JOHN SHIRK – In the Year of Trust, today’s Focus on God examines His strength and love.

According to Psalm 62, David was impressed by these two specific characteristics of God.

He wrote in verses 11 and 12: “Two things I have heard: that you, O God, are strong, and that you, O Lord are loving.”

This is a combination of characteristics that gives weight to the evidence that we can trust God. He has the capacity to protect us from our strongest foes and has the compassion to meet us at our point of need. This is why we can celebrate with Paul the Apostle who said, “If God is for us, who can be against us?” When we are aligned with Christ, we live with the confidence that we are more than conquerors in Christ, who loved us at the cross, and rose from the grave with His resurrection power.

The strength and love of God are two reasons to trust in God for today and forever.

John Shirk

john@wjtl.com

JOHN SHIRK – Today’s Promise of Hope is based on Acts 1:11.

Jesus was taken up before the eyes of His disciples. After a cloud hid him from their sight, two men, dressed in white, stood beside them, saying, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”

If the disciples had remained looking into the sky, they would have missed the opportunities that God had for them to be His witnesses. There is a time for looking up. When Jesus returns, He will appear from above. Looking up fills us with the hope of His return as we anticipate the redemption of our bodies.

But while we live on this earth, there is also a time for looking around to the people who need Jesus. This is the mission that God has for us. Then, go love and serve them in Jesus’ name so that they too will be ready to meet Jesus when He returns.

The return 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 Trust, today’s Focus on God examines His patience.

According to Second Peter 3:9, “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”

The patience and compassion of God toward the ungodly are good reasons to explain why Jesus has not yet returned. Some day, He will return, and when that happens, the heavens will disappear with a roar and the elements will be destroyed by fire. The earth and everything in it will be laid bare. But in the meantime, God waits for people to stop running away from God and turn toward Him. He gives people time to repent and to be saved from the destruction that is coming.

God’s patience is a window of opportunity to seize this day to receive the grace that God freely offers us.

God’s patience reflects His graciousness and compassion and is a reason to trust in God for today and forever.

John Shirk

john@wjtl.com

JOHN SHIRK – In the Year of Trust, today’s Focus on God examines His love for the world.

According to John 3:16 and 17, “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. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”

The world is a big place with a population that rises above 7 billion people today. When Jesus came into the world, He was coming as the remedy for the deepest problem of each one of us. Romans 6:23 tells us that the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Where sin is our greatest problem, Jesus is our ultimate solution because in His grace is the forgiveness and eternal life that He offers us. There may be shortages of other resources in the world today, but there is no shortage of God’s love. His grace is abundant to save whoever calls on the name of the Lord.

God’s love for the world is a reason to trust in God for today and forever.

John Shirk

john@wjtl.com

JOHN SHIRK – Today’s Promise of Hope is based on John 15:8.

Jesus said to His disciples, “This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”

Jesus explained to them that their fruitfulness would depend on staying connected to Him. In verse 5, Jesus said, “I am the vine, you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”

Flowing out of our relationship with Jesus will be spiritual fruit that makes a difference in God’s Kingdom for eternity. He invites us into the Great Commission of making and growing disciples for Christ. Without God, we can do nothing; but with God, the ordinary person becomes an extraordinary witness for Christ.

The evidence of spiritual fruit 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 Trust, today’s Focus on God examines Jesus as our Great Physician.

According to the words of Jesus in Luke 5:31, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.” Then He said, “I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”

Another way of saying that is that Jesus did not come for people who had their “act together”. He came for people who were messed up in sin and desperate for a Savior.

The truth is that no one is spiritually healthy apart from the saving grace of God. Romans 3:10 reminds us that “there is no one who is righteous, not even one.”

Our sin is a fatal disease. Jesus is our only hope for a cure. This is why He came to the world. This is why He went to banquets and spent time with sinners. Doctors can treat our physical ailments for a season, but Jesus is the only doctor who can take away our sin.

Knowing Jesus as our Great Physician is a reason to trust in God for today and forever.

John Shirk

john@wjtl.com

JOHN SHIRK – In the Year of Trust, today’s Focus on God examines His watchfulness.

According to Second Chronicles 16:9, “the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.”

His vision is vast and His vision is perceptive. He is keenly aware of those who are fully committed to Him. He is also able to discern our motives behind our actions. Where God sees authentic commitment, He provides encouragement for our faith to keep pressing on in dedication and service.

Through eyes of faith, His view of us matters, and makes a difference in our words, actions, and attitudes.

The watchfulness of God is a reason to trust in God for today and forever.

John Shirk

john@wjtl.com

JOHN SHIRK – Today’s Promise of Hope is based on Matthew 5:9.

Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.”

When we serve as a peacemaker, we are reflecting the mission of Jesus, who came as a Mediator between God and mankind.

There are various forms of peacemaking that are valuable, such as conflict resolution, or being an influence to bring peace between nations. But the ultimate peacemaking mission is evangelism, where we serve as ambassadors for Christ, imploring people in this world to be reconciled to God. This is what Jesus calls His followers to do until the end of the age.

Being identified as a child of God 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 Trust, today’s Focus on God examines His creation of the stars.

According to Isaiah 40, verse 26, the Holy One invites us to probe and ponder this thought: “Lift your eyes to the heavens: Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one, and calls each by name. Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing.”

Astronomers estimate that there are at least 100 billion stars in our galaxy alone. The world population clock estimates close to 7.5 billion people living on the earth right now. So, if God can keep track of all the stars He has made, it stands to reason that He won’t lose track of the people He has made either. The point being made in Isaiah 40 is that God is our Creator. He will not grow weary or tired. No one can fathom His understanding. He holds the universe and the world in His hands. He will not let go of those who are captured in the grip of His grace.

God’s creation of the stars is a reason to trust in God for today and forever.

John Shirk

john@wjtl

JOHN SHIRK – In the Year of Trust, today’s Focus on God examines His power as a miracle worker.

According to Psalm 77:14, God is a miracle-worker. “You are the God who performs miracles; you display your power among the peoples.”

The Christian faith is built on miracles, such as the Creation of the world, the virgin birth of Jesus, the miracle of His love demonstrated at the cross, and the raising of Jesus from the dead three days later.

There is another miracle worth noting-the miracle of God’s love to draw someone to faith in Jesus and to change a heart. Second Corinthians 5:17 says, “If anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come. The old has gone, the new is here!”

God’s power as a miracle worker is a reason to trust in God for today and forever.

John Shirk

john@wjtl.com