Pastor's Devotions by Tim Harris

 Procrastination. Putting off till tomorrow what you ought to do today. We say we will get that chore done, we commit to make it to the gym, we determine we will fulfill that promise, but we don’t—at least not now. We know we should. We know it’s best for us to follow through. Yet, we procrastinate. And when asked what are you waiting for, we don’t necessarily even know why.  Does that describe you at all? I know at times, it describes me. After all, there are plenty of things I’d rather not do or things I think I have plenty of time to get done, so I put them off—e.g. trim the bushes, call about that bill, buy that card, and so much more. One night recently, for example, I knew I needed to put the garbage cans to the street before I went to bed.  But I thought to myself, “I’ll have plenty of time to do it in the morning.” After all, I didn’t want to have to go outside and lug the cans to the street in the dark. For sure, I would get it done in the morning.  But woul...

I think you would agree, we would all prefer to live an easy life. That is, we’d prefer a life free of sickness and pain, sadness and grief, toil and testing. Sometimes we even say out loud, “Why does life have to be so hard?” Unfortunately, however, like it or not, life is hard. For sure it is filled with lots of joys, but even when things are going well, the difficulties of life have a way of sneaking onto the scene.  For me, as many of you know, some of that difficulty came sneaking (or I might say, barreling) into my life this past year in the form of such terrible arthritis in my spine that eventually I needed a second spinal fusion. Just as I was retiring from pastoring and beginning a new season, working at a gym as a personal trainer, the pain increased, my mobility lessened, and the need for surgery became more and more evident. Within five months of retiring, I found myself in the hospital for a few days and then recovering at home, dealing with the surgical pain and the ...

Have you ever spoken out of turn, wishing you could take back your words? It may have been in the heat of an argument when you said something you know you ought not have said. It may  have been in that moment of pain or frustration when a string of words came out of your mouth that were not appropriate by any account. It may have been those words of gossip or criticism or that quick response after which you wish you had “bitten you tongue.”  I think you would agree, we live in a culture in which most people are very loose with their words. From the gym locker room to the corporate office, into our city streets, churches, and even in the White House and political arenas, words are thrown around and things said that once would have been considered brash, foul, and just outright mean. Many people speak using their words as if their words do not really matter.  As a child growing up in Sunday School, I remember singing a song with lyrics that stuck with me. Those lyrics inclu...