JOHN SHIRK – Today’s Light Reflection is from Ephesians 3:12.
Speaking of Jesus, “In him and through faith in him, we may approach God with freedom and confidence.”
Faith and freedom go together. As we put our confidence in God’s love for us, we pray with the faith that He hears us and cares for our needs.
By faith, we do not fear condemnation for the wrong things we have done, but trust Jesus to defend us as our source of righteousness.
By faith, we do not fear what could go wrong in the future, but live with hope for the good things God has planned for those who love Him.
By faith, we are not paralyzed by the fear of opposition, but believe that God is stronger than our greatest adversaries.
This Light Reflection inspires us to approach God with freedom and confidence 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 to live with confidence in God.
There is a lot of emphasis in our world today on self-confidence, having the assurance that we have what it takes to get the job done and be successful. Someone who displays self-confidence may draw people to themselves, but confidence in God will draw people to Christ.
The Apostle Paul lived with confidence in God and lived as an ambassador for Christ.
In Second Corinthians 3:4, he said, “Such confidence we have through Christ before God. Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God.”
What Paul understood was that his strength came from God. He only had a platform to make a difference in people’s lives because of the grace of God. This kept him humble and his source of confidence focused in the right place.
Confidence in God is a Vital Step to a Radiant Faith that makes a difference in our world.
John Shirk
john@wjtl.com
JOHN SHIRK – Today’s Faith-Building Verse is Matthew 1:23.
The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel (which means, “God with us.)
God’s love is seen in the birth of Jesus. Recognizing that God is for us and with us will make a huge difference in how we approach life.
We can live with courage, just like Joshua, who heard these words from the LORD before entering the Promised Land, “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.”
We can also live with godly contentment. Hebrews 13:5 says, “Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”
And we can live with confidence in God’s love for us. I John 4:16 says that we know and rely on the love God has for us.
This Faith-Building Verse inspires us to approach life with the awareness that God loves us in the Year of Relationship.
John Shirk
john@wjtl.com
JOHN SHIRK – Today’s Faith-Building Verse is Second Corinthians 5:7.
For we live by faith, not by sight.
We may not see the big picture of God’s orchestrated plan for our lives, but by faith, we have the assurance that He has a plan for us to follow Him and to glorify Him. Trusting Jesus will make a difference in our lives in a number of ways.
Trusting Jesus will give us confidence for moving forward. When the Apostle Paul noted that he lived by faith and not by sight, he also said, “we are always confident.” That’s because he knew that God was with him, and His presence was Paul’s source of strength.
Trusting Jesus will also give us peace. Through the turmoil and uncertainties of each day, it makes a difference to know that the love of Jesus is able to sustain us. Isaiah 26:3 says, “You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.”
This Faith-Building Verse inspires us to live by faith, not by sight in the Year of Relationship.
John Shirk
john@wjtl.com
JOHN SHIRK – Today’s Faith-Building Verses are Hebrews 11:1 and 2.
“Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for.”
When we look into the Old Testament stories of the heroes of faith, we will notice a pattern where God called specific people into specific missions to accomplish His planned purpose.
Each one of them, including Noah, Abraham, and Moses needed to trust God without seeing the big picture. This is true of us too. God’s grace has been revealed ultimately through Jesus Christ. We have the Bible to tell us about this reality. He has a purpose for our lives, and we can find and fulfill that purpose by looking to Jesus and following His will step-by-step, day-by-day. We don’t know what the journey may bring, but we can trust Him to lead us to a place where our faith can thrive for His glory.
These Faith-Building Verses inspire us put our confidence in God for salvation and direction in the Year of Relationship.
John Shirk
john@wjtl.com
JOHN SHIRK – Today’s Promise of Hope is based on Hebrews 13:8.
“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”
This is a comforting verse for the follower of Christ, because it means that the name of Jesus is always superior to all other names, the throne of Jesus will never be upended, and the love of Jesus will never run dry. His truth is not bending to the changing values of the culture. His character does not change with the passage of time because there is no need for growth or improvement. Jesus is Lord, and that fact will never change. The sacrifice He made for our sins 2,000 years ago still has the power to forgive sins and transform our lives.
He is the constant source of help for His people. We find evidence of that in the preceding verses. In verse 5, God said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” So we say with confidence, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?”
The constant presence of Jesus is a promise of hope for those who follow Jesus in the Year of Trust.
John Shirk
john@wjtl.com
JOHN SHIRK – In the Year of Connection, today’s Encounter with Jesus examines our restoration to God through His blood.
When Jesus died on the cross, the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. God was providing a way for us to enter into relationship with Him through the blood of Jesus.
Hebrews 10:19 says, “Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings….”
The sacrifice of Jesus for us means that we have access to His throne of grace. We can pray to Him with a believing heart and have confidence that He loves us and hears the cries from our heart.
A daily connection with Christ enables us to draw near to God the Father and to live with confidence in Him.
John Shirk
john@wjtl.com
