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

Run the Race with Perseverance

Posted on April 2, 2020 by Mark Shields

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, 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 “Next Leg of the Relay Team” gave us examples of Old Testament believers who had faith and took action that affects our daily living today. Many of the heroes of faith may have seemed weak at the time because of persecution but their weakness was made a strength because of God’s power.

We face the same difficulties in the world today. As pointed out in the song Beyond Me by TobyMac, you may reach for the stars but they seem out of reach. You may be called to deep waters but begin to sink. Although things may seem impossible, maintain the faith and take action knowing God is big enough to meet your need.

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Posted in Applied Faith, Bible Study | Tagged Devotional, Faith, Music, Praise, Teamwork, victory | Leave a comment

Next Leg of the Relay Team

Posted on April 1, 2020 by Mark Shields

This day with God will be amazing because through Christ we have peace in knowing that we belong on the team. We are building our faith stronger and stronger to run the next leg of the relay team. Reading today in Hebrews 11:27-40, we study how faith and action are related. The Old Testament believers had faith and they took action that affects our daily living today.

Faith initiates action towards amazing accomplishment using God’s power to do the impossible. Even though those who take action may not see the results of their effort during their lifetime, they go down in history as great servants for the cause carried out in generations to come. Noted in today’s passage are Old Testament believers who conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised.

Faith also patiently waits knowing that God will deliver. Many of the heroes of faith may have seemed weak at the time because of persecution but their weakness was made a strength because of God’s power. We are all linked to these Old Testament believers because they have handed off the baton to us. We are the next leg to the relay team and this affects our daily living today because we get ready for the race ahead. We throw off our past that easily entangles so we can run with perseverance our leg of the race towards victory.

This day with You Lord, we have discovered more about what faith is by reading about those people of faith in the past who faced difficulty but turned their difficulty over to You. When they did, that’s when amazing things happened. They turned the world upside down by persisting and never giving up because their heart was right side up. Amen

Posted in Applied Faith | Tagged Bible Study, Faith, Prayer, Teamwork, victory | 1 Comment

Looking Forward to Long Term Eternal Rewards

Posted on March 31, 2020 by Mark Shields

Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. – John 14:1-3

The take away from the post “Eternal Paradise” is that we should patiently fulfill our purpose on earth knowing that God has a long term plan. The world can be a very discouraging place with a lot of negative things building on the inside like fear, frustration, and anxiety.

Most of these negatives are the result of pursuing material things which are short term but the great victory in life is putting off the earthly rewards for the long term eternal rewards. Take inspiration from the song I can only imagine by MercyMe.

Posted in Devotionals, Optimism | Tagged Devotional, Faith, Heaven, Music, Optimism, Paradise, Praise, Prayer, Purpose, Treasure, Video | Leave a comment

Eternal Paradise

Posted on March 30, 2020 by Mark Shields

Inch by inch anything is a cinch because of confidence in God. We can trust in God’s plan for us and expect good to happen! In today’s passage, the attitude of those whom God made promises was one of optimism because they were always looking forward to a better place. They were always looking forward to the treasures of eternal paradise rather than short term rewards of this world.

Reading Hebrews 11:13-26, the writer gathers together the names of those passing their faith to the next generation. The people mentioned in the passage never received all that God had promised on earth but kept what kept them going was their vision of heaven. Abraham was willing to sacrifice his son Isaac because he had faith that God could raise him from the dead.

Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau, Jacob blessed each of Joseph’s sons, and Joseph spoke about the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt. Moses chose to be mistreated rather than be known as the son of the Pharaoh’s daughter and enjoy the treasures of Egypt. Rather, he was focused on the greater reward of fulfilling his purpose for the glory of God and looking forward to spending eternity enjoying the treasures of heaven.

Material things are short term but the great victory in life is putting off the earthly rewards for the long term eternal rewards. Let our attitude towards these heroes of faith written about in today’s passage be one of honor like a soldier who sacrifices their time on earth for eternal glory. The take away from today’s passage is that we should patiently fulfill our purpose on earth knowing that God has a long term plan.

The world can be a very discouraging place with a lot of negative things building on the inside like fear, frustration, and anxiety. These negatives bubble up and are spewed out similar to a volcanic eruption but people of faith look forward to the promises of the future. They maintain faith with an attitude of optimism that allows them to flourish in the future.

The photo below was taken while traveling up Mt. Haleakala on the Hawaiian island of Maui. It’s dormant now but when active, the lava-flow formed about 75 percent of the island. In fact, all the Hawaiian island were formed from volcanos. Today, these islands are a tropical paradise and the destination of millions who travel there on vacations each year.

This day with You Lord, we are thankful that our life on earth is temporary. We go through difficulty, pain, frustration, etc. but because of Christ, we look forward to eternal paradise. We can flourish in grace now and look forward to living in paradise forever. Help us to carry out Your purpose in our life knowing that You have a future for us that is beyond what we could ever imagine. Amen

Posted in Bible Study, Optimism | Tagged Bible Study, Faith, Heaven, Optimism, Paradise, Photo, Prayer, Purpose, Treasure | 2 Comments

Worship 03-29-2020

Posted on March 29, 2020 by Mark Shields

Worship online at 9:30 am 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.