Michael Harrison's e-devotion

  Psalm 82:3-4  NLT   Give justice to the poor and the orphan; uphold the rights of the oppressed and the destitute. 4 Rescue the poor and helpless; deliver them from the grasp of evil people. You might be keeping up with things that are going on around the world.  Pray for the peace of Israel and the middle east.  Pray for the nation of Cuba and the unrest and desperate economic situation. My heart is in Cuba and has been in 2019 when I took my first mission trip.  So many people have left a mark on my heart and life.  Friends and ministry partners who are sharing the Gospel in their country.  I am so grateful for God leading me there these 6 and half years. But the situation is grave.  So pray.  As the verses above say.  Pray for the poor, the oppressed, pray for rescue of the helpless and the release from evil or difficult people.   Cuba gets worse daily with the need for food, fuel, electricity and hope.  The Unit...

  Some of the strongest I’ve ever studied and thought through are the ones I share with you today.  They hold truth that will guide us now and for eternity.  They helped shape what I do and what I believe.   As you read through these verses note of what sticks out to you.  It will reinforce what you believe or change it.  Let God speak.   Philippians 2:3-11  NLT Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. 4 Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. 5 You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. 6 Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to.  7 Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being.  When he appeared in human form,  8 he h...

You are receiving Michael Harrison's E-Devotion as part of the list of people who asked to join or someone thought this would encourage you  Please feel free to share with others.   Is this email not displaying correctly?  View it in your browser ...

  Luke 9:43  NLT   Awe gripped the people as they saw this majestic display of God’s power.   Have you ever been stopped by something somewhere and ended up in AWE?  It is one of those moments you didn’t expect, left you inspire, and left you with peace.   I have been there.  Most likely we all have.  I t might be the landscape or sky you notice.  It could have been a story someone shared.  Maybe it was a Scripture you read many times before, but this time was different.  It was something you didn’t expect.   Psalm 65:8  NLT   Those who live at the ends of the earth stand in awe of your wonders. From where the sun rises to where it sets, you inspire shouts of joy.   W atch because God is working.  We will be in awe and long for times of awe.  Unexpected moments of joy.  Moments that seemed to stand still.   Exodus 14:31 NLT   When the people of Israel saw the mighty power that the Lord ha...

  Sunday is always a good day.  Church.  Family.  Rest.  And more.  So today in the e-devotion I share with you some thoughts, quotes and overflow from what I shared with our church yesterday. Psalm 122:1  NLT   “I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the Lord.” Worship is one of those places, as a pastor, where I get nervous and desire to lead our people in the right direction.  That would be in to the presence of the Lord.  He has a plan.  He is worthy of worship and more. Scripture says in James that those who teach are under a more judgment because of the weight of what they do, and that is why I want to make sure that I share a word from God.  Also the worship service should be full of what leads all of us to worship God. You’ve been there.  It is a special time.  It is an important time.  There is an old saying that reminds me that you only get out of something what you put in to it or ...

  What were you aiming for? A few months ago I was invited to a special event, fundraiser for a great nonprofit in Charlotte, that was a clay shoot.  You know.  Shotguns.  Clay targets hurled in various directions that you have to shoot. Needless to say, I am not a very good shot.  I got some, but most of them I missed and missed by a long way. In a conversation this week with one of our coaches he quoted this old saying, “If you aim at nothing, you hit it every time.”  What a huge reminder. Life is intended to be lived with purpose and with goals.  Much like that shotgun and the targets you have to aim right, understand the direction of your target and work toward hitting it. So many of the things in our lives involve the same thing.  Aiming at something, setting goals, making decisions and trying to hit where you aim.  Thus, I ask us a question this morning, “what are you aiming for?”  That question ought to leave us with a few more qu...

  Deuteronomy 10:21  NLT   He alone is your God, the only one who is worthy of your praise, the one who has done these mighty miracles that you have seen with your own eyes. Often I wake up with a song playing in my head and even singing parts of it.  There are times that this drives Julie crazy because I keep repeating it.   It happened again today.  Before I share the song I go back to something I shared yesterday.  The prayer pattern I have learned from Strategic Renewal has impacted how I lead others to pray and how I pray. There is a simple pattern when you use Scripture in prayer.  It is “God is worthy” and we are need”.  Keep that phrase, those two distinctions, in mind as you read Scripture and understand who God is.  He truly is worthy.  The Scripture declares that throughout.  And our lives declare it the closer we get to God. Then on to the song.  It is sung by CeCe Winans, and the song is “Worthy of It All”....

  What is God like?  I mean how do we know the character of God? Some time ago I began following a ministry called Strategic Renewal that guides us to through Scripture Fed and Bible based prayer.  Literally praying through the verses we read out of Scripture.  It is powerful stuff. As I was reading through Proverbs yesterday this seemed to come alive and lead me to pray.  So, in this e-devotion I am going to give you some verses from Proverbs 12 that reminded me of the character of God and led me to pray using these and other verses. Read on.  Well, pray on and see how God leads you. Proverbs 12  NLT … the godly have deep roots. (verse 3) The plans of the godly are just … (verse 5) … the words of the godly save lives (verse 6) … the family of the godly stands firm (verse 7) … the godly are well rooted and bear their own fruit. (verse 12) Wise words bring many benefits, and hard work brings rewards. (verse 14) Truthful words stand the test of time … (v...