Baptism Is A Very Real Death and Resurrection

Galatians 3:27  " For all of you who were baptized into the Messiah have clothed yourselves with the Messiah."

It is  not possible to get the idea that baptism is just symbolic from the scriptures.

That idea came from satan.

He is the only one who benefits from a down grading of a true and deep reality, a dying and a rising again to new life.  He is the only one who benefits by making it some sort of an optional symbolic add on.

If the gospel is truly preached the response will be, "There is water, what prevents me from being baptized?"

Why not?

Imagine that you desperately wanted to learn how to play the piano. How cool would it be if all of the ability and life of the greatest piano player ever was put inside of you? Imagine your gratitude, your joy at being enabled to flow in the gifting you had previously tried so hard to achieve! Now you know why it is called good tidings of great joy!!!

 John 4:14 "The water I give will be an artesian spring within, gushing fountains of endless life.”

The blessing of His life full and free living in us and flowing through us.  

Jesus said I would be "gushing fountains of endless life", now I need to ask Him and to wait for His response to this question.

Why am I not?

Kierkegaard Quote

"I therefore have decided to read only the writings of men who have been executed or have risked their lives in some way"

Kierkegaard

Mercy Lord!

Amos 7:1 "The Lord God showed me this: He was forming a swarm of locusts at the time the spring crop first began to sprout—after the cutting of the king’s hay. ² When the locusts finished eating the vegetation of the land, I said, “Lord God, please forgive! How will Jacob survive since he is so small?”
³ The Lord relented concerning this. “It will not happen,” he said.

Second Vision: Fire

⁴ The Lord God showed me this: The Lord God was calling for a judgment by fire. It consumed the great deep and devoured the land. ⁵ Then I said, “Lord God, please stop! How will Jacob survive since he is so small?”

⁶ The Lord relented concerning this. “This will not happen either,” said the Lord God."


Amos gives us a beautiful model for praying for those we love. 
We simply recognize to Him that we are throwing ourselves totally on His mercy.  Oh Lord, they are so small, please forgive and show mercy!

Eternal Hell, no!

Amos 1:11  "Thus says the Lord, “For three transgressions of Edom [the descendants of Esau] and for four (multiplied delinquencies) I will not reverse its punishment or revoke My word concerning it, Because he pursued his brother Jacob (Israel) with the sword, Corrupting and stifling his compassions and casting off all mercy; His destructive anger raged continually, And he maintained [and nurtured] his wrath forever."

 

God has a problem with Edom and the problem he has with them is they are acting in a way that sounds like eternal hell.  The Lord sees that as excessive and a transgression, so why would He act in this way, He wouldn't... good answer!

^{1 John 5:11} "And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.
¹² He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.
¹³ These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God."


Who has eternal life?  No one, unless it is given from God, who is the only one who has it.  Only if you have the Son do you have this life.  So unbelievers do not have eternal life.  They will be punished as long as God sees fit and then they will perish period.  End of Story.  No eternal punishment for humans, because humans who do not have the Son do not have eternal life.

I hope this clears things up.

Ain't Nobody Got Time For That

Luke 9:51  "When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. 52And he sent messengers ahead of him, who went and entered a village of the Samaritans, to make preparations for him. 53But the people did not receive him, because his face was set toward Jerusalem. 54And when his disciples James and John saw it, they said, “Lord, do you want us to tell fire to come down from heaven and consume them?”^e 55But he turned and rebuked them.^f 56And they went on to another village.

57As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” 58And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” 59To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” 60And Jesus^g said to him, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” 61Yet another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.”

For the first time today I realized that the "Let the dead bury their own dead" quote from Jesus came after Luke 9:51, which states the time for Jesus to go to Jerusalem and be betrayed and killed was drawing near, they were actually headed for Jerusalem when the encounter happens, so there was no time to wait around.  It wasn't in any way mean or insensitive, there was just very plainly a lack of time, and when He called, He could not accept an answer that delayed things.  Passover was His appointment and He knew it.