Michael Harrison's e-devotion

  God did not make us His puppets.  It is not about us giving up our free will.  This is about becoming the person or the people that God intends us to be. We continue our series at The Community Fellowship “like Him” where we see how God is transforming us to be like Jesus.  So many parts I want to share with you, but first remember some important verses: John 10:10  NLT   The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life. God is a giver.  Satan is a taker.  It is our choice who we will follow. Galatians 5:17  NLT   The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions. Get this.  There is a battle going on, but we can’t see it.  Understand th...

  2 Chronicles 20:17  NASB   You need not fight in this battle; take your position, stand and watch the salvation of the Lord in your behalf, Judah and Jerusalem.’ Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow, go out to face them, for the Lord is with you.” I woke with a song on my mind.  This happens a lot.  But at times the song is stronger and seems to have a meaning.  Therefore, I will remind you today what I believe God is saying to me. The song is The Battle Belongs to the Lord .  It is by Phil Wickham When all I see is the battle, You see my victory When all I see is the mountain, You see a mountain moved And as I walk through the shadow, Your love surrounds me There's nothing to fear now, for I am safe with You So when I fight, I'll fight on my knees With my hands lifted high Oh God, the battle belongs to You And every fear I lay at Your feet I'll sing through the night Oh God, the battle belongs to You And if You are for me, who can be against me? Yea...

  Proverbs 21:31  NLT   The horse is prepared for the day of battle, but the victory belongs to the Lord. I am sure you have had some of these same thoughts.  But how do you deal with failure when all you are looking for is victory? A successful person has most likely gone through lots of failures, struggles and trials.  The more teaching or reaching or searching I do about finding real and lasting success the more I hear about failure.  Why is that? It is because failure breeds success.  Failure leads us to learn the lessons that lead us to success.  Think about the things that have helped you become who you are, what has given you strength and what has left you better in so many ways.  It is most likely tied to lessons from failures. Let’s dig in a little more… “Success is stumbling from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm.” ― Winston Churchill That is good.  Look at your failures differently.  Stumble away from failure ...

The battle is real.  I am not talking about the battle currently happening with Ukraine and Russian, although we need to pray over the people of both nations and their leaders.  I am talking about the spiritual battle that takes place every day. You and I have the understanding when we choose to follow Jesus that our enemy, who is very real, is set to be against us, distract us or discredit us.  That was the case in the message that I shared with our church yesterday from Nehemiah 6 as the people opposing Nehemiah and God’s people did all they could to stop the rebuilding of the city of Jerusalem.  But the enemy failed. And our enemy will fail too if we take the appropriate steps headed toward victory and not defeated, listening to God rather than the enemy.  Listen in… Ephesians 6:10-13  NLT   A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of ...

  I shared in the last e-devotion about the armor of God and the need for every piece, or not to miss putting on any of the pieces.  Today I turn to the reason why we need the armor God gives us.   It really is simply.  There is a complex battle going on that most people are oblivious to the reality.  I ask that for just a few minute minutes that you examine the battle, but look past the skirmishes and see who is at the core of the issue.  Just who is the enemy.  Look again at the core of these verses for the enemy and the need of the armor.  It seems obvious, but it might be hard to see or understand.  It might be too real to look at as well. Ephesians 6:11-13  NLT Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil.  12 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, ...

Note: much of the following post was first shared in 2015, and the armor of God is something we need to put on daily and to understand even more! Ephesians 6:10-17  NLT Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. 12 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. 13 Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. 14 Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. 15 For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. 16 In addition to all of these, h...

When we get tired, we have a hard time standing up.  If you are really tired, we might not be a able to sit up or even lean.  That is why we need to commit to self-care even before we care for others. Let me out it another way: when you have nothing to give, you cannot help yourself or anyone else for that matter.  Make sure you take a Sabbath.  That is the day that God calls us to rest and reflect on life while we worship Him. Make sure you care for yourself. Let me define just one way we care for ourselves.  That is by understanding the battle going on around us and even inside of us.  There are many battles going on, but we cannot let that battle get the best or the most of us. Galatians 6:10-13  NASB Finally,   be strong in the Lord and in   the strength of His might.   11  Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the   schemes of ...