Pastor Leon’s SOAP:  Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer
May 19, 2024: SOAP #5281: 1Kings 4, 5; 2Chronicles 2; Psalm 101; 2Thessalonians 3

SCRIPTURE:  2Chronicles (NIV) 2:5 “The temple I am going to build will be great, because our God is greater than all other gods. 6 But who is able to build a temple for him, since the heavens, even the highest heavens, cannot contain him? Who then am I to build a temple for him, except as a place to burn sacrifices before him?

OBSERVATION:  King Solomon had it right! He was building a Great House for a Great God, who was so great that Solomon’s temple could not begin to hold him!

Since Solomon’s temple could not hold God, why was Solomon building it?  He was building it as a proper place to burn sacrifices before the Lord!

APPLICATION:  Solomon’s Great God is the One Who lives in me by His Holy Spirit! As King Solomon was building a temple that was worthy of such a Great God, so I should conduct my life in this earthly temple in a way that is worthy of such a Great God! 

“For we are the temple of the Living God!  (2Corinthians 6:16)   Many gods made of stone have temples made of stone, BUT we have a LIVING GOD who deserves a living temple.  Everyday, and in every activity of our life, people around us should see the LIVING GOD working in our lives. 

David’s son, King Solomon, built a temple of stone.  David’s Son, King Jesus, is now building a temple made of living stones!!! 

PRAYER:  Heavenly Father, forgive me for not displaying your greatness in this temple of my body. May the walls of my temple be covered with your love and holiness. May the story of your Amazing Grace be written on each wall. Amen

Pastor Leon
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Pastor Leon’s SOAP:  Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer
May 18, 2024: SOAP #5280: 1Kings 3; 2Chronicles 1; Psalm 78; 2Thessalonians 2

SCRIPTURE:  1Kings (NIV) 3:5 At Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon during the night in a dream, and God said, “Ask for whatever you want me to give you.”…
9 So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to people of yours?”
10 The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for this.

OBSERVATION:  What a wise choice, to choose wisdom!  He requested a wise heart to enable him to govern Israel and to know the difference between good and evil.

Of all the things Solomon could have requested, he asked for that which would make him a better servant, both to God and to the people.  He used his power to choose, and in so doing did not use it selfishly.  He did not choose to better his own standing, but to enable him to better the standing of others.

APPLICATION:  Every once in a while, we too have an unexpected choice.  We unexpectedly find or receive some extra money.  How do we choose to spend it?  Or we unexpectedly have an “extra” hour in our day.  How do we choose to spend it?

May God be as pleased with our choices as He was with Solomon’s.  As we read on from the scriptures above, we see that God was so pleased that He gave Solomon all the things he did not ask for—wealth, honor, peace, long life! 

PRAYER:  Heavenly Father, I need your wisdom flowing through me as I write these SOAPs every day.  I need your wisdom, leading me to good choices for myself and for good counsel for people needing help.  In Jesus Name I pray,  Amen

Personal update:  I have an appointment with a Urologist next Friday.  He will evaluate the results of the MRI and set a plan for a biopsy in the near future.  School ends May 22; summer school starts in June, four mornings each week.  I am scheduled to drive the bus then. 

Pastor Leon
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Pastor Leon’s SOAP:  Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer
May 18, 2024: SOAP #5280: 1Kings 3; 2Chronicles 1; Psalm 78; 2Thessalonians 2

SCRIPTURE:  1Kings (NIV) 3:5 At Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon during the night in a dream, and God said, “Ask for whatever you want me to give you.”…
9 So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to people of yours?”
10 The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for this.

OBSERVATION:  What a wise choice, to choose wisdom!  He requested a wise heart to enable him to govern Israel and to know the difference between good and evil.

Of all the things Solomon could have requested, he asked for that which would make him a better servant, both to God and to the people.  He used his power to choose, and in so doing did not use it selfishly.  He did not choose to better his own standing, but to enable him to better the standing of others.

APPLICATION:  Every once in a while, we too have an unexpected choice.  We unexpectedly find or receive some extra money.  How do we choose to spend it?  Or we unexpectedly have an “extra” hour in our day.  How do we choose to spend it?

May God be as pleased with our choices as He was with Solomon’s.  As we read on from the scriptures above, we see that God was so pleased that He gave Solomon all the things he did not ask for—wealth, honor, peace, long life! 

PRAYER:  Heavenly Father, I need your wisdom flowing through me as I write these SOAPs every day.  I need your wisdom, leading me to good choices for myself and for good counsel for people needing help.  In Jesus Name I pray,  Amen

Personal update:  I have an appointment with a Urologist next Friday.  He will evaluate the results of the MRI and set a plan for a biopsy in the near future.  School ends May 22; summer school starts in June, four mornings each week.  I am scheduled to drive the bus then. 

Pastor Leon
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Pastor Leon’s SOAP:  Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer
May 17, 2024: SOAP #5279: 1Kings 2: 1Chronicles 29; Psalm 95; 2Thessalonians 1

SCRIPTURE:  2Thessalonians (NIV) 1:6 God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you 7 and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels.

OBSERVATION:  God’s justice is an expression of his holiness.  It is perfect. When we think of justice in our nation, we think of courts and judges.  That is a very important part of justice, but it is only half the story.  In God, justice does not only have to do with punishing the wicked, but also with rewarding the righteous.

Paul points to God’s justice to encourage those suffering persecution. And his inclusion “as to us as well,” indicates that Paul takes courage and strength himself from the thought of God’s justice. This is not the end of the story. What is ahead makes it well worth putting up with this temporary trouble we experience.

APPLICATION:  Those in hospitals want to know when they will be going home. Anyone going through trouble wants to know when it will end.  It will end when Jesus returns.  He will return with great glory, not coming again like a newborn baby in a manger.  The angels will not be limited to announcing his arrival to shepherds.  He will come with “blazing fire” and “powerful angels.”

PRAYER:  Lord, what a day that will be when you return to set up your kingdom on earth!   Then you will rule in holiness and love.  Courts will not be swayed away from truth.  After years of rule by men with selfishness, greed, graft, dishonesty and evil, the world will be ruled by The Only One Worthy!  You proved you are holy by your life on earth and you proved you are loving by dying for our sins!  Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus!  Amen

Pastor Leon
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Pastor Leon’s SOAP:  Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer
May 16, 2024: SOAP #5278: 1Kings 1: 1Chronicles 28; Psalm 91; 1Thessalonians 5

SCRIPTURE:  1Thessaloniang (NIV) 5:16 Be joyful always; 17  pray continually; 18  give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

OBSERVATION:  There are 14 directive phrases that Paul writes to the Thessalonians at the close of this letter in verses 12-22. 

The 10th directive.  In whatever circumstances we find ourselves, we are to be thankful.  Paul is not here telling us to be thankful FOR those circumstances, but IN those circumstances.  However blessed or troublesome our circumstances are, we have something for which we are eternally grateful.  We have His Presence!  We have His Promises!

APPLICATION:  It is the will of God for us to be thankful.  It is good for God when we are thankful.  It is good for us when we are thankful.  It is good for our neighbors when we are thankful.  

A thankful believer makes God look good!  It makes other people want what we have. 

PRAYER:  Heavenly Father, I want you to enjoy my prayers.  May they be full of appreciation and rejoicing in what you have done and are doing around me. 

Pastor Leon
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Pastor Leon’s SOAP:  Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer
May 15, 2024: SOAP #5277: 1Chronicles 25-27; 1Thessalonians 4

(from 2014 SOAP)  

SCRIPTURE:  1Thessalonians (NIV) 4:14 We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.   

OBSERVATION:  We believe!  We are believers!  Our faith is founded upon historical fact.  We believe Jesus was crucified.  He died.  But that is not all we believe.  We believe that Jesus rose from death.  Jesus came back to life.  Jesus proved that death is not the end.  Jesus passed through death and returned.

APPLICATION:  AND SO …   Believing the first part of the above verse logically leads us to believe the second part.

Because we believe Jesus died and rose, we also believe that those who have died while believing in Him will accompany Him when He returns.  As Paul wrote in another place, “to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.” {2Corinthians 5:8} They are with the Lord as their body lies asleep in death. They will come with the Lord when He returns to this earth.

PRAYER:  Lord, thank you for the assurance we have that the parting of death for those who die knowing you—it is only temporary!  Amen

Pastor Leon
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Pastor Leon’s SOAP:  Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer
May 14, 2024: SOAP #5276: 1Chronicles 22-24; 1Thessalonians 3

(reworked from 2018)

SCRIPTURE:  1Thessalonians (NIV) 3:11 Now may our God and Father himself and our Lord Jesus clear the way for us to come to you. 12 May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you.

OBSERVATION:  Paul loved the believers in Thessalonica and would love to visit them, but his life was not his own.  God the Father and the Lord Jesus would have to “clear the way” for a visit back to Thessalonica. 

My first thoughts about “clearing the way” has to do with my calendar.  There are times when my planned activities get in the way of God’s plan for me.  I need Him to clear my calendar of commitments and things that would stop me from doing His will. 

Also, Paul’s travel expense account was not in a local bank.  God was his banker and funded Paul’s ministry.  Sometimes Paul worked to not be a burden to others.  (1Thessalonians 2:9)   Sometimes people traveling with Paul took jobs so that Paul would be able to focus full time on ministry.  Sometimes churches send Paul support for his ministry.   God’s funding depended on doing God’s will.  So, Paul needed God to “clear the way” for travel to Thessalonica.  The assurance of God’s authorization comes with the assurance of God’s provision.

APPLICATION:  It is important for me to walk in step with God, not to lag and not to run ahead.  Walking in the center of His presence is where I find the fullness of the Holy Spirit’s anointing and the assurance of His full provision. 

While in the US Navy, I found that when I obeyed my assignment, I did not have to carry the burden of provision.  Now I am finding that God is a much better provider than the US Navy! 

PRAYER:  Lord Jesus, as my love and appreciation for you grows in my heart, so grows my desire to live in the center of your will.  Being sure of your will for me brings the assurance of your provision.  You “clear the way” for me to do as you direct.  Amen

Pastor Leon
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Pastor Leon’s SOAP:  Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer
May 13, 2024: SOAP #5275: 2Samuel 24; 1Chronicles 21; Psalm 30; 1Thessalonians 2

SCRIPTURE:  Psalm (NIV) 30:4 Sing to the LORD, you saints of his; praise his holy name. 5 For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.

OBSERVATION:  What a wonderful God we serve.  His anger flows from His love, for those who do not love do not have as much capacity for anger. Perhaps it could be said that love lends it strength to anger. When someone hurts the ones I deeply love, I become very angry.  When someone hurts ones I do not love very much, I do not become as angry.  If I am full of self-love, I will become very angry when I do not get my way.  On the other hand, if I love God deeply, I will become very angry when He is mistreated.  (Jesus became angry when people misused His Father’s house.)

APPLICATION:  Does God get angry?  He certainly does. God is love.  He loves intensly.  His anger is hot.  We see his anger expressed at people who mistreated Israel. I believe His anger at the way people have treated the Son He so loves will cause the half hour of silence in heaven.

However His anger does not last forever!  Praise the Lord!   Anger subsides when the situation has been properly settled, and on the cross, God provided the perfect/only solution for sin.  He provided a way for forgiveness to be offered without making excuses for sin.  He provided a way for forgiveness without making little of sin.  He did not say, “Forget about it.”  He did not say, “That’s nothing.”  He did say, “That is terrible, but I will pay a sufficient price!”

And so, His anger lasted but a moment.  It was poured out on Jesus. Jesus was forsaken when he became sin and hung upon the cross.

But for those who reject God’s gracious offer of forgiveness, they will experience his anger for all eternity.  Even in heaven there will be 30 minutes of silence. (Revelation 8:1) I tend to believe that it will be a time of God’s anger at a world which rejected the One He loved and sent.

PRAYER:  Lord Jesus, I confess my sins and accept the payment you made on the cross as the payment for my sins.  I set you as the Lord of my life.  Amen

Pastor Leon
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Pastor Leon’s SOAP:  Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer
May 12, 2024: SOAP #5274: 2Samuel 21-23; 1Thessalonians 1

SCRIPTURE:  2Samuel (NIV) 22:1 David sang to the LORD the words of this song when the LORD delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. 2 He said: “The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; 3 my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation. He is my stronghold, my refuge and my savior—from violent men you save me.

OBSERVATION:  The Lord does not provide a fortress for me: He is my fortress.  He is my deliverer.  God does not provide me a place for refuge; He is my refuge. He is my shield. 

God is not so much interested in what He can do for me as interested in what He can do with me.  The protection God has provided is in the relationship I have with Him.  “God is my rock, IN WHOM I take refuge!”

APPLICATION:  Many times, I want God to provide for me what He has promised to be to me.  I must make myself aware of His presence. When I live in an awareness of His presence, I find I already have what I was looking for. 

PRAYER:  Lord, living here is a walk of faith.  In faith I live as though your word is true.  You are my fortress; in you I have peace, forgiveness, and restoration.  You are my refuge and in you I have peace.  With your presence I have confidence to face the world.  Amen

Pastor Leon
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Pastor Leon’s SOAP:  Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer
May 11, 2024: SOAP #5273: 2Samuel 19, 20; Psalm 55; Matthew 28

SCRIPTURE:  Psalm (NIV) 55:16 But I call to God, and the LORD saves me.
17 Evening, morning and noon I cry out in distress, and he hears my voice.
18 He ransoms me unharmed from the battle waged against me, even though many oppose me.

OBSERVATION:  The Psalmist discovered that God was a dependable and trustworthy friend!  God does not work behind office doors on which are posted the hours the office is open.  There is not a sign hanging in the window that says He is out to lunch, and we must come back in an hour.  He has no sign with a number to call in case of emergency.  He takes distress calls evening, morning, and noon! 

He is the ONE to whom we call!  He is the ONE who hears our cry!  He is the ONE who has given us many promises on which we can place our faith.  He is the ONE who has sufficient resources to meet our needs. 
 

APPLICATION:  I should spend more time talking to God about my needs than talking to people!  I should spend more time in prayer than on Facebook!  

If God directs me to tell someone about my needs, in obedience, I must tell them.  But it is not my place to beg or pressure them to meet my need.  That is God’s place.  If I believe that my begging and pleading will have more effect on a potential helper then what God can do—obviously I do not know God very well. They will respond to a word from the Lord much sooner than to all my begging and pleading. 

PRAYER:  Heavenly Father, with faith in our hearts and your word fresh in our mind, we call on you now.  We are not waiting for an appropriate prayer time.  Our need is now and now is the appropriate time to pray.  Hear the desperate prayers of SOAP readers.  Some need money, some need food, and some need healing.  Increase their faith in you and your promises.  As they are faithful to read your word, lead them to promises on which they can stand.  Increase their faith.  And may their increased faith be an example for others.  In Jesus Name I pray, AMEN!     

Pastor Leon
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