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Read: Matthew 1:18-25
You are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. (v. 21)
We are fast approaching the middle of March, and I have asked you to break what seems to be an unwritten rule in the church, namely, that passages like this one should be decorated with holly and ivy and left for late December. But I think any day of any month deserves to celebrate the best news available to us—"He will save his people from their sins." The very name of Jesus reveals the work he came to accomplish: our salvation.
When we stand and say "I believe . . . in Jesus," on the one hand we are affirming there was a real live person named Jesus who lived in the first century. But on the other hand we are celebrating the work he came to accomplish, namely salvation. We're confessing, "I believe Jesus is the Savior. I believe he came to save us from our sins. I believe he came to deliver his world from the brokenness that has left it in shambles. I believe he will set it right again." As the angel Gabriel wanted to make clear from the outset, "Name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins."
I can hardly wait to say it again next Sunday—I believe in Jesus!
Prayer: Dear Jesus, thank you for salvation.
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