{"id":4493,"date":"2015-05-03T12:29:39","date_gmt":"2015-05-03T12:29:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/?p=4493"},"modified":"2015-05-03T12:29:39","modified_gmt":"2015-05-03T12:29:39","slug":"baptism-celebration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/?p=4493","title":{"rendered":"Baptism Celebration"},"content":{"rendered":"

 <\/p>\n

Today is the day we at Rocky have been anticipating. Our annual Baptism Celebration service! This is my second year of being part of this beautiful service. My only regret today is that I am only one person. I would love to be at both campuses this morning to celebrate with each person who is giving their life to Jesus today.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"???????????????????????????????\"<\/a>Just so happens, today\u2019s repeat blog post is about the plan of salvation. If you haven\u2019t made the commitment to live with Jesus as the Lord of your life, perhaps today is the day you should make that decision. If you live in Colorado, join us today at Rocky to be part of this special day. If you live elsewhere, talk to your pastor today.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

All the preparations have been made. Even within your heart. Don\u2019t allow anything to stand in your way today. I\u2019ll meet you there!<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Pyramid<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Do you remember the game show, $10,000 Pyramid<\/em>, hosted by Dick Clark? It was a game where one team member would listen to clues from the other team member and give an answer. For example, one team member might say, \u201cYou sit on this item. It has four legs. There might be arm rests. It may be upholstered.\u201d <\/em>Then the other team member would say, \u201cA chair.\u201d<\/em> Correct!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

There were two elements to the show. During the first section, the giver of clues could use their hands and voice inflections to help with the description, but in the second section, their bodies had to be perfectly still and they had to speak without inflection. If during the second element either rule was broken, a buzzer would sound and they would move on.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Sometimes we feel like we are in this game show in life. We may not get clues, but we certainly get questions or statements. Like, \u201cWhat are you going to be after school or college?\u201d<\/em> I always answered, \u201cA high school music teacher.\u201d<\/em> If I had been on that television show, I would have heard the buzzer! I am anything but a high school music teacher\u2026never have been and never will be.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Perhaps life turns serious. We may hear statements and be expected to have an answer. Like, \u201cYour unborn child has a heart defect.\u201d<\/em> Or, \u201cYou have cancer.\u201d<\/em> How are we to respond to these statements? I\u2019m not sure we have answers in these situations, just faith that God is in control of the situation and prayers will be answered according to His purpose.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

And then, there are these dreaded questions. \u201cWhy do you believe there is a God?\u201d \u201cCan you tell me about Jesus?\u201d \u201cYour faith is so strong, why?\u201d \u201cHow do I become a Christian?\u201d<\/em> Do you have an answer for this type of question?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I\u2019ve heard from some that if you don\u2019t know the theological answers to these questions, to simply tell your story. Tell them how Jesus has impacted your life and why you are different because of what He\u2019s done. While I love this concept and think it is a start, it is just that. A start. A good start. But I believe we must be able to get into Scripture to tell others about Jesus.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

We read in Scripture, \u201cBut make sure in your hearts that Christ is Lord. Always be ready to give an answer to anyone who asks you about the hope you have. Be ready to give the reason for it. But do it gently and with respect.\u201d<\/em> (1 Peter 3:15- NIRV) So here\u2019s my version of the salvation plan.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

We must believe<\/strong><\/p>\n

There is a lot that we simply must have faith in. We must believe that God\u2019s Word is living and active and that God breathed life into each verse (Hebrews 4:12; 2 Timothy 3:16).<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

We must believe that Jesus is God\u2019s Son, sent to be the Messiah, the Savior of mankind (John 3:15-16; 1 John 5:1; 5:5; Romans 3:22).<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

We must believe that Jesus was crucified for the forgiveness of our sins and rose to life to prove victory over death (Luke 24:46-47; 1 Thessalonians 4:14).<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

We must repent<\/strong><\/p>\n

Repentance means to turn completely around. To go the opposite direction of our original path. So for a believer, we must put to death the sinful nature in order for the spiritual nature to be visible (Matthew 4:17; Mark 1:15; Acts 2:38; Acts 3:19).<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

We must confess<\/strong><\/p>\n

You\u2019ve heard it before, Peter\u2019s great confession of our Lord. \u201cYou are the Christ, the Son of the living God.\u201d <\/em>(Matthew 16:16 \u2013 NIV) Yes, we must proclaim it as well (Matthew 16:16; 2 Timothy 2:19).<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

We must be baptized<\/strong><\/p>\n

Jesus teaches that baptism is part of the salvation plan and was himself baptized. Peter preached it on the day of Pentecost. Paul also was baptized and preached baptism (Matthew 3:13; 28:19-20; Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38; Acts 9:18; Galatians 3:27).<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

We must live<\/strong><\/p>\n

Live lives that bring honor, glory and praise to God who has freely lavished grace upon us. There are plenty of passages that lead us in this direction, but I\u2019m listing two here (Galatians 5:16-26; Ephesians 2:10).<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

We must tell<\/strong><\/p>\n

If in fact we have the greatest news mankind has ever heard, why do we keep silent? Why isn\u2019t His message on the tip of our tongues constantly? I don\u2019t know the answer to that question, but I know that Scriptures tells me to share the Gospel (Matthew 28:19-20; Luke 24:47).<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

This is just a start\u2026but at least you\u2019ll be able to begin with what is here. But here\u2019s the thing. You must make it your own. I do like the story part. Write your story. Practice telling it. Add Scripture to it and then you\u2019ll be set and ready for the next person that asks you that hard question. You can do it. I know you can with God\u2019s Spirit within you.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Believe it. Confess it. Live it. Tell it.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Grace and peace be yours in abundance,<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Donna<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  Today is the day we at Rocky have been anticipating. Our annual Baptism Celebration service! This is my second year of being part of this beautiful service. My only regret today is that I am only one person. I would love to be at both campuses this morning to celebrate with each person who […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_s2mail":"yes","_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,22,16,3770,11,17,14,9],"tags":[4214,668,1639,4217,4221,974,1048,4225,4220,1278,1415,4210,4222,1412,4211,1414,1134,4226,339,973,4213,1416,2369,4216,4224,4219,1452,338,4218,4223,4212,900,1413,4215,1417],"class_list":["post-4493","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-asking-god","category-believing-god","category-following-god","category-listen","category-loving-god","category-obeying-god","category-seeking-god","category-sharing-god","tag-1-john-51","tag-1-john-55","tag-1-peter-315","tag-1-thessalonians-414","tag-2-timothy-219","tag-2-timothy-316","tag-acts-238","tag-acts-918","tag-acts-19","tag-answers","tag-baptism","tag-baptism-celebration","tag-baptized","tag-believe","tag-commitment-to-jesus","tag-confess","tag-ephesians-210","tag-galatians-327","tag-galatians-516-26","tag-hebrews-412","tag-john-315-16","tag-live","tag-luke-101-24","tag-luke-2446-47","tag-mark-1616","tag-mark-115","tag-matthew-1616","tag-matthew-2819-20","tag-matthew-417","tag-matthw-313","tag-pyramid","tag-questions","tag-repent","tag-romans-322","tag-tell"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4493","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4493"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4493\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4494,"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4493\/revisions\/4494"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4493"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4493"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4493"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}