Pastor's Devotions by Tim Harris

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...