Pastor's Devotions by Tim Harris

On this Thanksgiving Day, my mind goes to the words of Andrea Crouch's song, "My Tribute." May the lyrics to this song, inspire you to give thanks as you consider the goodness of God at work in your life!  How can I say thanks for the things You have done for me? Things so undeserved yet You gave To prove Your love for me The voices of a million angels Could not express my gratitude All that I am, and ever hope to be I owe it all to Thee To God be the glory To God be the glory To God be the glory For the things He has done With His blood He has saved me With His power He has raised me To God be the glory For the things He has done Just let me live my life and Let it be pleasing Lord to Thee And if I gain any praise Let it go to Calvary With His blood He has saved me With His power He has raised me To God be the glory For the things He has done Have a blessed Thanksgiving Day!  Pastor Tim Harris 

The last time Kim and I visited our son Jonathan and his family I noticed sitting in the corner of their dining room, “Mr. Bear.”  You see, Mr. Bear was Jonathan’s favorite stuffed animal from the time he was about 18 months old. When he was young, Jonathan would fall asleep with his fingers stroking Mr. Bear’s fur.  He took Mr. Bear everywhere we would allow him to take him.  In fact, if you look closely at Mr. Bear you will see where his fur is worn and the places where Kim had to sew him back together time and again.  Although Mr. Bear was a fixture in Jonathan’s room, even throughout his teen and college years, somewhere along the line Mr. Bear got relegated to a box to be stored away. That box got moved with Jonathan when he got married. I guess having a newborn son caused Jonathan to go through some of his boxes and in the process he discovered, and then took out, Mr. Bear. It’s kind of like a Toy Story movie wherein the childhood toys get stored away only be taken out and apprec

A few days ago, as I was going to get into my car, the brilliant red leaves on the maple trees in our neighborhood and on our property caught my eye. The sunlight was hitting the trees in such a way so as to make their leaves glow with that deep red color that they had become. I stopped, gazed, and even took a few pictures for the beauty was almost overwhelming.  After a couple of days of rain and colder weather, however, almost all of those same beautiful leaves are now on the ground, leaving the trees pretty much bare.  What was once a thing of astounding beauty has become a chore (i.e. the blowing and raking of the fallen leaves!) and a reminder of the turning of the seasons.  The before and after! For me, those beautiful fallen leaves are also a striking reminder of the temporary nature of life. They remind me that, even the most beautiful things in life do not last. Oh, I don’t mean to be pessimistic, merely realistic about our world and our lives. For if we fail to see and unders

This week has obviously been a difficult one as we have come through election day and, as of this writing, are still waiting for the results. I’m not concerned about the slowness of the process for, like most of us, I want to know that every vote counts.  That’s the beauty of our nation’s democracy: every vote does count! I am concerned, however, as to how people will react once a winner is announced, especially those within the church.  Eventually a winner for the presidency will be announced. That is for certain. The question is, how will we respond once we hear the news? If it is the guy we voted for, will we gloat and rub it in the face of the other side? If it is the guy from the other side of the aisle who wins, will we fall into depression and anger complete with weeping and gnashing of teeth? Unfortunately, those are the responses that will be expressed by most people across our land: weeping or gloating.  But, I want to encourage those of us who are people of faith to move tow