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.
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Don’t Be A Hater!

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Most of us are basically good, or at least that’s what we like to tell ourselves.  Today as I was spending a little time in the Word, I got to thinking about love and hate and how easy it is to dance across the line that separates the two.  Hope this video encourages you to love.

Don’t Be A Hater!

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Better Than A Pinky Promise!

Pinky Promise!

What do you want for yourself, for your life?  What does God want for yourself, for your life?  I am discovering that what God wants for me and my life is much better than what I want for myself and my life.  As I look back on my life, I can see where I actually kept getting in the way of what is best.

Look at this amazing passage of Scripture, it says it so beautifully:  “2Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, 3According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:  4Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.”  2 Peter 1:2-4

God wants grace and peace to be multiplied into and through our lives.  It is multiplied as we step out of our own knowledge and into our knowledge of Him and His Son, our Savior.  This allows us to yield to His Spirit and experience His purpose and plan.

His divine power has given us everything we need to live the life of Godliness that He has called us to and created us for, a life of virtue and glory.  When I depend on my power, I rob myself of the opportunity to participate in the divine.

He has given us His exceeding great and precious promises, so that we might be partakers of the divine nature and escape the corruption that comes from the lust of the world.  We have a choice to make and our choice determines where and how we will live.  Notice, God does not just give us promises, He gives us His exceeding great and precious promises.

God has and wants what is best for us and our lives, lets step out of our selfishness and into His promises – we will be glad we did!

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Need A Hot Pick Me Up?

Old School!

It’s the middle of the week, so I thought I would share a little pick me up.  Take all of your troubles and the challenges of life and lay them aside for just a few moments.  Now think about riding down the road on a cool night and out of the corner of your eye you see something orange, almost like a fire, but better.  It’s the “Hot Now” sign at Krispy Kreme.

You pull in and get a dozen of the hot, soft, moist pieces of heaven and head back out to your car to open the box and observe one of the most beautiful sights known to man – glazed perfection in a never-ending circle of sweetness.

Shades Of Gray!

Your mouth waters and before you know what you are doing, your hand has reached in grabbed and delivered a sensation that lasts only a few seconds, but that can be repeated at least three or four more times, before the guilt kicks in.

Who knew that soft, light and fluffy could be so good?  Vernon Rudolph did in July of 1937, when he rented a building in what is not historic old Salem in Winston-Salem, NC and began cooking the doughnuts using a secret yeast raised doughnut recipe that he purchased from a New Orleans French chef.  He cut a window in the side of the building and sold directly to the folks, who could smell what he was cooking.

Light From Above!

Now don’t you feel better?  The only thing that could possibly make you feel any better in this moment is to actually be enjoying a “hot now Krispy Kreme doughnut”. If just reading about it and looking at these pictures of the old Krispy Kreme doughnut sign that I took one day in Spartanburg, SC doesn’t do it, then I have two words for ya:  ROAD TRIP!