Michael Harrison's e-devotion

Isaiah 33:2  NLT But Lord, be merciful to us, for we have waited for you. Be our strong arm each day and our salvation in times of trouble. Trouble is something we all deal with.  How do you deal with it?  Does trouble cripple you, fuel you or keep you from being great. That first verse is a prayer.  It reminds us that when trouble comes we have help.  Seek the Lord.  Pray through it and know that our salvation is given from God to those who come close to God. Psalm 46:1  NLT God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble. Commit this reality to your life.  God really is the place we run to for help because He is not only able to help but is ready to help at any time trouble comes up.  He will help even when trouble doesn’t come your way. Nehemiah 9:27  NLT So you handed them over to their enemies, who made them suffer. But in their time of trouble they cried to you, and you heard them from heaven. In your great...

Following is a devotion I shared in April a couple years ago.  I pray that God gives us the ability to see.  Read on and have a great day… Luke 4:18 NLT “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives, And recovery of sight to the blind, To set free those who are oppressed,   Jesus read those words in the temple during His ministry.  Right after reading this from the scroll and from the book of Isaiah, Jesus said that this Scripture was fulfilled in their hearing.   There was so much more to that than words.  It was a new day.  Many who had been slaves would be set free.   Psalm 146:8  NLT The Lord opens the eyes of the blind. The Lord lifts up those who are weighed down. The Lord loves the godly.   Spiritual sight is needed by all people....

We have just celebrated Easter.  It has been an incredible weekend.  Easter is the most important happening for those who choose to be God people.  There is nothing like it because most people are going to look away from the pain of Friday and then miss the glory of Sunday. Yet with the pain comes the glory.  With the sacrifice comes the Savior.  With the shed blood comes the salvation for our lives.  With Jesus comes our very present help in times of trouble.  We have a savior who lives.  Death and the cross could not keep him.  Satan and the religious leaders couldn’t stop him.  Not even the most powerful of powerful things could hold the gift of heaven from being unwrapped as the gift of love and life for you and for me. This is Jesus.  He is alive.  The tomb is empty and our lives have meaning.  Some say he was a liar.  Some even have said he was a lunatic.  Some have learned to say He is Lord.  That is ...

  Here we are.  Easter.  Friday is the day of the culmination of the efforts of people who wanted to remove Jesus from their lives.  But not just that.  This is the highest spot of the purpose Jesus was given to come to earth. He is the Christ.  He is the sacrifice.  Without the cross there would not be a resurrection.  Without the death, and life before death, there would not be life after death.  You get that. 1 Corinthians 1:18  NASB For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. The cross is the place where we fall apart.  It is where everyone falls apart because it was harsh and cruel.  The beatings leading up to the cross would leave the one sent to death almost at the point of death but not quite. Jesus’ life was freely given.  Who killed Jesus?  That is the wrong question because Jesus actually gave His life for us.  He willingly ...

Psalm 53:1  NLT Only fools say in their hearts, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, and their actions are evil; not one of them does good! It is Holy Week.  Easter is upon us.  For the last almost days the season known as Lent has allowed Christians to focus on Christ and to prepare for the most important day for us. Yet the irony thickens with the day that is also upon us.  It is April Fool’s Day or April 1st.  There are jokes shared and people who are tricked and played through this day. Take a step toward Easter on April Fool’s Day noticing that our Savior makes this a day for anything by a fool.  He is so much more. Jesus is God. Jesus is the gift from God. Jesus is the conduit of blessing from God. Jesus is the substitute for our sin in the plan of God. Jesus is Easter.  And alive and well on this day and every day. The cross was awful.   The tomb is empty and remains that way. Jesus is at the right hand of the Father praying for us. This is...

  It is Easter week.  Many call it holy week as we find ourselves in the middle of the most important week of Jesus’ life. You know, it really is the most important week of our lives, Spiritually speaking.  How do we see God through the paradigm of Easter?  Is it possible to follow Christ without understanding or believing in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus? We find ourselves in the middle of the week, Wednesday to be exact.  Most likely this day was one of rest and preparation for Jesus and those closest to Him.  He has been praised.  He knows what is coming.  His death is only a few days away. Sitting on His shoulders and firmly planted in the heart of Jesus is the purpose God gave His one and only son.  There is more to the story than the words He taught with.  There is more to the story than the need of humanity for forgiveness and life. We began the week as the Christ, celebrated and revered.  We will end the week w...

It is holy week of the Easter celebration.  The day after the triumphant entry where Jesus was celebrated and hailed as the coming king of heaven as told of through prophecy.  So many points lead us and others, especially those who were there that day, to see the passion of this hero. Monday and Tuesday of Easter week finds Jesus teaching some very important and difficult lessons, but before I share those happenings, I share part of the story that stands out to me. Jesus was God, but Jesus was also human.  That is what made this man stand out.  Can you imagine the heaviness of the week?  Can you imagine being deity and knowing that the coming days were going to be hard and life changing.  Jesus kept on, followed the Father’s direction all the while helping others see the gravity of faith. On Monday Jesus went to the temple.  It was an incredible word that we still need to hear today. Matthew 21:12-13  NLT Jesus entered the Temple and began to driv...