This verse is about a HUGE homecoming party! Another exilic prophet, Zephaniah, is predicting that the Jewish exiles will return to Zion, the people will be gathered from all the places to which they were scattered, and all their worship and prosperity will be restored.
First 30 Day 15 Love’s Saving Song Read More »
id you ever feel warn out in service? Weary in well-doing? I have. The exiles are exhausted and feel like they don’t have the strength to go on. But God promises that their human might, their human power is not what will get the job done. Lean into God. It is by His Holy Spirit that the building will be finished.
First 30 Day 14 Building not Battle Read More »
And what does baptism say? It’s going public, saying we believe in God, that we are for God, that we belong to God. And immediately after Jesus is baptized, the rest of the Trinity shows up to confirm His declaration. The Holy Spirit descends on Jesus, and the Father’s voice booms out, “This is My beloved Son, with Whom I am well pleased.”
First 30 Day 13 Going Public Read More »
when Jesus came to earth, Jesus did nothing on His own authority, but obeyed His Father God in everything, so He could teach us: by example.
First 30 Day 12 Learn by Example Read More »
Far from home, in a strange and crowded city, Mary gave birth to her firstborn Son outside an inn, because there was no room inside. The stable area would have been a kind of lean-to, and the manger that cradled the Lord of glory was probably hollowed out stone. She rubbed Him with salt, wrapped Him in strips of cloth, and put Him to sleep in a cattle trough, padded with hay. And Joseph, her husband, gives the Child the name: Jesus, which means, “God saves.”
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Jesus was not born into a vacuum, but into a living framework of promise and salvation based on God’s covenant, and God’s historic faithfulness to Israel as His chosen people.
First 30 Day 10 Old Covenant Read More »