creed

Why should we be baptized?
Can I be a believer and not be baptized?
What is the significance of being submerged in water?

I remember the first time I saw someone get baptized. It was on a Sunday night at the church I grew up in. I was young, and a tad confused as to why there was a bath tub behind all the choir chairs, but felt there was some sort of significance to it, which was made clear on this very night.

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Creed Day 11 Into The Waters

July 24, 2017 by Sara Colquhoun 1 Comment

Creed Day 11 Into The Waters

Sara Colquhoun

July 24, 2017

Adoption,Believe,church,Courage,Faith,Flawless,Forgiven,Gospel,Grace,Love,Purpose,Redemption,Relationship,Remade,Sin,Transformation,Trust,Truth

Read His Words Before Ours!

Psalm 51:2
Luke 3:1-21
Acts 19:4-5

Why should we be baptized?
Can I be a believer and not be baptized?
What is the significance of being submerged in water?

I remember the first time I saw someone get baptized. It was on a Sunday night at the church I grew up in. I was young, and a tad confused as to why there was a bath tub behind all the choir chairs, but felt there was some sort of significance to it, which was made clear on this very night.

The person being baptized had just come out of the water, with their hands lifted above their head like they had just won a marathon, grinning ear to ear. Everyone began to cheer and shout and lift their hands towards Heaven, while the man grabbed a towel to dry off and the next person made their way down the stairs and into the tub, starting the process over again.

I had a lot of questions that night, and knew that I wanted to be baptized one day, I just wasn’t sure of the true purpose behind it.

Flash forward to my young teenage years when I’m really starting to dive into my relationship with the Lord. My youth pastor led a series about baptism and from the first week it captivated me. We talked in great lengths about the symbolism of submersion. Going under the water symbolizes dying to our old self and being buried, just as Christ was buried. As we are raised out of the water, it symbolizes being raised to walk in newness of life. We are reborn through salvation in Jesus and are clothed in His righteousness! (Galatians 3:27)

How is this different than being sprinkled as an infant? Baptism by submersion is an outward action that reflects an inward change, but an infant hasn’t made any choice to follow Jesus at that point in their life. Those who choose infant baptism generally believe one of two things. That this baptism infers salvation upon the child at that moment, or that it is done in hopes that the child will one day, after going through catechism, will own Christian beliefs as their own.

What matters at the end of the day when it comes to baptism?
The gospel.
The Bible is incredibly clear that:
1) those who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ will be saved.
2) those who profess Christ are commanded to be baptized.
3) baptism, though a strong command, does not save you.

As believers, when we come to accept Christ, our next command is to be baptized. When the disciples went out to preach the Gospel, they had clear direction from Jesus on what was to be done.

In Matthew 28:18-19, Jesus is speaking and states:

All authority in Heaven and on Earth has been given to me.

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations,
Baptizing them in the name of the Father
and of the Son
and of the Holy Spirit.

According to the Bible, baptism should be our first act of obedience after turning over our lives to Jesus as our Savior.

That doesn’t mean for those who accept Christ in the final moments of their lives that they will not have salvation because they aren’t baptized. But, for those of us that make the decision to follow Jesus now, we should be eager to follow Jesus’ example and be baptized as quickly as possible. If that isn’t the case, we should examine our hearts and see what could be stopping us from making this decision.

Jesus was perfect. I mean y’all, He was completely sinless, but you know what? Even He was baptized by John the Baptist, in order to fulfill the command that His Father had given.

After my youth pastor finished the sermon series on baptism I had made up my mind that I wanted to get baptized as soon as I could. I remember that day vividly, even ten years later. It was during a Sunday night service, in the balcony of the sanctuary. All the youth being baptized that night were given white robes to put on. When it was my turn, I made my way into the tub, and something shifted inside of me the moment I came out of the water. It’s a feeling I could only describe as the Holy Spirit coming over me in a different way that I had experienced before.

I’ve seen many people be baptized since this day, in fact, on one sunny day towards the end of my second trip to Africa, I was in the Red Sea in Dar Es Salaam Tanzania, when I watched my now husband be baptized. It was the most beautifully simplistic moment of my life, one that I will hold forever dear to my heart.

So today I ask you, sweet sister, have you made the choice to follow after Jesus forever? If you have, and haven’t been baptized, I encourage you to speak to someone that can help you with this next step of faith. If you have more questions about this, we’d love to chat with you! Leave us a comment or write us an e-mail. This journey study is so near and dear to our hearts, and we want this to be a safe place for you to explore biblical beliefs and how they affect our everyday lives!

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It is an important message then and now. God desires those who wholeheartedly desire to be in His presence and out of complete dependence on Him live their life. John’s message reminds us, compels us, to look beyond the everyday and seek God first so as to be right before Him. In the pruning of our life, God makes disciples through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Creed Day 12
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Creed Day 10 Holy Spirit

July 21, 2017 by Merry Ohler Leave a Comment

Read His Words Before Ours!

Genesis 1:1-2
John 14:15-26
John 16:5-15
Romans 8:1-17
Acts 2:1-21

My first cognitive experience with Holy Spirit involved the well-loved children’s church hero, Gospel Bill (also known as Bill Gunter, US Marshal) and the little town of Dry Gulch…but not in the manner you might think.

The little church I grew up in (along with pretty much every other church in the late 80’s and early 90’s) loved the Christian television series put on by Willie George Ministries. The shows were kind of hokey sometimes, but the messages were solid and the heart behind them was clear. I was 9 (going on 19), and was so excited to join my private school counterparts for a week of Dry Gulch camp. The bus ride to Oklahoma was long and full of pre-teen drama, antics, annoying songs, and laughter. One bus breakdown and several long hours later, we finally arrived! We were quickly bustled off to our cabins to meet our pretty counselors and new BFF’s for the week, and we settled into the rhythms that any former summer camp-goer would recognize.

That week’s focus was all about Holy Spirit (or “Holy Ghost” as they called Him.) Our chapels, cabin meetings, prayer focuses, projects… Everything all revolved around Him. I knew something of Holy Spirit from sermons and classes at church, but He had never really felt real to me up to that point. One day, I remember hearing the speaker talk about praying in the Spirit and how we don’t always know what is going on, but that we must take notice, listen to Him and respond to His lead every time He is working in us. I don’t really remember the exact words or even any Scripture references the speaker gave, but later that afternoon, I felt an overwhelming urge to pray. I didn’t know why or for whom I was praying, but the urgency left me breathless and weeping. It felt as though I were pleading for someone’s very life. The other girls who were in my cabin at the moment were understandably worried and called for our counselors. The gravity of whatever was happening was apparent, and soon all present joined me in prayer for some time. Eventually, I felt a vivid sense of release from Holy Spirit, and we resumed our schedule for the day.

A day or so later, I learned that during the hour my cabin mates and I were urgently praying, my dad had been in a head on car collision in another state. The tiny Toyota he was driving at the time was completely demolished. One glance at that crushed little car would convince anyone that he shouldn’t have survived. He suffered nearly a dozen broken bones, including a broken neck, but God spared him.

The incredible reality and gravity of that experience left me with no doubt about Holy Spirit’s presence, power and purpose in our lives, but He is not always the easiest to describe. As we explore our Creed, let’s examine our own understanding and expectation of who Holy Spirit is, what He does and what He can do.

So who is Holy Spirit? What does He do, exactly?
He is fully God. He is Triune, three in one, with Father and Son, Jesus.
He is our Comforter. He quiets us when our lives seem tumultuous and we feel tossed about.
He is our Truthsayer. He opens our hearts and spirits to understand the Word.
He is our Teacher. He reveals all things to us.
He is our Memory-keeper. He reminds us of Jesus’ words and God’s promises.
He is our Convicter. He alone sparks conviction in the hearts of men and women.
He is the Spirit of Adoption. Through Him we become children of God and co-heirs with Christ.
He is our Freedom. He breaks us free from the desires of the flesh.
He guides us in all truth.
He speaks to us on God’s authority.
He glorifies Jesus in all He does.
He enables us to set our minds on life and peace.
He lives in us.
He shoulders our weakness and is our strength.
He intercedes for us when we don’t know how or what to pray.
He brings forth good fruit in our lives.

Does He live in every person?
No. We are not born with Holy Spirit inside us. When we confess our sinful nature, acknowledge Jesus Christ as our Savior, and repent of our sins, Holy Spirit comes to dwell inside us. This is the only way a person can receive Him. He is far more than an internal compass between right and wrong, although He does convict us when we sin.

What about children who accept Christ? Does He dwell in them, too?Yes, absolutely! The full and complete Holy Spirit indwells every single Christian, regardless of age, race, gender or any other factor. Every person in whom He dwells has access to all of Him. The 8 year old little boy in the pew next to you who accepted Christ yesterday has every bit as much of Holy Spirit in Him as the octogenarian who has given her life to Jesus every day for the past 80+ years. This forgiveness and adoption of each one, fully and completely, is the miracle of salvation.

If He is part of the Triune God, why is Holy Spirit basically nonexistent until the New Testament?
The short answer is…well, He isn’t. In fact, He is present from the very start.

“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.” (Genesis 1:1-2, NLT, emphasis mine)

Before the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, Holy Spirit functioned in a completely different manner than He does now. Prior to Jesus’ ultimate sacrifice, Holy Spirit did not dwell within every believer. He would rest on certain individuals for a time, in order to bring about a specific purpose… but His indwelt Presence was not automatic for every person.
This is why the riveting picture we see painted in Acts is vitally important to our creed.

Until that moment in time, Holy Spirit’s personal Presence was far more the exception than the rule.
When He came like a rushing wind on the disciples at Antioch, He obliterated every preconception we had about Him.

Just as the King of Kings chose to come as a baby, confusing all who expected a warrior King, Holy Spirit chose to break the “mold” we had seen demonstrated throughout history. Rather than resting on a select few, He chose to become equally accessible to each and every one of us, both then and now.

If we have accepted Christ, the same Holy Spirit whose power:

flooded the upper room full of believers and gave them a miraculous ability to speak other languages,
produced tongues of fire suspended over their heads in midair,
defeated the grave and brought Jesus back to life

DWELLS IN US.

You and me, friend. And His power NEVER diminishes.

Okay, so what does that mean for me? How does/can His presence within me affect my daily life?
Well, that means that when we surrender our hearts, minds and lives to Holy Spirit’s sovereignty (He is part of the Godhead, three-in-one, remember?), we are releasing our grip on our lives and allowing Holy Spirit to move through us as He desires.

Sometimes that looks like paying for a stranger’s coffee when prompted. Sometimes that looks like denying ourselves something we want in favor of giving where He nudges. Sometimes that looks like swallowing our doubt or fear and boldly sharing the word of knowledge He impresses on our hearts. Sometimes that looks like praying in the Spirit for reasons unknown. And sometimes, that looks like walking in our identity, accepting the authority He gives us and healing hurt and broken people in His Name.

As we reflect over our Creed and what we believe about Holy Spirit today, perhaps we should also examine how we are walking out the identity we have in Him. Are we declaring His sovereignty in our lives and hearts each day and owning the authority He gives us, or are we choosing to ignore His leading when we start to feel uncomfortable?

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Creed Day 9 The Sinless Carpenter: Digging Deeper

July 20, 2017 by Brie Brown Leave a Comment

Creed Day 9 The Sinless Carpenter: Digging Deeper

Brie Brown

July 20, 2017

Beauty,Believe,Digging Deeper,Excuses,Faith,Fullness,God,Gospel,Grace,Hope,Jesus,Life,Love,Meaning,Power,Praise,Sacrifice,Safe,Security,Time

Discover the original intent of Scripture. Make good application to our everyday lives.
Become equipped to correctly handle the Word of Truth!

Read His Words Before Ours!

Colossians 1:15-20

15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.

17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. 19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.

21 And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, 22 he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him

The Original Intent

1) What does it mean that Christ was firstborn? Does it mean He was created?

The idea that Christ was created, and that this verse, and others like it, speak of Christ in physical terms, is a heresy that has deceived many for thousands of years.

What Paul is getting at with the term “firstborn” is the rights and privileges of a firstborn son. Christ has the right to rule, and He is set to inherit the whole earth. He is the firstborn of all creation, meaning He has all authority over it.

The Everyday Application

1) What does it mean that Christ was firstborn? Does it mean He was created?

Praise God that He is firstborn from the dead! He was resurrected, which is a promise to believers that one day we will also be resurrected when Christ returns.

Praise Him that He holds all authority over creation, including the minute details of your everyday.

That’s a God you can safely trust!

The Original Intent

2) What in this passage points to Christ’s deity?

Verse 16 says, “by Christ all things were created” while verse 17 says Christ “holds all things together”. Verse 19 says that all the fullness of God dwelled in Him.

All of these point to the fact that Christ was indeed fully God.

The Everyday Application

2) What in this passage points to Christ’s deity?

Verse 16 tells us Christ is the image of the invisible God. He is the flesh-and-blood picture of what God the Father is like.

I’m so thankful God put His Son on earth to show us who He is.

Lord, when I read about Jesus, let me see You in Him! Remind me again of the truth that You are not a “hands-off God”, but you’re intimately involved in my everyday moments!

The Original Intent

3) What in this passage points to Christ’s humanity?

Verse 22 speaks of Christ’s body of flesh, which He chose to “put on” when He came to earth. Verse 20 speaks of His blood, and verses 18, 20, and 22 speak of his death.

Only a human could have flesh, shed blood, and die a physical death.

The Everyday Application

3) What in this passage points to Christ’s humanity?

The beauty of God’s plan is amazing. He knew only a human could die for humanity’s sins, but only God could live a perfect life and be the perfect sacrifice.

Therefore, He planned to send His Son, as God, to be the God-man, fully God and fully human, to accomplish His purpose of paying for our sins and reconciling us to Himself.

The Original Intent

4) What is the point of this passage? What does Paul want us to see about Christ?

Verse 18 gives us a clue to the point of this passage, “that in everything He might be preeminent.”

Paul describes the deity of Christ, how He created and sustains the world, how everything was created for Him. (verse 16) He points out how Christ’s death has accomplished reconciliation with God and made peace. He also states that Christ is the head of the church.

All of these amazing things about Christ show us how worthy He is of our praise, devotion, and focus.

The Everyday Application

4) What is the point of this passage? What does Paul want us to see about Christ?

Paul was making his case to the Colossians that Christ was, and is, preeminent in all things.

Do you recognize His preeminence in your life?

Do your priorities display Christ is first, above all things for you?

Do you recognize He holds all things together, not you?

What do you need to rearrange to put Christ’s preeminence on display in your life?

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Sin, which ruined all humanity across all time, came through one man, one act of disobedience. That’s pretty powerful! If sin from Adam destroyed humanity so thoroughly, Paul asks the rhetorical question “how much more will those who are of Christ….reign in life?!” Adam was human, but wrecked us.

Creed Day 8
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Creed Day 8 The Sinless Carpenter

July 19, 2017 by Sara Colquhoun Leave a Comment

Creed Day 8 The Sinless Carpenter

Sara Colquhoun

July 19, 2017

Faith,Fear,Freedom,Generous,God,Gospel,Grace,Hope,Jesus,Life,Love,Power,Purpose,Relationship,Sacrifice,Transformation,Truth

Read His Words Before Ours!

Genesis 18:2
Isaiah 7:14
Matthew 1:18-23

Who Is Jesus?
Growing up around the church I was very familiar with God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit, but the way the three related and worked together brought forth a sense of confusion to me. I knew the basic facts:

Jesus was God
Jesus died on the cross for our sins
Jesus would come back again to take Christians to Heaven

I like to refer to that as the ‘flannel board’ Sunday school version that many of us were taught as children. But that only begins to scratch the surface of who Jesus really is and why God sent Him to Earth.

Jesus was 100% God, and no one who knew Him on earth would say He ever thought of Himself as just a “good man”. Jesus’s own claim to be God is what landed Him before Pilot with the sentence of crucifixion.

While Jesus had all rights and authorities of being God, having existed before time began as He in fact “was before all things, and by Him all things were made. Without Him nothing was made that has been made.” Jesus was also 100% human. I asked my mom a few months ago about how Jesus grew up. Do you think that He had to do chores? Did he have a bedtime? What about when he was a baby? Did he cry a lot?

My mom responded with a light-hearted laugh, “Of course He did chores, had a bedtime, and cried. He was human after all.”

I tend to forget that Jesus grew up just like you and I did. He had parents, and siblings, and one day a job as a carpenter. Can you only imagine how beautifully perfect His farmhouse tables would’ve been?

You see, Jesus only had 3 ½ years of actual ministry recorded in Scripture. We jump quickly from birth to ministry, with roughly 30 years in between, catching just tiny glimpses of who Jesus was as a child. We do know that as he got older, around the age of 12, he stayed behind in Jerusalem one year after the Passover, and when his parents returned they found him in the Temple, asking questions and giving His own answers, while those around Him stood amazed at His knowledge, understanding, and authority.

This was no ordinary man, this was God Almighty with skin on.

Jesus is the relatable God, the God who feels our feelings, weeps our tears, smells of our sweat, and aches with our physical weariness. He likely had a sunburn, got sick, lost His voice while teaching, and was exhausted from a long day. Jesus is the close-up, hold your hand, hug your shoulders, flesh, blood, teeth, freckles, and hair image of the invisible God.

Jesus is the picture of the God we cannot see.

How is He able to offer eternal life for every human being across all time?
Adam gave birth to death for all humanity. His seed was corrupt and he could only have children that belonged to and inherited death. Death had corrupted his soul just as if it were his DNA, and now all humanity would suffer the effects of sin, which is death and separation from God. As Paul says, “In Adam we all die…”

But Jesus Christ has the seed of eternal life, won through his resurrection from the dead, whereby defeating Death itself. Add in the fact that Christ’s seed is flawless because of His perfectly righteous life in the flesh. Jesus lived perfectly where Adam (and each of us) could only possibly sin. Christ can only give birth to life as no death is in Him.

Sin, which ruined all humanity across all time, came through one man, one act of disobedience. That’s pretty powerful!

If sin from Adam destroyed humanity so thoroughly, Paul asks the rhetorical question “how much more will those who are of Christ….reign in life?!”

Adam was human, but wrecked us.

Jesus is God of all, and by offering His righteousness, saves all who ask Him to be their Savior. His selflessness, in being without one ounce of sin, to die for each and every single one of us, sinners, has allowed those who choose to follow Him to not experience death, but only life.

Can we just stop there for a second?

There is no death as a follower of Jesus!

What is Jesus doing right now?
Seeing as though there is no death as a follower of Jesus, there is only life, when Jesus was raised to life and went back to Heaven His work didn’t stop there. He is actively fighting for us, while sitting, and sometimes standing, at the right hand of The Father.

Look at how Paul describes Stephen’s stoning in Acts 7:54-57 . Paul invites us into the moment where the Heavens are open and Jesus is standing there, advocating on our behalf. It wasn’t but moments later that Stephen closed his eyes on this Earth, and was welcomed into Heaven the next.

Jesus is actively waiting to return to bring the rest of His bride home; it’s our mission here on Earth to be ready for that moment. To be actively spending time with Him, getting to know Him, and being watchful to the things He shows us.

It excites me to know that though Jesus doesn’t know when His return will be (only God the Father knows), He is using us to draw broken hearts back to Himself. He will continue pursuing us until we meet face-to-face one day and He comes to take His people home!

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