Sunday Scripture

  

Time for another Sunday Scripture lesson from Fix Your Focus!

This week's lesson was actually done by me the week of April 20.  Here goes ...

🌿 WEEK-AT-A-GLANCE CHECKLIST is further on in each week's section. But since I am working on Fix Your Focus all week long, I find it works best for me to do this checklist first. This checklist offers us four points:  

* To make a plan for reading our Bibles and praying.

* To add any upcoming events to our calendars.

* To jot down a to-do list of tasks that must be completed this week.

* To make a note of our top three priorities for this week.

This last point is one that I need to pay special attention to every week.  I've been finding it so helpful.  (The other three points are things that I'm consistently doing.) 

For this week, my top three priorities are:

1) Ministry  -- talk with Rebekah Tuesday; prepare for TWNE meals ministry; spend Friday at TWNE, Sunday School and blog post preparation; host Ladies of Grace and missions team meeting on Saturday..

2)  Friends -- breakfast out with friends on Monday; day out with other friends on Thursday.

3) Homemaking-- catch up on laundry and some tasks around the house in preparation for being away 4/27-5/2.

[If you are following along with our study, this is the place to make a Week-at-a-Glance checklist and/or priority list for yourself!]

🌿 The first actual prompt for each week is JOURNAL.  We are encouraged to take a few minutes to our fears, joys, worries, desires and stressors concerning the week ahead.  [If you are following along with us, take a moment in a journal or notebook to do just that.]. Here's what I wrote on Monday, breaking it down into the suggested categories:

Fears: No real fears going into this week. 

Joys: All of the priorities this week are a joy when I can find time for them.  It seems that homemaking is the most difficult to find time for at this busy season.  It will be a special joy to spend time with two different couples who are old friends.

Worries: No real worries going into the week -- maybe a few concerns that I won't have the stamina to be truly helpful at my volunteer job.. 

Desires: That God will be glorified in the events of this week.  To be an encouragement and blessing to all of the friends with whom we spend time this week.

Stressors:  The limitations of time, energy, and aging.  The foibles of other people.  It's unfathomable to me how some believers seemingly aren't happy unless they're stirring up some kind of trouble.

🌿 The next prompt is PRAYER. It was suggested that we use several prayer prompts to have a conversation with God about the week ahead.  [You can do the same.  Use the very same prompts for your own prayer.]

* Lord, You are ...able to help me with every limitation that stresses me.  You are able to give strength, guidance and wisdom for all the activities of this week.  You are so good to give us Christian friendship and fellowship and opportunities to serve You in ministry.  You are able to work in the lives of everyone, including difficult people, and You desire for Your people to grow and change.

* Lord, I feel ... thankful for a week spent mostly at home.  Blessed to be able to spend good quality time with friends this week. Grateful that we've been blessed by You with our little camp, and that we can host activities there.  Thankful for a week of respite in the midst of busyness, even though we aren't slowing down very much.

* Lord, help me with ... the limitations of aging that are causing me stress.  Help me with taking the necessary steps that will lead to improved health, energy, and mobility no matter what my age.  Help me to be an encouragement to the friends we spend time with this week.

* Lord, forgive me for ... times when I don't pay attention to the healthy habits that will impact my energy and mobility.  Times when I speak before thinking, or say more than needs to be said.  Times when I worry even though I know full well that You command us not to worry.

* Make a note of 4 or 5 people you are specifically praying for.  I listed friends dealing with a cancer diagnosis; another couple with health needs and medical testing related to those; a young mom and her kids dealing with a very painful situation.

🌿 The next section in this helpful guide is SCRIPTURE MEDITATION.  I chose to first meditate on this week's Scripture, John 14:1, using the SOAP method, and then answered several suggested questions.   [You can use your own preferred method to meditate on this verse, and answer the questions below for yourself.]

S= "Let not your heart be troubled; ye believe in God, believe also in Me."  (John 14:1)

O=   Warren Wiersbe gives us some context for this verse, looking back to John chapter 13.  He writes, "We are not surprised that the apostles were troubled.  After all, Jesus had announced that one of them was a traitor [verses 21-27], and then He warned Peter that he was going to deny his Lord three times [verse 38].  Self-confident Peter was certain that he could not only follow his Lord, but even die with Him and for Him [verse 37].  Alas, Peter did not know his own heart; nor do we really know our hearts, except for one thing: Our hearts easily become troubled."

    Wiersbe adds, "Just as Peter was beginning to feel like a hero, Jesus announced that [Peter] himself would soon become a casualty.  The message not only shocked Peter, but it also stunned the rest of the disciples.  After all, if brave Peter denied the Lord, what hope was there for the rest of them?  It was then that Jesus gave His message to calm their troubled hearts."

Cross-references for "Let not your heart be troubled" -- "Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you; not as the world giveth, give I unto you.  Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid."  (John 14:27)

(It is interesting that Jesus reiterates His encouragement to have an untroubled heart toward the end as well as the beginning of His message.)

"But, now, thus saith the LORD who created thee, O Jacob, and He who formed thee, O Israel, Fear not; for I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine.
"When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee; when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned, neither shall the flame kindle upon thee."  (Isaiah 43:1-2)

"And ye now, therefore,  have sorrow; but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you."  (John 16:22)

"But and if ye suffer for righteousness' sake, happy are ye; and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled."  (1 Peter 3:14)

Cross-references for "believe in God" -- "Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also who will believe on Me through their word."  (John 17:20)

"Jesus cried out, and said, He that believeth on Me, believeth not on Me, but on Him that sent me."  (John 12:44)

For "believe in God", C.I. Scofield offers the following summary: "The essence of faith consists in believing and receiving what God has revealed, and may be defined as that trust in the God of the Scriptures and in Jesus Christ whom He has sent, which receives Him as Lord and Savior and impels to loving obedience and to good works."

A= So as believers, we are not to let our hearts be troubled.  Our belief and trust in the Savior will help us to rest in Him with an untroubled heart.

David C. McCasland wrote in Our Daily Bread:  "Jesus told His disciples, 'Let not your heart be troubled'.   This was to prepare them for the dark day of His crucifixion.  He knew they could weather the storm only by trusting Him in spite of the apparent triumph of evil."

An online commentator with Precept Austin wrote,  "When we rest in the salvation that Jesus provided and rely on the Holy Spirit to help us navigate the dangerous world around us, we can keep from being troubled in our hearts.

To help with my application of this verse, I answered the three questions from Fix your Focus:

* Reflect on what this verse tells you about who God is.

He is capable of giving me an untroubled heart, so that says a lot about His power, His mercy, His steadfast love, His comfort, and much more.  This verse also implies that Jesus and God the Father are One.

* Think about what this verse tells you about who you are.

I am a person, a finite human, whose heart is easily troubled.  Yet I am also a believer and as such, able to live with an untroubled heart as I trust in God.

* Throughout the week, consider how this verse should affect the way you live.

 I should live life with an untroubled heart, resting in my relationship with God, trusting Him through every day, relying on the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and living with an eternal perspective

P= "Lord,   I thank and praise You so much that as Your child, I can live life with an untroubled heart.  I'm so thankful that You drew me to belief in You, and that I can trust You through every day of life, even when circumstances appear troubling.

"I pray that You will help me to live each day with a peaceful heart, resting in my relationship with You and relying on the guidance of Your Holy Spirit.  Help me to live each day of this life with an eternal perspective,  I pray in the name of Jesus.  Amen."

🌿 GRATITUDE is the next prompt.  We were to reflect on the way God has shown His faithfulness to you over the past week and list five things we are thankful for.  [If you are following along with us, be sure to make your own list of five things!]. Here is my list:

1) Wisdom to help me plan meals and prepare ahead for a week of ministry.

2) Energy to cook for a work team and staff.

3) Being able to work ahead on Sunday School lessons.

4) Time to keep up with my Sunday Scripture blog posts.

5) Moments of encouragement and edification in my interactions with other believers.

🌿 SPIRITUAL GROWTH is the next prompt, and this week there's an emphasis on REST.  We were to think about what a sabbath rest looks like for us and to make a plan to intentionally rest this week.  [And again, if you are following along, please think about this for yourself.]

Time with dear friends will be refreshing and restful even though activity and early morning are involved.  It will be such a change from our usual springtime busyness.  We also plan to stay one night at our little cottage, which is always so restful to us. 

🌿 Lastly is a GOSPEL-CENTERED AFFIRMATION: 

When my heart is troubled, I will trust in God.

What an important challenge to take into the week ahead!  Is your heart troubled as you consider the events of the coming week?  Take this admonition to heart and trust in God!

And there's the Sunday Scripture for this week!