JOHN SHIRK – In the Year to Shine, today’s Vital Step to a Radiant Faith is trusting God for guidance.
God has a plan for our lives, and that plan is good. Billy Graham once said that “the will of God will not take us where the grace of God cannot sustain us”. God accomplishes His purposes through willing servants who say “yes” to His plan for their lives.
Proverbs 3:5 shows us how trust is the foundation that leads us into the path of God’s ways.
“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will direct your paths.”
Trusting God for guidance is a vital step to a radiant faith that makes a difference in our world.
John Shirk
john@wjtl.com
JOHN SHIRK – In the Year of Endurance, today’s Daily Challenge motivates us to put our confidence in God through the seasons of life.
The circumstances of life may change and bring hardship in our lives. Crops may fail. Our health may fail. The empty promises of another person may fail. Our plans may even fail. But the love of Jesus will not fail us. Neither will His promises. We can fully trust Him.
Nothing in all creation can ever separate us from God’s love that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. His love is the reason we can live with confidence and security.
Jeremiah 17:7 says, “Blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.”
Take the daily challenge to put confidence in God through the seasons of life on the journey of faith.
John Shirk
john@wjtl.com
JOHN SHIRK – In the Year of Redemption, today’s Freedom Phrase is based on Jeremiah 17, verses 7 and 8.
“Blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.”
In the various seasons of our lives, whether in times of celebration or in times of adversity, God is there, and He is able to work through the circumstances of our lives to strengthen our faith in Him and make it flourish. The key for us is to trust God through it all, and to remember His unfailing love for us. That way, our hope will not be connected to favorable circumstances, but rather to God Himself.
Through Jesus, we are set free to have a thriving faith for the glory of God.
John Shirk
john@wjtl.com
JOHN SHIRK – Today’s Moment Of Celebration reflects on the righteous causes that spring from godly desires.
These are words from Psalm 37:4 to 6. “Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him, and he will do this: He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.”
When we are fully committed to God, there is a purpose that is stirred in our heart that moves us to action. That purpose is the Gospel. God gives His followers different forms of ministry to represent Jesus to the community. One person might have the calling to confront racism, while another person might have the desire to serve at a homeless shelter. Another person might be moved to speak up and defend those who have no voice to speak up for themselves. Where the Lord plants desires in our heart, He provides a platform to shed light on the justice of our cause. God-given desires become God’s opportunities to fulfill God’s purposes through us.
The righteous causes that spring from godly desires is a reason to be glad in the Year of Celebration.
John Shirk
john@wjtl.com
