The View From My Window Pastor's Weekly Blog

Looking forward to her surgery earlier this month my wife was understandably nervous. In fact, she wasn’t entirely sure she wanted to go through with the procedure until the day before we went to the hospital. Throughout that time I was her calm support letting her know that whatever she decided was fine. Every time she became anxious I seemed to have the right words to calm her nerves. On the morning of the surgery she appeared quite in control of her emotions as I felt my insides turning to jelly. For months she had worried about her recovery & suddenly I was the one who was filled with apprehension.

She said her turning point came the morning before surgery as the Lord blanketed her in a sweet peace. I had great peace & confidence until I needed it most. While sitting in the waiting room I was reminded that she had always made it through past surgeries with flying colors, which gave me confidence to not trust my own jitters.

Sometimes we need to repent of our emotions; apologize to the Lord for losing it. But isn’t it good to know He doesn’t let our failures influence His victories? He stands ever ready for us to change directions & trust Him more.

– Pastor Joel Everhart

I was sitting at my desk finishing up some time with the Lord when the thought struck me: I haven’t gotten anything done yet today. The emotion that went along with the thought was one of defeat, guilt, & sadness. The truth is that I had completed many routine tasks already; important routine things. The reason I could then turn to checking the seemingly more important items off my “to-do list” was because I had, in fact, started my day early & well.

Routines are vitally important: they take care of the necessities so we can focus on the urgent or otherwise significant duties of the day. Routines can become so habitual that its healthy to recognize them every so often to see if they need any adjustments. Can I do better? Am I covering all the basics? Are there technologies or ideas that could help to improve my daily schedule? Is it time to shake things up? Shouldn’t I feel good about having established good habits & stuck with them?

This morning we begin a brief series on reevaluating ourselves as a church: celebrating what we’ve done well & dedicating ourselves to do better. They say there’s always room for improvement so let’s do what we do for Jesus with ever increasing vitality & worth.

– Pastor Joel Everhart

I have the deepest sense of loathing for the people scamming our seniors, stealing identities, & putting devices on card scanners to take information in order to empty our accounts. Surely if they put their ingenuity to work toward making an honest living their skills would afford them a living wage. But they don’t want to work to earn a paycheck they want to work to steal yours. They don’t want to abide by God-honoring principles building wealth over time; they want it all now with no concern over who they hurt. Indeed, some of them have come to believe they are entitled to take whatever they can get.

That’s the mindset of that false god we started talking about last week. He has no concern over who goes to hell: men, women, children, young, old, handicapped, intelligent, beautiful, homely, or not too bright. Masquerading as a god of love, posing as the One True God he deceives many into thinking they’re going to heaven when in fact its all a scam. He’ll take your soul & leave you morally & eternally bankrupt. Protect God’s identity. Don’t settle for the impostor.

– Pastor Joel Everhart

There’s a certain type of driver that only uses his turn signal when it benefits him to do so. You’ve seen him: you are waiting to pull out into traffic but a car is coming so you wait.

The car goes slower & slower but still you wait. At the last second he puts on his signal & turns (if he uses it at all). Had you only known what his intentions were when he first appeared you could have been on your way but as it is that 30 second delay caused you to miss a green light, arrive to work late, lose that promotion … That same driver sits at green arrows until they turn yellow so only he makes the light.

There’s a false god running around with the same motive: to benefit himself. He also masks his true intentions lulling people into a false sense of reality. Falling for his tricks will cost you a lot more than 30 seconds of your time; it could prove eternally fatal. Make sure you are trusting in the right God.

– Pastor Joel Everhart

I like to get as warm as I can before I dart out into the cold for my morning run. Often I’ll stretch in front of our gas fireplace. Somewhere between waking up feeling chilly & breaking a sweat is this starting to get hot sensation that almost makes it feel good to step outside into the frosty darkness. The problem is that as my body warms in front of the fire it likes it a little too much. Something inside starts to make excuses as to why it would be better for me to stay right there instead of contend with wind chills.

God has given us all good things to enjoy but He hasn’t given us anything to enjoy so much that it is meant to keep us from the important duties of life. There’s a time to relax, a time to enjoy, a time to recharge but also a time to go to work, a time to endure pain, & a time to leave the comfort of the fireplace for the health benefits of running.

One of our most important duties is to be a light for Christ in this dark world. It won’t always feel good. Pulling away from our comfort zone may be hard. But that’s why we’re here.

– Pastor Joel Everhart

Inevitably during the vetting process of pre-election politics someone will rise in the polls for a while, look to be the next logical choice, then crash & burn as something nasty in their past — or even in their present — comes to light. Two names from earlier elections come to mind: Republican Herman Cain & Democrat John Edwards.

Cain was a businessman from Georgia that looked to have all the credentials conservatives love, though, shortly after he soared to the top of the polls, revelations of his extramarital affairs quickly sank any hope he had of moving into the White House. Edwards was a wealthy, good looking senator from North Carolina applauded for his devotion to his wife as she battled breast cancer. The revelation that he fathered a child with his mistress was only the beginning of his woes.

Each of these men came ridiculously close to securing the most powerful job in the world. In the last days the wickedest man of all will rise to power. He will appear to be the perfect choice. His credentials will look flawless. He will be brilliant, winsome, articulate … & evil.

– Pastor Joel Everhart

Sometimes the wealthy decide to set up foundations to set aside some of their wealth to help others or provide capital to fund projects about which they’re passionate. Rather than choosing to deposit the whole sum of money into their favorite charity all at once, a foundation allows them to keep on giving for a very long time after they’ve passed on. There’s no way of getting around the fact that this is a very nice thing to do.

People are capable of doing great acts of kindness. Although believers in Jesus Christ top the charts for charitable giving, even unbelievers are capable of being generous. Usually, however, there is some ulterior motive involved: it creates a “legacy” after they’re gone or it provides huge tax advantages …

And so it will be with the final empire that rises in the last days. It will have all the show of humanity at its best: caring for the poor, equality for all … but, oh, the ulterior motives! It would probably be utopia if it weren’t for the one driving it all. What’s his motivation? To steal, kill, & destroy.

– Pastor Joel Everhart

Our little Yorkie knows every house in our neighborhood that has a dog that will bark at her as we walk past. As we go down the road she will pull to zig-zag me from one side of the street to the other in order to avoid these “hot spots.” Interestingly enough, she will bark at any dog that goes past our house. From the safety of our home she will run from one window to the next as she attempts to rattle the nerves of passersby. She hates when it’s done to her but has no trouble dishing it out. How human! We love to bark from our places of safety but are quickly shaken whenever we are not in control of our own environment.

Is the same true of our worship? Do we love to worship the Lord whenever we are safe & secure inside our church but withhold the same whenever circumstances are hostile to our faith? What if armies from heathen nations rise up against our country or our allies? Will we worship then? Will we still believe that God is in control? We may soon find out.

– Pastor Joel Everhart

A week ago my wife & I took a walk around our neighborhood. I had been out a few minutes earlier & told my wife it was a little chilly so we put on our jackets. As we stepped outside we felt hot & wondered why we’d donned an extra layer. Halfway down the block a cloud covered the sun & we braced ourselves against the chill of the wind. As we turned the corner, the sun came out, & we started to feel like we were baking. This cycle continued throughout the walk: we roasted, we froze, it was too hot, it was too cold …

How life like! Life is full of extremes: we’re either overworked or bored; hungry or stuffed;anxious or lazy … Ah, but there is coming a day when a trumpet will sound. We’ll leave all frustrations behind & it will be heaven at last!

The Bible refers to this as the “Blessed Hope” of the believer. No matter how extreme your day becomes remember that it won’t be long — soon we’ll be leaving this too hot, too cold, boring, over-stimulating world.

– Pastor Joel Everhart

My wife & I had the joy of watching two of our grandsons while their parents got a little time alone recently.

Uncharacteristically the older brother wasn’t being very nice to his younger sibling. I warned him a couple of times but he completely ignored me. Finally, I reached for the squirt bottle I use to discipline my dog & let loose with a blast that caught him in the shoulder. The look on his face was priceless: a mixture of shock & indignation.

“Grandpa, you shot me!” he said.

“I know — you weren’t listening to me,” I replied.

If we are here to be witnesses for Jesus but people aren’t paying any attention to us, is there something we can do about that? What good is a witness that no one hears?

It’s time to make a bolder stand. It’s time to rethink our methods. It’s time to get creative.

– Pastor Joel Everhart

One of the greatest days in any parent’s life is the day their child is potty trained, but I have yet to meet a parent that remembers that date for very long. That’s true of so many significant dates in the development of your child: 1^st tooth, 1^st word, 1^st step … we meet each of these new accomplishments with great joy – so why don’t they stick in our memory? I think it’s because as soon as they pass one milestone they’re pushing toward another. We get so caught up in their struggle forward that the past quickly fades. 

What is next is always better than what just happened. That’s not just true about kids. Somewhere in life we start believing the devil’s lie that our clay has hardened, that we are who we are & we can’t change. Liar, liar, pants on fire! Each one of us is constantly changing even if we don’t take notice of it. Don’t settle for what you’ve been. Start with baby steps. “With God’s help I can do it!”

– Pastor Joel Everhart