Pastor's Devotions by Tim Harris

It’s not uncommon for something to be advertised as “new and improved.”  After all, our tendency is to always want the newest and the best. Thus, “new and improved” catches our attention.  But, the other day I had to question that phrase when I drove by a church with sign that advertised, “New and Improved Worship.”  Immediately, I asked, What does that mean? Well, actually the “new” part is probably not that hard to understand. But, the “improved” part is what I really had to question.  Had their worship been improved because they hired a new organist or because they have added drums and a guitar?  Had the worship been improved because the church decided to sing some new songs or go back to some old ones?  And, I had to ask, improved according to whom?   I wasn’t quite sure if the worship was considered improved because the people of the church liked it better, or the pastoral staff thought it better, or because the quality of the music had been upgraded.

I spent this past week in Guayaquil, Ecuador with a team of people from Promise Ministries of which Promise International Fellowship, the church I pastor, is a part.  We were there for an event designed specifically for children between the ages of four and fourteen years of age; it ’ s part of the 4/14 Window Movement. Because of a change in our schedule, on Wednesday morning a group of us went with one of the local Assemblies of God missionaries to visit a public elementary school in one of the poorest sections of the city.  There we met 400 children who were obviously living in very difficult circumstances and with great need. Because it was such a last minute meeting, it was what we might call a chance meeting.  As we went from room to room, we were greeted by groups of children who were excited to have this group of strangers come and interrupt their day.  We told them about God's love for them, distributed snacks and rub-on tattoos, and invited them t

Those of us who live in the Northeast are facing the onset of a huge storm the weather service has called “Nemo.”  (Why “Nemo” I’m not quite sure, but I think they had to pick a name that begins with the letter “n.”)  For a few days now, we have been warned that this storm will begin lightly with a mixture of snow and rain, but eventually we will end up with blizzard conditions and about a foot of snow here in the NYC metro area and much more to the north and east.  (Sorry, I didn’t meant to turn this devotion into a weather forecast!)  In response, the grocery stores have been packed, gas stations have had longer than usual line, and events and activities for Friday night and Saturday have already been cancelled.  Yesterday I made sure I had gas for the snow blower and that the snow shovels were easily accessible.  This morning I probably need to pick up a few things at the grocery store myself, just to make sure we have the essentials on hand—and so that we c

If anyone gets excited about their next meal, it’s our dog Mabel.  I know most dogs live for food, but compared to the other dogs I’ve had through the years, Mabel gets exceptionally excited when she knows she it’s mealtime.  She will bark and jump and spin and beg…and beg…and beg!  And, oh how she can beg!  It’s like she’s saying, “Please feed me! Yes, feed me!  PLEASE FEED ME!!”  Not only that, but whenever we sit at the kitchen table, although Mabel may be somewhere else in the house, she will pick up on cues that we are about to eat.  The opening of a jar, the rustle of a paper, or the opening of the refrigerator door and she will come bounding down the steps, take a seat next to one of us, and look up at us with her big eyes, not asking but begging for something to eat.  Yes, as often as she can, Mabel is begging for food—just little more food.  I tend to think that many of us treat God the way Mabel does us.  We come to God with our needs and beg and