Seize the Moment – Day 1380
The Stem of Jesse!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Wednesday, December 27.
Is there hope in the face of death and destruction? Isaiah sure thinks so, as we once again find the image of life bursting forth from that which is dead (ref. Isaiah 4:2). In Isaiah 10, we learned that the Assyrians were commissioned by God to be His axe, to chop down the diseased tree of Israel (15, 33-34). Today, in Isaiah 11:1-4, we watch life burst forth from the felled tree of Israel, as Isaiah, once again, describes the coming of the Messiah:
Then a shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse, and a branch from his roots will bear fruit. The Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and strength, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. And He will delight in the fear of the Lord, and He will not judge by what His eyes see, nor make a decision by what His ears hear; but with righteousness He will judge the poor, and decide with fairness for the afflicted of the earth; and He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips He will slay the wicked.
Jesus Christ is “the stem of Jesse,” as Acts 13:22-23 explains, “After He had removed [Saul], He raised up David to be their king, concerning whom He also testified and said, ‘I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after my heart, who will do all My will.’ From the descendants of this man, according to promise, God has brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus.” Jesus is the fulfillment of God’s promise to David in 2 Samuel 7:16, “Your house and your kingdom shall endure before Me forever; your throne shall be established forever.”
Seize the moment and trust in Jesus as the stem of Jesse – He is our living hope! He promises in Revelation 21:5, “I am making all things new.”
God bless you!
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YOUTUBE:
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