The One Year Bible New Testament for New Beginnings by DaySpring NLT, Filament Enabled - Book - Page 23
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E NCOU R AG E M E N T
Many generations of God’s people had watched and waited for the greatest of all new
beginnings—the coming of the Messiah. Jesus makes all other new beginnings possible! He is “Immanuel, which means ‘God is with us’” (Matthew 1:23). What a precious promise to cling to as we start a new season! The coming of the Messiah shows
us that God always keeps his promises. His Word is true, and it leads us to him and
the fresh start he offers every day. As the wise men were guided to Bethlehem by a
star, Jesus will guide every step of our journeys from start to 昀椀nish. And as we follow
him, we will be 昀椀lled with joy and anticipation!
day 2
| MATTH EW 2:13–3:6
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After the wise men were gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up! Flee to
Egypt with the child and his mother,” the angel said. “Stay there until I tell you to return, because
Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.”
14
That night Joseph left for Egypt with the child and Mary, his mother, 15and they stayed there until
Herod’s death. This fulfilled what the Lord had spoken through the prophet: “I called my Son out of
Egypt.”
16
Herod was furious when he realized that the wise men had outwitted him. He sent soldiers to kill
all the boys in and around Bethlehem who were two years old and under, based on the wise men’s
report of the star’s first appearance. 17Herod’s brutal action fulfilled what God had spoken through
the prophet Jeremiah:
18
“A cry was heard in Ramah—
weeping and great mourning.
Rachel weeps for her children,
refusing to be comforted,
for they are dead.”
19
When Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt. 20“Get up!” the
angel said. “Take the child and his mother back to the land of Israel, because those who were trying
to kill the child are dead.”
21
So Joseph got up and returned to the land of Israel with Jesus and his mother. 22But when he
learned that the new ruler of Judea was Herod’s son Archelaus, he was afraid to go there. Then, after
being warned in a dream, he left for the region of Galilee. 23So the family went and lived in a town
called Nazareth. This fulfilled what the prophets had said: “He will be called a Nazarene.”
In those days John the Baptist came to the Judean wilderness and began preaching. His message
was, 2“Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.” 3The prophet Isaiah
was speaking about John when he said,
3:1
