Michael Harrison's e-devotion

  We get to serve.   It all began in 2001 after we moved to Virginia.  There were lots of opportunities to serve where our church and I could be a part.  There are always opportunities.  There is always a list.   One of those was through Raceway Ministries at the speedway in Martinsville where NASCAR comes to town every year.  And as Paul Harvey would say, “that’s the rest of the story”.   Not sure how many races I have been to, but I can tell you that I have only watched a few laps of some race.  In these years I have met thousands of race fans from all over the country and some foreign countries. It has been full of conversations.  Full of praying for people.  Full of talking about life, sharing snacks and coffee, giving golf cart rides from one place to another and so much more.   But the best part …  We get to talk about Jesus.  Not only does our team host worship services at the speedway before the big race, but ...

  Wow.  I am overwhelmed by all that has taken place over the weekend.  Last week I shared what was taking place and even asked you to pray over each one. Colossians 1:3  NLT   We always pray for you, and we give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. I will begin with the mission trip that 14 people from our church were blessed to be part of.  We traveled to Virginia Beach to be part of the Serve Tour.  58 churches from 13 different states partnered together to complete 40 different projects.  What excited me the most was to watch our team from The Community Fellowship grow closer and closer.  God was working.  We complete several projects from flower beds at schools, a wall at an animal shelter, helping with a roof, sharing the Gospel door to door on what is called a grill walk, sharing the Gospel on the beach and more.  It was awesome. Move on to Emmaus as 6 ladies from our church had a lifetime of God’s goodness ove...

  We get to serve here.   It began 2001 after we moved to Virginia.  There were lots of opportunities I learned about where outreach in our community was happening and I could serve.    One of those was through Raceway Ministry at the speedway in Martinsville where NASCAR comes to town two times per year.  And as Paul Harvey would say, “that’s the rest of the story”.   Not sure how many races where I have been able to serve, but I can tell you that I have watched very few laps of racing.  But I have met thousands of race fans from all over the world, had countless of conversations,  prayed for people, talked about life, shared snacks and coffee, gave golf cart rides from one place to another and so much more.   But the best part is that we get to talk to people about Jesus.  Not only does our team host worship services at the speedway but the entire time we are on the property assisting with guest services, and we get to talk about ...

Some of my favorite things … this week I have been able to enjoy some of my favorite things in all the world.  You know, I believe that God intends for us to enjoy life.  That is part of the abundance part we heard about in John 10:10. Remember that our enemy is ready to steal from us all that joy God has given, but God intends for us to know His abundance and His blessings.  That does not say God gives us happiness or gives us all we want.  He gives joy and abundance. James 4:6  NASB   But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” Last weekend I was part of the Raceway Ministries team serving at the Martinsville Speedway.  I enjoy interacting with race fans, but some of the greatest conversations aren’t about racing or the weather.  Those conversations are about Jesus. The outcome of some those conversations have been huge.  I talked with a pastor in Indiana who serves Jewish p...

  I am grateful.  Well, you have heard me say it numerous times.  But right now all I can say is “thank you” to God and to some other who are on my mind. Thank you to people who remember and push forward.  You know these people.  They are the ones who remind you of your purpose, who give you encouragement, who show up most often and more.  We all need these kind of people. I Thessalonians 5:11  NLT   So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing. I am thankful for our team at the speedway who served long hours, during hot temperatures and in tough situations.  We have a great partnership with people at our speedway, we have some folks who donated items needed, and we have a bunch of awesome volunteers who keep showing up. 1 Corinthians 16:18  NLT   They have been a wonderful encouragement to me, as they have been to you. You must show your appreciation to all who serve so well. Finally for this Monda...

Look around you.  This week we have talked about opportunities that God gives us as well as the principles of recovery ministry.  The people we are around are going through so many things that we don’t know about. There are no tags on their shirts or signs over their heads that tell us they lost a loved one, they are struggling with addiction or depression, they don’t tell us their life’s story as we walk by.  But what we do have is the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of people who cross our path. It could be as simple as a smile and head nod.  It might be as time consuming as a long conversation or a drive across town.  What is need is for us to look around, see the opportunities God gives, notice the people who cross our path, and do something about it.  Speak up.  Share something.  Give value to others. Psalm 121:1-2  NASB   I will raise my eyes to the mountains; From where will my help come? 2 My help comes from th...

Romans 1:10  NLT   One of the things I always pray for is the opportunity, God willing, to come at last to see you. We all have opportunities.  Do we take them? There are opportunities around us.  Do we see them? And even more, do we care about the opportunities? Paul prayed for opportunities, as the verse above states.  He had his eyes open and was asking for a chance to use his story to help others.  We have the same opportunities. This week is just one of those for me.  It is time for the work of Raceway Ministries at Martinsville Speedway.  When the world comes to our town, I believe Jesus wold have us in the mix of things taking opportunities to share about Him. Colossians 4:5  NLT   Live wisely among those who are not believers, and make the most of every opportunity. The way we live often opens opportunities.  When people see our faith, doors will open, conversations will start, questions will be asked, ears will be open to h...

Psalm 86:12  NLT   With all my heart I will praise you, O Lord my God. I will give glory to your name forever, Simply today is the overflow of what is on my mind coming out of a busy and fruitful weekend.  God really is good. Our team serving at Martinsville Speedway has been able to help race fans during Nascar events for more than 30 years, and I have been part of it for 22 of those years.  What an amazing and blessed time each race. This weekend was the same.  There seems to always be difficult weather, but we got through it.  Friday evening brought a pretty bad storm, but God watched over the property and all the people.  I am thankful for His protection over our team. There is no telling how many people we have been able to serve with refreshments, guest services and were a part of the worship service.  Each conversation that included talking about Jesus.  There were lots of those conversations, and that is what we prayed for.  I am...

  Once again our team has the honor of serving at Martinsville Speedway this weekend through Raceway Ministry Martinsville.  We are committed to loved people because of a few important reasons. First, God loves people.  Second, people matter to God, and third, lots of people are coming to our community.  We have been blessed with an opportunity to share. Did you hear that?  We have an opportunity to share about Jesus.  And it is the Gospel, the Good News about Jesus, that we get to share this weekend. Mark 8:35 NASB For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it.   Have we accepted what God has given us?  The GOSPEL is the single most important part of our faith.  This is a very simple truth that we get to share with others.   Easter was this past weekend, and it we learned about Him … Jesus is the son of God sent to the world to deal wi...