Pastor's Devotions by Tim Harris

Kim and I got back on Tuesday from our trip to Israel (including 3 days in Jordan). It was a trip we never could have expected to take, but by the grace of God was gifted to us through some very generous relatives. Ultimately, we know, as one rabbi we met put it, we were there because God had called us and made a way for us to be there. In these next few blogs, I want to share some of my thoughts and the lessons that were made very real to me as we were there. Our first few days were spent in Beer Sheba, the Negev desert, and in Jordan. The terrain in those parts is so barren and dry, it amazed me that anything survived there. The part of Jordan that we were in was, in the Old Testament, Edom and Moab. It was territory that the Israelites had to travel through on their way to the Promised Land. As I looked at the land I couldn’t help but think, it’s no wonder they did so much complaining. I’d complain too. And, so would you! As we travelled through these places, I couldn’t help but...

The other night as Kim and I were coming out of a local store, the sky suddenly lit up with a streak of lighting that went from one end of the sky to the other. It was truly an amazing sight to see the lighting move horizontally across the horizon. The clouds were filled with color and what was once a darkened sky was now filled with light. Everything around seemed to come alive. It makes me think about Jesus’ words to his disciples. As he looked towards the future, he told them that as time went on this world would become a more and more difficult place for those who followed him to live. He let them know that life in this world would not be easy. At times their world would seem very, very dark. Suddenly, however, that darkness would be filled with light – the light of his return! Luke 17:24 – “For the Son of Man in his day will be like the lightning, which flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other.” (NIV) The Apostle Paul put it this way: “For the Lord himself wil...

Today in the Northeast, even as I am writing, we have heavy winds and rains and are expecting to feel the effects of tropical storm Nicole as she comes up the coast. The Midwest has experienced its share of flooding this week. Then there were the mudslides in Mexico. And, that is probably just a few of the areas around our world that have had to deal with storms in recent days. We live in a world that is constantly experiencing one storm after another. Of course, when we speak about the “storms of life”, we use that phrase not only in a meteorological sense, but also in a metaphorical one. The phrase, the “storms of life” often refer to the difficulties that we face within our lives: sickness, pain, broken relationships, the loss of a job, sudden catastrophes, the death of a loved one. All of these things and many more can be referred to as a “storm.” At times it can feel as if we are living from one storm to the next. Unfortunately, none of us are exempt from storms – not the mete...

The other night I was going through some old videos that we had stored in a closet. Becoming a bit curious, I popped a couple of them in and began watching the first few years of my children’s lives. We watched Jonathan visiting the hospital just after the birth of his brother, Nathaniel. On the next video were Jonathan and Nathaniel visiting the hospital upon the birth of their sister, Joanna. We watched the three of them at a young age have their first “jam session” with their toy instruments (some of which were improvised from kitchen utensils). We were reminded of some of the cute and funny things they said back then, things that we had forgotten. And, we were reminded how much work it can be to manage three children four years old and younger! Most of all, I was struck by how innocent they were. Although they could be stubborn at times, they were trusting of us as their parents. They quickly came running to us when we came into the house. They looked to us to meet their needs (a...

Rain delays happen in many sports, but most especially in baseball and tennis. Some sports like football, are played in all kinds of weather. Baseball can tolerate some rain, but once it really starts coming down the game has to be stopped. In tennis, however, even the slightest amount of rain can cause the courts, and especially the lines, to become slick and dangerous to the players. Thus, even a drizzle can cause play to stop and the game to be delayed. Such was the case yesterday with the US Open. Even before the men’s finals match was started, the match had to be postponed a whole day due to rain. Of course, it was a great disappointment to the fans who were planning to spend their Sunday afternoon watching the match either at the stadium or via television. But, how much more disappointing it must have been to the players who I am sure spent the whole night before and the whole of that day pumping themselves up for the big match. I’m sure it was quite a letdown when they were to...

For our household, September 6, 2010 was quite appropriately called “Labor Day” for that day also happened to be our son Jonathan’s 19th birthday. In other words, as I told Kim and our family, for her it really was “labor day” for it was on that day, nineteen years ago, that she was in labor giving birth to our first son. Thus, if anyone should have been honored for their labor it would have to be Kim for all that she went through bringing our son into the world. Yes, for her it was a day of hard labor. Thinking back to that day, I am always amazed, however, of not only the stamina that Kim had throughout that process but even more so of how, once holding that newborn in her arms, this new mother forgot all of her pain. Once the baby was handed over to her, it was as if there had never been any struggle. She went so quickly from labor to rest as our new son, Jonathan, was placed in her arms. Jesus said, “A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when h...

With the nice weather we’ve been having, my family and I have tried to get some time in on our deck in the backyard. After all, the colder weather will soon be here, when it will no longer be so pleasant to sit outside. Even this morning I took my coffee out and had my devotions on the deck. In fact, right now, as I am writing, I’m sitting on the deck, enjoying the outdoors. It really is a very nice setting. There is, however, one problem. There is a huge oak tree in the one corner of the yard whose branches hang towards the house. And, this time of the year the oak tree is dropping its acorns – many of them onto our deck. Some of them are even falling perilously close to my head. Especially when the squirrels are running through its branches, I can begin to feel as if I am being bombed by acorns. In order to protect myself, I have to make sure I am sitting far enough under the umbrella so as not to get hit. Every so often I hear an acorn hit the top of the umbrella and roll off onto...