JOHN SHIRK – In the Year of Trust, today’s Focus on God examines His flawless words.
According to Proverbs 30, verse 5, “Every word of God is flawless; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.”
We can depend on every word from God to be trustworthy and true. It is through the words of God that we come to believe in Jesus Christ and are saved from our sins. Romans 10:17 tells us that faith comes from hearing the message and the message is heard through the word of Christ.
The implication of God’s flawless words is that we can trust them to lead us into the way of faith, love, and life with God.
Another implication is that His words do not need to be updated, improved, or changed to accommodate cultural values. By accepting God’s words as flawless, we will no longer conform to the patterns of this world, but will be transformed into the likeness of Christ.
The flawless words of God are reasons to trust in God for today and forever.
John Shirk
john@wjtl.com
JOHN SHIRK – Today’s Promise of Hope is based on First John 4:15.
“If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God.”
Jesus is the way to a lasting relationship with God, the Father. Faith in Jesus opens the door into that relationship where we have opportunity to walk and talk with God every day. He will lead us with Divine wisdom and save us with His Divine grace. Our life will have meaningful purpose under God’s direction. Our soul will be secure under God’s protection.
With this promise in view, we can rely on the love God has for us.
An eternal relationship with God 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 Isaiah 35:8.
“A highway will be there; it will be called the Way of Holiness; it will be for those who walk on that Way.”
This chapter is a picture of wholeness and restoration. The eyes of the blind are opened. The ears of the deaf are unstopped. Water gushes forth in the wilderness. There are streams in the desert.
The Way of Holiness will be reserved for those who have been set free from the guilt of sin. Verse 9 records that only the redeemed will walk there. Those the LORD has rescued will return. They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away.
In many places of the world, the way of holiness is not very popular today, but it still is the way of Jesus. As we follow Him, He leads us on that path to take us to His glorious destiny.
The Way of Holiness 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 the dimensions of His love.
According to Ephesians 3:17, it was the prayer of the Apostle Paul that we might be rooted and established in love, and may have power, together with the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ.
As we explore the dimensions of God’s love in the Bible, we begin to see that His love is wide enough to remove our transgressions from us as far as the east is from the west.
His love is deep enough to bury our transgressions out of sight to the bottom of the sea.
His love is long enough to last forever.
And His love is high enough to reach us from heaven to earth.
The various dimensions of God’s love 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 Jesus as the Lord of the Sabbath.
According to Jesus in Luke 6, “The Son of Man is the Lord of the Sabbath.”
The religious leaders in Jesus’ day had added human traditions to the observance of the Sabbath. Over time, these traditions were elevated to the status of God’s laws. They became legalistic and rigid in their interpretation of how someone should observe the Sabbath.
Jesus was saying here that no matter how many restrictions the Pharisees wanted to impose, they would not stop Jesus from healing on the Sabbath. Jesus, the Lord of the Sabbath, said, “It is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.”
The words of Jesus remind us that while there is wisdom in setting aside one day out of the week for rest and intentional worship, there is also freedom to serve in ways that help people at their point of need.
Knowing Jesus as the Lord of the Sabbath 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 Psalm 23:6.
“Surely, your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.”
David wrote this Psalm. As David walked with God, he was absolutely sure that he would be surrounded by the goodness and the love of God. His heart’s desire was to glorify God and to praise Him in worship. He said in Psalm 27:4, “This is what I seek; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life.”
In our daily pursuit of God’s glory, we come to notice God’s goodness and love pursuing us, each and every day of our lives.
Having the assurance of God’s goodness and love following us 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 Ephesians 3:20 and 21.
“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.”
The things of this world often tend to offer more than they deliver. Many of the things we consume fall short of expectation. On the other hand, as we get to know Jesus more, we learn that He is much more valuable than we previously imagined, and His love is much greater than we could ever comprehend, and His strength is able to accomplish more in us than we ever dreamed.
The power of God beyond imagination 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 John 7:17.
Jesus said, “Anyone who chooses to do the will of God will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own.”
When Jesus came to earth, His words and actions did not depart from His Heavenly Father’s message to the world. Jesus said to His followers, “I do exactly what my Father has commanded me.” He also said, “The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work.”
Jesus is saying that as our lives come into alignment with God’s will, it will be made clear to us that the teachings of Jesus originate from heaven, and are not separated from the Father’s wisdom. We will believe Jesus’ words to be true, and will learn to follow His teachings. His counsel will guide us where God wants us to go.
Understanding the inspiration behind Jesus’ teachings 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 ability to multiply our offerings for Kingdom impact.
According to John chapter 6, at least five thousand people formed a great crowd to gather around Jesus. But there was a shortage of food, and Jesus wanted to feed them. But where would the food come from?
One of Jesus’ disciples, Andrew pointed out, “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?” With Jesus’ touch, the answer became “far enough to satisfy every person in the crowd.”
This true story shows what can happen when we offer Jesus what little we have, (whether a tithe or our spiritual gift). He can multiply something we consider ordinary or insignificant and touch many lives with it. Ephesians 3:20 tells us that He is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.
God’s ability to multiply our offerings 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 Philippians 1:6.
“Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”
It is an amazing thought to consider that the God who made us will choose to work through us, even as He is working on us. After we receive Jesus as Lord and Savior, He enables us to grow more mature in the faith through the truth of His Scripture and life’s experiences.
He also enables us to become a witness for the Lord that speaks to His transforming power in our lives. And that witness lives on through the people we have reached with the Gospel, even after our death until the coming of the Lord.
A lasting legacy of faith is a promise of hope for those who follow Jesus in the Year of Trust.
John Shirk
john@wjtl.com
JOHN SHIRK – Recently, my wife and I attended a funeral service and a wedding reception on the same day. It was the first time I had ever done that, and there was a wide range of emotions that we shared that day-from the tears of sadness at the funeral to the music on the dance floor at the wedding reception.
Ecclesiastes 7:2 says, “It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, for death is the destiny of everyone, the living should take this to heart.”
I thought about that verse that day. I was glad for the experience of the wedding reception for it was a celebration of life, and a celebration of committed love. There is real joy in that kind of celebration.
But the funeral was also a celebration of life, remembering someone’s faithfulness to the Lord, and someone’s special qualities that added joy to our lives while they lived. That person was my mother-in-law, and she will be missed.
Among the sympathy cards we received, one person noted how at the service, they were challenged with some legacy questions. After I am gone, how will I be remembered? Will I be remembered as someone who loved the Lord and loved my family? These are some of the ways that attending the house of mourning can help us make the most of the opportunities that God gives us with our window of time on this earth.
Ecclesiastes 7:2 gives us wisdom for turning to God at the crossroads of life.
John Shirk
john@wjtl.com
