JOHN SHIRK – Today’s Light Reflection is from Isaiah 6:8.

Isaiah responded to an invitation from the LORD, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” Isaiah said, “Here am I. Send me!”

Making ourselves available to God is the key first step to being a light for His kingdom.

Isaiah became a prophet who pointed people to Jesus. His prophecies contained significant details about Jesus. Those prophecies included His birth, death and resurrection.

One vivid example was Isaiah 53:5, “He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.”

In this prophecy, Isaiah drew attention to Jesus, shining the hope of peace and healing for us through His sacrifice on the cross.

This Light Reflection inspires us to make ourselves available to God as an instrument of His grace in the Year to Shine.

John Shirk

john@wjtl.com

JOHN SHIRK – Today’s Light Reflection is from Second Peter 1:19 to 21.

“We also have the prophetic message as something completely reliable, and you 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 your hearts. Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things. For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”

Bible prophecy is a light to bring us hope in a world darkened by sin. The prophets were moved by God to utter revelations of things yet to come, and to speak truth to the people of their time. The message of prophecy can be compared to a list of God’s promises. Just as Jesus fulfilled many prophecies about Him at His first appearance, so He will fulfill more prophecies when He returns. God is faithful to His Word.

This Light Reflection inspires us to trust in God’s promises in the Year to Shine.

John Shirk

john@wjtl.com

JOHN SHIRK – Today’s Word of Encouragement is Prophecy.

Many predictions of human origin fail to materialize, but in the course of time, the prophecies of the Bible prove to be reliable.

Here are just a few prophecies about Jesus’ birth which came true hundreds of years later.

Isaiah 7:14 said “the virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.”  That happened when Mary gave birth to Jesus.

Micah 5:2 predicted Bethlehem as the birthplace of Jesus. That was fulfilled in Matthew chapter 2.

And when Jesus went to Egypt, Matthew quoted Hosea 11:1 to link that event to a fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy.

Second Peter 1:21 tells us that “prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”

Find encouragement in the prophecies of the Bible to give us hope in Christ in the Year of Endurance.

John Shirk

john@wjtl.com

JOHN SHIRK – In the Year of Vision, today’s 20/20 Insight focuses on the work of the Holy Spirit to tell us of things yet to come.

Second Peter 1:21 says, “Prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”

The prophecies in the Bible are inspired by the Holy Spirit. When we take the words of the prophets to heart, they have an impact on our lives in a number of ways. Here are two of them.

The words of the prophets build faith. Jesus Himself said, “I have told you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe.” When we see a connection between a prophecy and its fulfillment, we are moved to a greater confidence that God’s word is trustworthy and true, and that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life.

Another impact of prophecy is that we are moved to worship. The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy, which directs us to view Him as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. 

Focusing on the prophecies of the Bible gives us greater clarity for living out the Christian life.

John Shirk

john@wjtl.com

JOHN SHIRK – Today’s Wisdom from the Red Letters is found in Luke 24:44.

Jesus said to His disciples after He rose from the dead, “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.”

Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures.

Jesus would have had a lot of material available to explain how He was the Messiah to the disciples. There are hundreds of prophecies about Jesus in the Old Testament, which is one of the reasons that the Old Testament is so significant for followers of Jesus.

Micah and Isaiah predicted Jesus’ birth. 

Isaiah and David predicted Jesus’ death on a cross. 

And the resurrection of Jesus was mentioned in the Psalms. 

The words of Jesus inspire us to believe in Jesus as the fulfillment of God’s promises in the Year of Redemption.

John Shirk

john@wjtl.com

JOHN SHIRK – In the Year of Exploration, today’s Reason To Believe is the predictions about the cross.

In the Old Testament, there were prophecies made about Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross before crucifixion was even invented as a form of execution.

In Psalm 22:16, David prophesied, “They have pierced my hands and my feet.”

Isaiah 53:5 prophesied about Jesus, “He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities.”

Jesus also predicted His own suffering when He said to His disciples in Luke chapter 9, “The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men.”

These predictions reveal a God who knew in advance what would happen. He purposefully worked through the sacrifice of Jesus to fulfill His redemptive plan of saving souls. The prophecies related to the cross highlight God’s faithfulness to fulfill His promises.

The predictions in the Bible made about the cross are reasons to believe in God’s good news.

John Shirk

john@wjtl.com

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

According to Revelation 19:10, the spirit of prophecy is the testimony of Jesus. Many scholars who teach on this subject believe that Jesus fulfilled at least 300 Old Testament prophecies when He came 2,000 years ago. There are other prophecies that He has yet to fulfill. The fulfilled prophecies about Jesus at His first coming give us reason to believe that Jesus will fulfill the other prophecies yet to be fulfilled.

One person in the Bible who was led to believe in Jesus through prophecy was an Ethiopian official in Acts chapter 8. He was reading a prophecy in the book of Isaiah. Philip was a follower of Jesus who came alongside of the man to explain how Jesus fulfilled that prophecy, and told him the good news about Jesus.

Second Peter 1:21 says that “prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”

Fulfilled prophecies in the Bible are reasons to believe in God’s good news.

John Shirk

john@wjtl.com

JOHN SHIRK – Today’s Moment of Celebration reflects on the words of the prophets.

Second Peter 1:19 says, “We have the word of the prophets made more certain, and you 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 your hearts. Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”

The main purpose of prophecy is to draw our attention to the testimony of Jesus. Even before Jesus came into the world, the words of the prophets were indicating that when He came, He would be born of a virgin and born in Bethlehem. He would come in peace, riding on a donkey. He would be rejected by His people, betrayed by a friend, and abandoned by His disciples.  He would be pierced for our transgressions, but His body would not see decay. He would once again see the light of life and be satisfied.

These predicted events tell us that God knows the future, and keeps His promises. We can trust Him to do what He says He will do.

The words of the prophets are reasons to be glad in the Year of Celebration.

John Shirk

john@wjtl.com

JOHN SHIRK – In Micah 5:2, we read about the birthplace of God’s anointed leader:

“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins  are from of old, from ancient times.”

The name “Bethlehem” is significant because it means “House of Bread.” Jesus identified Himself as the bread of life. So, entering the world stage as a baby in the manger, Jesus came to the House of Bread, as the Bread of Life.

His birth in Bethlehem was planned long before it really happened. The location of Christ’s birthplace is sending the signal to the world that just as bread satisfies physical hunger, so Jesus is our vital source for satisfaction for spiritual hunger.

And just as Jesus came to Bethlehem, which was considered small and insignificant, so He approaches people who are humble, and raises them up for extraordinary purposes.

The promise that Jesus would be born in Bethlehem is a lesson of faith worth remembering.

John Shirk

john@wjtl.com

JOHN SHIRK – From Micah 5:2.

But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.

This prophecy was fulfilled in Matthew 2:1, which says that Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod.

Jesus could have come to a major, strategic city to draw attention to His significant worth. However, He would be born in Bethlehem, a small town several miles from the holy city Jerusalem.

God does not work in conventional ways to advance His plan of redemption. Using conventional wisdom, Jesus might have appointed religious leaders to follow Him as disciples. But instead, Jesus appointed unschooled men to follow Him and be trained to become  leaders of the early church.

In the Old Testament, Samuel wanted to appoint one of David’s brothers to be the next king of Israel. But God, seeing through appearance to the heart, was calling David. God can work through things and people whose value is overlooked by society, to draw the world to His grace and glory.

A receptive heart to Jesus is a vital sign of a changed life in the Year of Transformation.

John Shirk

john@wjtl.com