Pastor's Devotions by Tim Harris

Psalm 33:11 – “But the plans of the LORD stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations. (NIV) On Christmas eve I was reflecting upon Luke 2:7 which says, “and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger.” As I thought about those words, it struck me that Joseph and Mary never planned to give birth in a stable and lay their baby (the Son of God!) in an animal’s feeding trough. That was an unexpected twist. But at that point in their lives, just about everything was about the unplanned and unexpected. They hadn’t planned on Mary being pregnant – no less, by means of the Holy Spirit. They hadn’t planned to travel to Bethlehem, especially with Mary so far along in her pregnancy. Nor had they planned to arrive in Bethlehem and find all the guest rooms taken. I’m sure they would have never planned to give birth among the animals. But, neither did they plan, or could they have planned, a chorus of angels to announ

Luke 2:7 - "...and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn." (NIV) "Why in a Manger?" Away in a manger, no crib for a bed? Have I heard right what has been said? Did Jesus the one who was born King of all, Sleep in a manger in some cattle stall? Why in a manger was the Christ-child laid? Why was there no room and no bed there that day? Why was he placed among oxen and sheep? Why in the hay did the Christ-child sleep? Could God not have opened a room in the inn? Was no one in Bethlehem waiting for him? Did not someone's heart go out to the child? Could no one have spared him their bed for a while? God had His purposes, He always does. He knew that the manger was not all that there was. He could have provided a bed for His son. But, God knew the manger would be the best one. For God knew the manger would tell through all time That Jesus had

“Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.” (Luke 3:4 – NIV) The whole of the Christmas season is really a time of preparation. If your family is like mine you have been involved in decorating, shopping, the sending of cards, baking, etc. The plans are being made for where you will be and with whom on Christmas eve and Christmas day. In fact, if you think about it, most of the excitement of Christmas is about all of the preparations leading up to that one day of celebration. Do you realize that for God it was very much the same? Up until the birth of Jesus, all of history was moving towards that one glorious moment when the Son of God would become the Son of man. For centuries, God had been at work within our world to prepare for the birth of this One who would be the Savior of all mankind. God had been preparing for this one moment for hundreds, even thousands of years. Now, it had finally come! It’s no wonder that God celebrated with angels and a supernatural st

Isn’t it interesting that both Christmas and Chanukah center upon light? It’s been almost two weeks since we put up our Christmas tree and decorated our home. Thus, the Christmas lights have been shining brightly. As well, this past week we lit the Chanukah candles each night. We even have an electric menorah in our window. So, we have had both Christmas lights and the lights of the Chanukah menorah shining brightly in our home! Indeed, this is the season of light! Of course, there is reason behind all the lights of this season. In fact, it is very appropriate that we would celebrate this season with the lighting of candles and the hanging of lights. The Chanukah story is the story of how God helped the Jewish people win a great battle to reclaim Jerusalem and the temple. And, it tells of how God performed a miracle to keep the temple lights burning. It is the story of God stepping into a very dark time in the history of his people and bringing about a miracle that brought to them

On our final day in Israel (October 25th), we spend most of the day in and around Jerusalem commemorating Jesus’ final days. We followed what is probably the real Via Dolorosa, went to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, walked the traditional Via Dolorosa (from the end to the start), and ended the day at “The Garden Tomb.” I must say that going to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher was, for me personally, a great disappointment. Rather than helping me experience something of the reality of the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ, I was taken back by the sight of a huge stone cathedral. The plaza in front of the church was filled with a mass of people. Inside the church were lines of people walking through a maze of a structure, waiting to kiss the slab of stone on which Jesus’ body was supposedly prepared for burial or to light candles or to get into the massive shrine that had been built on the site of the supposed tomb. The crowds of people in line made it almost impossible to e

On Saturday, October 23rd, we spent most of our day in the Judean wilderness. We visited Qumran, the Essene community where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found. Next, we hiked the En Gedi, the hills wherein David spent much of his time hiding from Saul (and where he wrote many of his psalms). And, we went to Masada, the fortress in which almost 1,000 Jews killed themselves, believing it was better to die as freemen than to live as slaves of Rome. It turned out to be a very emotional day as we considered what it must have been like for the Essenes living in the dry hills of Qumran, separated from friends and family; for David living in the caves of En Gedi, running for his life from an insane king; for the Jews who desperately tried to fight off the Romans but who eventually took their lives at Masada. As we walked through these various places, it was almost as if one could see the faces and hear the voices of those who had once lived there, suffering so intensely under evil regimes . Yet

I will never forget my first glimpse of Jerusalem. It was Thursday, October 21st. We had spent the earlier part of the day traveling the country – a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee, the ruins of Capernaum, a first century lunch in Nazareth, Caesarea Maritime on the Mediterranean. Finally, as the sun was beginning to set, we made our way up to the top of the Mount of Olives. As we reached the top of the mount, suddenly the city of Jerusalem appeared. There before us, was the city that I had read of so many times; the city that is central to both biblical history and prophecy; the only city that is called, the “Holy City.” And, there it was now before me, the sun glistening off of gold domes; the walls looking strong and proud. What a spectacular sight! The next day we returned back to the Mount of Olives, once again late in the day. Again we took in a breathtaking view of Jerusalem. This time however, rather than driving down towards the city, we took the path that Jesus would have ta

During our time at the Sea of Galilee (also called, Lake Tiberias), we spent one of our days traveling through the “north country” visiting the ruins of a number of cities that are mentioned in the Bible. It was quite a day as we visited places, some of which were 3,000-4,000 years old. The day included a hike at the Dan Nature Reserve which led us, not only along one of the main tributaries to the Jordan River, but to one of the “high places’ built by Jeroboam. It was a religious site used by the kings of the northern kingdom as a place of worship in order to keep their people from going to Jerusalem for worship. For these kings, political power, economics, and pragmatism was more important than the worship of God. We went to Caesarea Philippi, a Roman city that was filled with temples to their pagan gods, the largest of which was to the god, Pan. The temples were built along a huge rock cliff. On one side of the cliff there is the mouth to a cave, thought to be by the Romans an e

After having spent a couple of days in Jordan visiting places such as Petra and Kerak Castle, on October 19th we crossed back into Israel by Jericho. After visiting the ruins at Jericho and Beth Shean, we drove to the Sea of Galilee (Lake Tiberias). There, in the late afternoon, we sat on the shore by an ancient jetty, one which gives evidence to a fishing industry having been on this part of the lake. It is said that it was probably there that Jesus first met his disciples such as Peter, James, John, and Andrew. And, it was most likely at that spot (or one very nearby) that the risen Christ met his disciples, after the disciples had spent the night fishing with nothing to show for it. I remember on that particular day getting choked up twice. The first time was when we were crossing back into Israel from Jordan. For some reason, it felt like I was coming home. There was almost a sense of relief as the young man took my passport and welcomed me back into Israel. I realized that day t

Kim and I got back on Tuesday from our trip to Israel (including 3 days in Jordan). It was a trip we never could have expected to take, but by the grace of God was gifted to us through some very generous relatives. Ultimately, we know, as one rabbi we met put it, we were there because God had called us and made a way for us to be there. In these next few blogs, I want to share some of my thoughts and the lessons that were made very real to me as we were there. Our first few days were spent in Beer Sheba, the Negev desert, and in Jordan. The terrain in those parts is so barren and dry, it amazed me that anything survived there. The part of Jordan that we were in was, in the Old Testament, Edom and Moab. It was territory that the Israelites had to travel through on their way to the Promised Land. As I looked at the land I couldn’t help but think, it’s no wonder they did so much complaining. I’d complain too. And, so would you! As we travelled through these places, I couldn’t help but

The other night as Kim and I were coming out of a local store, the sky suddenly lit up with a streak of lighting that went from one end of the sky to the other. It was truly an amazing sight to see the lighting move horizontally across the horizon. The clouds were filled with color and what was once a darkened sky was now filled with light. Everything around seemed to come alive. It makes me think about Jesus’ words to his disciples. As he looked towards the future, he told them that as time went on this world would become a more and more difficult place for those who followed him to live. He let them know that life in this world would not be easy. At times their world would seem very, very dark. Suddenly, however, that darkness would be filled with light – the light of his return! Luke 17:24 – “For the Son of Man in his day will be like the lightning, which flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other.” (NIV) The Apostle Paul put it this way: “For the Lord himself wil

Today in the Northeast, even as I am writing, we have heavy winds and rains and are expecting to feel the effects of tropical storm Nicole as she comes up the coast. The Midwest has experienced its share of flooding this week. Then there were the mudslides in Mexico. And, that is probably just a few of the areas around our world that have had to deal with storms in recent days. We live in a world that is constantly experiencing one storm after another. Of course, when we speak about the “storms of life”, we use that phrase not only in a meteorological sense, but also in a metaphorical one. The phrase, the “storms of life” often refer to the difficulties that we face within our lives: sickness, pain, broken relationships, the loss of a job, sudden catastrophes, the death of a loved one. All of these things and many more can be referred to as a “storm.” At times it can feel as if we are living from one storm to the next. Unfortunately, none of us are exempt from storms – not the mete

The other night I was going through some old videos that we had stored in a closet. Becoming a bit curious, I popped a couple of them in and began watching the first few years of my children’s lives. We watched Jonathan visiting the hospital just after the birth of his brother, Nathaniel. On the next video were Jonathan and Nathaniel visiting the hospital upon the birth of their sister, Joanna. We watched the three of them at a young age have their first “jam session” with their toy instruments (some of which were improvised from kitchen utensils). We were reminded of some of the cute and funny things they said back then, things that we had forgotten. And, we were reminded how much work it can be to manage three children four years old and younger! Most of all, I was struck by how innocent they were. Although they could be stubborn at times, they were trusting of us as their parents. They quickly came running to us when we came into the house. They looked to us to meet their needs (a

Rain delays happen in many sports, but most especially in baseball and tennis. Some sports like football, are played in all kinds of weather. Baseball can tolerate some rain, but once it really starts coming down the game has to be stopped. In tennis, however, even the slightest amount of rain can cause the courts, and especially the lines, to become slick and dangerous to the players. Thus, even a drizzle can cause play to stop and the game to be delayed. Such was the case yesterday with the US Open. Even before the men’s finals match was started, the match had to be postponed a whole day due to rain. Of course, it was a great disappointment to the fans who were planning to spend their Sunday afternoon watching the match either at the stadium or via television. But, how much more disappointing it must have been to the players who I am sure spent the whole night before and the whole of that day pumping themselves up for the big match. I’m sure it was quite a letdown when they were to

For our household, September 6, 2010 was quite appropriately called “Labor Day” for that day also happened to be our son Jonathan’s 19th birthday. In other words, as I told Kim and our family, for her it really was “labor day” for it was on that day, nineteen years ago, that she was in labor giving birth to our first son. Thus, if anyone should have been honored for their labor it would have to be Kim for all that she went through bringing our son into the world. Yes, for her it was a day of hard labor. Thinking back to that day, I am always amazed, however, of not only the stamina that Kim had throughout that process but even more so of how, once holding that newborn in her arms, this new mother forgot all of her pain. Once the baby was handed over to her, it was as if there had never been any struggle. She went so quickly from labor to rest as our new son, Jonathan, was placed in her arms. Jesus said, “A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when h

With the nice weather we’ve been having, my family and I have tried to get some time in on our deck in the backyard. After all, the colder weather will soon be here, when it will no longer be so pleasant to sit outside. Even this morning I took my coffee out and had my devotions on the deck. In fact, right now, as I am writing, I’m sitting on the deck, enjoying the outdoors. It really is a very nice setting. There is, however, one problem. There is a huge oak tree in the one corner of the yard whose branches hang towards the house. And, this time of the year the oak tree is dropping its acorns – many of them onto our deck. Some of them are even falling perilously close to my head. Especially when the squirrels are running through its branches, I can begin to feel as if I am being bombed by acorns. In order to protect myself, I have to make sure I am sitting far enough under the umbrella so as not to get hit. Every so often I hear an acorn hit the top of the umbrella and roll off onto

As I write this first of my new series of “pastor’s devotions,” I’m back up in the Adirondack Mountains with my family. I’m currently looking out the window of our cabin at the lake gleaming in the sun. The boats are gently rocking. A duck passes by here and there. Early this morning we watched as an osprey dived into the water to catch a fish. It feels like we’ve traveled to another world. Yet, even as my family and I enjoy the peacefulness of the lake and the mountains, I know that there is a world beyond these mountains filled with need. People throughout our world are facing natural disasters, war, famine. Many are dealing with the pain of broken relationships, broken promises, broken dreams. Some don’t know how they are going to make it through another day. Unfortunately, for most people around our world, life is not filled with the serenity of these mountains, but with conflict and confusion. Most are longing for another world. Maybe today you are one of those people who sens

Welcome to my new and first blog space. In a few weeks I will begin writing new pastors devotions through this blog.  Feel free to come back each week to visit and receive a bit of inspiration as I write about my life, the world around us, and what God has to say to us in his Word. If you would like to receive the devotions directly in your e-mail box, please e-mail me at: pastorsdevotions@gmail.com God bless. -Pastor Tim Harris