Michael Harrison's e-devotion

Take one side and then the other.  There are many times in the Bible when sides are taken or compared, and it often comes in with great weight and wisdom. Such is the book of proverbs where the wisest man to ever live, King Solomon, offers to us life giving quips that never seem to end.  If you believe you can trust God’s word, than remember that the Bible always explains itself. Take a few minutes to look at these verses.  They balance out the scales and give us deep perspective.  I need His wisdom far more than anyone else’s. Psalm 34:4  NLT I prayed to the Lord, and he answered me. He freed me from all my fears. Psalm 94:19  NLT When doubts filled my mind, your comfort gave me renewed hope and cheer. Fear and faith. Isaiah 40:30  NLT Even youths will become weak and tired, and young men will fall in exhaustion. 2 Corinthians 12:10  NLT That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I ...

  Romans 12:2  NASB And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. There are some things that catch your attention.  I want to share one that stopped me in my tracks and in my thoughts this weekend. Usually on Monday I share a part that is gleaned from Sunday’s sermon at The Community Fellowship.  That is something I will come back to later this week.  The message is one I will come back to because it brought some things up that I think are very important for our every day lives, including our Christmas celebration. What caught my attention was an email from the incredible Tom Ziglar.  He is the son of one and only Zig Ziglar that has taught about leadership for decades.  This thought about comparison is right on and something we need to learn… Comparison is the thief of joy. “Success is not measured by what you do comp...

Jude 1:20  NLT But you, dear friends, must build each other up in your most holy faith, pray in the power of the Holy Spirit, One of the things that will kill your momentum and rob of your strength is comparison.  When we judge ourselves based on someone else’s wins, their looks, their Facebook persona or anything else, we have lessened our God given value. Comparison will kill your future possibilities as well as you ability to help others be better and stronger.  The choice is yours and mine to stop putting ourselves up next to someone else. Speaking personally in light of the present pandemic and chaos that it is causing as a pastor it is easy to choose to compare our church and ministry with others.  It is not wrong to get ideas and even use what others are doing.  But when we belittle others or think less of others we have chosen to go down the wrong road. It has been incredible over the las...