This Day With God – A Spiritual Journey | Share The Word

Formula for Discipleship

Posted on September 11, 2023 by Mark Shields

The Light continues to shine and like a ripple within the water that grows into a wave, what starts small begins to spread into something bigger to make an impact on the world.

Within John 1:35-51, we get a formula for discipleship. It all started with just a few who follow Jesus. Also identified as Lamb of God, Teacher, Messiah, Son of God, King of Israel, and Son of Man. Then these few tell those closest to them within their family or good friends.

Within the passage, we note that John had two disciples and when he points out Jesus as the Lamb of God, they followed. Then Andrew tells his brother Peter so they both began to follow. The next day, Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, He said to him, “Follow me (v. 43).” Then, Philip told a friend named Nathanael that they had found the one Moses wrote about in the Law so he began to follow too.

When a person has good role models to follow, they can see, believe, and achieve. They are able to follow good examples from teachers, preachers, and leaders. Most of all, they can follow the Word, get connected to and internalize the guiding principles taught by Jesus.

Some collect the knowledge from the Word and have the wisdom but fail to produce any fruit. Not only is there a need to learn but a need to connect to people and share about God’s Plan for Us.

This day Lord … We follow Your true character. We have many questions, but we get the answer from You. All we need to do is to take the first step and follow You. Lord, you are the Word giving direction as we share with others and do good works for Your glory. Amen.

Posted in Bible Study, Faith | Tagged Bible Study, Discipleship, Faith, Knowledge, Leaders, Photo, Prayer, Teachers, Wisdom, Worship | 2 Comments

Leadership Being Passed On

Posted on September 10, 2023 by Mark Shields

In 1 Kings 2, leadership is being passed from one generation to the next. David gave Solomon some instructions as his reign was coming to an end and he passes on instructions from the Lord to the next generation.

A major thought from this passage is to have confidence in the Way of God. The Holy Spirit will help us make the tough decisions and have good judgment as we set out to find solutions to problems. To win the day, let’s saddle up, follow God, and embark on blazing a new trail.

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Posted in Devotionals, Initiative | Tagged Confidence, Decisions, Devotional, Initiative, Instructions, Leadership, Praise, Worship | 3 Comments

Poetry Friday 09-08-2023

Posted on September 8, 2023 by Mark Shields

A poem posted at my other blog Step Ahead is inspired by the post “Regard for the Lord” that has thoughts on setting out in a new direction. If things are wrong in our life, we can seek solutions to getting back on track by following the Lord’s Way. Rather than trying to rationalize away His standards, trust and follow His Way.

The song Battle Belongs by Phil Wickham tells us that nothing can stand against the power of God. He wins every battle so all we need to do is lay all the bad things in life down at the foot of the cross. When the Lord is for us, no one can be against us.

Posted in Poems | Tagged Devotion, Discipline, Music, poem, Praise, Purpose, Trust, victory, Worship | Leave a comment

New and Improved Beginning

Posted on September 7, 2023 by Mark Shields

Then John gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him". – John 1:32

Noted in “Sail Away with Gusto”, John the Baptist gave his testimony, and we can too. We can help people with that first step so they can see the Light. Show them the problem we all have. Give them the solution in Christ so they will be moved to step ahead of the sinning and move on to new and improved beginning for the days ahead.

The world can be a dry place but there is hope. Like the song Build a Boat by Colton Dixon have faith that God will provide and with the Holy Spirit as the wind in your sails, you will prevail.

Index of devotionals

Posted in Devotionals, Enthusiasm | Tagged Devotional, Dream, Encouragement, enthusiasm, Explore, Faith, Grace, Initiative, Praise, Salvation, Testimony, Worship | 1 Comment

Sail Away with Gusto

Posted on September 6, 2023 by Mark Shields

This day with God will be amazing because we will explore, dream, and discover more about God’s Word. We will get away from the comfort zone and sail away with gusto as we share today’s idea of winning by beginning.

Today, we sail on with the passage John 1:19-34 concerning John the Baptist who was questioned by the priests and Levites about who he was (v. 20). He said that he was not the Messiah but gave testimony that Jesus was the Lamb of God (v. 29) or Messiah who takes away the sins of the world.

Then the Pharisees questioned about his authority to baptize and John the Baptist explained that he baptized with water. The next day, he saw Jesus coming towards him (v. 29) and testified that Jesus is the one that will baptize with the Holy Spirit.

So John the Baptist explains about winning by beginning. That Jesus is the one that brings victory in life with a new beginning. Rather than offering sacrifices and following the Law of Moses for salvation, John the Baptist offered this better solution to salvation in the person of Jesus Christ.

We all know today that they didn’t believe John the Baptist even though Jesus was right before their eyes and performed miracles. This goes to show the challenges faced in sharing about Christ. That there is a miracle that can be received in simply believing in Christ and that there is absolute victory because grace wins all the time.

This raised the question: how can we bear witness to Christ? We have an opportunity each day with the people we interact with. There are days when things may not be going all that well. Those we interact with may be having a terrible day, but we can help them with a new beginning by simply offering encouragement. Then with this spark of encouragement, many will keep on going to this new and improved beginning as they then start to follow the Light until each day becomes brighter. So much brighter that they will encourage others to do the same.

This day with You Lord, we are thankful for those before us who explained about winning more to Your Way by beginning the process. By simply bearing witness to what we believe. Witnessing has challenges but we have faith that You will show up to help as we encourage, pray, worship, share, and serve others. We sometimes get distracted but You are the Light to shine during this time to keep us focused. The time is now … Today is the day and with the Holy Spirit, we feel the wind in our sails to push us along. In Your name we pray … Amen.