Esme Randle and Mike Reeves

What to pray, these ladies asked? Well, if you know me this will not come to you as a surprise, but if you don't know me this should give you a pretty good picture of my greatest weakness plain and simple. There are many tangible things you could be praying for, but if I'm honest, a lack of submission is the winner! As my husband likes to say, him qualifying as elder didn't depend on me, but thank God I didn't disqualify him....(ha-ha). Partly joking, but not so much. He knows me best and he cannot but help me see it.

See what? Well, let's see, it started way back when Eve convinced her husband Adam to eat from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. Satan is at work and we, weaker vessels, are his spears to hit the target. He knows that we are to submit to our elders as unto Christ...and do you think he doesn't use us to weaken that headship Christ's church? Well, think again. But as the story goes, you know from then on, we, as women, were cursed in a very particular way: "Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you"(Gen 3:16b). I think I got a double dose of that...seriously, my desire is to rule over my husband constantly. Don't take me wrong, my husband appreciates my input, my views, and opinions -- he likes what I have to say! However, him previewing info doesn't mean I get a vote. It doesn't mean, he doesn't know how to discern and/or make decisions and needs my counsel. It means, he's simply sharing. The cursed was that we would want what our husbands have: authority & headship over us. My husband's position of leadership only magnified what I already knew... and it brought it all the more to light. With our own hands we tear down our own homes and I'm sure it starts with a heart that rebel's against our husbands and ultimately God. So, how I submit to my elders (and one of them happens to be my husband) is a telling story of how I submit at home. Get the picture?

Satan never sleeps and when I think I've got it, I don't. So if you think to pray for us, and/or me in particular, pray that I yield more often, more graciously, and more to the Glory of God.

Thankful for you,
Esme





There are two main things that I would like prayer for Missio Dei in 2010. Those items are:

Community Groups - Pray for continued success with them but a desire by all to use their groups as a source of encouragement and accountability to help them and others persevere in their walk with Christ. Pray also that our groups continue to strive to be missional in all we do. I pray that many unbelievers are affected through our outreach into the community as we seek to be a light unto the world.

Families - As I have been encouraged by the growth of the young adults within Missio Dei, I realize that another generation is rapidly following behind them. We have a large number of families at Missio Dei with children, from newborn to teens. Please pray for the parents of these children, myself included, as well as the children themselves that Christ be our central focus and glorifying God be our goal. Pray that we as a church equip our parents to effectively raise their children. Not simply in obedience training, but to raise our children up with the gospel as the central focus of all that we do. Pray also that we as parents would be found faithful to demonstrate the joy that being in Christ is to our beloved children. As it says in Colosians 3, verse 16: Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.”

Thanks, Mike Reeves