God has a way of signaling individuals when it's least expected. I believe there are some reading this today which will be so astonished as if God is reading your mind. It is time for some who have pondered the question of being baptized to do it. It is time to move on it.
In his final decree in the book of Matthew Jesus sent his disciples out with a message. Tell everyone you meet to be baptized. Why? Why did he pick that one message for all of the people to focus? It's the place we meet Jesus. Romans 6:3-5 and a host of other passages refers to our going to pre-cemetery efforts of dying to ourselves ahead of time by being buried. We are to be buried in a grave of water. Sins are washed away.
Read Act 2:38 or I Peter 3:21 or Titus 3:5-7. Note the cleansing for a new start. Being buried in Jesus is the only safe place to be. Being immersed into the the one who has already conquered death by rising again connects us to the one who has defeated death.
Have you been baptized by bringing your life intentionally to an end? Have you made pre-cemetery arrangements to beat the earth grave? I encourage you to hear God's knock at the door of your heart.
If you have more or even the simplest questions about this idea, email me at trush@memorialdrive.org for a one on one discussion. I struggled with this for years. I'd been baptized as a teen, but surely didn't have even the slightest grasp of scriptures regarding the topic. Baptism is on so many minds. I've been there done that. Later in life I was baptized for the reasons I could read for myself from the Bible.
Many of you are quite secure with all of this....and should be. For those who aren't, maybe God is calling you to His safe place.
2 comments:
Terry, I agree that, in one sense, baptism puts us in a safe place. Looked at another way, baptism is the birth into the "great adventure" full of danger, challenges, and a journey with new sights, sounds, and perilous circumstances. It's a paradox: the safety of Jesus hurls us into conflict with evil. Thanks for sharing your article, brother.
Excellent, Terry. Running this in our bulletin this week! Love you much, brother!
Post a Comment