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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You Can’t Have It!

The Choice Is Yours!  Stress Or Joy?  Christmas really can be a stressful time.  It does not have to be and it shouldn’t be, but it often is.  We love the parties, presents and preparations, but we also have a tendency to allow these along with the other challenges of life to take us off track and out of God’s will.

Christmas can and will bring frustration if you allow it to and you will allow it to, if you focus on the wrong things.  It is so easy to get focused on the wrong things.  It is very important that we remember what really matters and what really matters is that there is a God and He loves us and He has a plan for our lives.

God wants our lives to be filled with JOY!  Christmas is about how much God loves this world and the people in it!  John 3:16 says “God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him will not perish, but have everlasting life!”   Joy is about so much more than happiness.  Happiness has to do with what happens to you and can change according to circumstances.  Joy is an inner sense of well-being that abides even when the circumstances of life are unfavorable.

If you want to have and to keep joy in your life, then you must receive Jesus.  You must allow Him to reign and call the shots.   And you must be willing to change the direction of your life.  There is joy for this world, because the Lord has come, so let earth receive her King!

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An Amazing Gift!

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One of the things that I really love about Christmas is gifts. I love to give and I love to receive.  I honestly think that I enjoy the giving part as much, if not more than the receiving part.  A beautiful gift that comes through the gift of Jesus is God’s grace and it is amazing!  God wants to bless us with His “unmerited favor”.  We can’t earn it and we don’t deserve it, but He offers it to us!

Grace to be best understood, has to be experienced. I agree with John Newton, I am a wretch!  “Amazing Grace how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me!  I once was lost, but now I am found.  Was blind, but now I see!”

Blown Away! The fact that God would love me enough to give His Son as a sacrifice for my sins.  The reality that God forgives me for all of my sin and holds nothing against me.  The opportunity to serve Him in ministry with gifts that He has provided to represent and bless.  It is all possible, only by the grace of God!

2 Corinthians 12:9 says: “God’s grace is sufficient.  God’s power is perfected in weakness, therefore I will boast about my weakness, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.”

God’s grace is sufficient! He sees our arrogance and loves us anyway.  He is aware of our faults and short-comings, but makes the choice to see us as holy.  He is hurt by our sinfulness, yet is always ready, willing and able to love us without condition!

God Love Is Bigger Than Our Sin! God does not allow sin to chase Him away, instead it causes Him to chase after us!  God has made the choice to pursue us.  This is what Christmas is all about.  God’s gift of an intentional pursuit of a real, personal, meaningful relationship with each of us.

God loves you!  Enjoy the gift of His love!