REFLECTION

The Bible is full of historical accounts, stories that teach a message, and
passages of great comfort, promise, hope – and also warning. If the
Bible is not a key and integral part of our Christian life, then we just
don’t know what the Christian life really is. This does not mean that we
must read it cover to cover every year, or even a certain number of
chapters each day – that could easily become legalistic. Often, one verse
or even one word can fill us with great nourishment and richness. But
we have to be open-minded and open-hearted. For this month’s
Reflection, let’s go to the Book of Exodus in the Old Testament. There,
in Chapter 17, is recorded an historical event that also is full of great
symbolism and points to the future – to now. First, let’s listen to it, and
then I will offer some thoughts for our meditation and consideration. It
is all about prayer, and it is all about Jesus, our Great High Priest.
Here is the passage, beginning with verse 8: “The Amelekites came and
attached the Israelites at Rephidim. Moses said to Joshua, ‘Choose
some of our men and to out to fight the Amelekites. Tomorrow I will
stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hands.’ So Joshua
fought the Amelekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron and
Hur went to the top of the hill. As long as Moses held up his hands, the
Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the
Amelekites were winning. When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a
stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his
hands up – one on one side, one on the other – so that his hands
remained steady till sunset. So Joshua overcame the Amelekite army
with the sword. Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Write this on a scroll as
something to be remembered and make sure that Joshua hears it,
because I will completely erase the memory of the Amelekites from
under heaven.’ Moses built an altar and called it The Lord is my
Banner. He said, ‘For hands were lifted up to the throne of the Lord.
The Lord will be at war against the Amelekites from generation to
generation.” Imagine the surprise on the faces of Moses, Aaron and
Hur as they watched the battle from their vantage point on the hill.
There Moses was, his hands lifted up to God, a staff in one hand, and
flanked by his two friends. They watched Joshua and the men of Israel
battling furiously against these evil people known as Amelekites, and
they saw Joshua prevailing. Then, as Moses’ hands grew tired, he
lowered them, and all of a sudden the tide turned and the Amelekites
began beating back the men of Israel. So, Moses lifted his hands again,
and the Amelekites began retreating. The three men then realized that
for reasons of His own, God was working through the uplifted hands of
Moses! As the battle raged on, Moses reached a point of great
weariness, and he simply could not keep standing there with his hands
lifted high in the air. So, Aaron and Hur put a stone under him, so
Moses could sit down. Then Aaron positioned himself on one side and
Hur on the other and they held up the arms and hands of Moses, “so
that his hands remained steady till sunset. So Joshua overcame the
Amelekite army with the sword.” Brothers and sisters, I believe that
this historical account of the Israelites, one that took place while they
were in the wilderness after miraculously crossing the Red Sea, is a
powerful example of what we call a “type” or a “foreshadowing.” The
event really happened, but God inspired Moses to write it down because
it would have an even greater and deeper meaning many centuries later.
Remember, everything in the Old Testament points ahead to the New
Testament, the New Covenant. Also, I believe that this account is highly
important for the UP Team. So, let’s apply it to us: 1) The Amelekites
represent Satan and his demonic forces. 2) the battle of Joshua and his
men against the Amelekites represents spiritual warfare. 3) Moses on
the hill represents prayer (think about how often Jesus went up a
mountain to pray). 4) Moses lifting up his arms to the heavens also
represents prayer. But, more, Moses himself is a foreshadowing of
Jesus, the Great Intercessor, the Great High Priest, the One who is the
Arch-Enemy of Satan and the Victor over him. 5) Moses represents the
Incarnation of the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, the Word, who
became Flesh and dwelt among us. Moses, as the great leader of the
Jewish people, points ahead to the coming of the ultimate Great Leader,
Jesus Christ, who ascended the hill of Calvary and died for our sins and
then rose from the dead to give us victory. 6) Joshua in battle
represents all of the Christians on the “front line” – the missionaries
around the world, the evangelists, the pastors and other Christian
leaders. 7) Aaron and Hur are actually the most important people in
this account as far as the events relate to us, many centuries after the
event. Aaron was the first Jewish priest, as well as Moses’ brother, so it
was fitting that he be one of the people holding up the arms of Moses. I
looked up the name “Hur”, and it has two meanings. One is “child”,
and the other is “white garment.” So, the priest and the one in spiritual
white garments were the ones there holding up the arms of Moses so
that Joshua and his army could defeat the Amelekites. Now, Jesus
Christ is God. He is in heaven. He is the Great High Priest interceding
for the world. So, surely, He needs no one to “hold up his arms.” But
here, folks, is the most important truth, one that I pray you will take to
heart and to prayer. The Almighty and Infinite God has chosen, in His
plan of salvation, in this last great age, the age of the Church, the Body
of Christ, to use human beings to assist the Great High Priest in His
divine intercession! Yes, we as Christians are called to “hold up the
arms of Jesus Christ”, and we do that by prayer, by intercession. This
is the incredibly important role of prayer in the Church! If we do not
pray, if we do not enter into spiritual battle through prayer, the enemy,
Satan, advances. If we do pray, he retreats. Ultimately, of course,
Satan is defeated. But in the meantime, he is wreaking havoc in the
world and he is desperately working to lead eternal spirits to him in his
eternal Hell and he is just as desperately working to prevent us from
being effective as Christians in this life, in this world. These are not just
words; this is reality. This is precisely why the Uninterrupted Prayer
Team is so vital to Southwest Missouri, central Missouri, indeed all of
Missouri, and all of the heartland, Northwest Arkansas, and beyond.
God wants our nation to rise up spiritually, He wants another Great
Awakening, He wants a genuine and penetrating spiritual
transformation here and through here in our God-given nation. As we
honor our veterans in a special way in November – those who have
served in the military in defense of our country – let’s also honor and
lift up the veterans of prayer, who also serve in defense of our country,
and let’s be sure we have joined them. Please: Renew your UP
commitment. Please: If you are reading this and are not a member,
join the UP Team by taking an hour a week, or more, for prayer.
Please: If you are an UP Team member, make a commitment to spread
the word and encourage intercessors to join. And, let’s all pray that the
many and wonderful prayer groups in our area consciously join forces
to become a mighty army of prayer. Jesus is asking us to help hold up
His arms; are we listening to Him? And, UP Team members and people
who pray for the UP Team, and members of other prayer groups:
Thank you for doing just that!

ALONG THE SAME LINES…

If you are a member of the Presidential Prayer Team, you received a
letter from John Lind, the CEO. It is a fund-raising letter, but there are
some very timely comments in it, and I would like to share those as a
confirmation of the Reflection we just focused on: “On September 11 –
six years to the day after the terrorist attacks of 2001 – we sent our
annual survey to over 540,000 active e-mail addresses on our files.
Perhaps you were one of those who received it. In it, we asked some key
questions about the moral state of our nation, the need for revival, and
your desire to pray for the candidates for President and for the 2008
election. Many more people responded than we expected, and the
feedback was significant. Here is what you said: The United States is in
dire moral crisis. Revival is desperately needed in our country. You
are ready to intercede before God for revival, the candidates and the
election. Ever since September 11, 2001 – and our birth online as a
ministry one week later – I believe God has used The Presidential
Prayer Team to bring healing to our nation. Since we started this
ministry, hundreds of thousands of people have at some point partnered
with us. Some have been with us from day one. Others are brand new
members who’ve joined in just the past few weeks. And there are many
who have started their own prayer ministries as a result of their
involvement with PPT. I know the ripple effect of this prayer outreach
has been monumental, and I can honestly tell you we’ve had a profound
impact on our country and its leadership. I say that because I believe in
the power of prayer. You’d be hard pressed to find any Bible-believing
Christian in our nation that does not agree that the Scriptural
foundations of our nation have been eroded, derided and mocked. I’m
sure you can think of a number of ways this has occurred and is still
happening today. But I believe the Church hasn’t done enough about
this. Paul wrote that ‘God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit
of power, of love and of self-discipline’” (2 Timothy 1:7) Yet many
present-day believers seem enslaved to this ‘spirit of timidity.’ Where is
the fearless dedication of Daniel, or the boldness of Paul or David?
Many are content to think it will all work out, that someone else will rise
up to carry the banner. But I know that’s not how you feel. We know
that the trends we see, in America and in the Church, may seem beyond
our control or influence. But they’re not out of God’s control. They’re
not beyond His influence. And that’s where prayer is so instrumental.
Prayer is the key that moves the very hand of God! There are countless
examples in the Bible of men and women of God who stood up – when
the act of ONE righteous man changed the course of history. In Luke
19:41, Jesus wept as he looked at the city of Jerusalem because he knew
what would happen in less than 40 years: That incredible city, and the
temple that was still being built, would be totally destroyed, and over
600,000 people would lose their lives. He mourned as he told the
inhabitants that this terrible tragedy would come upon them because
they were unaware of what was going on around them, because they
‘did not recognize the time of God’s coming.’ (Luke 19:44) I pray today
that others will join us in not only weeping for our nation, but in uniting
in prayer for it – while there is still time. Let me ask you: Do you get a
lump in your throat when the Stars and Stripes are unfurled? Does a
tear come to your eye when you hear the National Anthem before a
baseball or football game? Have you wept for our nation? Have you
interceded and sought His face for America? We all know the old story
of the frog in the kettle. The water was slowly heated – but the frog was
unaware of the gradual change until it was too late. Isn’t that how it is
today? Haven’t we seen the water slowly warmed in our nation to the
point that we’re in a very precarious situation? Yet far too many are
unaware of the impending danger. This month, The Presidential Prayer
Team is launching Pray the Vote 2008. This is much different than our
previous Pray the Vote initiatives because it’s much more involved –
and far more significant. PPT is striving to raise up 80,000 new prayer
partners to join the Pray the Vote effort. We will ask each person to
commit to pray for the Presidential candidates, the election itself, and
for national revival…The next Presidential election could be the most
pivotal in our country’s history. The nation remains in a moral crisis;
I’d say, even standing at a crossroads. Revival is desperately needed in
our land. God’s Word says it all: ‘If my people, who are called by my
name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from
their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin
and will heal their land.’ (2 Chronicles 7:14) For more information
about The Presidential Prayer Team: www.presidentialprayteam.org;
866-433-PRAY; P.O. Box 15040, Scottsdale, AZ 85267-5040.

PUTTING THE TWO TOGETHER…

The UP Team and The Presidential Prayer Team are two examples of
seeking passionate prayer for revival in our nation. The UP Team is
much smaller and focuses primarily on the Heartland. But I believe
that in God’s big picture, the UP Team has been launched and guided
by Him and has a key role to play in spiritual transformation here and
in our nation. Going back to the Moses analogy: The UP Team may be
just a fingernail on the little finger of one of Moses’ hands, but it is part
of the hand. And – this is the exciting part – the UP Team is also joined
with the prayer of the Great High Priest, and when we pray with faith
and hope and perseverance and dedication, our prayer becomes mighty.
This is not just fancy rhetoric; this, brothers and sisters, is reality!

THE STORY OF AN UP TEAM MEMBER

I was really tempted to put this under the section of the Newsletter
known as ‘On the Lighter Side,” but for the dear lady involved, it is not
really funny – even though she says it proves that God has a sense of
humor. Rita Webb and I go to the same church. She recently became a
member of the UP Team and prays regularly from 6 to 7 a.m. one day a
week. I have known her for a long time, and she has a huge heart for
the Lord. Well, a month or so ago, she was praying during her hour;
she was actually kneeling and was spiritually lost in prayer. She did not
realize that one of her legs had fallen dead asleep. When she got up, she
immediately fell. She did not think much of it, but the pain started
increasing. So, she finally went to the doctor and discovered that she
had torn all of the ligaments from her knee and had chipped the knee
bone on both sides! She is wearing a soft cast and will be for awhile.
Pain and cast and all, she still went to visit my dear wife, Barb, who is
struggling mightily with her health, at home. I saw Rita at church
yesterday and asked how she was doing. She gave me that dazzling
smile of hers and looked at me with her twinkling eyes, and said, “Not
only did I hurt myself while I was praying, but I was praying on
Thursday – my sector is Medical! God is obviously testing my
commitment to prayer by allowing this to happen.” Thank you, Rita,
for your faithfulness and passion. Folks, please pray for a rapid healing
of her knee.

ON THE LIGHTER SIDE

“This is honor of all us guys, who are used to hearing “the rules” from the fairer
sex. These are our rules, and they are all named #1 for a reason! 1. Men are NOT
mind readers. 1. Learn to work the toilet seat. You’re a big girl; if it’s up, put it
down. We need it up, you need it down. You don’t hear us complaining about you
leaving it down.
1. Sunday sports: It’s like the full moon or the changing of the tides. Let it be. 1.
Shopping is NOT a sport. And, no, we are never going to think of it that way. 1.
Crying is blackmail. 1. Ask for what you want. Let us be clear on this one: Subtle
hints do not work! Strong hints do not work! Obvious hints do not work! Just say
it! 1. Yes and No are perfectly acceptable answers to almost every question. 1.
Come to us with a problem ONLY if you want help solving it. That’s what we do.
1. If you think you’re fat, you probably are. Don’t ask us. 1. If something we said
can be interpreted two ways and one of the ways makes you sad or angry, we meant
THE OTHER ONE. 1. You can either ask us to do something, OR tell us how you
want it done. Not both. If you already know best how to do it, just do it yourself.
1. Anything we said 6 months ago is inadmissible in an argument. In fact, all
comments become null and void after 7 days. 1. Whenever possible, please say
whatever you have to say during commercials.”

MORE ON THE LIGHTER SIDE

The Bible according to children (or adults with child-like and humorous minds???):
“In the beginning, which occurred near the start, there was nothing but God,
darkness, and some gas. The Bible says, ‘The Lord thy God is one,’ but I think he
must be a lot older than that. Anyway, God said, ‘Give me a light!’ and someone
did. Then God made the world. He split the Adam and made Eve. Adam and Eve
were naked, but they weren’t embarrassed because mirrors hadn’t been invented
yet. Adam and Eve disobeyed God by eating one bad apple, so they were driven
from the Garden of Eden; not sure what they were driven in, though, because they
didn’t have cars. Adam and Eve had a son, Cain, who hated his brother as long as
he was Abel. Pretty soon all of the early people died off, except for Methuselah, who
live to be like a million or something. One of the next important people was Noah,
who was a good guy, but one his kids was kind of a ham. Noah built a large boat
and put his family and some animals on it. He asked some other people to join him,
but they said they would have to take a rain check. After Noah came Abraham,
Isaac and Jacob. Jacob was more famous than his brother, Esau, because Esau sold
Jacob his birthmark in exchange for some pot roast. Jacob had a son named Joseph
who wore a really loud sports coat. Another important Bible guy is Moses, whose
real name was Charlton Heston. Moses led the Israel Lights out of Egypt and away
from the evil Pharaoh after God sent ten plagues on Pharaoh’s people. These
plagues included frogs, mice, lice, bowels, and no cable. God fed the Israel Lights
every day with manicotti. Then He gave them His top ten Commandments. One of
them was humor thy father and thy mother. One of Moses’ best helpers was
Joshua, who was the first Bible guy to use spies. Joshua fought the battle of Geritol
and the fence fell over on the town. After Joshua came David. He got to be king by
killing a giant with a slingshot. He had a son name Solomon who had about 300
wives and 500 porcupines. My teacher says he was wise, but that doesn’t sound very
wise to me. After Solomon there were a bunch of major league prophets. One of
these was Jonah, who was swallowed by a big whale and barfed up on the shore.
There were also some minor league prophets, but I guess we don’t have to worry
about them. After the Old Testament came the New Testament. Jesus is the star of
the New Testament. He was born in Bethlehem in a barn. (I wish I had been born
in a barn, too, because my mom is always saying to me, ‘Close the door! Were you
born in a barn?’ It would be nice to say, ‘As a matter of fact, I was.’ During his
life, Jesus had many arguments with sinners like the Pharisees and the Republicans.
Jesus also had twelve opossums. The worst one was Judas Asparagus – Judas was
so evil that they named a terrible vegetable after him. Jesus was a great man. He
healed many leopards and even preached to some Germans on the Mount. But the
Republicans and all those guys put Jesus on trial before Pontius the Pilot. Pilot
didn’t stick up for Jesus. He just washed his hands instead. Anyways, Jesus died
for our sins, then came back to life again. He went up to Heaven, but will back at
the end of the Aluminum. His return is foretold in the book of Revolution.

PRAYER MOBILIZATION
Please pray for: Dianne, health…Diana, health…Barb Edwards,
health…Michael, 16, with cancer and one leg removed and for his
parents…for Jim Owens, who will be undergoing heart surgery…for
Loy and Carolyn Loften’s grandchild, who has Down’s Syndrome…for
the Loys’ ministry, Reflection of Christ – pray for Seth, James, Todd,
Tim, Chad, Joshua, Ian, and others the Lord will bring across the path
of the Loy ministry…for Tony and Carolyn Scott…for Phyllis and Lyle
Burchette, for all of the men of CBMC and their families…for all of the
men of BMFI and their families, and for Jack Urbec who has once again
become President of the Chapter and for Larry Moffit who will serve as
Vice President, plus all other officers…for Leda Boefferding, health…
for Love, INC as it prepares for the providing of Christmas presents to
families in need…for Christian Associates and all of its ministries…for
all agencies in the area as the holiday season approaches…for all
families in financial need…for employees being laid off for the winter…
for John and Sue Lowe and family…for International Renewal
Ministries…for Torchbearers, including a December missionary retreat
in Fundong (Cameroon, Africa) and for journey mercies for the
ministry president, Board members, the Director, Coordinators and
Facilitators as they travel to the retreat…for all UP Team members…
for prayer leaders for the Business and Medical sectors…for a way to
implement Catherine Evers’ idea to send Christmas cards to
entertainers/theaters and to representatives of other sectors…for all
other needs.

Have a Blessed Thanksgiving!

Bob Burton
(417) 331-1028