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

This Week’s Devotional

Posted on November 27, 2009 by Mark Shields

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. Did everyone have enough to eat? Watch any football? The person that led our Sunday school last week, Johnny Mankin said that if we could have 1/10^th the attention and enthusiasm about spiritual things as we see at a football game, our nation and world would be turned upside down.

As I continued my journey into John 6 this week, the people around Jesus began to have that enthusiasm that we see at football games today. Jesus cared for people and was concerned about their hunger so that’s when He took five loaves of bread and two small fish to feed 5,000 people. Other events like Jesus walking on water had crowds starting to believe He was the Savior.

Jesus began to explain that satisfaction, happiness, and abundant living are within our reach. He explained that He is the bread of life that nourishes our souls. As a society, we turn to various things to fill that void. Sometimes it’s filled with things like ambition and material things. Sometimes society turns to the government to help even when they seem to mess up everything they touch. I received an e-mail from someone a while back with the following newspaper headline.

When you really think about many of the problems in society today, the solutions are very simple. We all know that fish need water. We all know that people need Jesus. The hard part is to get everyone to accept and go by this playbook that God has given us called the Bible.

For all the problems we face in life, God can enable us and satisfy our needs. I once heard someone say that as they entered middle aged, their age started to show around their middle. It’s true, our physical bodies become harder and harder to maintain with age but with Jesus, the Spiritual body remains connected to the nutritious vine that provides healthiness forever. All we have to do is say “Here I am Lord” and He will feed us.

· Take a look at photo of the week

· Send a comment or email any thoughts or prayers to lifetransgroup@live.com

· To receive a weekly email with thoughts from a sermon or if you have thoughts from a sermon, Sunday school lesson, or other thoughts, send an email to the same address

Thanks for letting me share about my journey this past week.

Mark

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This Week’s Devotional

Posted on November 21, 2009 by Mark Shields

My journey through the Bible this week took me into John 5 and the incident where the man at the pool of Bethesda was healed. This man had been crippled for thirty-eight years but was finally cured when he did what Jesus told him to do. Like the man, we all have things in our life that hold us back; where things are not quiet right. The lesson for me is that we should keep looking for solutions, keep being patient, and keep working to make things better. If we can hang on to that mindset, a miracle may happen just like it did when Jesus told the man to get up and walk and he did.

In the middle part of John 5, the Jews didn’t think it was right for Jesus to heal people on Sundays. They were constantly looking for ways to bring him down. We all face times when we feel others are trying to bring us down. It’s a battle at times but the good thing is we have a play book and a game plan. The Bible is useful much like looking at video of our competition to help us understand their weaknesses and execute God’s plan.

A win on an athletic field creates wonderful memories; especially for those that work so hard to get it but the true win in life is to develop a heart that says “yes” to God’s grace. I came across a video this past week that I’ve watched several times this past week. Here’s the link: Your Grace is Enough by Matt Maher. Like the song says, God’s grace is enough and we can all celebrate a stress-free future by believing in the one who worked with a passion and purpose so we can finish with a victory.

Take a look at photo of the week
Send a comment or email any thoughts or prayers to lifetransgroup@live.com
To receive a weekly email with thoughts from a sermon or if you have thoughts from a sermon, Sunday school lesson, or other thoughts, send an email to the same address

Thanks for letting me share about my journey this past week.

Mark

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This Week’s Devotional

Posted on November 13, 2009 by Mark Shields

My journey through the Bible this week took me to the first few chapters of the gospel of John. These first few chapters show us how the foundation was laid. John the Baptist was instrumental in helping to imprint a picture in the people’s mind as to this new way that would improve the quality of their lives. He laid the groundwork for the teachings of Christ who communicated the inclusiveness of the Law of Moses with this new way that would be much more powerful.

The risen Christ would become the positive in a sometimes negative world that overpowered an entire army of negatives. We get a glimpse of how the Spirit works in us to be a creative force and accomplish the purpose God has for us.

One reason I think sports is so popular for a lot of people today is because the goals are defined and it’s all about who can reach that goal. One football player that knew how to reach first downs and goal lines was Barry Sanders. I want you to watch a video of some of his runs by clicking this link: Barry Sanders "The NFL Legend" highlights.

Barry Sanders was a great football player with great vision for where to run the ball as a running back. He was asked one time how he sees what he sees and Barry said everyone can see what I see; the difference is I’m able to get there.

My friends, we all can see where we need to go in life; the difference is that because of Jesus we are now able to get there. With the Spirit of God we can run like the wind with purpose and be allusive to those that want to bring us down. In your prayers this week, remember the freedom you have in Christ Jesus and that he’s cleared a path to victory.

Take a look at photo of the week
Send a comment or email any thoughts or prayers to lifetransgroup@live.com
To receive a weekly email with thoughts from a sermon or if you have thoughts from a sermon, Sunday school lesson, or other thoughts, send an email to the same address

Thanks for letting me share about my journey this past week.

Mark

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This Week’s Devotional

Posted on November 7, 2009 by Mark Shields

My journey through the Bible this week took me to the end of the book of 1 Kings. Elijah was afraid and ran for his life into the desert. He was mentally and physically exhausted and was ready to die but an angel touched him, gave him encouragement, and gave him food. Then God told him a plan and how friends could help.

Everyone can reach a point of exhaustion both mentally and physically. That’s when we must continue to believe that God is present. There is a song that is a good one when it comes to being lifted up and encouraged. Click the Link: In Your Presence – Jeremy Camp. We can lift up our voice to God; let His angels and our friends touch us with refreshing encouragement.

I’ve put a spreadsheet of my study of 1 Kings on the shared drive within the study guides folder. The name of the file is Multi-Media Bible Study Guide of 1 Kings. Next week, we’ll move on to the book of John.

Take a look at photo of the week.
Send a comment or email any thoughts or prayers to lifetransgroup@live.com
To receive a weekly email with thoughts from a sermon or if you have thoughts from a sermon, Sunday school lesson, or other thoughts, send an email to the same address

Thanks for letting me share some thoughts about my journey this past week.

Mark

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This Week’s Devotional

Posted on October 30, 2009 by Mark Shields

In this week’s journey through the book of 1 Kings, I began to see a common theme as I observed the kings of Israel and their lives. The kings with integrity, of principle, and character, who took stands on tough issues, were the ones that set in place a positive environment that benefited the people under them. The kings without these leadership qualities brought hardships to their people.

Unfortunately there was a string of bad kings during this time. Life was hard on the people as things were not working out very well and God was definitely not on their side as He brought on a drought which led to famine in the area. The people needed someone to take a stand and lead them in the right direction.

Elijah became that person. Reading in 1 Kings 17 and 18 reminded me of the song called “Healing Rain”. Take a look at the video: Healing Rain – Michael W. Smith. Elijah took steps to listen to God and start spreading positive faith which brought a healing rain to the area. Elijah didn’t hide from those against him. He took risk, overcame obstacles, and let nothing stop him.

Take a look at photo of the week
Send a comment or email any thoughts or prayers to lifetransgroup@live.com
To receive a weekly email with thoughts from a sermon or if you have thoughts from a sermon, Sunday school lesson, or other thoughts, send an email to the same address
If you are a member of Facebook, add me as a friend

Thanks for letting me share some thoughts about my journey this past week.

Mark