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

The Help of Friends

Posted on December 7, 2022 by Mark Shields

We are placed many times throughout life into difficult circumstances. Through it all, keep in mind that the God of the universe created over 100 billion galaxies with each galaxy having billions of stars but His greatest creation and who He loves the most are His people. The enemy is constantly plotting to get us off track but we can trust God to overrule our circumstances and friends can help along the way.

Such is the case as we read our passage today in 2 Samuel 7 as David shares with a friend named Nathan who was a prophet. David shares with Nathan about his thoughts of building a house for the ark of God. Later that night, the Lord came to Nathan in a vision telling Nathan to explain to David that He had been with David from the very beginning. From the time David had been tending sheep as a shepherd to becoming ruler over Israel (v. 8).

God wants David to remember that He had been with David through it all to set things up for his success. God was the one who gave David his great victories and cut off his enemies (v. 9). God promises rest from his enemies and that through David’s offspring, a kingdom would endure forever (16).

So Nathan the prophet told David that God wanted him to build the house for the arc of God. The response from David is to pray about this news. Prayer gives us a chance to have an open exchange with God who believes in us and is interested in our future. Let us see ourselves as God sees us; someone worth so much that He sent His son to die on the cross for all.

This day with You Lord, we understand more now about friendships. That Nathan was a friend to David but most of all, that You Lord are our friend. What a friend we have and the Spirit lives in us so there is no longer the need for a temple because we are Your temple. Thank you Lord for this new covenant that is superior to the old. Amen.

Posted in Bible Study | Tagged Bible Study, Covenant, Friendships, Prayer, Spirit, Vision | 2 Comments

Good Judgment Comes From Experience

Posted on December 6, 2022 by Mark Shields

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all those who do His commandments. – Psalm 111:10

Within “Celebrate the Victory” is the account of Uzzah showing disrespect to God by touching the arc. This served as a warning to others that there is a right way and a wrong way to do things. By following the right way, we can gain small wins that will lead to the ultimate victory.

Jesus provides the Way and the Light shines bright along the path. Let us celebrate the victory that Jesus brings with the song The Way by Jeremy Camp.

Index of devotionals

Posted in Devotionals, Wisdom | Tagged Celebration, Devotional, enthusiasm, Lessons, Praise, victory, Wisdom, Worship | 1 Comment

Celebrate the Victory

Posted on December 5, 2022 by Mark Shields

Baylor 30 Texas 10 – Last game at Floyd Casey Stadium

Have you ever noticed how enthusiastic the crowd is at a sporting event? Some people paint their face or dress up in weird outfits. The picture was taken after a Baylor beat Texas in the final regular season football game in 2013. It was a freezing day but the fans stayed in the cold until the final play because they wanted to celebrate the victory. When we celebrate before the Lord, we should be even more enthusiastic because the Lord is leading us to the victory of all victories.

Reading today in 2 Samuel 6, the ark of God was being transported to Jerusalem or the city of David. Uzzah was in front to help guide the oxen but as they came to an uneven place along the path, the oxen stumbled and Uzzah reached out to steady the arc. No one was allowed to touch the arc so Uzzah was killed on the spot because the Lord’s anger burned against him (v. 7).

Uzzah had shown disrespect to God by touching the ark and his life served as a warning to others that there is a right way and a wrong way to do things. Let us be mindful of the mistakes of others as warnings in our own live so we learn the lessons needed to live a long and happy life.

The ark was taken to a new location because David was afraid. After some time, the person who took care of the ark was blessed so this gave David the courage to then transport the arc to the city of David hoping for the same blessings. They would take their time as they took a few steps ahead and then would offer sacrifices. They were extremely careful and took their time but step by step finally got the ark of the Lord to the city of David.

Much like in a parade, David expressed his zeal along the route by leaping and dancing as the arc was transported (v. 15). On the other hand, the daughter of Saul named Michal had been watching the parade from her window and objected to David’s zeal because she thought it was excessive and undignified. We note that David’s celebration was acceptable before the Lord but Michal had no children to the day of her death (v. 23).

This day with You Lord, we gain experience each day knowing there is a right way and a wrong way to live out our life. Help us today to take in the lessons from Your Word. To learn from our experiences and the experiences of others. Help us to listen to the Holy Spirit guiding our steps so that when we get to where You are leading, we can celebrate the victory in Jesus name … amen.

Posted in Bible Study, Wisdom | Tagged Bible Study, Celebration, enthusiasm, Lessons, Prayer, victory, Wisdom | 2 Comments

Poetry Friday 12-02-2022

Posted on December 2, 2022 by Mark Shields

A poem posted at my other blog Step Ahead is inspired by the post with the same title at this link. The takeaway in today’s passage is that when facing difficulty, don’t get discouraged but remain optimistic. The Bible tells us who wins so place your bet on Jesus, be inspired by how Jesus suffered and ultimately became victorious, don’t get angry, don’t blame others for current difficulties, or worry but have hope and claim a bright future.

After college, I traveled for three weeks in Europe with a high school buddy and took this photo of the Swiss Alps. Our Creator produced a masterpiece when He made the Swiss Alps. Thinking about this photo, I’m reminded of the song Greatness of Our God by Newsboys. Some of the lyrics go like the following:

In awesome wonder,
He reigns forever.
No one can stop Him;
His power is endless
And He lives within us.

Posted in Photos, Poems | Tagged Back to the Future, Creation, Journey, Music, Optimism, Poetry, Praise, Swiss Alps, travel, Worship | Leave a comment

Renew Your Strength

Posted on December 1, 2022 by Mark Shields

Those who hope in the Lord
   will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
   they will run and not grow weary,
   they will walk and not be faint. – Isaiah 40:31

Applying our faith from lessons learned as highlighted in the post “Strength for the Challenge” provides us with food for the soul and what we need to take on the challenges we face.

David’s greatness came from the fact that he relied on God’s power and did as God instructed. David understood that God controls the future and could give the proper direction as he provided leadership for the good of his people.

Let us give praise to God for His strength with the song Great are You Lord by One Sonic Society. Give glory to God with an attitude of praise throughout this day.