The power of Lament

Until I attended Pastors of Excellence at The Sandburg Leadership (ATS), I had not heard about the "Psalms of Lament." I know, I live a time when we have nothing to lament, HA! Let's get real. "Our English word lament comes from the Latin word for weeping. Psalms 6, 13, 22, 35, 43, 88, 102, 109, and 137  are examples of this type of psalm. You'll know you've come across one when you feel like you've turned the corner in a hallway and bumped into someone kicking, punching and screaming at a locker door; the psalms of lament are that intense.

When you find a psalm of lament that expresses what you're feeling, take that psalm and read it out loud to God. Pray that psalm. Read it with as much force and anger and depth as you can muster. A mentor of mine told me that when I'm unable to pray, I should let someone else pray for me - let the psalms become your prayers." Second Guessing God - hanging on when you can't see his plan by Brian Jones. 

I don't know about you, but I've had a great deal of pain and wounding in my 65 years of life. I received a lot of what I didn't need and very little of what I really needed most. Things I should have received were withheld, whether it was on purpose or the fact they didn't know how to give me what I needed I can't tell. Perhaps you where blessed with wonderful people around you who made sure you were given all the love and affection you needed and wanted, sorry I wasn't one of those. I too ". . . was wounded in the house of my friends." (Zech. 13:6)

I didn't understand that it was and is alright to cry out to God and yes, perhaps at God for how I've been treated. According to much of the material I've read, there are three parts of a lament: accusations against god, hatred toward enemies, and vows of praise. I've notice of late that very few in any of the preaching and teaching I've heard or read deals with any of this, if at ALL!

Perhaps you think I've fallen of the wagon, or read one too many books, but I'm convinced there is an unknown (or unspoken) truth here that needs to exposed. First let me be clear, I believe God love me, and that without question! I am His son for whom Jesus bled and died for, and nothing and no one can pluck me out of His hand. I'm SAVED, not by what I do, or don't do, I'm SAVED, because of Christ's death on Calvary. If that's too preachy for you, you're reading the wrong blog.

"Accusations against God. The first thing we notice when we read the paslms of lament is that those praying felt free to accuse God of not caring about them. There accusations are, at times brutal. Consider Ps. 44:24
. . . The author essentially tells God to wipe the sleep from his eyes and quit being lazy! How could these psalms writers talk this way? I think the reason they were so bold is because they were being honest. They wrote what they felt." When was the last time I was willing to be brutally frank with God about how I'm feeling, or was I just being polite? You know what I mean, When addressing the Almighty one should be on there best behavior. Sorry, I'm past that now, He knows me, He knows my thoughts, (before they are connected to me,) I'm a fool is I think I can hide my real and true feeling from Him. Yes, yell, screm, get honest with Him, He is God and he's heard it all before, i won't be his first child that has said, "right now I'm not happy with you God!"

"What has so completely broken your soul that you wonder if you'll ever be able to recover? Tell that to God. Dispense with the polite, positive self-talk and ask God directly, Where were you when this happened? Were you sleeping? Are you lazy? Are you too chicken and you're hiding? Take the psalms of lament as your permission slip to be honest with God.

Hatred toward enemies.
Oh, yeah, how about that"love your enemy stuff? Have you read any of the Psalms? Ps. 3:7; 55:15; 143:12; 137:8, 9, don't sound like "love your enemies . . . that Jesus talked about in Matt. 5:44. "Maybe the reason the psalms of lament portray people praying for the destruction of their enemies because we can't love our enemies until God gives us the ability to love them. And maybe God can't give us the ability to love our enemies until we expressed to him, in specific detail, the full brunt of our rage and hatred for our enemies. Maybe it's not until we've pulled the every last ounce of hatred out of our hearts and flug it into the lap of God that we can authentically love our enemies."

Vows of praise.
"Interspersed among the kicking, screaming, and pleading is something biblical scholars call "a vow of praise." We see a perfect example of this in Psalms 43:1, which begins with a desperate petition, . . . but ends in v.5   . . . "

"The contrast is so stark, you wonder if the same person is writing the first and the last verses. How can someone go from such desperate circumstances to a position of confidence in God's goodness?

A vow. In just about every psalm of lament, you'll find a statement that expresses, "No matter how dark my circumstances get, no matter how much rage I feel toward God or those around me , not matter how much everything I think and feel tells me to give up on God, I will not. I will not give up on God." Have you ever made a vow like that?"

Here's a prayer from Brian Jones:
Yes, Father, I still believe in your goodness, despite What I see with my eyes:
Yes, Father, I still believe you have a plan for my life, despite what I feel in my heart;
Yes, Father, I still believe my best days are ahead of me, despite what my enemies and friends and loved ones say to me;
Even if you ask me to live in mystery the rest of my life, I will wake up every day and say yes, Father, I sill believe in you.
 Second Guessing God - hanging on when you can't see his plan by Brian Jones. Chapter 8 Mystery




 Buy this Book! Read this book!
Love ya,
T.A.B.

In Memory of those Who Died

It is at Memorial Day, we as a nation pause to remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our county and our freedom. It is right therefore, that as Christians, we too should pause to remember those who like our service men and women gave their lives for the Kingdom of God.

We too are involved in warfare against a great adversary, the devil. Many of our brothers and sisters in arms give every day of their lives for the cause of Christ at home and on the foreign field. They sacrifice everything we hold dear, time, talent and treasure for the name of Jesus. I would like to take a moment and remember them.

Many of us who have never ‘served’ in the armed forces, yet we too serve under the banner of Christ, and His banner over us is love. We are called to serve, to give our lives for the one who gave His life for us. When our life’s work is done, there are no parades, muffled drums, flag ceremonies or pipers playing a lament over us. We are fortunate if a few friends come and gather around our families to sing the praises of our loving Lord. The minister will remind those of us who live of the life our loved one offered.

Many of our fellow believers suffer greatly for the cause of Christ, and often they suffer in silence and unknown by the vast majority of the world even fellow believers. Pastors, their wives and family suffer (bravely) alongside them, even while they too don’t say or speak of the pain they too endure. No grand memorials are raised in their memory; often their graves have no marker or tombstone to mark their final resting place. It is as they too are “the Unknown Soldier, or as our British cousins say, “the unknown warrior.”

Well today I want to pay tribute these “unknown soldiers.” First they are not unknown, our God know everyone of their names, because “no one can pluck them out of my hand;” You Lord were with them at their calling and falling; you swept them into your presence at the moment of their death. They rest with you, even now.

I thank you for their testimony, their lives and their gifts, even those I don’t their name or how and where they served. Help me and those that follow them to live as honorably as they did, to work as hard and be willing to sacrifice as much for your glory.

Today Father, I honor you for the gift you made of these to me and countless others; they didn’t know me or know I would be born, but they knew you and dared to believe your Word and live in the power and presence of your Holy Spirit. They are warriors and victors, they have fought a good fight, they have finished they course, and now they wait for the promise of the reward they’ve earned, not for themselves, but for your glory.

Father, I bless their memory and pray I and others will live up to the example they have left for us. 

Becoming Vulnerable

Wednesday, 11 May 2011 12:00 AM EDT R.T. Kendall Daily Devotionals - By Love Transformed

For to be sure, he was crucified in weakness, yet he lives by God's power. Likewise, we are weak in him, yet by God's power we will live with him to serve you. —2 Corinthians 13:4

Being vulnerable is not cowardice or being a "wimp." In fact, it is the opposite—it is being a tower of strength. It is what Paul means by becoming a man (1 Cor. 13:11). It is when you are so strong inside that you do not take yourself so seriously. Vulnerability means the ability to be hurt, being unprotected. Our friend Alan Bell says that love is "moving forward without protecting yourself." Becoming vulnerable is therefore the opposite of the sin of self-protection.

Jesus was the strongest man who ever lived. He had the power to stop the entire crucifixion proceedings. He proved that by manifesting only a degree of His power when the chief priests and soldiers came to arrest Him. The Word tells us that when the soldiers surrounded Him in the garden, suddenly dozens (some scholars think it was hundreds) all "fell to the ground" (John 18:6). But Jesus chose to be vulnerable.

Many marriages on the rocks could be healed overnight if both husband and wife would become vulnerable, stop protecting himself or herself, and stop pointing the finger.

Taking myself too seriously grieves the Spirit and robs me of anointing. The issue of "who gets the credit" paralyzes many ministers today—so many want to be noticed and given due recognition.

Many a person forfeits greater usefulness because he or she can't bear the thought of not getting deserved credit for something. Neither can many people tolerate someone else's getting credit for something they did themselves. I can understand this. But it is a wonderful inner release—and glorifying to God—to be utterly self-effacing and to abandon the praise of people. God can trust such a person with a wider ministry.

Excerpted from The Sensitivity of the Spirit (Charisma House, 2002)

Don't Quit

Wednesday, 04 May 2011 12:00 AM EDT R.T. Kendall Daily Devotionals - By Love Transformed

Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire ... —Daniel 3:17, NAS

Can you think of any moment lately when you were glad Jesus had not come? If He had come, would He have found you complaining, criticizing, or ready to give up? Perhaps you know what it is to be lonely; perhaps you were passed over; perhaps you feel that life has passed you by; perhaps you feel it is unfair that you had to have the lousy wife or husband you have or the illness. Endure the trial with dignity.

But what is enduring with dignity? It means that at the Second Coming of Jesus, beware that you are not questioning God. Beware of bitterness against Him.

It also means do not be found quenching. That is trying to abort a God-ordained trial. Every trial has a timescale, and it will end. There is no trial given to you that is not common to man from which God will not make a way of escape. Now that is God's promise. It does not matter what the trial is. You may say, "This one is too big for me"—it is not. The devil will make you think it is too big for you, and you may think that you have found a loophole so you can complain. The trial will end, but if you try to end it before it is over, you will build a superstructure of straw.

As you read this you may be undergoing a trial greater than you imagined, and maybe no one has a clue what you are going through. You are almost ready to quit. Don't! Your endurance in this trial of your faith will bring praise, honor, and glory to Jesus Christ on His appearing. Dignify the trial even though your faith is tried by fire. Do not quit! You are the one who has an opportunity to have what Paul calls "reward."

Excerpted from When God Says "Well Done!" (Christian Focus Publications Ltd., 1993).

 

Praying for those who serve

Father today I’m praying for pastors and leaders of rural and inner-city ministries.

You know us, you love us, those who feel forgotten and abandoned, those who labor where resources are few or limited. Where volunteers are few or seldom come to their aid. For these who are bi-vocational and can’t get to that conference that they hope could transform their ministry.

For those who sigh and long to do great things, that in the back of our minds don’t think can happen. They long to see you move among us, as you did and in those ‘out-of –the way’ places, as in the Book of Acts and history.

Comfort their hearts, help them to be aware, you see them, you care about them, and you are present with them. You’re here now in this moment, you hold them in hollow of you hand, and no one can rip them out of it.

Forgive our anger, and frustration because of what they don’t and sometimes, can’t have. May they sense you’re beating and loving heart for them. As they walk or drive along the road, on their way to a job to supplement their income (if any); as they turn that corner, drive over that next hill, may they sense your presence in that moment, just that moment, speak that gentle word, like the child’s game, ‘I see you!’ I see your struggle, you pain, your suffering; I see you heart’s desire, and long to see a community and children changes for the glory of Lord, and not some selfish desire and design. 

Lord, our name may never appear on the side of some building, the honors of man may evade us; we may not even be remembered when we’re gone, but you know us. You promised to reward us, Let that be enough to keep us focused on what you called us to do. This is after all your work, these are your sheep, and this is your pasture. You know where you called them to serve, you know ‘the few sheep,’ they have been given; you know the resource(s) they have at hand, may they know you love them and are thankful for them, and rejoice over them.

Grant these brothers and sisters rest in yourself, a confidence that is not born of self or ability, but of the power and presence of the Holy Spirit. They are yours, they are your gift to the body of Christ, give them courage to face what comes next and what won’t. May they labor for the “Well done, good and faithful servant,’ you promise that will someday given soon.

This I pray, in the strong Name of Jesus, our servant Lord, Amen.

I Appreciate You!

"Now we ask you, brothers, to respect those who work hard among you, who are over you in the Lord and who admonish you." - 1 Thessalonians 5:12

Today, I'd like to pause a moment to let you know how much I appreciate you being in and a part of my life. You've known me in good time and bad; in times when I've struggled you made a point to encourage me or pray for me and I want you to know how much that has meant to me.

You know who you are, and I can't thank you enough for just being there. For some this has been in ministry, some in business and the community; you are a member of a select group of people who God has used to impact my life. Whether near or far, nor how close we are as friends, etc., does not matter, you have been a blessing to me and I thank you just for being who you are.

I appreciate you!

Love ya,
T.A.B.

The Need to Remember

Monday, 18 April 2011 12:00 AM EDT R.T. Kendall Daily Devotionals - By Love Transformed

I thank my God every time I remember you. —Philippians 1:3

God has a perfect memory, and yet, if we are to believe the psychologists, so have we. Psychologists say we never really forget. Well, you could have fooled me, but that's what they say. We do forget, however. When we look back on our past we remember things that were pleasant. Yet it is one thing consciously to remember things; the sad thing is there are some things we don't forget, especially if something is pointed out to us. One of the things that will make hell, hell is that you will have a memory in hell. In Luke 16:25, Abraham said to the man who was in hell, "Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony."

But even on this planet, sometimes even as Christians our memories have to be jogged. At the Last Supper Jesus said, "Do this in remembrance of me" (Luke 22:19). One of the reasons for the Lord's Supper is to jog our memories, to remind us how we know we are going to go to heaven. For when we eat the bread and drink the cup, there before us are symbolized the body and the blood of Jesus.

The first time the word remember appears in the Bible is in Genesis 9:15-16, where God said to Noah, "I will remember my covenant. ... Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant." Sometimes it seems as if God is slow to remember. Sometimes we come to Him and cry, "O God, remember!" The question is, we ask God to remember, but do we remember? There is one thing God appreciates, and I cannot stress this too much, He appreciates being thanked. Remember to thank Him.

Excerpted from All's Well That Ends Well (Authentic Media,

Father today, I want to thank you, no long list of needs and concerns, you know these all too well. But a heartfelt thank you!

Thank you for challenges disgusted as problems and diffuclties; thank you for struggle that ultimately will make me stronger; thank for you calling in my life, someone else you called, didn’t answer and for some, the response was only half-hearted. You have been refocusing my heart, I look to you now. No I don’t know the what; the were or even the how, but you care too much about me for me to think, you called me to fail.

Thank you for loved ones, who care and reach out to me and others, because they know you have a purpose for our lives. Thank you for pain, it tells me something isn’t right and needs attention. Thank you for intercession. I wonder why did that person, that need come to mind? Thank you for the burden I don’t understand, but you do. Thank you for your presence in my life, your Spirit making intercession with goanings I don’t begin to understand. Thank you for leading beside the still waters, so that soul may be refreshed. Thank you for “making me lay down, in greed pastures . . .” with the sun shining on my face, the gentle breezes, or even when that dark clouds hang low, “I will fear no evil, for thou art with me . . “ Thank you for allowing me to love you for yourself, yes, you do all these thing and so much more, but I thank you today, just for yourself. May I kiss you face for being God, and my God indeed.

Keep looking up, Love ya,

T