For a year I have questioned if the Holy Spirit was really telling me to be baptized again. After several nudges, I now know without a doubt He was/is. As a baby I was sprinkled in the Lutheran Church and was then baptized in September of 2001 at a Baptist Church in College Station. Baptism, I thought, was the next logical step to finding Jesus. I knew I had to be baptized to become a member of the church, and I wanted to get married there the following May. At that time, I knew who Jesus was, but I had not surrendered my life to Him. My nose was pointed in the right direction; I was going to church, reading the Purpose Driven Life, and trying to make good decisions. It wasn't until January of 2002, when I realized God was all I needed because He was all I had, that I finally gave my life to Him. Everyday for the past 5 years I have lived in Him and for Him, but during this last year thoughts about being re-baptized have continually come to mind. Praise God!
In Matthew 3:15 Jesus said, "It (baptism) should be done, for we must carry out all that God requires." Baptism is a picture of many things. 1) It pictures the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. 2) It pictures the believer's death to sin and resurrection to a life in Christ. (Romans 6:1-4) 3) It pictures a new life and union with Christ. (Gal. 3:27) 4)It pictures the union of the believer with the Body of Christ. (1 Cor. 12:13)
I know my salvation DOES NOT hinge on this baptism; however, I want to be obedient to Jesus Christ. Through obedience all blessings flow! I want to celebrate God's love and presence through this means of grace He has given to me. During the invitation at Church this Sunday, I will walk down to the front and with boldness proclaim Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. Glory to God!!!
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5 comments:
Great first post! I can't wait to read more! I hope this blog will be everything you want it to be.
OH MY, this is wonderful. No telling how many lives you will minister to. Thank you, consider me present and accounted for...
In Christ,
Angela Suttle
Dawn, how exciting! You know, you mean so much to me and Beighlee. Thank you for once again demonstrating your awesome faithfulness to God and His plan fo you! We will be there in church to back you as you make your journey down the aisle. Even when just joining the church, that aisle feels very intimidating. God Bless You! Carly
WOW...The Lord is amazing at the way he uses us if we just let him. I can't tell you how much you have helped me get through the tough times over the past few months. You are always there for a kind word or a hug. We will be there Sunday to proudly watch you walk down to the front!
Dawn, I am excited to hear about your baptism. I teach our Baptism class at church and I recently got a new revelation that will bless you. There are references in the New Testament about Old Testament events that give us a picture of baptism. One is Noah's Ark. God used water to cleanse the evil from the earth. The second is the Red Sea. What God showed me was that when the children of Israel were delivered from Egypt, this was like salvation. Then when they crossed over the Red Sea, this was like baptism. The awesome thing to realize is what happened in that example. Pharoah changed his mind and sent armies after the children of Israel to kill them. But we know that as they crossed the Red Sea behind the Israelites, the water caved in on them and they were the ones killed. This is just like what happens to a new believer. They get born-again (delivered from bondage) and then the devil is mad and sends out an attack, but the very act of baptism symbolizes what spiritually happened for us in that God crushed the enemy. I believe that baptism is an outward demonstration of the inward work that has been done in us. But I also believe that it has spiritual significance in the realm of our enemy. No wonder Jesus said, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature BAPTIZING them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit!!!" love you bunches!
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