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

Worship and Offering

Posted on May 6, 2020 by Mark Shields

This day with God will be amazing because we are anchored to love from above. The more we do things that are good for us like study, exercise, or any positive activity, the better we get at the activity and then we look forward to doing it on a regular basis. We even miss the activity if we skip a day.

Today, our activity of Bible study takes us to Numbers 6:22 through 7:89. In verses 24-26, the promise is that the Lord will be gracious and deliver peace to the Israelites. The people made offerings at the dedication of the Tabernacle and instructions were given to Moses on how to distribute the offerings to the Levites who took care of the tent of meeting. An ox from each leader of the tribes and a cart from every two of the leaders was given.

The take away as explained in this passage is God’s concern for worship and offering. We are to walk in obedience to God day by day in how we use our time and resources. Day by day, little things become big things and lead to the amazing with Gods help. Take a look at your daily routine. Are there little things you could tweak or fine-tune? As you set goals, document them and constantly develop tasks from your prayers as you listen to God’s prompting.

To walk with God faithfully, I’ve been using this blog to help with regular Bible study. Growing in faith takes discipline just like physical exercise as we build faith muscles with God’s principles. Below is a photo of my Dog who gets hungry very early and wakes me up. Once up, I read the Bible and other devotionals before I start my day. Below is a picture of Marlee who deserves credit for helping me with this devotional.

Lord, there is no one like You. Help us to trust in You and to live for You. Open our eyes to wonder and to build our lives on the firm foundation of Your truth. Day by day studying Your Word and planting the seeds of Your Word into our heart. Lead us in Your love so we can offer this love to those around us. Amen.

Posted in Bible Study, Discipline | Tagged Bible Study, Discipline, Faith, Hope, Love, Offerings, Prayer, Worship | 1 Comment

Try and Try Again

Posted on May 5, 2020 by Mark Shields

Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. – Hebrews 12:1

The post “Act of Devotion” was about the Nazarene vow. Some instructions of this vow included not drinking alcohol or cutting one’s hair. Samson is one that took this vow which inspires disciplined focus on God rather than on worldly pleasures.

The lesson is like the song Press On by Building 429. If at first we do not succeed, we will try and try again. Think about it, Thomas Edison failed over 9,000 times before inventing the light bulb. We can certainly press on to bring the Light to more people as we remain devoted to the Way.

Index of devotionals

Posted in Devotionals, Going Extra Mile | Tagged Consecration, Devotion, Devotional, Going Extra Mile, Inspiration, Music, Perseverance, Praise, Video, Worship | Leave a comment

Act of Devotion

Posted on May 4, 2020 by Mark Shields

This day with God will be amazing because we will set out to go the extra mile as we are devoted to the study His word and finding ways to apply it to our life. Reading today in Numbers 6:1-21, there were three main instructions for the person making the Nazarene vow. They must not drink alcohol or even grapes, shave or cut their hair, and not go near a dead body.

Taking the Nazarene vow was an act of devotion as they constantly worked at being sanctified. They were giving it their best shot at getting closer to God and being separated from sin. Samson is one that took this vow that inspired disciplined focus on God rather than on worldly pleasures. The requirements for the Nazarene vow were strict because God is perfect and to offer one’s life without reserve to God requires extreme actions.

The remedy for breaking the oath was a sin offering and burnt offering as atonement. Once the period of dedication had been finished, the procedure was to take to the tabernacle a burnt offering, sin offering, and peace offering. These were also accompanied with a grain offering and drink offering. The mark of a saint is not perfection, but consecration.

Just like the extra given when one took the Nazarene vow, giving a little extra can change our lives today. Think about how one extra hour of daylight changes the temperature on average from 30, 40, 50 degrees in the winter to 80 or 90 degrees in the summer. The difference from a cold winter to the warmth of spring and summer is similar to having Christ is in our life. An extra hour of devotion will warm your heart every day for a brighter future.

This day with You Lord, help us to press on. During dark times, You sent Christ into the darkness to save the day. There are times of challenge but You inspire us to stick it out and persevere. You spur us on with thoughts and ideas like in today’s passage to give You more and less for ourselves. We rely on a power inside that is greater than we could ever imagine as we stay focused on Your Way rather than on worldly pleasures. Amen.

Posted in Bible Study, Going Extra Mile | Tagged Bible Study, Consecration, Devotion, Going Extra Mile, Inspiration, Perseverance, Prayer | 1 Comment

Worship 5-3-2020

Posted on May 3, 2020 by Mark Shields

Worship online via FUMC at this link https://firstwaco.com/ or Download the free app in the App Store or on Google Play. Look for First Waco.

Posted in Worship | Tagged Church, Music, On-line, Praise, Sermon, Technology, Video, Worship | Leave a comment

Keep Pace with Grace

Posted on May 1, 2020 by Mark Shields

It is after overcoming difficulty that we appreciate what we have and flourish. Like a plant that grows with water, nutrients from the soil, and sunlight, character is grounded in a strong mixture of stuff but we can keep pace with grace.

Step Ahead