The View From My Window Pastor's Weekly Blog

We’re always looking for the keys to a better life: eat this, avoid that … One of the staples of that conversation has always been to “get more sleep.” While visiting with family recently I slept in for several days in a row. After the second night I felt tired all day. I’m not sure I’d be able to stay healthy if I had to get 8 hours of sleep every night.

I believe each of us is an individual & each of us needs to find out what is enough food for me, what is enough sleep for me, what to do to relieve stress … Only a fool would take this journey alone when the Master Potter has promised to give us wisdom if we will only ask. We weren’t just born, we were created. We were crafted with particular gifts & needs. Embrace your talents but don’t ignore what is essential to keeping yourself fit. Then you will be able to bring the Potter great glory.

– Pastor Joel Everhart

My 3-year-old grandson Parker was in the car seat in the back of my SUV as we were riding along with the windows open. He said, “The wind helps the sun to not be hot.” Little ones have a way of stating things that bring a new perspective to life. Their viewpoint helps us to see details about life for which we long ago lost our appreciation & wonder. Children fascinate me not only because they often teach me something new but more so for the way they help me see old things with fresh appreciation.

God is the master of changing our outlook. As the old hymn says, “Just a little talk with Jesus makes it right.” However, just as with children, we can’t benefit from His wisdom if we don’t take the time to talk with Him. Jeremiah was soldiering on through a particularly rough season in his ministry. He needed to pour out his fear, anxiety & apprehension to the Lord & get God’s wider, longer perspective. It helped. If you are feeling overwhelmed, discouraged or weary do what the prophet did & talk it over with God.

– Pastor Joel Everhart

Ever get exactly what you deserve? You got pulled over for speeding & you know you were a good 15 mph over the limit. In fact, not only were you speeding when you got caught but you’ve done it HUNDREDS of times for which you were not pulled over. Even so, you chafe at getting a ticket, your flesh comes up with a million excuses why you shouldn’t be fined: There were others going faster… I was lulled into a false sense of security by all the times they didn’t catch me… With all the drug dealers & mass murderers in the world why are the police wasting their time harassing innocent citizens that pay their taxes? You may even have stooped so low as to give the officer a hard time: shame, shame, shame.

We want mercy for ourselves & justice for everyone else. The Bible says there will be a day of justice for us all. Each of us will appear before the Lord to give an account of the deeds we have done. Thankfully, we who are in Christ will have our sins forgiven! However, both our good deeds & our bad ones will determine our reward in heaven. Will your eternal estate be great or just a pile of ashes?

– Pastor Joel Everhart

My mom & dad have lived in their home for 59 years. Their laundry tub was original with the house so it was no surprise when its faucet began to leak. Dad wanted to replace the washers inside the hot & cold handles; I was thinking new faucet. In order to remove the handles we had to unscrew screws that had been in place for over half a century. We sprayed them with WD-40 before we started & the cold water handle came off like a charm. The screw holding the hot water handle, however, felt more like it was welded in place. We sprayed & worked at it, hit it with a hammer, worked some more, prayed, hit it again, & finally it let loose. With the replacement washers in place the old sink works like new. Change is often difficult.

Change does not necessarily mean that everything has to be different. Sometimes just removing what is supposed to be flexible but has become ridged is enough. This morning we’ll be talking about being careful that the part of our soul that is meant to remain workable in our Master’s hands is still supple enough to move as He sees fit. Don’t be surprised if when He chooses to make some changes in or around you that it involves some pain. He’s not replacing you, just the parts that need renewal.

– Pastor Joel Everhart

Scooters are all the rage in Hanover among its senior citizens. I don’t mean motorized wheelchairs for the elderly but mini motorcycles for middle agers. Is it an effort to save on fossil fuels? Is it part of their mid-life crises? Is it about frugality?

As I leave Hanover in the morning to travel to East Berlin I often encounter an older lady coming down Hershey Hill on a red scooter. She wears a full helmet, goggles, & has safety flags flapping in the wind above her head. She reclines with her feet up just like Peter Fonda in Easy Rider. She is usually followed by anywhere from seven to a dozen other vehicles. The look on her face is one of pure joy.

In my opinion, a scooter like hers is fine on residential streets but to head out on the highway one ought to use something with a little more horsepower. Whenever our individual pleasure blinds us to the needs of others we need a wakeup call. Truth may hurt or cost us something but in the end it will save our life.

– Pastor Joel Everhart

There is a stretch of sidewalk that runs along a local park I frequent with the grandkids. This particular section of walkway was narrower than any other in the area. I had reasoned that it must have been set in place before newer regulations called for wider pathways. This summer someone was hired to push back the grass that had grown on it & “edge” the pavement. Low & behold the sidewalk is a wide as any other in the city of Hanover!

Slowly but surely, year after year, grass infringed on the space reserved for feet. If left untended the sidewalk would have eventually disappeared altogether. Someone decided to act before that happened — and the results are dramatic.

Slowly but surely our morality & spirituality have been eroded over the years. Sin has become comfortable in places it should not be found. Christianity doesn’t look like it used to. “Christians” are more worldly than godly. We need to act before truth disappears completely. It’s time to consider our ways, to consider which direction we as a people are headed, & make some changes in order to recover territory that has been stolen. Otherwise, the path to God will completely disappear & we, as a nation, will be lost.

– Pastor Joel Everhart

It was Sunday afternoon & the heat index was between 100 & 110 degrees. Usually I take my grandson for a walk to the park on Sunday afternoons but this was no usual afternoon. Plan B was to set up the sprinkler in the front yard. 100 degrees just doesn’t feel all that hot when you’re soaking wet.

Standing there dripping wet the thought struck me that a walk to the park would help us drip dry. By the time we were done at the park we were nearly dry but there was that walk back home as the sun blazed in the sky. Thanks to a water fountain we applied a new layer of moisture before heading home. Even our Yorkie voluntarily frolicked in a sprinkler on the walk back! When you’re not entertaining a 3-yr-old you should use Godly wisdom to guide your every step.

– Pastor Joel Everhart

I was up a little earlier than normal this morning so when I walked the dog we were the first ones to use the sidewalks. What difference does that make? I was the guy that caught all the spider webs that had been formed overnight hanging under the trees.

It was a gorgeous morning, the air was crisp but not cold, the sun was painting the sky with wonderful colors, then … yuck! A face full of sticky web. Later another caught my ear & wrapped around the back of my head as I ducked under a branch.

The consequences of living by “earthly” wisdom are a lot like that. You are going along just fine, feeling like you’ve got the world licked when suddenly you pick up an unwelcome result you didn’t see coming. For example, you didn’t plan on having a little lie exposed or getting pulled over after having a couple of beers or coming up short on money after indulging yourself at a department store. You had a lot of good reasons to do what you did, but it didn’t end well. It’s never right to do the wrong thing, even if you’ve gotten away with it before.

– Pastor Joel Everhart

July was a very dry month for us and most of our lawns were having trouble staying green. Near the end of the month I noticed one of those trucks from a chemical lawn company parked in a neighbor’s driveway. The serviceman was walking back and forth spraying the dry brown grass. I didn’t think that yard looked any better than any of the others on the block. Then it hit me: there were no weeds. Every other lawn had a weed or two growing to unusual heights due to the lack of mowing. Not this lawn; it was being treated.

As soon as we got some frequent rains that yard turned a glorious green. All her blades of grass stood up in uniform rows, each as perfect as the one beside it. Sometimes we go through dry season in life; it seems like nothing is growing. If you can keep the weeds of sin, discouragement, bitterness, & worry out then your hard work & sacrifice will suddenly be evident when the rains return. Get smart: keep living according to God’s Word & the harvest will come.

– Pastor Joel Everhart

One of the grocery stores I frequent has a self-checkout isle. A recent visit to that lane went like this: the scanner says, “Unauthorized item in bagging area; remove this item before continuing.” The only thing in the bagging area was a bag full of groceries I’d already scanned but in obedience to “the voice” I removed the bag. “Item removed from bagging area; return item to bagging area in order to continue!” boomed the voice as if I’d just tried to rip off the store. Returning the bag to the register the voice once again said, “Unauthorized item in bagging area.” As the attendant waved her card over the scanner she smiled & said, “You just can’t win, can you?”

God is looking for people who are filled with the Spirit AND wisdom: people who know how to use their gifts for the good of everyone. Gifted people, if they’re not careful, can end up frustrating the very people they’ve been sent to serve. Ask God for power and wisdom today.

– Pastor Joel Everhart

Today we honor two of our own who have felt a call into fulltime ministry. They’ve gone from the “pew” to the “pulpit” through a series of sacrifices & initiatives over a long period of time. The transition has been both natural & supernatural.

On the natural side of things they’ve served in just about every capacity imaginable in the church before ever thinking about fulltime ministry. They taught Sunday School, volunteered in the Nursery, went on campouts, hosted numerous events, were active in all age groups … LeRoy served as perhaps the youngest board member ever in his home church & they soon appointed him as their treasurer! Wanda has an obvious gift for ministering to kids & has been quick to help out wherever help is needed. Each of them has dedicated themselves to completing a number of college level courses & internships & the study continues.

On the supernatural side: Only God can call a person into fulltime ministry. As the Assemblies of God says, “We don’t ordain anyone; we simply recognize those individuals God has set apart for the work of the ministry.” These fine people have proven their call by completing their courses, been examined by “those in authority over us (presbyters, Superintendent, etc.),” & having endured hard times while working to see God’s Kingdom advance. Let them now receive the honor that is due to those who have proven faithful.

– Pastor Joel Everhart