Unfinished Masterpiece

Posted on October 25, 2019 by Mark Shields

This day with God will be amazing because we will gain more treasure from God’s Word. We will be working to eliminate the negatives that hold us back and cultivating the proven positives found in His Word that will be stepping stones as we get closer to the guaranteed victory.

Mark Shields's avatarStep Ahead

The world can be rough
A very flawed place
But we always have hope
Because we have grace.

Polishing the flaws,
Filing in the rough spots
With power from above
We’ve got a great shot.

Gaining discipline
From His good Word
And enthusiasm
From what has been heard.

Anchored to God’s love
To handle distress
Knowing God will bless
With tremendous progress.

Each step is closer
Throughout a lifetime
Overflowing with joy
As we make the climb.

Jacob’s Ladder

This is a photo of my daughter in front of Jacob’s Ladder on the campus of Abilene Christian University. It’s a monument depicting Jacob’s dream of a ladder connecting earth and heaven. The negatives in our life can become building blocks to a brighter future as we step ahead higher and higher.

Poem by Mark Shields – © 09-26-2019
Inspired by “This Day with God Devotional – 1 Timothy 2:8-15

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Making it Through the Rough Stuff

Posted on October 24, 2019 by Mark Shields

To you it has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake. – Philippians 1:29

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 grows when it is grounded in a strong mixture of stuff. Because of Christ suffering on the cross, we can make it through the rough stuff as explained in the post “Keep Pace with Grace”.

We go through stuff in life but God has a plan and His plans are better than our plans. I volunteer as a member of the tech team for our church. Sometimes our pastor makes a key point with a video and one time a video would not work. The pastor noticed that the person on the video just so happened to be in attendance at that particular worship service so the pastor had the person come up to give his testimony live instead of by the video. It turned out to be much more powerful.

As we journey through life, there are many occasions when a difficult experience actually works out better in the long run. Enjoy today’s video This is the Stuff by Francesca Battistelli and remember today to take the rough stuff with a grain of salt. 
 

 

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Keep Pace with Grace

Posted on October 23, 2019 by Mark Shields

This day, we read in Leviticus 12 and seek patience in making Christ more than just an acquaintance as we endure our distresses in life knowing that our future we will be blessed. We seek to grow, change, share, and rearrange our way of life as we keep pace with grace.

In today’s passage, we are given specific rules of hygiene. After giving birth, a time goes by before being purified. Thirty days are given after the birth of a boy and sixty days for the birth of a girl. After the time has gone by, a sacrifice is offered to become clean.

In keeping with the Law, a year-old lamb was sacrificed for a burnt offering and a young pigeon or a dove for a sin offering (v. 6). If a person could not afford a lamb, they offered a pair of doves or two pigeons (v. 8). Also given are the instruction on circumcision. Boys were circumcised after the 8th day of birth as an outward sign of a covenant with God and His people.

The cleansing or sanitary procedures laid down by Moses for the people of God were put in place for health reasons. Since they were put into place to avoid outbreaks of plague and epidemic, this reading offers some thought on the assertion that our private life is not just my own concern but can affect the public as a whole.

Because of accepting what Jesus has done on the cross, we are covered by the Law of Moses as described above. Like the first snow of winter that covers the rough ground created from drought or erosion, we are covered by grace which levels out the rough spots along the journey.

Snow in Waco 2-4-11

This day with You Lord, we grow in grace to put off the old and put on the new. We are renewed day by day because we are a new person in Jesus. You have wonderfully made each of us and you want what is best for us. You know what will benefit us more than we do. Grace has given us a clean slate like pure white snow that covers the past for a beautiful future.

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Fill Me with Holiness

Posted on October 22, 2019 by Mark Shields

Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you? – 1 Corinthians 3:16 

A thought from the post “Clean Food for the Soul” is that the dietary rules pointed out in Leviticus 11 are a test of obedience. We should eat to live rather than live to eat. These rules could also apply to the food we take in for our souls including what we read, watch, or think about.

Take inspiration from today’s uplifting song Empty Me by Jeremy Camp providing the below thought to apply in life:

I desire less of me
And more of Jesus.
Empty me,
Then fill me
With Holiness;
Less of this world
And more of Jesus! 


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Clean Food for the Soul

Posted on October 21, 2019 by Mark Shields

This day with God, we are reading in Leviticus 11. The focus today is on obedience toward taking care of our physical and spiritual bodies. We are God’s temple and should plant the seeds of God’s principles into our soul.  Then add the clear water of the Spirit so these seeds grow into fruit for ourselves and our friends.

The general dietary standards pointed out in today’s passage include eating animals on land that have a divided hoof and that chew the cud (v. 3). For creatures living in the water of the seas and the streams, we are to eat only those that have fins and scales (v. 9).

The positive imperative from this passage is to maintain standards that keep you close to the Lord and His Word for better physical and spiritual health. The Lord knows what is best for our physical bodies. Dietary rules are for our health because eating certain birds or animals could be unclean because they may carry diseases.

In the same way that our physical bodies need food that is clean, we also need food for our soul that is clean and healthy. There is a saying in the computer field “garbage in – garbage out”.  We must work at emptying ourselves from garbage like selfishness, being overly prideful, and ambition purely for self-gain. Before we can be filled by the Holy Spirit, these negative emotions need to be emptied out so they can be replaced with God’s holiness.

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This day with You Lord, help us in obedience to Your Word so we take in what is good for our physical and spiritual body. You have wonderfully made us and want what is good for us. You know what will benefit us more than we do. The dietary rules in today’s passage test our obedience so we take in what is good for us including what we eat, read, watch, or think about. Amen.

 

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