JANUARY, 2007
REFLECTION
One of the incredible things about the Bible is
how it fits together, though it was written over
about a 1,600 year period
of time. One example
serves as the basis for this
month’s Reflection:
First, from the Book of
Isaiah, Chapter 60:
“Arise, shine, for your
light has come, and the
glory of the Lord rises
upon you. See, darkness
covers the earth and thick
darkness is over the peoples, but the Lord rises
upon you and his glory appears over you.
Nations will come to your light, and kings to the
brightness of your dawn. Lift up your eyes and
look about you; all assemble and come to you;
your sons come from afar, and your daughters
are carried on the arm. Then you will look and
be radiant, your heart will throb and swell with
joy; the wealth on the seas will be brought to
you, to you the riches of the nations will come.
Herds of camels will cover your land, young
camels of Midian and Ephah. And all from
Sheba will come, bearing gold and incense and
proclaiming the praise of the Lord. All Kedar’s
flocks will be gathered to you, the rams of
Nebaioth will serve you; they will be accepted on
my altar, and I will adorn my glorious temple.
Who are these that fly along like clouds, like
doves to their nests? Surely the islands look to
me; in the lead are the ships of Tarshish,
bringing your sons from afar, with their silver
and gold, to the honor of the Lord your God, the
Holy One of Israel, for he has endowed you with
splendor…The Lord will be your everlasting
light, and your days of sorrow will end. Then
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will all your people be righteous and they will
possess the land forever. They are the shoot I
have planted, the work of my hands, for the
display of my splendor. The least of you will
become a thousand, the smallest a mighty
nation. I am the Lord; in its time I will do this
swiftly.” This prophecy is directed in the mind
of the writer to Jerusalem; but in the mind of
the Holy Spirit it is also directed to the coming
of the Messiah. Note the sections I have
underlined. This amazing prophecy first came
to fruition with the visit of the Magi to the Holy
Family. It will have its ultimate fulfillment
when the Lord returns in His glory. Now let’s
focus on a passage from the Gospel according
to Matthew, Chapter 2: “After Jesus was born
in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King
Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem
and asked, ‘Where is the one who has been born
king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east
and have come to worship him. When King
Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all
Jerusalem with him. When he had called
together all the people’s chief priests and
teachers of the law, he asked them where the
Christ was to be born. ‘In Bethlehem in Judea,’
they replied, ‘for this is
what the prophet has
written: ‘But you,
Bethlehem, in the land
of Judah, are by no
means least among the
rulers of Judah; for
out of you will come a
ruler who will be the
shepherd of my people
Israel.’ (another Isaiah
prophecy) Then Herod
called the Magi secretly and found out from
them the exact time the star had appeared. He
sent them to Bethlehem and said, ‘Go and make
a careful search for the child. As soon as you
find him, report to me, so that I too may go and
worship him.’ After they had heard the king,
they went on their way, and the star they had
seen in the east went ahead of them until it
stopped over the place where the child was.
When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On
coming to the house, they saw the child with his
mother Mary, and they bowed down and
worshiped him. Then they opened their
treasures and present him with gifts of gold and
of incense and of myrrh. And having been
warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they
returned to their country by another route.” The
first lesson, I believe, is that God has from
eternity had a plan for our Redemption. The
Holy Spirit inspired prophets to proclaim the
truth, many centuries before the time of
fulfillment came. We can, by faith, have great
confidence, for not only does God plan out the
major events of history, He also has a perfect
plan for each of us. If we will trust Him, we
can be sure that what we are walking through
right now has a purpose, a meaning – and what
God plans is always for the good of His people.
The second lesson, and the one that I want to
focus on now is the application of the gifts of
the Magi to our life of prayer. The Magi gave
three gifts to the Newborn King; let’s dwell
briefly on each of them: First, gold: This
precious metal is the fitting gift for a king – and
Jesus is the King of Kings. We read in history,
including Biblical history, how people gave gifts
of gold and items made of gold to monarchs. I
am confident that Mary and Joseph took the
gold and used it at the local Bethlehem casino,
to have some funds for their soon-to-be journey
to Egypt when they fled from the wrath of
Herod. (Kidding – just seeing if you are still
with me!) Now, we know that the Risen Jesus
at the right hand of the Father does not need
gold, even if we had it to give; even the streets
are paved with it! But, like
the Magi, we are called to
give gifts to the King. So,
what is our gold? I believe
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that it is one of the most precious gifts that we
have: Our time.
Each moment – this moment – is a gift from
God, just as life itself is a gift from God. The
moment just passed is gone forever; and we do
not know if there will be a next moment for us.
The Lord Jesus seeks to have us gift our very
lives to Him, moment by moment, turning each
second of each minute into love and service –
and prayer. I may have quoted
Larry Wilhite before here, but he
is certainly worth quoting again.
At his Sunday service in Mansion
America, he usually,
during the quiet time of
prayer, makes the
following comment: If
we spent the same
amount of time
communicating with
our family that we
spend communicating with the Lord, how
much quality would there be in our family
lives? All of life can be a living prayer, if we
consecrate each day to God. But time also
includes extended prayer. I firmly believe that
one of the greatest gifts of gold we can give to
our King is to take extended quiet time each
day and listen to God who wants to speak to us,
and adore and thank Him, repent of our sins
and intercede for others. So, as an example (no
surprise to readers here!), we can look at the
hour (or hours) dedicated to the objectives of
the Uninterrupted Prayer Time as gifts of gold
to God. You see, we are very wealthy, all of us:
We have, as long as we are on earth, 168 hours
a week, 10,080 minutes, 604,800 seconds – we
can spend them on ourselves, or we can spend
them on God and on service to and love of our
fellow man. The second gift that the Magi gave
to Jesus was incense: We can be sure that this
incense, or frankincense, was of a very high
quality. This is a fitting gift for a priest and
prophet, and Jesus is the Great High Priest and
the greatest Prophet of all. Well, guess what:
Incense is also symbolic of prayer, for it
represents the prayers of the people ascending
as incense, lit and sent heavenward by the
priest. Read with me Revelation 5: 8: “…The
four living creatures and the twenty-four elders the refusing to give up, is the greatest value of
fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp the prayer! For God looks at the heart, and He
and they were holding golden bowls of incense, is highly pleased when we keep trying, when we
which are the prayers of the saints.” The great fall and get up, when we keep on following the
truth of the spiritual life of a Christian is that Lord. Gold, frankincense, myrrh: When we
when we pray as the Holy Spirit guides us to live our prayer life, we are giving these gifts to
pray, our prayers literally become united with God, just as really as when they did it. The
the living prayer of the Great High Priest, and Christian life can be something very glorious;
the Father always hears and answers the we are very wealthy; the key is to give that
prayers of His Son. So, brothers and sisters, wealth back to God by prayer and by service.
when we commit ourselves to prayer, we are By His grace we can do it – we can love and
giving gifts of gold and incense to the Lord, just serve Father, Son and Holy Spirit and our
as the Magi did in giving us an example. This is fellow human beings, day by day, moment by
the amazing power of prayer – and the moment. We can follow the star of God’s
awesome privilege we have to pray. Third, let’s grace; if we choose to.
look at the myrrh: It
is interesting to me
that the Isaiah
prophecy does not
mention myrrh along
with gold and incense;
it does not mean that
Isaiah missed it; it
means that he covered
it in great detail in some preceding chapters
when he prophesied about the Suffering NEXT GATHERING
Servant. For myrrh is an oil used primarily at Please mark your calendars and plan, if at all
the time of burial; it thus represents suffering possible, to be at the next Gathering of People
and death. The Magi were therefore also Who Pray. It will be Friday evening, March 2,
prophesying; they were saying by this gift that from about 6:30 to 9:00 p.m. and on Saturday,
Jesus would suffer, that He would give His life. March 3, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The place will
So, too, myrrh is a gift that we can give to the be announced later. This is our annual
Lord. But how, and why? After all, He is extended time to come together, and there will
Risen now and is in glory. Well, Paul wrote be a guest facilitator. If you have questions or
that he rejoiced that he could make up what is need a ride call me at 331-1028.
lacking in the sufferings of Christ – and the
Holy Spirit is telling us to rejoice for the same
reason, since the Bible is a Living Word. Jesus
said on earth that if we really want to be His
disciples, we must be willing to take up our
crosses and follow him. We do that by
dedicating our lives to Him, by avoiding sin, by
putting God first – and, yes, by prayer. I can
only speak for myself, but extended prayer is
very difficult at times for me, even most of the ON THE LIGHTER SIDE
time. It is hard to stay focused, it is hard to just Here are some early investment tips for 2007,
be quiet, it is hard to put prayer time ahead of as there are some big mergers that will shortly
other things – work, recreation, etc. – it is just be announced: 1) Hale Business Systems, Mary
hard to stay committed. But in the effort, in
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Kay Cosmetics, Fuller Brush and W.R. Grace
Company will merge and become “Hale, Mary,
Fuller, Grace.” 2) Polygram Records, Warner
Brothers and Zesta Crackers will join forces
and become “Poly, Warner, Cracker.” 3) 3M
will merge with Goodyear and become
“MMMGood.” 4) Zippo Manufacturing
Company, Audi Motors, Dofasco and Dakota
Mining will merge and become “Zip Audi
DoDa.” 5) FedEx is expected to join its major
competitor, UPS, and become “FedUp.” 6)
Fairchild Electronics and Honewell Computers
will become “Fairwell Honeychild.” 7) Grey
Poupon and Docker Pants are expected to
become “Poupon Pants.” 8) Knotts Berry
Farm and the National Organization of Women
will become “Knott NOW!”
MORE ON THE LIGHTER SIDE
“After getting all of Billy Graham’s luggage
loaded into the limo, the driver notices that Mr.
Graham is still standing on
the curb. ‘Excuse me,
Mr. Graham,’ says
the driver, ‘would
you please take
your seat so we
can leave?’ ‘Well,
to tell you the truth,’
says Mr. Graham,
‘they never let me drive
anymore, and I’d really
like to drive today.’ ‘I’m sorry, but I cannot let
you do that. I’d lose my job! And what if
something should happen?’ protests the driver,
wishing he’d never gone to work that morning.
‘There might be something extra in it for you,’
says Mr. Graham. Reluctantly, the driver gets
in the back as Billy Graham climbs in behind
the wheel. The driver quickly regrets his
decision when, after exiting the airport, Mr.
Graham floors the accelerator, bringing the
limo up to 105 mph. ‘Please slow down, sir!’
pleads the worried driver, but Billy keeps the
pedal to the metal until they hear
sirens. ‘Oh, man, I’m gonna
lose my license,’ moans the
limo man. Billly pulls over
and rolls down the window
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as the officer approaches, but the policeman
takes one look at him, goes back to his
motorcycle, and gets on the radio. ‘I need to
talk to the Chief,’ he says to the dispatcher.
The Chief gets on the radio and the man tells
him that he has stopped a limo going 105. ‘So,
bust him,’ says the Chief. ‘I don’t think we
want to do that, he’s really important,’ says the
officer. The Chief exclaims, ‘All the more
reason!’ ‘Sir, I mean really important.’ The
Chief asks, ‘Who is it, the Mayor?’ ‘Bigger.’
‘The Governor?’ ‘Bigger.’ ‘Well,’ asks the
Chief, ‘who is it?’ The officer replies, ‘I think
it’s God, because Billy Graham is the
chauffeur!’”
STILL MORE ON THE LIGHTER SIDE
If in 2007, you have family or friends from the
North or West or East moving to the Ozarks,
here are some tips you can give them: 1) Save
all bacon grease; instructions for use will come
later. 2) If you forget an Ozarker’s name, call
him (or her) “Bubba.” 3) Just because you can
drive on snow and ice does not mean we can.
Stay home the two days of the year it snows. 4)
If you run your car into a ditch, don’t panic.
Four men in the cab of a pick-up, with a
twelve-pack and a tow chain will be along
shortly. Don’t try to help them; just stay out of
the way – they live for this. 5) Don’t show any
surprise if you find movie rentals and bait in
the same store. 6) Remember: “Y’all” is both
singular and plural. 7) Get
used to hearing, “Y’all
aren’t from around here,
are you?” 8) People walk
slower here. 9) Don’t be
worried that you don’t
understand anyone; they don’t
understand you, either. 10)
Normally the first Ozarks expression to creep
into a transplant’s vocabulary is the adjective
“big ol’,” as in “big ol’ truck or “big ol’ boy.”
11) The proper pronunciations you learned in
school are no longer proper. 12) Be advised:
The “He needed killin’ defense is valid here.
13) If you hear an Ozarker exclaim, “Hey, y’all,
watch this!” stay out of his way. These are
likely the last words he will ever say. 14) The
winter wardrobe you always brought out in
September can wait until December, or even
January. 15) If there is the prediction of the
slightest chance of even the most miniscule
accumulation of snow, your presence is
required at the local grocery store. It does not
matter if you need anything from
the store, it is just something
you are supposed to do. 16) As
you are being utterly frustrated
with the person driving 15 mph
in a 55 mph zone, directly in the
middle of the road, remember, many folks
learned to drive on a model of vehicle known as
John Deere, and this is the proper speed and
lane position for the vehicle. 17) You can ask an
Ozarker for directions, but unless you already
know the names and positions of key hills and
the size, shape and position of trees and rocks,
you are better off trying to find it yourself. 18)
If you hear music from your neighbor’s house,
join in on the chorus. 19) However you did it in
the North or West or East is of no concern to
Ozarkers. 20) Flannel shirts may be considered
formal wear in the winter. 21) Most folks have
as their primary vehicle a pick-up and as their
secondary vehicle a bass boat.
22) And, oh, don’t worry about that different
smell outside; it’s clean air.
STORY
On a Saturday night, a pastor was working
late. He decided to call his wife before he left
for home. It was about 10:00 p.m., but his wife
didn’t answer the phone. He let the phone ring
many times and thought it was odd that she
didn’t answer, but he decided to wrap a few
things up and try again in a few minutes.
When he called again, she answered right
away; he asked her why she hadn’t answered
before and she said that it hadn’t rung at their
house. They just brushed it off as a fluke and
forgot about it. The following
Monday, the pastor received
a call at the church
office, on the phone he
had used that previous
Saturday night. The
man that he spoke with
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wanted to know why he had called on Saturday
night. The pastor couldn’t figure out what the
man was talking about. Then the man said, “It
rang and rang, but I didn’t answer.” The
pastor remembered the call and apologized for
disturbing him, explaining that he was trying to
call his wife. The man said, “That’s OK; let me
tell you my story. You see, I was planning to
commit suicide on Saturday night, but before I
did, I prayed, ‘God, if you’re there and you
don’t want me to do this, give me a sign now.’
At that point my phone started to ring. I
looked at the caller ID, and it said ‘Almighty
God.’ I was afraid to answer!” The pastor
chuckled, and then praised God and led the
man to a renewed relationship with the Lord.
You see, the reason why it showed on the man’s
caller ID that the call came from “Almighty
God” is because the church that the pastor
leads is called “Almighty God Tabernacle.”
PRAYER MOBILIZATION
From Catherine Evers, that a specific building
made be made available for a ministry as a
“Free Store”…For Pastor Aaron’s eyesight…
For Brenda G….for a Hollister family whose
son died…for Maxine as she considers joining
the UP Team and for her physical needs…For
Arlen Lipper, health following surgery…for
Don Gabriel and his wife, Dorothy, and their
children, as Don is now almost completely
homebound with Cancer…for all with physical,
spiritual, emotional and financial difficulties…
for the area and area businesses as
preparations for the ’07 season are underway,
and that there be sufficient employees for all
open jobs and the right job for all applicants…
in Thanksgiving for Love, INC and other
agencies and churches for the awesome
coordination of Christmas gifts for families in
need…for Love, INC as it assumes
coordination of the HFE Share It Forward
program and thanks to Jim Freeman who has
been the coordinator (and for him as he takes
on a new job with Doulos)…For all employers
traveling overseas to find international students
for employment in Ozark Mountain Country,
and for the students who travel here…For
Danny Webb as he continues to struggle with
health issues…For all families struggling with
marital issues, for single parents and children
and for the ministries that reach out to families
and children….For the UP Team, that it reach
24/7 this year and begin working toward 24/7
many times deep…For the International House
of Prayer in Kansas City that it continue to
serve and grow, and for Revolution House of
Prayer in Manitou Springs, CO, and for John
Burton and his family as they seek God’s will
for direction in their lives of ministry…For all
Share It Forward applicants and recipients…
For all prayer needs expressed and
unexpressed, as God looks at the heart.