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JULY, 2007
Since July is the month in which we celebrate our national independence, it seems appropriate to
make the United States of America the primary theme of this Newsletter. Both the Reflection and the
Story of our National Anthem will, hopefully and prayerfully, lead us to renew our commitment to
prayer and to clearly realize what we are praying for, what the impact of prayer will be according to
God’s will. So, before you begin reading, please pray for an open mind and heart and pray for
direction.

REFLECTION

T here is a powerful event described in three

of the Gospels – Matthew, Mark and
Luke. In all three descriptions of the event the
encounter occurred right after the
Transfiguration and in all three descriptions
the facts of the encounter are almost identical.
But the conclusion differs in all three: In
Matthew it is about having faith; in Luke it is
another statement that Jesus is about to be
betrayed and to die; in Mark the conclusion is
about the importance of prayer. All three are
true, all three express a nuance of the mind and
heart of the Author of the Gospels, the Holy
Spirit. For our purposes here, let’s focus on the
account in Mark. First, the Scripture, in
Chapter 9, verses 14-29: “When they (Jesus,
and the three apostles who were at the
Transfiguration) came to the other disciples,
they saw a large crowd around them and the
teachers of the law arguing with them. As soon
as all the people saw Jesus, they were
overwhelmed with wonder (perhaps he was still
glowing a little from the Transfiguration??)
and ran to greet him. ‘What are you arguing
with them about?’ he asked. A man in the crowd
answered, ‘Teacher, I brought you my son who
is possessed by a spirit that has robbed him of
speech. Whenever it seizes him, it throws him to
the ground. He foams at the mouth, gnashes his
teeth and becomes rigid. I asked your disciples
to drive out the spirit, but they could not.’ ‘O
unbelieving generation,’ Jesus replied, ‘how
long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put
up with you? Bring the boy to me.’ So they
brought him. When the spirit saw Jesus, it
immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. He
fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at
the mouth. Jesus asked the boy’s father, ‘How
long has he been like
this?’ ‘From
childhood,’ he
answered. ‘It has
often thrown him into
fire or water to kill him.
But if you can do anything,
take pity on us and help us.’ ‘If
you can?’ said Jesus. ‘Everything is possible for
him who believes.’ Immediately the boy’s father
exclaimed, ‘I do believe; help me overcome my
disbelief!’ When Jesus saw that a crowd was
running to the scene, he rebuked the evil spirit.
‘You deaf and dumb spirit,’ he said, ‘I command
you, come out of him and never enter him
again.’ The spirit shrieked, convulsed him
violently, and came out. The boy looked so much
like a corpse that many said, ‘He’s dead.’ But
then Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him
to his feet, and he stood up. After Jesus had
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gone indoors, his disciples asked him privately,
‘Why couldn’t we drive it out?’ He replied, ‘This
kind can come out only by prayer.’” So, we have
here a boy who from childhood was possessed
by an evil spirit – one that robbed the boy of
both speech and hearing and that threw into
violent convulsions periodically. Some modern
Scripture scholars and theologians, led astray
by the times we live in, have concluded that it
was probably epilepsy that plagued the boy.
No, it was demonic possession. The existence,
the presence and the temporary power of
Satan, along with his eternal abode – Hell – are
basic Christian doctrines. A true Christian
does not have the option not to believe them.
So, what does this account have to do with us?
Much, to be sure. But for this month’s
Reflection let’s use it as an analogy. The youth,
for our purposes, represents the United States
of America; it is still a very young country.
The boy’s father represents
our founding fathers, who, if
they were here among us today
would quickly and clearly see
that something is terribly wrong
with their “child.” I love
my country; but precisely
because I do, I have the
responsibility to both
recognize what is wrong and
take action to fix it – before it
is too late. The youth in the Gospel account
was both deaf and dumb and had violent
convulsions and seizures. The United States is
becoming ever more deaf and dumb and is
demonstrating increasingly violent convulsions.
What do I mean? Our country is becoming
ever more deaf to the voice of God the Father,
the cries of God the Son, the pleadings of God
the Holy Spirit. Our country is becoming ever
more dumb, unwilling and/or unable to speak
forth the truth that rang through the halls of
government and in the marketplace and in the
homes and in the highways and byways – that
without faith in God and adherence to His will,
we are doomed as a nation. And all of this,
brothers and sisters, is the result of ever
increasing and ever less recognized activity of
Satan and his demonic forces. The idea of
Satan is laughed at while he himself is laughing
at our spiritual blindness. I am about to give
some examples that are not “politically
correct;” but they are valid examples
nonetheless. I do not judge the heart of any
person; but as a Christian American I have the
right and the responsibility to judge the actions
of people – as do you. Let’s begin with
abortion. Every single abortion weakens the
moral fabric of our nation. I believe that the
first litmus test for voting for the next
presidential candidate, and other candidates, is
a simple one: If the candidate is “pro-choice,”
(which means upholding the right of a parent
or parents to murder their unborn and totally
innocent child), a true Christian may not vote
for such candidates. I believe that we have the
responsibility to stand up forcefully for life,
whatever the age, beginning with conception.
Satan won a victory in Missouri with the voting
in of the stem cell issue; thank God that some
courageous legislators and others are not
considering this over and done with and are
still working to preserve the life of the unborn.
It is Satan who managed to influence people to
remove prayer from our schools, for he knew
what would happen as a result – and indeed
look at what has taken place in our schools
since then. It is Satan who is trying to
legitimize same-sex marriage, for he knows
how critical the family is to any solid moral
society and how Biblically basic is the definition
of marriage between one man and one woman.
It is Satan who is influencing people to brand
as bigots those who are opposed to homosexual
activity as sin. It is Satan who is influencing
schools to teach curricula in many, many places
that minimize the meaning of family, that laugh
at sexual abstinence and make
condoms readily available, that
require the teaching of
homosexuality as a very
legitimate alternative life style.
It is Satan who influenced the disbarment of
Judge Roy Moore and the firing of Gregory
Thompson over the Ten Commandments in
schools issue. It is Satan who is trying to
remove the very mention of God from the
marketplace. It is Satan who is blinding
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American eyes to the terrible threat of
terrorism and to the fact that terrorism itself is
very active demonic activity. If we remove
God, we remove the sense of what is right and
moral. If, in the name of political correctness
we hesitate to state firmly and clearly that the
United States of America is founded on
Christian values, that it is founded on the love
of and for Jesus Christ, then we are playing
into the strategy of Satan. If, at the same time,
though, we fall into hatred and bigotry and
discrimination of others, we are equally pawns
of Satan; and the United States has been
notorious for this: Our Native Americans, our
African-Americans, the Mormons as examples
– and all three of which are examples in
Missouri alone. Look around, Americans:
Wherever you see the convulsions of crime and
brutality, of ever-increasing immoral behavior
(for which our Muslim brethren, and others,
rightfully criticize us), of greed, of dishonesty
and corruption in business and government, of
some (sadly, many) politicians when they seek
their own well-being rather than the citizens
they represent, of disrespect for life, including
the unborn, of preying sexually on the young
and defenseless, of living by “the end justifies
the means” rather than by “the golden rule” –
whenever you see convulsions like this, and
others, please let us see with spiritual eyes that
this is the work of Satan. The effects are
evident, but the source is not, because Satan is
the father of lies and a master strategist. So, is
there any hope? YES! “This kind can only
come out by prayer!!” Brothers and sisters, this
is what the UP Team is all about! A little over
five years ago we began with what we strongly
believe was a mandate for God, and our
mission was that God’s perfect will be done in
Stone and Taney Counties, Missouri. Over
time that mandate has
become clearer and
the vision has
expanded by the
prompting by the Holy
Spirit. Yes, the goal
is the spiritual
transformation of our area – which now clearly
includes not just SW Missouri but also all of
the State, NW Arkansas, and the entire
Heartland including the western edge of it in
Manitou Springs. Keep in mind, though,
especially those of you reading those and who
pray as a member of the UP Team or who pray
for the UP Team, that those of us in this area
firmly believe, with humble and repentant
hearts, that God has a very special role for SW
Missouri in particular. There are more than
eight million people who visit
here annually, from all over
the United States, spiritual
transformation here is
intended by God as a
way to take spiritual
transformation
throughout our
nation and have a true spiritual awakening. It
is not too late, but the spiritual clock is ticking.
We must have vision of what can be, and of
what God wants; and we must believe in the
awesome power of prayer. When Jesus said
that this kind can only be cast out through
prayer He was teaching us of that power when
we pray in His name and as guided by the Holy
Spirit for the glory of God the Father.
THE STAR SPANGLED BANNER
I t seems very appropriate to follow up this
reflection with an e-mail I received toward
the end of June. I offer portions of it for your
prayerful consideration: “Unless you know all
four stanzas of the Star Spangled Banner you
may find this most interesting. Perhaps most of
you didn’t realize what Francis Scott Key’s
profession was or what he was doing on a ship.
Near the end of his life, the great science fiction
author Isaac Asimov wrote a short story about
the four stanzas of our national anthem.
However brief, his well-circulated piece is an
eye opener from the dearly departed doctor. ‘I
have a weakness; I am crazy, absolutely nuts,
about our national anthem. The words are
difficult and the tune is almost impossible, but
frequently when I’m taking a shower I sing it
with as much power and emotion as I can. It
shakes me up every time. I was once asked to
speak at a luncheon. Taking my life in my
hands, I announced that I was going to sing our
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national anthem – all four stanzas. This was
greeted with loud groans. One man closed the
door to the kitchen, where the noise of dishes
and cutlery was loud and distracting. ‘Thanks,
Herb,’ I said. ‘That’s all right,’ he said. ‘It
was at the request of the kitchen staff.’ I
explained the background of the anthem and
then sang all four stanzas. Let me tell you,
those people had never heard it before – or had
never really listened. I got a
standing ovation. But it
was not me; it was the
anthem. More recently,
while conducting a
seminar, I told my
students the story of the
anthem and sang all four stanzas. Again there
was a wild ovation and prolonged applause.
And again, it was the anthem and not me. So
now let me tell you how it came to be written.
In 1812, the United States went to war with
Great Britain, primarily over freedom of the
seas. We were in the right. For two years, we
held off the British, even though we were still a
rather weak country. Great Britain was in a
life and death struggle with Napoleon. In fact,
just as the United States declared war,
Napoleon marched off to invade Russia. If he
won, as everyone expected, he would control
Europe, and Great Britain would be isolated.
It was no time for her to be involved in an
American war. At first, our seamen proved
better than the British. After we won a battle
on Lake Erie in 1813, the American
commander, Oliver Hazard Perry, sent this
message: ‘We have met the enemy and they
are ours.’ However, the weight of the British
navy beat down our own ships eventually. New
England, hard-hit by a tightening blockade,
threatened secession. Meanwhile, Napoleon
was beaten in Russia and in 1814 was forced to
abdicate. Great Britain now turned its
attention to the United States, launching a
three-pronged attack. The northern prong was
to come down Lake Champlain toward New
York and seize parts of England. The southern
prong was to go up the Mississippi, take New
Orleans and paralyze the west. The central
prong was to head for the Mid-Atlantic States
and then attack Baltimore, the greatest port
south of New York. If Baltimore was taken, the
Nation, which still hugged the Atlantic coast,
could be split in two. The fate of the United
States, then, rested to a large extent on the
success or failure of the central prong. The
British reached the American coast, and on
August 24, 1814, they took Washington, D.C.
Then they moved up the Chesapeake Bay
toward Baltimore. On September 12, they
arrived and found 1,000 men in Fort McHenry,
whose guns controlled the harbor. If the
British wished to take Baltimore, they would
have to take the fort. On one of the British
ships was an aged physician, William Beanes,
who had been arrested in Maryland and
brought along as a prisoner. Francis Scott Key,
a lawyer and friend of the physician, had come
to the ship to negotiate his release. The British
captain was willing, but the two Americans
would have to wait. It was now the night of
September 13, and the bombardment of Fort
McHenry was about to start. As twilight
deepened, Key and Beanes saw the American
flag flying over Fort McHenry. Through the
night they heard bombs bursting and saw the
red glare of rockets. They knew the fort was
resisting and the American flag was still flying.
But toward morning the bombardment ceased,
and a dread silence fell. Either Fort McHenry
had surrendered and the British flag flew
above it, or the bombardment had failed and
the American flag still flew. As dawn began to
brighten the eastern sky, Key and Beanes
stared out at the fort, trying to see which flag
flew over it. He and the physician must have
asked each other over and over, ‘Can you see
the flag?’ After it was all finished, Key wrote a
four stanza poem telling the events of the night.
Called ‘The Defense of Fort McHenry,’ it was
published in newspapers and swept the nation.
Someone noted that the words fit an old
English tune called ‘To Anacreon in Heaven’ –
a difficult melody with an uncomfortably large
vocal range. For obvious reasons, Key’s work
became known as “The Star Spangled Banner,’
and in 1931 Congress declared it the official
anthem of the United States.” Now that you
know the story, here are the words.
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Presumably, the old doctor is speaking. This is
what he asks Key: “Oh! Say, can you see, by
the dawn’s early light, what so proudly we
hailed at the twilight’s last gleaming? Whose
broad stripes and bright stars, through the
perilous fight, o’er the ramparts we watched
were so gallantly streaming? And the rockets’
red glare, the bombs bursting in air, gave proof
through the night that our flag was still there.
Oh! Say, does that star spangled banner yet
wave, o’er the land of the free and the home of
the brave?” (Ramparts are the walls that
surround a fort. The first stanza asks a
question; the second gives an answer.) “On the
shore, dimly seen through the mist of the deep,
where the foe’s haughty host is dread silence
reposes, what is that which the breeze, o’er the
towering steep, as it fitfully blows, half
conceals, half discloses? Now it catches the
gleam of the morning’s first beam, in full glory
reflected, now shines on the stream. ‘Tis the
star spangled banner, O long may it wave, o’er
the land of the free and the home of the brave!”
(The third stanza, is probably a bit of gloating
on the part of Key; during World War I, when
the British were our staunchest allies, this third
stanza was not sung.) “And where is that band
who so valiantly swore that the havoc of war
and the battle’s confusion a home and a
country should leave us no more? Their blood
has washed out their foul footsteps’ pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
from the terror of flight or the gloom of the
grave. And the star spangled banner in
triumph doth wave, o’er the land of the free
and the home of the brave.” (The fourth
stanza, a hope for the future, should be sung
more slowly and with even deeper feeling.)
“Oh! Thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
between their loved homes and the war’s
desolation. Blest with victory and peace, may
the Heaven-rescued land praise the Power that
had made and preserved us a nation. Then
conquer we must, for our cause is just, and this
be our motto – ‘In God is our trust.’ And the
star spangled banner in triumph doth wave,
o’er the land of the free and the home of the
brave.” By God’s mercy, England is now not
our enemy but our ally. The enemy now to our
nation, above all enemies, is Satan. It is only by
God’s grace that we can stand and do battle
and conquer – for the sake of our people and
for the sake of people throughout the world
whom we seek to serve. The greatest battle we
face is not external, but internal, for the enemy,
Satan, always seeks to destroy from within.
ON THE LIGHTER SIDE
P uns galore: Those who jump off a bridge
in Paris are in Seine…A man’s home is his
castle, in a manor of speaking…Dijon vu: The
same mustard as before…Shotgun wedding: A
case of wife or death…A hangover is the wrath
of grapes…Does the name Pavlov ring a bell?..
Reading while sunbathing makes you well
red…When two egotists meet, it’s an I for an
I…A bicycle can’t stand on its own because it is
two tired…Definition of a will: A dead give
away…In democracy, your vote counts; in
feudalism, your count votes…She was engaged
to a boyfriend with a wooden leg but broke it
off…A chicken crossing the road is poultry in
motion…If you don’t pay your exorcist, you get
repossessed…The man who fell into an
upholstery machine is fully recovered…Local
Area Network in Australia: The LAN down
under…
Every calendar’s days are numbered…A lot of
money is tainted: It taint yours and it taint
mine…A boiled egg in the morning is hard to
beat…A midget fortune-teller who escapes
from prison is a small medium at
large…Those who get too big for
their britches will be exposed
in the end…Once you’ve seen
one shopping center, you’ve
seen a mall…Acupuncture is a jab
well done.
MORE ON THE LIGHTER SIDE
A boat docked in a tiny South Sea village.
An American tourist complimented the
local fisherman on the quality of his fish and
asked how long it took him to catch them. “Not
very long,” he replied. ‘But, then, why didn’t
you stay out longer and catch more?” asked the
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American. The villager explained that this
small catch was sufficient to meet his needs and
those of his family. The American asked, “But
what do you do with the rest of your time?” ‘I
sleep late, fish a little, play with my children,
and take a siesta with my wife. In the evenings,
I go into the
village to see my
friends, have a
few drinks, play
the guitar, and
sing a few songs. I
have a full life.” The
American interrupted, “I have an
MBA from Harvard and I can help you! You
should start by fishing longer every day. You
can then sell the extra fish you catch. With the
extra revenue, you can buy a bigger boat.”
“And after that?” asked the villager. With the
extra money the larger boat will bring, you can
buy a second one and a third one and so on
until you have an entire fleet of trawlers.
Instead of selling your fish to a middle man,
you can then negotiate directly with the
processing plants and maybe even open your
own plant. You can then leave this little village
and move to Los Angeles or New York or to
any large city in the world. From there you can
direct your huge new enterprise.” “How long
would that take?” asked the fisherman.
“Twenty, perhaps twenty-five years,” replied
the American. “And after that?”
“Afterwards? Well, my friend, that’s when it
gets really interesting,” answered the
American, chuckling. “When your business
gets really big, you can start selling stocks and
make millions!” “Millions? Really? And after
that?” asked the villager. “After that you’ll be
able to retire, live in a tiny village near the
coast, sleep late, play with your children, catch
a few fish, take a siesta with your wife and
spend your evenings enjoying your friends.”
And the moral is: Know where you’re going in
life. You may already be there.
PRAYER MOBILIZATION
P lease pray for: Becky and Ron…Kimily,
her health, and her sons…Hazel, preparing
to go home to the Lord…Debbie Stein…Jackie
Hartman, Medical Sector leader, with serious
health issues…Rhonda Miller, health…Pastor
Dan Chinn, new Education Sector leader, and
also his wife, Sue…Sam Cypriano, formerly of
Take 2, who has retired to Louisiana…Missy…
Bill Budnick and family…Melissa Snow…
Vaughn/Bev Snow…CofO: for new staff,
nursing program, health of President Jerry
Davis…Sight & Sound and GM, Tom Fish…
Sandy, health…Charlene, finances for school…
Marilyn, job/income…Asleep kNOw More…
Torchbearers…Lilleys…Bakkers and
Morningside Church…CWA…CATRL…Love,
INC…Care for Kids…The Caring People,
First Place…One Passion…Road to Jerusalem
(upcoming Christian/Jewish event in Branson)
… KLFC…Bott…all Christian media…Local,
State and National Government leaders and
issues…God’s candidates for ’08…keen
awareness of spiritual warfare in our land.
CONCLUSION
R
emember, folks: Satan, as powerful as he
is, flees in the presence of prayer that is
God led and in keeping with God’s will.
Therefore, Satan does not want us to realize the
awesome weapon that we have. Pray – for SW
MO, for your areas, and for our nation. Our
survival depends on prayer!!
God bless you. Peace to you and yours. Call
me anytime at
(417) 331-1028.
Bob Burton