Michael Harrison's e-devotion

Yesterday I reminded us to pray for Israel.  I ended up being invited to an online prayer meeting for a church in Jerusalem.   It was eye opening and humbling, to say the least. My heart goes out to those who are in the midst of the war, those who have lost so much and those who are struggling to keep their families safe.  I adjust in another direction and talk to a friend who is battling a severe health issue that they just can’t get healed from.  Then there is a conversation with a neighbor abut their health and daily struggle. My heart goes out to these and so many more.  Those battling addiction … those without food or who are homeless … those in the middle of broken relationships and so many more. Then I read the following devotion from Henri Nouwen.  It is a devotion I receive each day, and often they are right on.  Thus, that was the case today. Read on.  Pray for those on your heart.  Pray for Israel.  Be a conduit of blessing in...

Here is a short reminder from Henri Nouwen and a devotion from his ministry from September of 2018 called “living in a state of preparedness”.  Read and be encouraged to seek God and to stop and pray! Everything that comes from God asks for an open and faithful heart. We cannot live with hope and joy in the end-time unless we are living in a state of preparedness. We have to be careful because, as the Apostle Peter says: "Your enemy the devil is on the prowl like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour" (1 Peter 5.8). Therefore Jesus says: "Watch yourselves, or your hearts will be coarsened by debauchery and drunkenness and the cares of life. ... Stay awake, praying at all times for the strength to survive all that is going to happen, and to hold your ground before the Son of Man" (Luke 21:34-36). That's what living in the Spirit of Jesus calls us to.   Ephesians 6:13  NIV Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when th...

Learning to love people isn’t easy.  There are many people who are simply hard to love.  It might be because of our history or because of their actions.  No matter what, we are called to love people like Jesus loved. 1 John 4:17  NLT And as we live in God, our   love   grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we live   like   Jesus here in this world. Following is a devotion from Father Henry Nouwen, one of my favorite authors, and it is titled “Being Living Signs of Love”. Lean in and learn. Jesus' whole life was a witness to his Father's love, and Jesus calls his followers to carry on that witness in his Name. We, as followers of Jesus, are sent into this world to be visible signs of God's unconditional love. Thus we are not first of all judged by what we say but by what we live. When people say of us: "See how they love one another...

The word is always a word for others. Words need to be heard. When we give words to what we are living, these words need to be received and responded to. A speaker needs a listener. A writer needs a reader. When the flesh - the lived human experience - becomes word, community can develop. When we say, "Let me tell you what we saw. Come and listen to what we did. Sit down and let me explain to you what happened to us. Wait until you hear whom we met," we call people together and make our lives into lives for others. The word brings us together and calls us into community. When the flesh becomes word, our bodies become part of a body of people. Those words were penned by one of my favorite authors, Henri Nouwen .   He spoke of something next to my heart and comes up often when we plan outreach, when we look at the needs of our community and so much more. Our words must create community.   Sometimes our words create division.   They separate or cause deep pai...