Pastor's Devotions by Tim Harris

Kim and I were down in South Carolina over the past few days to help take care of her parents. While here, we’ve been staying with Kim’s cousin and her husband who happen to have a Nordic Track treadmill in their basement, complete with a video screen that has tons of workout options. So, a couple of times this week I’ve run on the beaches of Costa Rica with an I-trainer (as he calls himself) via the video workouts.   It’s quite a different experience and actually makes the time go by quickly.   (It’s also made me want to go to Costa Rica!) When the training video first comes up you see this incredible view of a Costa Rican beach and you meet your trainer for the session. He then begins to tell you what you will be doing during the session and then you begin to run.   As you go along, he is giving you information about the country, the people, the food. He talks about running and training, what to do and what not to do and all kinds of running tips. ...

--> My son Jonathan and his wife Danielle love to camp. In fact, right now they are traveling out west through some of our national parks setting up tents and sleeping in sleeping bags. And, I am sure they are having a great time.   When I’m asked about camping, however, I tell people that my idea of camping is staying in a fully equipped and furnished cabin or going to the nearest Residence Inn.   In other words, I really don’t want to have to sleep in a tent.   A tent has little to no appeal for me.     I know that for some people staying in a tent can be fun. It’s nice to get close to nature and to experience a different side of life. But I would submit that given a choice, few people would choose to live in a tent. Most people would prefer to live in a house, a building of some sort. After all, a tent is not always the best protection from the elements of nature. Nor is a tent the most stable; a tent is easily blown down or knocked over. ...

As many of you know, this past week California has again experienced a series of earthquakes and tremors. I’m sure it’s been quite unsettling for the people who live closest to the epicenter of the quakes. After all, no one likes the feeling of not knowing when “the big one” might occur. It’s no wonder many people spent a night or two sleeping outside rather than inside their homes which they feared might collapse upon them.   I’ve only experienced one earthquake in my life.   A few years ago, I was at the church where we pastored in Queens going up to the fourth floor in an elevator. When I came out of the elevator, I thought I had become dizzy from the elevator ride up because it felt like the building around me was moving. I soon came to realize it was not in my head, but the building itself had been moving; an earthquake had struck many miles away and we were feeling its effects. Road damage from the earthquake in California We all know we live in...