Baptize again

Last night was very different than my normal Tuesday nights. My church has a Tuesday night “cafe” service. It started out as a laid back time of simple, coffeehouse-esk worship music and a night of the attendees sharing what God is doing in their life and ir was really centered around the prophetic. I loved it. But as with many things I like, things changed. Now it’s more of a Sunday service but with the opportunity to sit at small tables and have a beverage during it. If you can’t tell by now, I was disappointed. I’m a coffeehouse prophetic word share a story type of girl and it was something I really loved doing after a long day at work. But, as I’ve found out many times, I’m a bit unique. So is my husband. So is my pastor. So is my “daughter.” But we’re considered unique because we’re the minority in most situations. This one included.

Luckily, I did what I always say “I should have done” later on. I gave it to God. I realized that I kicked my butt to get there last night and there was no way I was going to sit around all night complaining that things aren’t how I want them. And God heard me.

Last night the church did water baptisms for those that hadn’t had one before. This was the service before it. At first I thought I couldn’t possibly learn anything. I’ve been baptized and ugh, it’s a boring tradition. There’s nothing prophetic or new about the concept. Well, so I thought. My pastor preached about baptism in such a way that I was completely humbled by the fact that I made such a commitment to God at such an early stage in my Christian life. I think that if it were 2 years ago and I was sitting in that service, I may have snuck out early. I may have thought I wasn’t so sure about being baptized anymore. He explained the seriousness of the commitment. He explained the condition your life, heart and mind must be in to be baptized. It made me think. Am I in that condition now? Was I in that condition 2 weeks ago? I realized that once we’re baptized – we’ve actually commited to God that from that day forward we would remain in that condition. The condition of putting our relationship with Jesus first, of making disciples, of having a willing and open heart, of having a pure spirit and mind…what a commitment!

Watching members of my church family be baptized minutes later brought back every reminder of what it means to be a Christian. Physically it’s such a small act to be baptized, but spiritually…there’s nothing like it. We need to be spiritually baptized daily in order to fulfill the commitment God asks of us.