Pastor's Devotions by Tim Harris

It’s hard to believe, but it’s been almost two weeks since our daughter, Joanna, left for her study abroad semester in Vienna, Austria.   It’s a weird feeling to have your child that far away, so far out of reach, for the very first time.   This time of year she would normally be back at college, about an hour and a half away.   Although we wouldn’t see her much throughout the semester, communication was easier and it felt like she was within reach.   Now there’s a whole ocean plus half a continent between us. (She seems even further out of reach than when our son, Jonathan, was living in Costa Rica and then Nicaragua for a whole year!)   Of course, Kim and I are glad for Joanna. We know she’s going to have a great experience.   This really is an opportunity of a lifetime!   Are we nervous about all the things that could happen? Maybe just a bit. Yes, we know that there are a lot of things happening in Europe these days.   But we wouldn’t want her to live her life based on fear.  

With a huge nor’easter moving up the coast, people from Virginia through New York are flooding the stores, starting up their snow blowers, taking out the ice melt, and taking stock of their in-home inventory. Our nice, easy-going winter is over.   With the storm approaching, everyone wants to be ready for the worst.   We’ve been doing our share of preparations in our home as well.   After all, like you, we don’t want to find the snow blower isn’t starting or the shovels are missing or we’re out of gas, just when we need them to be on hand.   We don’t want to find ourselves short of food, without a flashlight that works, or without a movie on hand!   And so, we prepare.   We all want to be ready. When I was a teenager there was a popular Christian song entitled, “I Wish We’d All Been Ready.”   The song, written in the past tense, described the coming of Jesus at the end of time, in what we call “the rapture.”   It spoke about the difficulties of the last days here on earth and

If you’ve ever driven a new car off the lot, you know that with the car, the dealer gives to you a maintenance schedule. And we all know that, if we begin to neglect our cars they very quickly begin to deteriorate—sometimes beyond repair! The same is true for our physical bodies—they too need regular check-ups, service, and maintenance. That is why your doctor will try to impress on you the importance of returning at least once a year for a full physical and of the importance of eating right, getting enough exercise, and doing all the other things necessary to maintain a healthy body.   This morning, as I sit here at the Toyota dealership waiting for my car to be serviced, I’m reminded of the importance of the regular check-ups, service, and maintenance that we do for our cars as well as for our bodies.   More than that, I’m reminded that the same is needed for our spiritual lives. They too need a regular maintenance schedule. Our spiritual lives as well need regular check-ups, se

This week I know I need to tackle what I consider to be the hardest job of the year: taking down the Christmas decorations.   Yes, it means a few hours of work as we once again pull out the boxes and storage bins, re-wrap all the fragile pieces, and try to put the lights away in such a way that they don’t come out a tangled mess next year (although they always seem to do!).   But, this is not the hardest job of the year because of the labor involved. Rather, it is hard because of what it signifies.   At the end of November and on into December, everything around us is moving towards Christmas and the holiday season. With great excitement we pull down the boxes and bins, set up the tree, and gather the family to decorate it.   We put the wreath on the front door, set up the lights for neighbors and visitors to see, all in the hope of bringing a sense of joy and celebration to those who pass by.   And the momentum continues to build through the shopping, the parties, dinners, and sp