Mindfully Meditating in Matthew, the collection of these studies
(First 100 days of 2023, day 34, Feb 3)

Passage

Matthew Chapter Three

It doesn’t matter which version you choose. It can be digital or paper. You can use one of those fancy coloring bibles and do a page or coloring along with the passage.

I will mostly do Homan Christian Standard Bible because of their copyright freedoms.

• Matthew 3
  • Mt 3:1-12 John the Baptist
    •  ² and saying, “Repent, because the kingdom of heaven has come near!”
    • “Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? ⁸ Therefore produce fruit consistent with^[c] repentance. 
    • ¹¹ “I baptize you with^[d] water for repentance,^[e] but the One who is coming after me is more powerful than I. I am not worthy to remove^[f] His sandals. He Himself will baptize you with^[g] the Holy Spirit and fire.
  • Mt 3:13-17  Jesus’s Baptism
    • ¹⁵ Jesus answered him, “Allow it for now, because this is the way for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he allowed Him to be baptized.
    • ¹⁶ After Jesus was baptized, He went up immediately from the water. The heavens suddenly opened for Him,^[i] and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming down on Him. ¹⁷ And there came a voice from heaven: This is My beloved Son.
      I take delight in Him!
      • heavens opened
      • spirit of God like a dove
      • voice from heaven
      • WOW!!!

Mindful Meditating

1. choose a verse,
2.  set a timer for 5 minutes, or whatever works for you.
3.  example: Matt 3:17
4. repeat to yourself, and at each word, enunciate the next word in the sentence starting with the first word…

example:

• ¹⁷ And there came a voice from heaven: This is My beloved Son.
  I take delight in Him!
• THERE came a voice from heaven: This is my beloved Son, I take delight in Him!
• There CAME a voice from heaven: This is my beloved Son, I take delight in Him!
• There came A voice from heaven:

…and so on.  This will cause you to look at the verse more intently, and may have you memorize it before your five minutes are done.

Jesus’ Baptism coloring page – digital or print it out (right click, choose save image and put it in your pictures folder to print out)

Quick Questions – if  you have time, or to think about over the course of the day, and jot down thoughts later.

1. Who was John the Baptist? He just shows up.
   1. Bible Study Tools – John the Baptist
2. Why do you think he wore camels cloth and ate locusts?
   1. Bible Speak – Camel Hair
   2. Bible Ask – honey and locusts
3. Why didn’t John know that he had to baptize Jesus?
   1. Got Questions – Jesus’ Baptism

~~~~~~~

Hi!
My hope in the midst of despair and my joy in the face of depression is because of my relationship with Jesus Christ. If you do not have one, or are not sure you will join him in heaven, please check out these links:

• Got Questions provides a detailed explanation of The Roman’s Road.
• Billy Graham’s version of the Plan of salvation.

Thanks for joining me in this journey,
In His hands and under His wings,
~Christi
Ps 63:7 Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.

“The Lord does not give me rules, but He makes His standard very clear.
If my relationship to Him is that of love, I will do what He says without hesitation.
If I hesitate, it is because I love someone I have placed in competition with Him, namely, myself.” – from My Utmost for His highest

Copyrights and Legal-eze
There are many organizations that support children and families. Here are ones that we are blessed to be a part of. Please consider sponsoring a child – the life you change could be your own.

• Naomi’s Heart Ministries
• Obed’s House Ministries
• The son of a friend will be interning with CRU – previously known as Campus Crusades for Christ. If you’d like to support someone I can vouch for in this area, please consider going to Matthew Plant’s donation page.