JOHN SHIRK – In his speech on the day of Pentecost, Peter made a declaration that was both powerful and controversial. He said in Acts 2:32, “God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of the fact.”

Peter called the resurrection of Jesus a fact. It would have been recognized by many witnesses that Jesus died on a cross, but not every one had seen Jesus alive. If the claim of Jesus’ resurrection had been nonsense, Jesus’ adversaries could have produced the body to indicate otherwise. However, the Bible records that the tomb was empty and the body was gone. Opponents of Jesus did not present the evidence of a body.

A rumor was circulating that the disciples stole the body. But if that were the case, would they really have become martyrs for a lie? Those followers of Jesus who claimed to see Jesus after He rose from the dead were willing to die for that claim, which is a powerful testimony of their conviction.

Here is another compelling claim of the resurrection: Romans 10:9 says, “If you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’ and believe in  your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”

The compelling claim of the early church leaders is a lesson of faith worth remembering.

John Shirk

john@wjtl.com

JOHN SHIRK – First Timothy 6:18 talks about Jesus making the good confession before Pontius Pilate.

In accusing Jesus of blasphemy, the religious leaders handed Him over to Pontius Pilate. That is when Pilate questioned Him, “Are you the king of the Jews?”

This was Jesus’ testimony before Pilate: “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place.”

Pilate said, “You are a king then!”

Jesus answered, “You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this reason I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.”

Pilate responded by asking, “What is truth?” And then he walked away from Jesus. The good confession of Jesus reveals Himself as a king who is not of this world and the source of truth to set the captives free from the lies of this world.  In a world of many voices offering freedom, the most important voice to heed is Jesus Christ.

Christ’s good confession before Pilate is a lesson of faith worth remembering.

John Shirk

john@wjtl.com

JOHN SHIRK – It happened the night before Jesus was crucified. He grabbed a basin and a towel. He knelt down to serve the disciples by washing their feet.

In this simple act, Jesus taught us that service is an act of humility. Jesus literally lowered Himself to serve the disciples as He washed their feet. If Jesus was willing to do that, then none of His servants are so great that they are above performing acts of service that can help others in practical ways.

Jesus said to His disciples in John 13:14, “Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.”

The washing of the disciples’ feet is an example of service taught by Jesus and is a lesson of faith worth remembering.

John Shirk

john@wjtl.com

JOHN SHIRK – On the week leading up to Jesus’ crucifixion, He spent some time in Jerusalem. He entered the temple area and drove out all who were buying  and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house will be called a house of prayer, but you are making it a den of robbers.’”

The temple was designed to be a place of worship, but by the time Jesus stepped onto the scene, it became a place where some people took advantage of others financially. Jesus took action to cleanse the temple to rid the temple area of this practice. Jesus had zeal for God’s house to be a place of pure devotion and worship.

This scene becomes more personal when we realize what the Bible says about the body of the believer. First Corinthians 6:19 tells us that our body is a temple of the Holy Spirit. Where there is corruption within, Jesus will take action to cleanse the temple, so that our bodies will be houses of worship, purely devoted to Christ.

The cleansing of the temple is a lesson of faith worth remembering.

John Shirk

john@wjtl.com

JOHN SHIRK – As Jesus entered the holy city on a donkey, a very large crowd was there to spread cloaks on the road. Others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds were shouting, “Hosanna to the son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!”

Hosanna is a word that means “save.” This word was a cry of the Old Testament. Psalm 118:25 says, “O LORD, save us.” In Jesus, the prayer for salvation becomes a declaration of praise. “Salvation belongs to our God.” Jesus rode into Jerusalem with shouts of joy from a welcoming crowd.

In a matter of days, the cry on the streets would not be for Jesus to save them, but for Pontius Pilate to crucify Jesus. What Jesus’ opponents did not know was that by going to the cross, Jesus was fulfilling God’s purpose of saving His people from their sins. Our plea for salvation becomes an answer to prayer through Jesus Christ.

The shout of Hosanna is a lesson of faith worth remembering.

John Shirk

john@wjtl.com

JOHN SHIRK – Jonah is a fascinating book of the Bible recalling the journey of Jonah to Nineveh to preach God’s word and declare His warning of impending calamity.

In a significant development, the city responds favorably to Jonah’s message and the city is spared destruction.

Jonah became displeased. He became angry, and vented his anger to the LORD. He said, “Now, O LORD, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live.”

Sometimes, even the prophets needed an attitude adjustment. There was a time when Elijah was fearful and wanted to die. There was a time when Jeremiah was timid to become one of God’s prophets. The LORD had to remind him not to underestimate what God could do with His help. Jonah needed an attitude adjustment too.

The LORD shared His heart of concern for people with Jonah. He said, “Nineveh has more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left, and many cattle as well. Should I not be concerned about that great city?”

The LORD’s word with Jonah challenges us to share God’s concern for souls, and is a lesson of faith worth remembering.

John Shirk

john@wjtl.com

JOHN SHIRK – Nineveh’s wickedness had come up before the LORD. Their time was running out if they continued on their destructive path. But God was calling Jonah to preach His Word. When he got there, Jonah proclaimed, “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overturned.” The Ninevites believed God. They declared a fast, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth.

Not only did the people respond in brokenness; they also called urgently on God and gave up their evil ways, which included violence. When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he had compassion and did not bring upon them the destruction he had threatened. A city was spared from destruction.

Sometimes, it may appear that someone is far, far away from God.   By seeing the violent culture of the Ninevites, we might be skeptical that the people would ever acknowledge God. But what is humanly impossible is possible with God. From a human point of view, we see Nineveh on the verge of a breakdown. From God’s point of view, the city was on the verge of a spiritual breakthrough and was ripe for revival. He worked through one of his prophets to accomplish the task.

The revival of Nineveh was a display of God’s patience and compassion and is lesson of faith worth remembering.

John Shirk

john@wjtl.com

JOHN SHIRK – Jonah had run away from God’s mission to go to Nineveh and ended up in isolation after being swallowed by a great fish.

That is where he came to his senses and made a commitment to get on board with God’s mission.

With his heart more aligned with God’s purpose, Jonah 3:1 says, “Then the word of the LORD came to Jonah a second time: “Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you.”

Jonah obeyed the word of the LORD and went to Nineveh.

Because of unwise decisions in the past, we might be tempted to think that God has given up on us and will not call us to service again. However, the Bible talks about several godly people who had second opportunities after making serious blunders. Just 50 days or so after Peter denied knowing Christ, he gave a bold sermon on Pentecost that led to the salvation of 3,000 souls. Jonah’s second opportunity also yielded productive results. The Ninevites were receptive to what he had to say, and humbled themselves in the eyes of the LORD.  If you are on the sidelines of regret, remember: it’s not too late to get back to the place of service that honors God and touches lives with His grace.

Jonah’s second opportunity is a lesson of faith worth remembering.

John Shirk

john@wjtl.com

JOHN SHIRK – After Jonah ran away from God, he ran into a violent storm that threatened the safety of everyone on the ship. Jonah knew that he was the cause of the storm, and so he told the crew to throw him overboard. Reluctantly, they did.

Then, the LORD provided a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was inside the fish three days and three nights.

When a parent disciplines a child for disobedience, sometimes that discipline takes the form of a time out. The child has time to think about what happened, and how they might do things differently next time.

Jonah had a three-day time out.  While he was inside the fish, Jonah stopped resisting God’s will. His turning point is a prayer found in Jonah 2.

“When my life was ebbing away, I remembered you, LORD, and my prayer rose to you, to your holy temple. Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs. But I, with a song of thanksgiving will sacrifice to you. What I have vowed, I will make good. Salvation comes from the LORD.”

Jonah’s prayer of commitment is a lesson of faith worth remembering.

John Shirk

john@wjtl.com

JOHN SHIRK – It happened in Jonah chapter 1 of the Bible. The word of the LORD came to Jonah to go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness had come up before the LORD.

But Jonah ran away from the LORD and headed for Tarshish. The map would indicate that Tarshish was in the opposite direction of Nineveh.

Why did Jonah run from this assignment?  We learn later in the book he was more afraid of a successful mission than a failed mission. He said to God, “That is why I was so quick to flee to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger, and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity.”

Jonah did not share God’s concern for the people of Nineveh. Consequently, he went the opposite direction and found himself in a storm of his own making.  If apathy causes us to run away from God’s will, He may bring a storm to shake up our world, not to destroy us, but to wake us up to the urgency of responding to His voice.

Jonah’s reluctance shows us the importance of being filled with God’s love for people, and is a lesson of faith worth remembering.

John Shirk

john@wjtl.com