Pastor Leon’s SOAP:  Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer
December 02, 2025:  SOAP #5843: Romans 9-12

SCRIPTURE:  Romans (NIV) 9:1 I speak the truth in Christ—I am not lying; my conscience confirms it in the Holy Spirit—

OBSERVATION:  The author here emphasizes the veracity of what he is saying.  May each of us be able to give this witness of our words.

The spirit dwells in our hearts.  He communicates to us by His presence.  I can sense His joy when He is greatly pleased, His peace with all is well, or His concern when He is uncomfortable with something I have said or done. 

The Holy Spirit gives special watchful care over our words.  It is good for us to learn early to listen to the voice of the Spirit of God.  We must first learn to recognize that voice, then we must carefully listen for that voice. 

The Spirit may speak gently as an uneasy “feeling” in our heart.  The Spirit may speak loudly by strongly bringing a scripture to our mind that indicates the direction for that moment.  The Spirit may speak through another person. 

We listen and obey Him to our blessing.  We ignore Him to our loss.

APPLICATION:  The Holy Spirit has many ways to “confirm” His words and His ways.  The better we know the Scriptures, we will find truth that can be applied to our current situation.  At other times God will confirm His word through a message from another believer.  God will use what they say to “shine a light” in our heart and mind. 

PRAYER:  Lord, I want to be a good listener.  I want to hear what you are saying to me.  Guard my words to give good counsel to those around me.  Holy Spirit, confirm my words with your peace.  Anoint the 2,000+ who, for the next three weeks, are carrying SOAPs to the people of Sierra Leone.  Speak through them; confirm your word with signs and wonders.  And may many souls come to accept Jesus as Lord and Savior!  Amen

Pastor Leon
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Pastor Leon’s SOAP:  Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer
December 01, 2025:  SOAP #5842: Romans 5-8

SCRIPTURE:  Romans (NIV) 5:1 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.

OBSERVATION:  Here we read that our justification came by faith. Along with being cleansed and made as though we had never sinned came peace.  Our sins destroyed any hope we might have had to ever have peace with God, but through the Lord Jesus Christ and His work on the cross, we have peace!!!  This is not something that we will be given in the future, but something we have now, in the present!

We have peace with Jesus Christ as “our Lord.”  He has the power of decision; He has the power of directing; we have peace.  He alone, through His Holy Spirit, can establish peace and maintain peace with God.

APPLICATION:   So, what do I do now with my life?  I surrender it to Jesus!  He is my LORD!   He has made me to be His dwelling place.  I talk with Him and listen to hear what He says to me.  I live in ways that please Him.  I talk in ways that please Him.  I make some time to spend just with Him AND I treat Him as my faithful companion throughout each day. 

PRAYER:   Lord, you have done so much for me.  You have forgiven my sins.  You have put peace and joy in my heart.  You are with me now AND you have given me promises of spending eternity with you!  You gave your life for my sake; I now want to live for your sake.  Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!   
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Pastor Leon’s SOAP:  Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer
November 30, 2025:  SOAP #5840: Romans 1-4

SCRIPTURE:  Romans (NIV) 4:21 [Abraham] being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.  22 This is why “it was credited to him a righteousness.”

OBSERVATION: The challenge of faith is choosing the right foundation.  Faith is no better than the foundation on which it is placed.  Life cannot be lived without faith.  We put faith in the people from whom we buy our food and those who service our vehicles.  When we depend on others, we are exercising faith. Whether they come through or not is not based on our faith but on their faithfulness, on their character.  Sometimes we discover that our faith has been placed on something that is untrustworthy. 

Abraham’s faith was in God’s promise.  Behind the Promise of God is the Character of God.  God’s Word is fully trustworthy because God is fully trustworthy.  Abraham was fully persuaded.  Abraham was a friend of God.  He knew God.  Abraham’s faith was not faith based on what Abraham commanded God to do, or what Abraham desired God to do; this was faith based on what God promised to do.

APPLICATION: Faith may be weak or strong, but it is not bad.  It is the choice as to where I place my faith that is right or wrong.  I can make a bad decision to put my faith in my works to get me to heaven.  I can make a bad decision to place my faith in an idol.  I must make the right decision to put my faith in Him (Jesus) who is trustworthy and capable!

PRAYER:  Holy God, you are the only worthy foundation for my faith.  You fulfilled your promise to send Jesus, your Son, to die for my sins.  I receive Him as my Lord and Savior. My faith is in His sacrifice and that you will honor His sacrifice for my sins.  Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!   
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Pastor Leon’s SOAP:  Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer
November 29, 2025:  SOAP #5840: 1Thes 4-5; 2Thes 1-3

SCRIPTURE:  2Thessalonians 4:1 Finally, brothers, we instructed you how to live in order to please God, as in fact you are living. Now we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus to do this more and more. 2 For you know what instructions we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus.

OBSERVATION:  As Jesus taught, he took no credit for his teaching but clearly told His listeners that he was giving them only what the Father had given him.  (John 14:10)   Here we see Paul doing the same.  He was not telling them what he wanted them to hear, but what God wanted them to hear. The instructions Paul had given the Thessalonians was given under the direction and “authority of the Lord Jesus.”

APPLICATION:  I know that God has assigned me to write SOAPs.  It was not my choice, but God so clearly spoke to me that I started back in October 2009.  I did three in October, six in November, and twenty-one in December.  On January 1, 2010, somehow, I knew if I did it that day, I would need to do one every day of the year!  Could I believe God for something every day?  I stepped out in faith and today, almost 11 years later, God has been faithful!  

As Jesus was faithful to say what the Father gave Him to say; as Paul was faithful to write under the authority of the Lord Jesus; I have prayed that the Holy Spirit guide my comments on the verses He shows me. 

And each SOAP reader can have the same confidence that as they keep the Scriptures fresh in their heart and mind, that the same Holy Spirit will draw their thoughts and words into agreement not just with what God has said, but with what God is saying.   Pray with me…

PRAYER:   Heavenly Father, you are a speaker.  Speak your words into my heart and mind, then speak through me to others.  With my words and actions speak to each listener in their language and in a way that they will understand what you are saying to them.  Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!   
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Pastor Leon’s SOAP:  Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer
November 27, 2025:  SOAP #5838: Matthew 23-25

SCRIPTURE:  Matthew (NIV) 24:45 “Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time? 46 It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns. 47 I tell you the truth, he will put him in charge of all his possessions.

OBSERVATION:  In the Bible we often read of people referring to Jesus as Lord.  Many Christians today call Him Lord.  If someone living in this geographic area of the world mentions “the Lord” it is commonly taken that they are speaking of Jesus. 

When I call Jesus Lord or refer to Him as Lord, by my words I am implying that I am his servant.  I expect Him to act like my Lord; He expects me to act like His servant! 

Being His servant has responsibilities as well as the potential of great reward.

APPLICATION:  I expect He will help me when I get in trouble.  I expect that He will lead me.  I expect that sometimes He may give me an assignment that I do not like.  I need to understand that the assignments given a servant are not for the pleasure of the servant but the pleasure of the Lord!  I have great expectations of spending eternity with my Lord in heaven.  I expect Him to provide a place for me like He promised. 

He also has expectations of me, His servant.  He expects I will live on earth in a way that honors Him.  He expects that I will respect him as my Lord.  He expects me to trust Him.  His assignments for me are not always for my pleasure, but He expects me to trust that they are always for my good and His glory.   

PRAYER:  Lord, because I love you, I want to fulfill your expectations of me.  May I bring joy to your heart.  Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!   
On Facebook:  Today’s SOAP from Pastor Leon
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Pastor Leon’s SOAP:  Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer
November 25, 2025:  SOAP #5836: Matthew 20-22

SCRIPTURE:  Matthew (NIV) 22:35 One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: 36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” 37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment.
39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’  40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

OBSERVATION:  Surely this was a question that had been asked and debated for generations.  The person asking this question is called an “expert in the law.”  Surely he had debated this question in his days in school.  Surely he had led debates on this question as he had taught others.  Surely he had his own opinion as to which commandment was the greatest. 

Probably this “expert in the law” did not fully realize with whom he was talking, but he was about to receive the clearest answer that had ever been given.  The Law-giver Himself would be answering his question!   The One who was about to fulfill the laws requirements would be answering his question. 

APPLICATION:  Jesus answered the question with recognizable authority and simple clarity.  For all time, we have the answer to which is the greatest commandment, and which is second. 

PRAYER:  Lord, knowing the truth in my head is easy; but living it out in my daily life is a challenge.  You are the only one who lived out the commandments perfectly.  How grateful I am that you come and live your life in and through me. How dependent I am on your grace and mercy.  Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!   
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Also on:  soapsbyleon.wordpress.com

Pastor Leon’s SOAP:  Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer
November 23, 2025:  SOAP #5834: Matthew 14-16

SCRIPTURE:  Matthew (NIV) 15;32 Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, or they may collapse on the way.”
33 His disciples answered, “Where could we get enough bread in this remote place to feed such a crowd?”

OBSERVATION:  It was not an illogical question.  The crowd was 4,000 plus women and children (verse 38).  What was available to feed the people was 7 loaves and a few small fishes (verse 34). 

But what had Jesus just done that could have produced faith in the disciples’ hearts that He could take care of a hungry crowd?  What about mute people now talking, crippled people now walking, and blind people seeing (verse 31)?

Could the One who healed the lame and the blind, could He also feed the hungry?   Maybe Jesus did not just have healing power, maybe He just had POWER!!   He has power and authority over all His creation!  

APPLICATION:  Have the things God has done in the past built faith in my heart for the present need?  Can the same God who healed me of a headache, can He also help me with a problem at work?  Can the same God who help me with money for rent, can He also help me with my relationship with my children?  

PRAYER:  Jesus, you are LORD over every part of my life.  You have power and authority over me and this world into which you have placed me.  Going where YOU tell me to go and doing what YOU tell me to do is my key to victory.  Help me not to run ahead of you nor to drag behind you, but to stay in step with you.  Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!   
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Pastor Leon’s SOAP:  Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer
November 21, 2025:  SOAP #5832: Matthew 11-13

SCRIPTURE:  Matthew (NIV) 13:31 He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. 32 Though it is the smallest of all your seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and perch in its branches.”

OBSERVATION:  Our God is a Living God and life is a special part of His creation.  In the earth, one can see different forms of life wherever one looks.  (Personally, I cannot imagine that the God who created so much life on the earth, would create all the heavens with no life there.) 

So, growth and maturing are common parts of God’s living kingdom.  Things start small and grow as they mature.  The same is true of ministries.  The same is true of the SOAP ministry.  Like a mustard seed, it started small when I was 62 and for 15 years has grown far beyond my expectations.  I am so glad God gave me the grace to continue on past year 2, and year 10. 

APPLICATION:  God is at work in our families, our relationships, and our ministries.  Only God can see the future apples in the apple seed we plant.  And only God can see the future in our ministries.  We must remain faithful.  We cannot let discouragement hinder or block our slow progress.  We must keep our eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of His work in our lives. 

PRAYER:  Lord, looking at you keeps me moving ahead in the path you have laid out for me.  When my vision is filled with you, I find encouragement to keep climbing.  When your presence fills my heart, I find joy even in the hard trials.  Your Holy Spirit imparts wisdom as I grow in you.  Amen                       

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!   
On Facebook:  Today’s SOAP from Pastor Leon
Also on:  soapsbyleon.wordpress.com