JOHN SHIRK – Psalm 104 is a chapter that talks about God’s creation of the world and how He provides for His creation. The writer marveled at God’s handiwork, saying, “How many are your works, O LORD! In wisdom you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures.”

He recognized our dependence on God’s favor for the blessings that sustain us. In reflecting on the wisdom of God and His many works, the writer responded with this expression of praise in verse 33.

“I will sing to the LORD all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live. May my meditation be pleasing to him, as I rejoice in the LORD.”

There are many reasons for us to praise God. His creation, formed from His wisdom, is one of those reasons. Take a look around, and express gratitude to God for the world He has made. You can also look at the mirror and thank Him for creating you uniquely and loving you completely.

Expression of praise to God is a lesson of faith worth remembering.

John Shirk

john@wjtl.com

STACEY GAGNE –  This morning in church we sang the song: Healer.  As I sang the lyrics “I believe you’re my Healer, I believe you are all I need.  I believe you’re my portion.  I believe you’re more than enough for me.  Jesus you’re all I need” my heart returned to the home where we made our final home visit on Friday.

It was the home of a little boy named Masresh who is registered to be sponsored from the Tedecha Mekane Yesus Church.  This is the church project we will be sponsoring during our upcoming 26 Hours of Compassion.   When we entered his home,  his mother was breast feeding a 2 month old baby and he was sitting on a pile of blankets on the floor… his bed.  The father in the home passed away when she was 8 months pregnant.   This baby is named Mitiku which means substitute (for her husband) and Masresh means something like compensated… because this 6 year old came into her life after she had lost 2 other babies.   The mom was wearing black as she is still in mourning.    They are extremely poor… dressed in basically rags.   Mom washes clothes and does maid services in the village to try and support her family while Masresh (6 years old) stays home and takes care of the baby.   Their rent costs 150 birr per month.    When we asked what her hopes for Masresh were, she smiles and says for him to have a job… any job so he can be self sufficient.

After being in the home for a while, we discovered that mom was open to Jesus, and had been a part of a Pentecostal church years ago.  I had the opportunity to pray for her and with her and she prayed along with me to receive Jesus as her Savior and commit her life to him.   As we were leaving the home,  we noticed that there was something that was hanging in her doorway.   When Yoseph, our guide from Compasssion,  asked her about them, we found out that they were little bags of something (which turned out to be dirt) that someone had promised her would protect her.   Yoseph assured her that with Jesus in her life she doesn’t need superstition… that He is her protector and provider.    She willingly allowed him to remove them from her doorway and he later dumped them out on the ground.  We wonder how much she had to pay for this false protection.  Her neighbors had bottles of water hanging on their door, which were related to some other type of superstition.

The heart of Compassion is to “release children from their spiritual, economic, social and physical poverty and enable them to become responsible and fulfilled Christian adults”.   It is exciting to know that when Masresh is sponsored there will be people speaking into his life, visiting his home, teaching him about how Jesus is more than enough, and displaying that love through helping meet their desperate physical needs.    My prayer is that his mom will see it illustrated that God is with them, protecting and healing her and her family.   It would be amazing to have someone from our listening area be the one who helps make a way for this to happen.

I’m thankful that we have this opportunity to speak up for children that otherwise have not had the opportunity to ask for help, themselves.  Please consider what you can do and be in prayer as we look ahead to our 26 Hours of Compassion February 20-21.    I can’t wait to find out that Masresh has been sponsored and perhaps even take you there to meet him and his family yourself!

Here is all the information on the songs I’m playing on this morning’s Praise & Worship Show!   Please let me know if you have any song questions (or suggestions!) or if you’d like to be added to the Playlist Email Group!

Kristi Leigh — WJTL DJ

Kristi@WJTL.com

STACEY GAGNE –  On our last day in Ethiopia, we finally got to visit our brand new Compassion project.  WJTL listeners have the opportunity to impact many lives through Compassion International!  This was probably the most intense level of poverty I have seen.  In the many beautiful faces, there were also hygiene issues, some severe malnourishment, clothing that is basically rags, etc…   This church and community is located in Dukem, about 30 km outside of Addis and outside the borders of the nearest small town.   There is a big problem with drug abuse, prostitution, witchcraft and other dangers in this area because of it’s location off one of the trucking routes that leads to the city.    Just our presence at their church will put a spotlight on them that will draw in the community who is currently easily swayed toward other influences.  As they see the results of Compassion impacting families locally, neighbors will take notice and come to see what is causing the change.  What an opportunity!

We received such a warm reception … greeted with flowers (which you’ll see haphazardly stuck in my hair in some pictures) and mobbed with many hugs, kisses and little hands wanting to touch us and be held.   I’m sure most of these children have never seen people with white skin, so we were very interesting and even scary to some of the little ones.   We had the chance to address the children and parents as a whole and express our love to them and the promise that sponsors from the U.S. were soon going to be investing in the lives of their children.   We spent a lot of time playing with the children, blowing bubbles, singing songs and just loving them.  The church leadership shared their vision to impact the community with the love of Jesus, to break through the lies many of them have received and have more resources to equip them to meet the great great need.   They presented us with coffee, bread and popcorn and prayed many blessings over us and over our listeners back home for caring about their community.  My heart was overwhelmed to the point of tears by the presence of the Lord and the deep deep passion these church leaders have for children and for the gospel to be spread.

A future blog will fill you in on the home visits we took that day.  I am still processing a lot of what I saw and felt.  God is good.

When I think about how great WJTL’s impact will be felt in this community, I am truly overwhelmed and excited.  The food, education, spiritual impact, love and encouragement that is going to be made available is going to go much further than you probably could even imagine.  They are already anxiously awaiting our return.  I hope many of you are able to come back with me in August.  I am anxious for you to hear more stories and take action coming up on February 20-21 during our 26 Hours of Compassion.

JOHN SHIRK – There are several ways we might be tempted to sin-Either through the external forces of the world’s value system and the influence of Satan or through the internal force of the sinful nature.

The source of Jesus’ temptation was not internal, but rather external, because He had no sinful nature. But He was tempted externally by the devil.

It happened in Luke 4. The devil tempted Jesus three times, and each time, Jesus responded with the words, It is written. He resisted the devil by using the Word of God.

That resource is available to us today, and will help us in moments of temptation. The writer of Psalm 119 said to the LORD,  “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.”

Hiding God’s Word in our heart is effective for overcoming temptation and is a lesson of faith worth remembering.

John Shirk

john@wjtl.com

January 25, 26 & 27, 2013

5) Bobby and JR Wehner in concert tonight (Friday, Jan 25) 6:30pm-8:30pm.  Hear singer-songwriter Bobby Wehner and his dad perform two generations of music: From bluegrass/country to modern folk/rock at Ten Thousand Villages Cafe in Ephrata.  More info: ephrata.tenthousandvillages.com

4)  Salem Hellers Church Movie Night, Horseshoe Rd, Lancaster tonight (January 25) at 7pm featuring “End of the Spear,” the story of the unlikely friendship forged between tribesman from the jungles of Ecuador and the son of a man he killed, Steve Saint. Admission is free and popcorn and drinks will be provided. More info: 717-656-9249

3) Fourth Friday – Mount Joy – Tonight (January 25) 5-8pm in Downtown Mount Joy.  Stroll the town, Browse shops, Special events, music, art and more. More info: mainstreetmountjoy.com

2) Frosty Full Moon Hike – tomorrow (Saturday, Jan 26)
9 -10:30pm. Bundle up for a frosty hike into the woods of Lancaster County Central Park with Naturalist Karen Waltemyer Free but registration is required. More info:717-295-2055.
1) Join WJTL and Ski Roundtop for the Cardboard Derby Sunday (Jan. 27th)  Check-in begins at 3:00 pm, judging at 4:00 pm.  Teams build crazy cardboard contraptions and you can watch them ride down the tubing runs. Free for spectators! More info: skiroundtop.com

STACEY GAGNE – Last night we sat in the presence of 2 young adults that are changing the world.    Our staff had dinner with students from Compassion’s Leadership Development program.  Bezaye Alehaligen and Sisay Aseta are already dynamic leaders in their community and are being equipped to do even more amazing things.

Love is a powerful thing.  As we listened to the testimonies of Bezaye and Sisay and heard from the LDP Specialist Amanuel; it was evident that the love and hope that children receive from their sponsors and the leaders from the churches that invest in their life completely changed them.   Thinking about the little boys and girls that I saw yesterday morning and their mothers looking to us in desperation and hope for sponsorship;  and knowing that these 2 came out of the same situations and are on their way to being Engineers and Counselors was very inspiring.

As is the case with many children here, both of these students grew up in a single parent home where much was required of them.  Bezaye is a young woman who lost her mother when she was 14.  Her father worked nights and was unable to give the children any attention.  She was required to fill the mother role for her family.  She was blessed to have grown up within a Christian home, but as she shared  “it was once a normal life but that all changed”.  She shared how Compassion came along side of her and besides helping them financially and spiritually… she was very impacted socially as she got involved with the church, gained friends she would never had a chance to have and gained hope for a bright future.  Now she is at University studying to be a counselor with the desire to sponsor her own child out of Ethiopia.  She also hopes to have a family and adopt one day.   She is highly involved in the community and her church and besides all of her studies; she is a film actress, singer, clothing designer and more.   She shared about how she would wait in suspense for the letters from her sponsor.    LDP Sponsorship is $300 a month.  Can you imagine putting someone through college, Biblical and life skills training, mentoring and volunteer programs and more for that price in the U.S?

Sisay is a young man with HUGE dreams for the future.  As he is studying to be an engineer with the goal of working in Aviation; his long term goal is to be Prime Minister of Ethiopia.  For these students, the goal of seeing their community transformed for Christ is great.  He shared both at dinner and during our sharing time that He longs to see someone in leadership that follows the Lord and leads with servant leadership.   Sisay lost his father at age 4 and said that his CDSP sponsor from childhood became like a father to him.  He would even write letters to him saying “Dear Dad” and “Love your Son”.    He shared how he spoke into his life in many ways including socially, spiritually and about education.   Sisay’s prayer request was for the rest of his family to know Jesus.  He lit up to share that he does have some aunts and cousins that have accepted Christ.   Sisay said “Compassion is an angel on my shoulder.  When I went out of line there was always someone there to bring me back in line”.  He gushed about the church leaders, project directors and social workers that taught him discipline while meeting his basic needs.

We have the opportunity to speak into the lives of children who have the potential to be world changers.  Our letters may come at a time that they need to hear the voice of God through us encouraging them to press on and reminding them that they are loved.  I hope that you will consider this opportunity to sponsor a child.  February 20 and 21 we will be giving you more information and offering you an opportunity that will change lives!

JOHN SHIRK – Adam and Eve were free to eat the fruit of any tree except from the Tree of the Knowledge of good and evil.

But Satan tried to portray God as a naysayer when he approached Eve. He said, “Did God really say, ‘you must not eat from any tree in the garden?’

Eve corrected him, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.”

Satan’s next tactic was to portray God as a rival. He said, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” With these words, he persuaded Eve to disobey God and take a bite.

Sin is the great tragedy of humanity. Paradise was lost through sin. The good news is that paradise is restored through Jesus Christ.

Romans 6:23 says, “The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Salvation through Jesus Christ overcomes the tragedy of sin and is a lesson of faith worth remembering.

John Shirk

john@wjtl.com

STACEY GAGNE –   Today was the kind of day where by the end of the day we had to remind ourselves that we did indeed see and do it all in one day.   In quick summary:  we visited a brand new  project, one of my teammates met her sponsored child, 3 people made decisions for Christ (2 moms and a teenager), took 2 home visits, had dinner and heard testimony from Leadership Development Program students and leaders and even did some shopping and packing.  With so many experiences to update you on.  I will start by just sharing some photos from the day.    Stay tuned for specifics soon!  Praise God for the work of Compassion International here in Ethiopia!