It's Me Again God

151. Baptism

It's me again God,

Thank You for the many simple illustrations you gave us in Your Word the Bible, so we would have a deeper understanding of various concepts. You know us so well and have given us the sacrament of baptism, a unique physical experience to partake in which is a picture of what happened to us when we became a Christian.

It's really special that Jesus himself was baptised —even though He was not a sinner. This signified the beginning of His ministry:

"At this time, Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptised by John in the Jordan. The moment he came out of the water, he saw the sky split open and God's Spirit, looking like a dove, come down on him. Along with the Spirit, a voice: "You are my Son, chosen and marked by my love, pride of my life."" Mark 1:9 MSG

Thank You Jesus for giving us a pattern to follow but also something we could join You in.  You perfectly obeyed the will of Your father and it is a joy to be baptised by water as an act of faith and obedience to the command You gave Your disciples while You were here:

"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
Matthew 28:19-20 NIV

Lord thank You for this wonderful sacrament which allows us to publicly declare we are followers of Jesus Christ. It is always very special when we make a public confession of our faith, sharing our testimony of how You have changed our life so others may hear and believe too!

Getting back to the symbolism of baptism, I am thankful that it is such a great symbol of Jesus' burial and resurrection. Our entrance into the water during baptism identifies us with Jesus' death on the cross, our going under the water being a picture of His burial in the tomb, and as we come back out of the water, it symbolises His resurrection from the dead.

"Going under the water was a burial of your old life; coming up out of it was a resurrection, God raising you from the dead as he did Christ. When you were stuck in your old sin-dead life, you were incapable of responding to God. God brought you alive—right along with Christ! Think of it! All sins forgiven, the slate wiped clean, that old arrest warrant canceled and nailed to Christ's cross." Colossians 2:12-14 MSG

So we see in baptism what has already taken place in our life as we buried the 'old life' and we rose to walk in a 'new life'.

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" 2 Corinthians 5:17

"Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life."
‭‭Romans‬ ‭6:4‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Thank You for this sacrament called baptism that does not make me a believer but signifies to people around me that I already am one! I am saved by faith in Jesus!

Thank You that Baptism also connects me to the 'body of Christ', Your people all over the world.

"...For we were all baptised by one Spirit so as to form one body..." 1 Corinthians 12:13 NIV

I commit this day to serving You and doing my part in telling others about You that they too may be saved and baptised in Your Name!

Until You come again,
Amen.