Monthly Archives: December 2024

The Creator; December 30, 2024


Isaiah 40:21 Do you not know?    Have you not heard?Has it not been told you from the beginning?    Have you not understood since the earth was founded? This is a rhetorical question, but a very important one that needs to keep being asked every … Continue reading

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Healing; December 29, 2024


Isaiah 53:5 But he was pierced for our transgressions,    he was crushed for our iniquities;the punishment that brought us peace was on him,    and by his wounds we are healed. I think this chapter is one of the most important in the whole Bible, right up there … Continue reading

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The Purpose of the Incarnation; December 28, 2024


Colossians 1:19-20 For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross. When you think about it, it’s … Continue reading

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Going by the Rules; December 27, 2024


Luke 2:39 When Joseph and Mary had done everything required by the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee to their own town of Nazareth. It’s interesting that Luke completely skips over the magi and the escape to Egypt. … Continue reading

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Details; December 26, 2024


Luke 2:22 When the time came for the purification rites required by the Law of Moses, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord. This passage makes it definitive that the magi didn’t show up at … Continue reading

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Matthew; December 25, 2024


Matthew 2:17 Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled: Matthew is far and away the most Jewish of the Gospels. There is good literary evidence that it was originally written in Aramaic, and only later translated into … Continue reading

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Acting on Truth; December 24, 2024


Matthew 2:5 “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written:” It has always bothered me that the priests and scribes were so familiar with the Old Testament that they could come up with this answer, … Continue reading

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Perspective; December 23, 2024


Luke 2:20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told. This is such a familiar passage, I knew which verse I was going to write … Continue reading

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Justice; December 22, 2024


Isaiah 42:4 “He will not falter or be discouragedtill he establishes justice on earth.    In his teaching the islands will put their hope.” I was a little surprised that the Japanese translation I currently use said “judgment,” rather than “justice,” in this verse, and … Continue reading

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The Christmas Story; December 21, 2024


Luke 2:4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. From the standpoint of the world, Joseph and Mary … Continue reading

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