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