Pastor's Devotions by Tim Harris

This week I have become consumed by the events taking place in the country of Nicaragua. Since the year 2000 I have been working in that nation, first with missionaries to build a Bible school, then helping lead a Christian school, working with a church, and helping with a child support program. First it was in the city of Matagalpa and then in the city of Leon.   In fact, over the past eight years, I have continually been in and out of the country, specifically to Leon, sometimes up to six times in one year. I have called the city of Leon, “Mi segunda casa”—i.e. “my second home,”—for it is a city with which I have become very familiar and in which I have so many people with whom I feel personally connected. I know not only the people with whom I have worked but as well shop keepers, hotel and restaurant workers, people within the churches, children and families who are part of our programs and school.   In case you don’t know (after all, it’s not headline news here in th...

You’ve probably heard it said, “Life is such a grind!”   Or maybe, after having gone through a difficult situation you’ve said, “I’ve just been through the grinder.”   Or some say about their daily life, “I’m just grinding it out!”   However it is said, the picture of grinding is always a negative one. It represents difficulty, tedious routine, and even pain.   The grind is never pictured as something positive.   It is never used to express something good.   And, it’s true that sometimes life can seem like such a grind as we go through our daily routines often just trying to survive, trying to somehow keep our heads above water.   At times life puts us through the grinder as we face sickness, the death of our loved ones, the loss of jobs, the breaking of relationships, and personal failure.   No one likes the grind or going through the grinder. I know I don’t.   I’m sure you don’t. But, this morning as I was grinding the coffee be...

On Wednesday night, when I got home from Bible study, I put on the TV and stepped into the 7 th inning of the Yankee game—they were playing against Boston.   As I was watching, Kim came into the room, glanced at the TV and asked, “Is it baseball season already?” When I answered in the affirmative, all I heard was a groan from behind me!   Apparently, Kim is not thrilled that baseball season has returned! Now I don’t watch a ton of games, but I do like to catch a Yankee game now and then.   And besides, since my administrative assistant Conni is such a huge fan and is always ready to talk about the game from the night before, I feel a bit obligated to stay on top of what’s happening in the baseball world!   So, yes baseball season has begun and one can find me watching a Yankee game here and there—and, I guess more than “here and there” as we move through the season.   Of course, it does seem like we just finished the last season of games.   It fee...

This past weekend we not only celebrated Easter in our home, but on Saturday night we also had our annual Passover Seder. In case you don’t know, I’m Jewish on my mother’s side. I began doing Passover with my family when my children were young because I wanted to help them understand their heritage and teach them the significance of God’s intervention in the life of the Jewish people (which includes our family), as well as his constant work among all of his people (which includes Jew and Gentile).   In fact, tonight I’ll be leading our church through the Passover Seder.   One of the parts of the Seder is the “Dayenu.” It’s really one of the best parts of the ceremony. First of all, once we go through the Dayenu, including the singing of the song, we know that the matzo ball soup is about to come out, along with the rest of the meal!   Most importantly, however, the “Dayenu” reminds us of the incredible grace of God at work in our lives.   “Dayenu” means, it woul...