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.

Living Is Giving!

“If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it.”  Mark 8:35

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That’s LIfe!

This is one of those powerful lessons in the Scriptures that we often fly over and miss.  “If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it.”  Life is not something that we hang onto,  Life is something that we live and in the living of life, we experience life.  Life with all of it’s ups and downs is living and living is much more than just existing.

The key to really living is not trying to live life, but trying to give life, because when we give our life away to love others as we have been loved, then we really begin to live.  The good news is that God loves each of us and has an amazing plan for our lives.

Don’t miss life, because you have gotten distracted by trying to make a living.  Live life by giving your life to your Creator by serving and making life better for others.  You will find that life is a whole lot more fun, when you focus on more than just existing…

What Life Is Really About!

“For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.”  Matthew 20:28

Jesus was speaking and this is what he had to say about himself.  He said that the reason he came to earth was not to be served, but to serve by giving his life as a ransom for many.

It is very easy to forget that our life here on earth is about something and the something is not ourselves.  The something is other people.  Take some time today to intentionally reach out to make life better for others and you will discover that it actually makes life better for you!

Live blessed, because it is what you were created for!