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

No Pain – No Gain

Posted on November 9, 2018 by Mark Shields

There may be some major difficulties to overcome but with God on your side and lessons learned from history or nature, and music to inspire, you can go from pain to gain.

Step Ahead

Anything faced in life like meeting deadlines or making it through graduation requires the ability to remain optimistic during the difficult times. This photo was taken at my daughter’s high school graduation 5-20-2017.

There are pressures faced
And deadlines come about
But with good people
It all works out.

For major problems
To overcome,
There is inspiration
So raise your thumb.

They can be worked out
With God on your side,
Taking in life lessons,
And faith applied.

Be inspired from nature,
From mystery,
From inspiring music,
Or history.

For what once caused
Misery or pain
Can be turned around
To result in a gain.

Poem by Mark Shields – © 10-11-2018

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Posted in Photos, Poems | Tagged Faith, History, Inspiration, Lessons, Music, Mystery, Overcome Difficulty, Poetry | Leave a comment

Do All Things for His Glory

Posted on November 8, 2018 by Mark Shields

So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. – 1 Corinthians 10:31

The post “Unity and Liberty” points out that there is a need to unify around core principles but at the same time to balance these principles so there is freedom to attract more to the way of Christ.

There is a lot of good common sense in the gospel message. Our growing faith can never be taken away or depleted and there is a beautiful and refreshing simplicity about the gospel message that sets us free and never lets us down.

As the song O Come To The Altar by Elevation Worship points out, forgiveness was bought with the precious blood of Christ. Let us tell the world of the treasure we’ve found.

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Posted in Devotionals, Initiative, Teamwork | Tagged Devotional, Initiative, Liberty, Praise, Unity, Worship | 1 Comment

Unity and Liberty

Posted on November 7, 2018 by Mark Shields

As Paul explains in 1 Corinthians 10:14-33, the Lord’s Supper demonstrates Christian unity because many form one body. All share one loaf of bread representing the body of Christ. As the body of Christ, we should aspire for objectives that are helpful and good for everyone. Whatever we do, we should follow the example of Christ who passionately carried out daily activities for the glory of the Father.

So Paul’s major considerations in Christian liberty is that we should bring glory to Christ and the way we live should benefit others and not hurt others. There is freedom in Christ but we should not exercise our freedom at the expense of hurting our Christian brothers or sisters. We should live to be a good example to others so that they may be saved.

So Paul points out that there are reasons for restricting our liberty. Paul mentions again as he did in previous passages that it was acceptable to eat meat that had been sacrificed to idols. We cannot serve the Lord and serve idols at the same time. We’ve been given free will but that doesn’t mean that everything we do is best for us. We should seek to take actions that benefit ourselves and those around us.

In order to bring glory to God, Paul explains in today’s passage the need for unity and liberty. For this to happen, Christian friendships are so important. Below is a picture of my daughter and her college friends at Abilene Christian University. They came to Waco for the weekend back in September for the Abilene Christian University/Baylor University football game. These girls attend church and life groups together building each other up so there is greater strength, fulfillment, and life with meaning.

Friendships are very important because we have others to help us in life and bring glory to God.

Lord this day, we ask for good judgment in all we do. The understanding of Your way can be user friendly and very powerful at the same time. As others see the benefits in our lives in following Your way, may there be a ripple effect that gets bigger and bigger. Help us to freely offer thoughts and ideas that will lead others to You so the ripple effect goes on for many years and for many generations. Amen.

Posted in Bible Study, Initiative | Tagged Bible Study, Initiative, Liberty, Prayer, Unity | Leave a comment

A Path to Freedom

Posted on November 6, 2018 by Mark Shields

I am the Lord your God, who rescued you from …the place of your slavery. You must not have any other god but me. – Exodus 20:2-3

Brought out in the post “Passageway to an Awesome Future”, there were dire consequences for an unprincipled existence. Instead, we should take notice to what God is doing in present times and what He is revealing to us for the yet to come.

Just like in the day of Moses when they created many gods, the gods we create like money, sports, job, and even family are full of promises we can’t keep but the ONE true God has come through on a promise through His Son which has opened the pathway to an awesome future.

Just as God gave a path for Moses and the people through the sea to freedom, he gives a path for us to freedom. As the song Beloved by Jordan Feliz reminds, keep your eyes fixed on the light from above. Noting can separate you from His love.

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Posted in Devotionals | Tagged Devotional, Focus, Freedom, Future, Love, Praise, Recognition, Worship | Leave a comment

Passageway to an Awesome Future

Posted on November 5, 2018 by Mark Shields

As Paul explains in 1 Corinthians 10:1-14, the Jewish people were blessed by the power of God opening a passageway through the sea which allowed them to escape Egypt. With God’s direction, Moses led them toward the Promised Land but many of the people worshiped idols and indulged in revelry.

For their lack of faith, many were killed and this should warn future generations. We should consider what God has done long-ago. There were dire consequences for an unprincipled existence. Instead, we should take notice to what God is doing in present times and what He is revealing for the yet to come.

God is always faithful so we should focus our attention always on the ONE who can part the sea, provide for basic needs, and guide along the journey. Paul points out in verses 6-10 that the same temptations faced by the Jews continued to tempt the Corinthian church.

These same temptations still exist for us in the present. Fortunately, there are ways we can overcome temptations. *Listed below are five ways God will help resist temptation:

Recognize the people and situations that tempt
Run from what is wrong
Choose to do what is right
Pray for God’s help
Seek friends that can help

It is good to look back on the past for lessons learned. I remember going to London with a college group years ago and one place we visited was St. Paul’s Cathedral. Below is a photo and it struck me that we have amazing technology today but sometimes we emphasize speed rather than quality. St. Paul’s Cathedral is the place where the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana took place. Looking at this photo, you can see the detailed work that went into construction during that time. This day with God, let us focus in on the details of God’s work throughout history and how He has constructed for us all a future home with Him.

St. Paul’s Cathedral – London England

Lord, we have come a long way since the days of Moses yet many of the temptations faced by the people back then still exist for our current generation. Help us to fix our eyes on the path to freedom You have given. The promise given through Your Son which leads us all to an awesome future. Amen.