The View From My Window Pastor's Weekly Blog

I love being a grandparent: I’m so wise & patient – especially when the little ones aren’t around. There are those moments, however, when it’s just me & a grandkid (or several of them) when I feel outwitted, overmatched, &/or befuddled. During those times I’m sure I should not be trusted to care for minor children. In fact, after a session like that I wonder if I can be trusted to care for myself.

Yet, I think I make a better grandparent than I did a parent. At least as a grandparent I get these long pauses in between those befuddling moments. Parents are on the front lines 24/7. They may not get a break after a sleepless night or a week teething. Little in this world is as unnerving as a screaming child. God bless you moms & dads! Happy Mother’s Day! I pray you are able to eat your meals in peace today & have a full, uninterrupted night’s sleep.

– Pastor Joel Everhart

I’m a list guy. I start my days in the office by making a checklist of the tasks I hope to accomplish that day. My favorite thing about having a list is checking off items as I complete them. Sometimes my list will include items that need done outside the church (i.e. visit someone in a hospital or pick up some office supplies, which I usually do at the end of my work day). I never check those items off my agenda until they’re complete so I find my “uncompleted” itinerary sitting on my desk the next morning. Looking it over I will check off those items I finished before throwing the list away.

I found out I’m not the only person that does this. Why would anyone bother to complete a form before throwing it away? Maybe no job is complete until it’s “checked off” somehow. You do something kind for someone else & if they fail to say “thank you” you notice it. You didn’t do what you did in order to get a “thank you” but its absence is strangely felt.

All who serve the Lord will one day hear, “Well done thou good & faithful servant.” Suddenly our lives will feel complete. Our tasks will all be done. Our hearts will rest. Oh happy day.

– Joel Everhart

Ants. Ants love spring. Ants love our house. I hadn’t seen an ant all winter then suddenly they’re marching through our home by the hundreds. Every year at this time we fight ants. We use granules, sprays, traps, fingers & toes to kill them. We fight them in the yard, garage, kitchen, bathroom & bedroom. I flipped the light on one night to see why the dog didn’t want to go outside — her doggie yard was glistening with thousands of winged ants!

By mid-summer we’ve got the upper hand & by fall we feel like we’ve killed every ant in Pennsylvania but by the next spring they pop out of the ground like lava erupting from mini volcanoes. Every year my wife asks the same question, “Where are they all coming from?”

Ants are resilient, persistent, determined, committed little creatures. Whatever you used to kill them last year doesn’t seem to work on their descendants. Ants remind me of Christians. Sometimes there are a lot of us, sometimes only a few but one day the earth will be ours! March on.

– Pastor Joel Everhart

I recently had my eyes examined so I could order a new supply of contact lenses. A “free” pair of lenses comes with the exam. They didn’t have my exact prescription in stock so the receptionist gave me a lens that was “a half-step off” & told me I shouldn’t have any problems with it. I was able to see well enough to navigate through each day but this morning I decided I’d had enough of vision that was half a step off & I put in a new pair of contacts. I can once again read large signs from a distance! Everything is sharper.

There are times when our spiritual vision is just a half-step off. We haven’t fallen into false doctrine but neither are we seeing the truth clear enough that it propels us in the right direction. May the Word shared today refocus our hearts onto the task of sharing Jesus with a lost world.

– Pastor Joel Everhart

Who has the greatest influence on how you behave: law enforcement personnel, your parents, those mysterious other people, your boss, or is it someone/something else? This morning we’re going to be talking about changing the realm of influence to which we choose to subject ourselves. Many people submit to peer pressure because deep inside they fear being treated like an oddball. Thus, however the morals or opinions of society change they adjust their attitude accordingly. Others are driven by a desire for more money therefore their morals become very flexible depending upon the payoff.

When a person decides to get baptized in water as a sign of their commitment to Jesus they are pledging to leave all other spheres of influence behind & become focused on what pleases the Lord. That commitment may cost you some friends, it will change what you do with your money and it must change your view of life. So I ask again, who has the greatest influence on how you behave?

– Pastor Joel Everhart

I’ve learned that, in the spring, just because the weatherman says it’s going to be sunny & 70 degrees doesn’t mean you should leave the house at 7am dressed like its 70 degrees & sunny. If you do you might shiver until about 2 in the afternoon. You might also begin to hate your meteorologist.

What is & what will be are often two very different sets of circumstances. This principle is very evident in church. The church is always becoming something other than what it is right now. We are not yet what we will be or should be. If we will – as today’s text urges us – be completely humble, gentle, patient, & bearing one another’s burdens in love, then we are on the right track. However, don’t expect the church to be “all that” just yet.

It’s a good place to worship & meet great people but it’s not a perfect place (thus the need for humility, patience, etc.). Enjoy our progress, forgive our failures & look forward to all of us improving … but don’t be surprised if it occasionally gets a little chilly on our way to a perfect afternoon.

– Joel Everhart

I was talking to my brother John the other day & he shared this story with me: We were at a wedding & because I was dressed more formally than usual, my grandson Aldan (2½) didn’t pick me out of the crowd at first. Finally, when he looked up & recognized me, he pulled free of his mother’s grip, broke into a full run & called out, “Pa-pa I’m coming!”

John is a man with many accomplishments to his credit: youngest top salesman in his district (many years ago), president of a company, leadership advisor to churches, etc. Yet he told me that his grandson running into his arms was the proudest moment of his life.

Sometimes it’s not what the recognition is – a gold watch, a trophy or even a new car – sometimes it all hinges on who recognizes you. This morning we’ll be talking about the ‘resurrected Jesus.’ Knowing about Him won’t get you into heaven but knowing Him will. If you know Him like you should, the gold streets, pearl gates & precious gems won’t be what you’ll be looking for in heaven. “Jesus, I’m coming!”

– Pastor Joel Everhart
 
 

– Happy Easter from all of us here at New Life –

Thanks for celebrating with us today!

I’d like to thank you for being on the other side of these weekly posts because I’ve found them very therapeutic for my soul. This venue has helped me to articulate some of my personal struggles & find coping skills for them. Two minor examples: vacuuming & bananas.

Earlier I stated that one of my goals was to stop hating the chore of vacuuming the floors by likening it to mowing the lawn, which I rather enjoy. I’m happy to report that the strategy has been working. Vacuuming has risen from “despised” to “I’m okay with it” on my chore meter. Ever since I posted the blog about bananas driving me bananas I’ve developed a new strategy: just about every time I’m in a grocery store I buy 2 or 3 of their greenest bananas. I place those under the others I already have in our fruit bowl & it seems like I have a continual supply of ripe ones rising to the top.

Overcoming the pains of life with God’s help is what we’ll be talking about this morning. Everyone has struggles; the keys are to suffer well, use the pain to get you to a better place & not to use your discontent as an excuse to display bad behavior.

– Pastor Joel Everhart

Last night I needed to be up in the middle of the night for a while so waking up this morning was a bit more of a challenge than usual. Every time I woke up I’d look at the clock to calculate how much time I had until I had to get out of bed. Finally I willed my feet out onto the floor, trudged to the bathroom, & began my daily routine. About a half hour later I was startled awake – apparently that whole getting out of bed & starting my day had been a dream! Who dreams about waking up to brush their teeth? What a dirty trick my own body played on me. I had to wake up twice this morning: once in a dream and then again for real.

Have you ever asked yourself the question, “Now why in the world did that just happen?” That’s exactly what we’re going to be talking about this morning: Why do so many unusual events, actions that seem contrary to all that is logical, take place? There’s more to this than meets the eye.

– Pastor Joel Everhart

It was snowing. Dawn was breaking. There was already about a quarter inch of new snow on the sidewalk as my dog & I were the first to put our prints into it. The sound of my feet pressing into the snow reminded me of stepping on small packing bubbles. The sensory experience was really quite amazing. As we turned the corner toward home the scene was picture postcard perfect. I’d never seen our neighborhood look so beautiful. Everything was blanketed with a fresh, clean coat of white.

That’s when I heard the Spirit of God say, “Though your sins are like scarlet they shall be white as snow.” The Lord was reminding me of the power of His forgiveness. I often see myself as in need of many renovations, however, God sees me covered with a fresh coat of perfection. But let’s not forget the first part of Isaiah 1:18, “Come let us settle the matter,” says the Lord. “Though your sins are like scarlet they shall be white as snow.” Only those who have been to Jesus, asked for forgiveness & salvation get that covering. Have you been to Jesus & had your sins covered?

– Pastor Joel Everhart

I had the joy of taking my 2-yr-old grandson for a walk on a sunny, warm January afternoon one week after the blizzard of ‘16. The sidewalks were bordered by walls of snow that in some places were taller than him. This proved to be very helpful with keeping him contained and headed in the right direction. Every so often he would stop & take a bite out of the wall of snow. For him it was like manna from heaven. He pointed out flags, signs, an airplane, a hawk, puddles, cars, trucks, trees, sticks, a big brown dog, a large snowman … It was a great day.

Halfway through the walk he said, Me hold you? That’s his way of asking to hitch a ride. Perched up on my shoulders he loved pointing & saying, We go this way? I would reply, No, we go this way. This is the way to Memaw’s house. He wanted to go to see Memaw but he wanted to get there his way which often led off in the opposite direction. His bearings need a little maturing. He’d offer up some mild protests when the mule he was riding wouldn’t follow his instructions but then he’d see something else to point out and would once again settle in to enjoying the journey.

We need to remember that sometimes our sense of direction is skewed. We need to trust the One carrying us to glory. Stop protesting so much. Lean back into Him & enjoy the trip.

– Pastor Joel Everhart