Michael Harrison's e-devotion

  Do you get overwhelmed by the things you have to do?  I do.  The list tends to grow.  I get more discouraged.  Sometimes I give up or just cross something off the list that falls to the side. My point today is not to tell us to quit but to encourage each of us to do something that is the most important.  I am reminded about a story.  It involved two sisters that loved Jesus.  They spent a lot of time with Him.  Jesus raised their bother, Lazarus, from the dead.  The sisters are Mary and Martha. Luke 10:38-42  NLT   As Jesus and the disciples continued on their way to Jerusalem, they came to a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. 39 Her sister, Mary, sat at the Lord’s feet, listening to what he taught. 40 But Martha was distracted by the big dinner she was preparing. She came to Jesus and said, “Lord, doesn’t it seem unfair to you that my sister just sits here while I do all the work...

  This is an important weekend for many things going on.  That includes Mother’s Day.  But for our family it is even more. Our kids will be with us as we celebrate that our oldest daughter will be having a baby in a couple months.  But all our kids and grand kids will be here and a few other family members. It hit me late last night as my wife gave me a task to complete.  Our girls are mother’s.  That gives this Sunday even more joy.  Those little girls that we raised are not so little any more.  They are raising little ones.  Kind of hits this dad in the heart.   Put on top of that that I have been missing my mom and dad more lately, or so it seems.  Family is important.  Take time to make that a reality of what is important to you.  And for this weekend celebrate the moms who mean so much to you. Proverbs 31:28-30  NLT   Her children stand and bless her. Her husband praises her: 29 “There are many virtuou...

  Today is set aside by our country as the National Day of Prayer.  The first Thursday of May each year.  Choose to spend some time today in prayer. 2 Chronicles 7:14  NLT Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land.   That one important verse is shared in many places, quoted in sermons and repeated in so many places.  When we talk about the needs of our country and the world, this is where we should turn.  If you read the verses that surround it, there is much, much to learn.   Solomon had just completed the construction of the temple.  It was a beautiful landmark that his father, King David,  wanted to build, but it was his son, now king Solomon, that brought the temple in to its glory.  God appears to him and reminds Solomon of the...

  Choosing to be grateful is an every day thing we should do.  It might not be your first choice when things around you are tough, the struggle is hard or negative stuff floods your mind.  But being grateful might just change those things in and around you because of your choice. Psalm 50:14  NLT Make thankfulness your sacrifice to God, and keep the vows you made to the Most High.   Thankful people are fun and pleasing to be around.  Grumpy and negative people aren’t a lot of fun.   That is one reason I choose, and need to choose, to be thankful.  I want to be known as a person who is gracious to others, grateful and generous.    Stop for a few minutes and make a list.  Name a few things that you are thankful for that might go unnoticed.   Here are a few of mine… I am grateful for the people that said “thank you” when I didn’t expect it.   I am thankful for with our children and grandchildren through our phones or FaceTime...

  Proverbs 20:7  NLT   The godly walk with integrity; blessed are their children who follow them.   Today would be my dad’s 86th birthday.  Just a month away is Father’s Day, and I miss my mom and dad very much.  There are so many things I can share about my parents and in particular my dad.  A few things stick out about him that I remember very well, and that I would like to share with you.   Recognize the blessings.   Often we take things and time for granted.  Recognize the blessings that God has given.  After you recognize them do something about it.  Share those special times with the people that mean so much to you.  It is easy to miss the fact that we are blessed.   Speak up and share what is on your heart.   Dad would call almost every Sunday.  I miss the things he would share and the conversations.  So … That text message should be sent.  Make that phone call.  Go visit when you can....

  The search is on.  Yet the question is will we be honest.  If we get on honest, greater things are ahead. That is just part of what I shared in the message Sunday at The Community Fellowship through our series “Road to Recovery”.  Whether it is addiction or so many other things, even our health, until we admit there is a problem, help will not come. That is why we have to ask God to help the search begin.  Allow God to look in and begin to work in your life.  The outcome is what makes it worth it.  Follow on. Lamentations 3:40  NLT   Instead, let us test and examine our ways. Let us turn back to the Lord. Examine.  Search.  And then turn to where God leads.  Psalm 139:23–24  NLT   Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. 24  Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life. I love those verses from Psalms.  I first reach them as a t...

  1 Thessalonians 3:8  NLT   It gives us new life to know that you are standing firm in the Lord. Go get ‘em.  You know, this talks about the people we pour our lives in to.  This comes through influence and living on purpose and with the call of God. We influence the people we are around.  We are either building people up or tearing them down.  There is no middle ground where others stay the same because of us.  That is unless you are a hermit, living off the grid and never encounter other human beings. Choose to help others stand firm.  Use what God has given you, how He has worked din your life to help others get stronger and to be who God made them to be.  That is why we need to have faith and follow how God leads. For me there has been many people through the years that I have had the opportunity to help walk by faith.  Some were in my life for a long time while others only for a short time or even just one meeting.  Some ...