September 17, 2012

As the deer panteth for the water, so my soul longeth after Thee ( Psalm 42, verse 1, KJV from memory) Verse 2: “My soul thirsts for God, for the living God; when shall I come and appear before God?” These first two verses of this Psalm remind me of the human longing to connect with God, and my own personal desire to walk with God every day of my life. In October I will be preaching a series of messages entitled “Thirsting for More” and these two verses summarize the series. My weekly themes will be thirsting for more of God through prayer, through worship, through generosity, through serving, and through telling the story. It seems that there are many aspects to thirsting, and to finding that which quenches. Last night I was reading Mark Twain’s autobiography and he was describing the writing process, and that most stories tell themselves, and he usually has to take a break in the middle. He said that while writing Tom Sawyer he had to set it down for 2 years, his tank was empty and it needed to fill back up, which it did, and the story finished itself through his pen. I need to write, it is a calling and a desire, and it is so easy for me to put it off and never get around to. Daily writing in this journal is the discipline I have followed most of my life. It is the best place for me to start. What should I do with the rhythm of my week, and the process of writing? On Saturday, as I chaired the Board of Ordained Ministry lunch in Columbia, I experienced a great sense of purpose and call. The president of St. Paul School of Theology is a member of this committee, and I asked him to share about what is happening at the seminary, and he told about the changes in transitioning from a residential campus to utilizing one or more local churches for classrooms. This is exactly what I imagined 30 years ago as I pictured seminary education being best connected to the local church. I must support and encourage this process every way that I can. Guide me holy Lord as I walk through this day, thirsting after you and your will in my life.

September 15, 2012

Micah chapter 6 contains the verse (8) that inspires my next three sermons. It is a great moral question, and a powerfully clear, concise answer. “What does the Lord require of you – but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God.” My theme is “how to walk humbly with God during an election year.” The context of Micah 6:8 is a prophet who ministered from 740 until 703, speaking against the capitals and leaders of both Israel and Judah. They did took advantage of the poor, they worshipped false gods, and did not obey the God of their fathers. These prophetic words can be applied down through the ages to all generations of leaders. My hope is to be faithful and clear in my ministry to worship God completely, care for the poor, and to walk humbly, with strength and integrity all my days. Guide me most holy Lord on this rainy day in the Ozarks. Use me as I serve on the board of ordained ministry to encourage new pastors, protect me as I travel (thank you for preserving me last night on the motorcycle when the car pulled out on that rainy street!) and continue to prepare me to deliver your message tomorrow to your people who gather at Wesley. We need the rain that is gently falling this morning! I seeded the lawn last weekend and I am glad for the moisture, yesterday and today. My trip to Columbia this morning will not be on the motorcycle, but I will take the car. I am looking forward to this meeting with all members of all conference teams. I will lead the BOM over lunch with a get acquainted session. Yesterday I received the digital video camera which I ordered from Woot, an Everio made by JVC and so far I am very pleased with its $89 price tag, and its factory reconditioning. It records onto a 32 gb SD card. I will continue to record family events etc, and make ministry videos. Technology marches on so rapidly. My approach is not to stay right on the cutting edge, but just back far enough to get good value pricewise, while staying current with my abilities to use the latest advances in phones, computers, cameras etc. I am holding off getting a tablet, which might be my next foray into technology.

September 13, 2012

It is good to be home. The previous three days and nights I spent on retreat with 10 other pastors. We golfed, and ate, played tennis, fished, watched baseball and talked, and talked, and talked! Twenty-one years ago we started meeting on Thursdays at 1 pm for conversations and reflection. Now the pastoral counselor is retired and the group no longer meets weekly. Half the group are over 60, 3 are retired with 4 more within 5 years of retiring. I was one of the youngest original members, with younger pastors added as the years went by. I am a better pastor, husband and father because of this group. We will continue to meet annually, driving from Floriday, Texas, Illinois and all parts of Missouri, and perhaps also hold a mid-winter gathering. I have not blogged in the days I was on retreat. I journalled once, using a blue tooth keyboard and my Droid Razor Max. Last night I co-led the New Membership class with Pastor Mi Hyeon. Audrey and I then attended our 8:30 pm worship service of college students called "the Green Room" downtown. My schedule today is ordinary, with 3 meetings spread morning, afternoon, and evening. I have today and tomorrow to write my sermon, as Saturday I will ride the motorcycle (or drive the car if the weather is inclement) to Colombia for a gathering of Conference leaders and committees with the Bishop. Then I will return to Springfield through Licking and visit a man at the prison there. Today I will order a Bible for a prisoner in Arizona, after CBD has had it on backorder since July. I will also call the young man who we met on the youth Choir Tour in West Virginia, who was scheduled to be released to his grandmother in Amarillo in August. The 59 verses of John chapter 8 are made up mostly of the teachings of Jesus. His dialog involves the scribes and Pharisees who doubt that he is the son of God, and repeatedly attempt to trip him up. They bring a woman caught in adultery, reminding him that the law of Moses commanded that she be stoned. Jesus responded that the person without sin should throw the first stone. They left, beginning with the oldest. He told the woman to go and sin no more. In verse 12 he said: “I am the light of the world; he who follows Me shall not walk in the darkness, but shall have the light of life.” I have experienced the light of life, and since opening my heart to Jesus Christ I have been walking in the light of God. It is a wonderful life, to be free of condemnation and guilt, and to know the creator of the universe in a personal way. Guide me Holy Lord as I serve You today. Increase my faith as I obey your word and seek to live in your light. Guide my words, my decisions, my initiatives, my demeanor and my responses that you may be glorified, and this day may be lived for eternity. In Jesus’ name, amen.

September 9, 2012

John Ed Mathison from Frazer United Methodist Church in Montgomery, Alabama will bring our morning message today at Wesley. He is a great servant of Christ, a delightful speaker, and a leader of the church at a national and international level. I am looking forward to his message today as he speaks about “When a Church Refines the Possible.” Yesterday was a very good day, as 58 leaders of Wesley gathered in the morning to hear my update of the ministry and vision and to experience John Ed’s teaching on leadership. In the afternoon I planted grass seed – Fescue in the front and Bermuda in the back. Planting Bermuda grass, which I have been fighting for 5 years felt like Romans chapter 1 in which it states that “God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity” (verse 24), as the fescue I have been trying to establish has been overrun in patches by Bermuda grass, which makes a nice ground cover. So I bought Bermuda seed and will just let it have its way in my backyard. I seeded the front with Fescue, still trying to give it a fighting chance! I was able to squeeze in a 15 minute run. In the evening 45 of us gathered for dinner at the Highland Springs Country Club and enjoyed dinner and an inspirational talk by John Ed on the eternal value of investing in the kingdom of God. This morning he will preach at all four services and sign books in the Gathering Area. Psalm 6 David cries out to God asking Him to “not rebuke me in Thine anger, nor chasten me in Thy wrath. Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am pining away; Heal me, O Lord, for my bones are dismayed. And my soul is greatly dismayed; But Thou, O Lord – how long?” As I read this, I am aware that this is the common cry of the human soul – guilty, and longing for forgiveness and healing. This is the human need at which my Spring 2013 material is aimed. Today I am blessed to be living in the light of God’s love, as revealed in Jesus Christ, feeling the full power of His grace and my desire to share this good news with others who are where David is as this Psalm begins. This is one of the 7 “penitential” psalms (see also Psalms 32, 38, 51, 102, 130) George O. Wood has written a great devotional commentary called A Psalm in Your Heart and reminds us that in verses 8-10 David describes the relief and confidence he has that “the Lord has heard the voice of my weeping. The Lord receives my prayer.” (Verses 8-9) I desire for many within the sphere of my ministry and influence to experience God’s grace, forgiveness, healing, and renewal. I puzzle over how I can best help folks respond to what God is doing in their lives. Guide me Holy Lord as I walk in the light of your love and forgiveness, ministering your grace to all I meet.

September 8, 2012

John Ed Mathison from Montgomery Alabama was delightful dinner company last night. He will be speaking at Wesley this morning, addressing a dinner tonight, and preaching all four services tomorrow. He is a man of great warmth and vision, and such a fruitful pastor, growing Frazier UMC from a small congregation to one of the strongest in our United Methodist connection. Matthew 22 Jesus teaches in parables about the kingdom of God. The Pharisees sent men to trap him, and said to him “teacher, we know that you are truthful and teach the way of God in truth, and defer to no one; for you are not partial to any. Tell us therefore, what do you think? Is it lawful to give a poll-tax to Ceasar, or not?” Jesus knew they were testing him, and with a denarius in hand he asked whose picture was on it. He then said “render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” (Verse 21) As I prepare to preach a series of messages on the theme “Balancing Justice and Kindness” I am mindful that this scripture relates to the topic. I will work on this message this afternoon and tomorrow morning so that I can ponder it during the days I am away with the group of pastors next week. Guide me today, most Holy Lord as I live for You on this beautiful Saturday in the Ozarks, hosting Your servant John Ed Mathison and encouraging the leaders of Wesley.

September 4, 2012

The prophet Jeremiah blasts people who put their trust in mere humans, “who rely on human strength and turn their hearts away from the Lord. They are like stunted shrubs in the desert…” (17: 5-6) He then makes a comparison which is powerful, describing “those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence. They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green and they never stop producing fruit.” (7-8). These verses remind me of Psalm 1, and also have been illustrated in my backyard, as the dogwood tree planted high on a berm has withered leaves, and the maple tree planted lower in the yard (not by a stream, but where I water regularly) has endured this year’s drought wonderfully. Guide me today Lord as I trust in You and not human effort, especially not mine. Guide me as I choose to follow You, serve You, represent You and rest in Your fruitfulness in my life. Guard me from trusting in humans or being distracted from Your path. Amen.

September 3, 2012

The third chapter of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 7) is rich with teaching. “Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?” (Verse 3) This has seemed to me to be one of the most universal conditions of humans – to be especially sensitive to imperfections in others that are present in their own lives. For example, parents will be hypercritical of their children when they evidence similar problems that the parents struggle with. A great application of this truth is to create an inner barometer that is tuned to notice the faults of others, as a means of examining self in those same areas. For example, if it bugs me that someone is late for a meeting or appointment, I need to examine my own approach to being on time. If it bothers me that someone is sloppy in appearance, than I need to examine my own approach to dress and grooming, etc. “Ask, and it shall be given to you; seek and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you.” (Verse 7) Jesus is teaching that “your Father who is in heaven [will] give what is good to those who ask Him (11). I must remember this today and everyday – God desires to give good gifts to His children. In verses 24 – 27 Jesus applies his sermon by telling his hearers that “everyone who hears these words of Mine, and acts upon them, may be compared to a wise man, who built his house upon the rock…” I desire everyday to build my life upon the solid foundation of the Word of God, of a life hidden with Christ in God. Guide me today on this national holiday to live in the light of Your truth and Your love. I desire to please You in everything I do today. I love You Lord. Thank You for this day which You have made, and the work and rest to which You have called me.