Dear WJTL Listener,

Move the clock back 30 years and you would see WJTL just starting out in the attic of a small converted chicken house.   Low eaves meant ducking so as not to bump your head and the single downstairs restroom was shared with another office.  The DJ quickly learned to play an extra long song when nature called.

Much has changed since then but the mission of sharing the Good News of Jesus has not.   We are so grateful to the WJTL listeners who have remained committed to supporting the station in the midst of difficult economic times.

There is so much to be thankful for this year.  We praise God for bringing our dear friend Lisa Landis back from the brink of death and returning her to us.  She is working towards resuming a full schedule as her stamina allows.

The Junction Center continues to be a blessing and has allowed the station to expand its outreach to live concert broadcasts, The Kid’s Cookie Break Festival and other special events.  We have so enjoyed meeting and fellowshipping with our listeners in person.  Reaction to the cool new Junction Center Tent has been tremendous.  The tent will be up again in May for the WJTL Summer Concert Series and much more.

WJTL’s new studio facility was named The Junction Center because it captures our desire to connect people first to God and then to each other.  This was an easy choice also because our address is 1875 Junction Road.

Listenership continues to be very strong with the readers of Lancaster Newspapers again voting WJTL number #1 in popularity.  Your support is encouraging and very much appreciated.

Each day we get testimonies from listeners.  Whether it is the single dad excited to see his teenage daughter listening to good Christian music or the young mom blessed to hear her children singing along with the songs and enjoying WJTL.  Recently a cancer patient shared her struggles about how the station has uplifted her and provided a “spiritual retreat” during her treatments.  Do you have a story to share? We love to hear them.

Finally, I am happy to report that donations for 2013 are on budget as compared with the 4% decrease we saw last year this time.  It is important to know that one third of our donations come in from mid November to December 31.  This means that we still need to raise $323,000 by the end of the year to meet our minimum budget goal for 2013 and to start 2014 on a strong note.  Your generous gift today is greatly needed and very much appreciated.

In Christ,

Tim Landis
President/CEO, WJTL – Creative Ministries

Click here now to donate online.

JOHN SHIRK – Philippians 2:14 gives us a direct word of instruction that will affect our relationships and our witness for God if we heed the message.

“Do everything without complaining or arguing.” Persistent complaining or an argumentative spirit saps the energy from relationships. The Israelites in Moses’ day were known for complaining about their plight on the way to the Promised Land, and they got nowhere fast. Complaints focus on the problem, without seeking a solution or without turning to prayer. A thankful person will recognize problems, but can also see opportunities through life’s challenges.

Paul, the writer of Philippians, knew that complaining or arguing undermined the strength of the church’s witness for Jesus. And so, he proceeds to explain why we should do everything without complaining or arguing-“So that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe, as you hold out the word of life.”

With gratitude to God, we can chase away a complaining or arguing spirit, and shine the light of the Gospel to this generation.

The credible witness of a thankful person is a lesson of faith worth remembering.

There are many organizations and ministries lending aid to those impacted by the storm in the Phillipines.  Please pray for the victims and prayerfully consider how and where you can pitch in to those in need:

AMG International :  AMG has a large ministry presence in the Philippines, including in the hard-hit Visayas Region. Our field staff there, led by national director Hector Araña, has sprung into action collecting relief supplies, working to establish communication with our partners in the affected areas, and preparing to travel into the disaster zone to assess damage and distribute supplies to the thousands of families AMG serves through our childcare ministries there.is providing relief supplies from our Disaster Relief Fund (www.amgdisasterrelief.org), and funds are urgently needed to sustain this response. You can donate now at www.amgdisasterrelief.org, over the phone at (423) 894-6060, or by mail to AMG International, 6815 Shallowford Rd., Chattanooga, TN 37421.

HarvestNet International: Gifts through this link will be entrusted to pastors with congregations in the devastated area.  Locally based HarvestNET International has over 100 partner churches and ministries in the Philippines.

World Vision:  World Vision is launching an emergency response to help affected children and families in the Philippines.

Compassion International:   Your gift makes possible interventions such as: emergency food and water, temporary shelters, personal items, cooking utensils, trauma counseling and spiritual support, replacing clothing, school supplies and household items, restoring supplies a family needs for earning income, providing continued counseling and support as needed

Samaritans Purse:  A Samaritan’s Purse disaster response team is in the Philippines to help in the aftermath of one the strongest storms ever recorded.  “Our multinational team is coordinating relief efforts on the Leyte and the neighboring island of Samar, working with local Christians to deliver relief to those most in need. Community water filters, protective tarps, blankets, hygiene kits, and emergency family food packets are being rushed to affected areas.”

SEND International:  SEND has set up a Typhoon relief option that will allow people to give to Filipino churches who will aid in disaster relief

MCC:  Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) is responding to Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines, providing funding for relief, supporting an initial assessment team of an MCC partner organization and working with partners to determine needs for longer-term recovery.

CCT: Center for Community Transformation:  HOPE International’s local partner, the Center for Community Transformation (CCT), works in the regions hit hardest by the typhoon, and they are currently mobilizing to provide these communities with immediate help.

JOHN SHIRK – While physical death is the result of our sin, eternal life is the promise of God for those who receive His grace through faith in Jesus Christ.

Revelation 21 pictures a new heaven and a new earth. Life’s harsh realities in our world today will not be present in God’s new world order.

Verse 3 says, “God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

No more funerals, no more brokenness, no more hospitals, no more bad news. This is the picture of God’s restoration when He makes everything new.

The restoration that God has promised for His people is a lesson of faith worth remembering.

John Shirk

john@wjtl.com

JOHN SHIRK – The redemption of Jesus as a Presidential Pardon.

Most presidents in our nation’s history have granted pardons. When this happens, a person who committed a crime is forgiven and restored to the innocence they had before they committed the crime. Their crime is not held against them.

That is the way it works with God’s forgiveness. For the person who looks to Jesus as Savior and Lord, He grants the pardon that releases them from the guilt of their sins.

Isaiah 55 explains how we can experience this life-saving pardon:

Verse 6 says, “Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the LORD, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will freely pardon.”

The redemption of Jesus as a Presidential Pardon is a lesson of faith worth remembering.

John Shirk

john@wjtl.com

JOHN SHIRK – A defense attorney represents someone facing a lawsuit or criminal prosecution.

In the courtroom of heaven, God is the judge, and Satan is the prosecuting attorney. He is our accuser. He makes a compelling case for our guilt, as he recites the list of sins that we have committed in our lifetime. But then another voice comes forward to defend us. Jesus makes the case for our innocence, not by denying we did those things, but by acknowledging the shedding of His blood to cover our sins. This is what it’s like for the person who confesses their need for Jesus to save them from their sin.

First John 2:1 says, “My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense-Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours, but also for the sins of the whole world.”

The redemption of Jesus as a defense attorney in a courtroom is a lesson of faith worth remembering.

John Shirk

john@wjtl.com

JOHN SHIRK-One of the foundational teachings of the Christian faith is the moral depravity of humanity. Apart from Christ’s influence, we are lost in sinful and selfish ways. Sin is at the heart of our problem.

Jeremiah 17:9 says “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?”

The heart is so deceptive that it is possible for us to deceive ourselves into thinking we are in a better condition than we really are.

The good news about Jesus is that He is our remedy of hope. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. We can be set free from guilt and experience forgiveness through the sacrifice of Jesus for us on the cross. What is incurable for man is possible with God.

Jesus says in Luke 5:31, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”  For the sickness of our sin, there is a cure, and his name is Jesus.

The heart of our problem and our remedy of hope is a lesson of faith worth remembering.

JOHN SHIRK – The fall of Adam and Eve.

After God created man in His own image, something terrible happened, which helps to explain why there is evil in this world to this very day. Adam and Eve ate fruit from the one forbidden tree that God commanded them to avoid.

Genesis 3:6 says, “When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.”

From this account, we can learn a lot about the forbidden fruit of our own lives, whether it’s the temptation to steal from the cookie jar or take someone else’s possessions.

Before eating the forbidden fruit, the woman saw the fruit of the tree. It was pleasing to look at. It captured the affections of her heart. Then, after eating it, she exported the fruit to her husband, who also ate it. Forbidden fruit can be like that today. Our heart is drawn to disobedience when our focus is in the wrong place. Our own moral failures can have a contagious effect on others, just as Eve persuaded Adam to eat the forbidden fruit too.

Their failure teaches us to focus our vision on the good things that God has provided for us, rather than forbidden things.

The Fall of Adam and Eve is a lesson of faith worth remembering.

JOHN SHIRK – the message of God’s creation.

In Psalm 19:1, David wrote, “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the end of the world.”

The universe is God’s billboard sign to the world, telling us that He is real, He is wise, and He is strong. This world is not the product of chance but the result of God’s choice.

Romans 1:20 says, “Since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities, his eternal power and divine nature-have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.”

Those who follow Jesus are compared to the stars in the universe. Our lives can display the glory of God by reflecting the light of Jesus through wholesome words, sincere love, humble attitudes, and pure motives.

The message of God’s creation is a lesson of faith worth remembering.

JOHN SHIRK – The importance of sharing with others.

This was a common practice of the early church when it formed. Acts 2 talks about the believers selling their possessions and goods, and giving to anyone as he had need. The generosity of these early believers was effective, because Acts 4:34 says that “there were no needy persons among them.”

Hebrews 13:16 encourages us to continue looking for opportunities to share our resources with others. “And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.”

While we do not have the resources to take care of everybody’s needs, we can do something for someone. Meeting the practical needs through the sharing of our resources is one significant way of expressing God’s love to someone else.

The importance of sharing with others is a lesson of faith worth remembering.

John Shirk

john@wjtl.com