Monday, December 31, 2012

Praying Together on Monday 12/31/82012 one last Time


Abba, Today on this the final day of 2012 I thank you for everyday and moment of it, even those I’ve questioned and wondered about. Thank you for the support of our families, for the blessings they are not only to me but to so many others, even when they may not ‘feel’ like it or know that they are.

Thank you for a calling and a purpose for my and our lives. Thank you for each of these my friends, brothers, sisters and fellow-labors in the Gospel. We didn’t seek you, you sought, came, bled and died for us, THANK YOU!!!

Thank you for the place where we serve. No matter that is less then we wish and want it to be. I am where you want me and each of us to be, at the moment. Thank you for courage, to continue to stand and serve with grace and dignity. Thank you for Your Holy anointing, which cannot be purchased or bought at any price. Thank you that I am serving under and by it and not of myself.

Thank you for struggle and the pain that accompanies it, even here you have meaning an purpose. I’m not in love with it, but as long as you are present, I know you walk with and within me, enabling me to come forth as pure gold. Help me to be an living example of the Christ who willingly when to Calvary for those like me, who are undeserved, but for whom you were willing to die.

Thank you for the country in which I live, give me courage for face and challenge the evil which portrays itself as ‘goodness, and fairness,’ when neither of these are true, but only self servicing. May I ever stand against those who pray upon the weak and defenseless in the name of ‘the greater good,’ when but a few benefit. Thank you for those who are a blessing to those who otherwise might never believe they can rise above their past and their present circumstances.

Come now Holy Spirit, rise within us, change us before we attempt to change others. Come, thank you for breaking my heart, so that you might heal the brokenness within me. Thank you seems like so little, for someone who has given me and the world so much, I give you my heart and my life, to use as You will, beginning this moment and for not only the “new year,” but the rest of my life!!!

In the strong name of Jesus I pray, AMEN!!!

T.A.B. 

"UBUNTU"

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

What Good Shepherds Don't Do


When tending becomes controlling, we've overstepped our role.

Skye Jethani

In 2005, townspeople in Gevas, Turkey, watched in horror as one sheep jumped to its death, and then 1,500 others followed over the same cliff. When the villagers, whose livelihoods depended on the flock, reached the bottom of the mountain, they found a billowy white pile of death. Some 450 sheep were lost, but amazingly 1,000 survived. As the pile grew, the dead bodies cushioned the fall of other sheep.

How did this accident happen? The shepherds responsible for protecting the flock had left the sheep on the mountain to eat breakfast, and then the fleeces started to fly.

The importance of a shepherd is inversely proportional to the intelligence of the animal being shepherded. Dogs, for example, manage to survive fairly well without human oversight. Dolphins do even better. Sheep, on the other hand, don't have the good sense not to jump off a cliff. They need a shepherd to survive.

The fact that Scripture compares God's people to sheep ought to humble us. We need godly shepherds to lead, feed, and protect us from the world and from ourselves. We are irrefutably sinful (and often stupid) creatures willing to throw ourselves off cliffs of self-destruction. This truth, however, can tempt shepherds to overstep their role. Sometimes the most difficult part about pastoral ministry is knowing what is not our responsibility.

After the Resurrection, Jesus restores Peter and tells him three times to "feed" or "tend" his sheep and concludes with an allusion to his eventual martyrdom. Peter seems less than thrilled with this assignment, because he immediately asks Jesus about John's calling. The Lord rebukes him, "If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you?" (John 21:22).

We see Peter's temptation to overstep his role. He wants to know, and perhaps influence, John's calling. But Jesus makes it clear that determining John's calling is not Peter's responsibility. Essentially Jesus says, "You feed. You tend. You do not call. That is my prerogative. You are the servant; I am the master."

This has always been a temptation for us pastors. Knowing how helpless and stupid sheep can be, we come to believe that without our guidance, they can do nothing. So beyond feeding and tending, we assume it is also our responsibility to call—to tell Christ's sheep what they are to do.
Feeding and tending includes teaching. We instruct God's flock from the Scripture and teach them to obey all Jesus has commanded. The general commands from the Bible that apply to all disciples are sometimes known as our corporate calling.

Where we overstep as shepherds is when we assume the responsibility for a disciple's specific calling. This is what Peter questioned regarding John, and it's a tendency often encouraged by our culture's understanding of leadership. In corporate America the leader is the person with the vision. She or he then calls others to a particular task in order to accomplish it. We've accepted this view of leadership within the church, too, assuming the pastor's role is to articulate a particular vision and call all people to that singular work. Success is then measured by how many people answer our call.

We spend much of our energy calling people to our mission, to advance our church, to be evangelists, or even better—missionaries. And we do this with the best of intentions. We want to see God's work accomplished. What we forget is that Christ has called us to be shepherds who feed and tend, not masters who call. That is his job; they are, after all, his sheep. In Matthew 9 Jesus says, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few," but he does not tell his disciples to find, call, and send out more laborers. Instead, he instructs them to "pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers." Jesus does not outsource his responsibility to call to us.

The instinct to protect the sheep under our care is a good one; heaven knows they need it. But when feeding and tending becomes controlling or determining life direction, we've overstepped our role. We may think it's our job to call as many people as possible into missions or church work. But a disciple's specific calling always comes from Christ. Our task is to lead them into deeper communion with him. Christ's sheep need a shepherd. They already have a Lord.

[Copied from Leadership Journal]
Skye Jethani is senior editor of Leadership Journal, contributor to Out of Ur, and regularly teaches at Blanchard Alliance Church in Wheaton, Illinois.

Monday, December 17, 2012

Praying Together on Monday 12/17/2012

Today Father, more than most I desire that we draw close to you. Not simply because of the tragic events in Newtown, Conn., but because how easily and quickly we forgot our need of you. Remember I pray these families and friends, a community bound together not only by a horrific tragedy, and sense of loss for those we have never met, but because we understand the loss. We too are touched by it and at this time of year when we are trying to be cheerful and joyous because of the birth of a savior, we're hit with so great a loss. 

Help us as pastors, ministers and Christian leaders, and fellow human beings, to pray earnestly for these and those like them and ourselves, for our behavior and conduct to each other. For our failings as fellow beings, and not only the families of those killed, but the family of the perpetrator as well. He too has a family, who are be suffering as well, may they find you are present with them as well. 

I pray for our county, not only in the light of this latest event, but as a society and a culture, we've largely abandoned you and your teaching, and attempted to lead our lives without you and benefit of your instruction. We have abandoned you and now in a moment of utter failure, we call upon your name and ask your help. You have every right to say no or nothing.  Thank you for being so loving and hearing our cry and prayers. 

During the next few days, the families of their children will become ours; we will watch in silence and morn with those who have lost loved ones; may they know they are cared for not only today and this week, but that we will look out for them and each other, as if they were our family, because they are. May the distance which separates us, evaporate through prayer and concern. May we learn that we need you and each other, all of us. 

Come Holy Spirit, heal our wounded hearts, calm our anger and utter frustration not only in sobs and tears, but learning to lean on you and each other. 

Bless us who are called upon to preach and teach during this Christmas season, to do so with a greater seans of the meaning of your coming, as your angel said to Mary, " . . . to save His people from their sins." Thank you for a hope far greater than then that of some some senseless killer, and death of so many little children, but for those of us who must live with the empty place at the table, the room where they have slept, the toys and dolls left without a master or someone to hug them, and heart that will always long to  hold these dear one again, but cannot,   

Thank you again, for loving us, holding dear to your heart; for weeping with us and reminding us as you did at the grave of your dear friend, Lazarus. "Jesus wept."  May we lead through tears, heartbreak and pain, may we find strength in your Word and the presence of others. Thank you for sending the greatest and most valuable gift of all time, Your only begotten Son, Jesus to allow us to your son and daughters and children of the Most High. 

In the name of Jesus I and we pray, AMEN. 

T.A.B.


"UBUNTU"

Monday, December 3, 2012

Praying Together On Monday - 12/3/2012

Abba, Thank you for Advent. With so much to do, I can forget that “You are the reason for the season.” The some that is nothing more than a trite phrase, often quoted but not really believed or understood. With so much to do and so many to do for, I get caught up in doing and forget the real reason for this glorious time of year.

Thank you for caring so much for us as your creation, that when we fell in Adam, you provided a means of salvation and restoration for an entire race. Slow me down Lord, my mind and heart race into the next thing I’ve (we’ve) off to do. Frankly, I fail to encounter you as I’m at work for you. Here in this moment in this simple prayer, come Holy Spirit, may i seek you who isn’t hard to find or that far way. Come, and give me rest in yourself so that those I meet or work with will sense your presence.

Thank you for being of service to our neighbors and community, for allowing us to be your hands and feet to those who have have need. Forgive me as I often become callous to the needs around me, because they are so often greater than I can touch or resolve. Thank you for those who work with me, they have have their own ‘issues’ as I have mine. I can see theirs but often ‘gloss-over’ my own. May we learn to work together with those who disagree with me, or refuse to submit to my authority or vision. Lord, give me your heart, I’ve allowed my own to darken sometimes.

Bless these my brothers and sisters, Yes, they too are your own, to find a place where we all fit together, even as we are divided by distance, ministry type and calling; to say nothing of those clearly obvious differences, the one’s we don’t and often won’t talk about, because they are uncomfortable or won’t fit neatly into a box I’ve (we’ve) created. Lord, you know we need each other, but “I don’t know them, and why would they care about me?” It is your Spirit that touches hearts, that calls us into places where we are uncomfortable, but needed. Forgive me for trying ‘fix’ someone else, when I am so lacking myself.


So thank you for where you have led me, and brought me, use us here, in this place in th

Saturday, December 1, 2012

The Measure of a Man

Not - How did he die? - How did He live?
Not - What did he gain? But - What did he give?
These are the things that measure the worth
Of a man as a man, regardless of birth.
Not - What was his station? But - had he a heart?
And - How did he play his God-given part?
Was he ever ready with a word of good cheer?
To bring back a smile, to banish a tear?
Not - What was his church? Not - What was his creed?
But - Had he befriended those really in need?
Not - What did the sketch in the newspaper say?
But - How many were sorry when he passed away?
These are the things that measure the worth
Of a man as a man, regardless of birth.

From: The Adam Conference 2012
Trinity Baptist Church, Columbus, OH


Love ya, T.A.B.

"UBUNTU"

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Praying Together on Monday - 11/26/2012

Abba, today I thank you for your call upon the life you gave. All that I am have or will be is your gift to me. I offer this to you again, as we begin this the most challenging and demanding time of year, Advent.

First, Thank you for your desire to redeem us, when I think of what choices you had but chose to redeem us, I continue to be amazed that you would go to such lengths to save a fallen creation. Thank you for the babe of Bethlehem, but it isn't Your birth that saves, but Calvary and your death upon it, that redeems us.

Our schedules are filling up or are already full of appointments, worship services, etc., which stain our resources to the limits of our endurance. May I find time each day to seek you out, and spend time alone with you. I need you not only to preach, teach and lead, but so that I continue to be connected to you. Thank you for all the materials, resources, books, etc., I have to ‘get me ready,’ but more than any of these I need you! More than the ability to speak, teach and yes, write, I need a fresh relationship with you. So breath into me, pour your Spirit into this now empty vessel, that you chose to be the means of refreshing to a thirsty and hungry world. Even while we don’t know our own need, somehow, there are those who just like me, need you.
I’m no different than they, we are all in need of yourself. Especially in days like this.

Grant us peace, as we face not only today, but this and the weeks that follow. Thank you for the privilege you provide many of us who live and/or work among “the least of these.” Many of us are faced with not only the challenges of limited resources, but for those who have almost given up hoping and trying for a better life, and which makes this season of ‘giving’ so limiting. Help us, your servants to be salt and light in times of shortage, reduced funding, and limited resources. You are and have always been the source of provision, may we trust you and frankly, embrace you for the needs that are so real.

Thank you for enough. Like the widow of 1 Kings 17, what i don’t have is only matched by what you have. Thank you! Somehow may we see you in what little or even in the abundance. You are our source and supply, may I trust you with what we have and that which we don’t. Thank you for just enough for you to get the glory.

Comfort the hearts of these my brothers and sisters, that you continue to care not only about them, but that you stand with them, and you’re not far off. Thank you for strength for where I am, and for where we (you and I) are going. May my life be an example of a daily living, and vibrant faith, in the middle of hopeless and godless times and places.

Thank you for being yours! For what purpose I can’t always be sure, but I am by your choice, not even my own. I continue to believe to ‘ . . . see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.’ THANK YOU FOR HELP, HOPE AND VICTORY!!! In Jesus name I pray, AMEN!!!


Love ya, T.A.B.

"Ubuntu"




Monday, November 19, 2012

Praying Together On Monday 11/19/2012

Abba, today I thank you for these your children, these who have offered themselves to you and your service, those who have sacrificed and those who have shed tears as they are laboring for you in what seems to be an endless journey of limits, shortage, being misunderstood, and yes, overlooked. We serve at your pleasure, and hope you find pleasure in us. We didn't call ourselves, you called and we answered, often with loud, YES!!!  Only to find ourselves wanting, what we don't have, or being who we're not, and even here you are helping us become thankful for who we are. It is confusing, and I often don't 'get it???' "Why are you disquieted my soul . . ." Ps. 43:5. Thank you for your help and comfort. Thank you for creating me as you have. Thank you for working within me and never giving up on me. Thank you for resources I don't have or see, for help I don't know is around the corner or bend in the road. Thank you for those who are praying for me, and chose not to let me know they are.

Lord, I'm just a man, and I'm not always sure I know what you're up to or even how close you are to my and our situation. Thank you for this awareness that you are aware of my need and you are working to 'save me," as you did Peter as he sank beneath the waves. Thanks for being here, now, today and not far or distance from me.

I bless you for a goodness I don't deserve, a mercy I didn't expect and a grace that embraces me, even as I run away in moments of fear. Thank you for making me your own, and reminding me of your love for one just like me. I am a child, not a man, I am broken  but you're healing me, I am a sinner, but you've redeemed me; I am foolish, but you've made me wise, I am so needy, but you are filling every part of that need with your own self. Thank you for being present, in this moment, and for those moments I will face this week; for those I can't see coming and don't expect. Even there you are. Help me to trust you and depend so much upon myself, my ability, my intellect,

Jesus, I need you, and somehow you want me to a part of great and grand outcome I don't see understand or 'get.' Yet you call me to be you Son, Servant and partner in the redemption and renewal of this piece of the world. Lord, don't let me miss it, the thing you want and doing in this moment. I am so often wrong in so many things, but I love you and somehow I'm sure I make you laugh as I struggle, trying to 'figure out' how I am to do, what you know only what you can do. Thank you Jesus for loving me as you have, and continue too. You are an AMAZING GOD!!!

So I ask, what is it you want to do and accomplish this week, that I can't, even with my best effort? Where is that situation that is yes, frankly impossible without you hand being involved? Thank you for being more and more than enough! Thank you for a strength I don't have, for a faith that seems spent and not I'm empty. Could this be the place you wanted to bring me too. Where you are the Shepard  and I shall need of nothing???" Is this the valley of Baca (Ps. 84:6) where you make it a place of refreshing springs? I say thank you for that I can't see or understand, this place where I am confused and uncertain, where I 'feel' alone and without comfort, where the pain of the moment seems to be my only friend and companion. Yet, in that 'secret' place of my heart, I know You are here!" THANK you for the struggle, It is here that you draw me closer to yourself, and comfort my heart. I love you Abba, not just for what you do, but who you are. I bless you for blessing, I don't deserve or could earn, I honor you for your gift of salvation unearned and undeserved, for refreshing my spirit by the presence of the Holy Spirit in this moment, this day and this week, AMEN!!!

Love ya,
T.A.B.

Sunday, November 18, 2012

If I have been forgiven by Jesus . . .

Why is it, we who have been forgiven so much, seem not to be able to forgive others?
Surely I’ve made mistakes, and fallen short of the grace that was given to me, yet Christ makes it clear that if I ask Him to forgive me, He will. I asked, He has. If I have received this, should I not do the same for others?

Thinking back, I may or may not know what it was that alienated us from each other, it may have been something I said, or foolishly did, it really doesn’t matter, if I could remember I’d gloss over it, or excuse myself. Whatever it is does matter, if you would then help me find that place and lovingly walk me through it so that we both can be healed.

I find the silence on this subject shocking. I find my own inability to give what I’ve received even more so. here is the truth, I have wounded several without knowing it, and yes, I have wounded others on purpose. For those I’ve wounded or hurt and didn’t know I was doing it, I ask your forgiveness. But I need to hear the words from you to know you’ve found grace in your heart to do it and say it. For those who I’ve hurt or wounded, offended, etc., on purpose, I ask for your forgiveness as well. Whether it was in anger, frustration or just plain stupidity, I did it in a moment when I allowed my selfishness to get the best of me, and I’m truly sorry. What may have hurt the most is that I wasn’t aware I was doing it, or just so stubborn in forging ahead anyway. I can’t be responsible for what others do or have done, I am responsible for me.

Too often I (we) look for reasons (excuses) for why we do or say the things we do, “ . . . my childhood was marred by unloving and non responsive parents; being born poor and in a racist society, caused me,  to etc.

If I have been forgiven by the blood Christ shed for someone like me, why is it I who have never spilled a single drop of blood for anyone, won’t do what Christ did for me and tells me to do (and frankly enables me to do) in John 15:9-12,  ‘ . . . love ye one another, as I have loved you. But “T,” I thought you were talking about forgiving? Yes I am and was. “If you love me keep my commandments,” Oh dear, there you go again Jesus, “Love one another, as I have loved you” John 13:34-35.  Yet all of the Scriptures in the book won’t have any affect, if I am unwilling to apply them to myself.

Father, I confess my sin of being unforgiving, I’ve held on too my anger, resentment and the pain on purpose and for far too long. I refuse to allow what you’ve done in and for me to be applied to those who have hurt and wounded me. Lord, frankly I’ve secretly hated them while you have loved me, and want to allow this love to be shared with these who judge me the worst of sinners. While I am just that, because I hold on to what you want and are willing to allow me to let go of, but I refuse to do so; forgive me as I embrace your forgiveness of these as well.

Thank you for the freedom your love and Spirit bring. The weight of my sin I can no longer bear, you have taken it and replaced it with your self in and by the Holy Spirit.  I thank you for your grace which uplifts my spirit anew. In the Name of Jesus I pray, AMEN!!!


Love ya, T.A.B.

"UBUNTU"

Monday, November 12, 2012

10 Reasons Pastors Leave the Ministry

Over 1,700 pastors leave the ministry every month. This staggering number includes some of the brightest, most inspiring pastors in the country. To prevent the continued flight of our pastors, we need to understand the cause of the problem. Though every situation is unique, the reasons pastors leave are often similar. Here are 10 common reasons pastors quit too soon.

1. Discouragement
Fifty percent of pastors report feeling so discouraged they would leave the ministry if they could. Complaints speak louder than compliments. You can receive 15 compliments and one complaint, and the complaint will stick. When you hear criticism and look out to see empty pews, it can be difficult to recognize the positive impact you’re making. The key is to remember: no matter how much negative you hear, you’re always doing 10 times more good.

2. Failure
Seventy percent of pastors say they have a lower self-image now than when they started. Many pastors have difficulty recognizing success. They compare themselves to other pastors and other ministries. Comparisons produce only two outcomes: (1) you think you’re better, which results in excessive pride, or (2) you feel like you don’t measure up, which creates a sense of failure. The key is not to compare, but to celebrate your successes.

3. Loneliness
Seventy percent of pastors do not have someone they consider a close friend. With so many people looking to pastors for guidance, it can be difficult for pastors to let their guards down. They don’t want to come across as less than perfect. They feel they can’t be transparent and vulnerable. That creates a sense of isolation. It’s important for pastors to find people they can open up and share their struggles with, instead of absorbing and isolating.

4. Moral Failure
Thirty-three percent of pastors confess having involved in inappropriate sexual behavior. The moral failures of pastors are magnified more than the average person. The key to avoiding moral failures is creating a system of risk prevention. When you meet with someone of the opposite sex: let your spouse know, never meet behind closed doors, and do not discuss relationship issues. For pornography, software is available to monitor or block Web activity.

5. Financial Pressure
Seventy percent of pastors feel grossly underpaid. Most ministries are nonprofits so pastors are not compensated well. When you can’t fully provide the life you want for your family, it makes it hard to continue. Then you look at friends not in the ministry with big houses and nice cars. Pastors can relieve the pressure with better financial planning. Try following the 80-10-10 rule – 10% to church, 10% to savings, and 80% to live off.

6. Anger
Each year, 4,000 new churches begin and 7,000 churches close. When things aren’t going well, pastors become angry – with others, themselves, or God. Thoughts fall along these lines: “I did everything you told me. I went to seminary. I started a ministry. Why are you not doing what you said?” The worst thing about anger is it spreads like wildfire. The medicine for anger is forgiveness. We have to forgive so we can move forward.

7. Burnout
Ninety percent of the pastors report working between 55 to 75 hours per week. Pastors are put on a treadmill. They go from the ministry to a hospital visit to writing a sermon to meeting with congregation members. They just keep running until there’s no passion or energy left. They become exhausted and depleted. Vacations and sabbaticals can provide perspective. Another key is empowering other leaders so all the weight is not on the pastor’s shoulders.

8. Physical Health
Seventy-five percent of pastors report significant stress-related crisis at least once in their ministry. Many pastors overwork themselves and simply do not care for their bodies. When you’re busy, it’s easy to eat poorly. But eating the right foods is essential to physical health. It’s the difference between fueling the body and depleting the body. Pastors also don’t get enough rest or regular exercise. Exercise makes a huge difference in physical and mental health.

9. Marriage/Family Problems
Eighty percent of pastors believe pastoral ministry has negatively affected their families. Too often, a pastor’s spouse and children end up taking a backseat to the ministry. The key is balance. Marriage has to be a top priority. Your relationship with your spouse is the most important relationship you have on this Earth. You have to nurture your family relationships – whether that means having family night or seeking counseling.

10. Too Busy/Driven
Ninety percent of pastors feel they are inadequately trained to cope with the ministry demands. A lot of pastors simply are not working efficiently. They are not protecting their calendars or giving themselves the space they need. They haven’t learned how to say “no.” Being busy is not always being productive. Pastors need to find ways to maximize the use of their time. You have to learn how to say “no” at the right times.

Take a look at these 10 points, then pray and ask God: What area do I really need to address? Where am I struggling? Once you identify the areas where you need to improve, take these three steps:

• Ask for help. If you’re struggling, there is absolutely nothing wrong with asking someone for help.
• Institute accountability. Find a group or person to keep you accountable in the areas you think you are weak.
• Take ownership of your choices. More than anyone else, you control the path you walk.
Take actions and precautions to make sure you don’t let any of these 10 reasons separate you from your passion for the ministry and your calling.
From a Post on FB by Jason Tyree
 

Praying together - 11/12/2012

Abba, today we remember those who have served in our military, giving themselves in the service of our county and the cause of freedom around the world.  In saying ‘Thank You,’ we are trying to acknowledge the sacrifice they and others have made on our behalf. May we never forget.

But we thank you for those of your servants who like these in our military, serve in the Lord’s Army. That group of men and women in our cities, rural and foreign fields, where they are called to serve, often without notice by those of us who live in reasonable comfort here at home. Why even those of us who are suffering through the after-mass of ‘Sandy’ know that our present condition though difficult, will pass, and we hope soon, but would continue forever. These whose names we often don’t know sacrifice often without notice or praise, continue serving you with trusting hearts are in very real ‘foxholes and minefields.’ Grant that their hope and faith in you doesn't fail them in those moments when all seems lost or empty. Bless those whose whose support has taken a ‘nose dive’ through no fault or failure on their part. Thank you for the surprise you plan for them around the next bend in the road.

Thank you for your call on our lives, we didn't chose you, you chose us, Eph. 1:4), thank you for your Spirit alive and working in us for a far greater weight of glory then we can believe. Bless this week, with its open calendar, and questions as to what we are to do next. Strengthen our conviction of the call you gave us to be and then to do.

Bless our families who struggle with us, and serve without spoken complaint along side us; encourage their hearts with words of encouragement from unexpected sources. Grant us courage in the heat of battle, and often with those we serve along side with. Open my mind and heart to your Spirit’s leading in those private and personal places. May there be moments of reflection and comfort through your Word and Spirit, open me up to you in unexpected places and ways, I need you. Thank you for the unseen tears shed in the hidden places where no one sees or knows. Through them you bring me closer to yourself and for this I thank you.

I praise you now for victory I can’t create but fight for, a promise you've spoken long ago and you’re moving me into; for challenges that bring new strength and a victory that is certain, because you are in it and the source of it. Thank you now for your peace, which passes all understanding, from yourself and not what I have, resources I know about and people who could help if they wanted too. You Sovereign Lord are my and our victory, and in Your Name and power of your Spirit, we fight not to victory but from it! In Your Name we pray, AMEN!!!


Love ya, T.A.B.

"UBUNTU"

Monday, November 5, 2012

A prayer on Monday before the U.S. Election - 11/5/2012

Abba, today I thank you that you have allowed us to live in a county where we enjoy the freedom of electing those who will lead us. I pray that You will guide us as we vote. We have divided ourselves along several different lines, political, social, racial and economic. I get to choose who I think best represents what i see as a means to ‘fix’ the problems that face us all as a people and a nation. Somewhere in this ‘mix’ I forgot to ask you, “thy will be done, . . . ; on earth as it is in heaven.” So guide my thinking and direction as I select those that You know and want in these trying times.

Lord, not only do I need you, but our the county in which you have blessed me to live. Thank you for being concerned about not only me, and those who ‘think or feel’ as I do, but those who don’t as well. Their not my enemy, someone to be beaten and then destroyed; but my fellow citizens over which you are Lord as well. Once the polls are closed and someone is elected, my I bow my head in thanksgiving to and for your blessing for a process which leads to change without violence and bloodshed.

May I embrace those elected as Your choice, because the “powers that be are ordained of God.” Why have you selected these or those, I don't know, but You are God, and may I learn to breath and trust Your judgement, yes, even when I don’t like it, or think it best.

I thank you that “this world is not my home,” You’ve blessed me to be a part of a solution I don’t always understand. You place us in places of heartbreak and struggle; where wound are deep and memories are long. Where I wait for the chance to ‘get even,’ and refuse to hear Your Word, and say, “ . . . Father, forgive them.”

Our mission isn't to ‘change the world,’ but only my piece or part of it for your purpose and glory. To love those who don’t love themselves and don’t know how to love others. Help me to be You to them. You are all we really have. If I succeed and beat down my enemy, and those I’ve defeated, how different am I then those who have not your Spirit? Yes, Lord I want a different outcome, but you are in the one I have to deal with, grant me grace and peace, not only when the outcome is announced, not only to accept it, but to work within it for Your purpose.

Today I confess I don’t like suffering or means by which You bring or allow it. Thank you for the struggle to understand this purpose or reason You’ve allowed it. May I embrace you, my Lord, Savior and my God for the reason, and purpose You’ve chosen at this time and place.

Thank you for making me Your own, and walking me through even my ‘dark night of the soul,” because I know, “ . . . You are with me, Your rod and Your staff they comfort me, surly goodness and mercy shall follow me all the day of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” AMEN!!!

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Something for some of us to think about . . .


"The moment you think of the Kingdom as a place to achieve, to become valuable, to connect, or to be a major player, you will quickly discover that this was never what Jesus had in mind when He said, "Follow me."

Gordon Macdonald

Monday, October 29, 2012

Praying Together on Monday 10/29/2012

Abba,

Today I call upon you not because of need or want, but with thanksgiving for all of your abundance gifts, blessings, burdens and  struggles. All these are a part of the life you’ve blessed me to have.

I face this week with a calendar filled with responsibilities and challenges some of which will be unplanned and unexpected. May I be given your peace as I face them, and assurance of your presence and yes, a confidence that you will be present in every situation. I pray for those who have expectations of me, those who trust me to lead and others who want me to follow. Bless those with little or no expectations either of me or themselves. Send a spirit of challenge to those who have little or no expectation at all, who have given up wanting or trying, because of past failures or lack of success.

We live in a world of your creation, over which you have given us charge. How often have we simply sat around or ‘waiting’ for something to happen or change, when we were to be the change that was necessary. Forgive me for waiting for ‘someone’ to be or to do, when I could have been, or should the change you wanted in my (our) world. Come Holy Spirit, make me aware of your direction, I’ve been ‘busy’ following, when you wanted, or expected me to lead. Lord I struggle with my own worthiness and worth, I’ve been told to know my place, Thank you for leading me here, to this present place or situation. Thank you for being here with me, I’m not alone, forgotten or abandoned, and that  . . .I can do all things through Christ who sterngths me.”

Thank you for those who struggle with me, who like myself, need you to refresh the desire to face the unknown but knowing you are the God of my and our future as well as my past. By trusting you my future is secure, my present in being designed and lived out by your grace. Thank you for being your’s.  Thank you for being present, thank you for your strength to walk into the unknow because I know you’re there. I pray in Jesus Name, Amen!!!

T.A.B.
http://taburns.blogspot.com

“UBUNTU”

Thursday, October 25, 2012

Morning Devotional and response . . .

Nothing of the old Life!

If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new —2 Corinthians 5:17

Our Lord never tolerates our prejudices— He is directly opposed to them and puts them to death. We tend to think that God has some special interest in our particular prejudices, and are very sure that He will never deal with us as He has to deal with others. We even say to ourselves, “God has to deal with other people in a very strict way, but of course He knows that my prejudices are all right.” But we must learn that God accepts nothing of the old life! Instead of being on the side of our prejudices, He is deliberately removing them from us. It is part of our moral education to see our prejudices put to death by His providence, and to watch how He does it. God pays no respect to anything we bring to Him. There is only one thing God wants of us, and that is our unconditional surrender.

When we are born again, the Holy Spirit begins to work His new creation in us, and there will come a time when there is nothing remaining of the old life. Our old gloomy outlook disappears, as does our old attitude toward things, and “all things are of God” (2 Corinthians 5:18). How are we going to get a life that has no lust, no self-interest, and is not sensitive to the ridicule of others? How will we have the type of love that “is kind . . . is not provoked, [and] thinks no evil”? (1 Corinthians 13:4-5). The only way is by allowing nothing of the old life to remain, and by having only simple, perfect trust in God— such a trust that we no longer want God’s blessings, but only want God Himself. Have we come to the point where God can withdraw His blessings from us without our trust in Him being affected? Once we truly see God at work, we will never be concerned again about the things that happen, because we are actually trusting in our Father in heaven, whom the world cannot see.

My Utmost For His Highest - 10/23/2012 - Oswald Chambers

My response:
Abba, I begin today in confession, I have several prejudices. There I’ve said it, and acknowledge it. I have surrendered much to you but I’ve held on to a few. Forgive me, even these must be given up if I’m to follow you. Some of these prejudices are found in the pain of my existence and treatment of others and yes, the advantage other have that I don’t, you don’t care where or what they are, you call me to total surrender. O that it would be as easy as saying the words, and walking away, jesus I need you here, come Lord jesus in the power of your Holy spirit. Lord these prejudices I can name, and see the the injustices; I feel the pain and want there to justice. Cleanse my heart oh God. and take this and these pains I want removed from my heart and life. Thank you for being God even here.

Lord, the old life with its prejudices must die, you have given me the ability to put them to death in love. Love empowered by your Holy spirit presence; work in me and on me, I want and need you here. How long must I remain captive to that which isn’t like you? Where I am jealous of another because you have gifted them as you have or blessed them to beo or obtain and I don’t or didn’t receive that from you. Envy doesn't stop at the door of this christian life. Forgive me my sin in prejudice against unions, and certain political parties and whites, the gifted, etc. I am a sinner, trying to hold on to my prejudices and justifying them because of the injustices of others. O forgive me Lord! I’ve hated and felt justified in my hatred, forgive me. You died for these as well as myself.

I have no better claim to holding on to my prejudice than any other sinner. come, O come Holy spirit and cleanse me of that I hold as a ‘right,’ because of the wound that is so old and deep.

I thank you for beginning your new creation in me. I want healing not only for me, but them as well. Their prejudices have hurt and wounded them as well, but they may not know it. Open our eyes together and help us to love each other, respect and honor each other, and build into the lives of each other. May we by you the Holy Spirit overcome the known and even unknown prejudices of our lives. Far too many of my brothers and sisters can’t see the prejudices we carry into daily life. Forgive us and help us, we need you so very much.

Help me, cleasne me and continue to remove the gloomy outlook, my old attitudes towards things and people, where lust is removed and my self interest is denied, and I’m no longer sensitive to the ridicule of others. Come lord Jesus, I need your Spirit in power present in every moment of my life. Abba, I trust you, I thank you for my daily bread and so much more. Thanks you for the influence you’ve given that I don’t know about. I thank you for this new life in Christ. AMEN!!!

Monday, October 22, 2012

Praying Together on Monday - 10/22/2012

Abba,

Today I thank you for those of us who dare to acknowledge our need of you. We dare because we know there is no one and nowhere else to turn too. Thanks you for being near, for listening to our cry and not just listening, but answers as it please you and when as well.

Remember those whose hearts ache with a sense of loneliness and fear, we often feel abandoned and alone because we believe in you.. We’re told we’re foolish because we trust in Him who is and was and always will be faithful to those who trust Him.

I thank you for what I have in this life, but I’m not going to place my trust in ‘things and stuff.’ What I need more than ever is more of you and I’ll only find you if I seek you. thanks for not being far away or “ . . . from a distance. . .” you are watching, no, you promised you’rd be near, and as I quiet my heart and mind, I know you’re near. Thanks!

So bless me today to be a blessing to others, yes even those who seem to know how to ‘press my buttons, or ‘get my goat.’ Come Holy spirit, renew my mind, change my thinking, my senses and ‘feelings.’ Help me to move beyond what I ‘feel’ and sense, but into a place when your Spirit leads even someone like me.

I love you Lord, but you ‘started it,” you showed your love for me, long before I called on your name. I thank you for your refreshing today.

In your Name I pray, AMEN!


Love ya, T.A.B.

“UBUNTU”

A prayer for leaders 10/22/2012

Abba,

Today I honor you for those you have called to be leaders, teachers and yes, pastors; their wives, husbands and families. Thank you for them and for their challenges and struggles. These are often the means you use in making us into the image of yourself.

Thank you for for those who think they know what and who we are, and attempt to bring us in their realm of influence. Thank you for courage to stand faithful to your call in and on our lives as we move forward. I thank you for granting us favor where you know we need it, and providing resistance that cause us to trust you for the long haul.

I thank you for their faithfulness in the ‘little things’ and what some call insignificant places of service. For their willingness to serve and to be your servant. You understand our desire “to be,’ while not know that ‘I am’ just as you made me to be, . . . “ thank you than that I (we) are your joy and how pleased you are at the progress we’ve made, often going against the grain.

I thank you for their love of ‘little ones, and least of these,” not for selfish gain and glory, but because they are important to you. Thank for those who are willing to get on their knees both in prayer and in the dirt to plant seeds for a harvest they may never reap.

I thank you for wives and husbands and families that labor alongside these your children and servants, who suffer with and sometimes for them, being unsung, unnoticed and not appreciated. Bless them too today, to be what they must, so that we may continue be all we must for your purpose.

Thank you again for the struggle, for by it you use created the strength and muscle mass to be of great use for some future I don’t see or understand. Help me not to become jealous of the gifts you’ve given others, they have their purpose and so do we. Help us to focus on our mission, our assignment and fulfill it to your own glory.

I pray they will be celebrated this month, remembered by those they have served, and even if not, may they smile to themselves, knowing they have ‘ . . . wholly followed the Lord,” May their joy be in service and not in the ‘reward’ or lack of it during this life. I thank you for the promise of a reward yet to come.

As we begin our week, if our calendar is full or nearly empty; if no one calls or our voice-mailbox is overflowing, may we focus on you; give you our heart and to be guided by your Spirit. Come Holy Spirit, do your best work, here and throughout this week, both in me and in us, this I pray for these your children sons, daughters and servants. Thank you for making us your own.

Love ya Jesus! AMEN!!!

Monday, October 15, 2012

Praying together on Monday 10/15/2012

Abba, Today I thank you for your love for us, as imperfect as we are. You have have shown your love for us, by allowing us to make major and foolish mistakes, error and yes, even sin but choosing not to destroy us and starting over; but by creating a means of salvation and restoration to yourself by Christ Jesus. THANK YOU!

I thank you for your compassionate understanding and grace for us, may I by the power of the Holy Spirit live out this same grace to those around me. As we begin our week, I pray for your guidance and direction, you’re leading not only the big decisions but the details of our daily lives as well. It is often here that I forget to consult you and ask for your direction.

Grant me a heart of compassion not only for those ‘overseas,’ but those who are near to me as well, they too are hurting and often I don’t know or care because I’ve been too busy caring about myself and my own interest than listening to your Spirit. Forgive me in my ‘rushing around,’ being ‘busy,’ doing, and being.

Thank you for your compassionate heart for those just like me, we’ve walked the streets of our cities, towns and villages, without looking at or seeing each other; “ . . .I don’t have time . . .” what are they too me? If you, as God could and did care for me, and us, what’s are your expectations for us? Compassion and caring does not mean being able to writing a check or giving away our ‘old clothes, etc., When do I start caring for those who are not only like me, but those who are not? Here Lord, (for that is what you are,) I’m called to be ‘you’ to the world, and not just my world, and those around me, but to the wider world. Jesus, I need you so very much, I don’t always understand why you deal with me as you do, but here we are, just you and me, Come Holy Spirit and make sense of this life you’ve given, and work in me as you will.

Bless these my brothers and sisters who struggle with questions for which they have no answers; situations they can’t fix or correct; people who drive them to distraction and cause us pain. The little annoyances that drive me crazy. Give me (us) your Spirit to deal with everyday life, not just the supernatural and miraculous. It is here I need you the most.

I thank you for those who read this prayer, may it become their own, I need you as much as any other. This day and week will not be anything like what it could be without you. Walk with me, “ . . . Take my life and let it be consecrated Lord to thee . . . “ In the Strong Name of Jesus I pray, AMEN!!!

Love ya,
T.A.B.

“Ubuntu”   

Monday, October 8, 2012

Praying Together On Monday October 8, 2012

Abba, today I begin with a thank you for your call to me, “Come to me . . .” Matthew 11:28. This is a call not to do but to be. Your call as if there were no one else but to me, “Come to me . . . “

Abba, forgive my selfish needs, consuming desires and all too often wanton driving passions to be, which have nothing to do with your call, “Come to me . . .” I thank you this call is not as if I am some animal or pet , but as your own child, one you gave birth to and have a desire and purpose for. You call because you wish to, there is something you both see and know that you want not only for me to do, but to be and become. May I trust you in this and every moment that follows to reach out to you as you call and “Lord here am I send me . . .”

Perhaps you may want me to respond by simply “stand still and see . . .” oh may I have you grace to do nothing more. I am so busy trying to ‘get something done,” I forget, I need to hear what it is you want before I go rushing off to get ‘it” done. Jesus I live in a culture not know for standing, let alone standing still for very long, so I confess a great need to not only believe you but learning how to trust you and that even as it seems nothing is happening, you are on the move. THANK YOU!

I confess my arrogance, anger, frustration and regret that I haven’t accomplished what I wanted to do or get done for you and the Kingdom. Never thinking that might not have been your plan or purpose at all or ever. Forgive me for thinking less of myself then I should all the while wish I were more than I should as well. Pretty confused aren't I Jesus, well, Lord as we say, “that’s how I roll . . .” Here Lord, I present what I am and have to you, for the purpose I don’t understand. I can’t figure or ‘sort out’ my own life to say nothing of your great and master plan for time, ow foolish I’ve been, but thank you for loving me through the dark and lonely times of my (really our) life together.

Come Lord Jesus, thank you for your call. Slow me do Jesus, I’m so busy trying to be and do I’ve left you not only standing at the ‘bus stop,’ but completely out of my plans and life. Without meaning to I’ve accused you of forgetting me and my need(s), of overlooking where I serve, or even remembering me, Oh how foolish I've been, and all the while you have been saying, “Come to me . . .”

So here I am Lord God and Abba, crying at your feet, I’m tired, of trying to this alone, and frustrated with my own and the failures of others so much like me, here I may I respond to you clear voice today, and say, “I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell among of people of unclean lips, . . .” Thank you for cleansing and empowering call, “ . . . who can I send, and who will go for us . . . “ Lord, here am I send me! But first I must listen for your voice saying, “Come to me . . .” AMEN!!!

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

It's Not Just You . . .


    Beating the Day After Blues

    by William Vanderbloemen
    After 15 years in ministry, and thousands of turns stepping up to preach, I know the dirty little secret preachers carry:
    Sunday night is often a major emotional bummer. Monday is often worse.
    For a long time, I thought it was just me. I would find myself emotionally down on Sunday night. Even more listless on Mondays. What was wrong? Maybe I was moody. Maybe I expected too much from Sundays. It doesn’t make sense. Why would the hours following our biggest, most fun day of work be a bummer?
    Then a friend of mine shared a study he had found on public speakers, particularly those who were motivational speakers. The study theorized that people who spend their time getting revved up for a public talk spent so much energy on stage that afterward there was almost always a time of emotional letdown. Turns out, a whole lot of other studies have the same conclusion.
    I don’t know whether the studies are valid, but I know that the theory sure seems to resonate. Just hearing about it freed me up. I wasn’t weird or messed up. I was just experiencing what many other preachers do:
    The Post Preaching Blues.
    Now that I spend all my time doing executive search helping churches with staffing, I don’t preach as much (except for clients), and I don’t have those post Sunday blues. But I do set aside more time than normal to pray for and reach out to my friends and clients who spent their day serving a local church.
    I’ve also spent a good bit of time studying what can be done to help preachers and church workers get through the Post Sunday Blues. Over the next several Mondays, I will be sharing key learnings I’ve found that seem to work well.
    This week's key: Take a deep breath, and realize you might be down because you did a great job.
    If you’re feeling down on Sunday night or Monday, it is likely that you’re down because you were really, really up on Sunday morning. In other words, you left it all on the stage, and you did your job!
    When friends hit a doldrum in preaching and ask me for advice, I often point them to Wesley’s famous prayer before preaching, “Lord, set me afire, and let the people watch me burn.” I tell them to preach their next sermon as if it were their last. Problem is, if you really do leave it all on the stage, there’s nothing left to take home.
    Did you know that Billy Graham used to lose tens of pounds every time he went out on the road for crusades? He writes about the physical toll of preaching in his autobiography, Just As I Am.
    Next time you’re feeling down after services, realize it may just be a result of doing a really great job, and take it easy on yourself.