November 2, 2003
Prayer Request
Last Week's Quiz

Reformation Day
October 31st is Halloween, right? Yes, we give out candy -- so we can give out tracts to the kids in the neighborhood. We had a goodly bunch. Do you’all remember anything else about October 31st?

That is the day Martin Luther hung his 95 statements on the front door of Whittenburg Hall. Maybe we’d better start a little earlier.

Late in the 1400's, Mr and Mrs Luther had a baby boy who they expected to grow up to be a lawyer. To that end, he was properly schooled. But, reminiscent of Paul, on Martin’s way to church, he was struck by lightening. While he was laying on the ground, he prayed to “St Anne” and promised to be a priest if she let him live.

She did and he did. Much to the horror of his family he left school and entered an order of monks. He felt, according to the teachings of the church, that it was his job to become sinless and he strove for perfection. Fortunately, somewhere along the way, he figured out that he couldn’t -- it was impossible.

Again fortunately, he became a teacher, and as such, had the Bible before him to study and read. Remember in this period of history there were very few who could read or write. The church taught that only the special people -- the priests -- could know what the Bible said and interpret it for the people.

When Martin Luther began to read Scripture for himself he discovered that God didn’t expect perfection from us. He expected us to allow Him to save us and give us His grace. He also discovered that, as in any period of history, there were corrupt church leaders who were using Scripture to further their own fortunes.

Luther went to his superiors asking for clarification only to find that they too were corrupt. In fact, he took his case to the Pope and found him to be just as greedy as those below him. Everyone told him to mind his own business, sit down and be quiet. It angered Martin Luther who then wrote his 95 complaints against the church and, in 1517, nailed them to the door of his cathedral.

What happen next was not in accord with Luther’s plan. All he wanted was to clean up the church and have people realize you are not saved by indulgences, confession, works, or money, but only by God’s grace. Instead, people who were tired of the corruption, banded together to “protest” the graft and greed. They became known as the “Protestants” and formed new worship groups apart from the church.

Next the Protestants began to protest each other’s interpretation of Scripture and instead of having debates they began slaughtering one another. Literally.

Somewhere in all of this, the evil one became delighted with the results. Christians everywhere began to divide into separate “churches” and interpret truth in their own way.

Martin Luther had a great idea. His righteous anger at the greed and corruption in the church was good, pure, and correct. Mankind, being as yucky as mankind can be, took a good idea and made a mess of it.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if all Christians everywhere could put away the old nature and put on the new? Wouldn’t it be wonderful if all Christians could worship together the one true God without the pride, the possessiveness, and the polarity of the current church.
(c) V.Ann Mandeville, Portland, OR

Prayer Requests
1) Pray for revival and an awakening in the Church (the Church with a capital "C" The Church Universal) to worship together in love.

2) Pray for the country. . .Pray for all Christians to "stand up and be counted"

3) Pray for the President. . .Thank God for his bold witness, calm spirit, and strength.

Additional leaders to pray for:

Read: Psalm 23

Oregon
4) Pray for Frank who has a major cut on his hand.

5) Pray for a lady who is just figuring out her worth.

Everywhere
6) There are so many reports on the news of bad stuff happening. Some of those things must affect you’all personally or at least your community. Pray for the “bad guys” too. They need salvation and God’s grace. Pray for those who have been physically, emotionally, or spiritually hurt. Pray for healing. Pray that God becomes evident and necessary in their lives. Pray for peace.

Texas
7) Late Thursday night an 8-month-old little girl named Delaney pulled a hot Fry Daddy on her body. Her Mom, Deena, pulled her out of her walker and also burned herself. They life-flighted the little girl to Parkland Burn Center in Dallas. She has burns over 40% of her body. They are going to amputate at least 3 fingers on one hand and will have to graft skin from her Mom and Dad to help repair her. She is in critical condition and her lungs have filled with water. They live in Florence, and have two other children. Pray for healing and peace.

Missionaries
8) So often we pray for the missionaries without praying for their children who are many times the door openers into a family for evangelism. Jay and Linda Neuharth in Central Asia send the following report:

“Emily has graduated from Russian kindergarten! After two months of difficult times there, with beautiful perseverance on her part, we decided to home school her this year instead. Every day when she was taken to school, she reminded Mom or Dad to pray for her safety. She was very frightened there.”

“This week Ramadan, the religious fast done by Muslims around the world, begins. Please pray along with us during this time, especially for the friends we've been working with for nearly four years in a village near Bishkek. This is a great opportunity to talk about Jesus as they seek God. Thanks!”

California
9) Pray for John Helm. He says: “I have just returned from UCLA Med Ctr. with the news that I have a new metastases renal cell carcinoma in my skull bone in the mastoid occipital area of my right ear... Dr's are doing an analysis of the tumor and will decide what possible treatment can be applied.”

Did You Have Trouble With Last Week'S Quiz?

November 9, 2003
Prayer Request
Quite A Question
Handy Hints

Mustard Seeds & Mountains
Jeremiah learned in Sunday school that, if people had the faith of a mustard seed, they could move mountains. Although he was small for an eight-year-old, Jeremiah felt his faith was big enough to move any mountain. But for starters, he thought he would experiment on a large rock in his backyard.

For days Jeremiah knelt on the back porch and asked God to move the rock. One day his teenage brother and his friends heard Jeremiah praying. They quietly went out the front door and around to the rock. Together, they rolled the rock out of its spot.

When Jeremiah opened his eyes, he saw that the rock had been moved. He jumped for joy and ran inside to tell his mother what God had done. As he told her, he heard his brother and his friends laughing.

Finally, his brother said, “God didn’t move it. We did.”

Jeremiah thought for a moment, then shook his head. “No, God did move it. He just used you to do it.”
(c) Sean Slagle, New Castle, IN

Current Issue

Prayer Requests
1) Pray for revival and an awakening in the church. . .Would you even try to move a rock with your prayers?

2) Pray for our country. . .As the nation prepares to honor our veterans on Veterans Day, November 11, pray for all of America's 25 million living vets, from the oldest to the youngest. Pray for their health and strength and well-being, for their encouragement and for each one to be honored and appreciated by our nation. Pray that their dedication and sacrifice will not be forgotten by this generation, nor by future generations. Give thanks to God for the freedoms we enjoy that they have fought valiantly to preserve.

3) Pray for our president. . .Pray for the safety and well-being of President and Mrs. Bush and their daughters Jenna and Barbara. Pray for them to be protected from all danger and harm, and for God to strengthen and encourage them moment by moment. Pray for all those who protect the President--both military and civilian--to be ever watchful and to be diligent in their duties. Pray as well for their safekeeping and protection as they perform their duties.

Additional leaders to pray for:

Read: Psalm 32:6-7 & Joshua 1:9

Our Country
4) The federal ban on partial-birth abortion never saw the light of day. Even as the President signed the bill into law, it was swamped by lawsuits from the ACLU, the National Abortion Federation, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, and the Center for Reproductive Rights. You’all need to seriously pray as this issue works its way through the court system to the Supreme Court that God’s plan for life is upheld.

5) There are other issues regarding “church & state” to be prayed through. Keep a watch on our government and its leaders. Pray for God to become real to each of the leaders and that some of the bills be properly passed or defeated as is warranted by God’s word.

California
6) Report from Al and the Charter School in Placerville:
“We’re about one third of the way through the year and thus far it has been a much less stressful year than last year. Parent participation has been very good in the classroom as well as on the fall expedition (which went very well.). We have had to invite a moderate number of students to go elsewhere and serious discipline issues have been at a minimum. Our student council and student court have been functioning well, the staff is doing an incredible job, and we are involved in some exciting changes.

Despite this, there are a number of issues that have been of some concern that I would like you to pray about. Student achievement has not been nearly what we have come to expect. Too many students have developed a lackadaisical attitude towards their efforts and responsibilities – both academically and vocationally. The sense of urgency and anticipation has been noticeably missing so far this year. In some ways it resembles the “playing school” attitude prevalent on many traditional campuses. Another (and more disturbing development) has been a resistant attitude towards character development. Some of our older students have let some of these issues slip while some of the newer ones are refusing to accept the work ethic and moral standards espoused by the school. Even some of our Christian students have been failing to step up to this challenge.

Parents are still raving about the changes they are seeing in their children and one family has even been making a very significant monthly donation to the school. Students are still pushing their parents to get them to school on time so they don’t miss anything and others are asking their parents to pick them up as late as possible so they can stay at school longer. I guess the main issue is that we have a larger number of students this year with significant academic and social deficiencies.

Two very exciting developments we are just beginning to work on are our change of sponsorship and our accreditation. Both of these can prove to be very beneficial for the school but both will also require a good deal of extra effort on the part of our already extremely busy staff.

Please remember us all as we embark on these projects.”

Oregon
7) Pray for salvation for Scott.

8) Pray for a man and his wife who are reaping the harvest of some unfortunate decisions.

9) Pray for Harry on his evangelistic trip to Cuba.

Update: The 2 pound premie you’all are praying for is up to 4lbs! The parents are being trained to care for her so they can take her home.

Quite A Question

The co-worker replied, "It is like being a pumpkin. God picks you from the patch, brings you in and washes all the dirt off. Then he cuts off the top and scoops out all the yucky stuff. He removes the seeds of doubt, hate, greed, etc., and then He carves you a new joyful, smiling face and puts His light inside of you to shine for all the world to see!"

Handy Hints

November 16, 2003
Prayer Request
Thanksgiving

Jude
Several months ago, in the “READ” section of the prayer letter, I asked you’all to read the book of Jude several times during the week and drop me a postcard telling me what you had learned from this tiny book. I hope some of you read the book. Not one of you’all (and there are about two thousand or more receiving this every week) wrote to tell me you had even read it -- whether you learned anything or not! So, you’all get to read what I learned.

First of all, I learned that Jude had me in mind when he wrote the book some 2000 years ago. How did he do that? Wow!

Even this short book has “sections. First, in verses 1-3, Jude identifies himself , greets his readers, and states his purpose. (A good lesson in clear writing technique!) He is half-brother of Jesus and could rest on those credentials for authority but he only identifies himself as a servant of Jesus Christ. And he identifies his desired readers, the called, sanctified and preserved” That’s me! us!!

Then he identifies people with problem attitudes and their position as “destroyers”. These are the bad guys -- and are they ever. These guys are in every church and we must watch out for them. Their conduct and their speech reveal their character and Jude lists both. They live as if God’s grace gives them license to do as they please. They deny both God and Christ. They walk in the flesh and destroy the temples of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 6:19) They reject authority. They speak evil of whatever they do not know. They serve and even corrupt themselves. The list is much longer and detailed. Finally in verse 19 Jude gives a final summation -- They are teachers “without having the spirit”. They do not have the Holy Spirit in them; they cannot have the truth in them. My goodness, these guys should be easily identifiable. But it seems they may not be.

Jude tells of their fate -- not something I’d like to strive for. “the Lord destroyed those who did not believe” “ in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day” “suffer the vengeance of eternal fire” “blackness and darkness forever” “The Lord comes...to execute judgment an all..who are ungodly”

You’all want to avoid all that ugliness? I do! Jude spends the rest of the letter telling us how. God has called us to be builders -- not destroyers -- and gives us 6 specific ways to do that.

1) By "building yourselves up on most holy faith" (v. 20)

2) By "praying in the Holy Spirit" (not necessarily in tongues) (v 20)

3) By "keeping ourselves in the love of God". (Enjoy the love of God and share it freely with others.) (v21)

4) By "looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ" (God’s ultimate mercy is eternal life with Him.) (v21)

5) By "having compassion" Compassion is mercy shared. (v22)

6) By "saving others with fear" (We’d do good to be scared spitless when attempting in mercy to snatch from the fire of judgment those who have strayed from the faith.)

Are you a destroyer or a builder? Are you watching out for those in your midst who want less that the perfect Jesus in their hearts?
(c) V.Ann Mandeville, Portland , OR

Current Issue

Prayer Requests
1) Pray for revival and an awakening in the church. . ."Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, To God our Savior, who alone is wise, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever. Amen" Jude 24-25

2) Pray for our country. as you are led by the Lord.

3) Pray for our president. . . He is traveling to England this week and meets with world leaders in the USA next week. Pray for protection for him and his family.

Additional leaders to pray for:

Read: 3rd John -- and drop me a postcard, letter, or email telling something you learned from that! -- I expect to hear from some of you this time.

Missionaries
4) Pray for Greg and Heidi Carlson as they work with the youth of Poland. Pray for wisdom in buying an excellent facility to centralize this ministry and provide a great place for the summer camping ministry.

5) Pray for Bruce and Deb Robinson working in Haiti. He has worked nearly 20 years in one location there to bring clean drinking water to the various villages. He is still at it. There is so much opposition to the gospel (one village has 70 witchdoctors) that politics and relationships come first -- then water even though some people walk 4 to 5 miles to get what water they can carry on the return trip. Bruce asks for prayer for a man who accepted an English Bible. Pray for Bruce’s crew -- that the men who run the loader and dump trucks would come to Christ. The shaft on the rock crusher bent. Pray for repairs. Pray they can build irrigation canals for about 1000 families. Pray they learn to build bridges -- over the river kind of bridges. No one know how for sure but they have been asked to build several. Pray for one of Bruce’s shop men who needs prayer for his marital situation. Pray for 4 new men who are starting out in churches that really need a pastor. Two other places need seminary trained men to build they church.

6) Pray for Bob and Becky Otten who are on home furlough in Sacramento this year. Pray for their speaking times and the responses of those God would have support them. Pray for home schooling to go well. Pray for those still serving in Almaty, Kazakhstan.

7) Pray for an InterAct missionary who serves in Siberia and has just been diagnosed with Guillain-Barre Syndrome. Pray for full recovery. He normally serves as overseer of more than 30 churches. His recovery time will certainly be a challenge to those who will have to step in and cover the ministry.

Oregon
8) Pray for Scott. He is a very intelligent man who seems to be on the wrong track.

9) Pray for Earl. His illness seems to be winning at the moment. He needs firewood and a wheelchair also. Pray for God to meet this need.

10) Pray for the Alan Wheatley family. Jill’s father passed away last week. He had accepted the Lord only a few days before. Alan will do the memorial service. The rest of Jill’s family apparently doesn’t know the Lord. Pray Alan’s words give testimony to God’s goodness.

11) Pray for a pastor in difficulty.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!!
Love to you’all -- The PrayerWorks staff and board

Thanksgiving
The harvest ------ It is a theme that is closely tied to Thanksgiving. The Pilgrims celebrated first -- They were just thankful to have a harvest to be thankful for. Abraham Lincoln made a proclamation in 1863 elevating Thanksgiving to a national holiday. Reaping a harvest naturally brings about a sense of thanksgiving because the harvest is not something that we can control or manufacture. We can plant carefully, water and fertilize the crop, and remove the weeds, but it is ultimately God who brings the harvest. It is God who grows the seed, brings the rain, keeps away the pests, and brings about the harvest. So, as we gather a harvest, we must be thankful. It makes no difference whether the harvest is agricultural, the result of wise investments, or work on the mission field. We need to let God control the harvest while we cultivate a thankful heart.

“Be sure to fear the Lord and serve Him faithfully with all your heart; consider what great things He has done for you.”
1 Samuel 12:24

November 23, 2003
Prayer Request
Blessed Be Nuthin!

The Story of Two Friends
A story tells that two friends were walking through the desert. During some point in the journey they had an argument, and one friend slapped the other one in the face.

The one who got slapped was hurt, but without saying anything, wrote in the sand:

Today My Best Friend Slapped Me In The Face
They kept on walking until they found an oasis, where they decided to take a bath. The one who had been slapped got stuck in the mire and started drowning, but the friend saved him.

After he recovered from the near drowning, he wrote on a stone:

Today My Best Friend Saved My Life
The friend who had slapped and saved his best friend asked him, “After I hurt you, you wrote in the sand and now, you write on a stone. Why?”

The other friend replied, “When someone hurts us we should write it down in sand where winds of forgiveness can erase it away. But, when someone does something good for us, we must engrave it in stone where no wind can ever erase it.”
Thanks, The Hoods, Horse Creek, CA

Current Issue

Prayer Requests
1) Pray for revival and an awakening in the church. . .Learn to write your hurts in the sand and to carve your blessing in stone.

2) Pray for our country. . .
This Thanksgiving, pray that gratitude and thankfulness will spread across our land with thanks rising to God for our freedom in Him, and for the freedoms we enjoy in America. Pray also that gratitude for our troops and our veterans and their hard-won victories will also be expressed.

3) Pray for the president. . .Continue to pray for the safety of the President and First Lady as they return from the U.K. Pray also for the strong relationship between our two countries, and particularly the relationship between Mr. Bush and Mr. Blair.

Additional leaders to pray for:

Read: 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Oregon
4) Pray for a family where the wife tried to take her life. Fortunately, it didn’t work. But there are many things to work out. Pray for peace.

5) Pray for a church who is trying to reorganize without chaos. Pray for smooth transitions for staff from one role to another. Pray for the leadership. Pray the congregation.

6) Pray for Elenore. The treatments for the tumor seem to be getting harder and harder. Pray the Lord would sustain her and Pastor Tom.

7) Pray for a woman who lost her last baby and is now pregnant again and thinks she will lose this one too. She and her husband are Muslims and he refuses to allow Bible reading or prayer.

Everywhere
8) Pray for travel mercies for those who are on the road for the holidays.

Idaho
9) Tim’s dad had surgery this week. The doctors were going to do a hip transplant and check on a tumor in his leg. The tumor was more extensive than first indicated and they never got to replacing the hip. Pray for healing and peace. Pray about a second surgery in the Spring.

Missionaries
10) Pray for Jay and Linda Neuharth in Central Asia. They had their 1st snow last week (so did Portland!) The couple you’all were praying for is doing better. They may yet trust the Lord for their future. Keep praying. Also pray for the village that Jay and Linda have been working in for the last 3-4 years. There seems to be a breakthrough happening.

11) Pray for Richard and Charlotte. They completed their fact finding trip and had a great time doing it. Now comes the work. They were assessing needs. Now they will be working toward filling those needs. Pray for wisdom, strength, safety (physical, and spiritual), and lots of help to accomplish the tasks they have set out for themselves.

12) Pray for Frank and Barbara Emrick in Siberia. They will be coming back to the states in December for an “American Style Christmas”, some business, and a couple of classes at Western Seminary and return to Russia in March. Pray for strength, protection, and travel mercies (they have 3 children).

Blessed Be Nuthin!
Blessed be nuthin’ remarked the wise sage.
Be glad if you’ve nuthin’ in this day and age;
For nuthin’ is sumpthin’ that cannot be stole
Nor drop from your pocket or purse’s small hole.

Nuthin’ is sumpthin’ the bank cannot lose,
The creditors seize nor the burglars abuse.
Folks who have nuthin’ really should love it,
For nuthin’ is sumpthin’ the neighbors won’t covet.

Nuthin’ is sumpthin’ that won’t collect dust;
You don’t have to hide it or protect it from rust.
So if you have nuthin’ be glad -- sing a song!
For when leaving this earth, you can take it along!!
Author unknown. From “Bits of Sonshine” Oct/Nov 2003

November 30, 2003
Prayer Request
The Christmas Pageant

Amazing Story of 9-11
A man from Norfolk, Virginia called a local radio station to share this on September 11, 2003. His name was Robert Matthews. These are his words:

"A few weeks before Sept 11th, my wife and I found out we were going to have our first child. She planned a trip out to California to visit her sister.

On our way to the airport, we prayed that God would grant my wife a safe trip and be with her. Shortly after I said ‘Amen’ we both heard a loud pop and the car shook violently. We had blown out a tire. I replaced the tire as quickly as I could, but we still missed her flight. Both very upset, we drove home.

I received a call from my father who was retired FDNY. He asked what my wife’s flight number was. I explained that we missed the flight. My father informed me that her flight was the one that crashed into the southern tower of the World Trade Center. I was too shocked to speak.

My father also had more news for me; he was going to help. ‘This is not something I can just sit by for. I have to do something.’

I was concerned for his safety, of course, but more because he had never given his life to Christ. After a brief debate, I knew his mind was made up. Before he got off the phone, he said, ‘Take good care of my grandchild.’ Those were the last words I ever heard my father say; he died while helping in the rescue effort.

My joy that my prayer of safety for my wife had been answered quickly became anger. Anger at God, at my father, and at myself. I had gone for nearly 2 years blaming God for taking my father away. My son would never know his grandfather, my father had never accepted Christ, and I never got to say good-bye.

Then something happened. About 2 months ago, I was sitting at home with my wife and my son, when there was a knock on the door. I looked at my wife, but I could tell she wasn’t expecting anyone. I opened the door to a couple with a small child. The man looked at me and asked if my father’s name was Jake Matthews. I told him it was. He quickly grabbed my hand and said, ‘I never got the chance to meet your father, but it is an honor to meet his son.’

He explained to me that his wife worked in the World Trade Center and had been caught under the debris inside after the attack. She was pregnant. He said that my father had been the one to find his wife and free her. My eyes welled up with tears as I thought of my father giving his life for people like this. Then he said, ‘There is something else you need to know.’ His wife then told me that as my father worked to free her, she talked to him and lead him to Christ. I began sobbing at the news.

Now I know that when I get to heaven, my father will be standing beside Jesus to welcome me, and that this family would be able to thank him themselves. When their baby boy was born, they named him Jacob Matthew in honor of the man who gave his life so mother and baby could live."

This story should help us realize two things: First, that though it has been two years since the attacks, we should never let it become a mere tragic memory. And second, but most important, God is always in control. We may not see the reason behind things, and we may never know this side of heaven, but God is ALWAYS in control.
Thanks to the Hoods, Horse Creek, CA

Current Issue

Prayer Requests
1) Pray for revival and an awakening in the church. . .

2) Pray for our country. . .The Supreme Court has some pretty basic issues of morality and religious freedom before them this session. Pray for them to give correct judgments.

3) Pray for our president. whether you agree with or disagree with his brand of leadership. Scripture says we are to honor our government leaders. Pray for “rightness” with God.

Additional leaders to pray for:

Read: Jeremiah 33:3

Missionaries
4) Pray for Richard and Charlotte. Her mother had a “stroke” and was taken to the hospital unconscious. It was later determined that the incident had to do with her heart instead. She has had a pacemaker installed and seems to be doing a little better. Charlotte flew from Thailand to North Carolina just before Thanksgiving to be with her family and her mother. Pray for Johnee’s healing and pray for travel mercies for Charlotte. Pray for Richard in Thailand alone. They were just getting the house unpacked and livable and now company is coming. Lots of work to do. Pray for their ministry during this time.

5) Pray for Joan in Israel. She is coming back to the USA soon for a furlough. Her ministry is growing and God is ministering through her in amazing ways. Pray for refreshment, travel mercies, and a continuation of her ministry in her absence.

Oregon
6) Pray for Marty and Dawna. They are doing great in their new location. Marty says, “Got more to be thankful for than we can imagine. God is good!” Pray for a step sister’s salvation. She has been going to church. Also pray for a man who is going through some really hard times -- a literal Job experience.

7) Pray for Neil. He is having medical problems -- actually its medical insurance problems. With a change of plans, the correct meds no longer seem to be available. Pray that this can be straightened out.

8) Pray for a man who has a hard time giving up childhood training and is very critical of other people.

Washington
9) Pray for a woman who is having a hard time trusting the Lord.

10) Pray for Dennis and Janice.

Idaho
11) Pray for a couple who are doing their best to be at their worst.

12) Pray for Grandma Jo -- just ‘cause she is a wonderful lady.

Editor’s note: It is only 3 weeks until Christmas -- 4 weeks until New Years. Some of you’all are dear friends and some of you, we’ve never met. The board and staff of PrayerWorks would really think it was fun to hear from you this Christmas season. Maybe you could drop us a postcard and tell us how you use PrayerWorks, how you like it, if you share it with others, and what could we do to make it better. Do you put out a Christmas letter? We’d love to read it. Do you have prayer requests? We’d love to pray for you.

The Christmas Pageant
The third-grade angels, two by two,
March in, their cardboard wings askew.

A kindergarten shepherd skips;
A halo from its mooring slips.

The oriental kings, all three,
Wear Mama's costume jewelry,

While spotlights from each ribboned wreath
Accent the braces on the teeth,

And wise men, from the upper classes
Look very wise, in horn-rimmed glasses.
Margaret Fishback

A cold is both positive and negative; sometimes the Eyes have it and sometimes the Nose.
William Lyons Phelps