The Inner Man

"I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith." Ephesians 3:16-17a

Sometimes I feel overwhelmed by all the prayer needs I see around me, how about you? There are our families, friends, unsaved neighbors, the country, our city, the unreached, and the list can go on forever. Aren't we glad that Jesus lives to make intercession for us (Hebrews 7:25)!! I think a very important aspect of prayer that we easily neglect is prayer for ourselves. As women we want to take care of everyone and often put other's needs ahead of our own, and sometimes we just run out of time for ourselves.

In Ephesians 3 Paul prays for the inner man of the believers in Ephesians. I think this is such an important area that we cannot neglect. Prayer for ourselves helps to deepen and strengthen our love for Jesus. I want everything that I do to flow out of that place of love in my heart for Jesus. When I pray for my inner man not only am I deepening my love for Jesus, I am also inviting him into every area of my life, my mind, my heart, and emotions. As I bring these areas under the love of Jesus he begins a transformation in my spirit. This transformation can enable and equip me to walk closer in step with the Spirit so that I can discern where he is leading me in my place of intercession.

I have come to the conclusion that I cannot possibly pray for every prayer need every day. I look to Jesus to lead and guide me in my prayers. It is so awesome to see how he leads me to pray for just the right thing at the right time. How he moves me to pray may be different than how he leads you to pray. This is the beauty of the body of Christ!

I want to encourage you this week to take some time and pray for your inner man to be strengthened. A great place to start is Ephesians 3:16-19.

Father,
I pray that you would strengthen us in our inner being. That would would enable us to grow in a deeper love and knowledge of your Son, Jesus. That the ladies at Oldham Campus would be lovesick for you. That as we pray and seek you our hearts would expand with love. I ask that you continually transform us into people who are walking in step with you. That we would always be tuned into you and to what you are doing in our situation. I thank you that you are awakening so many hearts to you. Take us deeper and farther in you than we ever thought we could go. You have so much for us. I don't want to miss one second. May things and earthly pleasures pale in comparison to our love for you and your love for us. Your are beautiful beyond any description. May you look upon us with your eyes of fire and burn us with your love this week and beyond!

Your are so worthy, Jesus!
Amen

P.S. Don't forget Holly will be available to pray with you ladies this Sunday, October 30. She will be in the Cafe after the 9:00 service until probably around 11:45!

YES !!! Thank you Sherry and Jan for the reminder on encouragement. I thank each one of you as christian sisters (new creatures) for encouraging ME daily. This morning in my devotional with the kids it clearly talked about something soooooooooo similar. I love it when the Lord reminds us of these things near to the same time as our others sisters and brothers. CELEBRATE was the key to the devotional this morning. Of all people, we should be the most free, alive, and interesting. After all--think about Jesus as he rejoiced so fully in life-- As you are discipling your new friends I know they see confetti all over the room and experience mornings /evenings of celebration because YOU ladies have a savior that is alive and well in each of you. Thank you for the hours you devote weekly to your small group. I cannot wait for CELEBRATION ---a time where you and your ladies can share just exactly what HE has been up to over the last weeks. A time for you to be filled up and refreshed as well. THANK YOU!!!!!!!!

Coming up ---

Desert day preparations ----prepare them the week before their desert day (with the material I passed out during summer leadership--connecting with the almighty). Share your personal experiences with your desert days and pray with them in advance that the Lord will open their hearts, ears to hear from Him.

Celebration---Friday, November 18th from 6:30-8:30. We will have a time of worship, prayer, fellowship and vision casting---- AND desserts and coffee! If you can get the rsvp total to me that would be very helpful. Remember, each group will bring 3 desserts that can be picked up and eaten without utensils (ex. cookies, bars, etc).

DL commitment for next semester----- I will be calling you all this week to get a good handle on DL's that are ready to go next semester. Many of you have asked to keep your group and take them through the next studies. Absolutely----YES! You can most definitely do that. It makes perfect sense with all that we have studied about discipling. You have built relationships with these ladies and it would be an honor to take them through the other 2 studies they have not yet completed.

Sleep well tonight~Hugs and love

Marcie

John 15:5-8

Encouraging One Another

Hello Ladies

It was so nice to see many of you Sunday at our Coffee and Danish fellowship. We are hoping each of you received prayer and encouragement from some of us and are preparing to finish strong as we complete these last weeks of study together. We were talking about how marvelous it is that as Christians we become "new" a "new creature", not just remodeled- but brand new!

Our mind, will and emotions are changed by God. 2 Corinthians 5:7 We are praying that as you study God's word and encourage one another that you continue to grow in the knowledge of God's love for you - his new creature!

I was reading a study on encouragement recently and loved the way Nicole Johnson spoke of encouragement in the foreword. I want to share some of her words with you:

"Confetti is a tangible expression of our intangible emotions. It is like happiness you can see and throw someone's way. Encouragement is to a relationship what confetti is to a party. It's light, refreshing and fun. It's cheer you can throw someone's way. But even deeper it is the assurance you are there, that you are standing behind them and supporting them. The time it takes to gather little pieces of love, grace, strength and hope is well worth it when you see what happens as you shower those gifts on someone else. It's like spiritual confetti and it is the ultimate encouragement.

As we encourage others, the Father encourages us. The two are interwoven. We can encourage others from the overflow of God's encouragement to us. It's not until we start throwing the confetti on others that we realize how much is landing on us . So grab a handful of confetti and jump in. But, be careful you are liable to find little pieces of it stuck on your clothes for weeks!"

(Nicole Johnson)

"I'm eager to encourage you in your faith, but I also want to be encouraged by yours. In this way each of us will be a blessing to the other." Romans 1:12 NLT

Love you all,

Jan & Sherry