Michael Harrison's e-devotion

1 Peter 3:15 (NLT) Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your Christian hope, always be ready to explain it. This has happened to you before as it has to me.  You are involved in a conversation, and the person you are talking to reveals something that you weren’t ready for.  Or maybe you are in a place where something happens that you didn’t expect and you weren’t responsible for. It happens pretty often.  But you have to respond.  It stops you in your proverbial tracks and makes you think or say something you might not be ready to deal with.  How we respond will speak about our faith in God if we are ready ahead of time. The people I get to deal with come from many different walks of life.  Some have the means or resources so they don’t have to worry about money.  Others are relationally rich because they are outgoing and make friends very easy.  Many come from backgrounds and situation...

Proverbs 1:9 (NLT) What you learn from them will crown you with grace and be a chain of honor around your neck. The people you might expect to appear on this list aren’t the ones that I intend to mention.  Yet I’ve been blessed to know some incredible people who have blessed my life: my youth pastor Phil Dietz, Pastors James Merritt or W.A. Criswell, professors LeRoy Metts or Robert Brewer, missionaries Roger Reeck or Gary Frazier, mentors and giants of the faith Sumner Wemp or Michael Guido.  Those and others have influenced me in the past. But there are some other people that I might have mentioned before who have made a difference in my life.  You may know one or more of these people because you know me or have been part of my life, or you might not know any of them.  Yet they did something that left a mark on my life. Libby was my first babysitter, and she made this awesome chocolate cake that I still remember today.  She also taught my cla...

It is easy to grow cold to the pain and suffering of others when you deal with it often, yet in the past couple weeks I have seen some of the same things, heard many similar stories that I’ve heard before.   But my heart continues to hurt with those who hurt. Exodus 3:7 (NASB) The Lord said, "I have surely seen the affliction of My people who are in Egypt, and have given heed to their cry because of their taskmasters, for I am aware of their sufferings. God is the same.   The Bible shares with us on many occasions that our God not only knows the pain of His people, but He hurts with us and does something about it.   Jesus was touched by the death of his friend Lazarus as it says in John 11:35 when Jesus cried.   The four Gospels tell us that when Jesus saw hurting people that He was moved with compassion for them. Pain is real.   All around us there are people who are hurting and need someone to come along side them to encourage, ...

In a blog I read often I found some items that have kept me thinking this week.   Thanks to Michael Lukaszewski for sharing his “Ten Life Rules”.   Take a few minutes to read his post below: Been thinking through some general principles and rules that I’ve come to live by.   Or at least better understand.  And here’s my working list. 1.     You are not your job 2.     You can’t make someone else’s choices 3.     Words have the power to change things 4.     How you do something matters 5.     Don’t make little things into big things 6.     Other people matter 7.     You are not defined by your mistakes 8.     Do things that will matter 100 years from now 9.     Get paid to do what you love 10. The gospel changes everything Do you have any “life rules?” In this post we are encouraged to ...

Joshua 1:7 (NLT) Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the instructions Moses gave you. Do not deviate from them, turning either to the right or to the left. Then you will be successful in everything you do. When we follow Jesus, we will have many opportunities to exercise our faith.   We will also have opportunities to allow fear to keep us from going where God leads.   It takes a great deal of courage to set fear aside and to live by faith. Peter was ready for the next step.   He was in a boat with his fellow disciples late one night after a long day of ministry.   Jesus told the guys to get in the boat and go to the other side of the sea (Matthew 14:22-33 is the story).   As it often happens, the weather changed suddenly, and the disciples feared for their lives when the wind got bad. They were way out in the middle of the sea as the disciples see someone walking toward them, and they thought it had to be a ghost. ...

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My heart breaks for hurting people.   Thursday was one of those days where over and over my heart went out, my prayers were strong, and my desire for lives to be changed increased. The day began with trying to understand and unwrap a situation from the previous night.   All I can say is I am grieved by the attacks of the enemy that distract good people.   The day continued as I interacted with a young man who described to me the lack of hope he has.   Later in the day I sat with a homeless couple that is planning to get married, yet we weren’t able to help them very much.   A couple hours later I was at the hospital talking with a homeless man who days earlier was ready to take his life, but today there is a glimpse of a smile on his face and a reason to live! Emotions were all over the place, but my passion is intact, strong and even increasing.   This is why I keep on dreaming.   There are too many hurting people.   There a...