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

Spurred On to Finish Strong Even when Wronged

Posted on April 6, 2016 by Mark Shields

Reading in Exodus 5, Moses and his brother Aaron went to Pharaoh to ask that he let the Hebrew people go so they could hold a three-day festival in the wilderness to offer sacrifices to the Lord. Pharaoh showed very little respect to God and was irritated that this three-day festival would take them away from their work. He said they were just lazy and just wanted time off from their work.

Pharaoh then ordered new demands on the Hebrew people; telling his slave drivers to no longer supply them with straw for making bricks (v. 7). This required the Hebrew slaves to gather their own straw plus keep up with the same quota of bricks to produce. The people took it out on Moses and Aaron, saying they were the reason for their increased forced labor.

Moses went to God and said, “Why, Lord, why have you brought trouble on this people? Is this why you sent me (v. 22)? As in today’s passage concerning Moses, life for each of us can be frustrating in present times. Being in a career of information technology, things can go wrong at any time. You may get called in the middle of the night to take care of a problem and this can throw you off the next day because you get very little sleep.

The pressure and criticism may increase if computer problems are not fixed. What a person has to do when faced with challenges in a career is to just make it through and live for another day. Just keep after it and something will start to click. One small adjustment can correct the issue. In a computer field, there are cases when we never know exactly what caused the issue.

There are many things in life we may never completely understand. Like a light switch, we may not understand exactly how it works but at least we know it works and it is useful. This day with You Lord, we admit that life can be frustrating but we ask that You give us patience and spur us on to finish strong. Thanks for being with us giving assurance and support when pressured with problems or criticisms. Thanks for our faith in You working the plan. In Jesus name. Amen!

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Posted in Bible Study, Going Extra Mile | Tagged Career, Challenges, God, Life, Patience, Persistence | Leave a comment

Follow the Voice of Truth

Posted on April 5, 2016 by Mark Shields

We face many challenges in life. One challenge is the complexity of our world today and because of these complexities, many things can go wrong. There is so much paper work to do and so many overlapping systems that cause us to not be able to focus on what is truly important.

But don’t give up when things go wrong. Like in the post Faith for Difficult Challenges about Moses having doubts, we all have doubts but we must believe that God will provide and our job is to carry out His instructions.

This day with God, if you feel a job is over your head, express your concerns in prayer and ask for the necessary skills. Ask for good helpers. Most of all, believe that God has given you a mission that will be carried out with His help. Here is a video to inspire courage during difficult challenges: Voice of Truth – Casting Crowns.

But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. – Matthew 6:23

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Posted in Devotionals, Initiative, Music, Video | Tagged Challenges, Courage, God, Going Extra Mile, Initiative, Miracles, Mission | Leave a comment

Faith for Difficult Challenges

Posted on April 4, 2016 by Mark Shields

Moses faced doubts because he didn’t feel qualified and continued to give excuses for not wanting to do God’s work. In Exodus 4, Moses said that people would not believe He had been chosen by God to lead them. Another excuse was his lack of eloquent speaking.

God answered Moses by telling him to do miraculous signs like turn a staff into a snake, heal those with leprous skin, and turn water from the Nile into blood on the ground (v. 9). Moses was able to perform these miraculous signs with God’s help.

We all face doubts and obstacles just like Moses did but we must remember that God is with us in all things. Each act of greatness starts with one small step and we will find that we can get there to a greater magnitude than we ever thought we could.

Many times, that’s the way we are about doing many things in life. We have this apprehension about things and then after it’s done, we think, that was no big deal. The best thing to do is to ask questions, get some help, and keep plugging away. That’s what Moses did and that’s what we can do.

This day with You Lord, we may face challenges in life that seem more than what we can overcome. Right now, we express our concerns in prayer and ask for the necessary skills. We ask for good helpers. Most of all, we believe that You have given us a mission that will be carried out with Your help. Amen!

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Posted in Bible Study, Initiative | Tagged Challenges, God, Going Extra Mile, Initiative, Miracles, Mission | Leave a comment

Mini Vacation

Posted on April 2, 2016 by Mark Shields

I enjoy writing inspirational poems and this one was sparked after I recently spent an afternoon digitizing old photos for safe keeping. I believe there are benefits to taking mini vacations down memory lane because they can be used to bring peace, calm, and cheerfulness as we step ahead.

Step Ahead

Recently, I’ve been digitizing old pictures so they can be organized and safely archived. At times, this seems like taking a mini-vacation and it sparks a poem. The pictures were taken on a trip my wife and I took to Lake Tahoe in the early 1990’s.

Water so deep;
Trees that surround;
The water so blue;
As we go around.

The ripple of the waves;
Across this vast lake.
Riding in a boat;
Pictures to take.

The mountains are rugged;
Snow-capped up so high.
Perfectly clear blue water
Didn’t want to say good- bye.

But looking back on the memories;
A trip to memory lane today;
Remembering amazing places;
The beauty of Creation on display.

Brings to me a cheerfulness
For what life may bring my way.
Prepared to always step ahead
With faith for every day.

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Posted in Poems | Tagged Calm, Cheerfulness, Faith, Lake Tahoe, Lakes, Life, Memories, Optimism, Peace, Photos, Vacation | 2 Comments

Meeting Us in our Doubts

Posted on April 1, 2016 by Mark Shields

Easter Worship Service at First United Methodist Church Waco Texas

The final message of the sermon series titled “Questions Jesus Asked” was presented last Easter Sunday at the church I worship at. The message brought to us was “Why Do You Doubt”? Here is a link to the Sermon Podcast.

To see live around 9:30 each Sunday morning, just click on the button titled live on the right side. Also, you can watch past worship services at any time or place thereafter by clicking the button next to the title of each sermon.

Like Thomas who doubted, we sometimes have doubts but Jesus meets us in our doubt. He gives us what we need including assurance, purpose, and the help we need to believe. The risen Christ changes everything because His forever presence through the Holy Spirit continually recreates us so we are prepared for each challenge we face.