May 2004

Hi, everyone, in the name of the Lord Jesus!

24/7/ PRAYER
T
he events that I had the privilege of
participating in on May 6, the
National Day of Prayer, made me
So, I urge all of us to spread the word
about the UP Team. There are so
many prayer groups and individual
aware of two things: 1) The good intercessors in our area; these are
news is that there are people praying people who already believe in the
fervently, worshiping God, thanking power of prayer. When you
Him, seeking forgiveness for personal approach them, you are not asking
and corporate sins, and beseeching them to stop what they are doing
God to shower His grace upon already; you are asking them to
individuals, regions, nations, commit an hour a week of their
continents and the world overall. prayer time to praying specifically
There was literally prayer around for one or more of the sectors that
the world on that day, with at least make up Stone and Taney
six prayer events in our area and Counties.
Harrison, Arkansas. 2) The
challenge is to increase prayer, from
the heart, so that prayer is like a
continuous incense ascending to
God’s throne. The members of the
UP Team have been so faithful, and
we are indeed seeing signs of God
responding to prayer – not just ours
but the prayer of so many others in
Stone and Taney Counties. Prayer
not only honors God, it is His chosen
way to give the grace to the right
people at the right times to take the
actions necessary to thwart the
designs of the enemy. Some people
are called to both pray and be in the
front
lines;
others
are
called to
focus on
prayer and
be a spiritual support to others. But
in the work of the Kingdom, no one is
called to action without having a life
of prayer.
I firmly believe that many, many of you
have testimonies to share about
how your commitment to extended
prayer time has enriched your own
spiritual lives while you serve
others through your prayer. Share
those stories with people you
encourage to join the UP Team.
But, however you do it, please set a
goal of encouraging first one, then
another, then another to become
part of this work for the glory of
God, the salvation of souls and the
transformation of Stone and Taney
Counties into what God wants for
our area. I passionately believe
that we are called to reach 24/7 as
quickly as possible, and then work
toward two people for every hour
of the week, then three – and on.
The more the word spreads, the
more the belief in the UP Team as
one of God’s chosen vessels for
community transformation sets in,
the more the many prayer groups
become aware of another and
consciously create spiritual synergy
– the more God will be glorified
and the quicker and more
abundantly His grace will cover our
land. I recently read somewhere
the following: Think of Jesus
asking this question: “What would
you do for Me if you knew you
could not fail.” Let’s encourage
one another and become
“missionaries” to seek intercessors
who will commit that hour a week
to the UP Team. Also,I encourage
you to contact me with stories of
how your prayer time blesses you
personally and any ideas you have
on how to approach others to join
the UP Team, so that this
Newsletter can publish them – with
or without names – and provide
further encouragement to all of us.
THE GATHERING OF PEOPLE WHO
PRAY
M any thanks to Pastor Howard
Boyd for his leading of the folks
who gathered in the Old Stone Church in
Branson on the evening of May 6. This
was one of the three times in the year that
we try to come together to pray and bring
others with us. The next one will be in
September, and we have already reserved
Stonecroft for our day and evening time
in January of 2005. Our thanks also to
the First Presbyterian Church in Branson
for allowing us to worship in that
beautiful facility. Pastor Howard did
something really Holy Spirit-inspired. He
broke us up into small groups, each
focusing on one of the seven sectors; the
groups identified things to be thankful for
and things hoped for, and we then took
turns praying them aloud, with the
refrain from the Psalm, “His love endures
forever.” In the June Newsletter there
will be a listing of at least some of those
praises and prayers for each sector. We
had beautiful special music by Ron and
Haven Howard. They have a singing
ministry that takes them to churches
around a broad area; Haven is also the
Regional Director for the Concerned
Women for America.
HOPE STOUT
I f you are a subscriber to Reader’s
Digest you may have read the
following true story. It is a powerful
example of unselfish love. Hope Stout is
not the title to an article; it is the name of
a young girl – and what a fitting name it
is. To quote from the Digest: “Not long
after doctors diagnosed 12-year old Hope
Stout with a rare form of bone cancer, the
Make-A-Wish Foundation contacted the
seventh-grade all-star basketball player
and cheerleader from Weddington, North
Carolina. She said she’d always wanted
to be on TV or a model. But faced with
the choice, she decided what she really
wanted was for the other children on the
local Make-A-Wish mailing list – all 155
of them – to get their wishes first. ‘We
couldn’t tell her no,’ said Amy Laws, a
director of the local chapter. Charlotte’s
residents rallied to raise over $1 million.
One child made $1,000 selling hot
chocolate. The Super Bowl-bound
Carolina Panthers helped with a gala to
do their part. Hope died on January 4,
2004, just 12 days before her helpers
reached their financial goal, though wish-
granting had already begun. There was
15-year-old Amber and her family, who
boarded the Majesty of the Seas
Royal Caribbean cruise ship in
December, headed for the Bahamas and
Key West. Lindsay, 9, joined Cinderella
at her Royal Table in Disney World. And
5-year-old Sammy received his very own
horse, a beauty he calls Heaven. Says
Law, ‘Hope accomplished more in 12
years of living than most of us will if we
live to be 100 years old.’”
ON THE LIGHTER SIDE
A young man was
visiting his brother
and sister-in-law and was
surprised to find his
young nephew, Timmy, helping them
bake the cupcakes. After they were done,
the sister-in-law allowed Timmy to put
the icing on. When he had finished, he
brought them to the table. “The cupcakes
look delicious, Tim,” his uncle said. He
took a bite while looking at the other
cupcakes. “Timmy, these are so good.”
As he finished one and took another, he
again complimented his little nephew.
“The cupcakes look so beautiful, Tim,” he
said. “How did you get them iced so
evenly?” He took a large bite while
waiting for the answer. Timmy replied,
“I licked them.”
Two men were cutting across a farmer’s
field and noticed a small round fence
lying on the ground, probably a victim of
wind and weather. It had been protecting
a large hole in the ground. The men went
up to it and looked in, but they could not
see bottom. They threw in a small rock,
then another, but they never heard it hit.
By now really intrigued, one of the men
found a much large rock, lugged it to the
hole and threw it in. Still, no sound of
anything hitting bottom. The other man
saw an old railroad tie not far away, so
together they hauled it to the hole and let
it slide in. Again, no sound of anything
hitting bottom! Then they noticed a goat
coming at them lickety-split. Figuring the
goat was bearing down on them to give
them a good butting, they moved aside.
The goat did not stop but went hurtling
down the hole! Again, no sound. Just
then they saw a farmer running toward
them. He shouted, “Hey, have you seen
my goat?” “Well, we are sorry to tell you
this, but your goat fell into that hole – and
it must be a really deep one.” The farmer
shook his head, scratched it, and said, “I
sure don’t know how that could have
happened. I had him tied securely to a
railroad tie.”
A POEM AND A PRAYER AND A
SCRIPTURE
1 Why I Am a Christian: When I say,
“I am a Christian” I’m not shouting
“I’m clean linen.” I’m whispering, “I was
lost, now I’m found and forgiven.”…
When I say, “I am a Christian” I don’t
speak of this just with pride. I’m
confessing that I stumble and need Christ
to be my guide…When I say “I am a
Christian” I’m not proclaiming to be
strong. I’m professing that I’m weak and
need His strength to carry on…When I
say “I’m a Christian” I’m not bragging of
success. I’m admitting that I’ve failed
and need God to clean my mess…When I
say “I’m a Christian” I’m not claiming to
be perfect. My flaws are far too visible,
but God believes I’m worth it…When I
say “I’m a Christian” I still feel the sting
of pain. I have my share of heartaches so
I call upon His name…When I say “I’m a
Christian” I’m not holier than thou. I’m
just a simple sinner who received God’s
good grace, somehow.
2 A Prayer for New Beginnings: O
generous and loving God, guide me on
the journey of my life. Light the path
before me, which is often doubtful and
uncertain. When I am confused and
struggling I look for You, I seek Your
direction. I wish to know Your will for
me as I begin each day. Bless my life with
meaning and purpose. Open my eyes to
see that every ending is an opportunity
for a new beginning. Refresh my mind
and my heart, O God. Heal me of life’s
painful disappointments. Give me the
courage to start anew. Strengthen me to
trust that You are with me in each new
beginning in my life. Amen.
3 It seems appropriate to follow those
up with some verses in Romans 8. A
lady shared with me how Romans had
been touching her the previous weekend.
It was right before I
went to the
funeral of a
friend, who was
the General
Manager of the
Grand Village. I had
been asked to share something on behalf
of the Company, and, since I do not
believe in coincidences, I studied the heart
and soul of Romans, chapter 8, and
shared the following – which I now share
with you: “So now there is no
condemnation for those who belong to
Christ Jesus. For the power of the life-
giving Spirit has freed you through Jesus
Christ from the power of sin that leads to
death…Since Christ lives within you, even
though your body will die…your spirit is
alive because you have been made right
with God. The Spirit of God, who raised
Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just
as he raised Christ from the dead, he will
give life to your mortal body by the same
Spirit living within you…What we suffer
now is nothing compared to the glory he
will give us later…What can we say about
such wonderful things as these? If God is
for us, who can ever be against us? Since
God did not spare even his own Son but
gave him up for us all, won’t God, who
gave us Christ, also give us everything
else?…Can anything ever
separate us from Christ’s
love? Does it mean he no
longer loves us if we have trouble or
calamity, or are persecuted, or are hungry
or cold or in danger or threatened with
death?…No, despite all these things,
overwhelming victory is ours through
Christ, who loved us. And I am convinced
that nothing can ever separate us from his
love. Death can’t, and life can’t. The
angels can’t, and the demons can’t. Our
fears for today, our worries about
tomorrow, and even the powers of hell
can’t keep God’s love away. Whether we
are high above the sky or in the deepest
ocean, nothing in all creation will ever be
able to separate us from the love of God
that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
(NLT)
RESPONSE TO “DOES GOD FEEL OUR
PAIN?”
I n the April issue of the Newsletter, I
shared a reflection on the possibility
that God, because He is Love, chooses to
hurt for us whom He loves. An UP Team
member replied with an e-mail describing
an experience she had a few years ago.
She gave me permission to share it with
you all. “This took place during a
particularly brutal (time of physical
pain). It was in the middle of the night
and, no longer being able to lie in bed, I
had pulled myself into a ball in one of our
loungers. The medicine I’d taken hadn’t
touched the pain and I was, frankly, in
agony. My Bible was opened to the
Psalms and my prayers for others had
mutated into cries for help simply for
myself. I couldn’t see straight, think
straight, or pray any more. I closed my
eyes and just cried out softly for Jesus. I
don’t know how long this went on – I
don’t think very long – and when I
opened my eyes, there He was. My
Beloved. My Savior. My Friend. He was
actually kneeling at my feet!!! And He
was crying, tears streaming down His
face. My first reaction was to gasp at the
sight of my Lord and my God kneeling at
my feet….And I realized in my spirit that
the pain I was feeling, He was, too! The
Creator of the universe had chosen not
just to be with me during my suffering,
but to actually share in my suffering. I
cried, ‘No! No! You don’t have to do
that. Get up. No, you are God!’ And
through His tears a gentle smile lit up His
beautiful face and He said lovingly, ‘This
is what I do, daughter. The cross wasn’t
the last of My work, you know.’ And
then the Holy Spirit imparted to me that
we don’t have a Supreme Being Who
coolly assures us during our suffering
that He is ‘watching over us.’ No, we are
blessed with a precious Abba Who goes
through every single pain and hurt that
we do…My Christ was doubled over that
night. I was not alone, in any sense of the
word…How many people at that exact
hour around the world were in terrible
pain, unimaginable circumstances,
suffering physically or emotionally? I’d
venture to say it would have to be
millions. And each and every soul,
whether they knew it or not, had a loving
Friend kneeling at their feet…praying to
the Father for that person’s comfort…My
Lord and my God!…I told Jesus once, ‘I
will always love You.’ And immediately,
without expecting any response
whatsoever, I heard, ‘I will always love
you’ right back at me. Frankly, I thought
it was my imagination…So I continued on
with my prayer, ‘I will always be Yours.’
When I instantly heard back a precious ‘I
will always be yours.’ I knew it was my
Lord responding to my little prayer in
kind.” Food for thought,
no?! Notice how she, perhaps without
even realizing it, referred to all three
Persons of the Trinity in her description.
A story: A mother told an animal
shelter volunteer, “My daughter,
Danielle, keeps repeating it over and over
again. We’ve been back to this shelter at
least five times.” “What is it she keeps
asking for?” the volunteer asked. “Puppy
size!” replied the mother. “Well, we have
plenty of puppies, if that’s what she is
looking for.” “I know; we have seen most
of them,” the mom said in frustration.
Just then Danielle cam walking into the
office. “Well, did you find one?” asked
her mom. “No, not this time,” Danielle
said, with sadness in her voice. “Can we
come back on the weekend?” The two
women looked at each other, shook their
heads and laughed. The volunteer said,
“You never know when we will get more
dogs. Unfortunately, there’s always a
supply.” Danielle took her mother by the
hand and headed for the door. “Don’t
worry, I’ll find one this weekend,” she
said. Over the next few days both mom
and dad had conversations with her.
They felt she was being too particular.
“It’s this weekend or we’re not looking
any more,” Dad finally said. “We don’t
want to hear anything more about puppy
size either,” Mom added. Sure enough,
they were the first ones in the shelter on
Saturday morning. By now Danielle
knew her way around, so she ran right for
the section that housed the smaller dogs.
Danielle walked slowly from cage to cage,
kneeling periodically to take a closer look.
One by one the dogs were brought out
and she held each one. One by one she
said, “Sorry, you’re not the one.” At the
last cage on this last day of this search for
the perfect pup, the volunteer opened the
door and Danielle carefully picked up the
dog and held it closely. This time she
took a little longer. “Mom, this is it! I
found the right puppy! He’s the one! I
know it!” she cried with joy. “It’s the
puppy size!” “But it’s the same size as all
the other puppies you held over the last
few weeks,” the mom said. Danielle said,
“No, not size – the sighs. When I held
him in my arms, he sighed. Don’t you
remember? When I asked you one day
what
depends
heart.
love is, you told me love
on the sighs of your
The more you love,
the bigger the sigh!”
The two women
looked at each
other for a
moment.
Mom didn’t know whether to laugh cry.
As she stooped down to hug Danielle, she
did a little of both. “Mom, I knew I
would find the right puppy if it sighed
when I held it in my arms.” Then,
holding up the puppy close to her face,
she said, “Mom, he loves me. I heard the
sighs of his heart.”…Let’s listen for the
sighs of God. As someone said, “Life is
not measured by the breaths we take, but
by the moments that take our breath
away.”
CRYING OUT
Following is another excerpt from the
wonderful little book, The Power of
Crying Out, by Bill Gothard: “For most
of my life, I assumed that crying out was
simply synonymous with prayer. I’ve
come to be amazed, however, to see the
specific purposes and potential for crying
out – and how this is emphasized time
and time again in Scripture. Many
believers today seem unaware of this
consistent pattern in God’s
Word….There was a fervency in the
prayers of biblical saints – a fervency that
is inherent in crying out. When we grasp
this fact, the pages of Scripture come
alive with sound! We encounter men and
women in the Bible truly trusting that
God hears, and giving voice to their
requests and praises. Earnestly believing,
these believers of old filled His ears with
the cries from their hearts that flowed out
through their lips…Both the Old and
New Testaments employ an amazing
variety of words to describe crying out, or
praying aloud…Words for prayer that
have a built-in meaning of audible sound
are particularly evident in passages that
promise God’s hearing…’Call to Me,’ the
Lord invites His people through the
prophet Jeremiah, ‘and I will answer you,
and show you great and mighty things,
which you do not know.’. The first word
here is the Hebrew “qara,” which
generally carries the meaning of calling
aloud or crying out. The same word
begins an invitation and promise found in
the Psalms: ‘Call upon me in the day of
trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall
glorify Me.’…This can be true for you
and me as well. Today. Right now. The
more we believe in the ongoing miracle
that God actually hears us – through the
way opened for us into His sanctuary by
Christ’s blood – the more freely and
fervently we’ll give voice to our prayers,
to the delight of our Father’s
heart…’Because you are sons,’ Paul
teaches us in the New Testament, ‘God
has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into
your hearts, crying out, ‘Abba, Father,’’
The Greek verb used here for crying out
is a strong word, usually translated as
‘shouting.’ The Holy Spirit Himself is at
work within us to prompt our crying out
aloud to God. And because God is
compassionate, gracious and always
faithful to His promises, He will indeed
hear and answer these cries that He
Himself inspires.”
Peace to you and yours.
Bob Burton