Michael Harrison's e-devotion

It is the end of the week.  But God has continued to be faithful, give guidance and strength as my family has looked toward Him. One of the things that I like is to be in control.  The more I walk with God the less I realize that I am in control and the more OK I am with that.  That is because I have become more comfortable with God having everything in His hand.  That is faith in God.  That is trusting Him for His work and the outcomes. Do you find it hard to trust God for the results? Hebrews 10:23  NLT Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for   God   can be   trusted to keep his promise. God keeps His promises.  He does what He says He will do. 2 Corinthians 3:4  NLT We are confident of all this because of our great   trust   in   God   through Christ. We grow more confident in everything as we trust God. John 14:1  NLT Don’t let your hearts be troubled.   Trust   in   God, and   trust also in me. Our hearts and our tr

These are some great thoughts.  Often great thoughts are meant to be passed back through the brain and even the heart a few more times.  Read on. Enjoy. Disclaimer: these thoughts are all over the place and have little connectors to each other.  But they have caught my attention.  Read. James 3:18   NLT And those who are peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of righteousness. Working together for God’s purpose brings peace to us and to others. H. Jackson Brown, Jr. --- Live so that when your children think of fairness and integrity, they think of you. "Creativity doesn't take money. It takes time." We are to do all we can to take as many people with us to heaven.    That is what this life is all about.    Live with purpose.    Choose to multiply rather than divide. God gives us His word to get in us, to hold us, to train us, to guide us, to inspire us, to encourage us, to give us what to say and so much more.    This is

Romans 15:7  NASB Therefore,   accept   one   another, just as Christ also   accepted us to the glory of God. One of the things that our church has tried to make sure is part of who we are and how we respond to others is in the area of being accepting and loving.  That is what Jesus did.  That means we should do it too. If we aren’t careful, we will turn from accepting people to judging them.  In fact some of the things we do, not spoken and very casual, will help us become more critical of others and less helpful.  Take a look at your feelings.  Get honest about the way you think of others when you see them out around town or when you see their posts on facebook. Let me remind you and me that we can inspect things. In other words when something looks like an apple it must be an apple, but that doesn’t mean we should turn away from people or treat them inferior.  This is how God says it: Matthew 7:1-5 NASB Do not judge so that you will not be judged.   2  For in

Reminders that we need and need often: Psalm 148:13  NLT Let them   all   praise   the name of the   Lord . For his name is very great; his glory towers over the earth and heaven! Keep on praising God.  No matter what is going on praise Him! Psalm 119:71 NLT My suffering was good for me, for it taught me to pay attention to your decrees. I talked about suffering yesterday, and a friend sent me this verse.  Even our suffering reminds us to pay attention to what God is doing. Hebrews 10:25  NLT And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but   encourage   one   another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near. Be an encourager.  Be encouraged.  Spending time with other people who love God and love you will be encouragement to you. Don’t miss those meetings and times together. Psalm 46:10  NLT “Be   still, and   know   that I am God! I will   be honored by every nation. I will   be   honored throughout the world

Why does God allow suffering?  That is our main question today.  When we think about the possible answers, we might get confused.  Some talk about punishment.  Some talk about the wrong others have done.  Fact is, we need insight and truth from God. Throughout the Bible there are stories of suffering. Some of that suffering came because of a person’s sin, some came because of the sin of others, but much suffering doesn’t have an answer.  This is similar to the story of Job. What can or should we learn from suffering.  God uses all things for His glory.  Do you agree?  There aren’t coincidences.  There are moves of God.  Many of which we do not understand. Romans 5:12  NASB Therefore, just as through   one   man   sin entered   into the world, and death through   sin, and so death spread to all men, because all   sinned— Suffering sometimes comes because of the choices we make. Often that is sin when we step in to what we want rather than what God says is right for