Pastor's Devotions by Tim Harris

Just about one week ago, our area was blanketed with snow—the first significant snow of the season, excluding our freak October snowstorm.   The streets, lawns, trees were beautifully covered in white.   On Sunday, the sun seemed extra bright as it reflected off nature’s blanket of white.   Sure the snow was a bit of a hassle, but like usual it really made things look almost magical. By Tuesday, however, it was all gone.  A little bit of warmer weather mixed with some rain, quickly washed all the snow away.  What had suddenly come in, was just as suddenly gone.  Like so many things in life,  it was here today and gone tomorrow!  It’s true, the things of this world are so often here today and gone tomorrow.  Our cars breakdown.   Computers become obsolete.  Clothing either wears out or goes out of style.  Nature takes its toll leaving us with rust spots on our cars, machinery that doesn’t move, holes in our socks—and the ...

Like many of you, my day doesn’t really start until I get my morning coffee.   During other times of the day I may another cup, but it’s not a necessity.   In the morning, however, I don’t want to take even a bite of food until I’ve gotten my first sip.   And, it’s not just about the caffeine.   It’s about the warmth and the taste—that “ahh” feeling one gets with that first sip of one’s morning coffee.   Of course there may be some who are reading this who cannot relate.  In fact, my wife Kim doesn’t drink coffee; she doesn’t like the taste. So, she doesn’t quite get it when I say, I really need to taste coffee before anything else in the morning. To her it just doesn’t make sense. Yet, to me there is almost nothing better than having a cup of really good tasting coffee first thing in the morning.  I hate to admit it, but sometimes I even go to bed at night thinking about that first cup in the morning.  The Psalmist expresses his early morning c...

Our dog Mabel has always been friendly and easy-going with people.   When we meet someone on the street or someone comes to the house she is friendly and playful, wagging her tail and looking for a bit of attention.   And, she is especially good with children.   But other dogs? Well, that’s another story.   A s time has gone on she has become much more excitable at the sight of other dogs, barking and jumping in such a way that other dog owners don’t want to bring their dogs anywhere near Mabel.   Even our attempts to distract her have become pretty much useless. All we can do is drag her along until the other dog is out of sight.   It has become very frustrating for us and for her. Now I’m not looking to make excuses for Mabel, but I did a little research on what’s going on. I found out that Mabel, being one half Jack Russell, is behaving exactly the way most JR’s behave.  For some reason, they tend to be a breed that do not get along all that well w...

Today I’m wearing a new sweater, given to me by my children.   And, yes it feels nice to be wearing something new.   But, like most guys, I’ve got my favorite old sweatshirt that probably ought to be thrown away.   Whenever I can, I tend to choose it over the new ones. Why?   Because, it is so comfortable—much too comfortable to throw away.   In spite of enjoying the new sweaters and sweatshirts I get, I really love putting on that old sweatshirt.        It seems that our culture tends towards the new. We gravitate towards the newest music, technology, and fashion trends. We want to see the newest movie, read the newest book, and get to that new restaurant in town.  We also seem to quickly buy into the newest philosophies and religious thought to seep into the classrooms or hit the street.  Even in the church, we seem to always be looking for something new—a new form of worship, a new song to sing, a new way of preaching, etc....