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:Jesus Changed Everything | 5 Minutes with Jesus | December 19, 2025
- It's easy to miss the good news.
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- That god has splashed all over the world.
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- He's always talking to us if we have ears to hear.
- 00:00:04.461 --> 00:00:07.831
- As you pass the christmas tree, lots that spring up every year.
- 00:00:07.831 --> 00:00:11.801
- Pause for a moment and remember that just as evergreen trees
- 00:00:11.801 --> 00:00:16.106
- Remain green the whole winter long.
- 00:00:16.106 --> 00:00:19.008
- Speak to us of the eternal life offered to each one of us
- 00:00:19.008 --> 00:00:22.712
- In jesus christ.
- 00:00:22.712 --> 00:00:24.447
- Likewise, as you light
- 00:00:24.447 --> 00:00:26.049
- Your red candles or wrap your gifts in scarlet ribbon,
- 00:00:26.049 --> 00:00:30.019
- Remember the blood that was shed for you.
- 00:00:30.019 --> 00:00:32.422
- The colors of christmas speak of our salvation.
- 00:00:32.422 --> 00:00:36.292
- No one can take that from you.
- 00:00:36.292 --> 00:00:38.461
- It is securely, eternally yours.
- 00:00:38.461 --> 00:00:46.302
- I love this scripture.
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- Come now, let's settle this, says the lord.
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- Look, your sins are like scarlet.
- 00:00:51.407 --> 00:00:53.343
- I will make them as white as snow.
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- Though they are red like crimson,
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- I will make them as white as wool.
- 00:00:58.448 --> 00:01:00.717
- Neither barry nor i have a horticultural gift.
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- We've planted all sorts of things over the years, but few,
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- If any, have survived.
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- Despite that, five years ago
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- We decided we were going to give it another try.
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- After some research, we settled on azaleas.
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- We read that they do well in the south.
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- The gentleman at the nursery said that the proper care
- 00:01:20.370 --> 00:01:23.773
- Azaleas can bloom for 50 years.
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- The ones he recommended, however, were not just regular
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- Garden variety of azaleas.
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- He suggested we invest in evergreen azaleas,
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- As he said, they had several advantages.
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- They offer year round appeal.
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- They're evergreen
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- And they bloom for three out of the four seasons.
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- They're also low maintenance and disease resistant.
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- How could we possibly go wrong?
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- He told us if we planted them in partial shade,
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- They would stretch toward the sunlight.
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- Pretty impressive. well,
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- We treated those azaleas.
- 00:01:57.273 --> 00:01:58.875
- Is that they were our children.
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- When it got a little frosty.
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- We covered them with burlap and tuck them in each night.
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- We made sure they had enough
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- Moisture in the hot dallas summers,
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- And offered words of encouragement
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- When we had to leave for a few days.
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- They lived for 50 years.
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- We realized that they would survive us,
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- But we would make plans for their future care and our will.
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- Well, they died.
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- All of them.
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- No idea what we did wrong.
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- I invited a friend who has a glorious garden
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- Of his own to come over and take a look.
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- I thought you might be able to offer some wisdom
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- That would help us restore them.
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- He did pull them up. they're dead.
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- The only thing we haven't killed is our holly tree.
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- It has survived. hail and ice.
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- Extreme heat and winds that downed power lines.
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- Now i've done nothing to help it endure is simply does
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- Squirrels scurry up its trunk and nibble
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- On the berries and birds have nested there.
- 00:02:50.760 --> 00:02:53.363
- I that's that's why
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- Red and green are so often associated with christmas,
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- When everything else in the yard turns brown
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- As winter approaches,
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- The evergreen trees and the red holly berries remain.
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- I love evergreen trees.
- 00:03:04.674 --> 00:03:07.343
- They speak to me of the eternal life
- 00:03:07.343 --> 00:03:09.112
- We're given through jesus.
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- The red of the berries remind me of the blood
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- That was spilled to make that possible.
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- From the first pages of genesis to the final.
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- Amen.
- 00:03:17.954 --> 00:03:18.688
- Come, lord jesus of revelation.
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- Red and green are woven through scripture.
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- Think about it.
- 00:03:24.661 --> 00:03:25.728
- When adam and eve sinned in the garden of eden,
- 00:03:25.728 --> 00:03:27.764
- They tried to hide from god.
- 00:03:27.764 --> 00:03:29.866
- When their eyes were open to a world
- 00:03:29.866 --> 00:03:31.401
- Where disobedience and sin became the norm.
- 00:03:31.401 --> 00:03:34.470
- They covered themselves with green fig leaves because
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- They were ashamed
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- Of and doing the very same thing ever since.
- 00:03:39.809 --> 00:03:42.378
- As we see our sin, we try to hide
- 00:03:42.378 --> 00:03:44.881
- What we think makes us unacceptable to god.
- 00:03:44.881 --> 00:03:48.351
- I have a letter on my desk from a prisoner
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- Who wants to know if he's sent too much
- 00:03:51.220 --> 00:03:53.489
- To be able to receive the love and grace of god.
- 00:03:53.489 --> 00:03:56.793
- There's no hope for his release on this earth,
- 00:03:56.793 --> 00:03:59.929
- But i was able to send him a bible.
- 00:03:59.929 --> 00:04:01.698
- And that's the good news.
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- Because of jesus, everyone calls.
- 00:04:03.633 --> 00:04:06.769
- In the name
- 00:04:06.769 --> 00:04:07.837
- Of the lord has a future and a hope for all eternity.
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- This is a grace filled message of christmas.
- 00:04:11.507 --> 00:04:15.144
- Christ has come to us.
- 00:04:15.144 --> 00:04:17.714
- Before adam and eve were driven out of the garden.
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- God made coverings for them from animal skins.
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- The first blood spilled.
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- That was just the beginning of the significance of the blood
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- That would be spilled for us on the cross.
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- As edward welch writes, either
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- We would be forever covered by the skins of dead animals,
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- Or this was the first step to a better wardrobe.
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- I find that so moving.
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- The first step to a better wardrobe.
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- First step cost animals their lives.
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- The ultimate step cost christ's life
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- Willingly given amazing grace.
- 00:04:53.616 --> 00:04:58.020
- The scarlet thread of promise runs through the pages of the
- 00:04:58.020 --> 00:05:00.656
- Old testament.
- 00:05:00.656 --> 00:05:01.824
- There are so many moments to look forward to the cross.
- 00:05:01.824 --> 00:05:05.061
- Think of as abraham prepared to sacrifice his son isaac.
- 00:05:05.061 --> 00:05:08.264
- The angel of the lord stopped him
- 00:05:08.264 --> 00:05:10.199
- And pointed to a ram caught in the bush.
- 00:05:10.199 --> 00:05:12.835
- Isaac was spared, but jesus was not.
- 00:05:12.835 --> 00:05:16.773
- He chose to be our once and for all sacrifice.
- 00:05:16.773 --> 00:05:19.909
- For hundreds of years,
- 00:05:20.410 --> 00:05:21.844
- The jewish people used
- 00:05:21.844 --> 00:05:22.912
- The blood of animal sacrifices to cover their sins,
- 00:05:22.912 --> 00:05:25.948
- But they had to do it over and over again until jesus.
- 00:05:25.948 --> 00:05:30.420
- It's easy to miss the good news that god has splashed
- 00:05:31.521 --> 00:05:34.190
- All over the world.
- 00:05:34.190 --> 00:05:35.725
- He's always talking to us if we have ears to hear.
- 00:05:35.725 --> 00:05:39.095
- As you pass the christmas tree, lots
- 00:05:39.095 --> 00:05:41.297
- That spring up every year, pause for a moment and remember that
- 00:05:41.297 --> 00:05:45.334
- Just as evergreen trees remain green a whole winter long.
- 00:05:45.334 --> 00:05:50.273
- Speak to us of the eternal life offered
- 00:05:50.273 --> 00:05:52.742
- To each one of us in jesus christ.
- 00:05:52.742 --> 00:05:55.711
- Likewise, as you light
- 00:05:55.711 --> 00:05:57.313
- Your red candles or wrap your gifts in scarlet ribbon,
- 00:05:57.313 --> 00:06:01.284
- Remember the blood that was shed for you.
- 00:06:01.284 --> 00:06:03.686
- The colors of christmas speak of our salvation.
- 00:06:03.686 --> 00:06:07.557
- No one can take that from you.
- 00:06:07.557 --> 00:06:09.725
- It is securely, eternally yours.
- 00:06:09.725 --> 00:06:13.896
- Let's pray.
- 00:06:14.230 --> 00:06:15.364
- Father, i want to thank you for the
- 00:06:16.165 --> 00:06:18.034
- The reminders
- 00:06:18.034 --> 00:06:19.268
- You have all around us of your goodness and your kindness.
- 00:06:19.268 --> 00:06:22.772
- And lord, in this season, as we look at the holly leaves
- 00:06:22.772 --> 00:06:26.442
- And we look at the berries,
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- And we remember that because of you,
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- We have an evergreen life.
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- Even when i take our last breath on this earth,
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- We take our first breath in your presence.
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- Thank you that you have secured an eternity
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- For us with you because of your sacrifice.
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- We thank you in jesus name.
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- Amen.
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