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.
“For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light!” Ephesians 5:8
There was a time that I was darkness! I was depressed, disgusting and disoriented to living in a way that had any redeemable qualities! I was pessimistic, negative and argumentative! I was unhappy, but pretended and even convinced myself, that I was happy! Life was a big fat series of “nothing moments” that added up to a big waste. I was only interested in myself and could care less about others, until I met Him!
He changed my life! When I met Him, my darkness was revealed and in my darkness, I could see all of the broken relationships, torn connections and wasted years. My life had been hopeless, but only just for a moment in the grand scheme of time. When He came into my life, I could see the waste, feel the worthlessness and knew that I wanted and needed to change.
In Him, I became light! The darkness was chased away and with it, all of the junk! I now have the choice as light to live in light every moment of every day of my life! I get to be the light that has made such a difference in my life! This is a very special gift, and it’s not just for me. It’s for you, so step out of the darkness and into the light and enjoy the beauty of this very special day!
Work! Work! Work! Does it seem like that is all you ever do? Sometimes it seems like you get up in the morning and start the same thing that you were doing yesterday, only to drag home at the end of the day, slide into bed, so that you can wake up tomorrow morning and do the same kinda things all over again!
The work of life seems to become a never-ending, continually repeating random series of events that eat up our days, spin-off our years and eat up our lives. And then one day, you wake up and ask yourself that question: “What’s it all for?” And when you ask and begin to answer honestly, you know that life is has to be about more than just going through the motions!
Colossians 3:23-24 offer us some really good advice about our lives and the way that we are to invest them! These two verses say: “23 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, 24 since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.”
These two verses teach us about what is really important and remind us that our focus is everything! Here are three things the remember about your work!
1.) It’s Not So Much What You Do, But How You Do It That Really Matters! He says: “Whatever you do”, the focus is not on what. The what is not really the issue. The how is what matters! He says: “Work at it with all your heart as for the Lord!” Whatever you do in life, do it for God and for His glory. If you are doing it for God and His glory, then you have to go all in and all out! Don’t get distracted by the “what”, instead make sure that you focus on the “how” by doing whatever you do for God’s glory!
2.) There Is Heavenly Reward Beyond Earthly Reward! He says: “since you know you will receive an inheritance from the Lord.” When you do your job, you get paid, here on earth for the job that you’ve done on earth. But, this is not the only compensation coming our way. The Bible teaches that God is watching and He sees all and God has reward for those that are faithful. Life is hard and some days are tough, but there is a reward coming that will make all of the hard work, frustrations and discouragements worth whatever turmoil they happened to bring our way. We simply have to live in faith that God is Who He says He is and He will do what He says He will do!
3.) Remember: You Are Always Serving Jesus! This is one of those deals that is hard to remember and so easy to forget! Somewhere in our heart we know, that we are always in service to Jesus. We know that whatever we do, big or small, it is for God and His glory, but we tend to forget it. And when we forget it, our service is not what it could or should be. Take time today to remind yourself, that whatever you are doing, it is for Jesus. This should change a lot of things and this should set your life up to bring God greater glory.
Live and work this way and at the end of the day, you may be worn out, but you will also be very fulfilled! God Bless, Press On, G3!, 24/7!
I love Christmas! I love everything about it! I love the crowds, because I get a kick out of watching and interacting with people. I love the lights, decorations and music, because it is just out there! I love the whole idea, because the original idea is really a cool thing! I mean think about it: Our Creator loves us and desires to have a personal relationship with us. A relationship that will allow us to walk, talk and live life together – how amazing is that?
One of the great tragedies of this time of year, is that we often get so busy and preoccupied with all that we have to get done and the little amount of time that we have to do it, that we miss the point. This is why it is important to stop, slow down and re-adjust our focus every now and then. Change our focus get it right and we change our life and get it right!
Our focus should always be Jesus! He is the great gift of God. He is Divinity wrapped in humanity, God in the flesh – dwelling among us! If Jesus is who the Bible says He is and if Jesus is who we say we believe He is, then this should change our lives! May we never cease to be amazed at Jesus, who is and what he has done and may we never stop letting this reality challenge and change our lives!
Think about it! God became flesh! Jesus is God! When God became flesh, He did not take off divinity, instead He put on humanity and He died and came back to life! In Jesus we have hope that never runs out! He is the answer that a lost, dying and hurting world is searching for!
Life is meaningless without Jesus! If you actually take the time to stop and think about it, if and when you take Jesus out of the equation, then there is nothing of significance left! Remove Jesus and you remove hope.
Hope is the belief or expectation of a positive outcome. It is more than wishful thinking or positive optimism. It is the thought and understanding that no matter how bad things might get, it’s all going to turn out okay! We need hope today, more than at any other time in our lives.
When the Bible speaks of hope, it is talking about having a “trusting expectation”! This is exactly what God wants us to have. We can trust in Him and we can expect Him to work in and through our lives in amazing ways!
I encourage you to receive Jesus, unwrap your gift of hope and use it for God’s glory and everyone’s blessing!
Michael Joe Harvell 