My first baptism was in my early twenties. My boyfriend was with me, and afterwards we were invited back to a church friend’s house for a celebration. The people in the party held hands in the room as my friend’s husband prayed over us. My boyfriend said it all seemed cultish.
Nothing distinguished me from my before-and-after except that I now thanked God for each day at the end of my journal entries.
My second baptism was in my late thirties. There’s no need for a second baptism. I’m sure the first one was sufficient. But my heart had changed, and I truly wanted to follow Jesus. Reading Ezekiel 36:25-27 NLT immediately brings back the memory of the second baptism, because my choice to follow the Lord would crazy-change my life.
25 “Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. Your filth will be washed away, and you will no longer worship idols. 26 And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart. 27 And I will put my Spirit in you so that you will follow my decrees and be careful to obey my regulations.
Later that year I would join some interstate friends to read the bible in a year. It was through reading His Word that I would get to know him.
3 By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence. 4 And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires.
Second Peter encourages brothers and sisters in Christ to grow in faith.
5 In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God’s promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, 6 and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, 7 and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone.
8 The more you grow like this, the more productive and useful you will be in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 But those who fail to develop in this way are shortsighted or blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their old sins.
I’ve been reading through my bible for four years now, and there’s still so much more to learn. These words, light in darkness …
19 Because of that experience, we have even greater confidence in the message proclaimed by the prophets. You must pay close attention to what they wrote, for their words are like a lamp shining in a dark place—until the Day dawns, and Christ the Morning Star shines in your hearts. 20 Above all, you must realize that no prophecy in Scripture ever came from the prophet’s own understanding or from human initiative. No, those prophets were moved by the Holy Spirit, and they spoke from God.
… moved in Spirit, spoken from God.
Lord, you have indeed given me everything I need. Thankful for every day, still, and more so.
Courtney (66books365)
Sixty-six books in a year 