2021-01-08
Good Morning Dear Readers,
The Holy Spirit commands me to continue writing about how He works in concert with God’s other personalities. One of His jobs is to convict us when we need it, all the while pointing to the Savior. Doctors tell us not to overeat and to be wise about our food choices with good balanced nutrition in mind. During the holidays, this wise advice is quickly forgotten amidst the conviviality of the family table. The Holy Spirit is the Source of a reminder that we have not made wise choices and to “cool it” for a few days to recover. The Lord’s advice is always with careful consideration and in line with Christ’s teaching. As for non-believers in Jesus Christ, they sometimes get a strong reminder of their unbelief. They see the good that living according to God’s teaching in the Scriptures, and they want this goodness in their own lives. It’s one of the reasons that relational witnessing works so well. First there is a relationship built between the believer and himself. Once the believer sees where in his faith walk the non-believer is, then questions about what it’s like to be a believer can be frankly discussed. I know there must be great joy in heaven when a non-believer first proclaims Christ as his Savior.
It is the Holy Spirit that does the will of the Father and leads a new believer to the task the Father wants done. The latter is perfect in leading the new believer to a task that uses his God-given skills and talents. Some tasks are done in the background and others in a more public way; but, all these tasks are equally important. One never wastes his time when he is working for God. The Father decides what should be done, the Son supplies instructions for how it should be done, and the Holy Spirit puts the command in a believer’s mind and sees to it that the job gets done. He might even help the believer to understand why it’s important to be done and its results. It’s entirely possible for a new believer or any believer to experience spiritual rebirth, regeneration through doing the task at hand. I know this happened to me in my conversion from traditional Judaism to Messianic Judaism. My spiritual life came alive in such a way that the Father led me to spend the rest of my life in ministry serving Him and other people.
JN 3: 1-8 is just such a story of how the Holy Spirit works. Nicodemus, a leader in the community, came to Jesus under cover of nightfall, quite secretly. Jesus told him that he must be reborn. At first, he didn’t understand what Jesus meant. However, Jesus told him he must be reborn in the Spirit-something the Holy Spirit does. Once this was accomplished, Nicodemus knew the difference by his “transformation by the renewal of his mind” [RO 12: 2]. This is a transformation by water and the Spirit. When I was baptized at the age of 25, this rite took place by my going under the water of a font, like having my old life of misery transformed to a new life in the Spirit. The contrast between the two was stark. This was an act of God joining me to the church, Christ’s bride. My ideation, heart-attitude was forever changed. Only the Holy Spirit can do this. My life went from lack of purpose, lack of direction, and self-loathing to acceptance of direction from the Holy Spirit, acceptance of the task for which the Spirit called me, a reason for being, and deep personal trust and faith in my Lord Jesus. I was no longer at war with God, but instead, He called me to be His servant. He gave me inner peace, where there had been doubt, misery, and lack of direction.
The power fueling these changes was water and the Holy Spirit [RO 6: 3-11, 18, 22-23]. The water in the baptismal font is symbolic of rebirth. Spirit baptism is being washed white as snow after being stained red with sin. Isaiah spoke of this, in IS 1: 18-20. The new believer agrees to faithfully obey God’s commands.
The rite of baptism historically led to division between denominations in Christianity. Roman Catholics believe that Christ Himself is actually with a person taking the Eucharist. Lutherans believe that Communion evokes a transformation in a person, bringing him closer to Christ. Some denominations believe in infant baptism, which leads to the parents taking vows to raise the child to believe in Christ. The child’s education begins in grade three after he or she is presented with a Bible. The real instruction for first Communion begins in grade 6 and culminates in grade 9. That’s how it is in the Lutheran church. Other denominations believe that only baptism by total immersion (as I had it) is acceptable. Differences exist between the denominations, like the Southern Baptist and LDS, which believe only in total immersion and the use of the King James Bible exclusively. The Roman Catholics use the vulgate Bible, and the Lutherans use the New International Version. I personally prefer the Good News Bible, the Good News Translation, because the language is so very clear for my own studying at home. We don’t all have the same skill set, so the Father calls us to tasks which use whatever skill set we have. This is true even though we have all been baptized by the same Spirit [1 COR 12: 12-13]. It is true even though the Body of Christ has many parts that all function for the whole.
PRAYER: O Lord, we cannot ignore the great power to bring Your goodness into our lives, that You use during our baptism. Baptism is the external manifestation of an import internal, two-way promise that has been made between You and us. By Your most excellent grace, You promised to heal, protect, defend, and show Your love toward us. We have agreed to be Your church (bride) in heaven, to search out our sin, confess, and stop it before You. This covenant is by the blood of Your Son, Jesus Christ [I COR 11: 23b-25]. We also agree to pray often, to be faithful, and to obey Your commands. We agree to live our lives in the new way of the Spirit and not by the letter of the Law [RO 7: 6]. We understand the importance of instruction by the Holy Spirit and making You the center of our lives. We pray in the holy/mighty name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
NEXT WEEK: I’m commanded by the Holy Spirit to write about His glorious indwelling of believers in Jesus Christ next week. We will then look at the internal transformation that our baptism gives us. As we get to know the presence of the Holy Spirit and feel the benefit of His wisdom imparted to us, our lives change for the better. The Triune Deity in Whom we believe loves us so very much that He brings blessings into our lives every day. We do ourselves a great disservice when we don’t get in the habit of looking for those blessings and feel the constant presence of God in our lives. His presence is in itself a great blessing! The Holy Spirit opens the vastness of the Father’s wisdom to us, and He knows we need it. Our Lord teaches us good, common sense that protects us from all kinds of trials and troubles. That’s why we need Him as much as we do. His love for us is both undeserved and given freely. When we keep aware of the Lord’s actions and advice, we are given new lives without the troubles I had before I came to faith in the Lord. The same is true for all who make the decision to proclaim Jesus Christ as their personal Savior. Praise and thanks be to Him!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn
JS 24: 15
© Lynn Johnson 2020. All Rights Reserved.
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