Today we are reading Isaiah 11. In this chapter we read about the promises related to the coming of the Messiah. “There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. And his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide disputes by what his ears hear, but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked. Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist, and faithfulness the belt of his loins.” Isaiah 11:1-5 ESV Have you ever seen green young shoots growing out of an old stump? In Israel the Olive Tree often displays this phenomenon. The general idea is that the new growth benefits from the root system of the old stump. This prophetic metaphor teaches that Jesus is the shoot coming from the root of Jesse. Who is Jesse? How does Jesus match the description we find of the Messiah? What aspect of this description is most intriguing to you? By grace through faith you have been added to this tree. How are you producing fruit? God bless you to be fruitful and multiply spiritually! Pastor Tim