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

The motive behind hospitality is love for strangers. There was a time when your friends today were strangers. Someone needed to break the ice and reach out with some gesture of kindness. Hospitality is one effective practice of turning strangers into friends. The practice of hospitality not only builds relationships, but also meets needs.

In the days of the early church, God’s servants would travel from place to place and need a place to stay for the night. They would find it in the hospitality of believers in the Lord who opened their home to them.

Third John verse 7 says, “It was for the sake of the Name that they went out, receiving no help from the pagans. We ought therefore to show hospitality to such people so that we may work together for the truth.”

Romans 12:13 instructs us to “share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.”

Hospitality is a vital step to a radiant faith that makes a difference in our world.

John Shirk

john@wjtl.com

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/19gviIWjL4IahsNcehDeKm?si=cf53fce15ff54589

JOHN SHIRK – Today’s Light Reflection is from Psalm 148, verses 1, 3, and 5.

“Praise the LORD. Praise the LORD from the heavens; praise him in the heights above….Praise him, sun and moon, praise him, all you shining stars…Let them praise the name of the LORD, for at his command they were created.”

God’s creation is designed to reflect His glory. As we do what God created us to do, we find delight in fulfilling our purpose of magnifying Him.

Psalm 95 calls us to bow down in worship and kneel before the LORD our Maker, for he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care.

This Light Reflection inspires us to join with God’s creation to praise the LORD 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 loving our neighbor as ourselves.

Jesus calls this the second greatest commandment in the law. We are introduced to this command in Leviticus 19:18.

“Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself.”

The LORD was making this command to the Israelites in the days of Moses, and Jesus affirms the relevance of this command to our lives as well.

Our neighbor might be the person who lives next to us, works next to us, or worships next to us. Wherever we are, there are usually people nearby that we can engage with the love of God. Where that love is real and pure, we have the opportunity to build relationships based on trust, good will and respect. This kind of love is willing to look beyond our own interests to also look out for the interests of others.

Loving our Neighbor as ourselves 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 Psalm 19:1 and 2.

The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge.

Astronomers estimate that there are 100 billion stars in the Milky Way Galaxy alone. Each one was created by God and has been named by God. The stars speak of God’s attention to His creation.  The sun that shines brightly in the daytime was also created by God, and speaks of God’s faithfulness. Just as the sun rises every day, so His compassion for us is new every morning.

This Light Reflection inspires us to look up into the sky and marvel at God’s creation 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 Loving our Spouse and Family.

The family unit is God’s idea. It’s a support structure where faith, love, respect, commitment and cooperation have opportunity to thrive.

Jesus gave the blueprint for God’s design of marriage with these words in Matthew 19:5, “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh. So, they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, let no one separate.”

Many years ago, Steven Curtis Chapman wrote a song for his wife to reassure her of his commitment to their marriage. That song was “I Will Be Here.”

“I will be here when the laughter turns to crying, through the winning, losing, and trying. We’ll be together, ‘cause I will be here.”

Marriage is designed to reflect the sacred and solid relationship between Jesus and His bride, which is the church.

Loving Our Spouse and Family 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 a Christlike attitude.

An attitude is a way of thinking or feeling about someone else or something. As it applies to the Christian life, the influence of Jesus is effective for giving us a new attitude.

Ephesians 4:23 says that you were taught to be made new in the attitude of your minds and put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

When the grace of God is moving in our lives, our attitude becomes more and more aligned with Jesus Himself. His love for us was expressed in service and sacrifice. He entered our world and noticed our greatest need for forgiveness. Then, He provided a remedy.

This kind of attitude enables us to reach out with God’s love and help people in their time of need.

A Christlike Attitude 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 Acts 9:3.

As Saul neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?

Saul asked, “Who are you, Lord?”

This was the reply: “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”

Saul was on a journey to persecute Christians, but Jesus stopped him in his tracks. The light that flashed from heaven blinded his physical sight for a period of time, but Jesus opened His eyes to the truth of who He is.

He would become an instrument of grace to open the eyes of the Gentiles and turn them from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God. Saul’s change of heart is a reminder of how suddenly and significantly Jesus can turn a life in a different direction.

This Light Reflection inspires us to respond to the voice of Jesus when He calls our name in the Year to Shine.

John Shirk

john@wjtl.com

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4zcjS8EK0L4bHJpN56b9wQ?si=b2c2def384674127

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

When we are made aware that someone has gone astray, we have a choice to make. Will we do nothing about it and hope they come to their senses? Will we give up on the person? Or will we seek their restoration?

Galatians 6:1 shows us what to do. “Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted.”

This moment requires love and humility. Our own hearts are capable of compromise. The goal of reaching out to them is to restore them to a place of unhindered fellowship with God and the body of Christ. This is possible with a gentle spirit that upholds grace and truth.

Restoration is a vital step to a Radiant Faith that makes a difference in our world.

John Shirk

john@wjtl.com