John Shirk

JOHN SHIRK – Today’s Q and A segment explores the question, “What is the purpose of accountability?”

According to Romans 14:12, “Each of us will give an account of ourselves to God.” This verse shows that ultimately we are accountable to God, and a day is coming when our lives will be evaluated in the light of His wisdom.

With the presence of temptation in our world, we are wise to seek out a trusted person who can help us keep our commitments to God. That is the purpose of accountability in the church-to help each other keep our commitments to God. Accountability is healthy in the context of a support structure, rather than an interrogation of 20 questions. It is designed to encourage each other, pray for each other, and confess sins to each other when there is something hindering our walk with Christ.

Hebrews 10:24 urges us to spur one another on toward love and good deeds. And James 5:16 tells us to confess our sins to each other and pray for each other so that we might be healed.

Accountability relationships help us to move forward in faithful devotion to Jesus in the Year of Exploration.

John Shirk

john@wjtl.com

JOHN SHIRK – In the Year of Exploration, today’s Reason to Believe is the gift of understanding.

Without God’s revelation of the Gospel, we would not be prepared to understand the mystery of His love.

After Jesus died and rose from the dead, He spent some time with the disciples. Luke 24:45 records that Jesus opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures.

Likewise, in the book of Acts, there was a woman named Lydia who met Paul the Apostle. She was receptive to the truth. And the Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message.

When it comes to hearing the Good News of Jesus Christ, it is good to be open-minded. It will give us understanding of God’s love for us and open our heart to believe in Jesus for the forgiveness of our sins.

First John 5:20 says, “We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true.”

The gift of understanding is a reason to believe in God’s good news.

John Shirk

john@wjtl.com

JOHN SHIRK – Today’s Q and A Segment explores the question, “What is fasting and what is the purpose of fasting?”

Fasting is a commitment to go without food for a period of time for spiritual purposes. Jesus fasted for 40 days in the desert. Members of the early church fasted and worshiped God before sending out Barnabas and Paul for the Lord’s work.

In the book of Joel, the LORD called for His people to return to Him with all their heart, with fasting, weeping and mourning. So, fasting is a sign of brokenness before God and a reflection of our serious commitment to God.

Fasting sometimes turns us to God for a spiritual breakthrough. Pastor David Mathis of Cities Church in Minneapolis writes, “Christian fasting turns its attention to Jesus or some great cause of his in the world….whether it’s fighting against some sin, or pleading for someone’s salvation, or for the cause of the unborn, or longing for a greater taste of Jesus.”

In Isaiah 58:6, the LORD says, “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to see the oppressed free and break every yoke?”

God can work through the fasting and prayer of His people to tear down spiritual strongholds and build up our faith in the Year of Exploration.

John Shirk

john@wjtl.com

JOHN SHIRK – In the Year of Exploration, today’s Reason to Believe is the capacity to love in extraordinary ways.

There are different kinds of love that we express. Some ways are more extraordinary than others. For example, Jesus said in Luke 6:33, “If you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that.”

But what about love for our enemies? Or what about showing compassion to someone when it’s not convenient? Or what about giving to someone when it involves personal sacrifice? Jesus knows about that kind of love and demonstrated these expressions of love when He went to the cross. He is the author of true love, and He shows us the way of love by His example and through His teachings.

First John 4:19 says “We love because he first loved us.” And Jesus said to His disciples in John 13:35, By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

The capacity to love in extraordinary ways is a reason to believe in God’s good news.

John Shirk

john@wjtl.com

JOHN SHIRK – Today’s Q and A Segment explores the question, “How can I have a healthy marriage?”

Judith Wallerstein and Sandra Blakeslee were curious about the qualities in a relationship that built stronger marriages, so they interviewed married couples in America to find out how people defined a happy marriage. Their results were reported in the book “The Good Marriage.”

Some of those qualities included the following:

There was Respect between partners.

Each person cherishes the other.

It was a place of emotional support.

There was a feeling of safety, trust, and friendship.

There was admiration of positive qualities.

There was an ability to express positive and negative emotions.

There was a strong sense of morality.

No marriage is perfect, but they can be healthy with God’s help. We can contribute to a better marriage by honoring basic relationship-building principles in the Bible, such as being slow to speak, quick to listen, and slow to becoming angry. One specific instruction for marriages in Ephesians 5 is for the husband to love their wife as himself and the wife is called to respect their husband.

In addition, forgiveness and prayer are important dynamics for building a healthy marriage in the Year of Exploration.

John Shirk

john@wjtl.com

JOHN SHIRK – In the Year of Exploration, today’s Reason to Believe is the martyrdom of Jesus’ disciples.

According to church history, most of Jesus’ Twelve disciples became martyrs for the Gospel. They lived and died for Jesus. In cases like that, there is no doubt about someone’s conviction that they believe their cause to be true and worth dying for.

There is something that Jesus’ disciples shared in common, except for Judas Iscariot. They were witnesses to Jesus’ resurrection after His death.

Peter said in Acts 10:40, “God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen. He was not seen by all the people, but by witnesses whom God had already chosen-by us who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead.”

That was the calling of Peter and the other disciples that they faithfully proclaimed to the end of their time here on earth.

The faithfulness of Jesus’ disciples to preach the Gospel and die for their faith is a reason to believe in God’s good news.

John Shirk

john@wjtl.com

JOHN SHIRK – In the Year of Exploration, today’s Reason to Believe is the characteristics of sheep.

In the Bible, we see some characteristics of sheep that closely resemble our spiritual condition. Two significant characteristics are helplessness without the shepherd, and the tendency to wander.

On one occasion, Jesus saw the crowds and had compassion on them because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.

And Isaiah 53 says, “we all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way.”

There is good news for the drifter who has lost their way and realizes that they cannot help themselves. Jesus offers us hope with the words, “I am the Good Shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” Jesus did that when He died on a cross. His purpose in dying for us was to offer forgiveness of sins and restoration to a relationship with God forever.

The characteristics of sheep are object lessons explaining our spiritual condition and are reasons to believe in God’s good news.

John Shirk

john@wjtl.com

JOHN SHIRK – In the Year of Exploration, today’s Reason to Believe is Jesus’ honesty of what it means to follow Him.

When Jesus prepared His followers for what they would experience as believers, He included what they needed to know, not necessarily everything they wanted to hear.

He said, “In this world, you will have trouble.” That was a promise followed by words of encouragement that He has overcome the world. So, whatever kind of trouble we may face, Jesus is greater.
He also said, “If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also.” That statement has also been true of His disciples.

Jesus said in Mark 8:34, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.”

Jesus did not emphasize the blessing of following Him without mentioning the cost of being His disciple. He did not distort the truth. His honest assessment accurately reflects the experiences of His followers today. Hardships test our faith, which God is able to use to refine our faith and make it stronger.

The honesty of Jesus is a reason to believe in God’s good news.

John Shirk

john@wjtl.com

JOHN SHIRK – In the Year of Exploration, today’s Reason To Believe is the opportunity for second chances.

Sometimes, we fail the Lord by disobeying His Word. When that happens, we might be tempted to think that it’s too late for God to ever work through us again, which leads to the temptation to give up.

But if we ever feel that way, we can find hope in the second chance offered to Jonah. God initially sent word to Jonah to go to Nineveh and preach against it, because of its wickedness. But Jonah ran away from the LORD. He went the opposite direction from where God was sending Jonah, and ended up over his head in a sea of problems.

In the belly of a huge fish, Jonah came to his senses and turned his heart to the Lord with this prayer, “I, with a song of thanksgiving will sacrifice to you. What I have vowed, I will make good. Salvation comes from the LORD.”

After this prayer, we read in Jonah 3:1, “Then the word of the LORD came to Jonah a second time, “Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you.” And Jonah obeyed the word of the LORD.

A second chance is an opportunity to learn from our first failure, and join God’s redemptive work on the earth. A second chance is also a sign of God’s mercy to us, and is a reason to believe in God’s good news.

John Shirk

john@wjtl.com

JOHN SHIRK – Today’s Q and A segment explores the question, “What is the Fruit of the Spirit?”

These are character qualities that are found in Galatians 5:22 and 23: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

These are the qualities that flow out of the person who walks daily with God, and make our witness more fruitful. Many of these same qualities are listed in the book of Second Peter chapter 1. Verse 8 says, “For 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.”

If you know anyone who consistently demonstrates the qualities found in the Fruit of the Spirit, you know how refreshing it is to spend time with them. They become godly examples for us to want to be more like Jesus.

So, as we are receptive to welcoming Jesus in our lives and taking His words to heart, we will find ourselves growing in godly character and being a more fruitful witness of the Gospel in the Year of Exploration.

John Shirk

john@wjtl.com