Tag: Baptism

Monday 4/9 ~ I want to do this. Help me.

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The scripture for today, April 9, is 1st John 4:9f as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

00-1st Century Worship KINDLE-COVER-Thumbnail“This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: Not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.”

How perplexing. We are stymied. There is no solution. We humans do not have the will to live perfect lives. We give in to sin. We can never get it right. Romans 6:23 says the wages of sin is death. In the Old Testament era, God let people kill an animal in their place whenever they sinned, but it had to be done over and over. But still, every time we sinned, our souls died a little more.

Then came our answer, our rescue our solution. But the cost.  It was so high.  God sent his Son to us for a while with a body so his Son’s body could be killed (collecting our wages, the cost of our sins) in our place.

Finally, God invited mankind to bring our souls back to life through him ~ that is, become Christ-ians. How do we become alive through Jesus? Of course, we know about believing Jesus was the Son of God and repenting of our sins. Also Romans 6:4 says when we are baptized and come forth out of the Spirit’s watery womb, our souls are born again and we now have a new life.

But it does not stop there. We must try the best we can to live as Jesus lived, speak as Jesus spoke, love as Jesus loved. With Jesus living in us, we are his mouth, his hands, his feet. It is then that we offer our own bodies as daily sacrifices (Romans 12:1).

Oh, Lord God.  I want to do this. Help me.  Help me.

Monday 3/26 ~ And then the Creator of the Universe wants to bring you home with him

On By In family, Heaven, love, worshipLeave a comment

The scripture for today, March 26 (3/26), is Galatians 3:26f as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

00-1st Century Worship KINDLE-COVER-Thumbnail“You are all sons of God through faith in Christ because all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.”

The Muslim religion teaches that God is too far above humans to have such a relationship ~ you know, the parent-child kind, a family relationship. They are taught God created humans to have someone to worship him and be his slaves. Oh, how much they are missing.  And the rest of the world too.

Our Bible says God created humans to have someone to love. He wants to be more than a distant God; he wants to be our heavenly Father. So, when we come out of the waters of baptism, it is like coming out of a watery womb; Romans 6:4-5 says we are then born into a new spiritual life.

Everyone in the Christian world knows that baptism is in the Bible. Today’s scripture explains “…because you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ” and therefore we have become sons with Christ ~ adopted sons. (See also Ephesians 1:5).

No need to be spiritually blind and poor and naked (Revelation 3:17).  You can gain spiritual insight, be rich in grace, and be clothed with Christ.

No need to be spiritually orphaned ~ you can become a child of God. He holds out holy arms to you. He wants to embrace you and hold you close as you finish this life on earth. And then, wonder of wonders, the Creator of the universe wants to bring you home with him.

Wednesday 3/21 ~ The Cheerful Conscience

On By In Death of Jesus Christ, healing, Inspirational, Thanksgiving, victory, worshipLeave a comment

The scripture for today, March 21 (3/21), is 1st Peter 3:21 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

00-1st Century Worship KINDLE-COVER-Thumbnail“This water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also ~ not the removal of dirt from the body but the answer of a good conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ.”

Jesus’ part in saving us was to pay the wages of our sins to Satan through his terrible death. Our part is to believe he did. Then to confess it to others. Then to repent of the sins that he died for. Some people call this process (and it is a process) giving their heart to the Lord.

But many people go through life wondering if they were sincere enough when they gave their heart to the Lord. What is in one’s mind long ago sometimes becomes a fuzzy memory. So they re-give their heart to the Lord all over again periodically throughout their life.

Thank God, he has given us something we can do, an action to prove we were sincere enough, more than a long-ago state of mind. He gave us an action to reassure our conscience toward God ~ “baptism that now saves you”, the same baptism wherein you are reborn to live a new life (Romans 6: 4)

Scripture for Sunday, September 24 (9/24)

On By Northern Lights Publishing HouseIn death, faith, forgiveness, Heaven, Inspirational, Saved from hell, truthLeave a comment

The scripture for today, September 24 9?24), is Luke 9:24 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

worship-the-first-century-way-cover-kindle“For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it.”

Romans 6 explains this phenomenon best. We are to put our old self to death ~ to crucify that part of us that sins and doesn’t care, that part of us that puts ourselves first (verse 7) ~ in imitation of Jesus dying. Once we decide to put that part of ourselves to death, we are buried, just like Jesus was buried (verse 3 & 4a).

And then, “just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life” (verse 4b). Why? “If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection” (verse 5). Having been “brought from death to life” (verse 13) through baptism, we have been born again!

Jesus’ physical death on a physical cross had a spiritual meaning of a spiritual death. We understand that. Our watery death has a spiritual meaning of a spiritual death also. There is another spiritual death called the second death in Revelation 21:8. If we go through the first spiritual death at baptism, we will not have to go through the second spiritual death in hell. We will have lost our life of sin and in the process saved our souls.

Only a spiritual mind understands this. And how amazing it is.

 

 

Scripture for Tuesday, September 19 (9/19)

On By Northern Lights Publishing HouseIn Bible, faith, forgiveness, Inspirational, Scripture, truthLeave a comment

The scripture for today, September 19, is Acts 9:19f as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

worship-the-first-century-way-cover-kindle“He got up and was baptized, and after taking some food he regained his strength.”

This is the story of Saul, as he was known to the Jews and to us as Paul, who became an apostle. Notice the order he did this: He was hungry, but that wasn’t important. He had to do what was important first. He was baptized.

Why was Paul baptized? In Acts 22:16 Paul recalls in his own words that day when he was told, “Get up: be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name.”

Further, notice who baptized him. Was he part of the clergy, someone with an ordained title in the church? Acts 9:10 says, “In Damascus, there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him…Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul.” What title did Ananias have? None. He was just another disciple, disciple simply meaning follower.

Little did this otherwise unknown disciple realize that day, that the person he baptized would end up writing much of the New Testament.

Do you feel as though you are an “unknown disciple” to followers of Jesus around you? Find something to do, and God will make it great.

Scripture for Friday, August 11 (8/11)

On By Northern Lights Publishing HouseIn Bible, death, Death of Jesus Christ, forgiveness, Heaven, Holy Spirit, Inspirational, Saved from hell, Scripture, truth2 Comments

The scripture for today, August 11 (8/11), is Romans 8:11 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

0-Stephen-Cover-Kindle-Medium“And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living IN YOU, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives IN YOU.”

But how do we know the Spirit is IN US? Death literally means separation. Physical death means separation from this body on earth. Spiritual death means separation of our soul from God who is Life. Whenever we sin, our soul dies. It happened to Adam and Eve who didn’t think God meant it when he said, “In the day you eat of the fruit, you will die.” They could no longer walk and talk with God in the garden because they were now separated from him, spiritually dead. With that eventually also came physical death.

There are certain spiritual laws that cannot be broken. For example, it is impossible for God to lie. It is also impossible for God to sin. Therefore, God cannot co-exist with sin. We sin. Another law is that sin demands death. For centuries, God allowed mankind to sacrifice an animal in their place to take their death punishment. But it was just a temporary fix. Finally, he sent the Word in bodily form to be sacrificed in our place and take our death punishment. Now, all we have to do is be IN JESUS which is accomplished by baptism: Galatians 3:26 says this.

What is the role of our spirit? When we die, we say our spirit has left our body. So, as long as we are alive, it means our spirit is still IN US We are not conscious of our spirit being in us; we just know it is because we are still alive. In the same way, when we become Christians God’s way (not man’s way), God’s Holy Spirit enters us and is IN US; Acts 2:38 says so. This is when we become spiritually alive; Romans 6:3-4 says so.

We are not overtly conscious of God’s Spirit being IN US, but we know it is true because our soul is now alive. Forever alive.

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Scripture for Tuesday, July 4 (7/4)

On By Northern Lights Publishing HouseIn Bible, Inspirational, Scripture, Thanksgiving, truthLeave a comment

The scripture for today, July 4 (7/4) is Romans 7:4 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

0-BK 5-FloodGates-Cover-Medium-New“So, my brothers, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit to God.”

This is not talking about just any law. It is talking about the law, a specific law ~ the Law of Moses.

Have you ever tried wading through Leviticus, the third book of the Bible? It’s full of all those laws in the Law of Moses (over 600 of them). Thank God Jesus nailed them to the cross and we are no longer bound by killing animals, stoning people for adultery, tithing, having priests, burning incense, going to the temple three times a year, only traveling 1/3 of a mile on the Sabbath, paying for traveling mercies, and on and on.

How did “we” in today’s scripture die to the law? He said in the previous chapter (6:4) “we were therefore buried with him through baptism into death” and in Colossians 2:14 where Christ “having canceled the written code with its regulations that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross” and in Hebrews 9:13, 10:1 “By calling this covenant ‘new’ he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and aging will soon disappear….The law was only a shadow of the good things that are coming.”

God now freely gives us His gifts through Jesus Christ our Lord without the impossible Law of Moses. How blessed.

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#law, #Moses, #Leviticus, #freedom, #testament, #shadow, #covenant, #baptism

Scripture for Thursday, June 8 (6/8)

On By Northern Lights Publishing HouseIn death, Death of Jesus Christ, faith, forgiveness, Inspirational, truth3 Comments

The scripture for today, June 8 (6/8), is Romans 6:8 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

worship-the-first-century-way-cover-kindle“Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.”

We all want to live with Christ, but how do we die with him? Earlier in this same chapter, God inspired the writer to say this: “We died to sin….don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead…we too may live a new life” (Romans 6:2-4).

So, just as Christ did a physical action to die for us, we do a physical action to die with him. And just as Christ’s physical death overcame spiritual death, so our physical action overcomes our spiritual death. Then we are born again, or as this verse says, we “live a new life”

Some say this is water salvation. But it is no more water salvation than the cross was wood salvation. We live in a physical world and God has us sometimes do physical things in order to obtain a spiritual outcome. Our singing praise songs is a physical thing, but it is no less spiritual in its outcome. Our eating the Lord’s Supper is a physical thing, but it is no less spiritual in its outcome.

Have you died with Christ?

 

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#death, #EternalLife, #baptism, #cross, #water, #BornAgain, #NewLife, #DieWithChrist, #singing, #LordsSupper, #spiritual, #soul

Scripture for Saturday, June 3 (6/3)

On By Northern Lights Publishing HouseIn death, Death of Jesus Christ, forgiveness, Heaven, Inspirational, Saved from hell, Scripture, truthLeave a comment

The scripture for today, June 3 (6/3), is Romans 6:3f as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

worship-the-first-century-way-cover-kindle“Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 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….because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.”

Oh! Baptism does all that? Some people say no, but God says yes. Indeed, in baptism we obtain a new life ~ are born again. And in baptism we are freed from sin ~ forgiven. Look at it this way: Just as Jesus died carrying our sins on himself, we die to our sinful nature ~ the part of us that sins and doesn’t care. Then just as Jesus was buried in his tomb, we are buried in our watery tomb. And just as Jesus came up out of his tomb the Savior, we come up out of our tomb the saved ~ with a “new life” and “freed from sin.”

Everything works together beautifully ~ hearing, believing, confessing, dying to sin, being baptized. What an honor and privilege we have been given to imitate what he did for us! And for these reasons!

 

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Scripture for Sunday, March 9 (3/9

On By Northern Lights Publishing HouseIn Bible, death, Death of Jesus Christ, faith, good works, Inspirational, Life of Christ, Saved from hell, Scripture, truthLeave a comment

The scripture for today, April 9, is 1st John 4:9f as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

0-BK 7-ShadowOfDeath-Cover-new-Medium“This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: Not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.”

We human do not have the will to live perfect lives. We give in to sins of attitude, action, and inaction. We can never get it right. Romans 6:23 says the wages we earn by sinning is death. In the Old Testament era, God let people kill an animal in their place whenever they sinned, but it had to be done over and over. Then God put a stop to that by sending his Son to us for awhile with a body, so his Son’s body could be killed (collecting our wages) in our place.

Finally, God invited mankind to “live through him” ~ that is, become Christ-ians. How do we become alive through Jesus? Of course, we know about believing Jesus was the Son of God and repenting of our sins. Also, Romans 6:4 says when we are baptized, we begin to live a new life, we are born again.

But it does not stop there. We must try the best we can to live as Jesus lived, speak as Jesus spoke, love as Jesus loved. We are not saved by good works because we are still sinners, but we do demonstrate our love of God by good works (James 2). With Jesus living in us, we are his mouth, his hands, his feet. It is then that we offer our own bodies as daily sacrifices (Romans 12:1).

.

#love, #SonOfGod, #Sin, #WagesOfSin, #death, #sacrifice, #BornAgain, #Baptism, #Romans6, #EternalLife, #hell, #heaven, #GoodWorks, #Bodies

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