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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#LightoftheWorld
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#SheilaWalsh
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| Sheila Walsh: The Light of the World | 5 Minutes with Jesus | December 2, 2025
- I'm captivated by the thought that as we worship
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- And celebrate.
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- As we let the light of christ shine through our lives.
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- To those around us in a dark and broken world.
- 00:00:06.496 --> 00:00:09.999
- We can be like the ornaments in god's tree.
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- We can be those who draw others
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- To christ by reflecting his love and mercy.
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- When you feel anxious or afraid, remember
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- That the evergreen mercy of god is with you.
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- Every morning when i get up.
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- My eyes are immediately
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- Drawn to the eight foot christmas
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- Tree in the corner of our den.
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- It's been up since christmas 2020.
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- Almost five years now.
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- I'd love to tell you that it's
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- The only one we have up in our house. but it's not.
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- We have a tree in our bedroom and one downstairs as well.
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- It was a little embarrassing when friends came over
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- For the first time
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- Since the pandemic and saw it still up, but now i love it.
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- I got up every morning, put the coffee on
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- And switch on the tree lights.
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- It makes me so happy.
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- I think part of the initial reason
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- We left the trees up after christmas 2020 was that
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- Life was so hard, so colorless.
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- With countless others,
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- I found myself struggling with depression and anxiety
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- As we felt the impact of a global pandemic.
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- Somehow, the tree's sparkling lights speak of hope
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- Reminded me of better days, but it's much more than that.
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- The trees remind me
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- Daily of that moment that changed the world forever.
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- The coming of our savior.
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- The place where hope began.
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- There's a lot of debate over the origin
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- Of the christmas tree.
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- Some scholars find its roots in pagan tradition.
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- In the 17th century, english military leader and politician
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- Oliver cromwell said he stood against the heathen
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- Traditions of christmas carols, decorated trees
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- And any joyful expression that desecrated that sacred event.
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- Pretty
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- Sure that christmas in his home wasn't very much fun.
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- Well, in that children's book,
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- Luther's children celebrate christmas.
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- Dorothy haskins says martin luther, the leader
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- Of the protestant reformation of the 16th century,
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- Was walking through the woods near his house at night.
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- Snow had fallen on the branches of the trees,
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- And they sparkled in the moonlight.
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- And he was so taken by their quiet, brilliant beauty.
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- Haskins writes, the little tree stood there bravely, keeping
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- Green, while
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- Everything else around them went dry and drab and lifeless.
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- So luther cut down the tree, carried it home, and decorate it
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- With candles. according to haskins.
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- He explained to his children
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- That the tree is green in the winter.
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- Like our faith in christ, it stays fresh
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- Even in a time of trouble.
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- Our faith in christ stays green even in sorrow.
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- It stays alive even in the midst of despair.
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- At the top of our tree in the den is a cross, not a star.
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- It speaks to me of redemption, of the depths
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- To which christ was willing to go, to redeem you and me.
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- If you think about it,
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- The beginning of our story started with a tree.
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- When god placed adam and eve in the garden of eden,
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- He told them they could eat freely from every tree
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- Except one.
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- They were forbidden to eat
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- From the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
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- Or they would die when the serpent entered the garden.
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- His first act was to make them question god.
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- Did god really say his second act was to call god a liar?
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- You won't die.
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- His third was to insinuate that god was holding out on them.
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- God knows that your eyes will be opened
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- When they listen to his lies and pick fruit
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- From the forbidden tree.
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- The whole earth shuddered.
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- Everything changed.
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- Suddenly, adam
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- And eve felt shame and hid from god in his mercy.
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- God clothed him
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- In the skins of animals and sent them out of the garden.
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- He posted mighty cherubim to the east of the garden of eden
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- With a flaming sword to guard the way to the tree of life.
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- Think about it.
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- If they had stayed, they could have eaten the fruit
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- From the tree of life, and lived forever as broken people.
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- God loved them too much for that.
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- He loves you too much for that as well.
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- So just as our desolation came from a tree,
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- So also our redemption would come on a tree.
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- A better wardrobe was on the way for you and me.
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- When we've placed our trust in christ.
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- We're not clothed in his righteousness.
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- Christ, the spotless lamb of god,
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- Was willing to become a curse in the eyes of god and man.
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- To bridge the great divide between a holy god.
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- A sinner such as you and me.
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- It's hard to take in the weight of that kind of love
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- In reality, where we should expect judgment.
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- We receive overwhelming grace.
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- We get what we don't deserve.
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- Christ has rescued us from the curse pronounced by the law.
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- When he was hung on the cross,
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- He took upon himself the curse for our wronging.
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- For it's written in scripture.
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- Cursed is everyone was hung on a tree.
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- The book of hosea.
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- God describes himself this way.
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- I'm like a tree that is always green.
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- When i think of that image during this season,
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- I'm captivated by the thought that as we worship
- 00:05:16.339 --> 00:05:19.008
- And celebrate,
- 00:05:19.008 --> 00:05:20.410
- As we let the light of christ shine through our lives to those
- 00:05:20.410 --> 00:05:23.146
- Around us in a dark and broken world,
- 00:05:23.146 --> 00:05:26.349
- We can be like the ornaments in god's tree.
- 00:05:26.349 --> 00:05:28.918
- We can be those who draw others
- 00:05:28.918 --> 00:05:30.520
- To christ by reflecting his love and mercy.
- 00:05:30.520 --> 00:05:33.856
- When you feel anxious or afraid, remember
- 00:05:33.856 --> 00:05:36.526
- That the evergreen mercy of god is with you.
- 00:05:36.526 --> 00:05:40.363
- World has become such a cold and lonely place
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- For so many people.
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- But just as those trees captivated martin luther's heart
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- And brought joy to his children with a candlelight.
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- You and i can be that light to the world,
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- Not just at christmas time throughout the year.
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- Let's pray.
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- Lord jesus, thank you that you are willing to come.
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- Thank you that you are the light of the world
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- That shines in the darkness,
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- And the darkness can never extinguish it.
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- So we ask lord
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- During this season that we would be your light,
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- Reflecting to the world around us that god came to us.
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- And because of that, we are not alone, and we are
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- Loved in jesus name. amen.
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