Sunday Scripture

 For Sunday Scripture posts currently, I'm using the Daily Grace Co. book Fix Your Focus. This is really not a Bible study as such, but more of a guide to help you fix your focus on God, His Word, prayer, gratitude, and spiritual growth, every week for 52 weeks.  I encourage you to follow along with us as we journal, look at Scripture, pray, and face the challenges of our weeks with our focus on Him.

This week's lesson was actually done by me the week of June 23, but I am working ahead of you readers.  (I can hardly believe that in my own working on this book, I am 17 weeks into it.  Seems unbelievable.). So 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 week-at-a-glance checklist first.  [Maybe you would like to use this same checklist if you are following along with us.]

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) Friends & family-- time with friends on Monday, an extended-family commitment on Thursday evening, possibly a belated Father's Day celebration on Sunday.

2) Home and Etsy -- trying to catch up on homemaking tasks and Etsy listings

3) Ministry --  phone call with Rebekah, Sunday School lesson prep, blogging.

[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 journal about 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, although the national and world news could certainly be fear-inducing were I so inclined.  

Joys: It will be pure joy to spend time with friends on Monday, taking a little staycation day trip together.  Blogging is a joy for me, as will be our LOG meeting on Saturday.

Worries: No real worries, just concerns for my husband's health.  He's feeling that the lesions on his scalp may be returning, and of course that's a concern for me.

Desires: Certainly that God will be glorified in the events of this week. That the family event on Thursday would go well.  That I can be an encouragement to other women of all ages.

Stressors: The news!  My hubby's concerns over his health and trying to help him navigate the best solutions. Extended family dynamics.

🌿 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 ... sovereign over all of the events of this week.  You are omniscient and aware of all that it will hold. You are all-powerful and able to change any situation even on a world level.  You are the Great Physician and able to heal any and all physical issues.

* Lord, I feel ... honestly, a bit discouraged that some of the scalp lesions seem to be returning.  I feel at a bit of a loss as to how best to tweak this regimen to help its effectiveness.  I feel tired and crampy myself this morning, so not at my best.

* Lord, help me with ... all the things on my heart and mind today -- a terminally ill friend, my hubby's skin, Saturday's LOG that I need to prepare baked goods for  ... "just everything", as one of my daughters used to say.

* Lord, forgive me for ... times when I try to carry too much myself instead of handing it all over to You.  For times when I doubt or worry.

Make a note of four or five people you are praying for.  I listed a dear friend in hospice care; her adult children as they oversee her care; a young couple seeking God's direction; our former pastor as he grieves the loss of his wife of many years.

🌿 The next section in this helpful guide is SCRIPTURE MEDITATION.  I chose to first meditate on this week's Scripture, Ephesians 6:12, 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= "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places."  (Ephesians 6:12)

O= We notice that this verse begins with the preposition "for".  The context indicates that this is a term of explanation,  so we must ask ourselves what it is that is being explained.  In this case, it is the concept that Christians are in a spiritual war.

The Christian warrior's foes are listed in this verse:

* Principalities

* Powers

* The rulers of the darkness of this world

* Spiritual wickedness in high places.

Verse 11 advises the Christian warrior to put on the whole armor of God, so they will be able to be stand against the wiles of the devil.

Verses 14-17 describe every piece of the armor, and verse 18 describes the resource of prayer.

Cross-reference for "powers" -- "In times past, ye walked according to this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketth in the children of disobedience."  (Ephesians 2:2)

Cross-reference for "rulers of darkness" -- Ephesians 1:21 tells us that the risen Christ is "far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in that which is to come."

Cross-references for "darkness of this world" -- "When I was daily with you in the temple, ye stretched forth no hands against Me; but this is your hour, and the power of darkness."  (Luke 22:53)

"Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son." (Colossians 1:13)

"High places" literally means "the heavenlies."

Cross-reference for "high places" -- "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ."

The use of the present tense implies, says Dr. Walter Martin,  that "this struggle or hand to hand combat is not a one time occurrence but is a daily, ongoing, continual warfare, whether we like it or not. The lie of Satan is that we have a battle here and there, and so we don't need the armor at all times. That is a lie and to act on it leaves the Christian soldier vulnerable."

Ruth Paxson notes the repeated use of the word "against."  She says: "The word "against" stands out five times upon the page. We have an out-and-out adversary who is actively and aggressively warring against us, assisted by powerful and wicked allies."

A= 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 the opposite of the rulers listed in this verse.  He is in opposition to all of these.  He is light rather than darkness, and would have His warriors to fight against the powers of darkness.

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

As a Christian, I'm in a spiritual battle, fighting against these powers of darkness.  I'm not necessarily fighting flesh-and-blood enemies that can be seen.

* Throughout the week, consider how these verses should affect the way you live.

I must recognize that I'm in a spiritual battle against an enemy who wants to destroy me and all believers -- or to at least render us ineffective.  In order to successfully battle this enemy, I must have my spiritual armor firmly in place and I must be in constant communication with my Commander through prayer.

One author noted that Paul does not call the believer to enter into spiritual warfare. "He simply announces it as a fact and explains that it is not mere men you face but the wiles of the scheming devil. In military strategy one must never underestimate the strength of the enemy. Paul is certainly not guilty of such fatal misjudgment but gives a realistic report of its potential."

Herbert Vander Lugt wrote in Our Daily Bread, "The Bible clearly acknowledges the presence of invisible but very real spiritual beings, or powers. In Ephesians 6:11-12, Paul declared that our primary warfare is against an army of rebellious angels headed by Satan. The bad news is that they are more intelligent and powerful than we are. The good news is that Jesus defeated them by His death on the cross: “Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them” (Col. 2:15).

"There are many things beyond our control, but we need not fear. We who have placed our trust in Jesus are on the winning side."

P= "Lord, I thank and praise You for the clear teaching of Your Word.   I am so thankful that we can clearly understand the importance of the battle we are in, that it truly is a battle between good and evil.  Help me to always remember that Satan wants to destroy me -- or, at the very least, to make me ineffective.  Help me to be wise and consistent in employing my spiritual armor, and to stay in good contact with You, my mighty Commander who has already defeated Satan. I praise You for all that You will do, in Jesus' name,  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) Getting to have a really nice breakfast out with friends we don't ordinarily get to see often.

2) The blessing of seeing these same friends twice within one week.

3) The joy of being able to be used by God in the lives of other women, young and old.

4) Being able to get out for a walk a couple of times in the past week.  It feels good to get back to that.

5) Getting to spend time with Rebekah; the blessing that Mr. T and her toddler son have such a special relationship.

🌿 SPIRITUAL GROWTH is the next prompt, and this week there's an emphasis on SERVING. We were to think about our available resources -- time, finances, prayer, etc. We were to consider how we could serve those in need this week.  [And again, if you are following along, please think about this for yourself.]

 My answer: I can seek to support and encourage my husband and be a practical help to him as he deals with his skin condition.  I can be there as an encouraging presence as he speaks about his family at a local historical society.  I can bake a coffeecake to serve ladies at our monthly LOG meeting.  I can prepare a Sunday School lesson and blog posts to encourage other ladies.

🌿 Lastly is a GOSPEL-CENTERED AFFIRMATION: 

There is a spiritual battle happening in my life for which God equips me to fight.

We can take this challenging yet heartening thought into the coming week as we face the spiritual battles ahead!

And there's the Sunday Scripture for this week!