"She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins."
Matthew 1:21 (NRSV)
Prodigal Thoughts: Matthew is helping to make the connections and promoting the bigger picture by giving an account of the birth of Christ. As he is doing so, he is quoting the words of God to the prophet Isaiah. The baby boy’s name is to be Jesus, or Yeshua. The current name would be Joshua. What is the meaning of Yeshua? Yahweh is salvation. Fitting, isn’t it. Jesus was God in the flesh and he was sent to earth to redeem us from our sins. If you’ll permit the slight stretch, you could say that with the arrival of Jesus, he is saying "I am your salvation." I’m so very thankful for this gift from God to our world. There is a song from Chris Rice called "Welcome to our World" that really sums up this verse.
Prayer for today: Today, I pray that we would intentionally take time to reflect on what this time of year represents. The lowly savior being born on this earth for the purpose of redeeming us from our sins even though he didn’t have to stand in the gap for us. That we would praise and worship the King of Kings for His love and goodness. I pray that we would be a reflection of the hope that can be found in God.
If you need prayer, please reply and I will pray for you. If you would like to talk about this verse or have questions, I’m always open for your feedback.
God’s grace on you…
Prodigal Thinker 