John Shirk

JOHN SHIRK – Today’s Promise of Hope is based on Psalm 48:14.

“For this God is our God for ever and ever; he will be our guide even to the end.”

We can cling to God with the assurance that He will never leave us or forsake us.

When we come to a fork in the road, God is there to guide us with His wisdom.

When we need a friend, He is forever faithful.

When we need strength to overcome temptation, God is there with His grace to help us in our time of need.

We needed the hope of heaven, and God provided the way when He sent Jesus into the world to become an atoning sacrifice for our sins.

God’s guidance to the end is a promise of hope for those who follow Jesus in the Year of Trust.

John Shirk

john@wjtl.com

JOHN SHIRK – Today’s Promise of Hope is based on Zephaniah 3:17.

“The LORD your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing.”

Here we see a picture of God’s people purified in His grace. If there is one thing that can bring comfort to our day, it’s music. It is an art form that can help us experience peace in a turbulent world. And here, God is using music to express His delight in those who belong to Him. He has won victories on their behalf and He has won their heart. There is a great celebration ahead for those who celebrate Jesus.

The enjoyment of Heavenly music 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 the Savior of the world.

According to First John 4:14, “We have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.”

Love was the motivation behind Jesus’ entrance into the world. God recognized that we had a sin problem, and He provided Jesus to be the solution for our sin, so that we might receive forgiveness and eternal life through faith in His name. This salvation is offered to the world and is available to all who call on the name of the Lord.

At the announcement of Jesus’ birth to Joseph, the angel said about Mary, “She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

Knowing Jesus as our Savior 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 blessings.

According to James 1:17, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”

God’s gifts to us are blessings that enable us to thrive for the glory of God. We are blessed to receive the perfect gifts of Jesus and the Holy Spirit. There are also good gifts that God provides for us, such as food to sustain us in life, abilities to enable us to serve, and people to encourage us in the faith.

For every blessing, we have an occasion to thank God for His gracious hand.

The good and perfect blessings of God are reasons 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 eternal reign.

According to Psalm 90, verse 2, God is God from everlasting to everlasting.

There is never a period of time in which God did not reign as God. He is self-sufficient and self-existent.

This means that the birth of Jesus was not actually the beginning of His existence. He was honored in heaven before He suffered on earth. Before His crucifixion, Jesus prayed in John 17:5, “Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.” In that same prayer, He later said, “Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory.”

His request is for His followers to be where He is and to see Him in His glory. This is fulfilled in the book of Revelation, where Jesus reigns for eternity. God’s grace is what makes forever possible for His people.

The eternal reign of Jesus 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 sympathy to those who are weeping.

To be sympathetic is to express sorrow with someone in the midst of their grief and loss.

Jesus expressed sorrow at the gravesite of his friend Lazarus. He came and was moved by the grief of Lazarus’s sisters-Mary and Martha.

When they greeted Jesus, they said basically the same thing. Lord, if you have been here, my brother would not have died. John 11:33 says that when Jesus saw Mary weeping and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. Verse 35 says, “Jesus wept.”

If Jesus was moved by their raw emotion, we can believe that Jesus is also moved in spirit when we experience a season of sorrow. Jesus is not removed from our suffering. Rather, He stepped right into it when He went to the cross.

The sympathy of Jesus for our tears 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 the comfort of His love.

According to Psalm 34:18, the LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

The comfort of His love can be found in God’s compassion for us in our distress, and God’s capacity to see us through our times of trouble.

For the follower of Jesus, trouble is a season, not our final condition. Verse 15 says that the eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, and his ears are attentive to their cry.

Verse 19 says, “The righteous person may have many troubles, but the LORD delivers him from them all.”

The comfort of His love is a source of peace, a reason for hope, and an opportunity to grow in our sympathy for others when they experience similar times of trouble.

The comfort of God’s love 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 Titus 1, verses 1 and 2.

Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to further the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness-in the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time.

For the follower of Jesus, our hope for eternal life is not built on an elusive dream or wishful thinking. Our hope is built on the promise of God who tells us the truth. He has a proven track record of keeping His promises so far. One area where this is evident is in the fulfilled prophecies of Jesus Christ to be born of a virgin in Bethlehem, and then as a man to be despised and rejected by men to the degree that Jesus would be pierced for our transgressions. But after His crucifixion, He would see the light of life and be satisfied. Jesus would rise again. His body would not see decay.

These fulfilled promises not only reveal God’s faithfulness in keeping His Word, but also explain why eternal life is possible only through faith in Jesus Christ.

Eternal life 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 constant presence.

According to Hebrews 13:5, “God has said, ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”

Reminders of God’s constant presence serve to build our courage and release us from fear.

Joshua was about to face the battle of Jericho on his way to the Promised Land. The LORD said to him, “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.”

We might get nervous at the thought of telling someone else about our faith in Jesus, but the constant presence of Jesus encourages us to be His faithful witnesses. He said, “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely, I am with you always to the very end of the age.”

The constant presence of Jesus is a reason to trust in God for today and forever.

John Shirk

john@wjtl.com

JOHN SHIRK – For today’s Life at the Crossroads Moment, taking up the shield of faith.

In Ephesians 6:16, faith is compared to a shield. “In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.”

Do you see the implication of this verse? We are targets of the evil one. In the spiritual realm, he is firing off flaming arrows at us-Arrows of temptation, arrows of deception, messages of condemnation. After all, he is our accuser. His ultimate aim is to destroy us.

But faith is an adequate defense against the attacks of the enemy, serving as a capable shield to protect our heart and soul.

So, what is faith? Hebrews 11:1 tells us that faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. And then the rest of the chapter gives example after example of those patriarchs of the past who lived by faith in God, who is unseen, but gives us hope and confidence that can be seen in the lives of His followers. Faith is not wishful thinking, hoping something is true without any foundation. Faith is belief in a living God who is true. Hebrews 11:6 tells us that “without faith, it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” So, having faith means believing that God is real and that He is good. This faith leads us to acknowledge Jesus as our Savior and Lord.

Ephesians 6:19 and Hebrews 11 gives us wisdom for turning to God at the crossroads of life.

John Shirk

john@wjtl.com