JOHN SHIRK – Today’s Light Reflection is from Second Corinthians 12:7 to 9.

The Apostle Paul had a revelation about the value of suffering. He shared his personal experience, which many people identify with today.

“In order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.”

Paul recognized that his physical weaknesses and hardships were making his faith strong. Satan may have given him the thorn in the flesh, but God was using it in Paul’s life to make him humble and to strengthen his faith.

This Light Reflection inspires us to rely on the power of God’s grace to be our source of strength in the Year to Shine.

John Shirk

john@wjtl.com

JOHN SHIRK – In the Year to Shine, today’s Vital Step to a Radiant Faith is Looking to the example of Jesus.

Family members and friends may motivate us by their good example, or let us down by moral failures. The truth is that all humans are fallible, except for one man who lived 2,000 years ago. His name is Jesus. His example is reliable for directing our lives in the ways of God.

Philippians 2:5 says, “In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: who being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death-even death on a cross!”

The example of Jesus reveals the pathway to honoring God with thriving relationships. That pathway is humility, service, and sacrifice.

Looking to the example of Jesus is a vital step to a radiant faith that makes a difference in our world.

John Shirk

john@wjtl.com

JOHN SHIRK – Today’s Light Reflection is from James 1, verses 2 to 4.

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work, so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”

Trials come in different ways and affect people in different ways. Not everyone grows more mature and wiser through their trials. Some become bitter and cynical about life.

Staying focused on God helps us to see the bigger picture of our trials. Yes, it may hurt right now, but God has our lives in His hands and is able to accomplish something good through our painful circumstances. This is not the time to give up. This is the time to press forward with God. He is at work, to refine our character. The trials we face may not be in our plans, but they can be used for God’s purposes, to purify our faith and make us a voice of hope in this generation.

This Light Reflection inspires us to let perseverance finish its work when our faith is tested in the Year to Shine.

John Shirk

john@wjtl.com

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2LU3V79e6tx3NxC36aJq2C?si=e10fef7dd77d4189

JOHN SHIRK – Today’s Light Reflection is from First Peter 1:6 and 7.

“In all this you greatly rejoice, though for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith-of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire-may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.”

Through the journey of our lives, there will be trials that test our faith. They might come unexpectedly. While we may not fully understand why we experience hardship, we can trust a loving God to be with us through it all.

One of the ways that God can work through our trials is to refine our faith so that it is proved genuine, not just to ourselves but others who have witnessed our journey. Sometimes, God also works through our trials to define our mission. We are moved by compassion to help those who have gone through similar experiences.

This Light Reflection inspires us to stay faithful to God through the trials of life in the Year to Shine.

John Shirk

john@wjtl.com

JOHN SHIRK – In the Year to Shine, today’s Vital Step to a Radiant Faith is Prayer.

A conversation with God on a daily basis is good for our soul and builds life’s most important relationship.

James 5:16 tells us that the prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. Martin Luther once said, “I have so much to do today that I should spend the first three hours in prayer.”

Prayer is a powerful way to seek after God’s own heart and to know Him better.  We can pour out our anxious thoughts to God at His throne of grace. He loves us and listens to the cares of our heart.

When the disciples asked Jesus to teach them how to pray, this is what He said in Luke 11:2 to 4:

“Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation.”

Prayer is a Vital Step to a Radiant Faith that makes a difference in our world.

John Shirk

john@wjtl.com

JOHN SHIRK – Today’s Light Reflection is from Jeremiah 10:12 and 13.

“God made the earth by his power; he founded the world by his wisdom and stretched out the heavens by his understanding. When he thunders, the waters in the heavens roar; he makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth. He sends lightning with the rain and brings out the wind from his storehouses.”

Lightning and wind get our attention to seek shelter from the storm. In a similar way, God works through the storms of our lives to get our attention. Storms take us out of our comfort zone-a health challenge, relationship conflict, or an unexpected job loss. They bring turbulence and shake up our world.

David was driven in his storms to find shelter in the Lord’s presence. He said in Psalm 61:4, “I long to dwell in your tent forever and take refuge in the shelter of your wings.”

God is able to work through the storms of life to draw us into a closer relationship with Him.

This Light Reflection inspires us to find our shelter in God’s grace through the storms of life in the Year to Shine.

John Shirk

john@wjtl.com

JOHN SHIRK – In the Year to Shine, today’s Vital Step to a Radiant Faith is to commit our ways to God.

This is a step of surrendering to God’s plan for our lives, inviting Him to guide us, and trusting Him to provide for us as we do His will.

This begins with a relationship with God where we learn to understand what moves His heart and align our lives to what He loves.

Psalm 37:4 says, “Delight yourself in 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.”

We can live with the confidence of Philippians 1:5 that “He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”

Committing our ways to God 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 to Shine, today’s Vital Step to a Radiant Faith is to connect with people who love God.

Christian Headlines dot com recently reported on a statement by the U.S. Surgeon General noting loneliness as a public health threat.

Loneliness can increase the risk of physical ailments along with depression and anxiety.

In the book of Genesis, God said “it is not good for the man to be alone.” We were made to live in relationships. Connecting with people who love God opens the door for fellowship, encouragement, and a healthy support system.

Hebrews 10:24 and 25 says, “Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another.”

Connecting with people who love God is a Vital Step to a Radiant Faith that makes a difference in our world.

John Shirk

john@wjtl.com

JOHN SHIRK – Today’s Light Reflection is from Proverbs 4:18.

“The path of the righteous is like the morning sun, shining ever brighter till the full light of day.”

For the person who follows Jesus, each step takes us to brighter places. Our witness for Jesus becomes more radiant as we reflect His character in our way of life, the words we say, and the attitudes of our heart.

One of the reasons that we are here is to make a difference on this earth for the Kingdom of God. He encourages us to look around and see the needs of the people around us with eyes of compassion. As we look to Christ and know Him better, God prepares us for a mission to share His love with those who are lost and hurting. We can seize the opportunities that God gives us by seeking His plan for our lives, looking for open doors that He provides, and walking through them with an obedient heart.

This Light Reflection inspires us to follow the path where God leads us in the Year to Shine.

John Shirk

john@wjtl.com