All posts by mjharvell

Welcome, friend—I’m glad you’ve pulled up a chair on the front porch of my little corner of the internet. My name is Michael Joe Harvell, and I live my life with one simple mission: to glorify God, encourage people, and leave this world a little better than I found it. I’m a husband, father, pastor, writer, Jeep enthusiast, and front-porch thinker who believes that life is best lived on purpose. I serve as pastor of Eureka Baptist Church in Anderson, South Carolina, where I get the joy of preaching, teaching, and walking with people through the ups and downs of everyday life. Over the years, I’ve discovered that faith isn’t just about Sunday mornings—it’s about living every single day in the presence and power of God. I’m also an author. My books—including The Grace Exchange: How Forgiven People Forgive People and The Word Works—grow out of the sermons, stories, and lessons I’ve learned on this journey. I write in a style that’s conversational, a little front-porch-rocking-chair, and full of stories, quotes, and Scripture that point us back to the goodness of God’s Word. When I’m not writing or preaching, you might find me sitting outside with my Bible and journal, cruising the backroads in my Jeep Gladiator, or sharing a meal and some laughs with the good folks God has put in my life. I love helping people find peace in their spirit, strength in their body, and encouragement in their soul. This blog is simply an extension of that mission. Here you’ll find devotions, encouragement, reflections, and practical insights for living a life of purpose, peace, and joy. So grab a cup of coffee, pull up a rocking chair, and stay awhile—I’d be honored to walk this road of faith with you.

You Were Created For More!

CreationYou were created for MORE!  It is great to be content, but I am not so sure that we were created to be satisfied in this human experience, because hunger is almost always a part of our lives.  And hunger is not a bad thing, it is actually the things that drives us to seek something better.

The problem is that we often want to take short cuts or we are willing to sacrifice what is best for what will do and this causes us to miss out on the greater blessing of the something more that we were created for.  Your Creator wants to bless you, so that you can be a blessing, because it is in the act of blessing that you move from humanity to divinity.

Don’t let what other people say about you influence who you are or what you do.  Instead, choose to live in the amazing power of what your Creator knows about you: that you are blessed and highly favored.  Situations and circumstances, good or bad are invitations to step out of the finite and into the infinite, which is what you were created for.

The only limits that we have to worry about, are the limits that we put on ourselves.  Remove the limits, run into the glorious future that your Creator allows you to create and live blessed!

Living In The FLOW!

FaucetteI’ve got good news!  God wants to bless you!  That’s right, YOU!  You were created in the image of your Creator and the Creator, Who created you in His image wants to bless you, not because you deserve it, but because blessing is who He is and what He created you for.

Your Creator wants to bless you, so that you can bless others!  This flow of blessing from Him through you to others is a powerful force that allows the supernatural to happen in the natural, which is totally amazing.

Open your heart, mind and life to God’s blessing.  Expect it, receive it and share it with others and enjoying living in the FLOW of the SPIRIT!

Living For Jesus!

ImageWhat do you do when you are down and life is attacking you from all sides?  You begin to follow a simple process that will set you free to experience real power that makes a difference. 

The First Step:  Believe God!  Jesus said in John 14:1 – “Do not let your hearts be troubled.  You believe in God, believe also in me!”  With this information, Jesus is teaching us that we do not have to panic, because we have access to control.  We can fight fear with faith and when we do, we grab hold of our emotions and let them know who is the boss.

The Second Step:  Change Perspective!  Jesus said in John 14:2-3  “My Father’s House has many rooms, if it were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you?  And if I go to prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.”  Life here on this earth is pocket change compared to our life in ETERNITY.  Think about the big picture – our 70, 80, 90 years here on earth are nothing compared to the rest of our existence in eternity.  We often get so caught up and distracted by this small amount of time in this human experience, that we forget that we are spiritual beings.

We can live supernatural lives everyday!  Life is about so much more than the day to day trivia that we so often get distracted by.  Learn to enjoy the moments and embrace the challenges.  Always be moving forward to your eternal life and all the rewards, blessings and victories that it has in store for you.

When you learn to let go – life is good!

The Third Step:  Know What You Know!  Jesus said in John 14:4-7 “You know the way to the place where I am going.  Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”  Jesus answered:  “I am the way and the truth and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me.  If you really know me, you will know my Father as well.  From now on you do know Him and have seen Him.”  You may not realize it and you may not believe it, but you know the way!  It’s built into each one of us.  Ecclesiastes 3:11 says:  “He has made everything appropriate in it’s time.  He has also set eternity in their heart…”  This is not a physical/flesh/outside understanding.  This is a spiritual/eternal/inside understanding.

Don’t be dumb.  If Jesus says you know something, then know it, claim it and live it.  He is not a way, a truth or a life.  Jesus is the way, the truth and the life and no one comes to the Father, except through Him.  When I think of this amazing eternal life that He offers to me, I can’t help but remember the chorus to that beautiful hymn “Living For Jesus” when it says:  O Jesus, Lord and Savior, I give myself to Thee, For Thou, in Thy atonement, didst give Thyself for me; I own no other Master, my heart shall be Thy throne; My life I give, henceforth to live, O Christ, for Thee alone.”

Live for Jesus and you will be blessed today and for all eternity!