Pastor Leon’s SOAP:  Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer
July 21, 2025: SOAP #5709: 2Kings 18-19; 2Chronicles 32; James 5

SCRIPTURE:  James 4: ⁷ Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. ⁸ Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. ⁹ Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. ¹⁰ Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.
2Kings 18: ⁵ Hezekiah trusted in the LORD, the God of Israel. There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before him or after him. ⁶ He held fast to the LORD and did not stop following him; he kept the commands the LORD had given Moses. ⁷ And the LORD was with him; he was successful in whatever he undertook.

OBSERVATION:   In 2Kings we see how the success of Hezekiah was preceded by his trusting and “holding fast” to the Lord.  Then in the book of James we see the same progression.  Resisting the devil should be preceded by submitting myself to God.  Desiring God to come near to me should be preceded by my coming near to God.  Being lifted up by God is preceded by humbling myself. 

APPLICATION:  So many of the victories God brings are preceded by having the proper attitude of heart.  As I work with the Holy Spirit in winning the battle on the inside, God works in my circumstances to win the battles around me. 

PRAYER:   Lord, I draw near to you by keeping you in my thoughts; I submit myself to you by obeying you; and I humble myself before you by seeing myself as Your servant.   Amen. 

Pastor Leon
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