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Previous Challenge Entry (Level 4 – Masters)
Topic: Christian Baptism (10/18/07)
Some people think I’m stubborn. I call it determined. A while back, I was a bona fide back slider. My parents raised me in church, but when I left home, I decided I didn’t need all that church going.

It was beyond me why anybody would want to spend their Sunday mornings in some stuffy building when they could be at home sleeping. Believe me, there were many Sunday mornings when I slept in because I had been out late the night before. I would tell you exactly what I had been doing, but you don’t really need to know. Oh sure, I know you want to hear about it. Even if you’re a Christian, that doesn’t mean you don’t like to listen to a little tidbit now and then. Personally, I just think that’s nosey, so I‘m not going to tell you. What I will tell you is that I’m changed now and I do get up and go to church every Sunday.

So anyway, like I was explaining, I have this past. Even though I was raised as a Christian, I sure wasn’t acting like it. You’re supposed to know a Christian by their fruits. If that’s the case, I was in a heap of trouble. I was producing the wormiest rotten fruit you can imagine. Pee-yew!

One Sunday morning, I woke up and had a revelation. I needed to be in church. I wasn’t even sure where I was going to go. Down the street was a church of the same denomination I went to as a kid. It was just too convenient, so I went. Let me tell you, it took guts for me to walk into that building. The congregation was friendly, though, and I really liked the pastor. He asked if he could visit me. I answered yes before I even had time to think about it.

He did come to visit and we had a good talk. He brought his wife along, and turns out she and I are both HGTV fans. That really made me feel comfortable. We discussed all kinds of things, including salvation and baptism.

I told the pastor although I hadn’t been living right; I was saved, but had never been baptized. He said I needed to change my ways, and show obedience by getting baptized.
I said I knew it and would do some serious praying.

When he and his wife left that evening, The Lord spoke to me loud and clear. I showed up at church again the next Sunday, ready to be baptized.

When the pastor shook my hand on the way out, I told him what I had decided. He beamed and said he would schedule my baptism for the next Sunday.

Well folks, don’t you know that week flew by? Before I knew it, the big day had arrived. I felt like a bride, and according to scripture, I guess I was. When I was called up to the front of that church, I was nervous, but mostly excited. The pastor said a few words, then baptized me in the name of The Father, The Son and The Holy Ghost.

Now this is where it gets tricky. He baptized me by aspersion. That’s sprinkling the top of my head, for those of you who don’t recognize that big word. I wasn’t immersed, but I’m telling you, I was so sure of what I was doing, that the amount of water he was using just wasn’t important.

I’ve heard of folks who get baptized more than once. That’s fine if they weren’t sure of themselves the first time around. Thing is, I’ve also heard of folks that get re-baptized every time they join a new church. I’m not doing that. No sir, because the joy I felt that day was just like getting a new boyfriend, only a million times better. I don’t ever want to water down that wonderful experience, excuse the pun.

Since then, I’ve gone to several different churches. Some want you to be immersed, and some don’t recognize any kind of baptism unless you do it within their denomination. I say let them fuss about it. What I felt the day I was baptized just can’t be improved upon. I don’t need to be baptized more than once, no matter how much water folks say you have to use. That’s why some people think I’m stubborn. I’m not. I’m just confident and loving The Lord.
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This article has been read 1614 times
Member Comments
Member
Date
Verna Cole Mitchell 
10/25/07
I loved your easy conversational voice; your story resonated with me because I feel the same. Our church did not have a bapismal font, and when the minister sprinkled me in the symbol of baptism, my heart rejoiced as I witnessed to my salvation and my love for the Lord.
Joanne Sher 
10/25/07
Liked the tone of this. Great opening and closing.
william price
10/27/07
I enjoyed the voice on this one. Great tempo. God bless.
Dixie Phillips
10/27/07
The "voice" and down to earth style captured my heart. Good job.
Seema Bagai 
10/27/07
Great voice in this piece.
Kristen Hester
10/30/07
I felt like a friend was talking to me. I was shaking my head as I read, like you were right in front of me. Good job.
Daniel Amewuga
10/30/07
Assurance is rare with many Christians today - assurance of salvation, i mean. Personally, - and I know I'm not the only one- i have found myself lingering the streets of uncertainty many times in my christian walk. So I admire your stubbornness, but with this particular issue, I feel that you should empasize the actual essence of baptism as in Romans 6.
LauraLee Shaw
10/30/07
The personality in this piece comes shining through, and I enjoyed reading it. This was my favorite line:
No sir, because the joy I felt that day was just like getting a new boyfriend, only a million times better. I don’t ever want to water down that wonderful experience, excuse the pun.
Jan Ackerson
10/30/07
Easygoing, conversational style--I like this!
Beckie Stewart
10/30/07
Like the way you made it like talking to this person.
Loren T. Lowery
10/31/07
This is a wonderful read on confidence in the Lord knowing our hearts and being steafast in His love for us, I was four and baptized with a red rose, which I then gave to my mother who kept it in her Bible. My confidence, like your own, has never waivered.