Michael Harrison's e-devotion

Psalms 139:23-24  NLT   Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. 24 Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life. There are so many things that I see in these special verses.  Mostly it is personal.  But it is also tied to my faith, lived out and following Jesus.  There is more to the verses.     But what I want to draw your attention to is this … Search me, O God.     W hat an awesome request made of our God.  What a deep and difficult request because God may share something that is hard to hear or difficult to deal with. Keep searching.  Go directly to the source.  Allow Him to open the truth and deal with you.  He is faithful.  He is to be trusted.   The people we trust help us deal best with problems, questions and direction.  We let the doctor deal with our health.  We let a counselor look in to our heart and head ...

  Let me tell you about my Jesus.  Yes, you heard that correct. It is personal, as my friend JT has said so many times.  Jesus is my savior, my friend, my gift from God and so much more.  That is what or who I want to tell you about. The conviction of my heart that leaves me changed as well as convinced that God loves me so much.  Without this understanding I am stuck and in loads of trouble.  That is why I come to you today, on Friday, headed to the weekend so that the enemy cannot convinced you otherwise. Here is the song My Jess: Are you past the point of weary? Is your burden weighin' heavy? Is it all too much to carry? Let me tell you 'bout my Jesus Do you feel that empty feeling? 'Cause shame's done all its stealin' And you're desperate for some healin' Let me tell you 'bout my Jesus He makes a way where there ain't no way Rises up from an empty grave Ain't no sinner that He can't save Let me tell you 'bout my Jesus His love is stro...

There are so many things that I see in this verse.  Mostly it is personal.  But it is all tied to my faith lived out and following Jesus.  There is more to the verses and to the story than I shared yesterday.   But what I want to draw your attention to is similar to what I shared yesterday.  Let’s take another look.  Maybe from a different angle. Psalms 139:23-24  NLT   Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. 24 Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life. Search me, O God.   That is a request made of our God.  Go directly to the source.  Allow Him to open the truth and deal with you.   It is people you trust that you let deal with you and your problems.  You let the doctor deal with your health and healing.  You let a counselor in to your heart and head to do with hurt, pain and actions.  You let your spouse and your children b...

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...

Matthew 6:13   NASB ‘And do   not   lead   us into   temptation , but deliver us from evil. [For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.’] We don’t have to be led.   Do we?   It is kind of strange to say or even pray this, “do not lead us into temptation”.   Would you agree? That is the Lord’s prayer, and it sounds like the prayer or the person praying is asking God to not lead them in to doing what is wrong.   Do we think that God leads or believe that God leads His children to do things that are wrong?   None of us think that. But all of us are often led.   We want someone to help us be successful and do good.   So, why would this phrase be part of the prayer that Jesus used to teach His disciples? We want to be led.   Who you follow says a lot about who you are and what you believe.   For most of us we want to honor God.   We desire to follow God and have His best ...