JOHN SHIRK – The importance of sharing with others.

This was a common practice of the early church when it formed. Acts 2 talks about the believers selling their possessions and goods, and giving to anyone as he had need. The generosity of these early believers was effective, because Acts 4:34 says that “there were no needy persons among them.”

Hebrews 13:16 encourages us to continue looking for opportunities to share our resources with others. “And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.”

While we do not have the resources to take care of everybody’s needs, we can do something for someone. Meeting the practical needs through the sharing of our resources is one significant way of expressing God’s love to someone else.

The importance of sharing with others is a lesson of faith worth remembering.

John Shirk

john@wjtl.com

JOHN SHIRK – The importance of remembering God.

In Deuteronomy 8:10, Moses highlights the importance of remembering God in the midst of our blessings.

“When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the LORD your God for the good land he has given you. Be careful that you do not forget the LORD your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you today.”

In remembering God as the source of our blessings, we become thankful for the generous hand of God to provide for our needs. We praise Him for His goodness toward us. We have reverence for His name and have regard for His commands.

The result of forgetting God in the midst of our blessings is identified in verse 14: “Then your heart will become proud and you will forget the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.”

So, today, we can think of some of the ways that God has blessed our lives and freed us by His grace and truth. In response, we can give Him credit for every good and perfect gift that He has graciously poured out on us.

The importance of remembering God is a lesson of faith worth remembering.

John Shirk

john@wjtl.com

JOHN SHIRK – Today, WJTL remembers the thread that we all have in common.

Romans 3:23 reminds us that “all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God.”

No one has lived up to God’s perfect moral standard, except for Jesus Christ. He is the only One who got it right 100% of the time.

We might consider ourselves to be good people with the choices we make and the way we live our lives. Yet, all it takes for us to be considered guilty in God’s eyes is to disobey His law one time. James 2:10 says, “Whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.”  The wages of sin is death. This is what we deserve because of our sin. Without understanding the bad news about ourselves, we will not fully appreciate the good news of what Jesus has done for us.

Our sinful condition points to the fact that we all are in the same boat. We have all sinned against God. We all need a Savior. His name is Jesus.

The common thread of our sinful condition is a lesson of faith worth remembering.

John Shirk

john@wjtl.com

JOHN SHIRK – At the burning bush, God was calling Moses to lead His people out of Egypt toward the Promised Land.

Moses needed some encouragement. He had reasons to excuse himself from this assignment.

“Who am I to go to Pharoah to make such a request?”

“What if I go back to the Israelites and they don’t believe that You sent me?”

“I am not eloquent. I am slow of speech.”

“Lord, please send someone else to do it.”

For every excuse that Moses made, God responded with assurances that He would make provisions to help Moses accomplish the task.

Where God calls us into service, He provides us with His presence and resources to help us fulfill His calling on our lives. Moses ran out of excuses, and did go back to Egypt to lead the Israelites out of Egypt.

The calling of Moses is a lesson of faith worth remembering.

John Shirk

john@wjtl.com

JOHN SHIRK- Today, WJTL remembers the wisdom of finding our security in God’s grace.

Proverbs 18:10 says, “The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.”

A tower is a symbol of strength and might.  When 9/11 happened 12 years ago, the towers collapsed in New York City. Thousands of people lost their lives in the terror attacks. Our sense of security was shaken that day.

While the towers of this world are strong, they are not totally secure. Yet, in the spiritual sense, there is a place of true and lasting security.  We can find security for our soul by placing our trust in the grace of Jesus Christ. That is where we find eternal life, and a Kingdom that cannot be shaken by the dark forces of this world.

We can run to Jesus. He is a Mighty Fortress, strong and powerful to save us from our sins and protect us from the enemy who seeks to destroy us.

Finding our security in God’s grace is a lesson of faith worth remembering.

John Shirk

john@wjtl.com

JOHN SHIRK – Today, WJTL remembers the perseverance of Job.

James 5:11 says, “As you know, we consider blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.”

The story of Job is one of human tragedy and godly triumph. Here was a man who lost practically everything. Yet, he did not give up on God even though he suffered much pain without knowing why he was going down this road of human suffering.

One of his statements gives us insight into what God can do through our moments of hardship.  Job said, “He knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold.”

Just as God took Job’s faith through the refinement process in the midst of his troubles, He can also use trials to purify us. First Peter 1:6 says, “In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith-of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire-may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.”

The perseverance of Job is a lesson of faith worth remembering.

John Shirk

john@wjtl.com

JOHN SHIRK – Today, WJTL remembers what Jesus said about rest.

Just as our bodies need a bed for sleep, so our souls need Jesus for peace and rest.

His grace is comforting to the weary soul.

Jesus said in Matthew 11:28, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”

Sometimes, burnout comes when we focus so much on the work of the Lord that we forget to slow down and be refreshed in God’s love with days of rest and worship. Jesus is the Lord of the Sabbath. He designed moments of rest so that we might cultivate life’s most important relationship and NOT become weary in doing good.

What Jesus said about rest is a lesson of faith worth remembering.

John Shirk

john@wjtl.com

As many of you know, Lisa Landis was hospitalized on June 26th with a serious bacterial infection.  Many of you have expressed interest in leaving a message for Lisa. This page would be a great way to do that. Simply leave your reply to this message and we will pass your well-wishes along to Lisa and her family.

Some listeners and organizations have also asked about organizing a Get Well card shower for Lisa.  If your church or organization or family is interested in doing that you can send your cards to WJTL, 1875 Junction Road, Manheim, PA 17545 Attn: Lisa Landis, and we will pass them along to Lisa and her family as well.

Additionally, many have been asking about ways to help Lisa during her lengthy illness and Hospital Stay. If you would like to help with Lisa’s Medical & Rehabilitation Expenses, a special fund has been set up.  Please send your gift to…

FULTON BANK: MCGOVERN AVENUE
20 MCGOVERN AVE.
LANCASTER, PA 17602

Please Indicate on your check that this is for the
LISA LANDIS BLOWERS FUND

or call or visit the FULTON BANK branch nearest you.

Thank You!

Last Thursday (Aug 1st) Stacey Gagne, Intern Sandra and I packed the Cookie Car with Cookies, Hula Hoops,Ukuleles, KCB Pencils, magnets, and wristbands and headed to Aaron’s Acres Lancaster Location. Aaron’s Acres  provides children and young adults with disabilities ages five through twenty-one, social and recreational programs to promote age-appropriate socialization and communication skills.

I sang 5 or 6 songs with the kids.  It was awesome hearing them sing “My Mom’s a Pirate” and “42 Monkeys”.  They danced and laughed and enjoyed the sound of the ukulele.  Stacey and Intern Sandra played the “Face the Cookie” game and the “Hula Hoop” Game.  “Face the Cookie” is the game where contestants try to get an oreo cookie from their forehead to their mouth without using their hands and without dropping it.  The “Hula Hoop” game was to test who could Hula Hoop the longest. Both were big hits.  The biggest hit of the day, however was the Cookie Car.  Everyone wanted to sit in it and pretend they were driving.  We shared cookies with everyone and passed out the KCB pencils, magnets and wristbands.

The highlight of the day for me was meeting David. David is a little 7 or 8 year old guy with Down Syndrome who was enjoying spinning his piece of yarn and uncooked pasta wheel necklace.  He was covered in Oreo Cookies.  I couldn’t help but notice the residue of his snack on his face and hands while I sat beside him and talked. He looked up at me with a glint in his eye, smiled and ran his cookie-crumb-filled hands through my beard.  I don’t think he ever saw a beard like mine, or at least was never close enough to touch one.  I spent the rest of the day getting cookie crumbs out of my beard, but I hope I never get the picture out of my mind of the smile on that little guys face.  It was awesome! You can see more pics here.

Fred and his little buddy David at Aaron’s Acres

As the departure time for our planned Compassion Sponsors Missions Trip to Ethiopia has approached, some of you have been asking me about the status of the trip.   We were to have left  August 3rd, which (as I write this) is tomorrow! I can’t believe August is already here.

Unfortunately, we did not have enough people registered in time to make the trip possible for this year. We are talking with Compassion about options for rescheduling a similar trip in the future.  I am still anxiously looking for the day that you are able to meet the children that have been sponsored through the WJTL community.

Though it is disappointing that we are not able to go on the dates we originally planned, I am confident that God’s timing is perfect and still prayerfully have my sights set on an opportunity to return with you many of you to see the faces of the children that you sponsored.

I’ll take this opportunity too, to remind any of you who currently sponsor a child to send them a letter today … and if you don’t yet, check out compassioninternational.com to find out how.