Sunday Scripture

 

Time for another Sunday Scripture lesson from Fix Your Focus!

This week's lesson was actually done by me the week of January 5.  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) Health  -- start sugar fast, get back to walking and exercise daily; nurture creativity.

2)  Etsy and homemaking -- prepare and send orders; prepare some new listings, especially vintage date books, catch up on dusting/vacuuming.

3) Ministry --  Blogging, Sunday School lesson preparation, phone calls/emails/messages to encourage, make Scripture verse cards for friends.

[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: Getting back to walking will be a joy, as is nurturing creativity.  Ministry is a joy.  I find joy in homemaking tasks when I am not rushed.

Worries: No real worries -- and my intent truly is not to worry.

Desires:  To glorify God in all that is said and done in this week.  To be an encouragement to others.  To steward my health wisely.  To accomplish some homemaking tasks and Etsy listings.  To nurture my creativity with some small craft projects.

Stressors: Limitations of time, energy, and aging.  A few stressful circumstances of life.

🌿 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 ... omnisicent and know all that needs to happen in this week.  You know exactly how the week will unfold.  You are able to provide all that I need for this week, including health and energy and wise management of time.

* Lord, I feel ... encouraged that I've been able to get back to walking and to begin another sugar fast.  I feel optimistic about the week ahead, though it has moved maybe more quickly than I'd like.

* Lord, help me with ... everything that's on my plate this week,  Help me especially with using my time wisely each day.

* Lord, forgive me for ... wasting time in any way.  Getting frustrated with my husband's hearing loss, or really with any situation that I find trying.

* Make a note of 4 or 5 people you are specifically praying for.  I listed friends dealing with a cancer diagnosis; a young mom and her girls in a hard situation; a friend afflicted with shingles.

🌿 The next section in this helpful guide is SCRIPTURE MEDITATION.  I chose to first meditate on this week's Scripture, Psalm 121:2, using the SOAP method, and then answered several suggested questions.  I added in verse 1 to help with understanding and application.   [You can use your own preferred method to meditate on this verse, and answer the questions below for yourself.]

S= "I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.  My help cometh from the LORD, who made heaven and earth."  (Psalm 121:2)

O= Verse 1 may also be read:  "Shall I lift up mine eyes to the hills?  whence should my help come?"

This reading is such a good reminder that our help does not come from the hills or the mountains, but from the One who created them.

Cross-reference for "the hills" --  "His foundation is in the holy mountains."  (Psalm 87:1)

Cross-references for "my help" -- "Our help is in the name of the LORD, who made heaven and earth."  (Psalm 124:8)

"[The LORD ...] send thee help from the sanctuary, and strengthen thee out of Zion."  (Psalm 20:2)

"May He send you help from the sanctuary and give you support from Zion."  (Psalm 20:2 ESV)

Cross-reference for "cometh from the LORD" -- "Truly in vain is salvation hoped for from the hills, and from the multitude of mountains; truly in the LORD, our God, is the salvation of Israel."  (Jeremiah 3:23)

Cross-reference for "made heaven and earth" -- "Ye are blessed by the LORD who made heaven and earth."  (Psalm 115:15)

Our help comes from the LORD, the self-existent One, who made heaven and earth.

So ... unlimited wisdom, unlimited power, unlimited creativity -- all of that and much, much more resides in this One from whom our help comes!

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 Helper of His people.  He is the Maker of heaven and earth -- and there is so much bound up in that statement!  .

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

I'm a person in need of God's help in every possible way.  I'm blessed to have the God who made heaven and earth as my Helper.

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

 I should live like one who has the Maker of heaven and earth, the God of the universe, as my Helper.  If I really laid hold of the truths in this verse, I would be less fearful, worry less, and trust more.  I would be more ready to ask for His help.  I should constantly be reminding myself of these truths.

Thomas Constable wrote: "The psalmist lifted up his eyes to the hills around Mt. Zion as he traveled to a feast there from some flatter part of Canaan. As he did so, he reflected on the source of his help. He also reminded himself that his help was the God who had made those hills along with the whole heaven and earth."

Many of us may have been advised over the years to give our eyes a break by gazing into the far distance at intervals rather than constantly looking at a computer screen, or bending over a sewing project, etc.  I once subscribed to a magazine for counted cross-stitchers that gave that very advice.  Looking up is healthy for our eyes!

Henry G. Bosch wrote in Our Daily Bread,

"What is true in the physical realm is true in the spiritual realm. The eyes of the soul are often tired and weary from focusing on our problems and difficulties. The upward look—the far look—will restore our spiritual perspective.  At times we feel overwhelmed by life’s troubles. If we look to the Lord in His Word and in prayer, however, He will put our problems in perspective and renew our strength."

"Where does your help come from? The psalmist lifted his eyes to the hills. The most stable, secure thing the Jews knew were the mountains around Jerusalem. Then the psalmist lifted his eyes higher and said, "No, I don't get my help from the hills. I get my help from the heavens. God is my Helper." Whatever your need or task is today, your help will come from the Lord, the Creator of the heavens and the earth. A God big enough to make this world and keep it going is big enough to help you with your problems today." -- Warren Wiersbe

P= "Lord, how I praise You for the profound truths in the simple verse from a traveler's psalm.  You, the Maker of heaven and earth, are my Helper.  All-wise, all-powerful, endlessly creative, able to speak worlds into existence and heal with a word -- this is who my Helper is!

    "I cannot even begin to thank You for being my Helper.  Please help me to live each day in light of who You are!  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) Being able to get back to exercising regularly.

2) The provision of a weekly planner sheet that is helping me track my daily habits more effectively than ever before.

3) Good phone conversations with Jennifer and Rebekah.

4) A coastal getaway in mid-December that I don't want to forget about or forget to thank God for.  It was wonderful in every way!

5) Strength and ideas to keep posting in both blogs regularly throughout December.

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

Our plan for resting this week included a night at our little cottage, which is not always possible in winter.  Carefully watching weather forecasts, we were able to plan this for a warmer night.  It was so restful to be there overnight as rain pattered on the metal roof.

🌿 Lastly is a GOSPEL-CENTERED AFFIRMATION: 

The Creator of the whole world is the One who helps me.

What a blessing this thought is!  How thankful and trusting we can be as we contemplate the mighty Creator as the One who is our helper.

And there's the Sunday Scripture for this week!