SOAP: Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer
Scripture: Revelation 18:5 for her sins are piled up to heaven, and God has remembered her crimes.
Revelation 18:8 Therefore in one day her plagues will overtake her: death, mourning and famine. She will be consumed by fire, for mighty is the Lord God who judges her.
Revelation 18:10 Terrified at her torment, they will stand far off and cry: "‘Woe! Woe, O great city, O Babylon, city of power! In one hour your doom has come!’
Revelation 18:17 In one hour such great wealth has been brought to ruin!’
Observation: People may disagree about the identity of Babylon, the city which is the object of God’s wrath, some have suggested it refers to the Unites States of America. BUT there is no disagreement about the swiftness of God’s wrath against sin! He is longsuffering and patient, but there comes a day, there comes an hour when his holiness causes him to move in judgment.
Application: Jesus spoke about those who claim “peace” and “safety” but then are overtaken by swift judgment. Paul tells us that “today” is the day of salvation. I need to live each day, each hour, and each moment with this in view.
Prayer: Holy Spirit, help me not to get duped into thinking that things will continue and that judgment is so far off that I need not be concerned today. Amen.
September 13: Ezekiel 33-35; Revelation 18
Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!
SOAPs by Pastor Leon 
It seems this post is about judgement, and the day of judgement, which is good. Certainly something to keep in mind. It is my belief that each will be judged as he/she judges. Throughout scripture God is portrayed from angry/destructive to compassionate/merciful, it seems difficult to imagine what judgment will be like but knowing God, it will be fair. A fair judgement I think would be to use the measure each one of us has used against one another. For we all judge, it is in our nature to look for similarities and differences. Only God is omniscient, only God truly knows what’s fair.
More importantly, in the prayer of this post is mentioned “…thinking things will continue…”. This is something that has been urgently on my mind for some time. I live an easy life at the moment, have little to no worries, and my needs are sufficiently taken care of. Yet something has been pressing me to progress, providing a feeling of stagnation, and a thought that this cannot continue, I need to move forward, there is more to do. In any facet stagnation is never good. Having a feeling that my life is stagnant says to me I need to find ways to improve, to progress. Will you direct me to scripture that deals with becoming too comfortable/stagnant in life?
Matthew 22:37 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your mind and with all your soul.
Thanks for your comment. Here are some thoughts that may go toward answering your question:
When I acknowledge that I belong to Him and that how I live my life is an expression of my love for Him and also an expression of how worthy He is of my full devotion I want to please Him more.
Daily reading the scripture. Having daily expressions of ministry. In other words, not just taking in, but also giving out.
Colossians 3:17 is a good general guide. I have found a good motivation is that I want to make Him smile. There is so much in the world that must break His heart, I want my life to bring Him joy.