Remember Your Baptism

Do you remember when you were baptized?  I do.  In fact, I remember both times.  I know that sounds a little strange, but yes, I was baptized twice.  The first time was by a methodist minister; a hand full of holy water was poured over my head as the minister and my family and friends prayed over me.  It felt like a rite of passage; I was closing the door to my past and opening a new and exciting door into my future.  As glorious as that moment was, it holds a faint memory in comparison to my second baptism -- this time by a baptist preacher.  

I had been attending Southern Hills Baptist with my grandmother for the past few months and decided to transfer my membership to the baptist church.  Before I could become a member, I was told that I would have to be baptized again, this time by a baptist preacher.  Okay, I thought.  Just another rite of passage, right?  Sure, I will go through the motions -- the public profession of faith and all.  I had no idea what I was in for.

The preacher standing in the baptismal with me was Brother Doug Melton.  Brother Doug and I had fast become great friends over the past few months.  He was and is a wonderful man of God.  I was overjoyed that he had agreed to perform the baptism.  Brother Doug helped me down into the water and walked me to the edge.  He asked everyone in the congregation who was there in support of my baptism to please stand.  Hundreds of people stood in my honor.  He began explaining the importance of the baptism -- just as Jesus was laid in the grave, I will be laid in the water.  And just as Jesus was raised from the dead, I will be raised from the water, cleansed and reborn into a new life with Christ.  When I was lowered into the water and then raised for all to see, the room began to applaud and shout for joy!  I had been saved for many years before my baptism, but at that moment I truly felt born again.

Martin Luther, the great Church Reformer, "attached great importance to his baptism.  When the Devil assailed him, he would answer, 'I am baptized'" (Here I Stand, Roland Bainton, p.287).  My baptism was many years ago now, but I can still recall those feelings like it was yesterday.  Whenever I find myself struggling in my Christian walk, I remind myself of that glorious baptismal moment and I begin to pray for the Lord's guidance and strength.  

What do you do to help you through difficult times?  

Do you have a baptismal moment that you can recall and find strength in?  

When times are tough, do you lean on God for understanding?

Loving Twitter!

I finally took the plunge… I setup a Twitter account, and I am having so much fun!

I have only had the account a few days, and already I have made a friend on the east coast that is just as big a techno geek as I am.  I have also received some great tips on "time management" and "becoming a better leader by having a spiritual heart" (or something like that).  Suddenly, the gigantic world that we live in seems so much smaller.  With all of the technology we have today, no one should ever feel alone. 

We have come a long way in just the last 15 – 20 years.  I took a step back in time when one of our secretaries did not know how to use the typewriter; she had never seen one before.  And what about the mimeograph?  Do you remember getting blue ink all over you while you turned the cylinder?  Now we have copiers that can copy 100 sheets a minute (in full color).  And cell phones… my first phone was in a brief case and it cost something like $.20 cents a minute to make a call… and that's all it did!  Now I have my calendar, email, contacts, photos, videos, to do lists, bible, ect… all on my iPhone, with unlimited text, email, and long distance! 

And yet, with all of the advances in technology, our God is still the same God today that He was yesterday and that He will be tomorrow.  Whether we have every techno gadget under the sun, or if we still use a rotary dial phone, our God is still just a conversation away from interceding in our lives.