May 2009
REFLECTION
Greetings! Let’s take a look at the two
major events after the Resurrection and
draw some conclusions for us in the
Uninterrupted Prayer Team. I am
referring to the Ascension and to the
Descent of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost.
Both historical events are found in
Chapters 1 and 2 of the Acts of the
Apostles, as recorded by Luke. His
Gospel ends with the Ascension as well,
but our focus today is on Acts. The Acts
of the Apostles begins with a reference
to the days between the Resurrection
and the Ascension, stating that “he
presented himself alive to them by
many convincing proofs, appearing
to them over the course of forty days
and speaking about the kingdom of
God.” When they came together at the
time of the Lord’s return to heaven in
glory and triumph, they asked him if this
was to be the time when he would
restore the kingdom to Israel. In other
words, they still did not get it! They still
were focused on a restoration of Israel
to its might as under David; they still
tended to see Jesus as a political and
even military Messiah. It would take the
coming of the Holy Spirit to show them
once and for all the truth and meaning of
Redemption. Jesus in effect stated this
when He told them that they would
receive power when the Holy Spirit
came upon them and they would be His
witnesses “in Jerusalem, in all Judea
and Samaria, and to the ends of the
earth.” That last phrase, “to the ends
of the earth,” clearly indicates that the
Apostles would have successors and
that the Christian Church was about to
be born. Then Jesus was taken up into
heaven before them. What follows is
one of the most important statements in
all of Scripture, in my judgment: “While
he was going and they were gazing
up towards heaven, suddenly two
men in white robes stood by them.
They said, ‘Men of Galilee, why do
you stand looking up towards
heaven? This Jesus, who has been
taken up from you into heaven, will
come in the same way as you saw
him go into heaven.” The account of
the Ascension in Luke’s Gospel includes
direction from Jesus for them to go to
Jerusalem and wait for the coming of
the Holy Spirit. Undoubtedly they did
not understand what that meant (no
clear theology yet of the Trinity), but in
obedience they went. They secluded
themselves in an “upper room,” perhaps
the same place of the Last Supper; they
probably secluded themselves for two
reasons: to have a quiet place for
prayer, and because there was still a
definite fear of the Jewish authorities,
and Roman ones as well. After all, it
was only a little over a month since
these authorities had conspired to have
Jesus crucified. The apostles were
there, some disciples and Jesus’
mother, Mary. While they were waiting,
the Apostles also voted on a person to
replace Judas Iscariot – clearly the
symbolic importance of “The Twelve”
made this necessary and also was part
of the setting of the stage for the
establishment of the Church. Chapter 2
of Acts begins this way: “When the
day of Pentecost had come, they
were all together in one place. And
suddenly from heaven there came a
sound like the rush of a violent wind,
and it filled the entire house where
they were sitting. Divided tongues,
as of fire, rested on each of them. All
of them were filled with the Holy
Spirit and began to speak in other
languages, as the Spirit gave them
ability.” The Acts account goes on to
state that the Jews, who had gathered in
Jerusalem from many lands for the
Feast of Pentecost – now and forever
transformed into a critical Christian
Feast as well – heard the Apostles
speaking in a way that they could all
understand, regardless of their native
language. Peter, as leader of the
Apostles, delivered the first Christian
sermon, and three thousand Jews
became Christians on the birthday of the
Christian Church. So, what do these
momentous events mean for us today?
Here are some thoughts for us to pray
about: 1) It is very easy for Christians to
fall into the trap of measuring the
successful Christian life by how much
wealth we have, how much health, of
wanting the Kingdom of God to be
fulfilled here and now materialistically as
well as spiritually. And that was never
the message of Jesus. 2) It is also
easy for Christians to stand and look up
into heaven, waiting expectantly for the
return of Jesus – and forget about how
much work there is to do for the
salvation of the lost and the building up
of the Body of Christ. Christ will return
according to the divine plan; our glorious
task is to live each day for Him, now, on
earth. 3) Christians can get so caught
up in disputes about the operative gifts
of the Holy Spirit – a major controversy
among some denominations – that we
can almost forget about the ongoing
GIFT of the Holy Spirit, His presence
with us and within us as Comforter and
Counselor and the One who empowers
us to live fruitful Christian lives. So,
whether you are a member of the UP
Team, or a spiritual supporter of the UP
Team, the UP Team is one instrument
that the Holy Spirit has raised up at this
time to have an impact on the next
“Great Awakening” in our nation,
through spiritual transformation in our
region. The more we focus on our
mission now and avoid star-gazing,
hoping for the Lord’s return, the more
we are open to the move of the Holy
Spirit within and through us, and the
more we realize that we are indeed
important vessels of God’s grace, the
more marvelous things can happen.
ON THE LIGHTER SIDE
“Why my lips stay chapped on Mothers’
Day: So, we had this great 10-year old
cat named Jack who just recently died.
Jack was a great cat and the kids would
carry him around and sit on him and
nothing ever bothered him. He used to
hang out and nap all day long on a mat
in our bathroom. Well, we have 3 kids
and at the time of this story they were 4-
years old, 3-years old and a babe in
arms. The middle one is Eli. Eli really
loves chapstick; I mean, LOVES it. He
kept asking to use my chapstick and then
losing it. So finally one day I showed
him where in the bathroom I keep my
chapstick and how he could use it
whenever he wanted to but he needed to
put it right back in the drawer when he
was done. Last year on Mother’s Day,
we were having the typical rush around
the house, trying to get ready for church
with everyone crying and carrying on.
The older boys were fighting over the
toy in the cereal box; I was trying to
nurse my little one at the same time I
was putting on my make-up. Everything
was a mess and everyone had long
forgotten that this was a wonderful day
to honor me and the amazing job that is
motherhood. We finally had the older
one and baby loaded in the car and I was
looking for Eli. I searched everywhere
and I finally found him in the bathroom.
He was applying my chapstick very
carefully to Jack’s …rear end. Eli
looked right into my eyes and said
‘chapped.’ Now, if you have a cat, you
know that he is right – their little
bottoms do look pretty chapped. And,
frankly, Jack didn’t seem to mind. The
only question to really ask at that point
was whether it was the FIRST time Eli
had done that to the cats behind, or the
hundredth. And that is my favorite
Mothers’ Day moment because it
reminds us that no matter how hard we
try to civilize these glorious little
creatures, there will always be that day
when you realize they’ve been using
your chapstick on the cat’s butt.”
MORE ON THE LIGHTER
SIDE
A tough old cowboy counseled his
grandson that if he wanted to live a long
life, the secret was to sprinkle a pinch of
gun powder on his oatmeal every
morning. The grandson did this
religiously to the age of 103. When he
died, he left 14 children, 30
grandchildren, 45 great-grandchildren,
25 great-great-grandchildren – and a 15
foot hole where the crematorium used to
be…Puns for fun: To write with a
broken pencil is pointless; a will is a
dead giveaway; those who get too big
for their britches will be exposed in the
end; when you’ve seen one shopping
center, you seen a mall; a lot of money is
tainted – ‘taint yours, ‘taint mine; the
dead batteries were given out free of
charge; when fish are in schools, they
sometimes take debate…A lady urgently
needed a few days off of work, but she
knew that the boss would not allow it.
She thought that maybe if she acted
crazy he would tell her to take a few
days off. So, she hung upside down on
the ceiling. A co-worker, a blonde
(sorry), asked her what she was doing,
and she explained it to her. A few
minutes the boss came in and asked her
what she was doing hanging from the
ceiling, and she replied that she was a
light bulb. He told her the stress was
getting to her and to go home and
recuperate for a couple of days. When
the co-worker started to follow her out,
the boss asked her where she thought she
was going. She replied, ‘I’m going
home, too; I can’t work in the dark.’
PRAYER MOBILIZATION
Please pray for: Heather, cancer (5
children, lives in Texas)…Catherine
Evers, whose father recently died…
Brandon Brown, two years old, very ill…
young man, Chance, recently accepted
into LUC Boys’ Ranch, doing well so
far…fruit from the April “Spiritual
Legacy” meeting…Ron Beckman,
health…Shannon, direction…Ozarks
Legacy initiative…Lilly Smith who has
taken an Episcopalian assignment in
Springfield and Kermit Smith who has
retired…spiritual fruit from the various
National Day of Prayer initiatives here
and around the nation…new respect for
the sanctity of life in government and
around the nation and world…all area
churches and ministries…prayer group
initiative coordinated by Cindy Thomas
of SDC…Jacqui and Eric, whose
wedding will be this year…all people
here and around the nation suffering
financially…the poor, hungry, displaced
and persecuted around the world…John
Burton and family, who recently moved
to Detroit for a new ministry…little
Matthew Burton, born to Mike and
Christy in April…all needs, spoken and
unspoken.
GLOBAL DAY OF PRAYER
From the chairman: “The Global Day of
Prayer has seen millions of Christians
unite in a day of repentance and united
prayer. On May 11, 2008, believers
from 214 nations once again united all
over the globe. The echoes of
desperate prayers for transformation
sounded from stadiums, open fields,
community centers and private houses.
These prayers have the power to
transform our world and to fill the
nations with the glory of God. On May
31, 2009 (Pentecost Sunday), God is
again calling the nations from the North,
South, East and West to embark on this
prayer journey with Him. God is moving
in His awesome power and He is
challenging us to be part of this journey.
It is a journey that is not about us, but
about a world in desperate need for His
glory and compassionate love. May He
hear our prayers, forgive our sin and
heal our land.” Following are a few
prayers to unite us in this global effort:
“Our Father in heaven, thank you for
loving the world so greatly. You gave
Your only Son, Jesus Christ, to die on
the cross for our sins so that we could
be reconciled to You. We are grateful to
call You Father and to be called Your
children. Nothing can separate us from
Your love. Thank You, Father, for
adopting us into Your family because of
Jesus Christ our Savior.”…”Lord Jesus
Christ, You alone are worthy to open the
scrolls of history, for You were slain and
have redeemed us to the Father by Your
blood. We confess that You are the
Head of the Church and Lord of all
heaven and earth. May people from
every tribe and language become Your
followers so that Your blessing brings
transformation among all peoples. Let
Your kingdom be established in every
nation of the world so that governments
will rule with righteousness and justice.
And may Your name be great, from the
rising of the sun to its setting. Jesus
Christ, You are the Savior of the world
and Lord of all.”…”Spirit of the living
God, apart from You we can do nothing.
Transform Your Church into the image
of Jesus Christ. Release Your power to
bring healing to the sick, freedom to the
oppressed and comfort to those who
mourn. Pour Your love into our hearts
and fill us with compassion to answer
the call of the homeless and the hungry
and to enfold orphans, widows and the
elderly in Your care. Give us wisdom
and insight for the complex problems we
face today. Help us to use the
resources of the earth for the well-being
of all. Holy Spirit, we need Your comfort
and guidance. Transform our hearts.”
SPIRITUAL LEGACY
On April 22, Pastor Howard Boyd
coordinated a meeting of about 50
people from the Ozark Mountain
Country region – people who are and
who desire to be spiritual influencers.
The spiritual energy of any region can
be divided into three primary initiatives:
Prayer, Caring, and Sharing. And each
of these initiatives exists at three levels:
Individual, Cluster (groups) and City-
Wide (or community-wide). The group
prayerfully identified what God is
already doing – that is an important
perspective, beginning with what God is
doing rather than on what needs to be
done, and then building from there.
What the participants discovered was
that God is indeed doing much within
each initiative and at each level. And
this is another confirmation to me of the
power of prayer for our region, including
the faithful prayer of the UP Team. In
fact, more then one person identified the
UP Team is crucial in this process – so
congratulations on your commitment to
prayer! The meeting ended with a
charge to each person to ask the Lord
where we go from here. If you would
like to become involved in future
meetings and in one or more of the
initiatives, please contact Pastor
Howard Boyd at (417) 335-2424.

A THOUGHT IN HONOR OF
MOTHERS’ DAY
From an unknown author: “Before I was
a Mom: I made and ate hot meals, I had
unstained clothing, I had quiet
conversations on the phone. Before I
was a Mom: I slept as late as I wanted
and never worried about how late I got
into bed. I brushed my hair and my
teeth everyday. Before I was a Mom: I
didn’t worry whether or not my plants
were poisonous; I never thought about
immunizations. Before I was a Mom: I
had never been puked on, wet on, spit
on, chewed on, or pinched by tiny
fingers. Before I was a Mom: I never
held down a screaming child so that
doctors could do tests or give shots; I
never looked into teary eyes and cried; I
never got gloriously happy over a simple
grin; I never sat up late hours at night
watching a baby sleep. Before I was a
Mom: I never held a sleeping baby just
because I didn’t want to put it down; I
never felt my heart break into a million
pieces when I could not stop the hurt; I
never knew that something so small
could affect my life so much; I never
knew that I could love someone so
much; I never knew that I would love
being a Mom. Before I was a Mom: I
didn’t know the feeling of having my
heart outside my body; I didn’t know
how special it could feel to feed a
hungry baby; I didn’t know that bond
between a Mother and her child; I didn’t
know that something so small could
make me feel so important. Before I
was a Mom: I had never gotten up
every ten minutes, in the middle of the
night, to make sure that all was okay; I
had never known the warmth, the joy,
the love, the heartache, the
wonderfulness, or the satisfaction, of
being a Mom; I didn’t know I was
capable of feeling so much, before I was
a Mom.” Please pray for all Mothers;
please pray for all who want to be
Mothers and can’t; please pray for all
who could be Mothers and do not want
to be.
WEBSITE
Would you consider donating a small
amount toward the development of an
UP Team website? This could be very
helpful to us and for recruitment of
others. My son John is a website
developer and he will do one for $495.
If enough of us donate a little, we can
get this done. Mail them to me at 1582
Talking Rocks Road, Branson West, MO
65737, and I will forward them to him.
CONCLUDING EASTER
STORY
Edith Burns was a wonderful Christian
who lived in San Antonio, Texas. She
was the patient of a doctor by the name
of Will Phillips. Dr. Phillips was a gentle
doctor who saw patients as people. His
favorite patient was Edith Burns. One
morning he went to his office with a
heavy heart. He saw Edith sitting there
with her big Bible and earnestly talking
to a young mother sitting next to her.
She had the habit of introducing herself
in this way: “Hello, my name is Edith
Burns. Do you believe in Easter?”
Then she would explain the meaning of
Easter, and many came to know the
Lord. Dr. Phillip’s head nurse, Beverly,
had first met Edith when she was taking
her blood pressure. Edith began by
saying, ‘My name is Edith Burns. Do
you believe in Easter?” Beverly had told
her that Easter was all about egg hunts,
dressing up, and going to church. Edith
finally led her to the Lord. When Edith
went in to see the doctor, she asked him
why he looked so sad. He gently told
her that her lab report had come back
and that she had terminal cancer. She
said, “Why, Will Phillips, shame on you!
Why are you so sad? Do you think God
makes mistakes? You have just told me
that I’m going to see my precious Lord
Jesus, my husband, and my friends.
You have just told me that I am going to
celebrate Easter forever, and here you
are having difficulty giving me my ticket!”
A few months later Edith had to check in
to the hospital and she asked if it were
possible to have women around her who
needed to know about Easter. People
began coming into her room to hear her
share. Patients and staff began calling
her “Edith Easter.” There was an
exception: The head nurse, Phyllis.
She considered Edith Burns to be a
religious nut; she had been a nurse in
an army hospital and seen and heard it
all. She had been married three times,
and she was hard, cold and did
everything by the book. One morning
Phyllis had to give Edith a shot; Edith
smiled and said, “Phyllis, God loves you,
and I love you, and I have been praying
for you.” Phyllis told her that she could
quit praying for her. But the love of
Edith finally softened her heart, and she
became a Christian. One day Phyllis
came in and Edith asked her if she knew
what day it was. Phyllis replied that it
was Good Friday. Edith replied, “Oh,
no, for you every day is Easter! Happy
Easter, Phyllis!” On Easter Sunday,
Phyllis bought some Easter lilies for
Edith. When she walked into her room,
Edith was in bed with the big Bible on
her lap. She had a sweet smile on her
face. When Phyllis went over and
touched her hand, she discovered that
Edith Burns was dead. Her left hand
was on John 14: “In my Father’s
house are many mansions. I go to
prepare a place for you. I will come
again and receive you to myself, that
where I am you may be also.” A
finger of her right hand was holding the
place in a passage of Revelation 21:
“And God will wipe away every tear
from their eyes. There shall be no
more death, nor sorrow, nor crying;
and there shall be no more pain, for
the former things have passed
away.” Phyllis lifted her face toward
heaven and, with tears streaming down
her cheeks, said, “Happy Easter, Edith;
Happy Easter!” She then left the room
and went over to a table where two
student nurses were sitting. She said,
“My name is Phyllis Cross. Do you
believe in Easter.”

RE-UP
Please don’t forget to send in your form indicating your status with the Uninterrupted Prayer
Team. It is very important for us to know where we stand as we move ahead in the beginning of
our 8th year of the UP Team. If for some reason you did not receive one, please contact Anita
Prochnow at (417) 336-7055 or aprochnow@silverdollarcity.com. You may certainly also
contact me with questions or input: bburt98@aol.com or (417) 331-1028.

RADICAL REMNANT
At the Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast on the National Day of Prayer, the guest speaker, Gil
Stricklin, the founder of Marketplace Ministries, delivered a powerful message. He
based his comments on Psalm 12 and made three points: 1) Our fervent prayer should
be for God to create in us radical hearts for Christ, including total death to self and a
daily renewal of our spiritual lives. 2) Our fervent prayer should be that God will raise up
a radical remnant in our communities, our churches and our nation. To be part of that
remnant we must have that radical heart for Christ, and we must pray, must regularly
have quiet time with God. 3) Our fervent prayer should be for God to fulfill His radical
purpose for the USA and the world. If we “walk by faith and not by sight,” we will know
He has a perfect plan.

God bless you, and peace to you and yours. Bob Burton