Michael Harrison's e-devotion

  I was listening to a powerful message from Pastor Benny Tate as he shared a point that stuck in my mind, and really in my heart.  He said something like this, “choose to start praying before the storm begins.” That is an amazing and important statement.   As humans we often don’t make a change until it is obvious a change must be made.  The pain begins and we need to go to the doctor.  We find ourselves broke and say we need to save money.  Our marriages are in dire need of fixing and we decide to do something about it. Yet the best thing to do would be to start praying before the storm begins.  Take care of your health before you need to go to the doctor and deal with the pain.  Begin saving money before you know that you are broke.  Work on your marriage before your marriage is falling apart.   Does that make sense to you?  It makes a lot of sense to me.  And that is a huge thought as we move through this week, deeper in to the summer and seek God for our futures. 1 Timothy 2:8  NL

Follow along and find the connection in these verses.  It might shed some light where there has been much shade.   Isaiah 43:19  NLT For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.   Joel 2:28  NLT “Then, after doing all those things, I will pour out my Spirit upon all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your old men will dream dreams, and your young men will see visions.   2 Corinthians 5:17  NLT This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!   Colossians 2:12  NLT For you were buried with Christ when you were baptized. And with him you were raised to new life because you trusted the mighty power of God, who raised Christ from the dead.   There are lots of connectors in each of these verses.  Some of them will stick out  to you more than others.  Some you might have to dig for greater un

  There is more to come  That is a phrase that I have come to love and share often the last few months.  It is vital that all of us know who our God is.  There really is more to come.  But it dependent on who we listen to and how we live our lives. Answer this … who do you listen to and who do you follow?  Is it about our work and us?  Or is it dependent on our God and leaning on Him? I assert and fully believe that it is completely dependent on God, His work and will.  Just like our church’s theme for the year of HE>i we will find the more when we are committed to life being more about Him and less about you or me.  John 3:30  NLT  He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less. That is the key.  That is also why God prepares all victory.  God prepares our victory and us for victory. Yet the problem is often our thinking.  Our thinking is influenced by who influences us.  Again, Who do we listen to?  The enemy … our warped thinking … our past failures … our inc

Hello Community Family and Friends It is that time of the year again as we get ready to bless and serve a bunch of students and their families across our area in Henry County. Please take a look at these dates, put them on your calendar and get ready to serve! July 9th   (Saturday at The Community Fellowship in Collinsville). Registration will take place from 9am until noon. Many volunteers are needed. ALSO, help get the word out for families to register their kids! July 13th   (Wednesday at Hooker Field in Martinsville). It is back2school night at the Mustangs game. Wear your back2school shirt and help is needed to gather school supplies AND register students. July 15th thru 17   (Friday, Saturday and Sunday at Wal-Mart in Martinsville). Your help is needed to ask shoppers to donate school supplies and to sort the supplies on the bus in the parking lot at Wal-Mart. July 19th   (Tuesday at The Community Fellowship). It is registration at church from 6 to 8pm. Volunteers are needed as w

I want to speak to the supreme court’s ruling on Abortion in overturning Roe V. Wade.  This is not intended to start conversations or to be divisive.  What I want to do is ask us to think, to be kind and to know what we each believe. Ephesians 4:32  NLT   Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you. Be challenged to begin with kindness.  We will have people who are sharing views we don’t agree, and there are people very passionate about this issue.  That is why I challenge each of us to be kind to others.  Conversations are important, but there is no place for hate, ridicule and name calling. May people know that we love people and love God more than we love having people think like we think.  Our kindness might be the very thing that helps others come to know our savior, Jesus.  Here is what I understand… the Supreme Court’s ruling did not say that abortion is abolished and illegal.  Actually their decision send bac

Let me begin by saying that our kids are awesome.  We are blessed with a great family and so proud of where our children are and how they are doing. Dealing with adult children is much different than raising your kids when they are young and still at home.  This is one of the toughest things that I, as a father, have had to learn. There are limits.  You know what I am talking about because age and time and place change everything. When our three kids were living at home and in school, we had the opportunity to speak in to their lives.  We had the responsibility of their protection, providing for them and even seeing they are educated spiritually and otherwise.  Great times.  Some times they are tough.  But always rewarding. Things have changed as our kids changed. The girls are both married, and one of them has a child of their own.  That little one is the most precious grand child in all the world (until our next one is born).  Their lives are busy.  They live a good distance from us.

  We returned from vacation and time with family yesterday, and there are many take aways that I brought home.  There is one.  That is one big one and simple too. Spend time with the people who mean the most to you, focus on them, have fun, laugh a lot… what we say doesn’t always match what we do.  What do you call that person?  You call them a hypocrite.  That is not what I want to be The last two weeks have done a lot for us.  But the big thing it did was help me realize that we will not always have this time together.  Make the most of what you have.  Time is not something we can get back.  Maybe you have heard what I have… let me explain.  You don’t hear people at the end of their life saying “I wish I worked more” or “I wish I spent less time with my loved ones”. It is not always the easiest choice, but it is the best one. Honor the people the love. Proverbs 3:27  NIV   Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to act. Build up the people you love

  Our family is flying home today from our vacation, and I continue to take a look back at e-devotions from the past.  I will turn back in time and pass on to you some that still speak to me.  Read and share as you are touched by these.  Pray God continues to use these e-devotions. The following devotion was from June in 2020 (but also shared it in early 2017): Proverbs 20:7  NLT The godly walk with integrity; blessed are their children who follow them.   There is no question of blessing.  Almost everyone on the outside and on the inside notices when a person or family or business or ministry is blessed.  It is almost like everyone stops to see what is up.   The book shelves, both in the store and online, are filled with volumes and volumes of self-help leading to success books.  There are videos, seminars, programs, articles and blogs about how to reach your maximum potential and success.  Countless people and companies are making money off of those who are seeking to be blessed or to

  Our family is finishing up our vacation today, and I continue to take a look back at e-devotions from the past.  I will turn back in time and pass on to you some that still speak to me.  Read and share as you are touched by these.  Pray God continues to use these e-devotions. The following devotion was from September in 2019: Matthew 5:23-24   NASB Therefore if you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your offering there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering.   Our response to our time with God is a big deal.  Prayer is our connection to God, and prayer has several components.  It has speaking and listening.  It has thinking and responding.  And there is more.   The verses above speak to us about our response.  This thing we call prayer isn’t a one-way deal that gets us out of trouble.  It is a two way conversation that takes us from whatever

Our family is finishing up our vacation early this week, and I continue to take a look back at e-devotions from the past.  I will turn back in time and pass on to you some that still speak to me.  Read and share as you are touched by these.  Pray God continues to use these e-devotions. The following e-devotion was first shared in May of 2018: These verses stick out.  They come from our series Chase the Lion that I shared at church.  I would call them support or background or teaching points or maybe even foundation.   As you read these there are many different directions that you could go, but I ask that you choose the most obvious.  There are some truths that held on to will allow us to go further, live stronger and to believe that God isn’t done with us and our families.  Read on…   Hebrews 11:6  NLT And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.   Proverbs 16:9  NASB The

The family vacation continues.  In these days I continue to take a look back at e-devotions.  I will turn back in time and pass on to you some that still speak to me.  Read and share as you are touched by these.  Pray God continues to use these e-devotions. The following devotion was from September in 2016: Philippians 2:4   NASB do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Not all days turn out the way you plan them to.  The Bible tells us that we can make our plans, but God will direct our steps.  That means that He might change our thoughts or even what we need to do.  All kinds of things can come at us from the extremely urgent to the ones that seem to be just a small deal.   A few of my favorite things are some of those that change what I need to do.   I am talking about some of the things that touch my heart. As I sat in a meeting I got a message from a friend.  We met a little bit later, and he shared with me some news about his f

Our family is on vacation for a few more days, and I continue to take a look back at e-devotions.  I will turn back in time and pass on to you some that still speak to me.  Read and share as you are touched by these.  Pray God continues to use these e-devotions. The following e-devotion was first shared in September of 2015: Romans 15:32   NLT Then, by the will of God, I will be able to come to you with a joyful heart, and we will be an encouragement to each other. All those people who walk through the door do so for a reason.  They are not just thinking about themselves.  They went out of their way to show others the goodness of God. Each and everyone of the text messages, phone calls and facebook messages are reminders that we are not alone.  They are intends to be “pick-me-ups” and reminders of the connections God has given us. It is important to encourage others.  In the last few days I have been reminded over and over that I am not alone in the struggle I am in.  My mom continues

Our family is on vacation.  In these days I continue to take a look back at e-devotions.  I will turn back in time and pass on to you some that still speak to me.  Read and share as you are touched by these.  Pray God continues to use these e-devotions. The following devotion was from August in 2014: It was late fall, if I can remember correctly.  Sitting in a room of 30 or 40 pastors who had been soaking up the heart of a champion that has been a great mentor to me.  There were stories shared.  Scripture was read and explained. Woven within the days of our time together were stories of brokenness and stories of victory.  I recall one of those stories that drove home the point of having little but with great integrity.  It was capped off with the conviction that wrapping our lives in the verses of the Bible will keep us when nothing else will. Jesus used Scripture when He was tempted by Satan.  We can do the same.  The word of God is powerful.  It was that week way back in the mid 1990

This week is our family vacation, and I continue to take a look back at e-devotions from the past.  I will turn back time and will pass on to you some that still speak to me.  Read and share with others.  Pray for the continued impact of God’s truth and these e-devotion on many lives. Thank you for allowing me to take some time off and still share with you these e-devotions as we turn back in time… Much of this e-devotion was first shared in June of 2012: 1 Corinthians 12:12 ,20  NASB For even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ…But now there are many members, but one body. I am a people watcher.  One of my favorite places is the airport especially as I have a layover or arrive early.  I’ll usually chose a location where there is much traffic.  People are so different.  God loves variety.  Short and tall.  Skinny and not so skinny.  Young and old.  Big families and singles.  People with tatt