Pastor's Devotions by Tim Harris

One of the TV shows I’ve come to actually like, although I don’t know why, is a show on HGTV, Love It or List It.     In the show, a couple has to make a decision whether or not they will keep their home after some major renovations or put it on the market in order to purchase a new home.   The tension of the story is built around the renovations that are taking place in the existing home (and all the things that can go wrong in the midst of such renovations) and the search for a new home that will meet all their needs (and demands!).   Thus, the couple is placed between a woman who is overseeing the renovations, hoping that they will “love it,” and a realtor who is trying to get them to “list it,” with the intent of purchasing one of the homes he has shown them.   I know, it’s all pretty crazy.   Although many of the couples/families involved have some genuine needs (e.g. their family may have genuinely outgrown the space of the current home), so many of those involved seem to ju

This month there have been lots of advertisements here in the New York City area promoting the fact that “The Greatest Show on Earth” is in town. Of course, I am referring to the Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey Circus which, has for many years, billed itself as such.   But, they are not the only ones who promote themselves as the best or the greatest.   For example, every so often I pass by a diner in Astoria, Queens with a big sign outside that claims to be the “Best Diner in Queens.”   And, who can forget the scene from the movie Elf in which he walks into a coffee shop to congratulate the management on having earned the distinction of having the “World’s Best Coffee!”?   Everyone wants to be given the title “the best” or “greatest” in some area of life.   We desire the status, significance, and authority that come with being known as such. Thus, we strive to make it to “the top,” believing that if we can get there, life will be better.   It’s not surprising then that

The past couple of days, I’ve been singing to myself a little song, “This is the winter that never ends; and it goes on and on my friends….”   (Some of you may recognize it as a play off of the kids’ song, “The Song That Never Ends.”)   That is the way I, and I know many of you, have been feeling.   It seems like the cold and the snow will just not go away. We get one glimpse of a day close to 50 degrees and the next day we end up with the temperatures plummeting and more snow.   Yes, it feels like the winter that will not end!   In reality, however, we all know that winter will come to an end. In another few weeks, if all goes according to the normal plan of nature, we will begin to see signs of spring. A robin will show up in the back yard. The crocus will begin to break through the hardened ground. Buds will begin to appear on the trees.   In about another month, the snow will be gone and everything will be turning green once again.   That does not mean there will be no more co