Baptism Part Two

Hi all,
   I know that I've written a previous blog entry on Baptism, but in this post, it will be continued, and I hope and pray that the message in this blog entry reaches out to certain people who need to hear the truth about Baptism.  This is the Bible verse that I chose for this entry:  "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen." ~Matthew 28: 19-20.  However, in other words this verse is telling us this: "The disciples were to baptize people because baptism unites all of the believers with Jesus Christ in their death to sin and resurrection to the new life.  Baptism symbolizes submission to Christ, willingness to live God's way, and identification with God's covenant people.  How is Jesus present with us? Jesus was with the disciples physically until he ascended into heaven, and then spiritually through The Holy Spirit (Acts 1:4).  The Holy Spirit would be Jesus' presence that would never leave them (John 14:26).  Jesus continues to be with us today through his Spirit.  The Old Testament prophecies and genealogies in the book of Matthew present Jesus' credentials for being King of the world-not a military or political leader, as the disciples had originally hoped, but a spiritual King who can overcome all evil and reign in the heart of every single person.  If we refuse to serve the King faithfully, we are disloyal subjects, fit only to be banished from the Kingdom.  We must make Jesus King of our lives and worship him as our Savior, King, and Lord." ~Matthew 28:19-20.

        My thoughts and reflections on the above Bible verses are this: when I was baptized a second time, it made me really realize that I was getting rid of my old life, washing it away with the water, and starting a brand new beginning, like my boyfriend will be doing this coming Sunday, and I couldn't be more proud of him for doing this.  It truly means that he's getting rid of his old life full of sin and turning over a new leaf so to speak.  This is quite a big step in his Spiritual walk with The Lord,  I can only hope and pray that he will continue to walk down the right path for the rest of his life, no matter what happens, with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  I want him to walk and be blessed forever, because he really and truly deserves it.  He has gone through a lot of crap in his past, just like the rest of us have, but thank God for saving him and bringing him closer to The Lord than he's ever been before.  Now listen, when I first met him, I didn't think that he cared at all about The Lord and my church, but what I soon found out, was the fact that he is learning a lot from the church, and I hope from me, because of God, he called my boyfriend to become more involved with the church, by being a greeter, getting the alter ready, and joining the young adult group with me among others.  The group may be small at the moment, but it will grow and revive soon like this world and our church will.  In honesty, I prefer it to be a small group because we each get equal attention, and we're not constantly fighting back and forth about getting our group leader's attention.  I can only hope and pray that when our group grows, we'll each get equal attention from our leader and from each other.  Do you understand what I mean? You most likely do, but you won't comment on it, but that's okay because that's what I figured anyway.

          Don't get me wrong, I appreciate all the feed back that I can get, but I also hope that nobody negatively comments on it, because this is such a big part of my life, and any comment that is negative, will probably hurt, but I shouldn't let it get to me anyway.  We need to learn how to stand firm and let nothing or anybody move us.  We walk by faith, not by sight, got it? I hope so.  Anyway, less about me, and more about God, Amen? I think so.  Let's get back on subject here, the true meaning of baptism is the fact that you are ridding yourself of your sin in your old way of life, and starting fresh, which means that since you are getting baptized, you cannot fall back to the way you used to live your life, you have to live your life fully according to God's own will, not your own.  If God asks you to do something, then you better do it, because if you don't, then you are in big trouble.  Don't question it, don't fight it, just go ahead and do it, got it?!? I hope you do.  I mean I'm not innocent here, when God asks me to do something, I sometimes question it, fight it, wrestle with it, but then I eventually bite the bullet, and do it anyway, even though I don't want to do it, I still do it, because it's what God wants, not what I want.  It's his opinion that matters, not yours.  You cannot lean on your own understanding, but God's understanding, because with Him all things are possible, kabiche? Let's hope so.  Remember, " I can do all things through He that gives me strength." Amen? Yes, Lord, Amen! In the future, I pray that once my boyfriend becomes baptized, I pray that God effects his life just as much as God has effected my own life, and will continue to bless our lives, because without God, I definitely wouldn't be here right now.  
  
   I'd probably be dead somewhere that wasn't as pleasant as it is right here right now.  However, all these material things will wash away in the blink of an eye, our prize is what lies ahead of us in heaven with our heavenly father and his son, Jesus Christ, do you get my point here? I hope and pray that you do.  The truth is, we have to act and be not of this world, because that is what God wants us to be.  CS Lewis says that we're not of this world in the first place, so we better wake up and start acting like it, got it?!? I praise you, Lord, Jesus! Thank you, Lord, I love you, Amen!

~Emily P.