Michael Harrison's e-devotion

Culture is best charted as the values, way of life and beliefs of the people around you. In fact, if you look through history take note of the times when God moved and how it changed the culture around it. That is what the church is to do, change the culture. God wants to do just that. Think about the culture around you. Romans 12:1-2 (msg) --- So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life — your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life — and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed m...

Luke 6:35-36 (msg) --- "I tell you, love your enemies. Help and give without expecting a return. You'll never—I promise—regret it. Live out this God-created identity the way our Father lives toward us, generously and graciously, even when we're at our worst. Our Father is kind; you be kind. What is this "God-Created Identity"? Think about it. The Community Fellowship began a new series of messages of this past Sunday called "DNA: the origin and makeup of faith", and we began by talking about creation. This is a huge fact: God set it all into motion. He is the creator and the keeper of life and everything else. He is the "alpha and omega, the beginning and the end" (see Revelation 22:13 ). To think any less of our God is to think wrong. In my reading, I ran across some thoughts from John MacArthur on the subject. He notes there creation took place in three acts (see message at this link ). It is the creation of the universe, of anima...

Here is a post from Tony McCollum that hit me in the heart: Rick Warren & Disappointment I've been listening to Rick Warren's podcast off and on since he started it and he said something the other day that stopped me cold.  He said something like…  Being a leader means that someone is always going to be disappointed in me.  As a leader, I must come to terms with that.  Being a leader means learning how to deal with the disappointment of others. Wow.  That's so true.  I deal with that a lot.  It seems that somebody's always disappointed in me.  If I focus on one thing then somebody thinks I should have focused on another thing.  This sort of stuff always brings me back to the idea that I simply must live for an audience of one.  I must live my life to please God because I'd go crazy trying to please everyone else.

Yesterday I took some extra time to seek a quiet place where I could read, think and spend some time with God. It was refreshing once again. Margaret Feinberg's book, The Organic God , continues to encourage my socks off. (We still have a few copies of the book for sale at church for a HUGE discount price.) She shared how a special professor at her college taught her class an unforgettable lesson. The professor was Maya Angelou , and for the first three weeks of class she had her students memorize the name everyone in the class. Feinberg wrote: "More than a decade later, the greatest lesson I learned from Maya Angelou is from those first three weeks. She did more than teach about human dignity - she allowed me to experience and partake of it firsthand. I don't remember the names of my classmates, but I still remember the sense of empowerment I felt when I called on someone's name and when mine was called upon..." (page 67) Luke 12:7 (nlt) --- And the very...

2 Corinthians 1:4 (nlt) --- He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us. Home is a strange place, at times. But here a thought that I am having this morning about this place we call home. No, I am not talking about the place where we sleep or where our clothes are. No, I am not talking about the place we travel to a couple times a year to see family or where we were raised. I am talking about the place we find comfort and peace. For some people, there truly is no place like home. They don't have one. There is no where they can find rest because they are always worrying or feeling guilt or the like. Peace is running from them and depression or fear is constant. It is time to go home and to make a home. To make a place where peace and rest can and will happen. This can be real when Jesus is in our lives and when He is living through our lives. Think about it. On my ...

The journey continues. Spiritual disciplines have a lot more to do with our walk with Jesus than going to church and reading our Bibles. Hold on. I am NOT talking about the ol' Christian check list of stuff you have to do. But what I am referring to is the natural overflow of a person who is actively getting to know God. Richard Foster is one of those guys that pushes Spiritual Disciplines (if you will remember I talked about Foster in an earlier devotion when I confessed this guy ticked me off until I started getting his point). In his most recent newsletter he speaks of the dangers of institutionalism in the church or the church becoming a consumer driven place. One way to avoid this, Foster shares, is to get a kingdom heart. Here is what he recommends: Developing a Kingdom Heart ... in bringing spiritual formation into local congregational life is the development of a "kingdom heart." What does a kingdom heart mean? • It means that we "outdo one another in...

We worked near the New River Bridge in Fayetteville, West Virginia. Beautiful scenery and people. The bridge is the 2nd largest bridge of its kind in the world. The picture is taken from a small bridge 800 feet below. Little Evan cleaning with her toilet brush. We had an awesome time with 20 people from The Community Fellowship on our team. Our fearless and capable leader, Kasim Adams, looking over the New River one evening. Kasim and Cindy Adams were great leaders and led us to see God, hear God and seeing a new place where He is working ... Evangel Fellowship in Fayetteville, West Virginia. Our first mission trip at The Community Fellowship!

Psalm 37:5 (nlt) --- Commit everything you do to the Lord . Trust him, and he will help you. I remember the day like it was yesterday, and other days like it. The phone rang and there on the other end was one of those dudes you just want to talk to. "Want to come work with us this summer," the guy asked. I answered swiftly, "Yeah, tell me more." Here was an invitation to work at one great church with some awesome people. It is my freshman year of College. The church was Rick Warren's Saddleback Church in California. Man, was I on top of the world. In the ministry world full of opportunities, here was the giant, the once-in-a-lifetime type of deal. I pushed and prayed. I asked questions and did all I knew to do. Then another call came from the deep south, in the middle of no-where (or so I thought) Georgia. Where did I end up? Not my first choice. When we left Georgia and moved to Virginia, we had first talked to a church in place not too many peop...

Back in the land of reality. A week at the beach and a week on mission have left me thirsty for reality and overflowing with some sweet time with Jesus, family and others. Thanks for your patience and continued partnership as we walk with Jesus. I have found God speaking in almost every place I was the last 17 days. First at the beach in the calm and in the eyes of my children. Next (and at many other times) on the banks of the New River in West Virginia. As the new sermon series DNA comes together, God speaks about the basis and foundation of what we believe. The simplicity of faith and relationship with Him. Around the corner I would a person who was need of a kind word or prayer and even a great deal of people who are in love with Jesus. Pretty awesome. The fact is that I have been looking, searching and digging into those realities. Where God spoke, it was awesome and eye opening. When God guided in a fresh way, it was sweet in so many ways. The song "Awakening" ...

story telling // Monday E-Devotion Several years ago my family moved to a new part of the country and met some wonderful people. One of those was a pastor named Joe Brooks. We have kept in contact (and he is probably reading this devotion. Joe showed me and his church family how the art of story telling can impact lives. He could keep my attention for long periods of time and accomplish so much. Ever noticed how most stories are passed down through families and even how history is passed on through various cultures? It is through story telling. Jesus did the same thing. He told parables. He talked with people on their level, got their attention and made sense of life. Sounds like something we need to be doing as preachers and Christians. The art of story telling will impact lives far beyond other methods. I pray that I will learn and you will learn how to tell great stories about our great God that will touch great numbers of people. Luke 19:28 (nlt) --- After telling this st...

NOTE - e-Devotions for the next two weeks may be sporadic as we will be on vacation and then on a mission trip. Please be patient if you encounter problems. Thanks for allowing me to be part of your spiritual journey. In a recent sermon we talked about where we see God, feel God and are in AWE or in wonder of God. One of the places we talked about is the beach. That's where we are headed, and this is gonna be off the hook. Psalm 97:6 (nasb) --- The heavens declare His righteousness,And all the peoples have seen His glory. Romans 1:19 (nasb) --- because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. Years ago I learned what it was like to enjoy God. That is to sit still, lean back, listen up and let His peace shout at me and in me. That is a huge deal. This week every year is some of that for me. It is strengthen for the entire family. It is time together and time to reflect. We have lots to reflect on this year. It has been a yea...

Ecclesiastes 3:4 (nlt) --- A time to cry and a time to laugh.A time to grieve and a time to dance. My dad sent me some things from fellow Oklahoman Will Rogers that will make us laugh and think. Enjoy (comments below...): (authored by Will Rogers, who died in a plane crash with Wylie Post in 1935, was probably the greatest political sage this country has ever known) 1. Never slap a man who's chewing tobacco 2. Never kick a cow chip on a hot day. 3. There are 2 theories to arguing with a woman...neither works. 4. Never miss a good chance to shut up 5. Always drink upstream from the herd. 6. If you find yourself in a hole, stop digging. 7. The quickest way to double your money is to fold it and put it back in your pocket. 8. There are three kinds of men: The ones that learn by reading. The few who learn by observation. The rest of them have to pee on the electric fence and find out for themselves. 9. Good judgment comes from experience, and a lot of that co...

Lee Greenwood said it best in his song "God Bless the U.S.A." ... And I'm proud to be an American where at least I know I'm free. And I won't forget the men who died, who gave that right to me. And I'd gladly stand up next to you and defend her still today. 'Cause there ain't no doubt I love this land God bless the U.S.A. For as long as I can remember (some 36 plus years at this point) we have celebrated with fireworks, cookouts and more the birthday of this great nation of our. If you will recall with me, our family had the honor of visiting our nation's capital in May and were amazed with all we saw and experienced. This is a great place to live and work and succeed. Psalm 33:12 (niv) --- Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people he chose for his inheritance. Sunday I shared with The Community Fellowship a message titled "What's Right With America" using Psalms 2:8,10-12 as basis. What's right with America? W...

We are in our new house ... make not of our address for your records (phone number is the same) ... 12 Greentree Street, PO Box 388, Collinsville, VA 24078 (picture taken at 8 am July 2, 2007)

This past weekend we moved into our first home that we own. It is ours (and the banks especially since we've not made the first payment yet). It is ours, the banks and Gods. And it feels good. When I think about the time it took to get this place, I understand that God had to prepare lots of stuff and people to make this work, and the largest piece of that was me...in the right place, in the right time, in the right attitude and so much more. It is time to stop for a few minutes and say thank you to God. 2 Corinthians 9:10 (nlt) --- For God is the one who provides seed for the farmer and then bread to eat. In the same way, he will provide and increase your resources and then produce a great harvest of generosity in you. Psalm 27:14 (nlt) --- Wait for the LORD;Be strong and let your heart take courage;Yes, wait for the LORD. Patience is a virtue ... that I rarely have. Yet the older I get, the more I rely on and wait on God. This house is one of those pieces. I need to say t...