March 2007
REFLECTION
W hen we talk about, write about and
pray about the spiritual
transformation of our region and the
transformation of our nation through the
region, we are – in final analysis – talking
about one thing, one goal, one passionate
desire: The salvation of souls. All of human
life can be summarized in one goal – the
eternal salvation of the human spirit. There
is nothing more important to focus on,
nothing more critical to spend our time and
energy on, nothing that should so all-
consuming as this:
That no one
be lost, not
one single
soul, that all
come to the
knowledge of
the Truth, to the
path of the Way, to
the source of the Life
and Light of the world. So, really, the main
reason for anyone to join the UP Team, the
reason for anyone to remain faithful to the
hour of prayer as a member of the UP Team,
is to pray for the lost – the lost of the world,
but more specifically the lost of Stone and
Taney Counties, of Polk and Cedar
Counties, of NW Arkansas, of all of Missouri
and the heartland, and of our sister region to
the west, Manitou Springs, Colorado. True
and complete spiritual transformation, the
emerging of Jesus Christ as the proclaimed
Lord of our areas and as the One
permeating all sectors of our communities
and all human spirits in our communities,
means – bottom line – that all be saved, that
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none be lost. Some months ago I shared a
bit from an amazing little book, “Praying
Effectively for the Lost,” by Lee E. Thomas.
Today, for this Reflection, I offer for your
prayerful consideration some longer
excerpts from this book, which should be on
every Christian’s bookshelf, and, more
important, in every Christian’s heart. It
only costs a few dollars and can be obtained
by contacting Mr. Thomas as 2314 Foster
Lane, Westlake, LA 70669, or at (337) 433-
8677, or at userlee484@aol.com. Also, at
least one member of Christian
Businessmen’s Committee has multiple
copies, and you can contact me at 331-1028.
Here are some of the things that Lee Thomas
has to say about praying for the lost.
Beginning at the end, Chapter 7 is entitled
“Making a Commitment,” and it includes
this: “This book was not written to sit on a
shelf somewhere, but rather to penetrate
your heart with this awful piercing truth:
Someone’s eternal destiny is in your hands –
someone will die and go to hell unless you
pray!! Andrew Murray contends that
intercession is
indispensable,
even the chief
element in the
conversion of
souls. ‘There is
a world with its
perishing
millions, with
intercession as
its only hope. How much of love and work is
comparatively vain, because there is so little
intercession…Souls, each one worth more
than worlds, worth nothing less than the
price paid for them in Christ’s blood, and
within reach of the power that can be won
by intercession.’ My prayer (Lee speaking
now) is that this book will be your constant
companion as you absorb its truths,
becoming the mighty intercessor for lost
souls that God so desperately wants and
needs you to be. As you read this poem by
Sandra Goodwin, I hope your heart will be
stirred to say, ‘Yes, Lord, I’ll take the job.’
‘TRAVELING ON MY KNEES:
Last night I took a journey to a land across
the seas. I didn’t go by ship or plane – I
traveled on my knees. I saw so many people
there in bondage to their sin, and Jesus told
me I should go, that there were souls to win.
But I said, ‘Jesus, I can’t go to lands across
the seas.’ He answered quickly, ‘Yes, you can
– by traveling on your knees.’ He said, ‘You
pray, I’ll meet the need. You call, and I will
hear. It’s up to you to be concerned for lost
souls far and near.’ And so I did, I knelt in
prayer, gave up some hours of ease, and with
the Savior by my side I traveled on my knees.
As I prayed on, I saw souls saved and twisted
persons healed. I saw God’s workers strength
renewed while laboring in the field. I said,
‘Yes, Lord, I’ll take the job. Your heart I
want to please. I’ll heed your call and swiftly
go by traveling on my knees.’
My God-given burden is to see multiplied
thousands of God’s people become prayer
warriors interceding for souls. And I would
be wonderfully blessed if you would let me
know that you are joining me in the most
glorious, powerful and effective of all
ministries – praying for the lost!!”
This little 43-page soft cover booklet has
seven chapters: 1) Understanding the
Necessity; 2) The Biblical Basis; 3) The
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Personal Factors; 4) The Specific Requests;
5) The Spiritual Warfare; 6) Personal
Testimonies; and the one just quoted from,
7) Making a Commitment. Here are a few
additional quotes from the book (for next
month’s Reflection, I will focus on the
chapter entitled “The Spiritual Warfare.”):
“When we pray for the lost, we need
righteousness (imputed which comes
through Christ’s shed blood and personal).
But (among eight other factors that are
particularly important for this task) is
brokenness. ‘They that sow in tears shall
reap in joy’ is the law of spiritual harvest.
However, we want the harvest without any
heartbreak. Leonard Ravenhill once said,
‘God does not answer many prayers – they
are too locked up in self-pity or aimed at
personal benefit. He does answer desperate
prayer. And until we get desperate for souls,
our prayers for them may remain
unanswered. For just as Jesus wept over
Jerusalem, so must we weep over our lost
loved ones if we really want to see them
saved. On one occasion some Salvation
Army workers wrote to General Booth
decrying their ineffectiveness in winning
souls and asking what they should do. He
sent back a two-word message, ‘Try tears.’
Tears are so potent that when coupled with
sharing the gospel, God guarantees a fruitful
harvest (Psalm 125: 5-6).” With regard to
the key factor of persistence, Mr. Thomas
shares this story: “The most incredible case
of this kind of persistence is found in the life
of George Muller. Because he had so much
success early in his ministry in seeing the
immediate conversion of many for whom he
had just prayed, he got the impression that it
would always be that way. But listen to his
testimony concerning this: ‘If I say that
during the fifty-four years and nine months
that I have been a believer in the Lord Jesus
Christ I have had thirty thousand answers to
prayer, either in the same hour or the same
day that the requests were made, I should
not go a particle too far…But one or the
other might suppose all my prayers have
been thus promptly considered. No, not all
of them. Sometimes I have had to wait
weeks, months or years; sometimes many
years…In November 1844, I began to pray
for the conversion of five individuals. I
prayed every day without one single
intermission, whether sick or in health, on
the land or on the sea, and whatever the
pressure of
my
engagements might be. Eighteen months
elapsed before the first of the five was
converted. I thanked God, and prayed on
for the others. Five years elapsed, and then
the second was converted. I thanked God
for the second, and prayed on for the other
three…Six years more passed before the
third was converted. I thanked God for the
three, and went on praying for the other
two.’ But this is not the end of the story. He
kept on praying day after day, year after
year. In his words again, ‘The great point is
never to give up until the answer comes. I
have been praying for sixty-three years and
eight months for (the final man’s)
conversion. He is not saved yet but he will
be. How can it be otherwise? I am praying.’
The day came when Muller’s friend received
Christ. It did not come until Muller’s casket
was lowered in the ground. There, near the
open grave, this friend gave his heart to
God. Prayers of perseverance had won
another battle. Muller’s success may be
summarized in four powerful words: ‘He
did not quit.’”
ON THE LIGHTER SIDE
C hurch bulletin bloopers: “Volunteers
are needed to spit up food at the food
bank.”…”Head Deacon and Dead
Deaconess nominations will be
accepted at the next business
meeting.”…”There will not be any
Women Worth Watching this
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week.”…”Child care provided with
reservations.”…”Mark your calendars not
to attend the church retreat.”…”I was
hungry and you gave me to eat; I was thirty
and you gave me drink.”…”The visiting
monster today is Rev. Jack Bains.”…”The
Boars of Trustees will meet next Thursday at
6 p.m.”…”The activity will take place in the
church barking lot.”…”Jean will be leading
a weight-management series Wednesday
nights. She’s used the program herself and
has been growing like crazy!”…”Hymn: I
Am Thin, O Lord.”
MORE ON THE LIGHTER SIDE
I make no claim for the historical accuracy
of the following, but it surely sounds like
it could be 100% true: “In the 1500’s in
Europe, most people got married in June
because they took their yearly bath in May
and still smelled pretty good by June.
However, they were starting to smell, so
brides carried a bouquet of flowers to hide
the body odor. Hence the custom today of
carrying a bouquet when getting married.
Baths consisted of a big tub filled with hot
water. The man of the house had the
privilege of the nice clean water, then all the
other sons and men, then the women and
finally the children. Last
of all, the babies. By
then the water was so
dirty you could
actually lose someone
in it; hence the saying,
‘Don’t throw out the
baby with the bath
water.’ Houses had thatched
roofs of thick straw piled high and no wood
underneath. It was the only place for
animals to get warm, so all of the little
critters – including mice and bugs – lived in
the roof. When it rained, the roof became
slippery and sometimes the animals would
fall off the roof; hence the saying, ‘It’s
raining cats and dogs.’ There was nothing to
stop things from falling into the house. This
posed a real problem, especially in the
bedroom where bugs and droppings could
mess up a nice clean (?) bed. That’s how
canopy beds came into existence. The floor
was dirt. Only the wealthy had something
other than dirt; hence the saying, ‘dirt poor.’
The wealthy had slate floors that would get
slippery in the winter when wet, so they
spread thresh (straw) on the floor to help
keep their footing. As the winter wore on,
they added more and more straw, until,
when you opened the door, it would all start
falling outside. They placed a piece of wood
in the entranceway; hence the term,
‘thresh hold.’ In those days they
cooked in the kitchen with a big
kettle that always hung over the
fire. Every day they lit the
fire and added things to the
pot. They ate mostly
vegetables and did not get
much meat. They would
eat the stew for dinner,
leaving leftovers in the pot
and then starting over the next day.
Sometimes the stew had food in it that had
been there for quite awhile; hence the
rhyme, ‘Peas porridge hot, peas porridge
cold, peas porridge in the pot nine days old.’
Sometimes they could obtain pork, which
made them feel quite special. When visitors
came over, the hosts would hang up their
bacon to show off. It was a sign of wealth
that a man could ‘bring home the bacon.’
They would cut off a little to share with
guests and they would all sit around and
‘chew the fat.’ Those with money had plates
made of pewter. Food with high acid
content caused some of the lead to leach into
the food, causing lead poisoning. This
happened most often with tomatoes, so for
the next few hundred years tomatoes were
considered poisonous. Bread was divided
according to status. Workers got the burnt
bottom of the loaf, the family got the middle,
and guests got the top, or ‘the upper crust.’
Lead cups were used to drink ale or whiskey.
The combination would sometimes knock
the imbibers out for a couple of days.
Someone walking along the road would take
them for dead and prepare them for burial.
They were laid out on the kitchen table for a
couple of days and the family would gather
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around and eat and drink and wait and see
if they would wake up. Hence the custom of
‘holding a wake.’” So now consider
yourselves educated!
STORY
“C arl was a quiet man. He didn’t talk
much. He would always greet you
with a big smile and a firm handshake.
Even after living in our neighborhood for
over 50 years, no one could really say they
knew him very well. Before his retirement,
he took the bus to work each morning. He
had a slight limp from a bullet wound
received in WWII. Watching him, we
worried that although he had survived
WWII, he might not make it through our
changing uptown neighborhood with its
ever-increasing random violence, gangs and
drug activity. When he saw the flyer at our
local church asking for volunteers for caring
for the gardens behind the minister’s
residence, he responded in his
characteristically
unassuming manner.
Without fanfare, he
just signed up.
He was well into
his 87th year
when the very
thing we had
always feared
finally happened. He
was just finishing his watering for the day
when three gang members approached him.
Ignoring their attempt to intimidate him, he
simply asked, ‘Would you like a drink from
the hose?’ The tallest and toughest-looking
of the three said, ‘Yeah, sure,’ with a
malevolent little smile. As Carl offered the
hose to him, the other two grabbed Carl’s
arm, throwing him down. As the hose
snaked crazily over the ground, dousing
everything in its way. Carl’s assailants stole
his retirement watch and his wallet and then
fled. Carl tried to get himself up, but he had
been thrown down on his bad leg. He lay
there trying to gather himself as the minister
came running to help him. ‘Carl, are you
okay? Are you hurt?’ the minister kept
asking as he helped Carl to his feet. Carl
just passed a hand over his brow and sighed,
shaking his head. ‘Just some prank kids. I
hope they’ll wise up someday.’ His wet
clothes clung to his slight frame as he bent to
pick up the hose. He adjusted the nozzle
again and started to
water. The minister
asked, ‘Carl, what are
you doing?’ ‘I’ve got
to finish my watering.
It’s been very dry
lately,’ came the calm
reply. A few weeks later
the three returned. Just as before their
threat was unchallenged. Carl again offered
them a drink from his hose. This time they
didn’t rob him. They wrenched the hose
from his hand and drenched him head to
foot with the cold water. When they had
finished their humiliation of him, they
sauntered off down the street, throwing back
catcalls and curses, falling over one another
laughing at the hilarity of what they had just
done. Carl just watched them. Then he
turned to the warmth-giving sun, picked up
his hose, and went on with his watering. The
summer was quickly fading into fall. Carl
was doing some tilling when he was startled
by the approach of someone behind him. He
stumbled and fell into some bushes. As he
struggled to regain his footing, he turned to
see the tall leader of his summer tormentors
reaching down for him. He braced himself
for the expected attack. ‘Don’t worry, old
man; I’m not gonna hurt you this time.’ The
young man spoke softly, still offering the
tattooed and scarred hand to Carl. As he
helped Carl get up, the youth pulled a
crumpled bag from his pocket and handed it
to Carl. ‘What’s this?’ Carl asked. “It’s
your stuff; it’s your stuff back, even the
money in your wallet.’ ‘I don’t understand,’
Carl said. ‘Why would you help me?’ The
young man shifted his feet, seeming
embarrassed and ill at ease. ‘I learned
something from you. I ran with that gang
and hurt people like you. We picked you
because you were old and we knew we could
do it. But every time we came and did
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something to you, instead of yelling and
fighting back, you tried to give us a drink.
You didn’t hate us for hating you. You kept
showing love against our hate.’ He stopped
for a moment. ‘I couldn’t sleep after we
stole your stuff, so here it is back.’ He
paused for another awkward moment, and
then he said, ‘That bag’s my way of saying
thanks for straightening me out, I guess.’
And with that, he walked down the street.
Carl looked down at the sack in his hands
and gingerly opened it. He took out his
retirement watch and put it back on his
wrist. Opening his wallet, he checked for his
wedding photo. He gazed for a moment at
the young bride who still smiled back at him
from all those years ago. Carl died one cold
day after Christmas that winter. Many
people attended his funeral in spite of the
weather. In particular, the minister noticed
a tall young man whom he did not know
sitting quietly in a corner of the church. The
minister spoke of Carl’s garden as a lesson
in life. In a voice thick with a sense of loss,
he said, ‘Do your best and make your garden
as beautiful as you can. We will never forget
Carl and his garden.’ The following spring,
a flyer went up: ‘Person
needed to care for Carl’s
garden.’ The flyer went
unnoticed by the busy
parishioners until one day
when the minister heard a
knock at his office door.
Opening the door, the
minister saw a pair of
scarred and tattooed hands holding the flyer.
‘I believe this is my job, if you will have me,’
the young man said. The minister knew that
Carl’s kindness had turned the man’s life
around. He handed him the keys to the
garden shed and said, ‘Yes, go take care of
Carl’s garden and honor him.’ The man
went to work and over the next several years
he tended the flowers and vegetables just as
Carl had done. Eventually he went to
college, got married and became a
prominent member of the community. But
he never forgot his promise to Carl’s
memory and helped when he could to keep
the garden as beautiful as he thought Carl
would have kept it. One day he approached
the new minister and told him that he
couldn’t help to care for the garden much
any more. He explained with a shy and
happy smile, ‘My wife just had a baby boy
last night, and she’s bringing him home on
Saturday.’ ‘That’s wonderful!’ the minister
said. ‘What’s his name?’ ‘Carl.’
PRAYER MOBILIZATION
P
lease pray for: Marty’s Mom, health…
Torchbearers and intentions and
Africa…Jeanne’s Grandmother…Don/Tami
in their move…a young boy with brain
tumors…John S., for the right job…Jeff in
Kansas, brain tumor…The Caring People
and all intentions and needs…Lisa E.,
health…SDC Foundation, and Love INC
and Care for Kids…Marketplace Prayer
Summit and Mayors Prayer Breakfast on
the National Day of Prayer, and other
prayer events that day…Peggy…young boy
attacked by dog…Emma, 14-month old,
health…Dennis Fuqua’s son and for IRM…
National Pastors’ Prayer Summit, in July…
Johnny and Dennis, health…Rod, continued
improvement from a fall…Danny and
Michelle…The Sentinel Group Ministry…
Christian Associates of Table Rock Lake…
Pregnancy Centers…Peter Rea, health…
Randy and Gail Baar, for direction and
health…Phil and Susan as Phil struggles
with a terminal illness…Al and Marilyn
Pulis, their ministry to build and implement
radio stations in other countries…Carolyn
L., health…Jackie H., continued health
improvement…Gabriel family…Country
Gospel Music Association…Kimberly, in
prison and with cancer…Scott…Dave
Rennich, healing…Wyatt children, seeking
adoption…Mrs. Polk, cancer…One Passion
Ministry…K-Life and all youth ministries…
Share It Forward applicants for financial
assistance…the area as the season begins –
ample employees, employees in the right
jobs, business safety and success…all area
pastors and families…First Presbyterian
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Church in Branson…Guidance in selecting
the ’07 Kingdom Builder Award recipient…
Backstage Ministries…for a Prayer Leader
for the Business Sector of the UP Team, and
for a quick arrival to 24/7 and beyond…for
Diane who lost her husband, Stan…for the
ongoing to truly ban human cloning in
Missouri (a bill sponsored by Rep. Jim
Lembke and Sen. Matt Bartle…Regina
Shank and Missouri Prayer, a State-wide
ministry…The Otleys from St. Louis,
coordinators of the National Day of Prayer
in Missouri
CLOSING THOUGHT
I
received a beautiful card from an UP
Team member, Reina Daleske, following
the death and funeral of Don Gabriel. Don
was – is – a very close friend and taught me
so much about what it means to be
committed to living the Christian life and to
have a passion for transformation, even in
the midst of great suffering. Here is the
poem in the card:
“As you wait upon the Lord, you learn to see
things from His perspective, move at His
pace, and function under His directives.
Waiting times are growing times and
learning times. As you quiet your heart, you
enter His peace; as you sense your weakness,
you receive His strength; as you lay down
your will, you hear His calling. When you
mount up, you are being lifted by the wind
of His Spirit; when you move ahead, you are
sensitive to His timing; when you act, you
give yourself only to the things He has asked
you to do. ‘They that wait upon the Lord
shall renew their strength; they shall mount
up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and
not be weary; and they shall walk, and not
faint.’ (Isaiah 40:31)”
Peace to you and yours.
Bob Burton