The View From My Window Pastor's Weekly Blog

Ever make yourself sick? You ate something you knew would upset your stomach or cause heartburn later. Maybe you stayed up too late knowing you had a “big day” coming up. Perhaps you’ve continually eaten things that have packed on the pounds causing a mirid of discomforts and disorders. Sorry.

I bring that up because I think we do the same thing to ourselves mentally. For some reason our soul loves to dine on negative thoughts. Gossip is tasty, self-pity goes down so smooth, self-loathing has an addictive quality, and expecting the worst feels so right. Yet, all of this negativity drives up anxiety and invites depression. We become emotionally obese. Our thoughts are painful and our mood morose.

What if there was a way to brighten our mood and let a little light into our soul? What if you could get an appetite for positive, healthy, joyful thoughts? The key, as Dr. Tim Keller tells us, is not to listen to your heart but to talk to it. Don’t be driven by how you feel; direct your feelings according to the promises of God.

-Pastor Joel Everhart

I was talking with Lyric Womer after he got home from the last Royal Ranger campout. They’d had a wonderful time camping and floating down a river on innertubes. However, one of the highlights of his weekend was being able to get a shower when he got home. There’s nothing quite like feeling clean. I have no idea how people lived with themselves in bygone days where they bathed once or twice a year. Even when I was a boy the expectation was once a week, the iconic Saturday night bath. I remember peeling my socks off and the standard joke was they’d be able to stand up in the corner by themselves.

A common comment I hear from people who get saved is that they “feel so clean inside.” In fact, the sky looks bluer, the birds sing sweeter… It’s as though their eyes and ears have been washed as well as their heart.

One of our hymns says, “There is a fountain filled with blood, flows from Immanuel’s veins, and all who plunge beneath its flood loose all their guilty stains.” Isn’t that a wonderful promise; a great reality? “My sin, oh the bliss of this glorious thought, my sin not in part but the whole, is nailed to the cross and I bear it no more, praise the Lord! Praise the Lord, oh my soul!”

Jesus’ blood is still effective on every stain left behind by sin. There is freedom for all who come to Him in repentance and faith.

-Pastor Joel Everhart

In my lifetime, sin has never been more “in your face” than it is today. Filth headlines the entertainment industry, dominates the talk shows, and has even made major inroads into public school curriculum. Cheaters abound, expectations of keeping oneself for marriage have all but evaporated, and very few, even in the church, are held to any standard of morality. If you cannot develop self-discipline and have a personal goal to please the Lord, you will quickly and easily be swept right into hell with the rest of our perverted society.

BUT, if you do desire to follow the Lord, obey His commands, and love His ways, there is ample power from heaven to fuel your efforts and defend your sanctified heart. Like the prophets of old, you will live like an alien, untainted by the temptations of the day, and tuned into the heartbeat of God.

There is freedom from the things that tempt us, if only we will seek it out. It won’t come easily. It won’t come naturally. You will have to swim against the tide until your heart and mind are strong enough to resist your own fleshly impulses and enjoy dining at God’s table. The words to an old hymn come to mind, “a higher plain than I have found, Lord plant my feet on higher ground”.

-Pastor Joel Everhart

Today we welcome some very special guests representing our local first responders. We appreciate their vigilance, sacrifice & service on our behalf. They are here today to help us dedicate our flagpole. We raise our flag up toward heaven, asking God to continue His great mercy on our land. We further ask Him to send revival and heal our land. As our pledge states: “one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all”. Let us get back under the umbrella of God’s authority, protection and guidance that He may bless America with continued success, prosperity and peace.

May all of the efforts to push God aside fail and every weapon formed against the church be destroyed under the weight of its own ignorance and pride. Let God arise and His enemies be scattered!

-Pastor Joel Everhart

As I write this, I have our new puppy, Tucker, along with me to the office. Right now he’s sleeping under my desk. A half an hour ago he needed a potty break so we took a walk around the church property until he found the right spot, then we walked a little more. My hope was to tire him out so he would take another nap and I could do a bit more work. So far, so good. Tucker is very content at the moment. When he’s hungry, needs to attend to digestive issues or is just plain bored, my life and schedule get interrupted.

Contentment is somewhat contagious but being discontent is thoroughly disruptive. “When momma ain’t happy, ain’t no one happy.” It only takes one person (not just momma) in a room to start venting frustration in order to foul everyone’s mood. Paul is going to share with us the secret to being content. Not only will developing this skill bless us, it will make the people we live with and work beside happy too.

-Pastor Joel Everhart

You may have heard the saying, “Garbage in, garbage out.” It refers to the results one gets when they feed their mind with lustful, violent or worthless trash. Rather than replenishing your brain cells with healthy, life-giving material, it’s junk food of the worst order. It’s like smoking for your brain; sooner or later it’s going to take a deadly toll.

However, with a little work, you can feed your brain a healthy diet of life-giving information and possibilities that will inspire you to both enjoy life and live productively. You’ll need to guard your thoughts, weed out the bad ones and plant some positive ideas. Be kind to yourself by reciting many of the promises of God. Your brain and your heart will thank you for it.

-Pastor Joel Everhart

Ever have one of those days? The morning I tried to take the dog out at 1 a.m. only to discover there was a racoon on our deck. Usually, taking the puppy with me to work gave my wife some time to rest. On this particular day it was more necessary than ever I take the puppy since she had gotten almost no sleep the night before. Usually, the pup was a delight to have along, moments of frustration in a sea of companionship. Today it was a few moments of companionship in a sea of frustration. He decided to take off around the church the other way while I was walking him, and for about five minutes, I thought I’d lost him for good. After having walked him for over a mile, and had him outside 4 times, he decided to pee in my office for the 1^st time since we got him. He discovered a mud puddle and decided he liked it. I hadn’t planned on giving him a bath… You get the idea.

THEN I review this sermon on being joyful in all circumstances, patient, kind, etc. God has such a great sense of humor but I don’t always appreciate it.

-Pastor Joel Everhart

Happy 4^th of July! Isn’t the summer racing along? Might as well make sure that snow blower is ready for action. Ah, but there’s still time for a little summer-type fun, if you get serious about it. Catch a lightning bug, enjoy some watermelon, run through the sprinklers… Have you checked out the CDC website for their latest recommendations concerning the virus? Yeah, me neither. Nor would I recommend doing so. It is, after all, summertime and it’s not here long enough to waste it worrying about what’s already been worried about enough. Cease the day!

-Pastor Joel Everhart

Tomorrow is my birthday. I’ll be 65. I’ve signed up for Medicare. I should probably start looking around for any deals on funeral arrangements, headstones and cemetery plots. If you see any coupons for such things, let me know. I read recently about a family whose loved one passed away. They decided he needed a new suit to be buried in. They went to Penny’s (a few years ago) and picked out a suit they liked. The salesman said, “You’re in luck. This week there’s a sale on: you get an extra pair of pants for free!”

The truth is, none of us knows how much time we have. Just the other day a pickup crested the hill I was driving toward and kept drifting further and further into my lane until he was ¾ of the way across the yellow line. I laid on the horn and hit the brakes. He swerved back into his own lane. I was surprised at how hard my heart was beating. Maybe I’m not as ready to go as I thought! Or maybe it’s like Andy Stanley says, “I don’t mind being dead; it’s getting dead that concerns me.”

-Pastor Joel Everhart

This morning I’d like to shine the spotlight on the men who have fathered children who were/are not their biological offspring. Adoption, foster care, came into the family through marriage, or perhaps no formal relationship, just “taking them under your wing”. Teachers, neighbors, even coworkers often do a lot of “fathering” or “mothering” of younger people around them. Don’t be afraid to extend yourself on behalf of those who need a little extra protection or security. Slow down so they can catch up. Be there for them or include them in your family’s adventures. Make them feel special, loved, welcome. Do for them what Jesus has done for you.

-Pastor Joel Everhart