Dear Student of the Word,
We began our study of Matthew a few weeks ago, and we are already in chapter four. I hope you have enjoyed the first few installments as much as I enjoyed preparing them. This week we look at John the Baptist's ministry. It is interesting that the Lord did not "set John up" in the Temple or near Jerusalem. Instead He assigned John a place in the Judean desert!
This week I wrote:
3:5 – I recently visited a site in Israel that could have been where John did some or most of his baptizing. It is a remote area today, so it must have been even more remote in John’s day. People had to make an effort to get to where John was; God did not make it easy on them to come and do what they needed to do. If they came in winter, it would have been cold. If they came in summer, it would have been hot, for the region is in the desert.
So let’s summarize: John was a bit eccentric with a strange diet and outlandish outfit and ministered in a remote, deserted region. Yet everyone came to see him! Why? It was because God stirred their hearts. It had been almost 400 years since the prophet Malachi had penned his book and the word of the Lord was scarce. Now, however, God was “moving” and everyone was moving with Him.
Remember the point I made that in the Christmas story: God set everyone in motion and often people were inconvenienced to be part of what God was doing. When John began his ministry, God put everyone in motion again. Are you in motion? Where are you going? Why are you going there? If you aren’t in motion doing what God wants, then what are you doing? Are you serving God at your convenience?
Feel free to add your comments to this week's study. You can do this and find the studies to Corinthians, First Timothy and Mark's gospel on the site where this week's entry is posted. You can also go there to sign up to receive each week's study.
Download this week's study: Matthew Study 3.doc
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