Michael Harrison's e-devotion

  Too often we don’t make changes until it is obvious and needed.  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 need and we decide to do something about it.   Yet the best thing to do is to start praying before the storm begins and prepare yourself.  Take care of your health before you need to go to the doctor.  Begin saving money before you are broke.  Work on your marriage before your it falls apart.     Does that make sense?    1 Timothy 2:8  NLT   In every place of worship, I want men to pray with holy hands lifted up to God, free from anger and controversy.   Make adjustments now.  Check out these verses where the followers of Jesus had little faith and needed to remember Jesus had all the power they need.   Matthew 8:24-26  NLT   Suddenly, a fierce storm struck the lake, with waves breaking into the boat. But J...

  Psalm 145:2-3  NLT   I will praise you every day; yes, I will praise you forever. 3 Great is the Lord! He is most worthy of praise! No one can measure his greatness. In those verses David declared and promised that he would choose to praise God every day and no matter what.  There is something about praising God that changes us. His life was not only changed by God by recharged, refreshed and renewed as David made time for the presence of God.  Go to those times of celebration, like when the Ark of the Covenant returned home and he danced in the streets, and on to the times of deepest hurt, like in the death of a son or of falling in to sin.  David chose to remember and bless the Lord or praise the Lord. When we choose to bless God at all times we set ourselves up to be blessed.  Literally the results of blessing God and praising God show up in our lives.  That happens for many reasons but the biggest one is we have realigned ourselves to G...

  The greatest things in all the world are not things.  Literally if we learn from God what is most important, and we will agree that is it people.  God loves people more than anything.   Cherish what God cherishes.  Value what God says is valuable.  Hold tight to what you should hold to and let go of all what does not have value.   Genesis 1:27  NLT   So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.   Jeremiah 29:11  NLT   For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.    Jeremiah 31:3  NLT   Long ago the Lord said to Israel: “I have loved you, my people, with an everlasting love. With unfailing love I have drawn you to myself.   Romans 5:8  NLT   But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners...

  Today I return to an old theme.  Pray for Cuba.  I have shared it before and will many more times, and with the current situation in that country, prayers and support are needed in greater ways. Today I get to share why Cuba once again with some great people in our community.  Another of our team is sharing in Branson, Missouri with another group of leaders.  Please pray for these presentations around noon, but even more pray for the ministry, our friends and for what is needed for survival both here and in eternity.  It really is for the gospel and His call on my life and on others.   Cuba is on my mind.  That is not a new thing.  It is an every day thing.  I get to return there in the fall.  Another friend arrives today in Cuba.  We choose to support the work with sports ministry and various churches all for the sake of the gospel.   Psalm 2:8  NLT  Only ask, and I will give you the nations as your inheritanc...

  I take us back a few weeks.  Actually it was a couple months ago through a daily reading of Scripture that something clicked.  It wasn’t a voice out of the sky.  It wasn’t a bolt of lightening or even wind blowing or lights flickering.  What it was was something that opened my eyes to see something truly beautiful. As I sat on the couch that week day morning the verses of Psalm 103 seemed to come alive more than usually.  There was power in those verses almost like God was sitting on the other end of the couch, and we were having a conversation. Scripture does that.  God does that, and I need it.  How about you? That spun me in to preparing for the sermon series we are currently in at The Community Fellowship as we teach through Psalm 103.  There is nothing super different.  There is nothing earth shattering.  But there is our incredible God that met with King David after of a lifetime of experience and living.  We idolize so...

  Proverbs 1:7  NLT   Fear of the Lord is the foundation of true knowledge , but fools despise wisdom and discipline. The fear of the Lord is a powerful and needed truth.  The more we know God, spend time with God and follow God the more we will honor God.  And that honoring, acknowledging and following has some incredible results in our lives. These verses today I shared from yesterday’s message about “a father’s eternal influence” that was based in Psalm 103:13-19 where twice David reminded us that fearing God leads to greater things.  In those verses it says God is compassionate to those who fear Him and the love of Lord remains for those who fear Him. In the following verses we see underlined, like in the verse above, what happens for those who choose to live in the fear of the Lord. Joshua 4:24  NLT   He did this so all the nations of the earth might know that the Lord’s hand is powerful, and so you might fear the Lord your God forever. ” Ps...

  John 8:36  NLT   So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free. Today we celebrate freedom and fathers.  Freedom is one of those things we take for granted, and it has so many facets to it.  It could speak of prison.  It can speak of oppression.  It can speak of inner turmoil and so much more. In 1863 in our nation a declaration was made to free slaves in the the United States of America.  Yet as I read in an interesting article yesterday there were parts of the nation that did not hear about this for two years.   In other words there were still people living without freedom who were declared free.  Live as free people!  But until you know know you are free you can can not do that.  Celebrate freedom!  You cannot celebrate until you know and live free. My prayer is that we will celebrate the freedom given in the past, and we will also know the freedom that comes to us through God.  He frees us from sin.  He f...

  Today’s e-devotion is shared from one of my favorite preachers, Alistair Begg and from Spurgeon’s “Morning and Evening”.  This is so good… Psalm 27:1  The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? The LORD is my light and my salvation." Here is personal interest: "my light," "my salvation"; the soul is assured of it, and therefore declares it boldly. Into the soul at the new birth, divine light is poured as the forerunner of salvation; where there is not enough light to reveal our own darkness and to make us long for the Lord Jesus, there is no evidence of salvation. After conversion our God is our joy, comfort, guide, teacher, and in every sense our light: He is light within us, light around us, light reflected from us, and light to be revealed to us. Note, it does not just say that the Lord gives light, but that He is light; nor that He gives salvation, but that He is salvation; s...