Scripture Reading: Exodus 3:1-3
Key Verse: There the angel of the Lord appeared to him... (Exodus 3:2)
Meditation:Moses' experience at the bush demonstrated the truth that most of the memorable events in our journey with God may have very humble beginnings. Moses followed a prescribed route as he cared for the sheep. But one day God appeared because it was His time for Israel and for Moses. Dennis Kinlaw, past president of Asbury College, said upon witnessing a spontaneous revival at the college in 1970," Give me one divine moment when God acts and I say that moment is far superior to all human efforts of man through the centuries". God was both speaking and acting at the burning bush, and it was really there that the hope of Israel and the hope of the Messiah were reborn.
As we retrace God's interventions in our own personal lives, we are struck by how little we actually had to do with making the events happen. In Wilmore, Kentucky, the college and seminary town, John Wesley is often quoted. His statue stands on the seminary campus to remind us of his teachings and of his founding of the Methodist Church. Even a street there is named Alders-gate where Wesley in England had his heart-warming experience.
*This transforming experience for Wesley happened in a humble meeting place that her reluctantly attend one night. Wesley had failed in his missionary endeavors in America: " I went to America to convert the Indian, but who shall convert me? he cried. But that night at Alders-gate while a layperson read Luther's Preface to Romans, Wesley suddenly felt his heart divinely warmed. He later attributed his life-long called to evangelism to that divine moment at Alders-gate.
* One more thing about Wesley is that he met up with a man named George Whitfield while he was in America. This man became his mentor and example. His preaching changed after this "heart-warming" experience and He took God out of the buildings and into the hearts of the English and the Americans. Soon Wesley no longer had a pulpit in a church. The church authorities of the Anglican Church no longer wanted his preaching. He moved to the street corners as in the picture, just as Whitefield had. Wesley also moved from the country parish into the city at this time. He also started the "Circuit Riding Preacher" in America- a preacher on a horse visiting the farmers and others. Another member of the Methodist church was William Booth, who later became the Founder of the Salvation Army. All these activities occurred during the Industrial Revolution and the American Revolution. You can find the full story of John Wesley here.
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