Saturday, February 23, 2013

February 23, 2013


Saturday morning, 5:35 am Springfield, 19 degrees. I just read Exodus 3 – The call of Moses at Mt. Sinai from the burning bush – God reveals His name – YHWH – to Moses with specific instructions to go to Egypt, gather the elders, and speak to the Pharaoh. God gives the promise that Moses and the Israelites will come to Mt. Sinai to worship. This is a powerful chapter in the story of Moses, and ultimately of the people of Israel. John Wesley’s Aldersgate experience, and the millions who follow Christ through the Methodist connection pales in connection to the 3000 years of Jewish history. However, every single human encounter with God has eternal and far-reaching possibilities.

Yesterday I had a strong desire to journal. As I visited Hiram in the hospital, and was driving home to pick up Audrey for the evening, my mind was on the edge of deep thinking, and I sensed I needed my journal to help me sort it out. So now it is 5:43 am on a Saturday, and I have 45 minutes or so before I need to get ready for the hospital call and then Men’s group.  I had planned to be gone these three days with my son David in Kentucky, cutting firewood and spending time together. I got sick, and the weather turned hazardous, and we cancelled the trip. My doctor prescribed an antibiotic, Audrey and I painted the guest room during the inclement Thursday, and we will finish it today. I attended a funeral Friday morning for one of the dear saints of Wesley, Dean Stumbaugh.

Today I will pray with a young mother who will be having her cancerous thyroid removed and then attending the men’s group where Riad will give us an update from his trip to Syria. Tonight I will stop by Wesley as our youth perform the first night of dinner theater, which we will attend tomorrow night. I am glad not to miss these events. Sunday I am not preaching, and we will receive a large new member class, including the baptism of one young adult. On Monday I drive with Kerner to Columbia to present our application for a conference grant for our college ministries. 

Thank you Lord for this season of pastoral leadership. Guide my thinking, my praying, my decisions, my ministering that like Moses and John Wesley, I might obediently follow your leading, whether to a mountain to pray, to a small group Bible study, or elsewhere. I worship your holiness and am thankful to be called your servant. 

No comments:

Post a Comment