Michael Harrison's e-devotion

1 Peter 4:10   NLT God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts.  Use them well to serve one another. This is one of the days that I cherish each year as the volunteers of our back2school outreach come together to pack backpacks and prepare to serve students in our community.  It was an incredible day that we have been planning for a long time, and I believe the outcome of what we did together is going to be bigger than any of us know. Look around the room.  Everyone one had backpacks in their arms and put school supplies into them.  The youngest team member might have been 5 or 6.  The oldest team member is probably in their 70’s, but every person had a place.  There were people who live close by and others who live a good distance away.  There were people from all walks of life, some wealthy and those who have very little. But every person worked together for a unified purpose to serve ...

Take a look at the picture.  Our six back2school partners churches are represented, and if you’d spend a few minutes with us, you’d agree that it really does takes all kinds.  We are different, but we have similar vision.  We have different gifts, but we have a single mission.  We even disagree at times, but we can accomplish more together than we can than we can a part. (left to right) Adam is the youth pastor from Danville, VA’s First Pentecostal Holiness Church.  Kirk is the pastor of Fairway Baptist Church in the Fairystone area of Bassett.  Jonathan is the new pastor at Axton’s Mt. Calvary PH Church.  I am the lead pastor of The Community Fellowship in Collinsville.  Johnny is the pastor of operations at Mercy Crossing in Martinsville.  Wait!  Missing from the picture is Carl who is the pastor of CrossPoint Church in Bassett.  This is an awesome group.  Some are Baptist.  Another is from the...

John 3:17   NLT God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him. Luke 6:37   NLT Do not judge others, and you will not be judged.  Do not condemn others, or it will all come back against you.  Forgive others, and you will be forgiven. Every day we come in to contact with new people as we live life.  Some of them are life us.  Some of them are very different.  It is human nature to form some kind of opinion of the people we meet, but often that opinion is way off and simply wrong.  When we judge others, we take away our ability to share with and serve others.  It can even take you to the point where it is almost impossible to love the person that you have met the way God tells us to love.  That first opinion we form we either lead us to help or hurt the people we meet. It is my desire and my calling to help people reach the potential that God has built in ...

Ephesians 3:20   NLT Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Let you see what I am so excited about.  The anticipation is overwhelming to say the least.  I believe that what will have will be better than I can imagine and more will be accomplished than anyone has planned for, that is anyone other than God. This will be the sixth year of our back2school outreach, and it has been on my mind for a long time.  I love what we do as a church serving those who have needs and accepting those who have a hard time being accepting, but this one event takes more out of me and puts more energy back in me more than anything else we do. The first year we served over 150 kids.  I remember my assistant, Susi, telling me that we served a bunch of kids, but there were a few more that needs help.  We prayed, told the church the need and within mi...

We are moving forward with gusto as back2school is 8 days away.  What does that mean?  I feel like I am in the middle of a huge wave that won't end.  It takes my energy and then recharges and excites me all at the same time.  We are now 8 days away from the best, biggest and sweetest back2school event that we have ever had.  Let me say THANK YOU now to all the people who are making this event so good.   So, let me give you a boat load of information: FINAL NUMBERS Our total number os students we will serve is 2,060.  That is how many are registered at this point although we know that we will be helping as many students as possible. VOLUNTEERS for special needs day (Friday, August 2nd) More volunteers are needed for this day.  We will begin serving families at 9am and have the last appointments at 3:30.  Call 276-647-8231 to volunteer.  It would be great to have some volunteers who have experience as we serve these awesome...

Getting ready to be a soldier is no easy task.  I have watched as several young people that I have known have gone off to boot camp as they entered the military.  It was a trying and difficult time, yet it prepared them for some difficult days. In conversations with veterans and some people who are still in the military I have learned that combat is a very difficult place.  Some people have talked about, prepared for and be sent off to battle but were not fully ready for what came their way.  To be prepared is always takes physical, emotional and spiritual training. Spiritual battle much like physical battles take training, and God has given us advise and marching orders through the Bible to prepare us for the battles that we will be part of.  Some of us have experienced out right war.  Others have gone through small battles, but all those who follow Jesus will go through warfare at some point. Are we prepared for what we w...