Michael Harrison's e-devotion

  1 Thessalonians 5:11  NLT   So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing. This week I have been encouraging you to remember specific people and memories.  We started with Job and Abraham.  Then we talked about memories.  All of them were meant to encourage us to see what God is doing. Today we turn just a bit more personal.  Who are the people that have encouraged you through your life?  Here are a few in my own life. My boss.  In high school I worked for a man in our church.  Actually I worked for a few of those  But one in particular made a huge impact in my life.  We talked about life and family, but he also showed me what it is like to live by faith.  He also taught me some skills I would have never gotten any where else. My pastor.  Oh, I have had several of these throughout the years.  But one sticks out.  He not only was a great preacher, but he took time to get to ...

  Acts 3:20  NLT Then times of refreshment will come from the presence of the Lord, and he will again send you Jesus, your appointed Messiah.   I have lots of memories that I cherish and remember well.  You probably have a few of these that come to mind.  Might be encounters I remember about different people or about things that happened.    It is times with God that come to mind and maybe the special places that I think of.  It is often the people who have meant so much.  Some are family.  Some are people who poured into my life.    1 Samuel 12:7  NLT  Now stand here quietly before the lord as I remind you of all the great things the lord has done for you and your ancestors.   In middle school I spent some afternoons mowing yards with my one of my teachers.  I remember several of the conversations about faith and Christianity.    Sometime around 1985 our youth group went on a retreat.  It was...

  Genesis 12:1-4  NLT   The Lord had said to Abram, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you. 2 I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. 3 I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.”4 So Abram departed as the Lord had instructed… Yes, that is the same man we know as Abraham.  His story is one of strength, faith, following God and becoming the father of faith.  I love that story as you walk through the promises. But what makes Abram such a strong example for us?  We should remember Abraham because he trusted God by acting in obedience.   God said go, and he went.  God said I will bless you and others because of you, and the future made that become a reality. The reality happened because of verse 4.  Ab...

  James 5:11  NLT   We give great honor to those who endure under suffering. For instance, you know about Job, a man of great endurance. You can see how the Lord was kind to him at the end, for the Lord is full of tenderness and mercy. Last week was very full with lots of outcomes that make me smile as well as make me know that the future of our ministry is going to be even stronger than the past 20 years.  It is an honor to be part of what God is doing and of a church where God is working. In the last few months I have been led to read through the book of Job.  It is a book of suffering with not many answers of why suffering happens.  More so we are given an example of how to maintain character in the middle of suffering, pain and tragedy.   But what has stuck out to me most is toward the end of the story.  Job was tested by Satan because God allowed that to happen.  Job was encouraged to quit.  Job was told by his wife to walk away fro...

  “The church is most appealing when the message of grace is most apparent.”  - Andy Stanley   Grace is not an easy word to understand, and it is even harder to live out.  I’ve met many people who talk about the grace of God and offering people grace, yet their lives seem to miss what grace really is.   Grace is a rare find in our world today.  The church talks about it, praises God for it and speaks of its wonders all the time.   But do we show grace and really live by grace?  Do we receive and give grace freely to others each day?   This includes the people in our homes, work, school, church and even the people we meet on the street.   It is hard to be full of grace and give grace when we are full of self, pride and focusing on our own struggles rather than what God has given us.  It is hard to give grace to others when we don’t give ourselves grace for our mistakes.   "Never forget that grace takes guts, risk ...

  Why serve others?  Why meet needs of people you encounter?   Why meet homeless friends and help them?   Why feed those who are hungry or gives clothes those who need?   There are many reasons.  Here a few Scriptures that give us insight, inspiration and energy to keep on doing what God calls us to do.   Proverbs 3:27  NLT Do not withhold good from those who deserve it when it’s in your power to help them.   Proverbs 11:25  NLT The generous will prosper; those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed.   Matthew 9:36  NLT When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were confused and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.   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.   You get it.  I am sure.   What an honor it is ...