Sunday Scripture

 

 Time for another Sunday Scripture!  As I explained several weeks ago, I've made some changes in  my Sunday posts,  using the Daily Grace Co. book Fix Your Focus, which 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.  I truly hope that others are finding this as helpful as I am.

This week's lesson was actually done by me the week of October 6,  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) Friends and relaxation -- We plan to spend Monday doing some touristy fall things with our young friends.

2) Household --  catch up with housework and laundry; get our old fridge removed by a recycling service.

3) Ministry --  Blogging,  Sunday School lesson prep, make bulletin board, tea and discipleship time on Wednesday, prepare for our church's missions weekend (my hubby and I are part of our church's missions team).

[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.  

Joys: Time spent with our young friends Colby and Emily will be a joy.  Reconnecting with missionary friends will be another.  Tea and discipleship with Jennifer is always a joy.

Worries: No real worries going into this week.  A few concerns.

Desires: To glorify God in all that's said and done this week.  To be able to be a blessing to our friends and to encourage the missionaries who are part of our weekend.

Stressors: Time constraints.  Limited energy.  A few unknowns with the missions weekend that could cause stress if I allowed them to.

🌿 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 full control of every aspect of this week.  You are omniscient and know all that it will hold.  You know the concerns of my heart that I don't always voice to anyone else.  You are all-wise and able to give me the wisdom I need for every situation.  You are with my young friend Rebekah whom I haven't been able to reach due to my own time constraints. 

* Lord, I feel ... a little bit stretched with all the various things I need to do.  I feel hopeful and energized after a good night's rest.  I feel encouraged by all of the good teaching I've been able to soak up (and pass on to others) recently.  

* Lord, help me with ... all that I have to do this week.  Help me to figure out an appropriate bulletin board and decor for the fellowship meal.  Help me to have energy and endurance for a lot of hiking on Monday.  Help me with food prep for the church events on the weekend.

* Lord, forgive me for ... times when I don't respond as You would have me to.  Times when I allow my sin issues to get the better of me.  Times when I rely upon my own very limited strength and/or intellect rather than on You.

Make a note of four or five people you are praying for.  I listed a young couple making a move;  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 Peter 3:9, 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= "The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance."  (2 Peter 3:9)

O=   The ESV reads: "The Lord is not slow to fulfill His promise as some count slowness, but is patient tward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance."

Cross-reference for "slack" -- "For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie; though it tarry, wait for it, because it will surely come, it will not tarry ."  (Habakkuk 2:3)

Cross-references for "longsuffering" -- "But Thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, long-suffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth."  (Psalm 86:15)

"And therefore will the LORD wait, that He may be gracious unto you, and therefore will He be exalted, that He may have mercy upon you; for the LORD is a God of justice; blessed are all they that wait for Him".  (Isaiah 30:18)

"Willing" may be read "desiring". 

"God does not desire that any should perish, but it is clear that many will not be saved (Revelation 21:8)." -- C.I. Scofield

Cross-references for "should come" -- "Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give His life a ransom for many. "  (Matthew 20:28)

"For this is good, and acceptable in the sight of God, our Savior, who will have all men to be saved, and to come to the knowledge of the truth."  (1 Timothy 2:3-4)

Cross-references for "repentance" -- "Remember, therefore, from where thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works, or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove the lampstand out of its place, except thou repent."  (Revelation 2:5)

"In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, Repent ye; for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."  (Matthew 3:1-2)

"And the times of this ignorance God overlooked, but now commandeth all men everywhere to repent."  (Acts 17:30)

"Repent" is the translation of a Greek verb metanoeo, meaning to have another mind, to change the mind, and is used in the NT to indicate a change of mind in respect to sin, God, and self. This change of mind may, especially in the case of Christians who have fallen into sin, be preceded by sorrow; but sorrow for sin, though it may cause repentance, is not repentance. The son in Matthew 21:28-29 illustrates true repentance. Repentance is not an act separate from faith, but saving faith includes and implies that change of mind which is called repentance." -- C.I. Scofield

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.

God is not slow to fulfill His promise.  God is longsuffering and patient.  God does not desire that anyone should perish; His desire is that all would come to repentance.

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

I'm one of those with whom God has been longsuffering. He continues to have patience and longsuffering with me every day.  I'm a person who has come to the place of faith and repentance.  I'm a believer who sees God keep His promises in His timing.

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

 I should trust God to fulfill His promises, knowing He will not be slow to do so.  I should point others to the fact that He doesn't want anyone to perish, but His desire instead is for all people to come to repentance and faith.  Since Christ is my Example, I should exhibit patience and longsuffering in my dealings with others as I seek to point them to Him.

 An Our Daily Bread article noted, "Peter wrote to a persecuted and suffering group of Christians, which is why he highlighted the faithfulness of God. Peter wanted them to remember that the Lord would fulfill the promise of His second coming."

Randy Kilgore wrote in another Our Daily Bread reading: "Sometimes I find myself impatient with God, especially about His return. I wonder, What can He be waiting on? The tragedies around us, the suffering of people we love, and even the stresses of daily life all seem bigger than the fixes on the horizon ... Then someone tells their story of having just met Jesus, or I discover God is still at work in the messes. It reminds me  [that] there are stories and details God knows that I don’t. It reminds me to trust Him and to remember that the story isn’t about me. It’s about God’s plan to give time to others who don’t yet know His Son."

P= "Lord,  I praise You that You are longsuffering and patient, not willing that anyone should perish.  Your desire is that all people would come to repentance, but You have given man a free will and You already know that there will be those who choose not to come to You. I praise You for drawing me to Yourself even though I tried hard to fight against it.

    "I pray that You will help me to be patient and longsuffering with others, as You have been with me.  Help me to patiently wait for the fulfillment of Your promises and to be a light to unbelievers while I wait for Your return.  I pray 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's help with preparing and sharing a testimony for the Ladies of Grace meeting.

2) Tea and discipleship on Wednesday with Jenn and Kendra.

3) The blessing of getting to attend the one-day senior retreat at TWNE.  Great teaching from the book of Job, wonderful food, and all sorts of fall fun.

4) A two-night getaway at a favorite Airbnb, with Friday brunch at a special pancake house and then exploring some autumn lakes and trails.

5) Good teaching, fellowship and fun at the TWNE couples' retreat.

🌿 SPIRITUAL GROWTH is the next prompt, and this week there's an emphasis on FASTING. We were to think about how we could replace our fasted item with additional time in God's Word.  [And again, if you are following along, please think about this for yourself.]

We do intermittent fasting on a regular basis anyway and I always use the time saved by not eating breakfast to spend extra time in Bible reading and study.  Now I don't know how I ever had time to eat breakfast!

🌿 Lastly is a GOSPEL-CENTERED AFFIRMATION: 

God's promises are not slow to arrive.

We can take this encouraging, comforting thought into the coming week as we share God's love with others and as we wait on His timing in our own lives.

And there's the Sunday Scripture for this week!