Michael Harrison's e-devotion

Yesterday was a day of prayer, of learning and of watching in some many ways. Thank you to those of you who set some time aside to pray for The Community Fellowship. “Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and wonderful results.” James 5:16 (NLT) “Think of ways to encourage one another to outbursts of love and good deeds.” Hebrews 10:24 (NLT) “As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.” 1 Peter 4:10 (NASB) At our lunch time prayer meeting our little boy got sick and proceeded to ruin my precious wife’s shirt. Honestly, I was getting sick as well. Thankfully one of our leaders had an extra shirt in his truck and offered his flannel shirt to my wife. That was gracious, and she was grateful. The day continued in all ready hurried fashion with much being accomplished and many people being encouraged. I...

The Leadership Team of our new church has designated today as a day of prayer for our church family. Please join the team and me in spending some time seeking the Lord for your church and for the new work we are involved in. Following is the outline that members receive when they come to the church. Make God bless our time of seeking Him! ACTS of prayer … ADORATION - CONFESSION - THANKSGIVING - SUPPLICATION James 5:13-18 - Is anyone among you suffering? Then he must pray. Is anyone cheerful? He is to sing praises. Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; and the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him. Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much. Elij...

“Don't let anyone shake you up or get you excited over some breathless report or rumored letter from me that the day of the Master's arrival has come and gone. Don't fall for any line like that…” 2 Thessalonians 2:2-3 (MSG) Paul penned those words to a church that he founded and that had his heart and attention. He was always seeking to encourage and to fill them with awesome truth that would send them forward and not backward. Ever have something happen or a conversation that made you stop and step back or away from a situation God led you into? That happens and it happens often, if we let it. The Bible is clear that Satan seeks to distract and deceive Christians from looking at, being with and from following God. We are told that Satan blinds people with his ways, he distracts people with what is negative and greatly keeps people from being blessed by getting them, or us, to worry. So, what do we do with the negative stuff that comes our way? How do we deal with th...

“We consider Christmas as the encounter, the great encounter, the historical encounter, the decisive encounter, between God and mankind. He who has faith knows this truly; let him rejoice.” ~~ POPE PAUL VI Don’t you just love this holiday? We walk out our door last evening and notice our neighbors and their decorations. Some are vivid colors that blink and others are white and simple. Yet all of them are the same, a celebration of that encounter. How will we get others to have that encounter this Christmas Season? In what ways will I lead my family, co-workers and friends to experience Jesus in the next month? Does it even matter? The answer is YES. So, what are we going to do about it? Jesus came not to give us a sweet holiday filled with festivities and time off. It is a time to be with family but not just for gifts. This season and all it is about leads us to what life is all about (and I remind us to think and re-think this)…it is not about me but about Jesus. It is al...

Happy Thanksgiving to ya … Enjoy JESUS in the middle of your holiday! Some things are just supposed to happen on Thanksgiving. Spending time with family and friends. Eating turkey and dressing. Gaining weight. The Cowboys win… stick with me for a minute. Being thankful is all about attitude. Thanksgiving is not just a day on the calendar when our nation revisits history or close down the banks and the government for a few days. It is a lot more than that. “No matter what happens, always be thankful, for this is God's will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.” 1 Thessalonians 5:18 (NLT) Believers ought to find themselves going in this direction every day as God reveals Himself to us in thought, in His work and through His presence in our lives. Stop and think for a minute and ask a few questions: What am I thank for? How do I express thanks? When was the last time my family or a friend heard me being grateful? Again, thanksgiving is matter of the heart. Try to share more th...

Truth is a person. It is not an abstract thought that is always changing. Truth is Jesus (see John 14:6 for the details and the man’s own words on the subject). As I sit and evaluate, what we talked about yesterday, and seek some answers, I naturally run back to revisit the vision God has given me for ministry, family and myself. WOW. Once again God makes it clear what He has and what He wants. All I have to do is OBEY HIM. “…It’s important to look at things from God's point of view…” 1 Corinthians 4:6 (MSG) “I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe.” Ephesians 1:18-19 (NASB) I love the fact that it is not about me. It is all about God. It is His plan that has to be dealt with. Yes, God uses people to get His plan done and to touch the world, yet the creation cannot ...

Yesterday was the first morning community worship at the new church. God is so good. After coming from a time like that, we must, as Christians, evaluate where we’ve been and where we are going. “These people were left to test the Israelites— to see whether they would obey the commands the LORD had given to their ancestors through Moses.” Judges 3:4 (NLT) The questions IS NOT how are we doing or how did it go. The question is ‘are we obeying what the Lord said to do?’ He will give evidence to that fact as we follow Him. This morning I sat reading from the Psalms and listening to the Lord and heard His voice through Scripture. I will first give you a couple verses I read and them outline the test that must have come from God. May the Lord use this for our new church and for each of our lives as we seek to follow Him and obey Him along the way… “May we shout for joy when we hear of your victory, flying banners to honor our God. May the LORD answer all your prayers…Some nations bo...