John Shirk

JOHN SHIRK – In Ephesians 3:18, the Apostle Paul prayed that we might grasp the width of God’s love for us.

John 3:16 tells us that God so loved the world that He gave His One and Only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

God’s love is wide enough to extend around the world and draw people of all cultures into His eternal family. The one thing that His people have in common is that they have received His gift of grace through Jesus Christ, and what He accomplished for us at the cross.

As we come into fellowship with God through faith in Jesus, He removes our transgressions from us as far as the east is from the west.

The width of God’s love reveals the global impact of His love to reach every nation by the end of the age, and the personal impact of His love to separate us from our sins.

The width of God’s love is a lesson of faith worth remembering.

John Shirk

john@wjtl.com

JOHN SHIRK – In Christ, we see a perfect record of obedience to the Father’s will. He said in John 14:31, “I do exactly what my Father has commanded me.” He became the unblemished sacrifice for our sins. Even though He never sinned, He paid the penalty of our sins at the cross. Speaking of Jesus, Second Corinthians 5:21 says, “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

How does that happen? How can we be made righteous in the eyes of God when our track record shows a history of moral failures? The Bible says that ‘the righteous will live by faith.’ When we trust in the name of Jesus for salvation, God no longer holds our sin against us. We are forgiven and set free from the death sentence that our sins deserve. The sinless life of Christ made Him a worthy sacrifice for our sins. His death and resurrection has made Him the worthy Savior to be praised.

Jesus is in a separate category from every human being who walked on the face of the earth. Because of His sinless record and obedience to death on a cross, God has exalted him to the highest place and has given Him the name that is above every name.

The sinless life of Christ is a lesson of faith worth remembering.

John Shirk

john@wjtl.com

JOHN SHIRK – Philippians 2:6 tells us that “being in very nature God, he did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death-even death on a cross!”

Jesus deserved the crown of glory. Instead, He wore the crown of thorns.

Jesus was worthy of being lifted up to a throne of honor. Instead, He suffered the cross of shame.

Jesus was worthy of being served as a distinguished leader. Instead, He came to serve and give His life as a ransom for many.

There is an important reason to examine the attitude of Christ. Philippians 2:5 says, “Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus.”

The attitude of Jesus is a lesson of faith worth remembering.

John Shirk

john@wjtl.com

JOHN SHIRK – In First Corinthians 15, the Apostle Paul talked about our situation if Christ did not rise from the dead. He said in verse 14, “If Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.”

He said, “If only for this life we have hope in Christ we are to be pitied more than all men.”

Paul was living with an eternal perspective. He assures us that Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, and because of His resurrection, those who are in Christ will be made alive.

Jesus told His followers, “Because I live, you also will live.” Because Jesus lives, our failures are not fatal, our faith is not futile, and death is not final. Our labor has purpose, our soul is secure, and our future is forever in the grace of God. This is our hope when our faith is in Christ to save us from our sins.

The hope of the resurrection is a lesson of faith worth remembering.

John Shirk

john@wjtl.com

JOHN SHIRK – In his speech on the day of Pentecost, Peter made a declaration that was both powerful and controversial. He said in Acts 2:32, “God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of the fact.”

Peter called the resurrection of Jesus a fact. It would have been recognized by many witnesses that Jesus died on a cross, but not every one had seen Jesus alive. If the claim of Jesus’ resurrection had been nonsense, Jesus’ adversaries could have produced the body to indicate otherwise. However, the Bible records that the tomb was empty and the body was gone. Opponents of Jesus did not present the evidence of a body.

A rumor was circulating that the disciples stole the body. But if that were the case, would they really have become martyrs for a lie? Those followers of Jesus who claimed to see Jesus after He rose from the dead were willing to die for that claim, which is a powerful testimony of their conviction.

Here is another compelling claim of the resurrection: Romans 10:9 says, “If you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’ and believe in  your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”

The compelling claim of the early church leaders is a lesson of faith worth remembering.

John Shirk

john@wjtl.com

JOHN SHIRK – First Timothy 6:18 talks about Jesus making the good confession before Pontius Pilate.

In accusing Jesus of blasphemy, the religious leaders handed Him over to Pontius Pilate. That is when Pilate questioned Him, “Are you the king of the Jews?”

This was Jesus’ testimony before Pilate: “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place.”

Pilate said, “You are a king then!”

Jesus answered, “You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this reason I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.”

Pilate responded by asking, “What is truth?” And then he walked away from Jesus. The good confession of Jesus reveals Himself as a king who is not of this world and the source of truth to set the captives free from the lies of this world.  In a world of many voices offering freedom, the most important voice to heed is Jesus Christ.

Christ’s good confession before Pilate is a lesson of faith worth remembering.

John Shirk

john@wjtl.com

JOHN SHIRK – It happened the night before Jesus was crucified. He grabbed a basin and a towel. He knelt down to serve the disciples by washing their feet.

In this simple act, Jesus taught us that service is an act of humility. Jesus literally lowered Himself to serve the disciples as He washed their feet. If Jesus was willing to do that, then none of His servants are so great that they are above performing acts of service that can help others in practical ways.

Jesus said to His disciples in John 13:14, “Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.”

The washing of the disciples’ feet is an example of service taught by Jesus and is a lesson of faith worth remembering.

John Shirk

john@wjtl.com

JOHN SHIRK – On the week leading up to Jesus’ crucifixion, He spent some time in Jerusalem. He entered the temple area and drove out all who were buying  and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house will be called a house of prayer, but you are making it a den of robbers.’”

The temple was designed to be a place of worship, but by the time Jesus stepped onto the scene, it became a place where some people took advantage of others financially. Jesus took action to cleanse the temple to rid the temple area of this practice. Jesus had zeal for God’s house to be a place of pure devotion and worship.

This scene becomes more personal when we realize what the Bible says about the body of the believer. First Corinthians 6:19 tells us that our body is a temple of the Holy Spirit. Where there is corruption within, Jesus will take action to cleanse the temple, so that our bodies will be houses of worship, purely devoted to Christ.

The cleansing of the temple is a lesson of faith worth remembering.

John Shirk

john@wjtl.com

JOHN SHIRK – As Jesus entered the holy city on a donkey, a very large crowd was there to spread cloaks on the road. Others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds were shouting, “Hosanna to the son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!”

Hosanna is a word that means “save.” This word was a cry of the Old Testament. Psalm 118:25 says, “O LORD, save us.” In Jesus, the prayer for salvation becomes a declaration of praise. “Salvation belongs to our God.” Jesus rode into Jerusalem with shouts of joy from a welcoming crowd.

In a matter of days, the cry on the streets would not be for Jesus to save them, but for Pontius Pilate to crucify Jesus. What Jesus’ opponents did not know was that by going to the cross, Jesus was fulfilling God’s purpose of saving His people from their sins. Our plea for salvation becomes an answer to prayer through Jesus Christ.

The shout of Hosanna is a lesson of faith worth remembering.

John Shirk

john@wjtl.com

JOHN SHIRK – Jonah is a fascinating book of the Bible recalling the journey of Jonah to Nineveh to preach God’s word and declare His warning of impending calamity.

In a significant development, the city responds favorably to Jonah’s message and the city is spared destruction.

Jonah became displeased. He became angry, and vented his anger to the LORD. He said, “Now, O LORD, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live.”

Sometimes, even the prophets needed an attitude adjustment. There was a time when Elijah was fearful and wanted to die. There was a time when Jeremiah was timid to become one of God’s prophets. The LORD had to remind him not to underestimate what God could do with His help. Jonah needed an attitude adjustment too.

The LORD shared His heart of concern for people with Jonah. He said, “Nineveh has more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left, and many cattle as well. Should I not be concerned about that great city?”

The LORD’s word with Jonah challenges us to share God’s concern for souls, and is a lesson of faith worth remembering.

John Shirk

john@wjtl.com