JOHN SHIRK – Today’s Focus on God’s goodness is found in Isaiah 59:1.

“Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear.”

God’s love is long enough to reach us and rescue us from our sin. Verse 2 tells us that our iniquities have separated us from God. That is why we need redemption. Jesus stretched out His arms at the cross to extend forgiveness to us. Our barrier of sin is removed when we open up to God’s grace.

Jesus went to great lengths from heaven to earth to save us. With His long arm of salvation, He embraces us with His love, brings us into His family of believers, and gives us eternal life. Eternity is a long time. His grace lasts forever.

The length 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 – In the Year of Vision, today’s 20/20 Insight focuses on the mountaintop view of God’s radiant glory.

Have you ever been to the top of a tall mountain and looked down at the land below? You can see for miles in the distance and get a “big picture view” of God’s creation.

In Revelation 21:10, the Apostle John was carried in the Spirit to a mountain that he described as great and high. He saw something even more beautiful.

An angel showed him the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. He said, “It shone with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal.” The city did not need the sun or the moon to shine on it because the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp.” 

This is the view of a new heaven and a new earth, and is the future destiny for those who belong to Jesus by faith today.

Focusing on the brilliance of God’s glorious home gives us greater clarity for living out the Christian life.    

John Shirk

john@wjtl.com

JOHN SHIRK-Today’s Q and A Segment explores the question, “What does it mean to live with an eternal perspective?”

The Apostle Paul said in Second Corinthians 4:18, “We fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”

Living with an eternal perspective acknowledges that there is more to this life than what we see in this world. If our trust is in the things we see, then we are living with a false sense of security, because the things we see around us will eventually pass away.

The invisible qualities of God’s Kingdom will outlast our physical lives on earth. Faith, hope, and love last forever. God’s word lasts forever. Heaven lasts forever. Jesus Christ lives forever. And if our hope is in Jesus, our souls will last forever with Him.

Revelation 22:21 is the last verse of the Bible, revealing the eternal view of God’s Kingdom in a place of peace and security: “The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s people. Amen.”

This is where our hope is ultimately found in the Year of Exploration.

John Shirk

john@wjtl.com

Below, you’ll find all the song information for today’s program.  If you have any other questions, though, I’d love to hear from you!  Also, please let me know if you would like to be added to the email group so that the playlist comes to your inbox each week.

Kristi Leigh – WJTL DJ

Kristi@WJTL.com

JOHN SHIRK – In Ephesians 3:18, the Apostle Paul prayed that we might grasp the length of God’s love for us.

The length of God’s love can be considered in light of distance and time. Jesus came from heaven to earth to rescue us from the wages of sin. Isaiah 59:1 says, “The arm of the Lord is not too short to save.” Wherever we are in this world, we are never beyond His reach. As a familiar worship song declares, “You came from heaven to earth to show the way. From the earth to the cross, my debt to pay, from the cross to the grave, from the grave to the sky, Lord, I lift your name on high.”

On the time line, the length of God’s love can be compared to an infinite line. The LORD is described in Deuteronomy 33:27 as the eternal God. He has always been, still is, and always will be God. Through faith in Jesus Christ, we have a connection with God the Father, which lasts forever. We will never have to say tearful good-byes in heaven.

The length of God’s love is a lesson of faith worth remembering.

John Shirk

john@wjtl.com