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

Victory that Overcomes the World

Posted on December 6, 2018 by Mark Shields

For everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. – 1 John 5:4

Sports teams are victorious by having a good game plan and being able to execute that game plan. In the same way, the church is God’s plan for victory over hell. As brought out in the post “Orderly Worship”, each member of the worship team should carry out their role in a fitting and orderly way to help transform people into the likeness of Jesus Christ.

We live in a changing world and have to seek ways to keep a balance between respect for Christian heritage and innovations related to the contemporary generation. For many years now, the church I worship at has seen tremendous growth in a contemporary worship service. The seating is filled to capacity in the contemporary service but we have been struggling to fill the seats at the traditional service. We are currently introducing a service which is a mixture of traditional service and contemporary service.

No matter what the type of worship service executed, the main emphasis should be to win souls for Christ. Take inspiration from today’s song Give You Glory by Jeremy Camp.

Index of devotionals

Posted in Devotionals | Tagged Church, Contemporary, Devotional, Encouragement, Music, Praise, victory, Worship | Leave a comment

Orderly Worship

Posted on December 5, 2018 by Mark Shields

In the passage 1 Corinthians 14:20-40, Paul gives some rules concerning conduct in the worship service. Everything is done in a fitting and orderly way to build up the church. Discussed is the gift of tongues which is not forbidden but considered by Paul to be less important than the gift of prophecy.

Speaking in tongues was practiced by many of the new believers because they enjoyed seeing God’s divine power at work as it was displayed in spectacular ways. Prophesy in turn was considered more important by Paul because believers were instructed and encouraged.

With God’s plan of the church, each member carries out their role in a fitting and orderly way to transform members into the likeness of Jesus Christ. The mission is to put hell out of business one person at a time using the resources of the church.

Worship Service at First United Methodist Church Waco Texas. I took this picture while working with the Media team.

This day with You Lord, we pray for keeping a balance between respect for our traditional ways of worship and innovations related to the contemporary generation. The ultimate mission is to transform people into the likeness of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Posted in Bible Study | Tagged Bible Study, Church, Encouragement, Prayer, Worship | Leave a comment

Building Up the Kingdom

Posted on December 4, 2018 by Mark Shields

“…let us know His secret purpose. This was what God wanted, and He planned to do it through Christ. His goal was to carry out His plan, when the right time came, that all things in heaven and on earth would be joined together in Christ as the head. – Ephesians 1:9-11

In the post “Seeing the Purpose Clearly”, highlighted was Paul’s discussion on spiritual gifts. Any leader for the cause of Christ should strive to create passion, enthusiasm, and purpose by mixing the mysteries of the Spirit with knowledge for the mind. Any leader should pray, receive directions, and desire to present it to others for the purpose of building up the kingdom.

Communication is the key. When you pray, pour out your feelings to God and listen for instructions. When you sing, know the words you sing like the song Me Without You by TobyMac points out.

Don’t build your own kingdom only to watch it fade away. Instead, build up the kingdom of God. Don’t change your core beliefs like the shifting wind to fit what is popular. Instead, stick to the principles of God because they last forever.

Index of devotionals

Posted in Devotionals, Purpose | Tagged Devotional, Encouragement, enthusiasm, Inspiration, Leadership, Music, Passion, Praise, Purpose | Leave a comment

Seeing the Purpose Clearly

Posted on December 3, 2018 by Mark Shields

In 1 Corinthians 14:1-19, Paul discusses the gifts of tongues and prophecy. He encourages the Corinthians to desire the gift of prophecy over tongues because prophecy speaks to people in a way they can understand and is useful for their strengthening, encouragement, and comfort (v. 3).

Paul substantiates his statements to the Corinthians by being an example. One who has the gift of prophecy useful for building up churches, bringing knowledge, and instruction to the people about how best to live!

This day with God, be a leader that gets people fired up but under control. Create passion, enthusiasm, and purpose by mixing the mysteries of the Spirit with knowledge for the mind. Pray, receive directions, and desire to present it to others for the purpose of building up the house of the Lord. The photo below was taken where my daughter goes to college. At Abilene Christian University, the purpose is to educate leaders who believe God calls us to love with all our hearts, lead with all our minds, and serve with all our strength.

First pray, receive directions, and desire to present it to others for the purpose of support and inspiration. Listen and interpret what God instructs and share with others using words that they understand.

This day with You God, we believe the day will be amazing because of who You are and who we are. We have knowledge of Your plan for us. You became flesh and came to earth with a purpose. The purpose was to give wisdom and truth for all. The purpose was to set free those who accept Your Son as Savior. Amen.

Posted in Bible Study, Purpose | Tagged Bible Study, Encouragement, enthusiasm, Inspiration, Passion, Prayer, Purpose | Leave a comment

God’s Love for You

Posted on November 30, 2018 by Mark Shields

What can change your thinking and in turn your attitude and finally your behavior is God’s love for you. This love is an affirmation and you can internalize this love to give self-confidence, determination, and help when faced with difficulties. God’s love inspires us to hope by praying daily, asking Him to help plan step by step, and the initiative to take action.

Step Ahead