Michael Harrison's e-devotion

  Romans 11:33-36  NLT Oh, how great are God’s riches and wisdom and knowledge! How impossible it is for us to understand his decisions and his ways! 34 For who can know the Lord’s thoughts?  Who knows enough to give him advice?  35 And who has given him so much that he needs to pay it back? 36 For everything comes from him and exists by his power and is intended for his glory. All glory to him forever! Amen.   This week I am spending time at a conference.  One of the things that this requires is listening.  But we have to listen every day. My prayer is we will listen to what God is saying all the time.  Listening is an art and very important.  Listen is vital to following God. There is very little that we have to explain apart from Scripture. God shares with us that He is in charge, He is able and He has all of life in His hands.   Years ago I heard Pastor John MacArthur say something li...

  Today’s e-devotion is a simple thought from one of my favorite authors, Henri Nouwen and is titled “A Life of Listening”.  I pray this encourages us to stop and listen even more. Galatians 5:25  “Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the spirit."  I began to understand that when we listen to the Spirit, we hear a deeper sound, a different beat.  The great movement of the spiritual life is from a deaf, non-hearing life to a life of listening.  From a life in which we experience ourselves as separated, isolated, and lonely to a life in which we hear the guiding and healing voice of God, who is with us and will never leave us alone.

  Do you ever just need to hear something?  It might be you are weak and needed some strength.  It might be you needed lifting.  It might be needed a hug or a little encouragement. No matter what you needed it came in the form of a word from God, Scripture coming alive.  God reminding you of His goodness. Here is one I got from God this week. 1 Peter 5:6-9  NLT   So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor. 7 Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you. 8 Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. 9 Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your family of believers all over the world is going through the same kind of suffering you are. Stay humble.   Prepare to see God.   Stop worrying and give that stuff to God. Watch out for the enemy all the ti...

  Just a little time today to soak up what God says in the Bible.  I am not trying to make your faith simple, to accuse anyone of making it complicated or even to take attention off of someone or something to get it somewhere else. What I am doing is just asking you to spend time hearing God and letting you heart hold on to what He says.  God has a plan for you and for me.  Check out this passage… Colossians 1:3-8  NLT   We give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, 4 since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and the love which you have for all the saints; 5 because of the hope reserved for you in heaven, of which you previously heard in the word of truth, the gospel 6 which has come to you, just as in all the world also it is bearing fruit and increasing, even as it has been doing in you also since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth; 7 just as you learned it from Epaphr...

  It is vital that we listen to what God says.   Hear what God says and follow Him.  To make sure this is the path you are on, keep focused on God.  The impact of following God changes us and those around us.  That is why is it is important to listen up.   Exodus 13:21  NIV   By day the LORD went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night.   God provides for His people.  That includes you and me.  He guides us no matter the time, no matter the weather and always leads in the right direction.  He did it for others, and He will do this for us.  But are we listening and following God?   Learn to listen up.  Keep following.  Walk this truth out by knowing the Word of God that helps us to be aligned with His will and His plan.   Psalm 89:15-16  NIV   Blessed are those who have learned t...

  Hearing is a big deal.  There are many things going on in our lives that help us connect to what is going on around us.  Seeing is another.  Touch is another.  Smell yet another.  But I focus on what we hear in this e-devotion. Maybe the question is better like this: who are you listening to? If you cannot hear, you cannot listen.  If you are listening, you have chosen not to hear.  You might block out things with ear phones or some noise.  You might even have some sickness that is keeping you from hearing.  What we know is that hearing is important. Think about who you are listening to and what you are listening to.  Those things are influencing your influence, shaping your character, changing your mind, either tearing apart or shoring up your foundation. Deuteronomy 6:4  NLT   Listen, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone Exodus 19:9  NLT   Then the Lord said to Moses, “I will come to you in a thick c...

  Hearing is very important.  If there is something wrong with your ears, your hearing or even your understanding, you might miss the most important things God has for you.  It is important to listen. Understand this … God gave you eyes and ears.  Use them!  Listen to what God has to say, how He guides and the wisdom that will change our lives.  Seeing and hearing God is a gift to us. Proverbs 20:12  NLT   Ears to hear and eyes to see— both are gifts from the Lord. If we listen, we will be wise.  That seems very simple.  It is.  Hear His voice.  Hear His wisdom.  Respond to what you heard and keep on listening.  It might just change your life or save your life. But do not stop thee.  Listening is essential to growing in the Lord.  God is always speaking, but we are not always listening. Proverbs 8:1  NLT   Listen as Wisdom calls out! Hear as understanding raises her voice! To hear means we have an ...

How did you hear?   Everyone knows.  Or so it seems.  But the stories that are going around often have their root in half truths or even less.  In fact when the story relies on faith there might be even less room to listen, understand or believe what you hear. That might be the case for the story of Joseph.  He was a carpenter and was engaged to be married to a great young lady, but things went a different direction.  He had learned that his wife to be was pregnant.  That was taboo, to say the least.  He was willing to be kind but to stop the wedding. God shows up  Well, the news comes out.  The news from an angel sent by God in a dream to Joseph.  That is when we watch a common man become anything but common.  And what he does after hearing from God is pretty incredible. Let’s listen in or read the Bible passage. Matthew 1:18-25  NLT   This is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged t...

How did you hear?   There are lots of things in life that we don’t understand.  In fact, some of those things go far beyond what we think is possible.   Mary, the mother of Jesus. was one of those cases.  She was pregnant but had never had sex.  She was chosen to give birth to the child sent by God who would be the savior or messiah sent from God. The story is a bit out there.  Her story doesn’t line up with what is scientifically possible or even reality.  Yet God can do anything, and His plan for humanity included a few miracles.  How did Mary hear about what was going to happen? It was an angel sent by God with a message for Mary.  This visit wasn’t common place, and it even brought some fear and uneasiness to Mary.  She was young.  She was engaged to be married.  Who would believe her story or what she had been told or that she met with an Angel? Luke 1:26-38  NLT   In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God...