IBRA

 

The Power of Prayer

 

The IBRA has always tried to create and develop an association where members felt

like they were part of a family-type organization that truly cares about them. It is also

no secret that we are a Christian-based organization that's main goal is to serve God

wherever and in whatever arena He has placed us in.

 

Lately, we have been hearing many reports of hardships and tragedies that many of

our members are dealing with right now. We believe the LEAST and MOST you can

do to help someone is to pray for them, and we would like to encourage others to do

the same. Below is a list of several people, and their prayer needs, who have asked

to be put on this list. We know of more, but do not want to list them (privacy issues)

without knowing that it's okay. Please let me know if you or someone you know would

like to be added to this list. Please join with us in praying for our friends.

Losses to Fire Damage

 

McKinley Family -Michigan IBRA Show Producers home burt down

Brenden Family - Indiana Barrel Racers Barn Fire with horses lost

 

Grieving

 

Benny Lackey - Passed March 25th please pray for his family

 

Keegan McCord - Manager of Circle G Arena grandfather passed away

 

Gilliland Family

 

Health Issues

 

Therese Janwich

 

Judith Hackworth- Leg issues

 

 

Missions

Chip & Sandy Wanner

 

Salvation

Kenny (FL)

Stephanie (OH)

Ashley (FL)

Richard (CA)

Gary (KY)

 

Horse Injuries & Tragedies

 

Kate Keeney

 

 

Job Related

James Hackworth (OH)

 

Reason Not Specified

 

 

 

TRUE STORY......

Beautiful story.... makes you understand that things happen for a reason The brand new pastor and his wife, newly assigned to their first ministry, to reopen a church in suburban Brooklyn, arrived in early October excited about their opportunities. When they saw their church, it was very run down and needed much work. They set a goal to have everything done in time to have their first service on Christmas Eve. They worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls, painting, etc, and on December 18 were ahead of schedule and just about finished. On December 19 a terrible tempest - a driving rainstorm hit the area and lasted for two days. On the 21st, the pastor went over to the church. His heart sank when he saw that the roof had leaked, causing a large area of plaster about 20 feet by 8 feet to fall off the front wall   of the sanctuary just behind the pulpit, beginning about head high. The pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor, and not knowing what else to do but postpone the Christmas Eve service, headed home. On the way he noticed that a local business was having a flea market type sale for charity, so he stopped in. One of the items was a beautiful, handmade, ivory colored, crocheted tablecloth with exquisite work, fine colors and a Cross embroidered right in the center. It was just the right size to cover the hole in the front wall. He bought it and headed back to the church. By this time it had started to snow. An older woman running from the opposite direction was trying to catch the bus. She missed it. The pastor invited her to wait in the warm church for the next bus 45 minutes later. She sat in a pew and paid no attention to the pastor while he got a ladder, hangers, etc., to put up the tablecloth as a wall tapestry. The pastor could hardly believe how beautiful it looked and it covered up the entire problem area. Then he noticed the woman walking down the center aisle. Her face was like a sheet. "Pastor," she asked, "where did you get that tablecloth?" The pastor explained. The woman asked him to check the lower right corner to see if the initials, EBG were crocheted into it there. They were. These were the initials of the woman, and she had made this tablecloth 35 years before, in Austria . The woman could hardly believe it as the pastor told how he had just gotten "The Tablecloth". The woman explained that before the war she and her husband were well-to-do people in Austria . When the Nazis came, she was forced to leave. Her husband was going to follow her the next week. He was captured, sent to prison and never saw her husband or her home again. The pastor wanted to give her the tablecloth; but she made the pastor keep it for the church.... The pastor insisted on driving her home. That was the least he could do. She lived on the other side of Staten Island and was only in Brooklyn   for the day for a housecleaning job. What a wonderful service they had on Christmas Eve. The church was almost full. The music and the spirit were great. At the end of the service, the pastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door and many said that they would return. One older man, whom the pastor recognized from the neighborhood continued to sit in one of the pews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he wasn't leaving. The man asked him where he got the tablecloth on the front wall because it was identical to one that his wife had made years ago when they lived in Austria before the war and how could there be two tablecloths so much alike? He told the pastor how the Nazis came, how he forced his wife to flee for her safety and he was supposed to follow her, but he was arrested and put in a prison.  He never saw his wife or his home again all the 35 years between. The pastor asked him if he would allow him to take him for a little ride. They drove to Staten Island and to the same house where the pastor had taken the woman three days earlier. He helped the man climb the three flights of stairs to the woman's apartment, knocked on the door and he saw the greatest Christmas reunion he could ever imagine. True Story - submitted by Pastor Rob Reid who says God does work in mysterious ways. I asked the Lord to bless you as I prayed for you today, to guide you and protect you as you go along your way. His love is always with you.. His promises are true, and when we give Him all our cares we know He will see us through. So when the road you're traveling seems difficult at best, just remember I'm here praying and God will do the rest. W hen there is nothing left but God, that is when you find out that God is all you need Father, God, bless all my friends and family in what ever it is that You know they may be needing this day! May their lives be full of Your peace, prosperity and power as they seek to have a closer relationship with You. Amen.

 

Gentle reminder for all…  

You will enjoy the new insights that Rick Warren has, with his wife now having cancer and him having 'wealth' from the book sales. This is an absolutely incredible short interview with Rick Warren, 'Purpose Driven Life ' author and pastor of Saddleback   Church in California .  
In the interview by Paul Bradshaw with Rick Warren, Rick said:  People ask me, What is the purpose of life?  
And I respond: In a nutshell, life is preparation for eternity. We were not made to last forever, and God wants us to be with Him in Heaven.  
One day my heart is going to stop, and that will be the end of my body-- but not the end of me.  
I may live 60 to 100 years on earth, but I am going to spend trillions of years in eternity. This is the warm-up act - the dress rehearsal. God wants us to practice on earth what we will do forever in eternity..  
We were made by God and for God, and until you figure that out, life isn't going to make sense.  
Life is a series of problems: Either you are in one now, you're just coming out of one, or you're getting ready to go into another one.  
The reason for this is that God is more interested in your character than your comfort; God is more interested in making your life holy than He is in making your life happy.  
We can be reasonably happy here on earth, but that's not the goal of life. The goal is to grow in character, in Christ likeness.  
This past year has been the greatest year of my life but also the toughest, with my wife, Kay, getting cancer.  
I used to think that life was hills and valleys - you go through a dark time, then you go to the mountaintop, back and forth. I don't believe that anymore.  
Rather than life being hills and valleys, I believe that it's kind of like two rails on a railroad track, and at all times you have something good and something bad in your life..  
No matter how good things are in your life, there is always something bad that needs to be worked on.  
And no matter how bad things are in your life, there is always something good you can thank God for.  
You can focus on your purposes, or you can focus on your problems:  
If you focus on your problems, you're going into self-centeredness, which is my problem, my issues, my pain.' But one of the easiest ways to get rid of pain is to get your focus off yourself and onto God and others.  
We discovered quickly that in spite of the prayers of hundreds of thousands of people, God was not going to heal Kay or make it easy for her- It has been very difficult for her, and yet God has strengthened her character, given her a ministry of helping other people, given her a testimony, drawn her closer to Him and to people.  
You have to learn to deal with both the good and the bad of life.  
Actually, sometimes learning to deal with the good is harder. For instance, this past year, all of a sudden, when the book sold 15 million copies, it made me instantly very wealthy.  
It also brought a lot of notoriety that I had never had to deal with before. I don't think God gives you money or notoriety for your own ego or for you to live a life of ease.  
So I began to ask God what He wanted me to do with this money, notoriety and influence. He gave me two different passages that helped me decide what to do, II Corinthians 9 and Psalm 72.  
First, in spite of all the money coming in, we would not change our lifestyle one bit.. We made no major purchases.  
Second, about midway through last year, I stopped taking a salary from the church.  
Third, we set up foundations to fund an initiative we call The Peace Plan to plant churches, equip leaders, assist the poor, care for the sick, and educate the next generation.  
Fourth, I added up all that the church had paid me in the 24 years since I started the church, and I gave it all back. It was liberating to be able to serve God for free.  
We need to ask ourselves: Am I going to live for possessions? Popularity?  
Am I going to be driven by pressures? Guilt? Bitterness? Materialism? Or am I going to be driven by God's purposes (for my life)?  
When I get up in the morning, I sit on the side of my bed and say, God, if I don't get anything else done today, I want to know You more and love You better. God didn't put me on earth just to fulfill a to-do list. He's more interested in what I am than what I do.  
That's why we're called human beings, not human doings.  
Happy moments, PRAISE GOD.  
Difficult moments, SEEK GOD.  
Quiet moments, WORSHIP GOD.  
Painful moments, TRUST GOD.  
Every moment, THANK GOD..  

_____________________________________________

 

Using Time Well

READ | Matthew 25:14-28

As today’s passage indicates, the Lord gives us resources and abilities, and He desires that we use them well. One such gift is time.

In order to manage our days effectively, we should continually review them: What activities did we choose? How long did each one take? What were the results? This discipline will reveal what is most important to us.

In looking closely at our assessments, we can determine what drives our decisions about how to use time. Some people merely respond to circumstances for a majority of their day. They jump from one thing to the next, answering phone calls, reorganizing shelves, or doing anything that appears in their world at the moment. But this style of living misses the mark.

Other people spend their time according to desires. They want to relax, so they get home and watch television for the evening. Or they love to hunt, so they use their time to research equipment and locate wildlife in the forest. Desires are not bad, but they should not drive the bulk of our actions.

Thankfully, there are also people who live according to what they deem important. Loving God and serving others, for instance, are two biblical values that should, ideally, determine what we do with our time.

If you itemize your activities and their time consumption over the course of a week, you might be surprised at the dominating events. Each moment is a gift, so set aside a few minutes each evening to plan. Then revisit the way you spent the last 24 hours. This will help you to live purposefully.

--In Touch Ministries

 

 

Confronting Conflict 

READ | Galatians 2:11-16

The Scriptures record many instances of conflict—between nations, among friends, and in families. Today we see the same types of problems. While fighting, people can say harsh and even unfair words. Their accusations create turmoil and emotional pain. What we believe will determine the way we respond to such difficulties.

Scripture proclaims God’s sovereignty over nature ( Ps. 135:6), government ( Job 12:23), and mankind ( Acts 17:25). Nothing in heaven or on earth is hidden from Him or outside of His control. How does this help us in a conflict?

First, our heavenly Father knows when people verbally attack us, and He has promised to protect us. Nothing can touch His children apart from His permissive will. Second, He has the power to work painful times into something beneficial ( Rom. 8:28). We can have hope because His will cannot be thwarted, even in bad circumstances. Finally, we are His beloved children. He is a loving Father who understands what we’re going through and remains by our side. As His children, we are not on our own.

When we believe in the Lord’s sovereign rule, our perspective on hard times changes. Instead of responding with fear, anger, or resentment, we will turn to Him in prayer and ask for guidance.

Conflict is inevitable in our fallen world. When the turmoil’s source is our mistake, we are to apologize. If others are at fault, we may have to confront them the way Paul did with Peter. But we are also called to forgive without exception. As Christ’s ambassadors, the way we respond really matters.

In touch Ministries

---

      

Isaiah 41:10 -- So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed,

for I amyour God.  I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you

with my righteous right hand.

 

Matthew 18:19 -- “I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about

anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. 

For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with

them.”  

 

Matthew 19:26 -- Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is

impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

             

Psalms 46:1 -- God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help

in trouble.

           

Exodus 15:26 -- I am the Lord, who heals you.

            

2 Kings 20:5 -- This is what the Lord, the God of your father David

says, “I have heard your prayer and seen your tears: I will heal you.”

 

2 Corinthians 5:7 -- We live by faith, not by sight.

 

Hebrews 11:1 -- Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and

certain of what we do not see.

             

Isaiah 40:31 -- But those who hope in the Lord will renew their

strength.  They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not

grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

 

2 Corinthians 12:9 -- He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you,

for my power is made perfect in weakness.”

             

James 5:14-15 -- Is any one of you sick?  He should call the elders of

the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the

Lord.  And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well;

The Lord will raise him up.