Michael Harrison's e-devotion

  The struggle is real, but it is not always what it seems.  As we talked about on Monday much of the struggle is in the spirit world and not in what we can see or feel or is right in front of us. We have heard that for a very long time, and God has been transforming our lives, making us more like Jesus, while we in a world that is fallen and broken.  People live in the middle of struggles and are being continually bombarded with pain.  Yet God meets us in the middle of the struggle. God has reminded us over and over that He is what we need, better yet who we need.  Often people seek what God can do rather than seek God.  Stop there.  Ask yourself a vital question.  Do I want more of His presence or more of His blessings? The answer might lead you to understand the struggle even more.  That is why we keep on for the rest of the week examining how the struggle is real.  Now it is our choice how we deal with the struggle we encounter. Prov...

  Job 11:18  NLT Having hope will give you courage. You will be protected and will rest in safety. One of the greatest things that our faith does for us is give us hope when the wold seems to be crashing around us us.  The struggle is real.  Hope and courage are linked in so many ways.  They are family members.  Each is a characteristic of people who care about the things of God, for other and caring too for themselves.  That is why God builds His people. God has used struggles through our lives to guide us give us hope and courage in this adventure called life.   Hope reminds us that there is more to life than the struggle.  Courage helps us press on.  It may not seem that simply, but it seems to make sense.   Psalm 31:24  NLT So be strong and courageous, all you who put your hope in the Lord!   That is a command.  Not one of those like the sign th...

  This week we are taking a look at the various struggles that go on around our lives.  Yesterday we talked about the spiritual struggle comes with our enemy.  That struggle is one we cannot see, and it can be easily missed. The struggle is real.   One of the struggles that has been so real in my life is the struggle of worry.  You might call is anxiety or doubt or uncertainty.  There are plenty of other words that come to mind, but it really is plainly marked as worry. Philippians 4:6-7  NLT   Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. Last week we took a deep through Philippians 4 which is where those two verses come from.  But I return to it in thinking about worry. Worry is one of those things that kills our...

  The struggle is real.  This is one that we all have to deal with, but if we are honest, we might miss is, neglect it or even think it is not real. I am talking about the struggle that is in the spiritual part of our lives where our soul is in the middle of some of the most difficult times.  Whether we choose God or self, savior or satan, trusting God or doing something else, it is a real struggle, and this week we are going to look at the different struggles that happen in our every day lives. Ephesians 6:12  NLT   For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. There is the struggle.  We have an enemy that has been around since the beginning of time, and he is good at what He does.  At times he looks like an “angel of light” but is not that.  At times what the enemy wants us to do is so...

  This week we have taken a dive through Philippians 4.  This literally is one of my favorite chapters of the Bible.  I have a lot of favorites.  As I said a couple times earlier one of my first Bible promises came from verses 6 and 7 (my first Bible promises were from Psalm 139:23-24 and 150:6). We have talked about peace and how God gives us that gift for leaving behind worry.  His peace is stronger than anything we know and far beyond anything we have yet to experience.  But what we might not have heard, or at least mentioned in these e-devotion, is that the best thing we learn is from verse 9 as it says “the God of peace with be with you.”   Not only will we have peace.  We will have God with us.  He brings peace with Him.  I love that. But as we close out this week of e-devotions and our dive through Philippians 4 we find some final words from Paul.  Let me share and summarize those a bit for us… Philippians 4:10-23  NLT...

  I sure have enjoyed the e-devotions this week as we make our way through Philippians 4.  Each day opens some of the truths that Paul knew the people of Philippi desperately needed. Their minds needed to focus on God and what is good.  They needed to have their hearts and minds guarded by His peace.  Our lives will be better by seeking joy more than anything else.  Paul shared this and so much more that the church would be, wait we all would be, changed by. Walk on a little further.  We have two days left this week, and there are two more specific points I would like to draw our attention to from this chapter of the Bible.  Tomorrow we will talk about final comments, and today we get a reminded that is very important. Philippians 4:9  NLT   Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you. The verse begin with the premise that this advise is ...

  Yesterday I shared one of the Bible promises God gave me more than 30 years ago.  This week we are taking a dive in to Philippians chapter.  Verses 6 and 7 are that Bible promise to let go of worry and find God’s peace. Today we go a little deeper and look at verse 8.  I believe that God is giving us His love letter, the entire Bible, to free us from the things that keep our lives mixed up and in struggle.  He intends for us to have peace and to know Him, yet many believe that God is giving us law to follow. This verse proves that point.  What we choose to think about goes a long way to transforming our lives and helping us become more like Jesus.  Colossians 3:2 says we can choose to point our minds and lives in His direction. Choose what you think about and dwell on. Philippians 4:8  NLT   And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. ...

  Paul wrote much of the New Testament, and his testimony is one that inspires us and others.  He violently opposed any one who followed Jesus and even had the backing of officials before he met Jesus.  But that day, the day he met Jesus, changed everything for Paul. He went from killing Christians to spreading the news about Jesus all the time and with even greater passion.  His work starting churches and increasing faith around the world reminds us of what we are to be doing. In my faith journey Paul’s teaching has become very important.  Several Bible promises have come alive for me in the five decades I have been alive, but the one that sticks closest to my heart is the one we speak about today. Philippians 4:6-7  NLT   Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your ...