12-31 - Matthew 3 11-17

🗝️’s to riddles, N.T. in a yr study, verses paraphrased Logic [ ] references { } thots

🌙 11 - I (John the Baptizer) baptize you with water for repentance! But he who is coming after me is mightier than I! I’m not worthy to even carry his sandals. HE, will baptize you with the Holy Spirit! And with fire! 12 His winnowing fork is in his hand! He will clear his threshing floor! And gather his wheat into the barn! But the chaff he will burn away with unquenchable fire!” {Truth will overturn all tables of falsehood. This unavoidable, all important contrast, life as we presently know it, is THE crucible, imperfection/entropy, a slow gehenna that “doesn’t quit”. The dis-ease as part of the cure. Burns away the chaff from off the kernel, to gems clear as crystal.}

     13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan River, to John, to be baptized by him. 14 John said, “I need to be baptized by you! And you come to me!?” 15 But Jesus said, “Let it be so, for it’s fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John was willing, 16 and when Jesus came up from the water, the heavens were opened, and John saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove from above, and it came to rest upon him. 17 And he heard a voice from heaven saying, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”

Tomorrows verses - Matthew 4:1-11

ACTS 8 25-40

     Book of the Acts of the First Believers

25 - Now when they had given witness about the word of the LORD in Samaria, Peter and John returned to Jerusalem, preaching the good news message to many villages of the Samaritans along the way.

     26 Now at about this time an angel of the LORD said to Philip, “Go down south to the desert road that runs from Jerusalem to Gaza.”

     27 So he went and he came upon an Ethiopian eunich who was an official of the court of Candace, the queen of the Ethiopians. He was the official in charge of all her treasury, and had come to Jerusalem to worship. 28 He was returning, seated in his chariot, reading the book of the prophet Isaiah. 29 And the Spirit{/Presence of God} said to Philip, “Go near to this chariot.” 30 So Philip ran up and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and said, “Do you understand what you’re reading?” 31 And the eunich andwered, “How can I? Unless someone guide me?” {These days the best guide is God’s Spirit, genuinely.} And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him in the chariot. 32 The passage of Scripture he was reading was, “Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter. And like a lamb before its shearer is silent, so he said not a word. 33 He was humiliated and justice was denied him. And who can describe his descendants? For his life was taken away from the earth.”

     34 And the eunuch said to Philip, “If I may ask, who does the prophet say this about? About himself, or someone else?”

     35 Then Philip, beginning with that verse, told him the good news about Jesus. 36 And as they were going along the road they came to a body of water, and the eunuch said, “See, here is water! What prevents me from being baptized!?” 38 And so he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, and Philip baptized him.

     39 When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the LORD carried Philip away. The eunuch saw him no more, and he went on his way rejoicing.

     40 Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he went on, he preached the gospel to all the towns until he came to Caesarea.

                     ~*~

 🗝️ [  ] - word/language insights, cross references, etc.

      {  } - thots

Next: 9:1-20

From my own studies. Paraphrased to post.