JOHN SHIRK – Today’s Person of Integrity from the Bible is Miriam.

She was the older sister of Moses. After the Israelites went safely on dry ground through the Red Sea, worship music followed. Miriam was instrumental in the celebration.

Exodus 15:20 records that she took a tambourine in her hand, and all the women followed her with tambourines and dancing.

She sang to them, “Sing to the LORD, for he is highly exalted. Both horse and driver he has hurled into the sea.”

The faithfulness of Miriam to worship God with music inspires us to use music as an instrument of praise and to live a life of Integrity.

John Shirk

john@wjtl.com

JOHN SHIRK – Today’s Person of Integrity from the Bible is Gaius.

He was one of the few people that the Apostle Paul personally baptized. After he was converted to Christ, it appears that he excelled in the area of hospitality.

In Romans 16:23, Paul wrote to the church in Rome, “Gaius, whose hospitality I and the whole church here enjoy, sends you his greetings.”

Gaius not only made room for Paul to stay at his house, he served in such a way that Paul thoroughly enjoyed being there.

The faithfulness of Gaius to show hospitality to the early church inspires us to offer hospitality with a cheerful attitude and to live a life of integrity.

John Shirk

john@wjtl.com

JOHN SHIRK – Today’s Eye on Integrity is based on First Peter 3:8.

“Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble.”

These are all qualities that build unity in the church and strengthen a community.

Sympathy is one of those qualities that expresses sorrow in the presence of someone else’s tears and pain. Romans 12:15 instructs us to “mourn with those who mourn.” With a sympathetic heart, we have the ability to enter into someone else’s world of grief and offer the gift of friendship and comfort in the midst of it all. We tell the grieving person that they are not alone in their sadness.

Jesus has not left us alone. He is the ultimate example of someone who understands. He has endured the pain of the cross. One of the ways He enables us to become sympathetic is by taking us through times of distress. Then, when others go through similar experiences, we are sensitive to their needs.

Walking with a sympathetic heart is a virtue to embrace for our lives in the Year of Integrity.

John Shirk

john@wjtl.com

JOHN SHIRK – Today’s Eye On Integrity is based on Ephesians 4:3.

Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.

This whole chapter of the Bible gives us insight on how to contribute to the unity of the Spirit.

One of the key factors that builds unity is character formation. The character quality of honesty contributes to telling the truth. The character quality of humility contributes to serving others, and the character qualities of love and respect contribute to building up others with our words.

Another key factor is serving in our area of giftedness. Ephesians 4:11 says that Christ himself gave some to be apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up in the unity of the faith. God works through godly character and acts of service to build His church in healthy ways.

Walking in the unity of the Spirit is a virtue to embrace for our lives in the Year of Integrity.

John Shirk

john@wjtl.com

JOHN SHIRK – Today’s Persons of Integrity from the Bible is the early church.

Acts 2:42 to 47 describes the patterns of the early church. Here is an abbreviated description: “they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer….They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.”

Here was a community of believers who really loved God and enjoyed being together. They were teachable, sincere, and generous toward those with financial needs. They were committed to prayer and intentional worship. Their witness for Jesus was bearing fruit. This description of the early church shows how we can contribute to a healthier church by the way we live our lives.

The faithfulness of the early church to meet regularly for times of worship inspires us to be connected to a local church and to live a life of integrity.

John Shirk

john@wjtl.com

JOHN SHIRK – Today’s Eye on Integrity is based on Matthew 7:3.

Jesus was confronting double standards when He said, “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye’, when all the time there is a plank in your own eye?’”

Jesus called for an end to this hypocrisy by saying, “First take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”

The way of self-righteousness puts down other people for their faults while giving oneself a free pass for bigger faults. The way of grace seeks to build up others in the faith and to confront barriers of sin (starting with ourselves) in a spirit of humility and honesty.

Walking with humility and grace are virtues to embrace for our lives in the Year of Integrity.

John Shirk

john@wjtl.com

JOHN SHIRK – Today’s Person of Integrity from the Bible is Elisha.

The king of Aram had sent his horses and chariots to Dothan to surround the city. He did this to find Elisha and capture him.

When they moved into position, the servant of Elisha got up the next day and asked Elisha, “What shall we do?”

The prophet answered, “Don’t be afraid. Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” Then Elisha prayed, “Open his eyes, LORD,, so that he may see.” Then the LORD opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.

Sometimes, it may seem like we are surrounded by trouble. We feel the threats of evil on our soul, and it overwhelms us. But as Elisha saw, there is another reality that brings us hope. We are not alone in our battles. If we are in Christ, God is with us, and He is greater than our strongest foes.

The faithfulness of Elisha to see the bigger picture of the conflict inspires us to face our battles with God in the picture and to live a life of Integrity.

John Shirk

john@wjtl.com

JOHN SHIRK – Today’s Person of Integrity from the Bible is a centurion with faith.

He encountered Jesus in Luke chapter 7. His highly valued servant was sick and dying, and so he sent messengers to Jesus to ask Him to come and heal his servant.

His message to Jesus was so filled with faith that the Bible says that Jesus was amazed at him. What did he say that was so astonishing?

He said, “Say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go’ and he goes.”

This man understood that just as his soldiers moved at his word, so sickness had to move at the command of Jesus. So, if Jesus would just say the word, then the centurion was confident that his servant would be healed. Jesus said about this man, “I have not found such great faith even in Israel.” The servant was then healed of his sickness.

The faithfulness of the Centurion to trust in the words of Jesus inspires us to believe the word of God and to live a life of integrity.

John Shirk

john@wjtl.com

JOHN SHIRK – Today’s Eye on Integrity is based on Ephesians 4:29.

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.”

In the transfer of materials, filters are meant to screen out impurities and let liquid pass through. Similarly, in the transfer of our thoughts into words, it is helpful to use the right filter. This is the filter that will help us screen out the bad words and let the good words pour into people’s lives in an edifying way.

Ephesians 4:15 tells us to speak the truth in love. That’s the filter. It applies to the words we speak, and also the words we communicate in social media.

Talking with edifying words is a virtue to embrace for our lives in the Year of Integrity.

John Shirk

john@wjtl.com

JOHN SHIRK – Today’s Eye on Integrity is based on Job 23:10.

In his grief of losing wealth, health, and his children, Job made this statement of faith:

“He knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold.”

Job recognized that God was taking him through the fire of adversity. Yet, he saw hope that he would come out of this season of mourning with a refined faith. Trials may tempt us to give up in discouragement or to grow bitter in spirit. But trials also have the potential to build our character and strengthen our faith in God if we trust Him through the storm.

Walking in hope through the trials of life is a virtue to embrace for our lives in the Year of Integrity.

John Shirk

john@wjtl.com