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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Tomatoes!

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tomato8oz_Duke's_MayoOne of my favorite things about this time of year is tomatoes! I love tomatoes!  I especially love them ripe, sliced and in between two slices of bread, smothered with Dukes Mayo and sprinkled with pepper!  I also like them green, battered and fried crispy brown!

Another thing that I like about tomatoes is watching them grow! One day you have a little yellow flower and the next a small green ball.  The green ball continues to grow and change it’s shape and then it starts to change it’s color.  It eventually turns into a big, red, ripe and juicy tomato.  When it turns red, ripe and juicy, you better pick it and use it or it will rot!

We are a lot like tomatoes! We are green and growing or ripe and rotting! The difference between us and the tomato is that we get to make the choice!

What are you? You are green and growing when you realize that you don’t know everything and there is still much for you to learn!  You are ripe and rotting when you think that you have arrived and simply seek to live life on cruise control!

I want to be green and growing! I want to learn all of the amazing new things that God puts in front of me everyday!  It is exciting to think that everyday is another day for me to grow and change!  God is still working on me!

I have changed a lot through the years and the most incredible thing is this:  Some of my most amazing change and growth is still in front of me!  Enjoy letting God grow you today!

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Let Go!

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Northwood - The Building Where The Church Gets Ready!
Northwood Worship Center - The Building Where The Church Gets Ready To Go Out!

God hit me with this thought last week and I just came seem to escape from it!  “You say you have Jesus, but does Jesus have you?”

In Luke 9:57-62  – There are three guys that make the grand promise that they will follow Jesus, but before they do, they have just one thing that they need to take care of! I think that this is where most of us are living!  We want to follow Jesus, but there is always just one more thing that we have to take care of before we can step up and out!

Desire is easy! You should want to follow Jesus!  Most of us know that we should follow Jesus and I think that most of us want to follow Jesus – until following Jesus gets in the way of our plans of what we think is best for ourselves.

You can’t really follow Jesus – if you don’t trust Jesus! And I think this is where a lot of us get hung up.  We say we trust Him, but trust for most of us is really hope that he will get us out of Hell and into Heaven!

When Jesus was challenging these guys to follow – He knew that he had a cross of sacrifice in his future. His asking them to follow was going to cost him and them something!  Following Jesus does not guarantee us that life will always be comfortable, but it does promise that the comforter will always be with us!

We need to stop every so often and ask ourselves this question:  WHAT REALLY MATTERS? Much of what you and I will think and worry about today – does not really matter!  What does matter is this:  Do you have a real relationship with Jesus and in this relationship are you following Him?

You know that you are on your way to following Jesus, when you trust Jesus. You know that you are trusting Jesus when you open your heart and hands!  Your heart is the easy part.  Your hands are going to be the challenge.  What do you need to let go of, so that you can grab hold of the stuff of God?

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It’s Friday – Here’s Your Video!

This is the third video in a series of four by Community Christian!  What really makes you a Christian?  It’s not the clothes you wear or the music you jam to!  The real question is this:  Are you following Christ?