Michael Harrison's e-devotion

  Yesterday I completed our series studying the book of Ephesians.  This has been one of the most powerful that I have shared at The Community Fellowship.   Are you ever amazed at what you find in the Bible and how God uses it in your life?  I have to say YES to that.  He does more than I will ever know.  From the first chapter to the last there were pieces that God uncovered and were amazing. I would encourage you to read and study this book.  Dig in. The following quote sums up the book very well, and I want to share it with you because it hit me.  I will share some key verses from Ephesians at the end.  But  QUOTE This letter lifts us to a new vantage point from which we are united with the risen and ascended Christ. Believers are not to have a limited or merely earthly perspective. When we view life from the heavenly realms (1:3), we can understand that the church's strength is not in human resources but in the grace and strength of ...

It is Wednesday, and I am continuing to share the Navigators’ Hand Illustration (click THIS LINK to learn more) helping us get more in to the word of God.   See the picture above for the pieces of the illustration. Acts 17:11   NLT And the people of Berea were more open-minded than those in Thessalonica, and they listened eagerly to Paul’s message. They searched the Scriptures day after day to see if Paul and Silas were teaching the truth. There are many ways to study the Bible, and all of them are good.   Yet your learning style and preferences should lead you to the best way to study.   Choose a way and start!   There is treasure ready to find and fruit ready to pick. You can study the Bible by topics.   Use tools such as online websites with notes and books or commentaries.   Choose your topic, and dig in with the tools and look at the Bible.   Another way to study the Bible is going chapter by chapter in a book of the Bib...

2 Timothy 2:15   NLT Work hard so you can present yourself to God and receive his approval. Be a good worker, one who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly explains the word of truth. Living a care free life is something most people want, but living a life without purpose and direction is a bad deal.   That is why God calls us to know His word and to follow it. God has not given us a list of rules to live by.   The Bible is a roadmap or sorts, and by studying it great things and great lives and making a difference happen.   But all that happens with purpose and the plan of God.   We will not be ashamed when the Word of God has us and when we treasure the word of God. God gives us some ways to let the Bible, God’s word, to penetrate deeper in to our lives.   Here are some of those words… Joshua 1:8   NLT Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything writt...

One of the most incredible things we can do is gain perspective.   It is like hearing only one side of a story.   When you hear from the other person’s perspective, things might just change.   Another way to look at it is like looking into the sky or to the top of mountain, and in the next look you go up in the sky or on the mountain and look make.   Either way the views and story are very different from the other. But it is the same place or same story.   The same type of thing is true about Scripture. In today’s devotion I’d like to make my point in relation to studying the Bible.   It can be helpful and insightful to examine other translations of the Bible.   It is always helpful to go back to the original language like Greek or Hebrew or Aramaic, but that is not always possible. Different translations of the Bible will use words or phrases that highlight more of the meaning that God intends to share with us.   We always have to...