Michael Harrison's e-devotion

Does living differently from most people make a difference?  That is a good question. It is not about just looking different because many people are fake.  They put on a costume, if you will.  They look the part of the proper or righteous person, yet underneath they are dead or dishonest.   It is important that we know to the core who we are, and that we are the same in public or private.  It does matter what God sees in us and what others see coming from us. Psalm 37:34  NLT Put your hope in the Lord. Travel steadily along his path. He will honor you by giving you the land. You will see the wicked destroyed. If we have real and lasting hope in the one who is in charge, there will be a result that only God can give.  He literally honors those He sees and knows are living  for Him.   Romans 2:7 NLT He will give eternal life to those who keep on doing good, seeking after the glory and honor and immortality that God offers. Eternal life isn’t ea...

  Years ago I heard about a sign outside of Anchorage, Alaska.  It says, “choose your rut wisely; you will be in it for the next 200 miles.”  That makes a lot of sense when you think about how much snow that part of Alaska gets each winter. The path that we are on makes a big difference.  It might be a path that leads somewhere or leads you no where.  It could be one of success or of failure.  It should be one of peace and strength and of seeking God. Psalm 119:105  NLT Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path. The Bible gives us light because it feels us with hope.  The path we choose is the one that is either dark or light, evil or good.  It could be one that keeps tripping us up in big ways.  But my prayer is that we choose paths that will help us and others find life. Galatians 6:1  NLT Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that...

  Very simple idea.  Each day we make choices of what to put on.  This might be about what we wear.  Of coarse, I check the weather as to what I will wear.  I also check my calendar.   But there are other things that we have to choose to put on.  There are also things that we have to choose to take off.  Important choices are all around us. Put on the clothes, the attitudes and the things that will make you a stronger person.  Take off the things that will make you lose or make life go the wrong direction. These are big things.  But it really is a very simple idea. Romans 13:12  NLT The night is almost gone; the day of salvation will soon be here. So remove your dark deeds like dirty clothes, and put on the shining armor of right living. Put on right living.  Define it for yourself.  Make sure light and making others better is included in your definition of right living. Ephesians 4:24  NLT Put on your new nature, cre...

Joshua 1:7  NLT Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the instructions Moses gave you. Do not deviate from them, turning either to the right or to the left. Then you will be successful in everything you do. One of the strongest verses of early history is this one.  Joshua is told that success is sure with the right decisions being made consistently.   There is much to be said and credited to the decisions that show concern for others, doing what is right and standing strong in the face of adversity.  God has said to each of us that His presence is promises and His help is always available.  It is our choice. I want to be successful.  How about you? Why is it that this verse makes us question side steps, or stepping aside?  I think there are many reasons to avoid those kind of steps. Don’t slow down unless God calls you to do so.  There are times when we take an easier road or one that might bring us more p...

John 12:25  NLT Those who   love   their life in this   world   will lose it. Those who care nothing for their life in this   world   will keep it for eternity. There you have some thoughts that are tough. Hard to understand but give life. Think of it this way: if we love the wrong thing, we miss everything.  Does that make sense? 2 Timothy 4:10  NASB for Demas, having   loved this present   world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica; Crescens   has gone   to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia. What happens when we love the wrong things? That verse says we will desert what really matters, or who really matters.  Here is another way to look at it: whatever we look at long and lovingly we will become like and love more. 1 John 2:15  NLT Do not   love   this   world   nor the things it offers you, for when you   love   the ...

Proverbs 14:12   NLT There is a path before each person that seems right, but it ends in death. It really is that simply.   To do good you don’t have to build a building or have a million dollars or write a business plan.   Just do something that is good.   Help a person who can do nothing in return.   That might even be the most good.   Mother Teresa said, “If you cannot feed 100 people, feed 1.”   Every body can do something. Take a few minutes to think about doing good or doing something that is right.   When you choose to do what is right, you choose life.   You choose courage and encouragement.   You choose to be an example to someone who might be headed the wrong direction. Call them out not by beating them up but by being kind, by doing what is right by doing something that might not be expected.   In fact, plan to do what is right. Have you noticed that the more you make positive choices that the ea...

Philippians 2:14-18   NLT Do everything without complaining and arguing,   so that no one can criticize you. Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people.   Hold firmly to the word of life; then, on the day of Christ’s return, I will be proud that I did not run the race in vain and that my work was not useless.   But I will rejoice even if I lose my life, pouring it out like a liquid offering to God,   just like your faithful service is an offering to God. And I want all of you to share that joy.   Yes, you should rejoice, and I will share your joy. The proverbial list is a big deal for many people.   It is for me.   Yet it is lists like the one beginning the passage above that often trips me up because I thought for years that being a “good Christian” meant doing the right stuff. Just doing the right stuff doesn’t make us more or less a Christian.   I...