5 Minutes with Jesus is a daily devotional series for people in the midst of real life, whether facing anxiety, grief, questions of purpose, or simply needing encouragement and connection. Hosted by Sheila Walsh, each five-minute episode offers Biblical truth, honest reflections on faith and emotions, and closes with a moment of prayer.
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| Sheila Walsh: Hope Has a Name | 5 Minutes with Jesus | December 8, 2025
- As we walk through this advent season,
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- Let's intentionally refuse to give into despair.
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- But hold fast our hope.
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- Hope has a name.
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- His name is jesus.
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- Let us hold tightly without wavering.
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- To the hope we affirm.
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- For god can be trusted to keep his promise.
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- I see him but not know.
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- I behold him, but not near.
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- A star will come out of jacob scepter,
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- Or rise out of israel.
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- When additions were being held that afternoon for the male
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- And female roles
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- In our high school play, i was so excited and nervous.
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- There were only two actors in the play, a man and his wife.
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- And rather than a straightforward script,
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- We would be representing the emotions inside of a man
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- And a woman going through a tough season in their marriage.
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- The actors never actually
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- Address each other, but rather the audience.
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- It was very experimental
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- And we all felt quite groundbreaking and edgy.
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- Well, a few days earlier
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- I asked my mom if she would read with me as i rehearsed
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- Because i remember now her only comment after an hour
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- Of reading was, it's not exactly shakespeare, is it?
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- I didn't expect her to understand.
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- She was old.
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- She was actually 15 years younger than i am right now.
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- Strange how it shifts perspective.
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- Well, i was relieved that we didn't
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- Have to memorize the lines until we got the part.
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- There were three other girls auditioning,
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- And i was chosen to read second.
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- The first girl was really good.
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- She managed to capture the tenderness
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- At the beginning of the play,
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- Yet transitioned
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- To disappointment and anger as the story progressed.
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- And then it was my turn as i stood up to read.
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- I dropped my script and the pages went everywhere.
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- I quickly gathered them up, but unfortunately
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- In the wrong order, and i stood beside walter,
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- Who was auditioning for the part of the emotions of my husband.
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- I don't remember exactly how it went, but
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- This was pretty close.
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- This was walter.
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- She looks so beautiful today.
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- Like a rose.
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- Me? i can't believe he could be so cruel.
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- My pages were so mixed up.
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- I completely missed the beginning of the story.
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- I think
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- We do that with god's redemptive story as well.
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- We pick parts of it for different seasons in life,
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- But the whole story is magnificent.
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- At christmas time,
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- We focus on the birth of christ as we should.
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- But there's a much bigger story being told that fits together
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- Like pieces in a divine hope filled puzzle.
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- On our christmas cards and nativity plays,
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- We see three kings arrive with their gifts.
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- This table where the shepherds had gathered.
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- But it's clear from matthew's gospel.
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- However, that's not the way things were.
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- It looks account of the birth of jesus uses
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- A greek word breathless to describe jesus.
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- Well, that's the word for a newborn baby.
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- And there was the baby lying in the manger.
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- But when the wise men arrive, mary, joseph, and jesus
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- Are now living in a house.
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- And the greek word used here is plebeian,
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- The word used for a young child or a toddler.
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- They entered the house and saw the child with his mother, mary,
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- And he bowed down and worshiped him.
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- We don't actually know how many wise men there were.
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- We most likely settled on three as there were three gifts,
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- But it would seem that the delegation was much,
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- Much larger.
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- We don't know exactly where
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- They came from, but most scholars agree.
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- They came from the near east, from babylon or persia.
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- As a journey of over 500 miles.
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- So why would they come so far to honor a jewish king?
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- Perhaps the impact of daniel,
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- A young jewish man
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- Who'd been held captive in babylon his entire life,
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- Was still being felt in that region.
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- You might remember that
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- When king darius was king in
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- Babylon, six centuries before christ's birth,
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- He ordered daniel to be thrown into a den of lions.
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- When daniel survived the night without a scratch,
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- The king said, this
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- I decree that everyone throughout my kingdom
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- Should tremble with fear before the god of daniel,
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- For he is the living god, and he will endure forever.
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- His kingdom
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- Will never be destroyed, and his rule will never end well.
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- Daniel was loved and revered.
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- Every one of his prophecies had come to pass.
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- So it's not surprising that
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- Those who studied the stars had been waiting for a sign.
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- Why is this significant for you and me?
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- As we hurry through a crowded mall
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- Or line up to collect our christmas ham,
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- It matters because there's always been a plan,
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- And every single prophecy concerning
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- Christ comes to pass in its season.
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- There are over 6000 promises in god's word.
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- And you and i, we could stick our lives on each one of them.
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- You know, it's tempting as we watch the news
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- Or scroll through social media
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- To become discouraged in our faith.
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- We hear of some walking away or deconstructing their faith.
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- I want you to remember there's always been a plan in place.
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- No matter what anyone says, god is in control
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- And he is good and he is with you.
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- Our hope is not wishful thinking.
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- It is as solid as christ, our rock.
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- As we walk through this advent season.
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- Let's intentionally refuse to give in to despair,
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- But hold fast to our hope.
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- Hope has a name.
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- His name is jesus.
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- Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm.
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- For god can be trusted to keep his promise.
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- Hope has the name.
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- His name is jesus. let's pray.
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- Lord, we want to come to you,
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- Thanking you that you are our hope.
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- You didn't just
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- Bring hope for a season, but that you are our hope.
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- Lord, for any who are tempted during this time
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- To give in to despair or disappointment.
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- Help us, lord, to keep our eyes so fixed on you
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- That just as those men all those years ago
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- Came 5 or 600 miles following a star
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- That we would follow you through our lives.
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- Guide us through this advent season.
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- We ask in jesus name. amen.
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