Pastor's Devotions by Tim Harris

This past week, up and down the East Coast most of us felt the moving of the ground like never before. I was getting out of the elevator on the fourth floor of our office building when I heard a rattling in the ceiling and then felt the building begin to sway.  At first I thought it was just me getting dizzy from the elevator ride. However, when someone called out, “What’s happening? Do you feel that?” I knew it wasn’t just me. Sure enough, I had experienced my first earthquake! Thankfully the quake was minimal with little damage done, and no loss of life. For a few moments, however, it was a bit frightening as we wondered whether or not it would intensify or come to a quick end. For a couple of moments, none of us knew exactly what would happen next. That’s how  our lives are so much of the time. The ground beneath our feet begins to shake and we don’t know whether or not it’s going to subside or intensify. We don’t know whether things are going to get better or worse. And,...

This week for the first time in about a year, my three kids and I went to the rock climbing gym.  After belaying two of them, I took my turn scaling the wall. As I did, it became quickly obvious that I was both out of practice and out of shape. As I climbed not only did I feel quite awkward moving from one hold to the next, but the muscles, especially in my forearms, began to quiver with pain. Quite a few times I lost my grip and found myself dangling in my harness attached to the top rope, sometimes thirty feet or more in the air. At those moments, I was really glad for a strong rope (and a son who knew what to do with it!). Without the rope properly attached to my harness , I would have surely fallen and seriously injured myself. Without the right rope, I would have easily plunged to the ground below. In fact, without the right rope, I would never scale a wall as high as I did, hanging onto small rock holds up to thirty-five feet or more in the air. Before I climb a wall like th...

One of the most exciting things about embarking on a new place of work and ministry is the opportunity to make new friends. Although I am grateful for all the good friends I’ve had through the years, and I hope to keep many of those friendships alive, I realize that I am in a season of developing new friendships. As I have begun to meet the people of Promise International Fellowship (PIF) and City Vine Church, sharing a meal or a having a cup of coffee, meeting in my office or at a table during  our post-service receptions, I have met some really great people who, up to this point, I didn’t even know existed. I know it’s early, but I can sense that God is bringing  a new set of people into my life – people with whom I can share life and do ministry; people whom I will soon consider as good friends. I thank God for all the friends I have had through the years, many who are still good friends. And, I look forward to making lots of new friends in the weeks and months to come....

Having moved recently, we as a family have had to get used to both saying and writing a new address. When asked in a store for her address, my daughter Joanna had to think twice before giving it. Just yesterday, as I was filling out some forms, three times I began to write down our old one.  Not only that, but since we are living fairly close to our former address, multiple times, as Kim and I have been driving home, we’ve started to turn down the street where we used to live. Even after close to a month, we are all still getting used to the fact that we have had a change of address. The Bible shows us that one day, we who are God’s people will all have a change of address. We will no longer live as part of this world, but in a new place—a world designed for us by God.  Jesus said, “In my Father's house are many rooms (i.e. dwelling places)... I am going there to prepare a place for you.” (John 14:2-3-NIV) By his words, Jesus gives to us the assurance that one day we will mo...

Sizzling.   Steamy.   Scorching. These are just a few of the adjectives to describe the weather we’re facing here in the Northeast (as well as across much of the country).   To say that it’s hot outside is probably an understatement. Last night after the sun went down, it still felt uncomfortably hot out—more like Florida or Louisiana than New Jersey.   When driving along this morning, the air blowing through the open window was like a blast of hot air coming out of a clothes dryer. Of course this kind of heat means running the air conditioning, going to the pool, looking for cool places to hang out (that is “cool” as in cold), and finding as much shade as possible. Most people, like me, are only going outside if they have to. And when they do, they are moving very, very slowly. Everyone is in need of some relief from the heat. The prophet Isaiah wrote long ago, “O LORD, you are my God; I will exalt you and praise your name…You have been … a shade from the heat .” ...

I recently moved into the office at the church where I am now pastoring in Queens, NY. The office is five stories up (although it’s on the 4 th floor). And, although it’s not the highest I’ve ever been in a building, it is the first time I’ve ever worked in an office that is not at ground level. Thus, from my window I have a different kind of view. Instead of looking straight out the window at my surroundings, I am now looking down on them. Of course, some of you may be used to working a few stories up or even higher. Some of you might even work in a high rise building or skyscraper. And, I’m sure that most of us have been up the Empire State Building or the former World Trade Center buildings or other buildings like them. We all know that, the higher up one is, the smaller the people, cars, and buildings below appear. When looking from above, one can’t help but have a different perspective on their surroundings.   Those things that seem so large from the ground, appear so much s...

This week my family and I moved to a rental home and had all of our “worldly goods” delivered by the moving company that had held it all for us in storage for the past four months. Before we knew it, we had a house filled with boxes and furniture. Although we did our best to tell the movers where to place everything, in the end, it felt as if the whole house was in complete disarray. All we could do was begin opening boxes and try to put things away piece by piece. The only fun part of the whole ordeal was the fact that, because we hadn’t seen so much of our stuff for four months, as we unpacked the boxes each of us would react with expressions like, “Oh I remember this!” or “I’m so glad to have my _____ back!” or “Why did we keep this?” Just about each box held somewhat of a little surprise. I find that every time I go to God’s Word, the Bible, it is like unpacking a box filled with all kinds of good stuff (i.e. not the stuff that causes you to say, “Why did I keep this?”). And, of...