The View From My Window Pastor's Weekly Blog

We’re going to be talking about branding today. Another word we could use for branding is reputation. People get a certain feeling about a product or person just by hearing their name. Let me try a few: McDonald’s, Walmart, George Floyd, KFC, Ford, Ronald Reagan… Chances are you had an immediate reaction to each of those names. They carry a brand, a reputation.

Each church, each minister, each believer carries a brand with the people who know them. Some churches get a bad reputation and, try as they might to overcome it, they’ll never be able to be very effective in their area of influence. We can say we don’t care about our brand but if it is linked to our ability to do what God has sent us to do we should care about it quite a bit. What would you say is the range of reactions people have to hearing the name of our church? Can you think of any ways to improve our “curb appeal”?

A couple of years ago an Asian family was touring the Warf in the San Francisco Bay area. Their little girl sat down beside the water where a sea lion jumped up, grabbed her shirt & pulled her down into the sea. Immediately her grandfather leapt in after her. He didn’t hesitate, didn’t stop to offload his cell phone or wallet or shoes, took no time to think about his own safety. He was on his way into the surf before the splash from her departure had fallen. Grandpa brought her safely back to the dock. That’s love. That’s a passion in action.

We are called to care about the spiritually lost. We are called to share the gospel with those who are outside of Christ. When you share your faith, it shows you care for the people around you. In today’s study Paul shares that our fear of God ought to motivate us to work in the field of souls.

On the newsfeed this morning I read of an actress who died of breast cancer at the age of 57. Although I didn’t recognize the name, her picture was familiar. Her name is Kelly Preston & as I clicked on the article, I was surprised to learn that her husband of 30 years is John Travolta. She passed away on July 12, 2020 after a two-year battle with her illness. Travolta wished to thank all of their family, friends, doctors, nurses & care givers for their support through that very painful season. They fought hard & spared no expense seeking a cure that didn’t come. I was reminded once again how precious & brief life is.

It won’t be long & it will be our turn to leave this world. That’s not the end of our life; we live on. Those who are in Christ have a glorious future ahead. In all of the planning, preparing, building, studying, working, playing you do, be SURE to be ready for the day Jesus calls your name. You don’t want to miss heaven for all the world.

-Pastor Joel Everhart

I was in the gym the other day & started thinking about when it was built. It will soon be 20 years old. I remembered standing in that very spot when it was just a slab of concrete before the walls were framed in. I remembered that like it was yesterday. Then my mind did some calculating: if that was 20 years ago & it went by so fast, how old was I? Early 40s. I’m 63 right now, how old will I be in another 20 years? 83!

At 83, it’s highly unlikely, even if the Lord should tarry & I still be alive, that I’ll be able to do very few of the things I so enjoy doing now. This morning, I lifted, ran, & played racquetball before driving to the church to prepare a message for an upcoming service.

Have I spent my life well? Am I doing worthwhile things? Wasn’t it the Newsboys who sang, Time is ticking away, tick, tick, ticking away? For me, the ticks are getting louder, spurring me on to make the moments count. In today’s text, Paul reminds us of what is really important in life.

– Pastor Joel Everhart

We’ve lived through a lot of rule changes lately. Personally, I was surprised how compliant most of us were to the whole, “shelter in place – wear masks in public” thing. It literally took a life-threatening event to get our attention & change our lifestyle, if only for a little while. I’ll be amazed if a second wave of the virus incites as drastic a response regardless of what edicts the government issues. We’re just not good at following rules that don’t have an immediate cause & effect.

It takes more than rules, more than agreeing with those rules to change the way we live; it takes a change of our nature. There’s only one force powerful enough to morph our stubborn self-serving will into one that is submissive to all that is good & holy. Paul talks about that power in this morning’s message.

– Pastor Joel Everhart

My wife & I have to be careful not to use certain words around our dog, among them are “go”, “walk” & “treat”. These words have been known to rouse her out of a deep sleep & start her on a sequence of actions based on her expectations. I’ve even come up with new phrases like “stroll the troll” & “glide with Clyde” but she soon catches on. If I ask Barb or she asks me if I am hungry, the dog always thinks the question is directed at her.

Paul had to be careful how he said everything he said to the believers in Corinth. Because some of them didn’t like him, he did his best to “foolproof” his letters. Of course, that’s not possible whenever you’re talking about people with a prejudice against you. Nevertheless, he tried.

Being careful of what you say & how you say it depending on who is in the room isn’t necessarily hypocrisy, it might just be the smartest thing you’ll do all day. A word of explanation expertly placed can save you a world of grief. Be sure to season your blunt & forthright with plenty of tact & diplomacy.

– Pastor Joel Everhart

For a while it seemed like every time we ate at Texas Roadhouse in Hanover, we had the same waitress. Every attempt I made at being friendly or humorous seemed to offend her. At the urging of my wife, I soon kept my comments to ordering the food & paying the bill. I pretty much like everybody & have to wonder about people whom I seem to irritate.

The Apostle Paul had a lot of loyal friends in the church at Corinth but he also had a few people who opposed him & his ministry bitterly. They denied his authority, questioned his motives & rejected his demands.

I hate to tell you this, but, not everyone is going to like you. It’s a simple fact of life. Be satisfied with striving to be the best follower of Jesus you can be then let others choose whether to “friend” you or not. Its okay even if they don’t, because, truth be told, there are some great people in this world you really don’t care for either. Just don’t let your natural dislike for them cause you to treat them poorly.

– Pastor Joel Everhart

Ever notice that kids choose their comforter? If one of my grandkids gets a boo-boo & I’m the only relative present they’ll run to me. If my wife is also there, they will run to her. If one of their parents is in the area they become the child’s choice even if they have to pass me on the way.

You & I have a Cosmic Parent that is the absolute God of All Comfort! He should be our 1^st choice whenever we are looking for consolation, comfort, advice or encouragement. If friends have been letting you down lately, maybe its to remind you to “look up” whenever your soul is hurting.

– Pastor Joel Everhart

In one of our final Sunday evening services before the “Great Interruption” hit, we studied Simeon, the man who blessed the baby Jesus at the Temple. The words he spoke over Jesus & his family were a compilation of great exploits & foreboding warnings. This Child would be the Savior of the world but also the cause of great social turbulence which could reveal the true character of many people. Looking at Mary he said, “And a sword will pierce your own soul too.”

Often, we are called to suffer even as we move in the power of God. Our lives become literal “living sacrifices” as we give the best of our strength, wealth, time & energy in what at times looks to be a losing cause. This truth is well displayed in the life of the Apostle Paul as he writes the letter we know as II Corinthians to this church he founded. If Simeon had still been around he might have told Paul something like this: “You’ll found a great church but be sorely tested in the process. Many will get saved, some of whom you’ll be sorry you ever met.”

– Pastor Joel Everhart

In generations past, fathers gave their children advice; today, parents & children exchange information. Dads can tell their kids how to prepare for a career, look for a mate, deal with bullies, & many other helpful life lessons. Sons &/or daughters often help their parents with social media & technology issues. I often tell other adults, “You need a teenager to help you with that.” Sometimes a preschooler is all you need. I think this give & take can be very healthy for a family.

There’s an old adage that says, “Listen in order to be heard.” Asking for a child’s advice can be a wonderful way to open up lines of communication that will prove to be very beneficial for the next time you need to “set the record straight” or “lay down the law” or “call them on ill behavior.” Let’s get to where we’re going, together.

– Pastor Joel Everhart

As I’m writing this column, a popup keeps appearing on my screen that says I have seven updates available & asking if I want to install them now or wait until later. There must be a million people employed by the computer industry to do nothing but come up with updates for our devices. One such update on my phone completely wiped out my contact list! It replaced all the phone numbers with email addresses, ugh! Some of those updates to the computer take over ten minutes to complete then require me to learn a new way of doing what I had recently learned how to do. Like it or not, they’re going to keep me current with the changes they decide I need to make.

I wish we were automatically connected to the Lord like that: everything would just freeze until we got an update from on high. That it wouldn’t be possible to continue working until our software was reconfigured to do nothing but exactly what the Father wills us to do. Unfortunately, to be in tune with God requires our cooperation. Cooperate, make sure you are hard wired into His system & that the connection is secure.

– Pastor Joel Everhart