Sunday Scripture

 

 Time for another Sunday Scripture post!   As I've previously mentioned,  I worked on a Bible study of Ephesians for the month of January and so I've been using this study to write some Sunday Scripture posts for the remainder of the winter.  

The study I've been working on is the Ephesians Bible study from Good Morning Girls.  For the Scripture Sundays, I'll just select some of the verses I have worked on and share how I used the SOAP method of Bible study.  For today's lesson, we were to look at Ephesians 2:11-21, but I chose to write out and SOAP verses 19-22, though I will allude to some of the other verses.  Here we go:

S=  "Now, therefore, ye are no more strangers and sojourners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and with the household of God,
"And are built upon the foundations of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone;
"In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord;
"In whom ye also are built together for an habitation of God through the Spirit."  (Ephesians 2:19-22)

O= In the Scofield Study Bible,  C.I. Scofield divides this reading (Ephesians 2:11-22) into three sections:

* Position of Gentiles by nature (verses 11-13)
* Jew and Gentile one body in Christ (verses 14-18)
* The church a temple for the habitation of God through the Spirit (verses 19-22).

My observations: We who were once far from God have now been brought near by the blood of Christ.  We are no longer strangers, but are fellow citizens with the saints and part of the household of God.  Our foundation is Jesus Christ.  He wants believers to grow together into "an holy temple in the Lord".

A= The Reflection Question for today pointed out, "It is not because we do good works, go to church, give money, read our Bibles, or are born of a certain nationality that we can be near to God.  It is Jesus' deep, sacrificial and saving love for you that has brought you near to Him.  Do you feel near to God today?  Why or why not?  Remember that our nearness is not based on the good and bad things we do but on the blood of Christ.  God is near even when He does not feel nearby."

I do feel near to God today.  He "is not far from every one of us" (Acts 17:27).  How thankful I am that someone like me, who was once so far from God, could be brought near by the blood of Christ.  His sacrificial death on my behalf is the only way this could have been accomplished.  I am so thankful for His nearness, and am asking Him to be especially near to dear, grieving friends of mine today.  

P=  "Lord, I praise You that when I was far from You and completely without You, while I was still in my sin, Christ died for me.  I praise You that because of His sacrificial and saving death for me, I have become a fellow citizen with the saints and a part of Your redeemed family.  I praise You for the closeness I can have to You.  I pray for friends today who are experiencing deep and unexpected grief.  Be very near to them, I pray.  May they sense Your closeness to them in a very real way.  I pray in Jesus' name, Amen."

That is our simple study for today!  I hope it was a blessing to you.