JOHN SHIRK – Today’s Focus on God’s goodness is found in Revelation 5:9.

And they sang a new song, saying “You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased for God persons from every tribe and language and people and nation.”

This verse highlights the cost of God’s love for humanity and the vast impact of His love. The blood of Jesus was shed for us at the cross and is a sufficient payment to redeem us. Today, the Gospel is bearing fruit all around the world, and will be the good news that reaches people from every ethnic group before the end of this age.

We owed a debt we could not pay. Jesus paid the debt that He did not owe. Because of His sacrifice on our behalf, Jesus is worthy to open the seal that unlocks the future, and He is worthy of our praise.

Revelation 5:12 says about Jesus, “Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!”

The cost of God’s love reveals the goodness of God and is a reason to give thanks in the Year of Gratitude.

John Shirk

john@wjtl.com

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

JOHN SHIRK – Today’s Faith-Building Verse is Mark 14:24.

Jesus said to His disciples, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many.”

There is power in the blood of Jesus to forgive our sin and cleanse us from guilt. His blood shed on the cross was the price that was paid for our redemption. Without His sacrifice, we would still be in our sins. But because of His sacrifice, there is a way for us to be set free from condemnation. Jesus died so that we might live for Him and with Him forever.

First John 1:7 says, “If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.”

This Faith-Building Verse inspires us to acknowledge the blood of Jesus as full payment for our sin in the Year of Relationship.

John Shirk

john@wjtl.com

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

Jesus paid a price for a debt load at Calvary that no amount of money could purchase. That price was His blood that was shed at the cross. His blood was the complete payment for our sins, and the full price for our redemption. The cross was such a monumental event that Jesus’ sacrifice is celebrated in the songs of heaven for eternity.

The value of Jesus’ blood to our freedom and forgiveness is found in places like Ephesians 1:7 which says, “In him, we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace.”

And First John 1:7 says, “If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.”

The blood of Jesus, shed for you and me, is the source of power that flows from the cross to reach us with God’s saving grace.

The power of the cross is a reason to believe in God’s good news.

John Shirk

john@wjtl.com