SOAP: Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer

Scripture: 1John 5:12 He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.
13 I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.

Observation: When John was writing this passage, I wonder if he was not thinking back to Jesus saying, “I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but by me.” (John 14:6) Christianity is exclusive. There is only ONE way; and Jesus is the way! What a terrible trick God would have been playing on His Son, Jesus, if there been another way for salvation!!!

Application: Verse 12 above emphasizes the exclusive character of Christianity. Verse 13 emphasizes the certainty. I can KNOW that I am saved. As wonderful as hope is, this is better than hope. This is KNOWING! I have assurance! I am certain!

Prayer: Lord, thank you for taking out the guess work and giving us a certain salvation, offered by grace and received by faith. Amen.

August 24: Jeremiah 33-34; Psalm 74; 1John 5

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!

SOAP: Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer

Scripture: 1John 4:19 We love because he first loved us.
20 If anyone says, "I love God," yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen.
21 And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother.

Observation: John appears to be the closest disciple to Jesus. He heard Jesus teach. He saw the miracles. He saw the way Jesus lived his daily life. He came to know Jesus’ priorities. So it should not surprise us that the central subject of this letter is love!

Application: So how am I going to apply this passage to myself? I am going to read it again right now, and again later today. I am going to ask the Holy Spirit to help me put it into action.

Prayer: Holy Spirit, help me to love like Jesus. Help me to love others the way Jesus loves me and the way Jesus loves them. Amen.

August 23: Jeremiah 31-32; 1John 4

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!

SOAP: Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer

Scripture: 1John 3:24 Those who obey his commands live in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us.

Observation: John earlier in the chapter gives us an indication of how we can recognize the Presence of God in other believers; it is by their doing what is right and their love. Here John tells us how we can recognize His Presence in our lives. It is by the presence of His Spirit. The Spirit brings things to our mind. The Spirit interacts with our spirit. The Spirit gives us understanding. The Spirit becomes a part of our everyday life. According to Romans 4:17, the Spirit brings righteousness, peace and joy to those in the Kingdom of God!

Application: It is absurd to think that I could put my finger into a live electrical outlet without feeling any effects. How much more absurd to think that I would not recognize the presence of God’s Spirit when He comes to live inside me!

Prayer: Lord, in your wisdom you sent the Holy Spirit to live in those who have accepted you as Savior and Lord. With a grateful heart, I say, “Thanks!” Amen.

August 22: Jeremiah 28-30; 1John 3

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!

SOAP: Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer

Scripture: 1John 2:9 Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness.
10 Whoever loves his brother lives in the light, and there is nothing in him to make him stumble.
11 But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness; he does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded him.

Observation: John makes it so simple. It is hard to miss. My relationship to God can be seen in my relationship to my brother. If the “Source Of All Love” dwells within me, then love will certainly flow out of me.

Application: I may be tempted to use this as a measure to see if my brother is walking in the light. But the issue is not how my brother loves me, but how I love my brother.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for making the most important issue so simple. Amen.

August 21: Jeremiah 21, 24, 27; Psalm 118; 1John 2

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!

SOAP: Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer

Scripture: 1John 1:9 NIV If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Observation: God’s forgiveness and cleansing of my sinful soul is not based on my praying the right words, or bringing the right sacrifice as proof of the sincerity of my confession. It is based on His character! Jesus does not say, “I was going to forgive you, but you did not get the words quite right.” He does not say, “Sorry, you just brought the wrong sacrifice.” When I agree with Him that I have sinned, He forgives and cleanses me based on His faithfulness to the death of Jesus. God is just and does not demand a second payment for a sin that is already covered by the blood of His Son.

Application: It is with a heart of gratitude that I serve the Lord. As the song goes, “He paid a debt He did not owe; I owed a debt I could not pay; I needed someone to wash my sins away. And now I sing a brand new song, Amazing Grace; Christ Jesus paid a debt that I could never pay!”

Prayer: Lord, I am in awe that you are faithful and just. With overflowing gratitude I express my Amen.

August 20: Jeremiah 48-49; Psalm 67; 1John 1

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!

SOAP: Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer

Scripture: John 21:3 "I’m going out to fish," Simon Peter told them, and they said, "We’ll go with you." So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.
4 Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus…
John 21:9 When they landed, they saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it, and some bread.

Observation: Shortly after the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, his disciples went back to their old way of life. But Jesus knew where to find them. They had returned to their old way of making a living, but when they arrived on shore, Jesus already had fish on the fire and some bread!!! (vs. 9). He already had that for which they had gone fishing AND more! He even had the bread!

Application: There are times when I might get “fuzzy” thinking about my life and what I should be doing. I may want to return to an easier way of life—one with which I am more familiar. But Jesus knows where to find me! And even before I arrive back on shore, He already has “a fire with burning coals there with fish on it, and some bread!”

Prayer: Lord, I am glad you know where to find me. You anticipate my needs and know how to provide for them. Amen.

August 19: Jeremiah 45-47; Psalm 105; John 21

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!

SOAP: Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer

Scripture: John 20:1 NIV Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance.
2 So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, "They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!"

Observation: Mary looked at the facts and jumped to the most logical conclusion. The stone was rolled away. Someone had broken in and taken the body of Jesus. What she saw spoke so loud that she did not remember what Jesus had said about rising from the dead. What caused Mary great concern should have caused her great rejoicing! Jesus was ALIVE!

Application: Considering evidence without considering what God has said leads to wrong conclusions and often brings me unnecessary alarm and concern.

Prayer: Holy Spirit, remind me of what is written in the Bible; remind me of what the Lord has spoken to me in the past; and remind me to stop, look AND LISTEN to what you may be saying now! Amen.

August 18: Jeremiah 26, 35-36; John 20

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!

SOAP: Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer

Scripture: John 19:6 As soon as the chief priests and their officials saw him, they shouted, "Crucify! Crucify!" But Pilate answered, "You take him and crucify him. As for me, I find no basis for a charge against him."
7 The Jews insisted, "We have a law, and according to that law he must die, because he claimed to be the Son of God."
8 When Pilate heard this, he was even more afraid,
9 and he went back inside the palace. "Where do you come from?" he asked Jesus, but Jesus gave him no answer.

Observation: It is interesting to note Pilate’s reaction to hearing that Jesus claimed to be the Son of God. Pilate himself had declared that Jesus was a "man" after Jesus had endured the whipping. (Note: verse 5) Jesus was obviously a man’s man! He had endured victoriously! He had an inner strength that amazed Pilate. Could Jesus have been even more than a "man"? Pilate was concerned. Jesus endured even more than Pilate understood, for in carrying the load of sins the eternal relationship he shared with the Father was broken. From the cross he cried, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me.”

Application: The one who endured such suffering rose from the dead and now lives in me! He knows what it is to hurt. He knows how to be graceful and forgiving while suffering. He knows how to comfort me in trouble and rejoice with me in victory!

Prayer: Lord, there is no one in all creation I would rather have with me than you! May my words and actions show how much I value you! Amen.

August 17: Jeremiah 23-25; John 19

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!

SOAP: Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer

Scripture: John 18:25 As Simon Peter stood warming himself, he was asked, "You are not one of his disciples, are you?" He denied it, saying, "I am not."
26 One of the high priest’s servants, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, challenged him, "Didn’t I see you with him in the olive grove?"
27 Again Peter denied it, and at that moment a cock began to crow.

Observation: Jesus had warned that Peter would deny him three times before the cock would begin to crow, but Peter would have none of that. He loved Jesus too much! Now Jesus was on trial and Peter was interested enough to want to find out what was happening, but was afraid enough to deny that he was one of Jesus disciples. In the moment of denial among strangers, Peter was not thinking that someone would be present who would recognize him. But there was!

Application: I never know who is watching. Of course, Jesus is always watching. But many times others are watching too. At home, or while driving the bus, impressionable children are always watching to see how I will respond.

Prayer: Lord, I want those watching to see you living in and through me. Amen.

August 16: 2Kings 24; Jeremiah 22; Psalm 112; John 18

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!

SOAP: Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer

Scripture: John 17:1 After Jesus said this, he looked towards heaven and prayed: "Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you.

Observation: Jesus was praying that the Father would make Jesus look good. Although we may take it as a very selfish prayer, there are two things we should consider. FIRST is that Jesus continued his prayer stating that his motive was to make the Father look good. He wanted to look good so that He could make the Father look good. SECOND is the way he would be glorified. He would be hung to die on a Roman cross to pay for sins he did not commit and to demonstrate to the world the love of God in paying for man’s sins.

What a Father! What a Father he must be that a pure sinless son would be willing to suffer and sacrifice his life in order to restore the relationship between sinful man and Father God!

Application: When I ask for God to help me succeed, I am often asking so that I may look good in my own eyes or in the eyes of someone I am trying to impress. But the motive behind Jesus prayer was that He would be able to make the Father look good. That should be my motive also.

Prayer: Lord, I want people to see what a wonderful God you are and what a privilege it is to serve you! Amen.

August 15: Jeremiah 18-20; Psalm 93; John 17

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!