Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.
40 He said to his disciples, "Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?"
41 They were terrified and asked each other, "Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!"

Observation: When in a boat in a storm, it is good to have the “Storm Calmer” in the boat. Suddenly the disciples became aware that One with them in the boat had power over the wind and waves!

Application: This same Jesus has forgiven my sins and lives in me. He is not just in my boat, He is in my life!!! The “Wind and Wave Calmer” lives in me!

Prayer: Lord, I am blest to have you living in me. It is my joy to share this life with you! Amen.

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!

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

October 28: Job 19; Mark 1-2

Scripture: Mark 2:27 Then he said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.
28 So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath."

Observation: God did not create man so there would be someone to honor the Sabbath. He made the Sabbath so man would have a weekly day of rest. It is so important that Jesus is specifically set as the Lord of the Sabbath!

Application: I have a tendency to push against rules and regulations. I do not like someone telling me what to do. I often forget that God’s laws were designed for my good. God gave me the 10 commandments to serve me, not to control me. God wants me to be free to serve him out of love. It is when I ignore his laws that I come under bondage. I am thinking that I cannot truly honor Jesus as Lord without setting a proper time to rest this body he created.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for re-emphasizing the importance of rest to me. Amen.

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!

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

October 27: Job 18; Psalm 114; Acts 27-28

Scripture: Acts 27:10 "Men, I can see that our voyage is going to be disastrous and bring great loss to ship and cargo, and to our own lives also."
11 But the centurion, instead of listening to what Paul said, followed the advice of the pilot and of the owner of the ship…
13 When a gentle south wind began to blow, they thought they had obtained what they wanted; so they weighed anchor and sailed along the shore of Crete.
14 Before very long, a wind of hurricane force, called the "north-easter," swept down from the island.

Observation: Paul was being taken to Rome to stand trial before Caesar. He warned about the danger of sailing during the stormy season, but the weather seemed to be in their favor. So they ignored Paul’s warnings in favor of “gentle winds” and soon they were shipwrecked.

Application: No matter how good circumstances appear, I should never let them cause me to go contrary to what I know to be God’s will. (No matter how beautiful she is, no matter how handsome he is—God’s word is clear about being joined to unbelievers!) (No matter how great a deal is available to buy that car, if it takes my tithe money, I already know God’s will.)

Prayer: Lord, thank you for Your Word which gives clear direction. May I always value your Word even more than good circumstances. Amen.

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!

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

October 26: Job 17; Acts 24-26

Scripture: Acts 26:24 At this point Festus interrupted Paul’s defense. "You are out of your mind, Paul!" he shouted. "Your great learning is driving you insane."
25 "I am not insane, most excellent Festus," Paul replied. "What I am saying is true and reasonable.

Observation: Paul, the prisoner, was making his defense before King Agrippa. Festus, the governor who had arranged this meeting interrupted Paul claiming Paul was insane. Paul responds with, “What I am saying is true and reasonable.”

Application: The longer I live, and the more I read and study the Bible, the more I understand that the gospel is “true” and “reasonable.” The perfectly holy and loving God, in His great wisdom, designed a plan that would trade the righteousness of His Son for the sins of man. The Son would make the perfect sacrifice to pay for those sins and the now righteous man would be allowed to enter into an intimate loving fellowship with God! Here is a reasonable plan that honors both the holiness and love of God as it meets the need of man!

Prayer: Lord, you amaze me! The depths of your love! The greatness of your holiness! And such wisdom! Amen.

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!

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

October 25: Job 16; Acts 21-22

Scripture: Acts 21:5 But when our time was up, we left and continued on our way. All the disciples and their wives and children accompanied us out of the city, and there on the beach we knelt to pray.
6 After saying good-bye to each other, we went aboard the ship, and they returned home.
7 We continued our voyage from Tyre and landed at Ptolemais, where we greeted the brothers and stayed with them for a day.
8 ¶ Leaving the next day, we reached Caesarea and stayed at the house of Philip the evangelist, one of the Seven.

Observation: I am sure that many details were left out of Luke’s narrative of Paul’s journey to Jerusalem. We read nothing of the ship’s accommodations, nothing of the ship’s crew or cargo. But he included that Paul visited and stayed with the believers in the various cities. Note: Hebrews 10:25 Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

Application: I need to take every opportunity to make contact with other believers. In those times, even though they may be short, I can both give and receive encouragement.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for those who encourage me. Use me to bless someone today. Amen.

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!

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

October 24: Job 15; Acts 19-20

Scripture: Acts 20:20 You know that I have not hesitated to preach anything that would be helpful to you but have taught you publicly and from house to house.
21 I have declared to both Jews and Greeks that they must turn to God in repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus.

Observation: A measurement of 20/20 is accepted as the standard for acceptable vision. Here in verse 20 of Acts chapter 20 we have what I see as a standard—as 20/20 vision for our Christian life. The Christian life is to be lived “publicly” as well as “from house to house.”

Application: People who know me in public should not be surprised when they hear that I am a Christian. My language and actions should have made that obvious. Family members at home know me best. They hear my words and see my actions. They know my attitudes. Jesus should be seen in my life wherever I am.

Prayer: Lord, at home and in public, may my life speak highly of you! Amen.

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!