John Shirk

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Key Element for Thriving Relationships-Honoring Parents

john : October 6, 2022 11:15 am : John Shirk, Staff Pages

JOHN SHIRK – Today’s Key Element for Thriving Relationships is Honoring our Parents or Guardians.

This is one of the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20:12, “Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you.”

Respect for authority starts on the home front. One of the ways we can show respect for Mom and Dad as children is to obey them. The reason for this, according to Ephesians 6:1. is that this is right.

Honoring Mom and Dad expresses gratitude for their sacrifice and support when we were children. First Timothy 5:4 says that “if a widow has children or grandchildren, these should learn first of all to put their religion into practice by caring for their own family, and so repaying their parents and grandparents, for this is pleasing to God.”

Honoring our Parents or Guardians is a key element for thriving relationships that honor God.

John Shirk

john@wjtl.com

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Faith Building Verse-Psalm 23:1

john : October 6, 2022 11:12 am : John Shirk, Staff Pages

JOHN SHIRK – Today’s Faith-Building Verse is Psalm 23:1.

David, a man after God’s own heart made this statement about his relationship with God. “The LORD is my shepherd, I lack nothing.”

For David, knowing God was the passion of his heart and the fulfillment of his life.

Having a relationship with God does not mean we will gain more of the things that we want in this world, but we will have the grace that is sufficient for our needs. Our greatest need is forgiveness, and when Jesus went to the cross, He was extending His mercy to sinners who desperately need Him.

Jesus said in John 10:14, “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me-just as the Father knows me and I know the Father-and I lay down my life for the sheep.” He also said, “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.”

This Faith-Building Verse inspires us to find fulfillment in knowing Jesus as our Good Shepherd in the Year of Relationship.

John Shirk

john@wjtl.com

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Faith Building Verse-Isaiah 48:17

john : October 5, 2022 4:01 pm : John Shirk, Staff Pages

JOHN SHIRK – Today’s Faith-Building Verse is Isaiah 48:17.

This is what the LORD says-your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: ‘I am the LORD your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go.”

The life that God intends for us is to move us toward genuine freedom, complete love, and eternal life.

That is what the grace and truth of Jesus Christ is able to do for us. His commands forbidding certain actions and thoughts are not meant to ruin our fun or make us miserable. God knows how we are wired. He knows how certain behaviors and attitudes can destroy our lives, our relationships, and our freedom. Those behaviors and attitudes also grieve the heart of God and are contrary to His character.

In His wisdom and love, God has revealed His plan for our lives, and that plan is to live by faith in Jesus and love Him with all our being. That plan is life-giving and trustworthy.

This Faith-Building Verse inspires us to be teachable to the way of God in the Year of Relationship.

John Shirk

john@wjtl.com

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Key Element for Thriving Relationships-Testimony

john : October 5, 2022 3:58 pm : John Shirk, Staff Pages

JOHN SHIRK – Today’s Key Element for Thriving Relationships is a Testimony of faith.

Everyone has a story. When we come to faith in Christ, that story becomes a redemption story.

Out of the overflow of our heart, the mouth speaks words of praise and gratitude because of what God has done in our lives. By sharing our story with others, we invite others to see the goodness of God.

Not everyone might want to hear our story. There is wisdom in being sensitive to that. But where people are interested in hearing how God has worked in our lives, our story can build the faith of others and open doors of transparency with them.

Psalm 66:16 says, “Come and hear, all you who fear God; let me tell you what he has done for me.”

Sharing our testimony with others is a key element for thriving relationships that honor God.

John Shirk

john@wjtl.com

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Key Element for Thriving Relationships-Sharing God’s Work Among Us

john : October 4, 2022 3:22 pm : John Shirk, Staff Pages

JOHN SHIRK – Today’s Key Element for Thriving Relationships is sharing how God is at work among us.

In Acts 14:27, Paul and Barnabas returned to Antioch where they had been commissioned for their missionary service.

On arriving there, they gathered the church together and reported all that God had done through them and how he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles.

These kinds of reports encourage others with updates on how God is moving in the world today. Lives are being changed. People are coming to faith. The Gospel is advancing into new territory.

By sharing how we have seen God at work, we can be voices that motivate and mobilize the church into vibrant ministry.

Sharing how God is at work among us is a key element for thriving relationships that honor God.

John Shirk

john@wjtl.com

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Faith Building Verse-2 Corinthians 5:21

john : October 4, 2022 3:12 pm : John Shirk, Staff Pages

JOHN SHIRK – Today’s Faith-Building Verse is Second Corinthians 5:21.

Speaking of Jesus, “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

It is important to point out that in God’s righteous requirements, there is no forgiveness without the shedding of blood.  That is what makes the death of Jesus on the cross so incredibly humbling and amazing for us. Jesus died on our behalf so that we might be reconciled to God. He paid the price for our sins.  That is the irony of the Gospel. The sinless Son of God died so that sinners like us could be declared “Not guilty” in the eyes of righteous God. Through Jesus, the way has been cleared for us to enjoy God forever.

This miracle of love will be celebrated throughout eternity among the redeemed.  The voices of heaven declare, “Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!”

This Faith-Building Verse inspires us to remember the price that Jesus paid for our redemption in the Year of Relationship.

John Shirk

john@wjtl.com

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Key Element for Thriving Relationships-Sharing Love of Music

john : October 3, 2022 3:05 pm : John Shirk, Staff Pages

JOHN SHIRK – Today’s Key Element for Thriving Relationships is Sharing our love of music with others.

We can do this in a number of ways. We can talk about favorite songs that we hear on the radio or share songs with others that we find on social media. We can sing songs together in church, or hear songs together in a concert venue.

Music has a way of bringing people together. In Matthew 26:30, Jesus sung a hymn with His disciples before going out to the Mount of Olives.

Ephesians 5:19 instructs us to speak “to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord.”

Sharing our Love of Music with others is a key element for thriving relationships that honor God.

John Shirk

john@wjtl.com

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Faith Building Verses Titus 3:3-5

john : October 3, 2022 3:02 pm : John Shirk, Staff Pages

JOHN SHIRK – Today’s Faith-Building Verses are Titus 3:3 to 5.

At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy.

It is an amazing miracle to ponder the mercy of God triumphant over judgment. His grace covers our sins at the moment of our conversion to Christ. From there, we experience a change of heart. Our motives change. Our words change. Our attitudes change. Some of these areas of change may not happen overnight, but over time, God works in the hearts of His believers to transform us into the likeness of Christ. Real-life transformation will lead us into a life of love and holiness because of what Jesus did on the cross and how He is working in our hearts.

These Faith-Building Verses inspire us to celebrate the mercy of God that changes our lives in the Year of Relationship.

John Shirk

john@wjtl.com

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Friday Time Capsule-September 27, 2004

john : September 30, 2022 1:05 pm : John Shirk, Staff Pages

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6HiFwBUsj0WZadfjvadsaL?si=9e92257dd7964166

 

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Key Element for Thriving Relationships-Words of Life

john : September 27, 2022 3:52 pm : John Shirk, Staff Pages

JOHN SHIRK – Today’s Key Element for Thriving Relationships is holding to the words of life.

By clinging to the words of life, we will be in a better place to promote a culture of life.

Philippians 2:14 to 16 says, “Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life.”

One thing we learn here is that a grumbling or argumentative spirit is not consistent with holding on to the word of life. These attitudes drain people around us. But the Gospel is life-giving.

This good news moves us to speak words of hope, encouragement, and truth. There is a word of life that shines brightly in times of darkness, and His name is Jesus.

Holding firmly to the word of life is a key element for thriving relationships that honor God.

John Shirk

john@wjtl.com

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