Pastor's Devotions by Tim Harris

Many people have never seen it. Even fewer have had it done to them. But this past week, as part of his graduation from his doctoral program, our son Nathaniel went through a hooding ceremony wherein his academic advisor placed an academic hood over his neck such that it draped down along his back, showing by its colors his area of study and the completion of his degree. The ceremony signifies the culmination of doctoral studies and the transition of the student from candidate to colleague. Of course, Kim and I are very proud of Nathaniel and felt privileged to be there to witness his hooding.  The most interesting part of the hooding ceremony to me is the thought that, one’s academic advisor and mentor is conferring on the student the status of a colleague. In other words, the student goes from being one who is under to one who is equal . It is meant to be a visual representation of the fact that the advisor has done their best to pour knowledge into the student and that the stude...

This morning I had to bring my vehicle to the dealer due to a recall, as well as for regular service. Since I needed to leave my car for the day, I asked if I could have a loaner car, which they gave me. In fact, I ended up with a brand new Hyundai Tuscon with only 13 miles on it and all the newest bells and whistles. It’s not that I don’t like my vehicle (a Hyundai Santa Fe), but who doesn’t like driving a brand new car with gleaming new paint and all the newest features?  Of course, I’ll have to return it at the end of the day. That means, I better not get too attached to it or enjoy it too much! And I need to make sure I take care of it properly. After all, it would not be a good thing for me to return a damaged car at the end of the day. I need to remind myself I’m not the owner; it’s only a loaner.  In Matthew 25, Jesus told a parable of a man who was going on a trip. He gave different portions of his wealth to each of his three servants to manage on his behalf. When he r...

How has your week been? Mine has been quite uneventful (except for a bit of a stomach bug that kept me at home for a couple of days). I know that for some, having an uneventful week might seem like a bad thing. I’d say, however, an uneventful week is actually a pretty good thing. After all, I don’t necessarily want my life to be constantly filled with all kinds of excitement, drama, and thus, stress. Sometimes it’s good to have an uneventful week.  Does that mean my week was boring? Not at all. As I mentioned, it unfortunately included a bit of illness. Besides that, I had some chores to accomplish at home and my normal workload for the church, including preparations for Sunday’s sermon. Kim and I attended our church’s marriage class online.  And I did get to watch a bit of the Madrid Open (tennis) on television and finish a book I had been reading on The Battle of Monmouth (a turning point battle for the American cause that took place right here in Monmouth County). So it was...

A couple of weeks ago I took an afternoon run that began as a 5 mile run but ended up at 7 miles. In truth, when I returned to my house I looked at my GPS watch and saw that I had clocked 6.9 miles. So as most runners can understand, I ran up the block .05 miles and then back to make it an even 7 miles. Blame it on a bit of OCD or pride or whatever you like, but I just couldn’t end my run with an unfinished mile.  I posted my run that day to a running group I belong to on Facebook (for runners age 60+) noting that I had to put in the extra .1 mile to make it a complete 7 miles and I received over 450 reactions and more than 150 comments. All but one person said they would have done the same. I guess I’m in pretty good company when it comes to not wanting to walk away from an unfinished mile—at least among runners! (Kim still can’t understand why I couldn’t leave it at 6.9 miles!)  It makes me wonder, however, how many “unfinished miles” we all live with; how many “unfinished m...

Now that we’ve come through our Easter celebrations, I can’t help but wonder what life was like for Jesus’ first group of followers after Easter—i.e. the day after Jesus’ resurrection. I know what life is like for most of us after Easter Sunday. We go back to work or school. After a day of celebration, we force ourselves to get back into the normal routine of life—albeit a little tired and a still a little full from all the food we’ve eaten. We ask each other, “How was your Easter?” and then go on to talk about the weather or the latest news items. We enjoyed the church services, but now it’s time to get back into the real world of schedules, stocks, and sports. Like the day after any holiday, the day after Easter—and thus, life after Easter—can even seem to be a bit of a letdown.  But I wonder, is that the way it was for Jesus’ first followers the day after they experienced the risen Christ? Did they just get back to the normal routines of their lives? Was it a day of letdown? Did...

Have you ever watched as a line of storm clouds begin to make their way towards you? What might have begun as a bright, sunny day begins to turn a bit darker. The darkness begins to increase, as the storm clouds roll in. Finally, they take over the sky and eventually burst sending down buckets of rain, at times filling the sky with lightning and thunder.  Such was the case with Jesus’ final week—and especially his final day. The week began filled with the brightness of worship and praise, the hailing of Jesus as Messiah and King. Throughout the week, however, the sky was changing. By Thursday evening, it had become obviously darker. By Friday afternoon the storm clouds had rolled in, in full force—Jesus was being whipped, forced to carry his cross up Golgatha’s hill, and finally nailed to that cross. A deep darkness filled the earth. Then, like lightning and thunder filling the sky, Jesus cried out, “It is finished.” And he died.  It's hard for us from our perspective to under...

We all have our morning routines. That is, we all have an order in which we, once we get out of bed, do the things we need to do to get ready for the day and out of the house. And many of us can be very, very regular about our morning routines, allowing nothing to get in the way of our routine.  Mine goes something like this: get out of bed, take a shower, brush my hair, shave (and the shaving cream, post-shave balm, and razor need to be put in a certain order on the sink), get dressed, make the bed, make the coffee, walk the dog, feed the dog, eat breakfast, read my Bible and devotional book, pray, brush my teeth, put my gym bag together, gather my stuff, and leave for the office. I think I’m tired just thinking about my morning routine! Of course, there are days when the routine gets mixed up a little bit. For example, if I’m going to go to the gym or take a run in the morning, I’ll save my shower and shaving for afterwards—or maybe even eat breakfast once I get back. I’ve learne...