JOHN SHIRK – In the Year to Shine, today’s Vital Step to a Radiant Faith is Perseverance.
Second Peter chapter 1 encourages us to add certain qualities to our faith, not because it adds to our salvation, but because it makes our faith more effective and productive.
One of those qualities in verse 6 is perseverance. Sometimes, disappointments, conflicts, or health challenges can wear us down and tempt us to give up. But God’s grace is a refreshing influence for our faith. Jesus endured the cross for us. When we persevere in the faith through trials, our witness for God is purified and proven to be genuine. This is one way we can be a light for others-by consistently living for God and relying on His love day-by-day and moment-by-moment.
In First Timothy 4:16, the Apostle Paul gave this counsel to a young pastor, “Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.”
Perseverance is a vital step to a radiant faith that makes a difference in our world.
John Shirk
john@wjtl.com
JOHN SHIRK – Today’s Light Reflection is from Revelation 19:10b.
“Worship God! For it is the Spirit of prophecy who bears testimony to Jesus.”
The book of Revelation is a prophetic book. Contained in its writings is a promise of blessing for the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, who hear it, and take to heart what is written in it.
Here we see one of the blessings of taking the prophecy of Revelation to heart. It leads us to worship God. Jesus is revealed as KING OF KINGS and LORD OF LORDS. His victory is revealed over the forces of evil. His worthiness is celebrated at heaven’s throne among the angels and God’s people.
The prophecies of the Bible are not mere speculation. They are true and trustworthy. Second Peter 1:19 talks about the prophetic message as something completely reliable. We will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in our hearts.
This Light Reflection inspires us to heed the prophecies about Jesus in the Bible in the Year to Shine.
John Shirk
john@wjtl.com
JOHN SHIRK – Today’s Light Reflection is from John 3:16.
For 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.
The light of the Gospel reveals the eternal life that we can have in Christ.
God’s love for us put His redemptive mission into motion. He sent Jesus into the world to be the sacrifice for our sins. Because He paid the price for our sin on the cross, we are set free from the death penalty through faith in His name. Jesus is the most precious gift from God’s gracious hand. He is worthy of our praise every single day.
Forever is a long time. Heaven awaits the gathering of the saints around the throne for a joyful time of worship and celebration. God has made a way for us to be there, and His name is Jesus.
This Light Reflection inspires us to embrace the eternal life that Jesus offers us in the Year to Shine.
John Shirk
john@wjtl.com
JOHN SHIRK – Today’s Light Reflection is from Romans 10:17.
Faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.
The Bible is a light that guides our way, leading us to faith in Jesus. God’s Word has value for revealing Jesus as the light of the world who gives salvation to all who believe in Him.
An example of this is the Gospel of John. Near the end of this book of the Bible, John said this: “Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.”
The book of John is one of many books in the Bible that encourages us to believe in Jesus.
This Light Reflection inspires us to place our faith in Jesus to save us from our sins in the Year to Shine.
John Shirk
john@wjtl.com
JOHN SHIRK – Today’s Light Reflection is from John 8:12.
Jesus said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
C.S. Lewis once said, “I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.”
Faith in the Lord Jesus opens our eyes to the realities of life and the quality of life that God intended us to have. Though we live in a fallen world with brokenness and sin, we live with the awareness that Jesus came to give us a life that abounds in grace and leads to a heavenly future.
Jesus is our source of light that we need for moral direction, hope, and eternal life.
This Light Reflection inspires us to follow Jesus in the Year to Shine.
John Shirk
john@wjtl.com
JOHN SHIRK – Today’s Faith-Building Verse is Hebrews 9:26.
Speaking of Jesus, “He has appeared once for all at the culmination of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself.”
Jesus appeared to take away our sin. John the Baptist told us to look to the Lamb of God who takes away our sin. But as we look at our lives, we know in our heart of hearts that we still fall short of God’s glory by disobedient thoughts, words, and actions.
The good news is that our story is not over. By looking to Jesus as the author and perfecter of our faith, He breaks the power of sin over us and releases us from the punishment of sin.
The reason that the angel told Joseph to name Mary’s firstborn son “Jesus” was because He will save His people from their sins. Jesus lives up to the meaning of His name.
This Faith-Building Verse inspires us to celebrate God’s promise of salvation to those who believe in Jesus in the Year of Relationship.
John Shirk
john@wjtl.com
JOHN SHIRK – Today’s Key Element for Thriving Relationships is a Thought Life focused on Jesus.
The foundation for a focused thought life that pleases God is Jesus. Philippians 4:8 says to the family of God, “Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable-if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-think about such things.”
Jesus fits the description of all these words. When we focus our thoughts on Him, we learn to see others through His eyes of love, concern, and compassion.
This focus will also enable us to appreciate these virtuous qualities in others and to offer them encouragement when we see them displayed.
A Thought Life focused on Jesus is a key element for thriving relationships that honor God.
John Shirk
john@wjtlcom
JOHN SHIRK – Today’s Faith-Building Verse is Acts 4:12.
Peter said, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”
He did not make this statement in a church or at a Bible study among believers. He said this in front of very influential men who were not believers in Jesus. Just a few weeks earlier, Peter denied knowing Jesus three times. But this time, Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit and with courage.
This kind of courage flows out of spending time with Jesus in His Word and in prayer. The teachers of the law observed the courage of two disciples that day-Peter and John. They noted that these unschooled, ordinary men had been with Jesus.
This Faith-Building Verse inspires us to turn to Jesus to save us from our sins in the Year of Relationship.
John Shirk
john@wjtl.com
JOHN SHIRK – Today’s Key Element for Thriving Relationships is Servant Leadership.
After Solomon died, Rehoboam had a choice to make in First Kings 12. The people said to him, “Your father put a heavy yoke on us, but now lighten the harsh labor he put on us, and we will serve you.”
He consulted the elders who advised him to be a servant to the people and give them a favorable answer. Then he went to his peers, who advised him to make the yoke even heavier.
Rehoboam listened to his peers, and the result was a divided kingdom. Servant leadership considers the needs of those they serve and does not lead by intimidation or selfish ambition. That is the kind of leadership that Jesus demonstrates. He said in Matthew 11:28 and 29, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart.”
Servant Leadership is a key element for thriving relationships that honor God.
John Shirk
john@wjtl.com
JOHN SHIRK – Today’s Faith-Building Verse is Matthew 8:2.
Along the way in Jesus’ ministry, He had encounters with people who demonstrated extraordinary faith in various ways.
One of those people was a man afflicted with leprosy.
He “came and knelt before him and said, ‘Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.’”
First, the man knelt before Jesus in humility. Second, he addressed Jesus as “Lord.” That is who Jesus is to those who follow Him. Third, the man acknowledged the ability of Jesus to heal him of his leprosy.
Jesus responded by saying, “I am willing. Be clean.” Immediately, he was cured of leprosy.
This faith Building Verse inspires us to seek Jesus with humility for the cleansing that we need in the Year of Relationship.
John Shirk
john@wjtl.com
JOHN SHIRK – In the Year of Endurance, today’s Daily Challenge motivates us to embrace the peace that God offers us through Jesus Christ.
The prophet Isaiah described the coming Messiah as the Prince of Peace. Jesus becomes our source of peace when we trust Him as our Savior and Lord. He will establish peace among the nations in the future, but right now, He is our pathway to peace with God through forgiveness of sins and the promise of a hopeful future with Him.
That same prophet said in Isaiah 26:3, “You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you. Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD, the LORD himself, is the Rock eternal.”
We can trust Jesus to be the anchor that keeps us together when our world feels like it is falling apart. He will be our source of hope, our reason for praise, and our place to turn for unfailing love.
Take the Daily Challenge to embrace God’s peace on the journey of faith.
John Shirk
john@wjtl.com