Pastor's Devotions by Tim Harris

Having moved recently, we as a family have had to get used to both saying and writing a new address. When asked in a store for her address, my daughter Joanna had to think twice before giving it. Just yesterday, as I was filling out some forms, three times I began to write down our old one.  Not only that, but since we are living fairly close to our former address, multiple times, as Kim and I have been driving home, we’ve started to turn down the street where we used to live. Even after close to a month, we are all still getting used to the fact that we have had a change of address. The Bible shows us that one day, we who are God’s people will all have a change of address. We will no longer live as part of this world, but in a new place—a world designed for us by God.  Jesus said, “In my Father's house are many rooms (i.e. dwelling places)... I am going there to prepare a place for you.” (John 14:2-3-NIV) By his words, Jesus gives to us the assurance that one day we will move as

Sizzling.   Steamy.   Scorching. These are just a few of the adjectives to describe the weather we’re facing here in the Northeast (as well as across much of the country).   To say that it’s hot outside is probably an understatement. Last night after the sun went down, it still felt uncomfortably hot out—more like Florida or Louisiana than New Jersey.   When driving along this morning, the air blowing through the open window was like a blast of hot air coming out of a clothes dryer. Of course this kind of heat means running the air conditioning, going to the pool, looking for cool places to hang out (that is “cool” as in cold), and finding as much shade as possible. Most people, like me, are only going outside if they have to. And when they do, they are moving very, very slowly. Everyone is in need of some relief from the heat. The prophet Isaiah wrote long ago, “O LORD, you are my God; I will exalt you and praise your name…You have been … a shade from the heat .” (Isaiah 25:1, 4—NIV

I recently moved into the office at the church where I am now pastoring in Queens, NY. The office is five stories up (although it’s on the 4 th floor). And, although it’s not the highest I’ve ever been in a building, it is the first time I’ve ever worked in an office that is not at ground level. Thus, from my window I have a different kind of view. Instead of looking straight out the window at my surroundings, I am now looking down on them. Of course, some of you may be used to working a few stories up or even higher. Some of you might even work in a high rise building or skyscraper. And, I’m sure that most of us have been up the Empire State Building or the former World Trade Center buildings or other buildings like them. We all know that, the higher up one is, the smaller the people, cars, and buildings below appear. When looking from above, one can’t help but have a different perspective on their surroundings.   Those things that seem so large from the ground, appear so much small

This week my family and I moved to a rental home and had all of our “worldly goods” delivered by the moving company that had held it all for us in storage for the past four months. Before we knew it, we had a house filled with boxes and furniture. Although we did our best to tell the movers where to place everything, in the end, it felt as if the whole house was in complete disarray. All we could do was begin opening boxes and try to put things away piece by piece. The only fun part of the whole ordeal was the fact that, because we hadn’t seen so much of our stuff for four months, as we unpacked the boxes each of us would react with expressions like, “Oh I remember this!” or “I’m so glad to have my _____ back!” or “Why did we keep this?” Just about each box held somewhat of a little surprise. I find that every time I go to God’s Word, the Bible, it is like unpacking a box filled with all kinds of good stuff (i.e. not the stuff that causes you to say, “Why did I keep this?”). And, of