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The Who, What & Why of Water Baptism

6/30/2014

What is baptism?
The New Testament records two practices we are commanded to follow: Communion/Lord’s Supper and Baptism. There are three baptisms in the Bible:
1.       Baptized in blood of Jesus – salvation
2.       Baptized in Holy Spirit – power for living
3.       Baptized in Water – repent and be baptized

Water Baptism is an outward expression of an inward change. It was unheard of in early church for a person NOT to be water baptized. Believe and be baptized. It was a big deal to Jesus, a big deal to apostle Paul, a big deal to River of Life and should be a big deal to every believer!

Who should be baptized?
Christian baptism is the immersion of a believer in water. It demonstrates new life in Christ and tells about the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. New Testament baptism is always by immersion and only practiced after a person becomes a Christian. In the book of Acts, every conversion (non-Christian to Christian) described in the Bible - baptism is mentioned

Why get baptized?
To obey Jesus.
Matthew 28:18-20 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 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, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Water baptism is one of the most important steps a believer in Jesus Christ takes.

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Kingdom Restoration

6/25/2014

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My understanding as a young Christian about the end of this age was very simple. Jesus was going to come back to the earth and take all the Christians with him to heaven. Those who did not accept Jesus as their personal Lord and Saviour would spend their lives separated from Him in hell. Heaven was “up there” someplace and all ready for us.

Reading through Scripture I see a couple things differently. Jesus comes back and establishes His kingdom here on earth. His followers are involved in the restoration process. Throughout Scripture, God restores His people time and time again. Each time, they participate in the restoration of the land, the city, the temple, the rule and reign of God.

I am not certain what that is like in the final restoration of this earth as the Kingdom of God. Perhaps that is why Scripture tells of different roles and responsibilities people have in His kingdom. The parables Jesus spoke in Matthew 25 and Luke 19 tell that rewards of faithfulness are responsibilities granted in the kingdom.

Luke 19:17
“‘Well done, my good servant!’ his master replied. ‘Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities.’

Heaven is an active place and not passive.

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What to Do When You Cannot Undo What is Done

6/23/2014

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I did not put the extensions back on the rain gutters of my mother’s home after mowing and now she has had water in her basement the past four weeks. I did not secure my daughter’s bike in the back of the truck and it slide out while doing 70mph don the interstate. Her bike is trashed. I was not careful with on the farm and it resulted in a thumb injury. We had a home delivery and the midwife our daughter came before the midwife resulting in a panicked 911 call. I let go of the horse’s rein whit my young son on and that resulted in an emergency room visit and a scar on my son’s temple.

What do you do when you cannot undo what is done.
Pray for a miracle.

*A brain bleed results in months in hospitals.
*Cancer brings a young father home to heaven and leaves behind a wife and two children.
*A friend despairs life and ends hers in suicide leaving behind a husband to raise their four and two year old children.
*Settling into new home, a four year old falls out window and is in his second week in emergency care.

There are things that happen in life that without a miracle from God, cannot be undone.
What do you do when you cannot undo what is done?

The Bible shares the lives of people who had circumstances that crushed and changed them:
>David running 13 years from a king trying to kill him.
>Abraham waiting 25 years for first child.
> Job losing almost everything in 1 day.

Job 1:20-22
At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship 21 and said: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb,
    and naked I will depart.
The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away;
    may the name of the Lord be praised.”
22 In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.

Job’s life is permanently changed.
Faith does not appear to “work” like it did in the past.
More questions than answers.
We question ourselves, God, the church.
We wonder where is God, what is He doing, where is He going, how is He getting us there, and when will this be over?????

What to do when you cannot undo what is done?
3 key things Job did that we must do:
1.       Grieve with hope
2.       Worshiped
3.       Did not lose sight of God – did not blame God

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Routine - Rhythm or Rut?

6/18/2014

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There are people who like routines and those who dislike routines. Routines can be seen positively as a consistent life or negatively as a life stuck in a rut. My regular rhythm of life was changed during our church family mission trip. Routine was exchanged for serving the ministry we came to serve. The project went well and the experience was very positive. Yet, it felt good to get back to my familiar rhythm, my routine. Why?

If you are a person who enjoys routine, I believe it is because you enjoy your life. Your time at work, time with the family, time volunteering, and time playing are all things that fill your joy tank. You like your rhythm because you like your life.

If you dislike routine or you feel your routine represents a rut, it may be because you are dissatisfied with some aspect of your life. If you dislike your job, the routine of work drains you. If your family life has many challenges, your routines around meals, conversation or anything around the home does not fill your joy tank. Perhaps your health prevents you from enjoying anything recreational and your free time feels like it is in a rut.

The Bible describes a regular rhythm of worship and sacrifice that the people of God should follow. There were daily, monthly and yearly routines of worship and celebration. Paul wrote in Romans that our very lives are to be offered as a sacrifice that lives for the LORD.

Romans 12:1-2 NIV
Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—His good, pleasing and perfect will.

Perhaps it is time to re-establish a new routine, a new way of doing life.

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Sin and a Wet Basement

6/17/2014

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During the spring and summer, I mow the lawn at the farm I grew up. My mother still lives there and it is an opportunity to visit with her every week while playing Scrabble after mowing. Two weeks ago, I forgot to put the extensions on the rain gutter downspouts. Five inches of rain added to the already wet spring brought water seeping into her basement. The water never got more than three inches deep, but it covered the entire basement floor. This is the first time water has ever covered the entire basement.

Morning and evening, I would Shop Vac the water up and dump it into the big cast iron wash sink. At its worse, I slurped up 275 gallons of water each time. My son brought over his Shop Vac which has an attachment for a garden hose to pump the water away from the house so it was not overloading the septic.

It was dry for a couple days until three days of rain brought more water seeping in spite of the extensions being on the rain gutters. The ground is so saturated that any additional moisture is a problem.

Sin works in the same way. If we saturate our eyes, ears, and senses with sin, it will seep into every area of our lives. You can remove the sin. Your life can be clean and dry, but any additional temptations will soon result in sin seeping into your life.

Jesus is the only way to be spiritually clean and dry for good. I do not believe you can reach a state of sinless perfection, but I do believe you can sin less today than yesterday.

1 John 1:8-9 NIV
If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

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The Who, What & Why of Water Baptism

Kingdom Restoration

What to Do When You Cannot Undo What is Done

Routine - Rhythm or Rut?

Sin and a Wet Basement

Mark Radeke

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