Michael Harrison's e-devotion

  Joy and determination.  Strength and leaning.   Thanks for listening to my ramblings.  I do not mean that what I share is not important.  What I do mean is that we need direction that changes our lives.   Think about the impact of your choices.  Think about the things or the people that make you a better and stronger person.    When you aim at nothing, you hit it every time.  When you have no direction, you aren’t sure where you are going to why.  Now walk the other direction.  When you set a goal, you know what you want to accomplish.  That goal lets you know where you are heading.   Nehemiah 8:10  NLT And Nehemiah continued, “Go and celebrate with a feast of rich foods and sweet drinks, and share gifts of food with people who have nothing prepared. This is a sacred day before our Lord. Don’t be dejected and sad, for the joy of the Lord is your strength!”   Make a conscious choice of what direction you wi...

There is more where that came from … I have heard that many times through the years, and what hit me often is when we really want it.  But it applies too when it is something we do not want.   Far too often the consequences of bad choices ends up being pain or something that we did not bargain for or even expect.  Yet that is what happens when we seek things or people outside of what God wants for us. When our choices are good or God choices the outcome is much different.  No, life is not perfect.  There will always be difficult times and people, but serving and following God will always bring us to places or peace and blessing. Our perspective is important.  Choose before you act or speak.  Think of the outcome and see what God might have you do or say.  It might just be the difference between a tough time and a blessed time, chaos or peace. Luke 14:28  NLT   “But don’t begin until you count the cost. For who would begin construction of...

There is more to life that just getting through.  In fact when we have a desire to really live, to enjoy life, we will look at things in a very different way.  Take a few minutes and think about how you find meaning in life. 2 Timothy 1:7  NLT   For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline. Fear robs us of life and of joy.  Let your fear be swallowed up by the love that God promises and has given to you. John 10:10  NLT   The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life. Our enemy is a taker.  Our God is a giver.  Choose who you are going to follow, who you are going to listen to and who you will let guide your life. Romans 6:14  NLT   Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace. Back to fear.  Fear and being tied down from si...

  We spend another day in Romans 8 looking at a few of the aspects of what faith in God does to and through our lives.  These truths are life changing.  That is life changing for us and for those we encounter and share our faith with. Take a few minutes today to dig in, to take note of what God says to you, and apply the truth to your heart and life. Romans 8:5-6  NLT   Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. 6 So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace.  Today’s verses from Romans 8 are a comparison between following the Spirit of God and our flesh.  Many passages in the New Testament deal with the same and give us more insight in to the life a Christian can be living.  It will also give us the reasons why we may struggle each day to fo...

As I was preparing for the Sunday morning sermon something hit me pretty hard.  We are in a series titled PRE-DECIDE, and the message was about the power and character trait of being consistent.   What hit me was that my dad is a great example of being consistent.  This past couple weeks has been a whirlwind of emotions.  Fact is there is more to come in so many ways.  Some of this I do not look forward to while other parts are very comforting and helpful. Consistency has great potential not only to impact the direction of my life but for the lives of the people I influence.  It is the key to our spiritual strength.  It is the key to your ministry Impact.  I have learned personally and see in others that this quality is the key to your physical health, key to great Relationships, to financial success and even the key to accomplishing goals.  It is not about our appearance or background or even our Education.  It’s our choice to be consis...

  We continue our series Pre-Decide at The Community Fellowship, and Sunday we talked about how we deal with temptation that comes our way.  Based on the fact that w e may have good intentions, but we do not always make good decisions.  Our decisions won’t be based on what feels good in the moment but on who you want to be for the rest of your life.  Decisions must be based on our values. 1 Corinthians 16:13 NLT  Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong. Be ready because the enemy is coming.  We have to choose to be ready.  Jesus told His disciples something very similar that we ought to learn from. Matthew 26:41  NLT   Keep watch and pray, so that you will not give in to temptation. For the spirit is willing, but the body is weak!” The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.  That is a fact for us humans.  We must pre-decide that we are going to be ready.  Our guard is up.  We are watching....

One of the most important and most powerful things we do is to choose our attitude.  In fact our choices or decisions actually determine our destiny.  Who we choose to follow will take us further than we truly understand. That is why it is vitally important to make wise choices as well as to use our time wisely.  I have many times encouraged married couples to make decisions of how they will respond before situations arrive.  The same ought to be true about our faith and how we deal with what happens in our lives. Joshua 24:24  NLT The people said to Joshua, “We will serve the Lord our God. We will obey him alone.” That is why I want to take some time to share with you what I received from the incredible Tom Ziglar, son of the business and success coach Zig Ziglar.  The email I share a portion of today was titled “never give up”, and that is just what I challenge you and me to do… never give up. Here is what Tom Ziglar shared: When the storms of disruption,...

I shared the following in 2012 about joy, and it came to my attention today once again.  Joy, I believe, is a choice that is vital to our walk of faith.  Pursue God, and it is God’s grace that allows us to hold true joy! As you read, choose joy.  As you think through these things, choose joy.  Let this sink in.  Not happiness but joy.  Happiness comes and goes.  Joy sticks around, and joy is reinforced as stay close to God. Psalm 20:5  NLT May we shout for joy when we hear of your victory and raise a victory banner in the name of our God. May the Lord answer all your prayers.   Psalm 28:7 NLT The Lord is my strength and shield. I trust him with all my heart. He helps me, and my heart is filled with joy. I burst out in songs of thanksgiving.   Psalm 32:2 NLT Yes, what joy for those whose record the Lord has cleared of guilt, whose lives are lived in complete honesty!   ...

  Romans 8:31  NASB What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? We are not alone.  God called us and is still with us and working toward His plan.  Know this about our awesome God.  You are His.  He is working.  Paul said… Philippians 1:6  NASB For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work among you will complete it by the day of Christ Jesus. That is why I found myself digging in to the life of Joshua.  There are some things about this man that made it evident that he knew God and believed that He is a good God. Knowing God gives us confidence and knowing that God is working in us raises us to the place where we live beyond ourselves, for him and serving others.  Our relationship with God is built upon who He is and what He has done.   That is why knowing our “good God” is essential.  Don’t just know about Him.  Know that He is good.  Know why He is ...

Make some choices that count.  Think through the things that you hang on to and how those will impact your life tomorrow or next month.  That is because our choices will impact our lives and the lives of those around us. We don’t always choose that perspective or the one that will have the greatest influence.  Too often we choose what feels good or what is fine.  Only to find that the consequences of our choices have led to pain between friends, impact on our health or something that cannot be reversed. Find the things that bring life and health, strength and peace, smiles and closeness to your life and to others.  Those choices will have impact for a long time in great ways that will leave you much better.  What are those choices for you! Ephesians 4:32  NLT Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you. Choose kindness and forgiveness over being mean or becoming bitter Romans 12:14...

  Joy.  Determination.  Strength and leaning. Just take a minute to listen to some of my ramblings.  I do not mean that what I share is not important or significant.  What I do mean is that we need direction that changes our lives. Think about the impact of your choices.  Think about the things or the people that make you a better and stronger person.  It is these four things that come to my mind as I set my heart and head toward God.  These four things will allow life to have more meaning and for my work to impact more people. Let me explain… when you aim at nothing, you hit it every time.  When you have no direction, you count for very little.  Now walk the other direction.  When you set a goal, it is easier to accomplish that goal because you know what you are heading for. Nehemiah 8:10  NLT And Nehemiah continued, “Go and celebrate with a feast of rich foods and sweet drinks, and share gifts of food with people who have not...

  There is more to being thankful that just saying “thank you”.  It has do with with what is going in and our of your life on a daily basis. What impacts you, influences your words, actions, thinking and much more.  That is why it is important to be careful with what influences you allow around you. Colossians 3:15  NASB Let the peace of Christ, to which you were indeed called in one body, rule in your hearts; and be thankful. Let peace flow in and out of your life.  But what might keep you from having this kind of peace?  Oh, that could be many things, yet I suggest that when we are trying to focus on two things that contradict each other that peace will allude us. James 4:8  NLT Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world. We might find our hearts divided.  That means we can’t follow God or anything with all of our lives.  Having s...

  There are so many things wrong that we can talk about.  In fact we live in a day where most people want to agree, and someone is going to be offended.  Why does this keep going on? Please know that what I am sharing is not up for debate.  It is simply truth based on the foundation that I choose to stand on.  It is all about Jesus.  On Monday I reminded us that the Gospel is the central theme and the reason why the church is around.  Yesterday I shared about the power that comes from making Godly character part of our lives. Romans 5:1-5  NASB Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God. 3 And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; 4 and perseverance, proven character; and prov...