Baptism…Why and what is the purpose?

I grew up in church and was Baptized as a very young child.  As a found again Christian, I ask this question.  Am I saved because of this?  Do I need to be Baptized again?  My kiddo says, Do I get Baptized and again every time we sin?   All very valid questions. 

 Scripturally, baptism follows in this pattern by representing new life in the Gospel before the Lord and before the church. It does so in two ways. First, baptism identifies one with the Lord both in his death and in his resurrection (Romans 6:2-4, Colossians 2:12). Notice the identity shift here. The old self, the sinful self, dies before the cross and the new self is resurrected to new life in Christ.

Second, the waters of baptism represent a cleansing of sin (Acts 22:16, 1 Corinthia.ns 6:11) One cannot be both sinful and holy. Sin must be removed for holiness to be imparted. The washing of the water symbolizes the washing away of sin. In this, the Christ-follower is not what she was before, but is a new, clean creation before the Lord.

A believers baptism holds that one is only baptized upon profession of faith in Jesus.  This is drawn for the New Testament examples where believers, including Jesus, were baptized in bodies of water such as the Jordan River (Matthew 3:13, Mark 1:5)

Baptism is an incredibly exciting time in the Church. In baptism, we celebrate that we who were once dead in our sin have new life in Christ. We celebrate publicly and amongst fellow believers, because faith, while a personal confession, is not meant to be lived out in isolation. We declare that we believe Jesus is who he said he is. We believe it was our sin that died with him and we believe his resurrection has become our own. We commit to living out our new life such that Christ is made known in us.

To answer the questions from above, Baptism is a public declaration of you giving yourself to Jesus.  Only you can make the choice to be Baptized or Baptized again.  Baptism is not what defines you as being saved. Giving yourself to the Lord fully and completely is what is being Saved. No, you do not need to be Baptized again because you sinned.  If you have sinned you simply need to atone for the sins to our Lord. Know your heart as he does, and give yourself to him. 

Simply put, we follow in baptism because we desire to follow our Lord.

Power in HIS Blood

Have you ever had moments when you feel his presence flow over you while thinking of him and your life and current struggles, or while singing his praises, or even while even complaining to him of your situation? Today during worship service; I felt his spirit flow over me. This has happened many times; this light lift my heart and my skin feels a tingle. Todays sermon was about the Power in the Blood. It was very fitting. I felt I needed to reiterating Pastor Charlies message, which was not his original planned message.

There is Power in the Blood. Have we forgotten his promise while breaking the bread and drinking the wine in remembrance of him. He died for our sins, to wash us clean white as snow. We are always forgiven with our Atonement for our sins. He has not forgotten us and will not forget us. Our sins are not unforgivable because of his blood. He loves us so much that he gave us this. There is so much sin in the world, and we see it and experience it everyday. This was fortold in the Bible. Dont be discouraged, we have him walking with us, guiding us, loving us and forgiving us.

It is so very simple! Visit with God, ask for forgiveness and mean it. Know our own sins and seek his forgiveness. Do better today than yesterday and grow in him, trust in him, give it to him. Stop Holding back, dont let the enemies in. Sing Holy Holy Holy, Say it is FINISHED, be gone evil in the name of Jesus. I will not let it control me and my home/life. SHOUT it out!!! You are FREE from the Burdens of our sin.

Ive found through time of struggles and frustrations, I have to force myself to stop, give over control of the situation to him. The Bible tells us to lay our burdens at his feet. This does not mean we do nothing and become idle and complacent. It means to turn over the worry and concerns to him. Seek him for help and love. Keep moving forward and ask for his help and guidance. Show us the path he wants us to go. Be still, Stop and just listen and observe. The answers will come, you will see them if you open you eyes, heart and mind. Know that God is so Good, Great, Merciful and Powerful. Still your mind and he will show you.

If you are still struggling, Know he is with you, you are not alone and we fellow Christians are here with you too.

“Open the eyes of my Heart, LORD I want to see You high and lifted up, shinning in the light of Your glory. We sing Holy, Holy, Holy”

Teaching the next generation

As we age and grow, many tend to reflect on all the things we learned as a child.  Everything from how to walk, how to ride a bike without training wheels, catching bugs, how to treat others with kindness and respect, grammar school, parenting.  I obviously can’t speak for others; I can however speak for myself.  As I am growing older and raising children; I’m finding that as I have found my way back to God, that my children have so much to learn, and I am, in large part responsible for teaching them so very many things.  Coping with troubles with friends and classmates, little tidbits on cooking (age appropriate), reading, and especially bringing the Lord into our home.  Recently we had a discussion about lying.  I pointed out that it is a sin and 1 of the 10 commandments.  They looked at me oddly.  I stopped what I was doing and sat to explain what those were and broke it down into words they can understand and relate to.  This was a bit challenging to find a way for them to understand.  This got me thinking about how we as a family can have the Lord in our Home MORE, outside of nightly prayer and Sunday services.  Hence this blog on teaching the next generation.  I see it missing in our home and I feel it is missing in most homes.  Sometimes, we don’t know where to start and how best to approach it. 

I love reading daily devotional books, they teach the word, share a way to relate it and encourage us.  But speaking honestly, I never feel like it’s enough for me.  I’ve sat to read children's Bible stories with my kids, but again; yes it teaches a story and morals, but I don’t feel it is enough either.  Recently I found a devotional book for girls (my kiddos at home are girls).  I thumbed through it and thought it might be a good start.  The devotional is “365 Days to Knowing God for Girls” by Carolyn Larsen.  My husband and I thought it would be a great way to start the day with them over breakfast.  My thought process to this is, if we send them out into the world first thing in the day with the lesson in the front of their mind, it may stick there longer.  I’m here to tell you it works.  We have been doing this all month in April.  The girls love it, they ask as soon as they sit for breakfast to do it.  Both have even come home after school and told me more times than not how they applied what we are learning.  This is so very encouraging.  I am of the crafty sort; I am working on a sign for our home with the 10 Commandments in words they understand. 

That aside, I believe deep down as a parent we set the role and example.  If you observe humanity, we tend to emulate the environment we are in.  Young siblings emulate older siblings.  They even love to play copy games with us.  If we take the time; even 5 minutes in the morning; to teach them something from the bible and make it relatable to them and what they are going through, it will make a difference.  Not just a difference, but THE difference.  It truly is our responsibility to teach them the morals we want them to live by.  Look at society, the Devil is infiltrating everything and breaking down those morals we were all taught.  So not only by teaching our young, but we are also reminding ourselves the importance of keeping God in our lives and homes.  Putting up the shield from evil.  The key thing here is that while teaching them, we are relearning and in this with the help and guidance of the Lord; he is our invisible training wheels and keeps us all safe and loved.  Keep teaching the next generation and anyone no matter their age when you see they need a little guidance.

Supporting others

It all begins with an idea. It might be simply helping a person by holding the door open. Or it might be donating a meal to the care behind you in the drive thru. There are so many ways to help and support our communities and the world at large. We give to many missions monthly. These giving’s help locally, state wide, and across the sea. We support a local agency in Gallatin County with supplies and clothes for those who do not have much. Native American missions with education and giving in the reservations along side of learning about our Lord. We help across the sea with education both academic and Christian, as well as meals, supplies, housing, resources in villages, medical help and all else that is in need.

The focus of this months blog is to just highlight that we as a church help others, however there are so many things a single person can do in such big ways to support others. We strive to be like Jesus and spread the good word and do the good work. This does not mean we need to go out and every person we come in contact with to just start preaching the words of the bible. What it means is that a word that is spoken that is good; that is the good word. Kind replies, kind smiles, kind gestures. Especially when people are not so kind. We all fight a battle that others can not see. We know nothing of what may have happened in ones past or even 10 minutes ago. The saying of a simple smile may simply save someone else’s life in that moment is very true.

Doing the Lords work essentially means helping others. Helping hold the door, helping a friend through a rough time, picking up someone else’s carelessly discarded trash, listening. By following the Lords laws and living a little more like Jesus we set the example. We as a person and as a people can make a difference. We can do good in his name and his ways. We can be shown the way to lead someone to water and help them find Jesus. We can make a difference in so many ways.

I am teaching my children these simple lessons every day from being helpful, to doing something nice even when other kids or their sibling is not being so nice. Reminding them; is that what Jesus would do. So my challenge to you is to take each day as they come, be grateful for the sunrise and the sunset. Start the day with some note of positivity and watch it spread to others.

May all good things come your way and Bless you in the name of our Lord and Savior!