JOHN SHIRK – In the Year to Shine, today’s Vital Step to a Radiant Faith is to offer our time to God.

David said to the LORD in Psalm 31:15, “My times are in your hands.”

There is faith in that statement and understanding that God has given us a window of time on the earth. We are not here by accident, but by Providence.

Without God in view, some people reason that since time is limited, ‘let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.” But with God in view, we have another perspective for the way we use our time. That perspective seeks to do the will of God and please Him with a heart of faith.

Ephesians 5:14 says, “Wake up sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you. Be very careful then, how you live-not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore, do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.”

Offering our time to 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 Verses are Acts 17: 26 to 28.

The Apostle Paul said, “From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. God did this so that they should seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us.”

This insight reveals that we are not here by accident, but rather by providence. God made us for the purpose of knowing Him. He is not distant from hearing the cries of our heart. He is near enough to hear our humble prayers and to save us from our sins. He has the power to restore us to a right relationship with Him through faith in Jesus.

These faith-building verses inspire us to call on the name of the Lord in the Year of Relationship.

John Shirk

john@wjtl.com

JOHN SHIRK – Today’s Good News Focus is on Acts 17, verses 26 and 27.

These were words spoken by the Apostle Paul when he preached a sermon in Athens.

“From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us.”

We are not here by accident or random chance. We were placed in this part of the world at this moment of human history for a reason. God has a purpose for our lives, and one of those purposes is to know Him personally.

Jesus is our Source of Good News, leading us to a place of a personal relationship where we fully trust in His love in the Year of Vision.  

John Shirk

john@wjtl.com

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

Providence refers to the guiding hand of God moving in the events of our lives with His wisdom and love.

An example of God’s providence in the Bible was the encounter of Cornelius and Peter for a redemptive purpose. Both Cornelius and Peter were experiencing a vision from God close together for the purpose of bringing them together. Each person had something to learn from the other.

From Peter, Cornelius and his relatives heard the good news of Jesus and received the Holy Spirit.

From Cornelius, Peter learned that God’s grace was available not just for the Jews, but also the Gentiles. He said in Acts 10:34, “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism, but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right.”

The Providence of God orchestrates the circumstances of our lives with Divine appointments, and is a reason to believe in God’s good news.

John Shirk

john@wjtl.com