Pastor's Devotions by Tim Harris

Have you ever had what we call, “one of those days?”   Actually, for me the past couple of days have been one of those days.   Not that there has been any major crisis. Rather, it has simply been just a bunch of little things that have stacked up to make life a bit miserable.    It began Wednesday morning when I looked in the mirror and realized my upper lip was double its normal size from cold sores (I had failed to put sunblock on my lips on Monday when I was out in the sun for most of the day). Not only does it look bad, it is painful. Next, came the broken air conditioner in one of our cars. After getting it refilled with Freon and thinking it was working, as I was driving to Queens, the car began blowing warm air once again.   Driving on the Cross Bronx Expressway with your windows open is absolutely no fun—especially as the tractor-trailers pass by pouring their exhaust into your car.      Once I got to the office, it turned out the...

A few weeks ago, I was having a particularly hard day.   Even though the sky was a bright blue, it might as well have been clouded over as I found myself a bit overwhelmed by situations in my life and worrying about the future.   I know you know what I mean when I say, it was just one of those days! That afternoon I stopped into the local dry cleaner’s to drop off my dirty dress shirts and pick up the clean ones.   As usual, I greeted the woman who owns and runs the store (in Korean!).   She asked about my family and what my children were doing.   We chatted for about a minute.   Then suddenly she came out with a statement that practically knocked me over and turned my day around. She said, “God always takes care of your family.”   I smiled and nodded almost not knowing what to say. But, when I left the store her words rang through my head. I said to God, “Yes Lord, you have always been faithful.   You have always taken care of my family.” ...

I want to use this vehicle today to ask my readers to please pray for my good friends’ daughter, Rachel Siegel.   Rachel graduated from Berkley School of Music in Boston last Saturday.   Late that night, Rachel was in a major car accident. As of now, she is yet in a coma, in Albany Medical Center, with head trauma and broken bones throughout her body.   Just a few years back, in July 2011, Rachel’s brother, Ben was killed in a motorcycle accident.   Their parents, Pastor Ralph and Maria Siegel, lost their only son in that accident and now their only other child and daughter has been in this terrible accident.   They are trying to hold onto hope and keep faith, but as you can imagine, it is difficult. Yesterday evening the Siegel’s got word from the doctor that they need to prepare for the fact that, from a medical standpoint, Rachel may never recover.   The news was shattering to her parents.   But, we know that with God all things are possibl...

This week I am thinking a lot about my father for two reasons. For one, yesterday, May 7, was the one year anniversary of his death. Secondly, May 10, which is Sunday, was his birthday (and also the date of his funeral).   Every few years, because his birthday was on May 10, it would happen to fall on Mother’s Day (as it does this year).   Thus, it was not uncommon for our family to celebrate Mother’s Day and our dad’s birthday together. One year during my college years, such was the case.   That week I went to a little card shop in the Bronx to buy two cards, one for my mom for Mother’s Day and one for my dad for his birthday. What I stumbled upon in that little shop, filled mostly with cards written in Spanish, amazed me. Of the few cards that were written in English, one said, “Happy Mother’s Day, Mom & Happy Birthday, Dad!”   It was a two-for-one greeting card! What a bargain! What an incredible find! (Believe me, it was not produced by Hallmark or Ameri...

This past week we’ve all seen the incredible and terrible images that have come out of Nepal, following the earthquake there.   We have seen people sitting on piles of fallen material where once stood a building.   There are the images of thousands of people sleeping in the streets.   We have seen the photos of those working around the clock to rescue those who have been trapped. And every so often, we get to see a picture of someone being rescued from the rubble—the most striking of which has been a four month-old dust-covered baby, who, after having been covered by the rubble for 22 hours, was being held up by a rescue worker. Unfortunately, many more people have died in the rubble than have been rescued.   As the death toll continues to climb, we are all saddened to see so much suffering. Especially at this point, I am sure it will become more and more rare for the rescue workers to find someone yet alive underneath the massive amounts of debris.   Yet, ...