As an equipping ministry for women, our prayer for you comes from Hebrews 13:
“May the God of peace . . . equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ.” (Hebrews 13:20-21)
Notice that God does the work to equip YOU, we simply seek to provide the very best place we can for that to happen.
One question we often ask as we prepare and plan . . . “what do we offer our women that they likely can’t get anywhere else?”
This year we’ll feature OFFERING in a unique way. Here’s what I mean:
- Offering time on Tuesday Mornings isn’t just a place deposit your gift of money (though we gladly receive it!).
- Offering is a time to reflect and offer God the gift of ourselves with Him.
- As we gather each week we’ll EQUIP YOU by giving you a place and time to learn how to reflect and rest .
Our model for OFFERING TIME comes from many portions of scripture but here are 3 that describe our desire.
- Abel offered from the heart (Gen 4:4) – we want offering to focus our hearts on God.
- Job offered for his family (Job 1:5) – we can relinquish precious people in our lives to God.
- Hezekiah surrendered his fear at the altar (2 Kings 19:14-19) – we need to let go of painful, troubling things to God’s care.
The intent for offering in those Biblical scenes can be summed up in Psalm 5:3:
“Every morning you’ll hear me at it again. Every morning I lay out the pieces of my life on your altar and watch for fire to descend.” The Message
Often, as I meet with God on my porch, those verses lead me in worship.
I offer the pieces of my life in prayer.
Like Abel, I want my heart to turn toward God.
Like Job, I pray in hope for my family and those I love.
Even like Hezekiah, who gathered all the words of mockery and fear from his enemy and spread them out before the altar of the Lord, I laid out in writing some things in my life that the Enemy uses to taunt and mock me.
Last week, I tried something different with my offering time on the porch. I actually lit a fire in our fire pit and burned those written cards that contained troubling things in my life.
Please understand that this act on my part wasn’t a solution to life’s struggles but simply an expression of need. Jesus died for all those things already, but sometimes I forget; I need a reminder. Now, when the Enemy tries to use those painful things to condemn me, I can remember that they are burned up and offered to the God of Peace.
We’re NOT going to be building any fire pits on Tuesday Mornings, but we are going to give you time to reflect–to turn your heart toward God, to offer prayer for those you love, to lay out the things that trouble you. If you want to write those down and leave them, you can.
Join us right now in reflection with this song by Kari Jobe: Here (Official Acoustic Video).
Equip Her 