Michael Harrison's e-devotion

  Proverbs 17:6  GW   Grandchildren are the crown of grandparents, and parents are the glory of their children. Today, I want to take a few minutes to tell you about 4 of my favorite things.  Yes, today’s e-devotion is a bit more personal and maybe a lot of bragging about things I am very proud about. Those 4 things are our grand children. Maybe you have one or more of these.  Julie and I love our children, and we have been blessed with 3 great kids and now 2 awesome son-in-laws.  And those kids have now given us 4 gifts of grand children as of today. Well, today number 4 arrives.  This sweet little girl should be here Wednesday morning born to our oldest daughter, her first child, and our son in law.  We are so excited to be able to celebrate with them and to meet this little one. Over the past four years we have done this a few times, and I can tell you that these children tug at my heart.  I got stories.  I have memories.  I have...

Saturday is coming … registration for back2school 2026 … VBS (Vacation Bible Saturday) … tell gate grill (giving our burgers and praying for people).  Please pray as we serve and for those being served. So many thoughts go through my mind as we get to serve children and their families.  God called us to “demonstrate the love of God to our community”, and that is our WHY?  Yet all the details of the WHAT tend to consume me. Lots of things I hold near to my heart.  These are the things that keep me going, and these are the things I challenge you to to be part of in this ministry or wherever you are.   Isaiah 32:8 NLT 'But generous people plan to do what is generous, and they stand firm in their generosity.'    Just do it, as NIKE says.  Choose to serve.  Choose to be generous with your abilities and your gifts.  Being generous is a non negotiable around here.  This is big in serving others.     How will ...

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...

It’s not over.  In fact, we have only just begun. Back2school is happening.  This afternoon at The Community Fellowship we will serve special needs students and their families.  Saturday we will serve hundreds of students.  We are excited about them all. It isn’t over because we have a message to share.  Please join me in praying for each person that interacts with our back2school team members.   I believe this is who God has called us to be.  I mean, I love the church, and specifically I love the church God has allowed me to serve.  What a blessing. But the “big C” is important.  It is a big deal.  I am talking about all the people who have made Jesus their savior.  We are children of God.  We might attend different churches.  We might lives in different places or communities.  But what is most important is we have the same story to tell. The story is about Jesus.  It’s not over. The story gets sweeter and sweet...

There is a real problem of doing nothing.  Recently in a sermon and then here in an e-devotion I talked about how risky it is to choose to do nothing.  You miss God, His direction and His best for your life.  But there are more issues about doing nothing. James 4:17  NASB   So for one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, for him it is sin. Yes, you read that right.  Doing nothing often means that you forgo doing what you know is best.  We don’t just get in trouble when we do the wrong thing, but there is an issue, really a problem often, when we do nothing when we know we should do something. Does that sound weird or wrong?  I agree, it might.  We need to understand when we are given direction that we need to act.  Pleading ignorance doesn’t always get you off the hook. Read that verse again. When we know what is right and choose not to do it, we have sinned.  Inaction ends up being sin.  A no response is the wro...

Firsts.  This summer has brought several of these, and I want to tell you about a few of them.  I am pretty excited about each one, but I am especially excited about the last one. As I have shared with you a couple weeks ago we had the opportunity to see an active volcano while we were visiting Hawaii.  It was awesome.  It was once in a lifetime.  There were so many things that went through my mind those days.  It was an incredible event for Julie, our daughter Rebecca and myself. Watching the volcano during the day was one thing.  You could see steam.  You could see limited lava flow and some lava.  Night was so much different, and it was breath taking.  The light from the lava flow.  Both shooting in the air and flowing.  The crater lit up.  It was awesome  1 Chronicles 16:24  NLT   Publish his glorious deeds among the nations. Tell everyone about the amazing things he does. I will only share one more thin...

It is time for back2school to happen in 13 of our 16 sites.  Last weekend was amazing in two new sites.  Next weekend there will be one in South Carolina, but now is the time. Shoes are being prepared.  Backpacks and school supplies are set up and ready to be given out.  Volunteers are preparing locations and so much more for the students to arrive and to be blessed. My biggest concern are the resources.  My biggest prayer are the students and their hope.  My biggest celebration is that we get to do this together. Hebrews 11:8  NASB   By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by going out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he left, not knowing where he was going. If you don’t mind, I am going to take just a couple minutes to reflect and then to share what the next 24 hours means to me.  Please understand my heart is not about the size of what we do or how many students we serve.  My heart is to be faithful to t...

Why back2school?  Well, thank you for asking.  That is one of the first questions I asked myself 17 or 18 years ago when missionary to the mountain areas of Appalachia Bill Barker spoke to our church. I was almost mesmerized by his testimony of how some so simple and so easy made such a huge difference in the lives of kids living in places of poverty.  It was one year or so later that our church, The Community Fellowship, began.  That first summer, right before a new school year began, we served students helping them prepare for a school. It was flat our incredible  The first year we served about 75 students.  The next year we served 500 students.  The next year we went to 1,000 students.  It started with just school supplies.  Then we added backpacks.  Later we added new shoes and socks.   And the rest is history, as the old saying goes.  Since that humble beginning in 2007 we have served for 16 years and over 32,000 students....

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 a...