Today’s Devotional – January 6th (Baptism By Full Immersion!)
By admin On January 5th, 2014.
Today’s Devotional – January 6th
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Baptism By Full Immersion!
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Another hotly debated issue within the Christian community is about the nature of baptism, and exactly how it is to be performed.
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Some believe in “sprinkling”! Some in, “immersion”!
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Some believe that it should be done “in the name of Jesus”! Others insist that it must be done by saying, “In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit”!
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And concerning where baptism should be performed, some accept baptismal pools! Others insist that only a river will do! And even a few extremists might even insist that only the Jordan River will do!
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Now concerning a person’s qualification for baptism, there are also different opinions. Some require a baptismal class to learn the basic tenets of Christianity.
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Others require a person to have first quit smoking and drinking, etc.!
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Still, others have absolutely no requirements!
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Jordan River baptism – cropped image – Wikipedia – Share-alike License
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This website insists on “full immersion”!
Exclamation Mark – Wikimedia – Public Domain
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“WASHING OF THE WATER OF THE WORD!”
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Listen… “Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave Himself for it; That He might sanctify and cleanse it WITH THE WASHING OF THE WATER BY THE WORD, That He might present it to Himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.” Ephesians 5:25-27
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So, here it is revealed in Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, that our true washing and cleansing comes from, “the washing of water by the Word”!
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BAPTISM BY FIRE AND WATER
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Listen again… “I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but He that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:” Matthew 3:11
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And so, by putting these two verses together, there begins to be seen a much greater fulfillment to the idea of baptism: “the washing of water by the Word”, and the baptism, “with the Holy Ghost and with fire”!
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USMC – Prayer before Bible study – Wikimedia – Public Domain
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And so, can we then conclude that there are actually two baptisms and not merely one?
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Question Marks – At a loss – svg – Wikimedia Commons – Share-Alike License
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“ONE LORD, ONE FAITH, ONE BAPTISM”
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Listen once again… “I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord…Endeavouring to keep
the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, ONE BAPTISM, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.” Ephesians 4:1, 3-6
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But it says here that there is one baptism!
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So which baptism is the real baptism? The literal water baptism? Or the baptism by the Holy Ghost which washes us by the cleansing of God’s Word?
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Holy Bible – cropped image – Wikimedia – Creative Commons Lic.
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HAVING FAITH IN MERE CEREMONIES!
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The Old Testament people of God made the same mistake concerning circumcision.
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They erroneously believed that becoming physically and literally circumcised was the key to Salvation.
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Listen… “This is My covenant, which ye shall keep, between Me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man 
child among you shall be circumcised” Genesis 17:10
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Now according to this verse, God’s covenant was based on literal and physical circumcision! And many still believe this to be true!
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But listen to Paul… “In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ: Buried with Him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with Him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised Him from the dead.” Colossians 2:11, 12.
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So, this passage ties this true circumcision together with baptism…“ye are circumcised…without hands…Buried with Him in baptism”.
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But this baptism is a spiritual baptism in which we are raised with Christ, “through faith of the operation of God, who hath raised Him from the dead.” Colossians 2:12
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Now this above passage raises a further understanding of baptism: that Christ’s death and resurrection was also a baptism!
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Baptized in the Jordan – cropped image – Wikimedia – Licensed
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CHRIST BAPTISM OF DEATH & RESURRECTION
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Listen to this further revelation concerning baptism… “But Jesus answered and said, Ye know not what ye ask. Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?” Matthew 20:22
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Jesus asked this question to James and John, to which they answered… “They say unto Him, ‘We are able.'” Matthew 20:23
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To this, Jesus replied… “Ye shall drink indeed of my cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized…” Matthew 20:23
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So, it begins to be seen that baptism now concerns the spiritual death and resurrection which a Believer experiences in Christ.
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ABOVE PICTURE – 7 Stars Constellation as the Cross (aka Big Dipper) – winter – signsofheaven.org – not for commercial uses
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WASHING OF THE WORD!
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Now in today’s Christian world, there is an emphasis upon literal and physical baptism in a literal tank of water.
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But as already seen, this is merely a ceremony which is a type and symbol of the true baptism!
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But just like the Old Testament people of God, who could not understand the true circumcision, we today are not able to discern the true baptism of the Holy Ghost: we’re just not able to fully understand a baptism which causes us to become fully immersed in God’s Word, and in the power of the new life we have in Christ, as God’s Spirit brings that new life to us!
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And there is no shortage of Christians and Bible teachers who insist that we must perform the ceremony. But instead, they should have been urging us to fulfill the true baptism, by “the washing of the water of the Word”.
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La Bible, Notre-Dame – cropped image – Wikimedia – Share-Alike License
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MANY LOST SOULS BURIED ALIVE!
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And the Bible finally reveals that there is no spiritual value in circumcision!
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Listen… “As many as desire to make a fair show in the flesh, they constrain you to be circumcised; only lest they should suffer persecution for the cross of Christ. For neither they themselves who are circumcised keep the law; but desire to have you circumcised, that they may glory in your flesh.
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“But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature.” Galatians 6:12-15
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Here is a revelation that the ceremony of literal circumcision has no spiritual value!
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And today, there are millions of law-abiding, moral citizens, who become baptized in literal water, but who have never been baptized by the Holy Ghost!
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And so, they are every bit as lost as the rest of the unsaved Mankind!
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PS Krøyer – Hip hip hurra! – Kunstnerfest på Skagen – 1888 – Wikimedia – Public Domain
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DYING THIEF
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And yet, the dying thief on the cross to the right of Jesus was told… “And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with Me in paradise.” Luke 23:43
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This thief had obviously never been immersed in a tub of water!
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And yet, because he had received the Holy Spirit’s baptism, he was ultimately saved!
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ABOVE PICTURE – 7 Stars Constellation as the Cross (aka Big Dipper) – winter – signsofheaven.org – not for commercial uses
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FULL IMMERSION IN GOD’S WORD!
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Dear Soul, if I fully immerse myself in God’s Word, allowing that Word to wash me from my old worldly ways, and my old ways of thinking, then I have the true baptism of the Spirit.
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And the evidence of my Salvation is that I begin to walk, even as Jesus walked, turning away from the vain and selfish pleasures of this sin-loving world! And now, I begin to cease from the vain and worldly conversation of the world and begin to live by every Word that proceeds forth from the mouth of God! Here is the true evidence of my baptism!
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And so, I must not be concerned about whether or not I have performed that valueless ceremony, so that someone might feel good that, “they have saved me”! As a matter of fact, today’s churches are filled with many lost and starving souls, who went through the ceremony of water baptism, but have never received the baptism of the Holy Spirit!
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So yes, this website endorses full immersion!
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That is, this website endorses full immersion in God’s Word, by the indwelling power of the Holy Ghost!
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USMC – Prayer before Bible study – Wikimedia – Public Domain
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“COME OUT OF HER [SPIRITUAL BABYLON] MY PEOPLE”
Revelation 18:4
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We have now entered the time in which God is calling His people to come out of the “city of confusion”, spiritual Babylon, “the mother of harlots”.
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God’s people must be able to stand, in the coming days, upon the solid Rock of God’s “exceeding great and precious promises”. Satan’s armies, both seen and unseen, will come against us, attempting to dissuade us from our faith-walk.
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And therefore, it is imperative for each and every man, woman, and child to make sure to immerse themselves fully into God’s Word, hiding those soul-saving Words-of-Life in their hearts.
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Thus, they will be able to stand in the evil day, being fully armored up and ready for battle.
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They will no longer be able to lean upon the corporate churches and denominations. That day has already now passed. It will only be the Believers fully leaning on their Lord and only on the Lord! There will be no human support during the coming conflict.
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But God has many promises to assure us complete victory!
Christian and Apollyon – Pilgrim’s Progress – Wikipedia – US Public Domain
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TODAY’S PRAYER…
“Dear Lord, Help me to experience the true baptism in Thy Word, by the indwelling of Thy Spirit! Let me place no confidence in mere ceremonies…
Prayer at Day’s End – Angelus by Jean-François Millet – Wikipedia – Public Domain
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READ MORE…
To explore deeper into this subject, please read… “Ark of the Covenant Constellation, Pt. 2: How To Enter The Most Holy Place”, or you can also read… ” May 17th (The Marinated Christian!)”
Question book magnify svg – Wikimedia – GNU license
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THE END
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TODAY’S FEATURED HEAVENLY SIGN
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Then Job answered and said…but how should man be just with God?…Which alone spreads out the heavens…Which makes Arcturus, Orion, and Pleiades, and the chambers of the south. Which does great things past finding out; yea, and wonders without number…Can you bind the sweet influences of the Pleiades? Or loose the bands of Orion?” Job 9:2-10 & 38:31
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The photo to the right is the Pleiades Cluster. Does it appear to you like an angel? Well, if it does, then you are encouraged to keep reading.
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The above two verses concerning the Pleiades is what the Bible has to say about the Pleiades. But if you will read this article, you will discover that the Pleiades represents concepts which span much of the Bible. This is partly because Pleiades is a constellation within a constellation. And this double-entendre constellation presents perhaps, a picture of the greatest truth regarding the Church, found in the Bible. And The Heavens Declare.net will attempt to unravel this mysterious phenomenon in the night-sky, and will, hopefully, also interpret these two verses to show just what all this means, and how it might apply to our lives.
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TWO WOMEN IN PLEIADES
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Just who are these two women? And how can this be, that nobody has ever seen the Pleiades as a constellation of a woman? This article will discuss this great paradox of these two women, found in the Pleiades, and what it means scripturally to us: we who comprise the global community of Christians.
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Because this constellation, or should we say Constellations, plural, have very much to do with us: those of us who are living right now on the threshold of eternity. And as you might expect, the Bible holds the key to understanding all this.
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READ MORE…
To explore deeper into this subject, please read… “The Pleiades: The Captive Angel & Mystery Harlot Constellation”
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TOMORROW…
January 7th . . . . The Chrysalis Christian!
Chrysalis (Pupa) of a Common Crow Butterfly – Wikimedia – Share-Alike License
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20+ MINUTE AUDIO JEREMIAH STUDY
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ALL ‘NOBLE BEREANS’ (open-minded seekers of Bible truth) ARE ENCOURAGED TO BEGIN FOLLOWING THIS 650+ AUDIO BIBLE STUDY THROUGH THE BOOK OF JEREMIAH EACH DAY ON THIS DAILY DEVOTIONAL.
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THIS IS STUDY #6 IS PRESENTED BY THE LATE HAROLD CAMPING…
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