Michael Harrison's e-devotion

  Matthew 5:3  NLT   God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for him, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs. Welcome home!  Yes.  I returned home from the latest Cuba mission trip late Monday, and I am excited to share with you just a little form the trip.  This might seem like a little bit of overflow, and it is.  I might forget some things.  BUT… God showed up.  That is so, so good.  The people of Cuba are open to hearing and following Jesus.  That is evident not just because of the great needs they have, but it is evident because they have hope in days of crisis.  I am grateful for the churches, ministries and more that are making a difference for Jesus! The crisis continues.  The lack of gasoline is the biggest thing you see.  There are less vehicles on the road and less movement over all.  Lots of the other things … electric vehicles, bicycles, horses and more.  Electricity is sporadic as be...

  It is holy week.  Easter is ahead.  What is it we will take from Easter?  It might be something sweet.  It could be time with family and friends.  It possibly could be the special worship and church times ahead. But what we should really hold on to and treasure are the things that last.  They re part of our journey and the gifts God gives. 1 Corinthians 13:13  NLT   Now these three remain: faith, hope, and love—but the greatest of these is love. There are the things we will not find in a plastic egg or a basket.  You won’t find these in a meal or from visiting with someone.  These are the true gifts that God gives us because of His endless grace and marvelous light and eternal love for us. Cling to faith.  It is what we use to learn about and get close to God. Lift up hope.  Far beyond any physical trait this is what lets us look through situations and pain to trust God. Share His love.  This is what placed Jesus on...

  The unknown is what we all fear, but if we have hope and faith in God, the unknown is not something to be feared.  We know who is in control.  But the world is in crisis, in so many places.  Struggle seems to be all around.  Yet we have hope.   We know that the author of chaos and confusion is our enemy, Satan.  We know that our only hope in our Savior, the encourager, Jesus.  Which one are we going to believe?   What we believe about God guides our view.  Literally real hope gives us perspective.  Having hope that is based on someone bigger thank us gives perspective.  With hope we see further, can go further and we deal with lots less chaos.   Hebrews 6:19  NLT This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. It leads us through the curtain into God’s inner sanctuary.   Hope is strong.  Hope is anchor for us.  Hope is from Jesus.  We need that anchor to keep us stranding.  Conti...

  Galatians 5:13  NLT   For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love.  This weekend our church family had a great time of worship at our future campus.  One of my favorite places, God led us to purchase and begin working on the building more than 12 years ago.  You gotta see it. We continue our series in Romans, and we almost all the way through the book.  This particular message from Romans 15 centers on how Christians who haver come a long way in Christ deal with those who with others who haven[t come so far. The verse I began with is a great reminder than our lives can be a blessing to others if we make sure that our way of seeing others is right and in line with what God says. 2 Corinthians 5:14  NIV   For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. ...

  Proverbs 3:25-26  NLT   You need not be afraid of sudden disaster or the destruction that comes upon the wicked, 26 for the Lord is your security.  He will keep your foot from being caught in a trap. Sitting my desk 24 years ago I got a phone call.  On the other end of the phone was a friend, church member and father whose son was missing due to some kind of accident at the Pentagon where his son worked. Over the next several hours I watched the news, and there wasn’t one accident.  There were four accidents that are now known as 9/11.  The terror of that day really was the fact that things happened in our country that rarely are seen or heard of.  So many lives were lost. That night there was a gathering at our church where lots of people joined to pray.  Our country has not been the same since, and we continue to pray for those impacted by the horrific events of September 11, 2021. Turn to the news of this week where a man was murder...

  Last weekend a team from our church was able to be part of something that makes a difference for an eternity.  It is called the Serve Tour and is led by one of our partners, Send Relief. 15 people from The Community Fellowship went to Columbia, South Carolina to join with more than 800 volunteers to be part of a mission trip, projects of service that saw more than 80 people accept Jesus as their Savior.  It was a simple 2 day trip.  We helped rehab a church building, but there were so many different projects going on. Take a look at this video and even to learn more THIS LINK FOR THE VIDEO and learn more about the Serve Tour 1 Peter 3:15  NIV   But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, What an honor to share the hope that God has given us.  He is our Savior, friend, guide and reason for being part of ch...