Tag Archives: christianity

God’s Word at Work!

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Pastor Leon’s SOAP:  Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer
May 13, 2025: SOAP #5640: 2Samuel 24; 1Chronicles 21; Psalm 30; 1Thessalonians 2

SCRIPTURE:  1Thessalonians (NIV) 2:3 For the appeal we make does not spring from error or impure motives, nor are we trying to trick you. 4 On the contrary, we speak as men approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please men but God, who tests our hearts….
13 And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is at work in you who believe.

OBSERVATION:   No tricks, no deceitfulness were used by Paul to reach out to the Thessalonians.  Paul was not interested in building his kingdom, but God’s.  It was God who was using Paul to build the eternal Kingdom!  Paul had been chosen by God and entrusted with a noble assignment.  The good news of God’s great love for man, and the extent He went to show it, had been entrusted to Paul.  

Paul’s motive was, to put it most simply, to make God smile.  The test that concerned Paul, was not the approval of man, but the approval of God.  God considers the heart, the motives.

Paul’s was thankful for their openness to God’s Word.  Though it came through men, they accepted it as from God.  It is a life-changing word that Paul could see was presently at work in those to whom Paul was writing.

APPLICATION:   It was a joy for Paul to see people accept the scriptures as the Word of God and to see the Word at work in their lives.  Paul’s thankfulness is very understandable.

Every SOAP begins with a Scripture about which I write an Observation.  I prayerfully ask God to give me an Application of that scripture to my life.  Then I close with a short Prayer. 

PRAYER:   Lord, I am greatly humbled to see how you are using these SOAPs every day.  In them You show us that you love us.  You are interested in our lives.  And you speak to us each day.  Touch each reader with you Holy Spirit today.  Amen.

Pastor Leon
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No Longer Motivated by Fear!

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Pastor Leon’s SOAP:  Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer
May 12, 2025: SOAP #5639:  2Samuel 21-23; 1Thessalonians 1

SCRIPTURE:  1Thessalonians (NIV) 1:2 We always thank God for all of you, mentioning you in our prayers. 3 We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. 4 For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, 5 because our gospel came to you not simply with words, but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction. You know how we lived among you for your sake.

OBSERVATION:   What Paul says in this verse 4 is something of which he is confident. This is something that is obvious to him.

He addresses them as “brothers loved by God.”  What greater blessing can there be in the whole earth than to be loved by God.  It means that God is benevolently inclined to me.  It means that He intends me good.  It means that he will go to any length for my good, which is obviously proved by Calvery!  Knowing that God loves me is a thought to make any day a good day!

APPLICATION:   What is this of which Paul is so certain?  It is that they were chosen of God.  They had received Jesus, God Son, as their Lord and Savior.  God had looked them over and chose them.  God had seen that they were created in His image and now had His Son living within them.  God could not refuse His Son!  They had potential for special communion with Him.  How special it is to be chosen!

PRAYER:   Holy Spirit, may every thought I think, every word I speak, and every action I make be a proper response to this truth—that my Heavenly Father is for me and loves me.  As His child, I do not respond out of fear for what He might do to me, but out of love because of what He already did for me.  He sent His Son to die for my sins!!!  His Son now lives within me.  Now I serve Him because I love Him. I am responding to His great love for me.  Holy Spirit, help me live my life in a way that brings joy to my Heavenly Father’s heart!  Amen

Pastor Leon
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Jesus ALONE is Lord!!!

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Pastor Leon’s SOAP:  Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer
May 11, 2025: SOAP #5638:  2Samuel 19, 20; Psalm 55; Matthew 28

SCRIPTURE:  Matthew (NIV) 28:18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.

OBSERVATION:   Jesus was preparing to leave his disciples.  He makes a simple statement: “All authority has been GIVEN to me.”   Jesus did not usurp authority.  Jesus did not gain authority by deceiving people.  Jesus did not fight to gain authority.  It HAS BEEN GIVEN to Him!  It is His!!!   

Jesus was judged WORTHY to receive all authority.  Father God, sitting on the throne of heaven judged that Jesus’ hearts and thoughts were pure. Nothing evil could be found in His being.  In His essence He was pure.  His actions were perfectly in line with His assignment.  His sacrifice proved His obedience even unto death.  His sinless blood which flowed from a sinless life was more than sufficient to cover the sins of all men.  His complete humility was worthy of ultimate exaltation. 

Jesus was judged worthy to receive ALL AUTHORITY.  He not only has authority on Friday, or Saturday, or Sunday, but every other day also.  He not only has authority on spiritual matters, or relationship matters, but on every aspect of life.  He has complete authority over all the disciplines of life.    

APPLICATION:   It is for me to judge Jesus to be worthy of ALL AUTHORITY in my life.  I GIVE Him ALL AUTHORITY because I judge that He is WORTHY!  His worth is obvious.  He needs not to fight me to prove that He is powerful enough to bring about my surrender.  Although, if necessary, He loves me enough to do that because as my Creator He knows what is best for me!  It is good for me to see Him as He really is—WORTHY!!!    

PRAYER:   Jesus, you are LORD of my life.  On my knee I bow and with my tongue confess that you alone are LORD!  Amen

Pastor Leon
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It Was Not Possible!

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Pastor Leon’s SOAP:  Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer
May 09, 2025: SOAP #5636:  2Samuel 17; Psalm 71; Matthew 26

SCRIPTURE:  Matthew (NIV) 26:36 Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” 37 He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. 38 Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch 39 Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”

OBSERVATION:   It all came down to this.  Would the Father require the Son He loved to die for the sins of people?  Was it possible for there to be another way?  Could the creation God loved be saved in any other way?  Did Jesus really need to suffer as payment for our sins? 

The Holiness of God demanded that the payment for sin was death.  Since everyone had sinned, everyone had to die.  Sin could not be allowed into the Presence of the Holy God!  God could never realize the joy of loving His prize creation because sin separated us!  The loving God could never have fellowship with His sinning creation.  But if there was one born without sin, who overcame every temptation and lived a sinless life—then His death could be the payment for people born and living in sin!  So, this Holy and Loving God sent His Son to live that life and be that sacrifice!!! 

APPLICATION:   So, it was not possible for “this cup” to be taken from Jesus!   He must suffer and die as the Holy payment of a Holy God on behalf of sinful people who would then know the Love of God!   And so, in all creation where we can see the majesty and awesomeness of such a great Creator God there is one planet where we can see displayed the Creator’s great ability to love—earth!  

Dear SOAP reader, through accepting Jesus as Lord and Savior, we can be the recipients of that love, and through us can be seen the awesome love of our Creator! 

PRAYER:  Heavenly Father, your heart must have been twisted almost to the breaking point as the Son You love requested that the cup of suffering and death be taken from Him.  Yet even though He was your dearly loved Son, you required the same payment from Him as you would from me.   And so, with my sins forgiven I can enter your Holy presence. Just saying “Thanks” is too little, I give you my life as your home.  Amen.

Pastor Leon
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In His Wisdom

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Pastor Leon’s SOAP:  Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer
May 07, 2025: SOAP #5634:  2Samuel 13, 14; Matthew 24

SCRIPTURE:  Matthew 24:4 Jesus answered: “Watch out that no-one deceives you.
5 For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. … 11 and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. … 24 For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect—if that were possible.

OBSERVATION:   To be deceived is to believe a lie.  Jesus said of Satan: “When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” (John 8:44)  It seems obvious that deception is Satan’s main game. 

In verse 4 above, Jesus warns us.  Yet in verse 5 and 11 we find that many people will be deceived.  And in verse 24 we see that Satan tries to deceive even the “elect.”     

APPLICATION:   Since Jesus is “the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6) I need to keep close to Him. 

God knows that we forget what we have heard or even read in the Bible.  God knew that there would be some people who would not even have a Bible to read.  (The first printing press to produce the Bible in book form was in the 15th century)  So, in His wisdom, God has sent the Holy Spirit to live in each of His children.   The Holy Spirit has been given to guide us into all truth (John 16:13).  As we are able to read the Bible, the Holy Spirit will help us understand and apply it to our lives.  But in times and places where no Bible is available, the Holy Spirit can still lead us in paths of truth and to reject the lies that Satan uses to trap us. 

Whenever my thoughts are scrambled, whenever my heart is troubled, or whenever I have an uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach, I need to ask God for His wisdom to understand what he might be telling me.  Philippians 4:7 tells us that the peace of God will guard our hearts and minds.  As God’s children in whom the Holy Spirit dwells, we need to be careful when we do not have peace and when something disrupts our peace. 

PRAYER:   Holy Spirit, cause a question to arise in my heart every time I am about to be deceived into believing a lie.  Lead me into the path of truth.  Keep me free from deception.  Amen.

Pastor Leon
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Your Invitation!

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Pastor Leon’s SOAP:  Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer
May 05, 2025: SOAP #5632:  2Samuel 10; 1Chronicles 20; Psalm 20; Matthew 22

SCRIPTURE:  Matthew (NIV) 22:8 “Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come. 9 Go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.’ 10 So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, both good and bad, and the wedding hall was filled with guests.

OBSERVATION:   Jesus often used parables/stories to emphasize what He was teaching.  His stories were all real to life.  They were not about fictional things, but things people understood from their everyday life. 

In this story Jesus was emphasizing that our Heavenly Father is preparing a grand banquet in honor of His Son, and He wants the great hall full of guests.  He wants heaven to be full so His invitations have gone out.  But some of those invited have chosen not to come.  So with urgency He tells His servants, “Go out, and invite anyone you find!”  

There is only one requirement: they must be willing to come!  They did not need a ticket, or to bring a gift, or even have the right clothes.  They did not need to pass a test to be eligible to come.  They only had to be willing to accept the invitation, to believe that it was a genuine invitation personally offered to them.  A necessary wedding garment would be provided. 

APPLICATION:  Last Sunday night such an invitation went out to a large gathering of people invited to hear about the SOAPs.  About 19,000 responded to the call to make Jesus the Lord of their lives.  They provided their names and phone numbers, so now they too are receiving the SOAPs every day!  

Pray with me that the SOAPs will help them grow in loving Jesus and experiencing His love and grace.  Pray that the joy of the Lord will flood their hearts and homes. 

If you, dear SOAP reader, have not yet asked Jesus to forgive your sins and invited Him to be the LORD of your life, pray with me…

PRAYER:   Lord, I confess that I have sinned and need your forgiveness.  I invite you to live in my heart as my Lord.  With thanksgiving, I receive your offer of forgiveness.  Amen 

Pastor Leon
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Doing it The Jesus Way!

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Pastor Leon’s SOAP:  Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer
May 03, 2025: SOAP #5630:  2Samuel 7; 1Chronicles 17; Psalm 2; Matthew 20

SCRIPTURE:  Matthew 20:26 …whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant,
27 and whoever wants to be first must be your slave—
28 just as THE SON OF MAN DID NOT COME TO BE SERVED, BUT TO SERVE, AND TO GIVE HIS LIFE AS A RANSOM FOR MANY.”

OBSERVATION:   That is how verse 28 is marked in my Bible – bold and underlined.  It is a purpose statement Jesus gives for His own life.  This is why He came.  Here is the reason for His presence.  This is an important verse revealing motive.  Recently as I read this passage, I noticed I had missed something very important.  I missed the first two words of the verse: “just as…”  Jesus was telling us about His purpose to use Himself as an example for applying the previous two verses to our lives.  “If you want to be great, you must become a servant (vs 26), —even a slave (vs 27); and here is your example (vs 28).  Do it like I do it!  Follow my example!”

APPLICATION:   The authority God has given me is a tool to use in serving others.  It is not how many people I can rule, but how many people I can serve.  Jesus is my example of not taking the comfortable way and making choices that serve me but making choices that serve others.  Today, in my life, I want to embolden and underline the two words previously missed. 

I want to serve “Jesus way.”  And since He is living inside as my LORD, I can count on Him to express Himself through me. 

PRAYER:   Lord, you are my example in using whatever authority is mine today, be it over others or just over myself.  I want to make decisions that please you and serve others.  As best I can, I want to use this day “just as” you would.  I am counting on your presence in me to help me.  Amen. 

Pastor Leon
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Pleasing God

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Pastor Leon’s SOAP:  Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer
April 29, 2025: SOAP #5626:  2Samuel 4,5; Psalm 139; Matthew 16

SCRIPTURE:   Psalm 139:23 Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.
24 See if there is any offensive way in me and lead me in the way everlasting.

OBSERVATION:   If I really want to please God, then I must know what pleases Him.  I cannot live my life doing what pleases me and just hope that enough of it will please Him that I will make it into heaven. 

APPLICATION:   There are two ways to organize one’s life.  First is to please myself and hope that some of it pleases God.  The second way is to set my heart to please God and discover that it very often pleases me too!  

There are two sources of knowledge about God and what pleases Him.  First is The Word of God which many refer to as the Holy Bible or the scriptures.  In them we read about the character of God and see how Jesus lived in this world.  Second is the Holy Spirit that comes into our lives when we take Jesus as our Lord and Savior.  He often releases joy when we are pleasing God and usually fills our heart with guilt, or remorse, or heaviness when we do what displeases God. 

PRAYER:   Lord, thank you for the joy that fills our hearts when we first invite you to live in our hearts.  And thank you for the peace you bring into our lives.  Teach us from your Word how to please you.  Walk with us, talk with us.  Teach us to recognize your voice.  In Your Name, Lord Jesus, we pray,  Amen

Pastor Leon
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Just a note of rejoicing to share with SOAP readers.  Yesterday evening there was a LARGE group of people gathered to hear about Jesus and the SOAPs. (35-40,000) It is reported that 19,000 accepted Jesus as Lord and gave their names and phone numbers to receive the daily SOAPs. 
So, if you had a glad day today, it might have been that the joy of heaven spilled over into your heart!   Please pray for the SOAP team to help these new believers grow in their faith and in the joy of the Lord!   It’s a new day of the Lord!  

It Must Be A Heart Matter!

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Pastor Leon’s SOAP:  Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer
April 28, 2025: SOAP #5625:  2Samuel 3; 1Chronicles 12; Matthew 15

SCRIPTURE:  Matthew (NIV) 15:4  For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother’ and ‘Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.’ 5 But you say that if a man says to his father or mother, ‘Whatever help you might otherwise have received from me is a gift devoted to God,’ 6 he is not to ‘honor his father’ with it. Thus, you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition.
7 You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you: 8 “‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. 9 They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.’”

OBSERVATION:   In these verses Jesus was speaking to the religious leaders about the way they twisted the commands.  They talked like they had it all together when it came to spiritual things, but the most important part to God—their heart—was far from what it should be.    

I hear him saying their worship was useless to God and useless to themselves.  Their teaching should have come from their personal relationship with God, but instead they just mouthed what someone else had said. 

APPLICATION:   It is good to learn from others, but I must personally hear God speaking to me.  And when He does use people to speak to me, the Holy Spirit confirms in my spirit that the message is from God.    That happens more often when I honor God with my lips AND with my heart.

The personal relationship that God desires is for us to accept Jesus offer of forgiveness (made possible by His sinless life and death on the cross) and to make Jesus the Lord of our lives.  We invite Him to live in our lives, not as a guest, but as a permanent, honored resident, as the LORD of our lives.

PRAYER:   Lord, as a child, I used to sing:  “Into my heart, come into my heart, come into my heart Lord Jesus.  Come in today, come in to stay; come into my heart Lord Jesus.”  Amen. 

Pastor Leon
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Something Fresh!

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Pastor Leon’s SOAP:  Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer
April 26, 2025: SOAP #5623:  2Samuel 1; Psalm 140; Matthew 13

SCRIPTURE:  Matthew (NIV) 13:52 He (Jesus) said to them (His disciples) “Therefore every teacher of the law who has become a disciple in the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old.” 

OBSERVATION:   One should not throw away something just because it is old.  Neither should one continue to use the old when the new is better.  Wisdom is the blending of the old and the new.  Both have value.   (The principle in this verse can be applied to everything from worship music to using technology.) 

APPLICATION:   To live under the Old Testament law when I understand New Testament grace would be foolish, but if I ignore the Old Testament and only read the New Testament I will miss much of God’s character that can be seen as He interacted with the Old Testament people. 

I continue to enjoy the songs that were written in the 1920’s to the 1970’s.  But if I refuse the songs of today, I miss the joy of hearing a new generation express their love and devotion to the One I love most!  After all, what makes God happy should make Leon happy! 

Oh the joy that comes from daily time reading and meditating on God’s word.  He continues to give me new understanding from the Old Testament and New Testament scriptures and new ways to apply them to my daily life.  God’s word is always fresh in my heart.  

Read your Bible with a pencil and sheet of paper (or a blank page in a journal) with you.  Write the date on the sheet praying for God to show you something fresh for you today.  God responds to faith and your faith has made preparation for you to hear from God!  

PRAYER:   Lord, I want to always appreciate what you have done in the past yet I want to be flexible enough to appreciate what you are doing in the present…what you are doing today.  Amen

Pastor Leon
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