Getting baptized this Sunday

[Arthur Durnan]

I will keep you in prayer as you follow your Lord in the waters of believers' baptism as an outward sign of what's occurred on the inside. I'm truly sorry that your precious mom will miss it, but i do agree that the biblical pattern is as soon as possible after your acceptance of Christ as personal Saviour.

The Book of Acts is the "bridge" Book between the Gospels & the Epistles, and it always shows new believers in Christ being baptized almost immediately after their receiving Christ into their hearts.

I'm also sorry that your pastor did not respond to your call to him. That causes me a moment of concern.

God be with you, my brother, as you're baptized in the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit! YOU ARE LOVED! Jesus Luvs U 2!

God bless America too!

http://arthurdurnan.freeyellow.com

[Guest sanctification]

When I come down the mountain

And get back to my life

I won't settle for ordinary things

I'm gonna follow you forever

For all of my days

I won't rest till I see your face again

--Third Day

[traveller]

And? How was it? How did it go? Still on that mountain?

[Kay]

Traveller;

HOW AWESOME!!

I KNOW THAT THE ANGELS ARE SINGING WITH YOU!!!!!

PRAISE GOD IS ALL THE ADVISE I HAVE!!!!

KAY

[Guest mjohn]

Sanc..

What a great place to recieve counsel from Believers... )

May God get the Glory Honor and Praise and Have His Way in the discussion...

I am Blessed to read the posts and would suggest a camera...for is easily available ... to all of us...and pictures can be blown up and framed for memory and placed on the wall...givn in Christmas Cards, notes

Now is the time...and by the time I read this Sanc has been Baptised...

It is a Blessing...and there is safety in Godly Counsel...

Now if I may share a few scriptures from Proverbs...

Without consultation, plans are frustrated,

But with many counselors they succeed...(are established) Pv. 15:22

Listen to counsel and accept discipline,

That you may be wise the rest of your days...Pv. 19:20

The way of the fool is right in his own eyes,

But a wise man is he who listens to counsel...Pv. 12:15

For by wise guidance you will wage war,

And in the abundance of counselors there is Victory...Pv. 24:6

[Guest sanctification]

"Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless." eph 5:35-37

"And a voice from heaven said, 'This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.'"

I sat on the baptistry stairs straining to hear the Pastor's teachings right before my baptism. He quoted this above from Matt 3:17 and I thought for a moment about God saying this to me; and it made my heart swell with love. I thought to myself that this might be the closest I would get, being here on earth, to experiencing the coming together of the bride and the groom, Jesus and His church. This ceremony is all about me, and Jesus. There's very little to it; it expresses what is in our hearts (mine by the grace of God). It is my chance to show Jesus how much I love Him. And I do. There will never be another moment taken publically in my lifetime where I will be making a statement with just one simple, unencumbered message: I love Jesus; He has raised me into newness of life and I will forever be greatful. I am His.

I was the last to go, and now that I think about it, even though I'd rather be first I am glad that I was last... "and the last first." All of them were adults like me. There were five of us.

My husband said that I was the only one who wasn't nervous. I wasn't! I was happy.

I came up out of the water and there was little left for me to experience or think. God had already accomplished everything in my heart.

[WayneB]

Awesome testimony.

Now that is what water Baptism is ALL about! Praise God!

Thank you for sharing your experience with us.

God Bless you,

Wayne

[Guest sanctification]

I'd like to tell you about my struggles yesterday afternoon....

I started crying thinking about how much I wanted my parents to be there, this time for my sake (hadn't thought about my sake so far until just then). Then my dad finally called me back. I have been trying to talk to him and my mom for about five days, but they couldn't be reached and they didn't call me back either.

(This is really hard talking to my dad.) I told him that I had originally signed up because of my joy in doing it but that since then I have had a heavy heart thinking about dad and mom and whether I should wait for them. I told him that all I want is for you to be loved. But that I had been reading about baptism in the bible and praying about it and I realized that God will never let me down for obeying him in a timely manner. I told him (imagine trying to explain what you believe to an athiest or agnostic... you can just feel the ridicule coming before you've even finished) that I believed that God was in control over all of our lives, and that God knows the desires in our hearts to be together during my baptism, and that He will take that and bless it in an answered prayer that is better than anything we can imagine right now. He didn't understand what I was talking about, and so I tried to clear it up and in passing mentioned that God said to me in prayer that it was His desire for me to do it now, and he interrupted me and said,

"God spoke to you???"

"Um, yes."

pause

"You heard his voice."

"Um, yes, it's not loud, it's just a small voice."

pause (he's incredulous, I can tell.)

Then he continued to make the same sighs and have the same impatience and use the same techniques of making me feel guilty he has used in the past to get what he wants. Although I have to say that I understand why he's hurt.

He said to me "how would you feel if your daughter decided that marriage wasn't something social and so decided that you didn't need to be there and got married without you?"

pause "That's what I have been trying to tell you from the beginning is that I have had your feelings in consideration to the point where I have been broken up about it."

"No, answer the question."

"But I already know how you feel, and I've known it and cared since the very beginning."

So I answered the question and then he said "Yeah!" as if his point was proven. He wasn't listening to me.

"If you care enough about us you'll wait, and if you don't then you won't wait." he said to me. That kind of sunk into my thoughts.

So then he got off the phone in a weird, angry way and my mom talked with me and she said it's okay, do it now because it's already scheduled, and baptism is wonderful because the holy spirit comes into your life and you are forever changed (more LDS stuff she isn't clear about yet that's simply not true). So I read to her over the phone Acts 8 about Philip and the eunuch, and it didn't make a difference in her mind. She said the very typical things she says when she is trying to smooth over the situation for the sake of my dad and also for the sake of being hurt.

I got off the phone and I was disillusioned. I knew they were upset and hurt, and because I am not used to dealing with unreasonable people anymore, this is totally not what I expected. I just cried and cried. Because I knew they were hurt and that they couldn't see what I saw; how the whole point to getting baptized is to obey God in it. They have always seen my Christianity in the past be so radical to the point where I exclude them from being a part of my life on many issues "come out from them and do not yoke yourselves with unbelievers," so I know they were thinking that I was just setting them up to experience more of the same mumbo jumbo. But we have been building up our relationship and it hasn't been torn down for any reason in so long that it really hurt to think it might be damaged again.

Then my husband saw me and said "if it's that important to you, why don't you wait?"

I said, "What?!?"

"If you want your parents to be there, then why would it make a difference if you wait just five more weeks?" Wow. I was blown away. I had even discussed with my husband just last night about what God has been teaching me and he said it sounded right. Now he was giving me reasons to think otherwise. And I could see his point of view and it sounded good. I was so lost in confusion. I told him "I don't want them to be here for my sake, I want them to be here for their sake. I just want them to be loved!!!" So that made it clear to him that it wasn't about their opinions that hurt me (like in the past) it was just their welfare I was concerned about.

Then I said to him "What about what God told me in prayer?" and my husband said "Maybe you heard Him wrong?" With everything that my husband said, my eyes were wide in shock and I was almost livid with frustration and anger. I told my husband, "I just want to do what God wants."

So he didn't have any answers for me. I called the pastor, he wasn't there. I called a spiritual mentor, I got a busy signal several times. My husband called his mom and she had some good things to say but nothing that could bring me out of confusion.

I took this as a sign that God wanted to be the one to give me the answer Himself, and my confidence not be in any other's words but His alone. So I went upstairs and locked myself in the bathroom and prayed.

I prayed "God, my parents are hurting! You know this and you care. God, I hate being confused, and this happens so much when I deal with my parents. It haunts me and I can't escape it, I spend so much of my life in heavy-hearted confusion regarding them and I just hate it. Please, help me. Did I hear you wrong Lord? Was I not praying with an open heart? (pause) (no answer). God, let me ask you again: in full light of my parent's hearts, do you want me to get baptized today?" immediately He put "let the dead bury the dead" in my mind. I jumped up from my seat and went downstairs to get my bible.

"Another of his disciples said, 'Lord, first let me return home and bury my father.' But Jesus told him, 'Follow me now! Let those who are spirtually dead care for their own dead.'" matt 8:21-22

I read that to my husband and he said, "alright." We knew we had the answer. We discussed matthew some more and I said "when is it ever God's will for us to hesitate to obey Him??? 'Anyone therefore who knows the good he ought to do and does not do it, sins.'" Be both looked at each other, and the conversation was over. "I'll call my parents and let them know that you're going to do it." he said.

He and I discussed how it may not be right how the church practices baptism as a corporate event performed once every couple months or whatever. Because in the book of Acts when someone believed, they immediately got into the water and baptized the people. So it was a sin for me to wait for my church to perform them.

We both believe that even though it does not look anything like a blessing, that through faith, God will take this day and bless our lives. Even though my parents see a lack of love, just the opposite of what I wanted, God will still prove my love (which is really only His love) for them.

[WayneB]

You know sister, you have shared so much already... I don't want to pry.

But I do wonder. Why was it so important to your Dad to witness your Baptism considering that he is an agnostic?

Regardless, it is awesome that God truly spoke to you and you were right in listening to your Father in Heaven.

The Scriptures you used were perfect...especially Matthew 8:21,22.

Once again, thank you for sharing.

Praise His Name!

Wayne

[Guest Calamity]

Sanctification:

I was so lost in confusion.

Well, you know that God is not the author of confusion. It sounds like all the things happening that distressed you before the baptism, were really confusing. I would say that you did the right thing. This will also let your dad know how important God is to you, and maybe make him think a little bit.