Michael Harrison's e-devotion

  Life isn’t always fair.  Agree?  I recently heard someone share this… the only “control” God told us to have in the Bible is self-control.  We can not control other people or situations.  But we can seek to control ourselves. When things are out of your control, stop and pray.  That is a great response. When you get a message or information and you are too far away to do anything, stop and pray.   A friend shares there is a need, a struggle or heart ache, stop and pray.   It is an honor to be the intercessor that lifts them to God.  stop and pray.   This might seem simple, but the most profound thing we can do is acknowledge where the real power is, who is in control and what will make a difference.  That person is God.  He has connected to us.  He called us to pray.  Stop and pray   Matthew 7:7-11  NLT   Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep o...

Luke 9:49-50  NLT John said to Jesus, “Master, we saw someone using your name to cast out demons, but we told him to stop because he isn’t in our group.”  50  But Jesus said, “Don’t stop him! Anyone who is not against you is for you.” Does everything have to go your way or be done the way you think it should be done?  I need to confess that I often feel the need to be in control. That is where these two verses come in to play. The disciples, those closest to and following Jesus daily, have some of the same issues.  Maybe they thought that only healing would come from Jesus or in His presence.  But they were wrong, as I am at times. Not everyone is going to do things my way. The church, the one you attend or the one I attend, does the things the same.  Does that mean one is right and another is wrong?  That could not be further from the truth. Just listen to the testimonies of peopl...

We are not in control.  It is like this hurricane we have been talking about and waiting on. Who knows where it will go or the path it will take or it’s severity.  What we do know is that we cannot and no one can control it. Dealing with the unknown is tough.  This is where worry and anxiety seem to get the best of us.  We have to make a choice to let God be God and for Him lead us through.  If we wait for the right moment or the perfect situation, we will never make a move.  In fact, faith is an exercise in uncertainty because by faith we admit that God is in control.  We are not.  It gets easier to deal with the unknown when we confess that fact. Here are some verses to help us in dealing with the unknown: Hebrews 11:1  nlt Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see. Hebrews 13:6   nlt So we can say with confidence,...