Encouragement For Women

Lesson/Week Five Everyone needs compassion, Love that's never failing; Let mercy fall on me. Everyone needs forgiveness, The kindness of a Savior; The Hope of nations. Savior, He can move the mountains, My God is Mighty to save, He is Mighty to save. (Hillsong United, “Mighty to Save”) Forgiveness is what we all need and forgiveness of our sins is what Jesus offers to us as we claim Him as Saviour and Lord. Forgiveness is also required of us towards others. Most of us have prayed the prayer from Matthew 6:9-13 (or just quoted it from memory during a church service). Now take a close look at verse 12, 14 and 15... 12 And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors. 14 “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses (emphasis mine). If you are like me you haven’t thought too much about verses 12, 14 and 15. Merriam...

Can you describe your marriage as; un-fulfilling, boring, tiring, draining, painful, disconnected, or difficult? Or do you feel more like a roommate than a lover? If this is your life, that can be very sobering. If you desire to be the wife that God calls you to be, but that is a huge struggle for you - then please consider joining us in this study January 2011. If you'd like to be a part of the Encouragement for Women Community on FB you can join our discussions on this book. You must be a member of Encouragement for Women (public group) and then join the EFW Community (private group). The private group is where we will be posting discussions. If this does not describe your marriage, praise the Lord! After praising Him, please pray for all the women you know and don't know who will be doing this study.

My heart and my soul, I give you control consume me from the inside out Lord.... Let justice and praise become my embrace I wanna know you from the inside out Everlasting, your light will shine when all else fades Never ending, your glory goes beyond all fame and the cry of my heart is to bring you praise from the inside out Lord my soul cries out.... (Hillsong United)

The “Put Off” – “Put On” Dynamic Developed by Martha Peace Copy and paste this into a document, print out and complete.... This Bible study is for the purpose of teaching Christians how to deal practically with their sin. Many times we are aware that changes need to be made in our lives and we confess the appropriate sins to God. However, we may find ourselves committing those same sins again and again. Habitual sin is especially difficult because we automatically respond wrongly, without thinking. Therefore, it is important to learn exactly what God has to teach us through His Word about establishing new habit patterns. Before you begin this study, pray and ask God to show you the truth of His Word. Begin by looking up the following Scriptures and write out the answers to the questions: How do we become aware of our sin? Hebrews 4:12 John 16:7,8 Do we have to sin? Explain. (See Romans 6:6,7,14) Descri...

Lesson/Week Four Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls. Hebrews 12:1-3 (NKJV) Doing this study has revealed to me the reason for my distress, my tight grip on my bitterness and my unwillingness to forgive. I have forsaken my first love – Jesus. I have forgotten my vows to the L ORD to be in communication, prayer and to be a doer of His word. To know His word, I must read it. I must write it on the tablet of my heart . You and I must be consistently in God’s word. When we spe...

Lesson/Week Three Journaling is a great gift. The reason being is that it offers you a trip “back in time.” You can see your weakness, accomplishments and most of all how God is moving in you to become more like Him. Which is great evidence of our deep need for Him and to have our hearts tuned in to His frequency. Friends, this study is like a trip back in time for me too. Re-reading my own journal (which EFW blog really is, just in a different format) has really helped me to see the potential for freedom from this rut of bitterness. I say potential because it really is up to me to decide to let go of it. God’s word commands me to do so, my health and relationships with others demand that I do so. This week, those of us who have been holding onto bitterness, no matter for how long, against one or more people for either one or more incidents – we are going to let go. Now this may bring some sort of anxiety, because after all – this may have been our lives for years. Lett...

Lesson/Week Two Maybe by now you’re thinking, are we really going to study bitterness for four weeks? Man I am tired of this already! Imagine bitterness dwelling in your heart for years… Ladies, this is something that I seriously struggle with. I have been able to say, “I forgive you.” But my heart is not letting go. That is the motivation behind doing this study, to really see bitterness for what it is. Then to really see what forgiveness is and to surrender myself and for you to surrender yourself to true forgiveness and freedom from this bitterness. Bitterness is a noun, a state of being bitter. The root word, bitter is an adjective. Adjectives tell how we do something (bitter); stinging, cutting, spiteful, rigorous; acrid, unpalatable. These are all unpleasant descriptive words. Quotes and Bible Reading (Please remember to read in context the verses below) “Bitterness imprisons life; love releases it. Bitterness paralyzes life; love empowers it. B...

Encouragement For Women You must encourage one another each day. And you must keep on while there is still a time that can be called "today." If you don't, then sin may fool some of you and make you stubborn. Hebrews 3:13 (CEV) There are some definite changes to this issue of Encouragement for Women; there will likely be more to come as I definitely see this ministry being reshaped by a new vision. You’ll see the mission statement has even changed. The mission to honor God is the same. Please join me in praying for the work God wants done to reach his daughters. a journal entry, of sorts… I have been studying my Bible more. I have chosen the New King James Version “Experiencing God” Bible. I’m writing in the huge margins. I don’t normally write in my bible…it’s kind of fun. When I finish a book of the Bible, I keep a little journal of what God is saying to me and doing in my life. I am disappointed as I look back over my entries. I keep ...

Encouragement For Women You must encourage one another each day. And you must keep on while there is still a time that can be called "today." If you don't, then sin may fool some of you and make you stubborn. Hebrews 3:13 (CEV) Howdy! This here issue comes straight to you from “deep in the heart of Texas”! Happy Mother’s Day to all the Mothers! In the last issue, at the very end I asked if you would be willing to participate with me in a study of Hebrews 4:12. I outlined one way to study scripture using Anne Grahm-Lotz’ method outlined in “The Revelation of Jesus Christ…-” I have included the same outline and some responses to it. Hebrews 4:12 The How To: Look in God’s word – read the scripture passage What does the passage say? – Make a verse by verse list of the outstanding facts. (Who is speaking? What is the subject? What is taking place? When did it happen? Etc.) What does the passage mean? – Look for a ...

Encouragement For Women But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness. Hebrews 3:13 Hello, and welcome to the second issue of Encouragement for Women! “Turn your eyes upon Jesus, Look full in His wonderful face, And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, In the light of His Glory and Grace.” Words and Music by Helen H. Lemmel 1922 Over the past few years God has been sending me a simple message. “Keep your eyes on Jesus.” There is no mysterious imagery, no numbers or cultural inflections – just the facts. Since I keep receiving the same message through different scripture verses, people talking to me and sermons I’ve heard or worship songs – apparently I have turned the simple into complex. I have a knack for doing that. For example; I have a counter full of dirty dishes. Simple, wash them and then there is room for cooking, etc. Complex, “I don’t have time righ...

Here are the first year of EFW issues that were sent out as an email newsletter... (someday they will be arranged by topic as well...) Dec 2004/ Jan 2005 Feb/Mar 2005 Apr/May 2005 June/July 2005 I believe it was around April/May/June of 2005 that EFW began as a blog...

Encouragement For Women But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness. Hebrews 3:13 Hello, and welcome to the first “issue” of Encouragement for Women! I am truly very excited to be typing this and sending it your way. Oh and you are probably wondering why you are receiving this email/newsletter. Well, it is because I chose to send it to you! You and I have a relationship as sisters in Christ and God has gifted me with sharing my life and for encouraging others. Although my sin often gets in the way and I loose sight of encouragement and its importance. Alas, God has this assignment for me to keep me on the straight and narrow. Simply put, everything I write is SO convicting to me and is reflective of what God is doing in my life. Back On Assignment I used to have a great part-time assignment. It required my creativity, input, decision making skills, communicating w...