The View From My Window Pastor's Weekly Blog

Some people who hear the gospel, repent of their sins and become different, better people. They start serving others, often doing great acts of sacrifice to help those in need. Others who hear the same gospel, reject it. They may even go on to become a worse version of themselves. The first group is filled with love, the second often becomes angry, and hate those who receive salvation with joy.  Sometimes, families get split right down the middle, life long friends can go in opposite directions. We used to sing a little song in Sunday School when I was a boy, “One door and only one, and yet its sides are two…I’m on the inside, on which side are you?”

Only those who choose to follow Jesus are on the inside of His Kingdom. Both those who reject the Lord and those who haven’t surrendered to His will yet are on the outside of that door. It’s as big a difference as to whether a person was inside the ark or on the outside when the whole world was flooded. So, I’ll ask again, “On which side are you?”

-Pastor Joel Everhart

Easter changes everything. Because Jesus rose from the dead all of us can experience new life. The old stuff that hung on our soul making us feel guilty, tired, destined for doom, can be removed and replaced with a clean slate and a bright hope. The power of Jesus’ resurrection washes all our sins away and empowers us to live wonderful, productive, meaningful lives. It doesn’t just happen. We need to put our faith in Jesus. What does that mean? It means I ask Jesus to forgive me and save my soul then I believe that He will do just that. No longer is my hope in living a good enough life, that’s not possible because the wages of sin is death, the Bible says. It also says that each and every one of us has sinned. The way to salvation is to trust in Jesus to forgive you and accept the new life He offers. That’s when you can stop crying over all the mistakes you’ve made in the past and start living a new, better, helpful, holy life.

-Pastor Joel Everhart

Today is Palm Sunday, the day we celebrate Jesus’ “Triumphal Entry” into Jerusalem at the beginning of “Holy Week.” That’s the week Jesus was crucified and buried. That kind of makes the whole “Triumphal Entry” label seem like a bit of a stretch. Unless, of course, you factor in that for Jesus it was a crowning moment of recognition of how successfully He had done all that the Father sent Him to do up to that very pivotal moment. Jesus had done what no other human had ever been able to do: He lived a sinless life for 33+ years! He healed the sick, delivered the possessed, opened the eyes of the blind and even raised the dead. All of that is indeed worth a celebration.

We should take some time today to recognize what Jesus has already done for us. The best is yet to come, that is for sure, but, all our lives He has been faithful, all our lives He has been so, so good. Therefore, with every breath that we are able we should sing of the goodness of God.

-Pastor Joel Everhart

One of the great equalizers to a world that is lost in sin, that God has provided for us, is His church. He gives us the opportunity to belong together. People of like mind, who love God and are striving to please Him gather and do life together. Attending a church is a good thing, becoming a member, even better. But, are you really a part of a church; a functioning, contributing, participating slice of the body of Christ? Are you missed when you are missing? Do you impact others when you are here? I believe there are short seasons where a believer may need to “hide” in a congregation for a while as they heal or rest because of a battle from which they’re recovering. However, that season shouldn’t last for the rest of your life. Find a way to get to know the others in our fellowship better. Make it so we just can’t function without you!

There’s a big difference between the church you attended as a child and the church you grew up in. Some people have attended church all their lives and they still haven’t matured. We’re talking today about the time in your life when you “got it”, when you stopped being a consumer and started becoming a servant. When enough of us step over that threshold, we’ll really see what God intended when He initiated the church.

-Pastor Joel Everhart

If our dog suspects I’m going to be leaving the house he follows me very closely wherever I go. If he suspects both of us are leaving, he goes and hides (he doesn’t like to be locked in his crate). If we don’t lock him in his crate, he’ll still go in there to sleep while we’re gone. Often, when we’re all home, he crawls into his crate to nap.

Lately, he’s been jumping out of our bed in the middle of the night and sleeping in his pen. Still, if we put him in it, lock its door then leave the house we can hear him barking. What’s the difference between him sleeping in his pen while we’re home or away? He feels more secure if he knows we’re home with him. He often likes to cuddle up close to one of us but is also content to just have his own space, unless, of course, we’re not within barking distance.

Too many of us have become content knowing that God is within shouting range. He’s sovereign, He loves us and that’s good enough for us. It’s time to snuggle a little closer. Get close enough to hear Him call you to do things you couldn’t possibly do without Him. Then don’t be content unless you feel Him close by your side.

-Pastor Joel Everhart

Several years ago we had a fellow that was very motivated to pitch a proposal to our church to convert to a geo-thermal heating system. I asked him to give us a ballpark figure of the cost so we’d know if it’s even worth considering. He refused but insisted we needed to hear the whole presentation before making a decision. An hour into his lecture, hearing that it would require the drilling of over 80 wells, I once again asked for a general estimate. He insisted on plowing ahead before revealing the costs. Finally, after two more hours of graphs, pictures, and projections he gave us the final figure: it was north of $300,000. According to his calculations the system would pay for itself in just over fifty years.

As a board we collectively laughed out loud, then we groaned for having lost three hours of our life. The man was lucky to get out of the building in one piece. Some things take a lot longer than they need to. Waiting on a promise from the Lord can take a long time but, in some cases, we’re the ones holding up progress on the project. However, it’s good to know that the Lord always keeps up His end of the bargain.

Pastor Joel Everhart

Lent is a lot like spring cleaning for the soul. The holidays were great but chances are our flesh grew a bit through them. We ate too much, may have some left over negative feelings toward a few people who didn’t act the way we thought they should have, maybe had a difficult time getting back to our normal routine…

It’s time to ask God to take His scrub brush to our soul once again. Scrub away all the accumulated flesh and allow room for more of the Spirit. One of the best tools for that process is fasting. The very fact that we hate to fast makes it a perfect device for the job. Disappoint your flesh until it finds its delight in the Lord.

-Pastor Joel Everhart

I’m not in this position but I know some people who don’t trust members of their own family. A few can’t trust anyone in their family! That’s very sad. Even if they attend a family event, they have to stay guarded, feeling alone, on edge.

Jesus came to His own and His own did not receive Him (John 1:11). Jesus’ own brothers didn’t support His ministry until after the resurrection. He experienced times when large numbers of His followers left. Others were actively working on plans to kill Him. If not for fellowship with the Father and the Spirit, Jesus’ life would have been a very lonely life to have lived.

May we be able to find our worth, our encouragement, our purpose from the primary source of the members of the Godhead. Earthly friends will come and go, they’ll love you one minute and greatly disappoint you the next. Our God Friend will never leave nor forsake us. What a Friend we have in Jesus!

-Pastor Joel Everhart

Not everyone who says to Jesus, “Lord, Lord, did we not [do all kinds of stuff] in Your Name?” will enter into the Kingdom of God. Perhaps there is no viler a use of Jesus’ name in vain than to use it as if He is your Savior yet never serve Him as your Lord. You worship Him, even do some Kingdom work but pick and choose when to be obedient, which commands you will obey, and just how you will spend your hours and years.

There’s an old saying: “If Jesus isn’t Lord of all, He isn’t Lord at all.” A lot of people followed Jesus for a while when He walked this earth. When things got confusing or difficult, they left. The same has been happening ever since. Most people follow Jesus at their convenience. Some are “fair weather” Christians while others only bother with Him when they’re in real trouble. Where are the people who are willing to live and die for Jesus? What about you?

-Pastor Joel Everhart

When I was a boy, I took swimming lessons at the YMCA. We got to the part where they were going to teach me to jump off the diving board. I got to the end of the board, looked down at the water and said, “No thank you.” I turned and walked off the diving board. Apparently, the life guard teaching the lesson was busy talking to someone and didn’t see me exit stage left. He thought I dived and never came up. He was really quite agitated when I was found to be alive, well and dry. Go figure.

Trials we face are actually private lessons from God. Each is designed to school us in an area where we’re week. Just like that life guard who made me “walk the plank”, God doesn’t take “no” for an answer. He’s going to develop our faith or at least put us through experiences designed to do just that. We might as well learn since we’re going to go through the trial anyway.

-Pastor Joel Everhart