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

What Just Happened?

Posted on December 30, 2012 by Mark Shields

English: (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Today’s message at First United Methodist Church Waco is from Pastor Brandon Frenzel titled “What Just Happened”. The message can be heard at this link. Below is an outline of the message. The words in black are notes provided by the church staff and the notes in blue are notes I added as I listened to the podcast.

Christmas should last throughout the year. The Lord was born because we needed Him, He came that we might know Him more, He came that we might have life.

The manger and the cross are connected.

The Lord came near (and moved into the neighborhood.)
“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” – John 1:14 (ESV)

Why did the Lord come in the flesh?

He came because we needed Him
“All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: ‘Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call His name Immanuel’ (which means, God with us).” – Matthew 1:22-23 (ESV)

Things were not working and people were praying for something different. They wanted a King and Jesus is born but many did not recognize Jesus as the King.

He came that we might know Him more
“He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of His nature, and He upholds the universe by the word of His power. After making purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.” – Hebrews 1:3 (ESV)

Jesus came as the exact imprint of God and calls people friends. It changes the landscape when we have a friend that likes us and walks with us in life. When we think about Christmas and ask the question, what happened, we now know that something major happened. The perfect present was given and this present goes with us everywhere we go because the gift is Jesus himself.

He came that we might have life
“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” – John 10:10 (ESV)

The Lord wants us to flourish and experience Him in our day to day activities. He came not only to save us but to give us new life. Jesus doesn’t just put the pieces back together but He makes us new. Think about how organs are donated. Someone dies and then someone with a diseased organ receives a new life saving organ that lives in their body. Jesus is like that to all of us; living inside our body to give new life.

Christmas Names (samuelatgilgal.wordpress.com)
The Red Moon (meanlittleboy2.wordpress.com)

Posted in Sermon Outline | Tagged Christianity, Christmas, Cross, first united methodist, first united methodist church, Gift, God, Immanuel, Jesus, King, Life, Lord, Manger, Organ Donor, Podcast, religion, theology, United Methodist Church | 1 Comment

Remember Wins As the New Year Arrives

Posted on December 29, 2012 by Mark Shields

A little over a year ago, I did a study which I called “God’s Plan for Us” in which ten posts were written. The last post was titled “Remembering Wins”. A huge win over this past year has been this blog. I go into more detail at this link: Step Ahead. Thanks for being here to read my post and keeping me accountable to Bible study and sharing with others. Looking forward to a great New Year!

Questions for Reflection – James 3-5 (thisdaywithgod.wordpress.com)
Resolved to change? (wordsofgrace.wordpress.com)

Posted in Bible Study | Tagged Bible, Bible Study, Blogging, Christ, Christian, Christianity, God, New Year, Religion and Spirituality, Wins | Leave a comment

Questions for Reflection – James 3-5

Posted on December 28, 2012 by Mark Shields

The brother of Jesus named James writes a letter to help the Christians in Rome, Alexandria, Cyprus, and cities in Greece and Asia Minor who were going through much difficulty as they were being persecuted and even dying for their faith. One lesson I have learned from reading James 1-2 is that we all face trials but most important is not letting them get us down. Persistence like a stream of water eventually cuts into a rock and if we remain persistent at focusing on the possibilities God gives, we can cut into and go through obstacles in our way.

Pastor Steve at my church said once in a sermon that the book of James is God’s instruction manual on how to integrate our faith with our lifestyle. An idea I put into action several years ago is to attach certain Godly principles to the activities in my life and keep a record of these. For example: writing down notes when listening to sermons, doing Bible study, watching movies, reading books, and listening to music. This activity becomes spiritual exercises that build spiritual muscle.

James writes that it is wrong to be partial to certain groups. Today, we seem to have this same problem as there are barriers built up between the wealthy and those that do not have luxuries. James explains that the Gospel law of liberty gives freedom to everyone. It alleviates barriers or obstacles in the path by accepting, appreciating, and affirming everyone that lives by the “Golden Rule”.

James writes that our works are the fruit of our faith. In other words, faith was before works and because of faith the result is works. In fact, faith perfects works so the two work in tandem. Have faith in the principles found in the gospel. Work on these principles throughout life as God refines your character to be more like Christ. Try to improve by developing habits that help at applying the gospel principles to everything you do.

Over the next few weeks, I will finish the study of the book of James using the questions below to help focus on each passage. Feel free to respond with a short note or a comment about any of these questions. Also, I welcome any other thoughts or ideas, favorite inspirational videos, photos, or favorite Bible verses. Just add them to the comments or to a facebook page I’ve set up at this link: This Day With God.

James 3:1-12
Passage Lookup
Describe an untamed tongue. What are the effects of its pollution? How can you strive to be perfect in what you say?

James 3:13-18
Passage Lookup
List the characteristics of each type of wisdom. What are the results of each? Why is this passage especially applicable to teachers? How can you obtain wisdom from above (See verse 1:5-6)?

James 4:1-12
Passage Lookup
What is the basic cause of wars among Christians? Who is the only true judge? Why should we build up and compliment our neighbor instead of tearing them down?

James 4:13 – 5:6
Passage Lookup
What qualification should you attach to any plans you make? For what purposes are you using your treasures?

James 5:7-12
Passage Lookup
Why is patience called for in the circumstance of this passage? What will patience accomplish? What is the result of impatience?

James 5:13-20
Passage Lookup
What might prayer accomplish in each of these situations? What is the condition for an answer? Are there common task that might seem boring but you can approach with more enthusiasm because this time can be a time of praise or worship?

__________________________________________

It’s important to have a plan. I’m thankful that Jesus is God’s plan for us and by accepting Him as Savior; we have taken the steps necessary to make this day with Him amazing! At this link: God’s Plan for Us, is a post about accepting God’s plan or reaffirming our “YES” for Christ.

Resources and Supplementary Helps Used in Posts
Adeney, Carol. This Morning with God. Downer Grove Illinois: InterVarsity Press, 1978
First United Methodist Waco Podcast
Christ Notes

A New Year’s Resolution You Can Keep: Be Who You Say You Are (dougmatlock.wordpress.com)
Knowing His Principles to Help Apply Faith (thisdaywithgod.wordpress.com)

Posted in James | Tagged Bible, brother of jesus, Character, Christ, Christian, Christians, cities in greece, Faith, Freedom, God, Golden Rule, Good Works, human-rights, James, Jesus, Persistence, religion, Savior, Spirit, spiritual exercises, theology, Trials | 1 Comment

Knowing His Principles to Help Apply Faith

Posted on December 27, 2012 by Mark Shields

A lesson in reading James 2:14-26 is for us to understand God’s Word so we can apply our faith; to grow in faith throughout life as God refines our character and improves our habits so we can apply our faith in everything we do. I have a video and scripture below for today’s inspiration: As it is in Heaven – Matt Maher.

Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he. – Proverbs 29:18

Developing Habits that Help Us Apply our Faith (thisdaywithgod.wordpress.com)
Focused Faith (pttyann2.wordpress.com)
Hope in Hopelessness (believersbrain.com)

Posted in James | Tagged Character, Christian, Christianity, Faith, God, God’s Word, Habits, Inspiration, James, Lessons, Matt Maher, religion, Religion and Spirituality | 2 Comments

Developing Habits that Help Us Apply our Faith

Posted on December 26, 2012 by Mark Shields

At first analysis of James 2:14-26, my thoughts were on how it seemed to be contradictory
to Paul when he wrote that we are saved by faith. Now James is writing that we are saved
by works. With further research and thought, it became obvious that what James means is that our works are the fruit of our faith and therefore what Paul wrote about and what James writes about here actually complement one another. In other words, faith was before works and because of faith the result is works. In fact, faith perfects works so the two work in tandem. Like a locomotive that runs from the steam, faith builds enthusiasm which then produces action.

You can also look at it in this way. Faith is like the roots and good works are the fruit. We should aim for a balance in life so that faith and good works are working efficiently together. I heard once that when they landed on the moon, they had one minute of fuel supply left. When we read God’s word, we need to aim to have the same precise balance and daily search the scriptures to find out if there is some area in our life in which we’re not in complete obedience to God’s plan.

In golf, football, basketball, and other sports, people keep a score card or stats like how many strokes it took to get the ball in the hole or how many points they scored. I often wonder why we don’t have the same attention to the activities in our life. Why we don’t keep a spreadsheet of good values, daily feats, or random acts of kindness so we can keep track of our progress. This would give us a way to work on God’s principles throughout life as He refines us. We could try to improve by applying these principles to everything we do.

This day with God will be amazing because we can keep track of our growth in faith and pray to the ONE who already has the guidance needed to refine us as we put our faith into practice.