Michael Harrison's e-devotion

Community family - Wanted to share with you the funeral information for Nancy Hodges, Gordon's mom.  All will be Sunday at Fontaine Baptist Church in Ridgeway.  Visitation begins at 2pm, and the funeral will be at 3:30.  Her burial will be at Roselawn Cemetery Monday at 2pm.   You can read her obituary or leave a message for her family at this link:  http://www.norrisfuneral.com/sitemaker/sites/NORRIS1/obit.cgi?user=1227943Hodges   Note that memorials can go to Fontaine Church (170 Fisher Farm Rd, Martinsville, VA 24112) or to the Gideon's (PO Box 1243, Martinsville, VA 24114). Please encourage Gordon, Betsy, Allysa, AJ and Mariah by writing them a note (599 Sedgefield Dr, Martinsville, VA 24112).  As you know Gordon and Betsy have been part of The Community family for over 5 years and mean much to us all.  We are grateful for their friendship and faithfulness.  Pray for them at this difficult time.  Gordon is very close to his mom, and during her sickness, the past 6 m...

"Lose your dreams and you might lose your mind."  ---  Mick Jagger    What a great quote from an often-unquotable dude!  I have long understood that vision and dreams are vital to success of any person pushing forward in life no matter where you are or what you are doing.  Dreaming is important for people that are excited about life.  What do you think?   We serve a big God that gives us dreams.  Dream big! I challenge you to dream bigger than ever.  Further, He is into miracles, and most often those miracles come at times, as they did in the Bible times, when we do not expect them. Think about it. The people at the wedding where Jesus turned water into wine didn't expect to run out of wine.  Lazarus and his family didn't expect Lazarus to die or that Jesus would raise his friend from the dead.  Few people outside Jesus' circle of friends expected that huge stone to be moved away and for Jesus to walk out of His tomb.  ...

Dear Community family, Please keep Gordon Hodges and his family in your prayers as his mom, Nancy Hodges, passed away Thursday afternoon.  She has been sick for several months, but the last few weeks have been very good for her.  Yesterday her breathing was not good, and she was taken to Eden Hospital where she passed away.  No funeral arrangements have been made at this time, but we will share those with you when we get them.  Please not only pray for Gordon and his family but write Gordon and Betsy at 599 Sedgefield Dr., Martinsville, VA 24112.  Mrs. Hodges funeral will be at Norris Funeral home. Continue to pray for Bruce Elgin's mom.  She was moved to a rehab center at Lewis-Gale Hospital on Thursday.  She is improving each day from the stroke she had. Also continue to pray for Greg Walker as he is traveling to Minnesota at this time to find work. I look forward to seeing each of you this weekend as we conclude our series of ALL IN.  May God use us to  demonstrate t...

Each year on this date across the United States HUD (the government’s Housing and Urban Devolvement department) asks local groups that deal with homelessness to count homeless people in their jurisdictions.   This is something that I have been helping with the last few years. I have met some of the greatest friends when we have been searching for homeless people in our community.   Because we live in a small town with no homeless shelters it can be hard to locate these special people during the coldest part of the year.   The recent snow and chilly weather will make it even harder. There is a survey that we use to capture information about this group of people.   It has lots of useful information so we can help more people find what they need.   As you know I am convinced that God called our church to minister to, to serve and share truth with hurting people, and this is one group of people that each person has specific needs we can help with. Ye...

“We are healed to help others. We are blessed to be a blessing. We are saved to serve, not to sit around and wait for heaven.”   ― Rick Warren I drove home last evening in the middle of what some would call a winter storm.   We had maybe an inch of snow over the last 12 hours.   The ground, the air and even the roads where beautifully covered with the white fluffy snow our community was given today. The day had been busy with many things going on, but all through the busy time my heart and mind were drawn to the needs of people around me.   Early in the morning the phone rang in the church office, and I heard the story of a man who is having trouble making ends me and needed food.   The day before I met a man who recently came out of prison and is desperately trying to stay clean and make something of himself.   He joined us at a good time. The weather has turned from warm to cold, from fair to covered with snow.   It is cold, and there...

This past week has been one where I questioned lots of fundamental things that we are passionate about.   I’ve been blessed with more than 20 years of marriage to a great woman, and her parents as well as my parents have each been married over 53 years.   That is a miracle.   Another thing that I have spent a considerable amount of time is thinking about life and how precious life is from conception to dead. What is really important is not a law or an institution or material possessions.   People are important to God and should be the most important thing in and around our lives.   Ministry is the same.   We cannot allow our focus to be taken off of people and put on any thing else. Jesus spoke the following words when He was talking about important things that people did: Matthew 24:34-36   NLT Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation...

Our experiences with God are wide and varied, yet our needs are very familiar.   There is one thing that nobody can steal from you or tear away.   That one thing is your testimony and your experience.   Whether that is something you share on a witness stand because of an experience or what you tell others you have learned.   The truth and life you have received from God cannot be taken from you. I prepared for today’s post most of this week as I thought about the incredible things I’ve been through since I started walking with God almost thirty years ago.   Described here are times that I spent alone with God as well as times I sat in stadiums with thousands of people as God moved or whispered. Never have I sought or am I seeking to accumulate experiences.   Rather I want to get closer and closer to the One who loved me first and most.   His time is precious, and His love is endless.   Here are the things I’ve come us with in the exper...

It has been a while since I have talked about ARK’s (acts of random kindness).   These are the stories of someone taking their time and resources to care for some one else.   Most of the time this is an act that people don’t notice when something good is done for another person. I read a story about a policeman in Texas that gave a pair of boots to a homeless man.   No one was to know what the officer did, but there was a lady in the restaurant near where the officer and the homeless man were took a picture.   The picture has gone viral on the Internet.   All the officer wanted to do was help to do was share something he was no longer using with a man in need. Every day we see people in need.   It is when we stop caring about those people that something has to change. Matthew 6:1-4   NLT Watch out!   Don’t do your good deeds publicly, to be admired by others, for you will lose the reward from your Father in heaven.   2 ...

Continuing what we have been talking about this week I ask us to turn back a page in our Bibles to Matthew 6.   Leaders find strength beyond themselves that will out last personal strength and what we rely on so often.   My favorite verse on this subject is one that God gave me over two decades ago as a promise, and it has been a staple that I have shared with people in counseling, in stressful situations and in my quiet times.   I challenge you to memorize this next verse: Philippians 4:6   NLT Don’t worry about anything; instead , pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Worry is a sign of fear or a lack of faith.   When we chose fear over faith, our enemy knows that he has a hold on our lives.   Understand that we have enemy, and we are at war.   If you are not seeing signs of war, you might not be looking, you might not be following Jesus or you might be dead. God intends for us to hav...

Yesterday was the day that we honor Martin Luther King, Jr.   I am always challenged by the life and legacy of this man.   But I read a post from a friend of mine about the challenges that almost every leader faces.   Dr. King went through many of the things that other leaders have gone through.   He went through storms and struggles.   People came against him, those close to him and others. That is why I believe it is important to have strength during the storm.   I pray we will learn from the things that men like Martin Luther King, Jr. taught us.   Applying truth.   Truth built first on God and then applied to our lives. I continue looking at leadership truths from Matthew 7.   Yesterday we talked about the facts that we cannot judge people by a different standard than we judge ourselves by.   In fact the way we judge others speaks volumes about what we believe about ourselves.   Since we are forgiven and given hope b...

The most powerful thing for the follower of Jesus is simply Jesus.   Him in our lives changes how we thing about ourselves and how we deal with others.   Turn that around and understand why we often treat others so poorly.   If we don’t believe and apply what God says about us, we will believe wrong things about the people we are around. Below is a passage of Scripture that speaks directly to how we judge or how we accept others.   Read slowly through these verses and note the ways we are to treat the people we come in contact with. Matthew 7:1-12   NLT Do not judge others, and you will not be judged.   2  For you will be treated as you treat others.   The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged.   3  “And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own?   4  How can you think of saying to your friend, ‘Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,...

One of the things that spoke greatly to me in last Sunday’s sermon from the ALL IN series at The Community was the statement that Elisha made as he committed to go with Elijah.   He literally burned the bridge that would allow him to return to his old life.   He was willing to do whatever God called him to do. 1 Kings 19:21   NLT So Elisha returned to his oxen and slaughtered them. He used the wood from the plow to build a fire to roast their flesh. He passed around the meat to the townspeople, and they all ate. Then he went with Elijah as his assistant. In the act of burning the oxen along with the plow Elisha made it clear that his heart was set on doing what God said and his mind was made up to make this change.   This was a statement of faith.   We too have to make a statement about faith and leave the possibility behind when we know the right thing that we must do. Making a statement of faith is not an option.   It is a must be done s...

One of my favorite things in the world is Raceway Ministries where people from our church and others come together to serve race fans at our local speedway.   This happens all over the country at all kinds of motor racing events, and this week I am part of the planning and celebration of this ministry. I sat today listening and sharing with the board of this great organization, and our new leader began to unpack vision for growth and impacting lives.   His name is Elliott Yancey .   Elliott working with Raceway Ministries in Atlanta and moved on to work with fans through the ministry of Motor Racing Outreach .   He has now taken the lead of our organization.   He shared today the following Scripture that is loaded with meaning: Mark 6:7-13   MSG Jesus called the Twelve to him, and sent them out in pairs. He gave them authority and power to deal with the evil opposition. He sent them off with these instructions: “Don’t think you need a lot of e...

Titus 3:14   NLT Our people must learn to do good by meet ing the urgent needs of others; then they will not be unproductive. Often I meet people in our community that have huge needs.   My heart goes out to them, and my heart aches that we can do very little for them.   There are all kinds of reasons why these needs go unmet. One reason is that there are not enough resources to meet the need.   Another reason for unmet needs is that we don’t have what the person needs such as enough work or a homeless shelter.   A reason that gets me and makes me ask lots of questions are the ones who don’t want help.   I’ve met several of those people.   That last category of people come in many different stages of life.   It may be the young adult who has chosen not to let go of addiction.   It could be the older man or women who has too much pride to let others help them.   Maybe it is even the fact that people are skeptical of tho...