Michael Harrison's e-devotion

  What do you do when you can’t sleep?  When you wake up early and try to go back to sleep, what do you do? The older I get the more the answer to that question is to pray.  Just pray.  What do I pray for?  I pray for the people who come to my mind, and the more I pray the more people come to my mind. It is the interaction with the one who cares for us the most that makes the most difference in our lives.  This could be when we are at our lowest and struggling.  This could even be when everything is going well.  Just spend that time with God and praying. Praying has several parts that you don’t want to miss.  The two biggest are speaking and listening.  Too often our prayers are just pouring out to God.  Stop and listen.  Listen to what seems to be in your mind and heart.  Hear the things that God puts in your heart.  Even go to Scripture and pray the verses you are reading back to God.  Let Him speak.  He i...

  Finishing up a good week, and there is so much ahead.  School began this week in our community.  Preparing for a mission trip next week and another next month.  Add to that so many people in need and on my mind. How to do you stay focused and make sure that you don’t miss the important things?  That is a tough question, but let me remind you of a couple things. Proverbs 3:9-10  NASB   Honor the Lord from your wealth, And from the first of all your produce; 10 Then your barns will be filled with plenty, Isaiah 55:6  NLT   Seek the Lord while you can find him. Call on him now while he is near. That first passage from Proverbs may speak to our stuff, but it also is about our time and what is important to us.  Second verse is really about opportunities. Start your day with God.  Choose to spend time with Him.  Listen to Him.  Pray.  Search for Him, like Isaiah said. I find it is before anything happens that our da...

Sunday during the message at The Community I closed out with this very familiar passage: Lamentations 3:22-26  NLT The faithful love of the   Lord   never ends!  His mercies never cease.   23 Great is his faithfulness;   his mercies begin afresh each morning.   24 I say to myself, “The   Lord   is my inheritance;   therefore, I will hope in him!”   25 The   Lord   is good to those who depend on him,   to those who search for him.   26 So it is good to wait quietly   for salvation from the   Lord . Where is the place that you find peace and refreshing?  Maybe it is beside the water at the ocean as the breeze and the waves seduce you.  Maybe it is in the mountains overlooking a pristine view that seems to go on for miles.  Maybe it is in a valley next to a stream with the water rushing over rocks that calms your heart rate and seems...