Michael Harrison's e-devotion

John 8:31 NLT Jesus said to the people who believed in him, “You are truly my disciples if you   remain   faithful   to my teachings. It is summer. Many people are traveling and enjoying this time of the year.  Remember to stay faithful.  God hasn’t stepped away.  He has stayed close to us all the time.  Make a commitment to do the same. Stay close to God. Stay faithful. Proverbs 11:24-25 MSG  “The world of the generous gets larger and larger; the world of the stingy gets smaller and smaller. The one who blesses others is abundantly blessed; those who help others are helped.” Let your world grow. Help your family grow.  Choose for your faith to fly high and stay extra strong. How is God calling you to be generous?  With our lives, be generous.  With our work, we choose to be generous.  With our finances, our money and all our resources, we w...

John 15:14  NLT You are my   friends   if you do what I command. Proverbs 11:30 NLT The seeds of good deeds become a tree of life; a wise person wins   friends. Friendship makes a difference.  That is because we are made for connections.  God began, as the Bible recounts, creating people who connect with God and then connect with others. That was affirmed throughout the Old Testament of the Bible as God wanted to be with His people and fought for them over and over.  His way was to connect with people and connect them to others.  All for the purpose of great life and His glory because God loves people. Take some steps forward and hear what Jesus said.  He reminded us and those walking with Him that loving God is connecting with Him on every level possible, and Jesus said that another and just as important connection is that of loving the people we encounter in life. How we deal wi...

Isaiah 12:2  NLT See, God has come to save me.  I will trust in him and not be afraid. The Lord God is my strength and my song; he has given me victory.” Lots on my mind.  In fact the last several days have been almost a blur.  God has continued to do so many things, but I have also experienced some of life’s most difficult things. Death.  I don’t like it, and it hurts much.  Loosing a friend or a family member is hard to handle.  But what is not so hard is trusting God and not fearing all because we know that God is in control, and God is our strength.  Victory comes in many different forms, like the verse says. Death is also victory. Take some time to look back through your choices and your reason for living.  I am excited about some of the things and events ahead.  I am excited that my children are finding life and choosing to live and enjoy i...

Psalm 116:15  NASB Precious   in the sight of the   Lord   Is the   death   of His godly ones. Yesterday was one of those days that you do not expect.  My phone rang early yesterday morning, and I learned to one of our church staff members was in crisis.  When I made it to their home, I learned that he had passed away. Michael Allen, Mikey as many called him, came to our church several years ago with a friend, and when his friend left, Mikey stayed.  He didn’t just stay.  He got involved. He became our receptionist and was part of many of the ministries of our church almost every day of the week.  If something needed to happen or someone needed help, he was willing to stay longer, work a little more, lend a hand, make a call, give an encouraging word… you get the point.  Many people called on Mikey when they needed someone to join in. For me there are many things that I am g...

Yesterday I shared a message titled RECKLESS LOVE in our series called “fearless”.  The remise is this: the more we realize God loves us the easier it is to love God and love others. Romans 5:5  NLT And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly   God   loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our   hearts with his   love. His love for us can be characterized in many, many ways.  Let me share a few… endless, hard to understand, unconditional, strong, unmatched by anything or anyone else.  We can go on and on, but those are a few that will help us dig deeper and bask in the truth of God’s love. The song by the same name, Reckless Love, speaks this truth very well.  Read and think through some of the lyrics: Before I spoke a word, You were singing over me You have been so, so good to me Before I took a breath, You breathed Your life in me You have been so, so...