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

Mission Focused

Posted on March 9, 2018 by Mark Shields

To make the impossible possible, determination is needed. Prayerfully take steps to plan out your mission. Evaluate and make the needed adjustments along the way. Sometimes you may have to ruffle some feathers to get everyone headed in the right direction.

Step Ahead

With each new step
You prayerfully chose,
Good plans are written
And confidence grows.

For plans not accomplished,
Adjustments can be made,
Attitudes changed,
And new ones weighed.

To finish a quest
You have desired,
Determination
Is always required.

Sometimes courage
Is what’s needed
To make it through
What has impeded.

Ruffle some feathers
To get teammates moving
And transform practices
That need improving.

Poem by Mark Shields – © 03-08-2018
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Posted in Poems | Tagged Courage, determination, Mission, Motivation, Plans, Poetry, Prayer | Leave a comment

Advantage for Your Day

Posted on March 8, 2018 by Mark Shields

I can do everything through Him who gives me strength. – Philippians 4:13

In the post “Advice for Life”, highlighted is that being on God’s side gives a tremendous advantage. The scripture above and other memorized scriptures can be very useful when faced with pressure moments in life.

I once heard about a field goal kicker in football that repeated over and over in his mind scriptures like the one above before kicking a field goal. This gave him poise as he got set to perform the winning kick in the last seconds of the game.

One thing about sports that is related in life is how we all compete against time. We all set priorities in the use of our time. As we plan out each day, two questions must be answered: What is it that needs to be done? What is most important?

The amazing thing to me is that efficiency is thought of highly in sports but not so much these days in government, organizations, and businesses. Each sports team competes and the coach puts players in a position where they can do the best for their team. In government and in some businesses, people seem to be put out of position. They are put in a position to fail and organizations are run in such a dysfunctional way.

We all win some and loose some but the most important thing is you give it your best. If God is with you through all of it, then you’ll end up victorious. Here’s a song to inspire us toward a winning day: Through All of It by Colton Dixon.

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Posted in Devotionals | Tagged Advice, Bible Study, Devotional, Discipline, Integrity, Joy, Life, Love, Peace, Praise, Righteousness, Scripture, Sports, victory, Wisdom | 3 Comments

Advice for Life

Posted on March 7, 2018 by Mark Shields

The Bible gives us great advice for victory in life. The most important advice is gaining righteousness and eternal life through Jesus Christ. Within the passage Proverbs 10, we are given a contrast between the righteous life and the wicked life. We find that there are tremendous advantages to the wise and righteous life.

Comparing love and hate: Love brings the benefit of peace in a society. On the other hand, hate brings dissension.

Comparing wisdom and foolishness: Wisdom brings knowledge leading to a path to success but foolishness leads to a path toward failure.

Comparing rich and poor: Being able to budget our money brings more opportunity but the lack of this quality results in many obstacles and problems along life’s journey.

Other benefits of wisdom and righteousness include the use of our time, what we say, and our discipline. Using time wisely brings the maximum benefit to our life and to the life of those around us. Our speech is a fountain of life to nourish many with the fruits of wisdom and provides favor with the Lord. Discipline brings quality and meaning to life. People watch how we live and this gives them a good example to follow.

We all face storms in life. As the storms come, the righteous will be grounded and secure (v. 25) but the wicked will be unsecure with a hopeless future (v. 28). Throughout the Bible, we have testimonies to confirm these opposite paths of life. Some of these are Cain; Abel; Isaac and Ishmael; Jacob and Esau; Joseph and his brothers; Jezebel and Elijah as well as many others.¹

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This day with You God, we pray for these qualities of wisdom and righteousness as described in today’s passage. The Bible gives us great advice and victory is assured through Jesus Christ. We are thankful for the benefits You give. For integrity that gives security and discipline that shows the way to life. For love that covers all wrongs. For righteous living that brings nourishment of the soul, fulfillment, and joy. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.

Posted in Bible Study, victory | Tagged Advice, Bible Study, Devotional, Discipline, Integrity, Joy, Life, Love, Peace, Prayer, Righteousness, Wisdom | 5 Comments

The Great Gift of Grace

Posted on March 6, 2018 by Mark Shields

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God. – Ephesians 2:8

The post “Wisdom’s Call“ highlights the difference between wisdom and folly. One way leads to much despair and the other way leads us to God’s blessings.

Many may say that God’s Word is outdated and not useful in today’s world but it’s a lie. Insight is gained from reading the Bible and God’s plan is revealed. By accepting what Jesus did for us on the Cross, we receive the greatest gift of all and we can step out in faith.

Like the song Holy Spirit – Francesca Battistelli gives attention to, by accepting Christ as Savior we also welcome the guidance of the Holy Spirit to fill every aspect of our life. We accept the great reward of God’s presence and guidance.

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Posted in Devotionals, Rewards | Tagged Bible Study, Blessings, Cross, Devotional, Faith, Grace, Habits, Holy Spirit, Knowledge, Music, Praise, Rewards, Understanding, Wisdom, Worship | 1 Comment

Wisdom’s Call

Posted on March 5, 2018 by Mark Shields

The banquet of wisdom calls everyone. From those who are currently struggling because of past choices to those who fear God and want to obey His Way.

Verse 10 of Proverbs 9 lays out a definition of wisdom and insight.

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,
And knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. – Proverbs 9:10

The banquet of folly calls all who do not want to obey and had rather go their own way offering short term gain but ultimately resulting in eternal death. Folly leads to bad habits and destruction.

The beginning of wisdom is respecting God. Insight is gained from reading the Bible and from your own experiences so note the results of wisdom. Also, use the Bible and testimony from others to learn the consequences of rejecting wisdom’s call.

Take action daily to think and act upon increasing your wisdom with the understanding that wisdom will reward you. Ask for knowledge and wisdom and you will be blessed and others will be blessed because of you.

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This day with You Lord, we pray for wisdom and knowledge. We do not accept the call of folly which can lead to things like drugs, alcohol, and despair but the call of wisdom which brings Your blessings. We accept what Jesus did for us on the Cross and we accept knowledge gained from Your Word as the stepping stones along the path to wisdom. Amen.