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

Celebrating Progress

Posted on February 28, 2019 by Mark Shields

Commit your way to the Lord;
trust in Him and He will do this:
He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn,
Your vindication like the noonday sun. – Psalm 37:5-6

As pointed out in the post “True Reward”, God blesses those whose ways are upright. By following His way, you can sincerely believe that each obstacle will be overcome and enthusiastically act upon each task until completion; celebrating progress throughout each day by praising Him.

Some days may not go perfect but you can make a comeback after a bad day and keep at it, the reward is always much more so keep your eye on the reward and suddenly the breaks start going your way.

Let go of the past because the choices made in the past are short term. The birth of Christ changed everything because the choice to follow His way is long term. If you’ve accepted Christ, you’ve made a choice that provides a reward in heaven that is beyond what you could ever imagine.

Take a few minutes to celebrate your progress. Listen to the song I Can Only Imagine by MercyMe to help you either stay on track or get on track for a wonderful day. As you listen to the song, make a mental list of what your future reward will be like.

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Posted in Devotionals, Rewards | Tagged Celebration, Devotional, Future, Music, Peace, Praise, Progress, Prosperity, Reward, Salvation | 2 Comments

True Reward

Posted on February 27, 2019 by Mark Shields

David was up in age when writing Psalms 37 and his experiences in life qualified him to give us an informed comparison between the righteous life and the wicked life.

The righteous obtain the true reward while the wicked may enjoy fleeting success but ultimately wither and die. The righteous are rewarded with peace and prosperity while the wicked endure heartaches and destruction.

God delivers the righteous because He loves the just and faithful. He blesses those whose ways are upright because they follow Him. Salvation is for the righteous because they take refuge in Him. They trust and obey and realize that His way is the best way.

Those who accept His way have a bright future and that thought affects how they live out each day. God is their stronghold as they enjoy great peace. They enjoy plenty even during tough times and their steps are on firm ground. Their children prosper and their reward is long term.

Photo Credit : specialgathering.wordpress.com

This day with You Lord, we confess that not all of our choices in the past were good ones but those choices were short term. Our choice to follow Your way is long term. Help us to keep our eye on the true reward. The life of Christ changed everything for us because the reward is obtainable. Today we can celebrate because of this Good News and keep looking toward a future that is beyond what we could ever imagine. Amen.

Posted in Bible Study, Rewards | Tagged Bible Study, Celebration, Peace, Prayer, Prosperity, Reward, Salvation | Leave a comment

Refuge in the Shadow of His Wings

Posted on February 26, 2019 by Mark Shields

For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. – 1 Peter 1:18-19

The Bible gives us great advice and as written about in the post “Wicked Verses Righteous”, victory is assured through Jesus Christ. The wicked do not believe so they do whatever pleases them. They will lie and devise wicked schemes to obtain what they desire but this path leads to ultimate destruction.

On the other hand, the Lord is merciful, faithful, righteous, and loving. His unlimited resources satisfies the soul with rivers of pleasure. Just as pointed out in the song Savior’s Shadow by Blake Shelton, there is refuge in the shadow of His wings and we are who we are supposed to be.

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Posted in Devotionals | Tagged Bible Study, Devotional, Encouragement, Faith, Hope, Love, Praise, Wisdom | Leave a comment

Wicked Verses Righteous

Posted on February 25, 2019 by Mark Shields

The wicked are described in Psalms 36 as being arrogant while planning out their sinful course without fear of God. They only care about themselves, are deceitful in order to get their own way, and their way leads to destruction with no hope of repair.

On the other hand, God offers love, faithfulness, protection, and abundance. Our hope should be in the qualities of God’s righteousness; the greatest being His love of us. Let us be grateful because with faith we will benefit from the assistance of spiritual wisdom and advice.

There may be times along the journey when confidence is lacking but it can be found again if we go to God in prayer and ask for help. Let us overcome pride, disobedience, distractions, and carelessness so we can go to the ONE who has the answers. Then we are on a different path of studying God’s word, and praying consistently. We gain confidence because of acceptance of God’s love in Christ Jesus.

This day with You Lord, we are never 100% prepared for anything but memorized Scripture, songs, encouragement from others will help. Most of all, our faith that You will be with us give us confidence in the challenges ahead. Amen.

Posted in Bible Study | Tagged Bible Study, Encouragement, Faith, Hope, Love, Prayer, Wisdom | Leave a comment

Reference

Posted on February 22, 2019 by Mark Shields

I once heard a story of a swimmer that set out to swim from Catalina Island to California’s mainland. It was a foggy morning with vision only about fifty feet and the fog didn’t allow the swimmer to see the shore line. They gave up half a mile away. Later, the swimmer was asked why they gave up just half mile from the goal and the answer was that they would’ve finished had they been able to see the shore. They gave up because they couldn’t see the reference point to where they were going. As Christians, we have the Bible as our game plan and it tells us that heaven is where we are going and Christ is our reference point.

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