Pastor's Devotions by Tim Harris

Christians all over the world know and love the Christmas hymn, “O Holy Night.” The lyrics, originally written in French by Placide Cappeau in 1843, have been translated into languages from around the globe. The music was written by Adolphe Adam in 1847 and is as powerful as are the lyrics.  It seems to me that this hymn in particular catches the essence of what the Christmas is all about: “our dear Savior’s birth,” the King of kings in a “lowly manger”, a teacher teaching us to “love one another,” a “Gospel (of) peace.”  And, they speak so well to the human condition throughout the ages: a world in “sin and error pining,” weariness, need, weakness, chains, oppression.  Most of all, however, the lyrics to this hymn resound with worship and praise to the One who came bringing hope to a world that was trapped in sin, error, and weariness. It draws for us a picture of light breaking into darkness and those who experience that light bursting into “sweet hymns of praise” and “...

I love listening to Christmas music from Thanksgiving Day all the way to New Year’s. But this year I noticed something about quite a number of our standard Christmas songs, many of which come out of movies. Many of those songs are quite wistful and melancholy; some are outright sad. The lyrics speak of longing for Christmases gone by, wishing to be with friends and family, dreaming of a romantic Christmas surrounded by snow. One song is all about a blue Christmas. Another speaks about being home for Christmas, even it is just in one’s dream.   The famous song, “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” comes from the movie “Meet Me in Saint Louis.” Judy Garland sings the song looking out over a snow-covered backyard, sad that this is supposed to be her family’s last Christmas in St. Louis. She sings,            “Have yourself a merry little Christmas  Let your heart be light  From now on your troubles will be out of sight Have yoursel...

As many of you know, because of my Jewish heritage (on my mother’s side), we light the Chanukah candles as many nights as we can during the eight days of Chanukah. As we do, we pray not only one of the traditional prayers, but also our own prayers thanking God that the candles of the menorah remind us that we serve a God who intervenes in our lives, who works miracles on behalf of his people, and who shines light into the darkness of our world. And then, probably to the chagrin of most Jewish people, we thank God for sending Jesus, the light of the world! It’s our way of bringing together our Jewish heritage and our faith in Jesus.  Last week, after I had lighted the Chanukah candles, I sat looking at the flames burning and then at the lights of our Christmas tree. I then looked outside at our house and others on our block that were decorated with all kinds of lights.  As I did, it crossed my mind how interesting it is  that we celebrate these holidays that are ...

Whenever any of our kids are coming to visit for a few days, Kim and I find ourselves filled with anticipation. For days, Kim and I are thinking about the beds that need to be prepared, what meals we will cook, and what we will do in our time together. As the hour of their arrival draws closer, I find myself looking out the window to see whether or not I can see their car coming down the street or pulling into the driveway. It is a time that for us, is filled with anticipation. As you well know, the Christmas season is filled with all kinds of anticipation as we look forward to the day of our Christmas celebrations. Especially for the children, the anticipation of what will take place on Christmas morning gets their hearts pumping, their minds spinning, and their bodies tossing in bed as the anticipation of it all gets the best of them! Even as adults, we look forward with anticipation to the dinners, gatherings with friends and family, special church services, and even the gifts to be...

For the past couple of weeks, on most nights the evening sky has been quite clear and thus great for stargazing (at least here in NJ!).  Last week the moon was in a crescent phase and this week is now almost full.  To the “right” of the moon, Jupiter has been bright as can be, with Saturn near to it and as well able to be seen with the naked eye. And just a bit further “right” has been Venus shining like the noonday sun! In fact, at one point last week, all three planets and the moon were in one constellation, Capricorn. It was amazing to see them all so close together. It has truly been an incredible sky!  Although many people might take a quick glance upwards and possibly take note of the moon and the stars in a general sense, they often miss what’s actually taking place.  They fail to see the moon changing its shape or the planets moving around them. After all, most people—most of us—rush from the house to the car, getting out and rushing into wherever we are goin...

I have learned through the years that one needs not have lots and lots of friends, just a few good friends upon whom they can depend. Now, it’s ok to have a bunch of people in your life with whom you might share an activity here and there or some people that you get together with around a common theme—e.g., a sport, a club, a meal, church. In the end, however, one needs just a few people with whom they can share the intimate parts of their heart, mind, and soul; a few friends with whom you feel connected, even when you are unable to be together physically; a few good friends to whom you can turn when your find yourself in a place of need.  Of course, it’s not always easy to figure out who those few friends are. Sometimes we might think of someone as a close friend, but when push comes to shove we find out that they are not really there for us in our time of need—or maybe they’re not as interested in the friendship as we are. There are those people who come in and out of our lives b...

This past summer, Kim and I needed to purchase a new electric dryer. Thus, I did my research regarding brands, features, and prices. And, I picked out what I thought would be the best dryer for us within our price range. When I went into the store and spoke to the salesman, however, it quickly became obvious that much of my research was useless since the dryer I had picked out was not available and would not be available for a very long time. In fact, my options were quickly limited, all due to problems with the supply chain.  As I am sure you already know, here in the US, as well as around the world, there have been significant supply chain problems that have affected the goods and services we are able to obtain. From construction projects to the automobile industry to the food that makes it to our supermarket shelves, glitches  and bottlenecks in the supply chain have slowed down the flow of parts needed for manufacturing, the delivery of goods and services to our homes, and...

Kim and I, like most grandparents whose grandchildren live a bit out of reach, are thankful for the technology we have via apps like Facetime.  Since our grandson Jesse, along with his parents (of course), lives about four hours away, at least a few times a week Kim and I get to see him and interact with him via Facetime.  Of course, we’d much rather be with him in person. After all, there’s nothing like being there and being able to play together, feel each other’s touch, or give a hug. But, at least we get to see him and he gets to see us, albeit by means of a screen. It’s better than just talking on a phone; in fact, there’s no way in the world that a 1 year old is going to sit and have a phone conversation. With Facetime, he gets to play and we get to watch him and talk to him  and interact with him while he does. Sometimes he even tries to show off for grandma and grandpa!   Of course, we'd rather be up close and personal! As its name suggests, with Facetim...

I don’t follow the game show Jeopardy! too closely, just catching a show here and there. But it does catch my attention when I hear about a champion that keeps winning night after night. Such has been the case with the current Jeopardy! champion Matt Omodio who, as of Thursday, September 30, 2021 has won 32 games and $1,212,401.  That’s absolutely amazing!   What impresses me about Jeopardy! champions is the amount of knowledge they carry around in their heads. After all, they are being asked to come up with information (albeit often trivial information) about literature, history, art, geography, pop culture, science, etc., etc.  And those who win day after day, and especially those who win week after week, are demonstrating an incredible breadth and depth of information that somewhere along the line they have studied, somehow learned, or simply absorbed.  Let me assure you that, although I might come up with a right answer here and there, I could never be a Jeo...

Have you ever just wanted to listen to a song over and over again to the point that you keep on hitting the repeat button (or icon)? For some reason a song gets to you and you want to hear it again and again. Maybe you end up playing it so many times, the people around you begin to beg you to please play something else!  Such has been the case for me with two songs recently that I discovered on Spotify. The first song is “Shepherd” recorded by both Leeland and Cece Winans. It’s a song that encourages us to trust Jesus as our Shepherd, believing that as we do, everything in life will be so much better. The second song is “Be My Shalom” by Evan Craft. In fact, he recorded the song in English, Spanish, and in a bilingual version. The song is a prayer for the comfort, healing, and peace that Jesus our Shepherd is able to bring into our lives by means of his Holy Spirit.  For some reason, these two songs have resonated with me in recent days both musically and lyrically such that, ...

This past week, my two brothers and I took our annual trip to the US Open in Queens, NY. It’s always an exciting day, watching tennis players from around the world fight to move on to the next round, and possibly into the finals. This year has been especially exciting as throughout the tournament there have been multiple upsets and the rising of some very young stars, including three 18 year-olds.  What I noticed the day we were there, as well as in the matches I’ve watched on TV, the crowd seems to almost always get behind the underdog, even if they’ve cheered for the higher ranked player in the past.  The second match that my brothers and I got to watch was between Elena Svitolina (Ukraine), who was the fifth seed, and a young unseeded player who seemed to come out of nowhere, Leyla Fernandez (Canada).  Leyla had already beaten the 16th seed, Angelique Kerber, and the #3 seed, Noemi Osaka who has been a crowd favorite. In each of these matches, including the one that my...

On Wednesday evening, here in New Jersey and throughout the New York metropolitan region, we experienced the rage of what was left of hurricane Ida. That night the winds howled, the rains came pounding down, and the flood waters rose. Of course, it was not near to the destruction that the people of New Orleans experienced while Ida was still a full-blown hurricane. Yet, the flooding and damage was significant.  And sadly, quite number of people lost their lives.   The day after the storm was a completely different story.  The sun was shining brightly. The sky was a clear blue. A gentle breeze was blowing. The humidity was gone and the temperature was as comfortable as it gets. For sure, what a difference a day makes! But it’s often like that the day after a storm.  One day it’s dark and stormy; the next day it’s as if nothing had happened—except for any aftermath we might be facing.  It makes me think of what it must have been like for Jesus’ disciples on t...

This past week I turned 62!  As I mentioned to a number of people, the best part of doing so is that I now get on the beach for free here in Long Branch, NJ. In fact, on my birthday I went to the beach in the afternoon and told the teenager who was checking for badges that I had my seasonal badge in my backpack, but that it was my birthday and had just turned 62. She kindly said, “Happy Birthday! You’re good to go!”  In other words, I no longer need a badge to get on the beach! I guess there are some benefits to getting older.    Do the benefits of getting older outweigh the challenges? After all, there are things I am facing in my body that I never had to deal with before. Keeping my body in shape is a little harder than it once was.  And, there seem to be new challenges at every turn, challenges that are the result of the aging process. Yet, there are also a lot of good things that come with age: becoming a grandfather, watching my children flourish, the growt...

Last week our grandson Jesse turned one year old. Not only that, but Jess has also become a walker!  It wasn’t like he just got up on his first birthday and ran across the room. Rather, for the past month or so he was taking a couple of steps here and there. Then, a couple of weeks ago, while we were together on vacation, he would take anywhere from five to ten steps to get to where he wanted to go, eventually going back to crawling.  When we saw him this past week, however, just after his first birthday, he had made walking his main mode of transport, getting up on his two feet, wobbling, and even running to get to where he wanted to go.   It’s an amazing process watching a baby move from crawling to walking.  They often begin by learning to stand and then transferring themselves from one place to another by holding onto furniture or whatever they can get their hands on. They may take the hands of someone nearby to help them move from one point to another. Soon...

This past week, Kim’s dad, Ronald Ericksen, passed away. “Dad” (as even I called him) was just about one month shy of his 89th birthday. Although not completely unexpected, we are all saddened by the fact that he is no longer with us. After all, we will miss his stories (many of which were on “the list”), his humor, his music, his words of advice, and most of all his kindness and love.   I knew Kim’s dad from the time I was about 14 years old—that’s about 48 years!  For many years, to me he was the song leader at our church who at times would lead a song with a tear in his eye, a board member, a Bible teacher, a helper to the youth ministry, and the husband and father in a family that would eventually become my family as well. He was always well respected and deeply appreciated for his integrity, steadiness, and spirituality.    Kim's mom and dad at Jonathan's wedding - July 2015 When I married Kim, I came to see her dad in new ways. Not only did he live out his...

Beginning in junior high school, I began to study Spanish. Thankfully, through the years, I’ve had opportunities to grow in my ability to speak and understand the language as I’ve been surrounded by Spanish-speakers for most of my life. Of course, my time spent in Nicaragua really forced me to learn the language better.  (Believe me, however, my Spanish is not great!) In recent years, I’ve tried to learn some Brazilian Portuguese. Using apps such as Duolingo and Babbel, as well as having Portuguese-speakers around me,  I’ve taken the opportunity to learn at least some basic words and greetings. It’s not easy, but I do love the ability to greet my Spanish-speaking and Brazilian friends in their own language. Unfortunately, I know I will never be fluent in either Spanish or Portuguese.   The most important thing about language is that it gives us the ability to communicate with one another. As we learn each other’s language our ability to share thoughts, feelings, fact...

Have you ever been in conversation with someone when, part way through it you get the distinct feeling that the other person’s mind is on other things? How often have you said to your children, “Are you listening to me?” Maybe you’ve heard the teacher ask the class, “Are you listening to me?” As a pastor, I sometimes ask the congregation, “Are you listening?” Or maybe when talking to your spouse or friend you’ve asked the question.  I hate to admit it, but in one way or another my wife Kim has asked me the question numerous times. She might be telling me about her day at work or about some situation she’s facing when she soon realizes that I’m not really listening. Afterall, having been married for almost 36 years she can quickly tell when my mind has begun to wander and, although I may be nodding my head to what she’s saying, she knows I’m not really listening. (I’m sorry, Kim!)  It’s a sad fact that so often we have to ask each other, “Are you listening to me?” After all, kn...

This past week, here in New Jersey we have had our share of storms. A few nights ago, we had thunder like I haven’t heard in a long time—thunder that seemed to shake the whole house. Yesterday as I was running some errands and then heading to the gym, I could see the clouds in the south gathering, lightening streaks came bolting down, and the thunder began to roar again. I got into the gym just before the downpour came. I was glad to have missed it. Eventually the storm passed and the sun came back out. But wouldn’t you know, just as I was about to leave another storm came rolling in! At least, I was able to stay where I was as I waited for the storm to pass.  Then at about 4:15 this morning, my phone sounded an alarm with a tornado warning from the National Weather Service. It said that a tornado was possible and that we should immediately seek shelter on a ground floor or in the basement. Outside the rain was coming down hard and the wind was howling. Although I just wanted to sl...

Since we've been living here in Monmouth County, New Jersey,  each year Kim and I have been going to see fireworks on the beach at one of our local beach towns to celebrate Independence Day. Even though it might not be the best fireworks show in town, I've loved going early to eat dinner on the beach, play frisbee or spike ball, hang out with friends, and then watch the fireworks. Last year, however, the fireworks show was cancelled due to COVID restrictions. So I was really looking forward to this year's show.  I just found out, however, just the other night this year's show was as well cancelled for other reasons. BUMMER! I am so disappointed!  I think for many of us, this year's fireworks shows are another sign of returning to some sort of post-COVID normalcy. To be able watch fireworks with our friends and family, gather for a backyard BBQ, or go to a swimming pool without tons of restrictions makes this 4th of July feel a little more free (pun intended!).  Of c...

This past weekend, along with all of our children, their spouses, and our grandson, we had another special guest in our house. Our daughter and son-in-law, Joanna and Dan, brought their newly adopted dog with them, Oden. Oden is a greyhound rescue dog who is still getting acclimated to life outside the racetrack where he lived all of his life. Thankfully, he is progressing really well.  The big question we had was, whether or not our dog Sadie and Oden were going to get along. After all, Sadie is not used to having another dog in the house. We weren’t quite sure whether their personalities and temperaments would allow for them to be together. Or would we have to keep them apart? Thankfully, after the initial introductions and curiosities, Sadie and Oden got along just fine. In fact, it seemed like they were actually becoming friends, walking together, playing together, and at times even sleeping together.  We all know the value of having someone we can call a friend.  Aft...