This week's lesson was actually done by me the week of September 1, but I am working ahead of you readers. 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 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 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) Fellowship -- A day filled with fellowship, friends, and family on Monday, Labor Day. We plan to meet friends for brunch, then they will come to our camp for a good visit and later an early supper with our loved ones next door.
2) Prayer -- spending quality, dedicated time in prayer for some deep concerns and serious situations this week.
3) Ministry -- Work on Sunday School and blog posts; serve at my volunteer job two or three days.
[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: there could be fears going into this week regarding unstable, unpredictable situations and individuals. I'm so thankful that our God is in control and that He can be trusted no matter what. He is unchanging and always trustworthy. Countless times in Scripture He tells His people not to fear!.
Joys: Volunteering at TWNE is always a joy. A relaxing day with friends and family on Monday will be pure joy.
Worries: There are some worrisome situations this week (see "Fears" above), but Jesus says I cannot change any situation by worrying about it. So I make every effort to leave worrisome situations with Him. He is all-powerful, all wise, and in control of each one.
Desires: Always, that God would be glorified in the events of the week. To encourage others through fellowship and service. To use each moment of life to the fullest for God's glory.
Stressors: Always the limitations of aging, time, and energy.
🌿 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 ... in absolute control of every detail of this week. You are omniscient and know exactly what it will hold. You are able to protect your people in dangerous, unpredictable situations. You are sovereign and are able to exceedingly abundantly above all that we can ask or even think.
* Lord, I feel ... somewhat overwhelmed with all that I have to do. A bit discouraged by time and energy limitations. Thankful for the privilege of prayer.
* Lord, help me with ... my feelings of discouragement and overwhelm. I pray for my grandchildren daily, that those who struggle with anxiety, depression, or overwhelm would come to find their mental and emotional stability in You, so obviously I need to pray these things for myself as well. Help me to use my time, energies, skills, and spiritual gifts wisely as I serve You each day.
* Lord, forgive me for ... times when I fall into worry or fear. Times when I fail to ask You for help but instead act (or try to act) in my own strength. For times when I'm not wise in my use of time.
Make a note of four or five people you are praying for. I listed a friend who just had surgery; a family experiencing serious turmoil; and a friend trying to manage severe pain.
🌿 The next section in this helpful guide is SCRIPTURE MEDITATION. I chose to first meditate on this week's Scripture, 2 Corinthians 10:4-5, 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 the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds. Casting down imaginations, and every thought that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ." (2 Corinthians 10:4-5)
O= Plummer's translation - "For the weapons of our campaign are not those of feeble human flesh. No, they are full of power, in God’s service and with His blessing, for the demolition of the strongholds which defy His Gospel."
The online commentary Precept Austin explains that the weapons (hopion) of our warfare are not (ou-absolutely not) of the flesh (sarx), but divinely (theos) powerful (dunatos) for the destruction (kaitheresis) of fortresses (ochuroma- for which some translations use'arguments' or 'false arguments') - Weapons obviously refers to spiritual weapons, supernatural weapons supplied by the Spirit (the Word and prayer ).
Cross-references for "weapons" -- "Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield, but I come to thee in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied." (1 Samuel 17:45)
"The night is far spent, the day is at hand; let us, therefore, cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light" (Romans 13:12)
"By the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armor of righteousness on the right hand and on the left." (2 Corinthians 6:7)
"But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and, for an helmet, the hope of salvation." (1 Thessalonians 5:8)
Another cross-reference is definitely the armor of God as described in Ephesians 6:11-17.
Cross-reference for "warfare" -- "Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, unto which thou art also called and hast professed a good foundation before many witnesses." (1 Timothy 6:12)
"Carnal"=fleshly.
"Imaginations" = reasonings.
Cross-references for "to the obedience" -- 'A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another." (John 13:34)
"And now I beseech thee ... not as I wrote a new commandment unto thee, but that which we had from the beginning, that we love one another." (2 John 5)
Cross-reference for "obedience of Christ" --"Therefore, whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, who built his house upon a rock. And the rain descended, and the floods came, and beat upon that house, and it fell not, for it was founded upon a rock." (Matthew 7:24-25)
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 mighty and gives us mighty weapons to use in the pulling down of strongholds. He does not want our thoughts and imaginations to exalt themselves against the knowledge of Him.
* Think about what this verse tells you about who you are.
I'm a Christian in a spirtual battle. I'm a person with strongholds in my life. My natural tendency is to let my thoughts go rogue, not bringing them into captivity to the obedience of Christ.
* Throughout the week, consider how this verse should affect the way you live.
I should remember that although I am in a spiritual battle, I need not surrender. The weapons of my warfare are not carnal or of the flesh. They are mighty through God, able to pull down strongholds. With these spiritual weapons, I am able to cast down anything in my life that exalts itself against the knowledge of God. I should bring every one of my thoughts into captivity to the obedience of Christ.
Precept Austin points out that the word for warfare (strateia) does not refer to a single skirmish, a minor battle in war, but to a major military campaign; in fact, a life-long campaign for Paul and for every believer. The only way to destroy enemy fortresses is by reliance on supernatural weaponry. Fleshly weapons are powerless against these formidable fortresses. Paul goes on in the next verse to define specifically what these fortresses are -- they are speculations, and in so doing he identifies the primary battlefield for this spiritual war: our mind.
"The Word of God and prayer are the only effective weapons in this battle against Satan ." -- Warren Wiersbe
"The spiritual panoply of weapons ordained by God may not appear impressive outwardly to a humanistically oriented society, but it is only these that can pull down the strong holds of Satan in this world, casting down the humanistic "reasonings" (literal meaning of "imaginations") of the leaders of this world's educational and political systems. Otherwise, the enemy will "spoil" us--that is, defeat us and despoil us of the carnal weapons we have tried to use." -- Henry Morris
"Strongholds are the fortresses Satan builds in our lives when we give him a foothold, a piece of ground on which to build. How does Satan gain a foothold in our hearts and minds? We give him ground when we sin and refuse to forsake our sin or when we believe his lies. Satan is a master builder. He doesn't need much ground on which to erect his strongholds. And once they are in place, they give the enemy a ""headquarters"" from which to carry on his activities." -- Jim Logan, Reclaiming Surrendered Ground
P= "Lord, I praise You that You are mighty and that You give us mighty weapons to use in pulling down strongholds in our lives. I praise You that although I am in a spiritual battle, I need not surrender. .
"I pray that You will help me to bring every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, that each of my thoughts will be pleasing to Him. Help me to use the weapons of prayer and Your Word to pull down the strongholds in my life. I praise You for how You will work, 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) God blessed me with available time to pray for a very serious situation and the people involved.
2) Answered prayer in that situation, in such a way that unmistakably showed God's sovereignty over it.
3) Strength to accomplish a lot of work at my volunteer job on Tuesday and Thursday.
4) God's wisdom in prompting us to decide not to stay overnight at our volunteer workplace. It worked out much better to come and go each day.
5) My husband's wise guidance that I not go to my volunteer job on the Wednesday. I didn't realize how much I needed that day at home, and it also opened up extra time for me to pray.
🌿 SPIRITUAL GROWTH is the next prompt, and this week there's an emphasis on FASTING. We were to consider what we could fast from this week. [And again, if you are following along, please think about this for yourself.]
We do intermittent fasting, and so I do use the extra hours saved by not eating to spend additional time in God's Word and in prayer.
🌿 Lastly is a GOSPEL-CENTERED AFFIRMATION:
With God's help, I can choose to think Christlike thoughts.
We can take this encouraging thought into the coming week as we fight our spiritual battles.
And there's the Sunday Scripture for this week!
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