Pastor's Devotions by Tim Harris

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...