Sunday Scripture

 

 For the month of November, I've decided to take a break from Fix Your Focus to set our minds on Thanksgiving.  Again today, I'm sharing some insights from a Thanksgiving/fall study with Good Morning Girls that I did back in fall of 2013.  Sadly, it seems that this little but oh-so-meaningful 2-week study -- Focusing our Hearts on Gratitude -- is no longer available.  If anyone is interested in the Scripture verses to do your own little study, just let me know and I can send you the references or even the pdf of the study.  

The verses I chose for today are from Day 1 of the study.  We were to read 1 Chronicles 16:7-36, and the verses to SOAP were 8-11.  ( Just a reminder that the S is for Scripture -- just write it out -- and the O is for Observation, the A is for Application and the P is for prayer -- concerning how you'll apply this verse or praise for what it means to you.  And if you've never tried this simple method, I hope that you will give it a try and see if you find it as helpful as I do.)

So without further ado, here is my very simple study of 1 Chronicles 16:8-11:

S= "Give thanks unto the LORD, call upon His name, make known His deeds among the people.

"Sing unto Him, sing psalms uno Him, talk ye of all His wondrous works.  

"Glory ye in His holy name; let the heart of them rejoice who seek the LORD.

"Seek the LORD and His strength; seek His face continually."  (1 Chronicles 16:8-11)

O=  This is a psalm of thanksgiving.  David delivered it into the hand of Asaph and his brethren "to thank, and praise the LORD God of Israel." (verse 7)  The occasion was the placing of the ark of the covenant in the tent David had pitched for it at Jerusalem.  Musicians praised God with the psalteries, harps, cymbals, and trumpets.  The audience would have been "all Israel".

If we were to look at Psalm 105 (and you may want to do just that), we would see that verses 1-15 are almost word for word the same as I Chronicles 16:8-22.

Warren Wiersbe notes in With the Word that "the main thing [in worship] is to focus on the Lord, and David did just that in the special psalm he wrote.  'The LORD' is mentioned fourteen times as David reminds the people of God's works (v. 8-13), God's words (v. 14-22), and God's wonder (v. 23-36) -- His glory, greatness and goodness.  The excitement of the day would disappear, but the inspired song of praise would remain for all generations to use in worshiping God."

Repetitive phrases : "Sing unto Him
                             "Sing psalms unto Him"

"Seek the LORD"
"Seek His strength"
"Seek His face continually"
"Let the heart of them rejoice that seek the LORD"

"Make known His deeds among the people"
"Talk ye of all His wondrous works."

Such clear and simple directions!

Phrases that stood out to me:

"Seek ye the LORD and His strength; seek His face continually".
"Talk ye of all His wondrous works."

A= There is a lot here that I need to apply. 

"Give thanks unto the LORD".  

I do this already, but I need to learn thankfulness in every situation.  It's hard sometimes -- maybe not so much in my own life, but in the lives of others -- to see things to be thankful for.  But there is in fact always something to thank Him for -- our salvation, His presence with us, His sovereignty, just for starters.

I do call upon His name regularly -- not just in time of need, but daily.

I need to be talking of all His wondrous works, especially to those who don't know Him, but also to other believers.  I need to share His wondrous working in my life.

I need to glory in His holy name and to seek to bring Him glory with my own life.  I need to seek Him with a heart of rejoicing.

I do seek the Lord and His strength, and often I need to seek it continually.  There are those times, however, when I don't take time to seek His strength and just give in to the flesh without even seeking His help.  Obviously, that needs to change.

P =   "Lord, I thank You for this study.  After just one day, I can see that it has the potential to be life-changing. 
"I thank You, too, for the reminder that even in the darkest of situations there are numerous things to thank You for. 
"I thank You for the privilege -- yes, even the responsibility -- of calling upon Your name.  Help me to continually remain in the attitude of prayer throughout each day.
"Help me also, Lord, to be talking of all Your wondrous works.  Thank You for the opportunities you've given me this week to encourage others in You and for the ways in which I've been able to speak of Your greatness and goodness -- to talk of all Your wondrous works!  I do indeed glory in Your name, and I desire to glorify You!
"Lord, I pray that You will continue to help me to seek Your face, and to seek Your strength throughout each and every day.  I praise You for how You hear and answer, and the empowering strength that You give. 
"Truly, my heart rejoices in all that You are, in Jesus' name, Amen."

There is our simple Sunday Scripture for this second day in November.  I pray that it will set your hearts toward gratitude as it has mine.