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A Blessedness No One has Imagined
Scholars have long debated whether the original Hebrew of today’s passage is better translated “virgin” or “young woman.” This is a worthy debate, but if we are not careful, we could miss this key point: just as the son ...Read More
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A Child is Born
Some have argued that today’s passage predicts the birth of King Hezekiah, but given the failures of even righteous Hezekiah (Isa. 39), it is clear that these verses must refer ultimately to the Son of David, who is also ...Read More
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A Mission of Service
The truth that Jesus will not snuff out a smoldering wick or break a bruised reed is one of the most encouraging truths of Christianity. When others would give up on us because of our failures, lack of money, talent ...Read More
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A Shoot from Jesse’s Stump
One of the things that makes Jesus the Messiah greater than even David himself is His righteousness in judging the poor and deciding with equity for “the meek of the earth” (Isa. 11:4). Christ is the incomparably noble and ...Read More
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A Small Town, a Great King
God’s often uses what the world deems insignificant or unlovely. Across the world, His kingdom is spread by ordinary people who will probably themselves never be famous or remembered in the history books of men. Yet, those who know ...Read More
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Christmas in Time and Space
The Bible insists that the Son of God entered history at a specific point and remains united to a human nature in the person of Jesus Christ forever. This is radically different from the Hindu concept of incarnation, which says ...Read More
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Cyrus, the Lord’s Anointed
It might be a clichè to say that we should “expect the unexpected.” Yet because God is fully sovereign, there is a real sense in which we should expect Him to act in ways we have not anticipated because His ...Read More
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David’s Greatest Son
Righteous dominion over the earth is given to all of God’s people. We cannot make all things serve the Lord by our own efforts, but Christ has come to die for our sins and fulfill God’s purpose for ...Read More
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Disciples from John
Matthew Henry writes: “The remaining unbelief of good men may sometimes, in an hour of temptation, strike at the root, and call in question the most fundamental truths which were thought to be well settled. The best saints have need ...Read More
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Jesus Rebukes Peter
Evangelicals often stress that Jesus has died for our sins, but it can be easy to forget that He was also raised for our sins. As we share the Gospel, let us remember to present the truth of the resurrection ...Read More
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Responding to the Servant
God works through means. In justification, the sole instrumental means He uses is the faith He gives us to lay hold of Christ’s perfect righteousness—the sole ground of our being declared righteous before Him. We must trust Jesus ...Read More
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Seated at God’s Right Hand
Even now, Jesus is seated on the throne of His father David at the right hand of God. This means that He is ruler over all and that the kings of the earth rule only according to His sovereign permission ...Read More
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The Advent of Christ
Today, we expect the second advent of Christ to judge the living and the dead (Acts 1:11; 2 Tim. 4:1). Sometimes we are tempted to be discouraged, to doubt that He is coming back, because it has been ...Read More
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The Coming of Elijah
John Calvin writes on today’s passage that Elijah’s restoration “does not mean that John the Baptist restored them perfectly, but that he conveyed and handed them over to Christ, who would complete the work which he had begun ...Read More
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The Consolation of Israel
Only when we have seen the Messiah—when we have acknowledged Jesus for who He is and bowed in worship—will we be ready to meet our Creator. There is only one way to stand before God unafraid, and that ...Read More