Pastor's Devotions by Tim Harris

As I was scrolling through Google images for an image to use in this week’s church bulletin, I noticed how many churches had created slogans and images for their New Year’s services.  A number of those slogans ran along the lines of, “Your Best Year Yet!” And, I thought to myself, how do they know that? Will that be true for everyone in that congregation?  Will it be true for anyone?  I don’t want to sound pessimistic as we step into this New Year, but as much as we’d all like to believe that 2017 will be our best year yet, that may or may not be true.  Oh, for some it may be: this may be the year of your graduation, new job, engagement, marriage, birth of a child, a promotion at work, a year of travel, etc.  Some of us just may experience a year unlike any other we have had thus far in a very, very positive way.  It just may be for some of us our best year yet!  Unfortunately, however, that may not be true for everyone.  For some of us it may be a year of struggle,

“Have yourself a merry little Christmas, let your heart be light…” So begins the famous Christmas song first sung by Judy Garland in the movie, “Meet Me In St. Louis.”   And so we embark on the journey each year to create for ourselves a merry little Christmas —a time of sentimental and nostalgic feelings; a time in which we put on our merry little selves, smiles and all; a season in which we strive for a few days during which our “troubles will   be miles away.”   We spend a month or two trying to create for ourselves a merry little Christmas, yet when all is said and done many of us are left disappointed. Christmas doesn’t always turn out the way we hoped it would.   Our troubles are not miles away and life simply goes back to the way it was beforehand.   Judy Garland singing "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas"  We all know that we want and need so much more than merely a merry little Christmas.   We need more than sentiment and nostalgia for a day or two.

I always look forward to that time of the year when we pull the dust off the Christmas carols and for three to four weeks insert them into our church services.   Not only that, but we even get to hear them at times while shopping in the mall or listening to the radio.   Unfortunately, however, after singing them so many times and hearing them for so many years, it’s easy to lose touch with the true meaning of the songs and allow them to simply become words flowing off our tongues with little impact upon our lives.   One of my favorite is “What Child Is This?” written by William Chatterdon Dix in 18656 and set to the music of the English folk song, “Greensleeves.” The song begins by asking us to look into the stable wherein the baby Jesus lies.   As we do we are forced to ask a number of questions regarding whom this baby really is.   We have to ask, “What child is this?”   And, why is it we celebrate his birth?   Who is it whom, “on Mary’s lap is sleeping?”   Who is this baby “who

Last week Kim and I once again watched one of our favorite Christmas classics, “It’s A Wonderful Life.” In the story, George Bailey, after having wished he had never been born, is given a glimpse of what his world would be like if that had been the case.   It’s a sad and pathetic part of the story.   George is made to realize that the brother, whom he had rescued from the icy waters when they were just kids, would have died thus never becoming the WWII pilot who himself saved dozens of fellow soldiers (all of whom were then killed in combat).   George’s wife ends up as an “old maid,” never having a family of her own. People throughout the town whom George had helped purchase homes of their own are left living in slums.   And Bedford Falls, that bright and wonderful little town, became a dark and terrible place to live, filled with all kinds of vices—all at the hands of the miserly Mr. Potter, whom George had fought off on behalf of the people.   George had come to see his life as

One of my all-time Christmas favorites is Charles Schultz’s, “A Charlie Brown Christmas.”   Into his little story about Charlie Brown and his friends, Schultz weaves the essence of the gospel message in some subtle and not so subtle ways. One of those messages comes through the little tree that Charlie Brown chooses to be their Christmas tree. The other children, especially Lucy, want a big, beautiful, and aluminum Christmas tree. They want the glitz and the glamour of Christmas. They want something to show off—a tree that comes already put together.   But, as Charlie Brown and Linus go out looking for a tree, there’s one tree that catches Charlie Brown’s eye. It’s a little tree that is anything but glitz and glamour.   In fact, it’s quite pathetic looking.   Linus is pretty hesitant about getting that tree, for he knows what the others are going to say.   But, Charlie Brown responds by saying, “I think it needs me.”   Of course, Charlie Brown does get chastised for picking t