The Devil Doesn't Like Baptisms

We believe that a person's actual salvation does not occur within the waters of the baptistery.

MAR 1:8  I baptize you with water, but he will baptize 

you with the Holy Spirit.

We believe that God draws people to him and they are saved by the blood of his Son, Jesus Christ.

ROM 6:3  Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized 

into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?

4  We were therefore buried with him through baptism into 

death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the

 dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.

  We believe that to be baptized is an act of submission to Christs command.  We also believe it is a public declaration of our new path with God. 

Mathew 28:19  Therefore go and make disciples of all nations,

baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and 

of the Holy Spirit

But although the water doesn't hold any spiritual significance in itself the Devil still does not want baptisms carried out.  I know this because almost everything that could go wrong did the morning of our baptism.

The night before: I managed to burn 3 pie crusts in an attempt to make a pie for church fellowship.  The children would NOT go to sleep.  And though I had everything laid out for the morning 1/2 of it walked away.  Do things without legs run off in your house too?  If you have a toddler just nod "yes". 

1) Jason, being the good hearted man he is, took a call for someone who was trying to get home for Thanksgiving.  So he was out from 8:30 Saturday night to 3:30 Sunday morning. 

2) Sunday morning was one disaster after another: breakfast not happening as planned, couldn't find shoes (even though I had laid everything out the night before), the kids were being difficult to say the least.  Everyone was running behind so we missed Sunday School.

3) Jason wakes up around 9.  I had let him sleep in because his late night.  He woke up sick.  A stomach virus. Bless his heart, I fill him full of medicine and let him take a shower while I wrestle 2 boys into their church clothes and prod my grandmother to hurry.  Jason emerges from the shower and looks.....terrible.  I feel inconvenienced and aggravated. I check myself, why such a hateful attitude on such a glorious day?

I think of Jesus's words "Get behind me Satan.You are a stumbling block to me...." Mathew 16:23 

"Your not whispering in my ear anymore," I say out loud to an empty room.


4) We get in the van, I think to myself that this would be the morning we blow a tire.  No, the tires are fine but the low fuel light comes on as we leave the drive way.  Jason always keeps the van filled but who wants to stop at a gas station at 3 am after working all night? No time for gas now, so we creep to church and promise to fill up on the way home.

Does anyone besides us drive carefully after the fuel light comes on?  Like its going to help. 

But anyway, I digress. 

So we get to church, late for Sunday School but early for service to find out that the tank ( I don't know what its called)  was not filled the day before and had had no time to warm up.   Can we say "brrrr"?

Jason and I just looked at each other.  We were thinking the same thing.  The devil was working overtime. 

Jason mustered his way through everything sick as a dog and exhausted.  I was so nervous I didn't even think the water was cold, now that's nervous people. 

But nothing could keep that moment from being wonderful.  We were surrounded by our church family who feel like just that: a family.  We feel like we've known them for years but have only been attending this church since June. 
We sang  Hallelujah. What a Savior!----(that song gives me goose bumps every time.)
We were publicly and symbolically washed of our sins a representation of what had already occurred in our hearts. 
We took part in the Lord's Supper for the first time. 
We sang Amazing Grace and I tried not to cry. 
We had sweet fellowship with our family. 
Jason, though sick, was so very happy, as was I.

An incredible day in all.  We have many things to be thankful for this week. 

Happy Thanksgiving everybody!

God Bless,