Michael Harrison's e-devotion

Let me take us in the same direction we went yesterday.  I started about generosity from our sermon on Sunday and the series Treasure.  Take a few minutes to examine yourself. Are you generous?  Are you a giver? The opposite of being a giver is a taker.  Are you a taker?  Are you selfish or stingy?  Those are tough and revealing questions. Claim the promises of Scripture.  God says if we give, we will be blessed.  If we are generous, it will turn out for our good and the good of others.  This promise makes a lot of sense to me.  I hope it does for you as well. Proverbs 11:25  NASB A generous person will be prosperous, And one who gives others plenty of water will himself be given plenty. Being generous leads to being blessed.  But we should not be generous so that we will be blessed.  It is the overflow of goodness.  It is the overflow in us of knowing God’s goodness and how. Jeremiah 48:7  NASB For because of yo...

Mark 12:43-44  NLT Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I tell you the truth, this poor widow has given more than all the others who are making contributions.  For they gave a tiny part of their surplus, but she, poor as she is, has given everything she had to live on.” That is from the time Jesus took His followers to the temple and talked to them about giving.  What a powerful example of how to give and how it can impact others. I am preaching through a series at The Community Fellowship called Treasure, and yesterday we talked about how we hold our treasure or how our treasure holds us.  Literally when we understand that our treasure is a gift from God and how blessed we are, our desire will be to be generous. Think about the promise and plan of those who are generous.  These people see themselves as a child of God using their blessings to serve others.  Those who are generous know that giving away what they have ends in them being blessed even m...

  We need reminders.  I have said this a number of times as we talked or read through these e-devotions.  One of the passages of Scriptures that has continued to gain my attention as well as to roll through my mind is from the first chapter of Joshua. Joshua and Caleb were the two spies that stayed close to what God promised His people.  They knew the promise of the land made their people unique.  One pastor said these men were “one in a million” because these two stood against the two million people who stood in the way of God’s people taking possession of this land. For Joshua to lead the people somethings had to be givens.  There were life points that had to stay strong. These are true for us, and that is why I share the following verses.  Read on… Joshua 1:6-9  NLT “Be strong and courageous, for you are the one who will lead these people to possess all the land I swore to their ancestors I would give them. 7 Be strong and very courageous....

Let me introduce you to two people.  I have some new heroes. Matthew 23:11  NLT The greatest among you must be a servant. I walked in to the room this last Monday night before the event started.  Many of the helpers for this event, an FCA event at our local community college, were busy getting things prepared as it was the first day of school and all student athletes and coaches were invited.  Before we knew it well over 120 of them arrived. But in the process I observed some of them while I was helped with the meal and various things around the huge room near the pond on campus. First there was this guy.  I believe he plays baseball.  He has lots of hair and even growing a beard.  I am guessing this is his first day of college after graduating from high school this last spring.  I was carrying cases of water from one place in the room to where they would be served.  He jumped up and grabbed the case I left behind, and when we arrived at the ...

Prayer is a big deal.  It is what connect those who follow God to God.  As I referenced last week in a devotion, you spend time with someone to get to know them; how can you claim to know God and not spend time with Him? It really doesn’t make much sense to have a relationship but never connect, never talk, never spend quality time together.  Make that change, if you need to.  Spend time with God today.  It is a spiritual discipline that might just change your life, change the way that you look at yourself and others. Here are just of the few things the Bible says about prayer: 1 Timothy 2:8  NLT In every place of worship, I want men to pray with holy hands lifted up to God, free from anger and controversy. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18  NLT Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus. Ephesians 6:18  NLT Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay aler...

Does worry take away what you treasure most?  Or, does your treasure help you worry less? This is one of those questions or suggestions that really doesn’t make sense, at least at first glance.  It is an opposing view or point.  Think about it.  I believe both statements are true and difficult.  What comes to your mind when you think of your treasure, what you hold closest and dearest to your life? Matthew 6:21  NLT Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be. Whatever your treasure is either guides and guards your heart OR distorts and even destroys your heart.  Ouch.  Worries rob you of your treasure unless your treasure lessens your worries.  Trusting God more means we worry less.  Thus, treasuring what God treasures assures us that we will worry less.  Then, treasuring with doesn’t last will ensure that we will worry more. Luke 21:34-36  NASB Be on guard, so that your hearts will not be weighed d...

You have to spend time with someone to get to know them.  Thus, how can we confess to know God when we don’t spent time with Him?   That truth was rattling through my head and heart this week as I listened to a message from Tony Evans.  Powerful truth that we have to understand because no relationship gains strength without time and effort.  The same is true for our faith and time with God.  Spend time with Him. We in America confess faith, say we love God and know that church is important, yet we choose often to stay away.  This week we have seen reports from Afghanistan of Christians who are in danger of loosing their lives because they claim faith in God.  This hurts my heart and reminds me that we have it so easy. Why do I share both of these things?  It is because we do have it easy, but have a great and mighty God who is with us all the time.  Life is meant to be lived with God, guided by God and surround who He is making us who H...

It’s people.  Literally God’s treasure is people.  All He says and does is for the good of the people He created, and the stories of Scripture remind us that He will do whatever it takes so that people will have what they need and will thrive no matter what is going on. John 3:16-17  NLT For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. 17 God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him. Yep.  Love is the reason He sent His son for our good and His glory by giving the savior and healing, not a judge or a solider.   Notice how all Scripture is turned in this same direction.  You can almost see it on every page of the Bible, and it amazes me how God is turning His face to the people who so often turn against Him.  We are wicked people who do our own thing.  Then our great and gracious God turns toward us,...

There is nothing new around the world.  Remember, Solomon said that in the book of Ecclesiastes.  He went even further to talk about how all things seemed useless and painful.  We’ve all experienced this in life and watched it played out in so many ways. Psalm 34:18  NLT The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed. Around the world right now there are so many things going on that need a move of God as people are in so much pain. In Haiti this past weekend earthquakes killed over 1,000 people leaving many more in pain and seeking help. In Cuba, which is close to my heart, there continues to be political unrest, growing cases of Covid-19, need of food and basic necessities as well as a growing gap between government and people. In Afghanistan there is so much pain with the government being taken over and people seeking help.  The news reports leave me hurting for Christians and others going through what seems so harsh. Growin...

Join me in praying for schools, students, teachers and school staff as our local schools start today.  Sunday we had a special prayer time for each of those.  God has blessed us and is preparing our children for an awesome and strong future. Matthew 19:13  NASB Then some children were brought to Him so that He would lay His hands on them and pray; and the disciples rebuked them. Do everything in your power to be a blessing.  God gave us the desire and ability to do just that, and one place we can start and be strong is through prayer.  Another is to confess and claim truth over each person. First, PRAY. Pray for students and this year.  It is a new year full of all kinds of questions due to covid, be virtual last year and so many other things.  Pray for school administrators and workers who are tasked with making things work well, and there is so much for them to do.  Pray for teachers and the frontline workers challenging, encouraging and sharing...

Call them out.  This is not about being negative, but positive.  This is not about pointing out where you are better or stronger or higher than someone else. Call them out.  This is about helping people see their value.  This is about being an encourager and helping someone take further steps of faith. One of the things that I believe God called me to is this, and it makes a huge difference in the lives of others when we step up in faith so they see some things in us.  We become examples.  We are lifters of people.  We are bringers of hope.  We are the ones that help people become more than they thought they could. 1 Thessalonians 5:11  NLT So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing. The back2school project is just one way that I believe God uses the act of calling people out.  If you watch for just a short time while this project is happen, you will see this happening in living color.  One place ...

Today is an important day.  Our youngest child, our only son, has a birthday, Ryan is 18 years old today. Before I share about him let me give you a side note. Psalm 127:3  NLT Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from him. Children are a gift from the Lord, and that is what makes our back2school project that much more important.  Each and every volunteer and partner has taken an extra step to speak in lives of students and encourage each to step up even more. May we continue to pray for each student served and for their families.  This might be the very time that God uses to bring many closer to Him and to help many grow in ways they never thought possible. If you chose to partner with this project, please take this from me and our team, thank you.  Thank you for giving.  Thank you for going.  Thank you for stepping up.  Thank you for saying yes.  There is more to come as we see what God is going on to do. But let me go a lit...

Jesus called us sheep.  God through the writers of the Bible talked about the sheep who went astray, and the facts are in on sheep.  They aren’t the brightest animals in the barn.  But the relationship between the shepherd and the sheep is an incredibly important one. John 10:3-4  NLT The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep recognize his voice and come to him.  He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.  After he has gathered his own flock, he walks ahead of them, and they follow him because they know his voice. Notice the relationship between the shepherd and the sheep and how there is comfort, strength and protection, yet the most important word here is relationship. The sheep recognize the shepherd’s voice. We can know the voice of God.  What makes it easy to recognize is the fact that we’ve heard it a lot.  We’ve talked.  We’ve listened.  We’ve enjoyed time in His presence.  The sheep found that the shepherd...

Isaiah 55:6  NASB Seek the Lord while He may be found; Call upon Him while He is near. This is a simple concept.  But don’t miss this. In everything we do God has a place and a plan and even a reason for our lives.  If we fail to seek the Lord, we will miss what is the best. As it relates to the back2school outreach we have sought the Lord and continue to do so.  Seeking God ties many things to our lives. First, we will know Him, hear His voice and get our marching orders. Second, we will have the resources we need.  This can be as simple as the items to share with students or a complex as the relationships that help us do more and take the message further and in more locations. Third, we will have a heart like Jesus.  He saw people and understood their need.    He looked at the heart and not the outer appearance of a person.  We should do the same, but without God, we may miss that ability. There are more reasons, but these three sum up what...

  There are so many things that we can be thankful for, but one of the greatest things right now is the outcome of our back2school event.  This last weekend we served hundreds of students and their families.  Each is important, and we are blessed to be able to serve. The stories are so numerous as I shared last week leading up to this event.  I will be sharing some of those, but what I ask for today is that you continue to pray each and every one of these incredible people. I am grateful for the so many partners that gave money and resources to pull the event off.  Some gave more than others, but each one becomes a vital part because they took a step up to serve. I am grateful for the families that showed up with their students. It takes a lot to follow through.  Some people say they will be there but never show.  Some showed up late and still were served. I am grateful for those that served.  Many of the volunteer teams that worked hard with back...

It is time… back2school has begun.  Pray.  I am excited. Last weekend was the first outreach and took place in Louisiana.  Next weekend will be another in South Carolina.  This weekend 13 locations will be having an outreach event.  But there are also many other places and churches doing special events to serve students. It is time to celebrate.  yes, before it is over we will celebrate the outcome that only God can bring along.  Pray for the impact and the students we are able to serve.  It really is incredible. I cannot wait to share some stories with you. There will be stories of families who have been through crisis and are finding hope.  There will be stories of students that have struggled but are getting a boost through out encouragement and giving.  There will be stories about the kids heading off to school for the first time and prepared for the year.  There will be stories about high school students who are at a pivotal po...