January 24, 2014

This is a really cold winter! It is 2 degrees outside this morning. I am looking forward to spring. I recently saw a bluebird on our street, and I imagined that he was looking for a nesting site. I have removed the nesting box from the pole under my deck, and I will put it back out soon, so that a bluebird couple can claim it as their own. I have a “polar garden” sprouting in an egg carton, which was a Christmas gift and is now ready to be transplanted into  larger pots. The tiny little plants remind me that there is life to come, invisible as it might be today.

Genesis 48:1-49:33  Jacob’s final days – he blesses Joseph’s eldest sons Manasseh and Ephraim, but intentionally crosses his arms and blesses the younger first. They will be henceforth referred to as Ephraim and Manasseh. He calls all twelve of his sons and blessed them that day. Then he pulled his feet into his bed and breathed his last. It is good for older men to bless their children and grandchildren.

Proverbs 4:20-27  “My son pay attention to what I say; listen closely to my words. Do not let them out of your sight, keep them within your heart; for they are life to those who find them and health to a man’s whole body.”  Yes Lord! As I prepare to preach a series of messages about the Bible, this proverb is so appropriate and resonates in my soul. I keep God’s words within my heart, and I have experienced that they are life and health.
 
Guide me holy Lord as I serve You today. Guide my planning, preparation, interactions, and unexpected interruptions. I commit this day and all that is in it to your service. Blessed be Your Name in all the earth. I bless You in Springfield Missouri on this cold winter morning.

January 18, 2014

Morning devotions from Matthew 12:

Jesus’ public ministry continues to be revealed. There are sabbath questions raised against him as his disciples pluck grain and as he heals a man’s withered hand. He quotes scriptures to those who question his actions. From Isaiah he quotes “a battered reed he will not break off, and a smoldering wick he will not put out, until he leads justice to victory, and in his name the gentiles will hope.” (Isaiah 42:3)

Some of the scribes and Pharisees wanted to see a sign, which elicited his response “an evil and adulterous generation craves for a sign; and yet no sign shall be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet.”  He goes on to say that like Jonah, the son of man shall spend three days and three nights in the heart of the earth, and that the men of Nineveh shall rise up and condemn this generation at the judgment, because they repented at Jonah’s preaching, and one greater than Jonah has come among them. 

This chapter finishes with the account of Jesus’ mother and siblings wanting to speak to him, and he responds that his disciples are his mother and brothers. He states “for whoever does the will of my father who is in heaven, he is my brother and sister and mother.” (Matthew 12:50)

Guide me today, most Holy Lord as one of your disciples in Springfield who proclaims your kingdom, lifts you up in this generation, and who is doing the will of our father in heaven. Thank you for inviting me to be one of your brothers, and today I will do everything to honor and glorify you. 

Last night Audrey and I saw “Hello Dolly” at Juanita K. Hammonds – it was delightful. Sally Struthers played Dolly and she was engaging and funny. We had seen this musical at the Muny in St. Louis decades ago, and last night was one of the most enjoyable theatrical experiences I have had. We must have seen at least a dozen members of Wesley at this performance. 

Today Pastor Mi Hyeon and I lead the second membership orientation at St. Paul. We had a good first session on Wednesday afternoon. Upward is in full gear and I will stop by the gym to encourage this ministry.  I will visit two members at Elfindale and call on the hospitals to pray with our folks who are there. I will continue to work on my sermon on Frenemies and finalize the College Age Ministry Grant application due at the conference office this week.

 

January 8, 2014

Back to school and back to work for Springfield. Yesterday’s sun and high around 39 began to thaw things out. Bethany arrived safely to her apartment in Baltimore, being surprised by her boyfriend at the airport even given her flight delays which got her there after midnight. I was concerned about her getting home from the airport, and glad to hear that he was there to meet her. The Volkswagen is being repaired at a dealer in Baltimore, having been towed there yesterday. Dennis Bowling died yesterday morning in a Pensacola hospital at the age of 70. He was assistant pastor during my first year at Wesley, and a good friend.

Matthew 6:25-7:14 (from One Year Bible)
Verse after verse of great truth –
“… do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear.” (25)
“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.” (34)
“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?” (3)
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” (7)
“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate, and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” (13-14)
 
I am on the narrow road, and experiencing life here with the hope of eternal life. I see the wide gate and broad way that others in my generation are taking, and these verses increase my desire to show a better way through my life and witness. Guide me today on the Way.

 

January 1, 2014

The first day of the year! I love new, starting things, fresh paths. I am soaking two soil pellets to prepare them for starting my “Little North Pole Garden” today, a gift from David and Danelle including snapdragons, alyssum, violas, lupine, poppies and Spruce. I will dutifully water and measure these seeds each day in the egg carton, and transplant them as described. I love to start new things!

This will be the first entry in a new journal, entitled jrnl14a. Part of this entry will be the Covenant Prayer in the Wesleyan tradition. My scriptures will be from the One Year Bible, which I will use this year, not specifically to read the Bible through, but to provide chapters for my daily devotions. Yesterday I purchased the Bronze edition of Logos, and will experiment with it also. This will be a year of Bible study, reflection and teaching.

Genesis 1 - Creation, 6 days of God's work and then God rested.

Psalm 1 - Blessed is the one whose delight is in the law of the Lord, upon which he meditates day and night.

Proverbs 1 - Practical instructions for attaining wisdom, discipline, for understanding words of insight.

These “first chapters” are great for January 1! I have read and meditated upon each one. Now to search the internet for the Covenant Prayer:

 Covenant Prayer

From John Wesley's Covenant Service , 1780

I am no longer my own, but thine.

Put me to what thou wilt, rank me with whom thou wilt.

Put me to doing, put me to suffering.

Let me be employed by thee or laid aside for thee,

exalted for thee or brought low for thee.

Let me be full, let me be empty.

Let me have all things, let me have nothing.

I freely and heartily yield all things

to thy pleasure and disposal.

And now, O glorious and blessed God,

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,

thou art mine, and I am thine. So be it.

And the covenant which I have made on earth,

let it be ratified in heaven. Amen.

Yes Lord, this is my prayer on January 1, 2014. The year stretches out ahead, and it belongs to You. I belong to You. My future belongs to You. You have called me to follow, and with the seriousness of a life commitment made in August of 1974 I will follow You. Guide me on this first day of the new year, and on each succeeding day as I surrender to Your will, take Your yoke upon my shoulders, and serve You with joy. Your servant, Bruce Baxter. 

December 18, 2013

This is a special time of year! Today Bethany arrives home for the holidays. I will pick her up at the airport late this afternoon. Last night the children of our Wesley preschool, Kids of Creation, had a great Christmas program and packed the sanctuary with parents, grandparents and siblings. The weather is beautiful, with warmer days, sunny skies and the remnants of snow continuing to melt. 

I Chronicles 28

In I Chronicles David instructs Solomon on building the temple, and also on how to live. In verse 10 he says “So take this seriously. The Lord has chosen you to build a Temple as his sanctuary. Be strong, and do the work.” Given that the human body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, ("which is in you, which you have of God, you are not your own" - I Corinthians 6:19) this verse applies to every one of us. 1. The Lord has chosen me; 2. To build my life as a sanctuary; 3. I must be strong and do the work – fixing my eyes on Jesus "who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God." (Hebrews 12:2)

Psalm 53

Verse 2 “God looks down from heaven on the entire human race; he looks to see if anyone is truly wise,if anyone seeks God.”  I seek God, and have done so from my youth. I know he sees from heaven and holds me in the palm of his hand.

Thank you Lord for your Word this morning, for guiding my thoughts and for establishing my path. I seek you today, I bear in my body the marks of following Christ. I seek not the easy road, nor personal pleasure, success, fame, publicity. I seek your face, You are all I need. Guide me today in your grace, most Holy One. 

December 13, 2013

It is 5:45 am and I am glad to be up early! Audrey is up to check on the weather, and we just heard the live report that Springfield Public Schools (SPS) has cancelled school for today. Walking out to get the paper, the current weather is fine. But the radar and forecast calls for wintery mix to begin falling in the next couple of hours and to do so throughout the day. I am surprised that school is cancelled. And, just as I write this, I begin to hear precipitation hitting the skylight. My practice is to never cancel based on predictions, because this creates such uncertainty for the future. But there are exceptions, and the superintendent of SPS has made this call based on “dire” forecast. I was planning to take most of today off, in preparation for a busy weekend. This developing weather might curtail some of the weekend activity such as Upward and maybe the transition team.

My goal and hope is to be careful during December with my schedule and energy, as on more than one occasion I have fallen sick on or before Christmas Eve. The busyness of the month sneaks up on me, and throw in a couple of funerals and other crisis ministry and then I physically have no reserve, because I had no margin in my calendar. So, I try to build in margin. A couple of years I simply blocked off Thursdays, in addition to Mondays. This was not possible this year, but these snow days have effectively punched the holes into schedule that have allowed for me to get a breather.

I Chronicles 22-23

David makes preparations for the temple that Solomon will build. The materials and the people are put into place before David dies. The Levites are counted and number 38,000. They are assigned various duties and tasks related to the temple – administrative, ministerial, service, financial, artistic, and protective with some unique additional individual key roles. I recognize the similarity with the nation of Israel under David and Solomon, and the “Christian” nation of the USA during certain eras. The church has been an institution, with its ministers and staff serving in ways similar to the priests and Levites. Now that we are in a post-modern, post-Christian culture, the church behaves both as an institution (which is declining) and a movement (the nondenominational and newer expressions of faith).

It is so important to pay attention to the shifting cultural climate and to be daily open to how God’s Spirit is moving among us. I have discovered that there are many people in the church, who grew up in a “churched” culture, and who do not want to accept that our culture has changed. But ignoring it doesn’t change the reality. Wishing it were different does not make it so. My goal is to be faithful, obedient, take risks, identify opportunities and pursue the advancement of the kingdom of God in my generation.

Guide me today, Holy Lord on this icy uncertain Friday. May my work of preparation, planning, and shepherding be focused as You direct and lead me. 

December 10, 2013

On this beautiful day in December, I resume the blogging of my thoughts as recorded in my journal primarily during my morning devotions. I appreciate those who follow this blog through Google, and through Twitter. I will post our family Christmas letter (mentioned in this blog) later this week.

Audrey and I had a very good day yesterday. It was my day off, and school was cancelled due to weather. I wrote our Christmas letter, illustrated with photos, recorded a radio spot for Wesley, shopped at Wal-Mart (including a watch for me and one for a teenage girl), and exercised, doing 55 minutes on the elliptical. Audrey made blackberry jam from our own berries out of the freezer, and in the evening we continued preparing our letters for mailing. This morning I feel good about our day yesterday, and I am ready to head to the church office for a day of meetings, writing, planning and ministry.

II Samuel 22 - David’s psalm of praise for God’s role in protecting, saving, establishing him. Several of his lines also apply to Audrey and to me, such as verse 25 “The Lord rewarded me for doing right. He has seen my innocence.”  This morning I draw strength from verses 29-30 “O Lord, you are my lamp. The Lord lights up my darkness. In your strength I can crush an army; with my God I can scale any wall.”
 
Guide me today, most holy Lord as I serve as your undershepherd in Springfield. Lead my thinking, my planning, my caring; may your love be multiplied in my life today.