Michael Harrison's e-devotion

This is the  first edition of The Community Fellowship's "Volunteer of the Week"   that will be shared each Wednesday.  This week we honor Ashley Cross!!!   Ashley Cross and her family have been a part of The Community Fellowship for three years. During that time, Ashley has been a strong support in the Clothes Closet ministry, joyfully giving her time, talent and genuine passion for helping others. Though Ashley has a full time job at Najjar's Pizza that she loves and calls, "The best job ever" she typically works many hours in the Clothes Closet before going to work each day.   While volunteering through the week, Ashley will also help to get emergency food boxes for those in need and have come to the church for help. She is a great encourager and blesses others not only by helping with their need for food or clothes, she is also the friendly, positive point of contact they remember after visitin

Something that is broken is not often thought to be useful in our society.   We discard things that are broken.   When people are broken and causing others pain, society seeks to do something with them as well.   Yet it is a fact that we have all dealt with pain and brokenness, some more than others.   It is how we deal with our pain that speaks volumes about who we are and what we believe.   Brokenness ought to lead us, as followers of Jesus, to be stronger and more devoted to Him.   We also need to remember that God is always listening and wanting to serve His children.   His heart to turned toward His children, listening to their prayers and helping often Psalm 147:3 (NASB) He heals the brokenhearted
 And binds up their wounds. That is the nature of our God.   Yet often we have come to know and see how Christians don’t care for one another.   That has to change.   That is why our church exists.   Stop and check yourself and what you are part of.   Are you help

COMMUNITY family and friends!!! Something awesome happened on Monday that was an answer to prayer, and I am so excited to share it with you.  Are you ready??? That's right!  We have a BUILDING PERMIT!!!!  In the picture above is part of the property at our new campus and our building permit!  We've been asking God to send us what we need to begin this work, and He did. Please join me in praying for our contractor, Kenny Locklear, and for all those who will be part of the construction.  Include in your prayers the volunteers to serve as well as the resources / money needed to make this happen.  Pray for the mission team of skilled laborers coming the last week of May to begin framing the interior of the building. God is good ... all the time!!!  Thank you for your partnership to this point and for more in the future.  We are believing God as He prepares us to serve more people in the days ahead.  Pray for this project to continue to come together.  Pray for our Mot

Proverbs 24:10  nlt If you fail under pressure, your strength is too small. Sometimes I get real tired.  Sometimes I even battle depression.  But what I continue to understand is that choosing to do things on my own, without God’s help, I are weak and in need of help.  We have all experienced the fact that our strength can be ease away if we aren’t careful.  Even when we are at our strongest or our best, our strength can be zapped. Yet what I often see happening to me personally and to those who chose to lead is that when spiritual battles come our way, we become weak far too fast because we trust in or lean on the wrong person or wrong things.   When we are sick physically, we don't have any strength.   Spiritual sickness is much the same.   That is when we let our faith be placed in the wrong place or when we neglect God or when we continue in a habit that keeps us away from God.   Something has to give.   Turning the wrong way leads to weakness.   Turning the r

Psalm 51:12   NLT Restore to me the joy of your salvation , and make me willing to obey you. Joy can be something that we had in the past but isn’t thought about much any more.   When Jesus became our Savior, we were full of joy and excited about what is ahead.   But in the days since we allow the things of the world to push out the joy we had a first. Sometime ago I heard a talk given about keeping your joy.   The points I share with you are from that talk, and honestly, I don’t remember where I was or who shared.   But these things stick out in my mind.   May God use these to help us restore our joy. 5 ways to keep your joy. 1. Know who you are. 2. Know they you are forgiven. 3. Know that you are unique, blessed and have potential. 4. Know you have an awesome future. 5. Know you make your Heavenly Father smile. Each of those points is filling with possibilities that will change our lives.   But hold on a minute.   All of these points are alr

There are times you just have to stop and have a talk.   This is true in ever relationship.   You will not have a great marriage unless there conversations, heart to heart ones, in the easy and the difficult times.   They aren’t always easy to have, but these talks are important. Between spouses.   Between parents and children.   Between bosses and employees.   Between me and God.   The ones between God and one of His kids happened often in the Bible.   Below is part of a conversation between God and David.   As you read through this conversation note the results David comes to. Psalm 51 NLT Have mercy on me, O God, because of your unfailing love. 
Because of your great compassion, blot out the stain of my sins. 2  Wash me clean from my guilt.   Purify me from my sin. 3  For I recognize my rebellion; it haunts me day and night. 4  Against you, and you alone, have I sinned; I have done what is evil in your sight.
 You will be proved right in what you say, and your

Hey COMMUNITY family and friends --- Our Mother's Day Car Care Clinic is Saturday, May 10th and not the 3rd as the last email said.  Please help us pass the word.  Also help us find those who would like to serve and those who need to be serve.  Thank you and see you all Sunday! With GOD as my guide, Pastor Michael -- James 1:5 *** to give online click on  THIS LINK .  For more information about The Community Fellowship or Dream Center or back2school go to  www.thecommunityfellowship.org , email  cmartin@thecommunityfellowship.org  or call  276-647-8231  ***

Hello COMMUNITY family and friends!!!  Last Sunday was Easter, and it was awesome.  God is setting us up for what we are soon to know as MORE.  Join us in praying for MORE.  MORE lives to be changed.  MORE resources to share with others.  MORE experiences and sweet time with Jesus. Before we head in to the weekend, we'd like to share with you some of the things you can be part of in the weeks to come.  None of us can do it all, but chose to serve.  It is gonna be good. WORK DAY @ NEW CAMPUS Each  Saturday from 9am  until about  noon  there will be people working at our new campus (700 Commerce Ct., Martinsville , VA) to prepare for our future as well for a mission team that is coming the last week of May to frame up our new facility.  Bring your work gloves, brooms, shovels, wheel barrels and more.   COMMUNITY 101 BEGINS  SUNDAY There is room for more of you to be part of our membership and deeper understanding class.  If you wish to know more about your salvation and

James 1:5 (nlt) If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you.   He will not rebuke you for asking. Ask God for insight and do you know what you will get?   God will give you an answer and help.   That is His promise to His children, to you and me.   Not only is our God real, but He is active in the lives of His children.   Why is it that we miss Him at times or even fail to hear His voice?   It could be because we are not looking for an answer or asking for His help. There are times that we have unplugged ourselves from God.   It could happen because of pain in our lives or even from experiencing good times.   I don’t believe that we step away from God.   We simply make choices that takes our focus off of Him, but that isn’t that our enemies plan? He wants to distract us and remove from our lives the possibility of God taking us to the next level.   Why you haven’t moved to the next level might be because you have allowed the distractions of t

Proverbs 28:27   NLT Whoever give s to the poor will lack nothing, but those who close their eyes to poverty will be cursed. This was an incredible day as some of our back2school team was able to go to Charlotte to celebrate with our ministry partners, Samaritan’s Feet , for their 10th anniversary.   This will be our 5th year of partnering with these awesome people who have a big vision to share hope with children around the world through the vehicle of giving shoes and washing feet. It was a blessing to meet Manny and Tracie Ohonme who are the visionaries and leaders of this great ministry.   For the last 10 years they have pushed forward and experienced God in wonderful ways.   Over the last several years I have heard stories of how shoes have been given to children across the United States as well in many countries across the globe. Yet in a more personal way we have watched hundreds of volunteers in our area serve children by washing their feet, talking to them

Acts 11:23   NLT When he arrived and saw this evidence of God’s blessing, he was filled with joy, and he encouraged the believers to stay true to the Lord. Thank you for spending some time with today’s devotion, but I am going to take some time today sharing personal moments from Easter weekend.   I am calling them “happy moments” because I saw the hand of God that also brought big encouragement my way. Soon time after worship ended on Easter Sunday one of our children’s teachers came up to see me with one of our young guys.   What I heard next was worth more than you may know.   Logan had accepted Jesus as his Savior in our children’s worship.   That made our Easter celebration incredible.   A few minutes later I was talking with two ladies.   They are the same age, and when we moved to Virginia, almost 13 years ago, both helped baby sit our girls.   They have grown in to two beautiful ladies with kids of their own.   I am proud of the Christ followers they continue