JOHN SHIRK – Today’s Key Element for Thriving Relationships is Sharing in the joy of others.

There are moments of celebration that our loved ones and family members experience-graduations, births, baptisms, and promotions. These are occasions that give us opportunity to offer congratulations and to share our heart-felt happiness with them.

This happened in Luke 1:58 when Elizabeth gave birth to a son when she was advanced in years. That son was John the Baptist. Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown her great mercy, and they shared her joy.

If there is one thing happier than a happy occasion, it is the opportunity to share that joy with our loved ones.

Sharing in the joy of others is a key element for thriving relationships that honor God.

John Shirk

john@wjtl.com

JOHN SHIRK – Today’s Faith-Building Verse is First Corinthians 10:13.

No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.

God is not our tempter. Temptation might come from our own evil desires, or the crafty voice of the devil. How can we overcome? The best way is to be close to God. He is our solution. In a relationship with Him, He is able to give us the desire to do what is right.

James 4:7 says, “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and He will come near to you.”

This Faith-Building Verse inspires us to endure temptation with the help of God’s grace in the Year of Relationship.

John Shirk

john@wjtl.com

JOHN SHIRK – Today’s Key Element for Thriving Relationships is Second Chances.

Sometimes, our disappointments with people who let us down in the past can keep us from giving them second chances in the future.

In Acts chapter 15, Paul and Barnabas were planning to follow up on some places where they had ministered together. Barnabas wanted to take John Mark, but Paul did not think it wise to take him because he had deserted them and had not continued with them in the work.

As a result, they parted company. Barnabas took Mark with him to Cyprus, while Paul chose Silas and went in another direction to strengthen the churches. God worked through this disagreement to form two missionary teams out of one.

Mark is the author of one of the four Gospels that we read in the Bible, so the encouragement of Barnabas was apparently a big influence in John Mark’s faith.

Giving people second chances is a key element for thriving relationships that honor God.

John Shirk

john@wjtl.com

JOHN SHIRK – Today’s Faith-Building Verses are Exodus 13:21 and 22.

This is how the LORD helped the Israelites as they departed Egypt for the Promised Land.

“By day the LORD went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night. Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people.”

The Israelites needed directions for going forward, and God gave them what they needed-His Presence. The pillar of cloud and pillar of fire were signs of God’s faithfulness to the Israelites. Where God guides us, He provides what we need to accomplish His purposes on the journey of faith until we reach our glorious destiny.

These Faith-Building Verses inspire us to be encouraged by God’s provision and follow where He leads us in the Year of Relationship.

John Shirk

john@wjtl.com

JOHN SHIRK – Today’s Faith-Building Verse is Mark 14:24.

Jesus said to His disciples, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many.”

There is power in the blood of Jesus to forgive our sin and cleanse us from guilt. His blood shed on the cross was the price that was paid for our redemption. Without His sacrifice, we would still be in our sins. But because of His sacrifice, there is a way for us to be set free from condemnation. Jesus died so that we might live for Him and with Him forever.

First John 1:7 says, “If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.”

This Faith-Building Verse inspires us to acknowledge the blood of Jesus as full payment for our sin in the Year of Relationship.

John Shirk

john@wjtl.com

JOHN SHIRK – Today’s Key Element for Thriving Relationships is Clay in the Hands of the Potter.

We find this element in Isaiah 64:8. “Yet you, LORD, are our Father. We are the clay; you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand.”

Construction sites can be messy. Things are torn apart and broken down for a season. But there is a designer at work with a plan to put it back together again new and improved.

That is how God works in our lives, as He develops godly character in our lives. Things can get messy in the process, but there is a Designer at work, building a masterpiece, so that we can be useful instruments in His Kingdom.

Ephesians 2:10 says, “We are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

Clay in the Hands of the Potter is a key element for Thriving Relationships that honor God.

John Shirk

john@wjtl.com

JOHN SHIRK – Today’s Key Element for Thriving Relationships is growth into spiritual maturity.

God’s will for our lives is to grow in His grace and become mature in our character. That does not mean having a holier-than-thou attitude. It means living out the words of Galatians 5:6, which says, “The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.”

When we turn to Second Peter 1:5, we see the writer urging us to grow in several character qualities including Goodness, Knowledge, Self-Control, and Godliness. That list starts with faith and ends with love. Faith is at the foundation of our relationship with Jesus. Love is the expression flowing out of our relationship with Jesus.

Verse 8 says, “If you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Growth into spiritual maturity is a key element for thriving relationships that honor God.

John Shirk

john@wjtl.com

JOHN SHIRK – Today’s Faith-Building Verse is Joshua 21:45.

“Not one of all the LORD’s good promises to Israel failed; every one was fulfilled.”

The LORD is a promise keeper. It may take time for His words to be fulfilled, but He can be trusted to deliver on them at the right time. We can look at the nation of Israel as an example of God’s faithfulness.

Throughout the Old Testament, there were prophecies about a Messianic figure who would emerge onto the world stage. God delivered on that promise through the appearance of Jesus.

Romans 5:6 says, “You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.”

This Faith-Building Verse inspires us to trust in God’s promises in the Year of Relationship.

John Shirk

john@wjtl.com

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JOHN SHIRK – Today’s Key Element for Thriving Relationships is Salt.

In Matthew 5:13, Jesus said to His disciples, “You are the salt of the earth.”

Salt is a preservative and adds flavor to food. Spiritually speaking, we serve as the salt of the earth when we are an influence for the Gospel. God works through us to preserve society from moral decay and enables us to flavor this world with the good news of Jesus Christ.

One of the ways that we can represent Jesus in this way is through gracious words. Colossians 4:6 says, “Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.”

Being the Salt of the earth is a key element for thriving relationships that honor God.

John Shirk

john@wjtl.com