Matthew 3 ~ see verse 10

Matthew 3

In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea 2 and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” 3 This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah:

“A voice of one calling in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord,
make straight paths for him.’”

4 John’s clothes were made of camel’s hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. 5 People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. 6 Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.

7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 8 Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. 9 And do not think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. 10 The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.

11 “I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 12 His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”
The Baptism of Jesus

13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. 14 But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?”

15 Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented.

16 As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. 17 And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”


Jesus. God's Son. To baptize with fire and the Holy Spirit - choosing to walk among us in life - this Savior could be very direct.

I was so impressed with "Writing from the Hip"'s List what Jesus Said To Do:

Worship the Lord and serve him only. Mt 4:10
Repent. Mt 4:17
Follow me. Mt 4:19
Shine your light before me and do good deeds. Mt 5:16
Your righteousness must surpass the Pharisees Mt 5:20
Settle matters quickly. Mt 5:25
Give to those who ask, and don’t turn away from those who want to borrow from you. Mt 5:42.
Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. Mt 5:44
Give to the needy. Mt 6:2
Pray. Mt 6:5
Forgive people who sin against you. Mt. 6:14 & 18:35
Fast from food once in awhile. Mt 6:16
Treat people the way you’d like to be treated. Mt 7:12
Enter through the narrow gate. Mt 7:13
Do God’s will. Mt 7:21
Acknowledge Jesus before men. Mt 10:32
Honor your father and mother. Mt 15:4 & 19:19
Be humble. Mt 18:4
Confront the person you have a conflict with. Mt 18:15
Love your neighbor as yourself. Mt 19:19 & 22:39
Serve everyone. Mt 20:26-28 & 23:11
Love God with all your heart, soul and mind. Mt 22:37
Feed, clothes, visit and invite in the poor and needy. Mt 25:35
Make disciples and baptize them. Mt 28:19


Let's go out and do that. And step Two. And Three.




The comments were great and well worth repeating:

Ralph said...

What a great list. And you're so right - read it and follow it is the key. Then we wouldn't get caught up in the 'shall not' list. Aaron did a great job putting that list together.
Ralph



Evil Twin's Wife said...

I knew all this before, but had lost sight of it. I need to be more mindful of this and try to follow faithfully.


srp said...

I think #22 and #13 are all you need... the rest result from those two.


Cliff said...

Yes indeed he is a keeper. Thanks for sharing the list. There are many there that need to be carried on note cards.


Jennie said...

Gonna get it tatooed to my forearm. ;)


Scarlet Ily said...

What a list! You know, Jesus has been knocking at my door all week. It's one thing after another, and now this...your inspirational post. I think it's a sign! :)


jennifer said...

This was a GOOD list. It would make for a great Bible study.


Janell said...

Wonderful list - and very insightful! This is defintely Spiritual Food for productive thought. I agree that your new youth pastor is definitely a keeper.

kenju said...

A wonderful list - and one that I need to print and keep handy!


Rachel said...

Amen to that!! Your Youth Pastor is definitely a keeper!!
This is a great list!

11:39 AM
groovyoldlady said...

I remember once hearing, "If we'd just get busy doing the dos, we'd be too busy to do the don'ts!"


srp said...

Where are you? I am missing your famous "true" stories that always leave me with a smile on my face!???


jennifer said...

Let it be said that if the Dust Bunny Hostage considered giving up blogging, Paul Nichols encouraged her to keep it up. I've enjoyed your Facebook messages, reminding me that I AM a blogger :)

I hope that your Christmas was Merry and Bright and that you are blessed in the New Year.


jdjaws said...

Concentrating on the To Do list from Jesus is something I hope to do better each day.


Cliff said...

Happy New Year Paul and G.
Had he not forgotten to say it, Jesus would have said, "Verily I say unto you, if you have a blog, and blog readers keep returning to your site, it is indeed a blessing to them to feed them." "Or at least throw them a crumb once in a while." And everyone said...


Pastor.Dhas said...

VERY NICE LIST TODAY IT HELPS ME LOT . I WAS PREPARING MESSAGE FOR SUNDAY. YOUR LIST TOUCHED MY HEART HOW LONG LIST I LEFT OR FORGET TO DO.

I WILL PRAY THE LORD TO HELP ME TO DO.

THANKING YOU

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