The View From My Window Pastor's Weekly Blog

I have a number of friends who love to work. Some people are motivated by money therefore they’re working a lot of overtime, I’m not talking about them. I’m talking about people who enjoy doing things that make life better for themselves and others. They’re not lazy. They’re motivated. They often do difficult tasks that take a long time to complete not only for the joy of the finished project but also for the joy in the process.

Isn’t life odd? There are people who won’t even take care of themselves, let alone others. Then there are people who make it their goal to take care of everyone and everything. What makes one person so productive and another not? There are likely a million correct answers to that question, each as individual as each individual.

One of the keys to working hard is no doubt enjoying what you’re doing. Jesus enjoyed His ministry. It was hard. He was strongly opposed. There were very few personal perks. Yet, He was driven to seek and save the lost much like a first responder on a search and rescue mission. It’s not about how much they’re getting paid or getting their story to go viral. It’s about finding someone before they suffer another moment of fear, loneliness, pain or want. Finding them fills a place in one’s soul like nothing else. Let Jesus work in you, He loves it.

-Pastor Joel Everhart

Trying to do what we cannot do only leads to a great deal of frustration, or worse. Jumping off a building trying to fly can be deadly. There are a lot of people who make it sound like we can keep ourselves from ever getting sick or injured, and if we do, we can heal ourselves by following some faith formula. Others have a magic potion that eliminates toxins or releases enzymes or whatever that cures everything from the common cold to cancer.

Many of these people are well meaning; a few want to cash in on you buying their product or advice. Any one of them can make you feel like you aren’t doing enough to help yourself. Not only are you hurting, now you feel guilty.

Today, we meet a man who was doing his best to help his own cause when Jesus happened by and changed everything. “Savior, Savior, hear my humble cry. While on others Thou art calling, do not pass me by.”

-Pastor Joel Everhart

When I’m driving my Mustang, I’ll have other Mustang drivers give me a friendly wave. Motorcyclists and Jeep owners have their little greetings for one another on the highway. There are probably a few more vehicles that fit that category of being a “thing”. When I’m driving my Lexus, nobody cares. My Lexus looks like five other makes made in the same decade. There are millions of white cars that look nearly identical to mine on the road. You need to look for the badge to see which company made it.

True believers have a way of finding each other. They stick out from the crowd. There are millions of generic Christians. You may or may not find them in church on any given Sunday, you could work beside them or go to school with them for years and never even suspect they have any faith in Jesus. They tend to blend in with whatever crowd is available. But true believers stand out. They are unusual. They’re unconcerned about the opinion of the majority. They’re living to please One. Are you ready to join our club?

-Pastor Joel Everhart

What kinds of needs qualify for prayer requests? Usually, whenever we mention something to the body at large it has to be a rather “large” need: cancer, loss of a job, CT scans, etc. That makes sense, of course, otherwise we’d be here all day hearing about each other’s car inspection coming due, our cousin’s pony, and an upcoming dental exam. However, that doesn’t prevent each of us from carrying all these and more to God in prayer for both ourselves and those we love. In fact, that’s exactly what we’re supposed to do. We are to “cast all our cares on Him because He cares for us”. Less worry, more prayer; less stress, more faith. No need too large, no concern too small; take it to the Lord in prayer.

-Pastor Joel Everhart

Imagine knowing exactly what you were going to do with your life from the moment you are born. Your parents told you about an angelic visitation and a number of prophecies that had been spoken over your life. Deep inside your own soul you have had a conviction, an unmistakable call. Such was the life of John the Baptist. He was born to get everyone else ready to meet the Messiah, Jesus Christ.

In a way, that’s our purpose and call too. Perhaps not from birth but surely from the moment we are born again. What is there about your life that points others to Jesus, and are there any things that detract from that purpose? If your lamp could use a brighter bulb, don’t get discouraged and quit, ask the Lord to cleanse your lens and increase your wattage.

-Pastor Joel Everhart

As I see the end of my pastoral career appear on the horizon, God willing still a few years off, I think about those things most necessary to communicate. The Gospel of John heads that list. It was written that we might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of God come to save us from our sins. It contains what is likely the most important verse in the whole Bible: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.”

I fear that as I have labored to prepare for this series that I’ve sliced the bread a little too thin, that is, spent too much time in each of the chapters rather than just hit the highlights. The problem with this is to drag the series too far out and perhaps lose the interest of my audience. At the same time, I fear that I’ve not been studious enough, missing some nutritious morsels that might make a real difference in your spiritual walk. But I suppose that is the dilemma of every pastor as he sets about the task of feeding the body.

Pray along with me that what is most necessary will be brought out each week and that all of us will be strengthened by it.

-Pastor Joel Everhart