The View From My Window Pastor's Weekly Blog

If you receive a credible, verifiable email that you have a statement credit on an account, you have money to spend. Maybe it’s a refund or you were overcharged, or you have received a bonus. Until you understand why the money is in your account, you may want to be careful about spending it. But, once it’s been explained to you to your satisfaction, it would be foolish not to take advantage of those funds.

If you have put your faith in Jesus for your salvation, eternal life in heaven has been credited to your account. All of your sins have been paid for, all of your debts erased. Now it’s time to live like a child of God. Stop feeling like you’re not good enough, don’t qualify, are going to miss heaven… Start praying like a member of God’s family. Enjoy the smile of God over you. Live in the freedom of your salvation!

-Pastor Joel Everhart

Years ago, I worked as a packer in a railroad tool factory. Part of my job was to strap heavy bars of various lengths together for shipping. I was given a WWII era tool to crimp the metal bands around those bars. I got really good at using that device. One day the foreman came through and handed me a new tool for the job. It was lighter and designed to be used with one hand. I tried it, but quickly went back to my older model banding tool. Apparently, so did all the other packers, until we came to work one day to discover that all the old tools were gone, forcing us to use the new ones!

As you might imagine, we were pretty upset. However, within a week we were banding the bars quicker than ever. The new tools actually worked better than the old ones. The tool wasn’t the problem, it was our resistance to change. After a while, a few of the old tools were found but no one bothered to use them any longer.

As humans we have this default system that tells us the way to get to heaven is to be good. Good people go to heaven and bad people go to hell. The first problem with that is who gets to decide where the cut-off line is? How good is good enough and how bad is too bad? The second problem is that no one in all of history has met the standard: “For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God,” Romans 3:23.

The good news is that there is a new way to get into heaven and it’s much easier & joyful than that old, impossible way. Follow it instead of obsessing over rules, guilt, and the threat of hell. Then, be careful not to revert back to that old way of thinking.

-Pastor Joel Everhart

On my way into the office one morning I passed a pickup truck & trailer parked on the opposite side of the road. The fellow was unloading a large mower, which I think he was going to use to mow the adjacent field. It being the morning rush, cars were backed up behind him waiting for openings to safely get around his rig. My biggest complaint about his approach was the placement of his safety cones around his equipment. If he had simply placed some behind his vehicle, there would have been warning aplenty, but he surrounded his workspace with them extending his intrusion into the roadway thus making it almost impossible to squeeze past him without crossing the center line.

I thought, “Now there’s a man who is concerned with his own safety and only his own safety.” Some people have tunnel vision, they can only see how they’re being affected by their actions and have no concern for the feelings or inconvenience of others. That focus is supposed to change when we become followers of Jesus. Unfortunately, too many of us fail to pay attention to what the Holy Spirit has to say about caring for the needs of others.

-Pastor Joel Everhart

This morning we welcome our Superintendent, Pastor Don Immel to our church. He will be helping us move through the transition from our current pastor to our new shepherd. Pastor Joel is retiring at the end of the year. A transition pastor will be selected who will serve us as we search for our next pastor. Some people wonder why we don’t just jump from Pastor Joel to the next pastor, but the experience of many churches tells us that having a transition time between pastors is best for the church. Two key words in this process are PATIENCE & FAITH.

This is God’s church and He will move it forward at His own pace. Don’t be anxious, have faith that at just the right time, God will provide just the right person for the job. Pastor Immel is here to reassure us that we’re in good, capable, experienced hands through this process. We’re not facing this alone. Wise, godly, caring people who have helped many other churches through this process stand at the ready to help us too. Don’t worry, pray. Don’t be afraid, get excited for the way God will pull our body together and provide us with the right shepherd to compliment our church and lead us deep into the heart of this century.

-Pastor Joel Everhart

How many things can you name that you only have one of? I’ll name a few: heart, spouse (if any), social security number, mother (natural), legal first name, right thumb print… My point is, it’s not that unusual to have just one of something. There’s only one Savior who can forgive your sins and purchase a place in heaven for you. His name is Jesus.

Peter told the elders in Jerusalem that there is no other name given among people whereby we must be saved. No other. Jesus is the only Savior available, the only One that qualifies, the only One possible. All others are frauds, failures, fakes. As the old hymn says, “Be very sure your anchor holds and grips the solid rock (Jesus).”

-Pastor Joel Everhart

Do you remember the story of the three little pigs? Two of those pigs were foolish and didn’t put enough thought or effort into building a home strong enough to keep the big bad wolf from blowing it down. The third pig was both wise & industrious. He built his house out of bricks. When the wolf huffed and puffed, he wasn’t able to blow piggy #3’s house down!

Some decisions we make can save or alter the direction of our life, which in turn can determine our eternal destiny. As important as the outcome of those decisions might be, there are times they need to be made on the fly. Sometimes we can undo some of the damage of a poor decision, but at other times the damage is permanent. Do your best to develop a habit of doing what is right so that when the time comes that you don’t have enough time to make an informed decision, you will be more inclined to make a good choice.

-Pastor Joel Everhart

Branding or rebranding continues to be a hot topic. Each of us carries a brand or reputation. In theory, we should be driven by what we want to be. Then we want that image to represent us. It begins with basic questions like, “Who am I?”, “Why am I here?”, “What do I hope to accomplish?”, and “How do I complete my goal?”

In essence, Jesus revealed His personal objective & what He hoped His disciples would achieve as well as the role we are to play in it all when He prayed as recorded in John 17. To glorify or reveal the glory of God to the world was His function. He prayed for His disciples to be protected as they carried on that work, and He prayed for us that we would be unified in our endeavors to carry on that mission.

It’s as though Jesus anticipated how hard it would be for us to remain together in order to accomplish anything of lasting value. Indeed, our individual churches struggle to remain intact, let alone denominations or the church as a whole. How sad. The very body designed to lead the world into wholeness has such a battle maintaining its own harmony. May Jesus’ prayers be answered in our day!

-Pastor Joel Everhart

Everything we do here on earth is temporary. Every great athlete plays his or her last game, gifted musicians play their last piece, runners run their final race, painters… No matter how much you love to do something, no matter how much you hate to endure another thing, both will someday end. In fact, life is a series of adjustments between what you used to do and what you now do.

Remember when your parents used to put you in the child seat of the grocery cart? Remember when you used to put your child there? Your grandchild? Your great-grandchild? Okay, maybe not. Sometimes I go a little too far.

We grieve losses of our abilities, losses of loved ones, losses of relationships and positions. We often look forward to promotions, graduations, new situations, raises, better housing, etc. Even good moves come with a dose of anxiety.

Heaven isn’t temporary. If you are in Christ, the day will come when you will enter heaven where the pleasures, relationships, abilities, opportunities and joy will never end! Everything will be perpetually new in its excitement, beauty and enjoyment, but not in its need to be adjusted to, sacrificed for, or require a learning curve (like learning a new computer skill). Everything will feel natural, familiar, comfortable and joyous. Spend a little less time stressing over this life and a little more time looking forward to a NEW life.

-Pastor Joel Everhart

Jesus is coming back. This time He won’t come as a baby or be nailed to a cross. This time Jesus will snatch away those who belong to Him before He pours out His wrath on this sinful world. This time He will come as a mighty conqueror. From that moment on, we’ll never have to deal with pain, frustration, grief or anxiety. Happiness, joy and peace will mark our eternal existence with Jesus.

Thank God there are moments of happiness here on earth! But nothing here compares with the perfect environment Jesus is preparing for us. If you like this world, you’ll love the next! Keep in mind that this life is only temporary but the next one lasts forever. As I often remind you, never confuse for now with forever. Stay ready to go.

-Pastor Joel Everhart

People often talk about “proof of God”. Those of us who know Him marvel at the blindness of others – talk about not being able to see the forest for the trees!

God is looking for proof of you, proof of your faith. If you are a follower of Jesus, it should be as obvious as the sunrise. James tells us there are two parts to believing faith: faith & works. Faith – the belief that Jesus died on the cross to save you and nothing you do can add to or take away from that. Works – things we do like giving money or helping others – won’t save us but they are evidence that we have been saved. Unsaved people can do works but those works are not born out of the love God placed in their hearts. Said works may be an attempt to appease God, impress others or even be an effort to build one’s self esteem, but they are not a genuine expression of God’s love bursting out through them. Today is a good day to inspect your fruit and your motives behind doing the things you do.

-Pastor Joel Everhart