https://wels2.blob.core.windows.net/daily-devotions/20251213dev.mp3 Listen to Devotion A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. The Spirit of the L ORD will rest on him—the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of knowledge and fear of the L ORD —and he will delight in the fear of the L ORD . . . In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his resting place will be glorious. Isaiah 11:1-3,10 Put Your Hope in Jesus Have you ever heard of nurse logs? They are dead tree trunks, like stumps. Yet, those dead trees are still thriving. The decaying surface of the dead tree creates a perfect growing medium for a tiny seed, for a shoot. The decaying tree becomes a nursemaid, a nurse-tree, to the new tree generation. Out of the stump of Jesse, a shoot, a Branch came up; it was the baby Jesus. Like a tiny shoot, his beginnings were humble. A little twig from a small town. Born in a stable with only shepherds and livestock to greet him. Born helpless and dependent on others. But despite the humble beginnings, this Branch was special. Jesus, the living shoot, comes up out of the dead stump, bringing life out of death. By his perfect life and his death on the cross, Jesus saves us from eternal death! By taking our sins on himself, he freed us from guilt and gave us his perfection! Jesus’ death is our death. His life is our life. His righteousness is our righteousness. Does your life feel like a stump? Have you been cut down by the axe of adversity? Have the problems of this life chopped you down at the knees? All is not lost. There is hope in the Root of Jesse. There is hope in Jesus. He offers you his life and his perfection. He offers you everything! He offers you peace and rest, which you’ll find nowhere else. Put your hope in Jesus. Trust in him for everything! It will be glorious. You have God’s Word on that! Prayer: Dear Lord Jesus, Righteous Branch, send your Holy Spirit into my heart through the power of your Word so I can enjoy your perfect rest. Amen. Daily Devotions is brought to you by WELS. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. ™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.
