The World We Live In

“Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared, who forbid marriage and require abstinence from foods that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer.”

~1 Timothy 4:1-5

There are some pretty weird trends across the world. I can look back in my own life and see when some of them began. The 60’s brought about free love and said marriage isn’t necessary; it’s okay to live together and when you get bored with that partner, just get a new one. Abortion became legal with Roe v. Wade and now nearly 4,000 abortions per day are performed across America. It’s okay to kill a child you don’t want. Sex became a sport instead of a sacred union between husband and wife; same sex couples are considered a normal part of life; using drugs became a recreation; spanking your kids became child abuse, and now, it’s all completely out of control. Of course, most of those things have been going on since time began. Even in biblical days, the pagans tossed their children into the fires as sacrifices to their gods. The debaucheries of life have always gone on but today, they are simply accepted, celebrated, and taught in our schools to accept everyone’s “alternate” lifestyle so as not to offend. What we should all be worried about is offending God.

^“If you put these things before the brothers, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, being trained in the words of the faith and of the good doctrine that you have followed.  Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance. For to this end we toil and strive, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe (1 Timothy 3:6-10).”

Even the diet and exercise market is out of control. While I see nothing wrong with staying in shape and eating right, there has been a huge increase in fad diets, exercise equipment, and quick fixes for those who worry about their weight. And everyone worries about their weight because the media tells us we’re supposed to. We have to be thin to look good. We have to use their product to get there, and they show models in bikinis to prove their point. Models who probably have never used that product, starve themselves, and have surgery to look the way they do. And while we’re all being berated for not looking like a model, and diet sales skyrocket, America has grown to be the fattest nation in the country with record highs of diabetes, heart attacks, high blood pressure and other weight related problems. There is something seriously wrong.

“So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. Give no offense to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God, just as I try to please everyone in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, that they may be saved (1 Corinthians 10:31-33)”.

Everything in life, it seems, is intent on drawing us away from the truth of God. We must be diligent in our faith, in seeking God’s will in our lives, and keeping our minds focused on Him. The world is full of distractions and contradictions, and if we allow those things to guide us, we are going to be headed down that wide path to hell. There is something very satisfying in knowing the Lord intimately that can’t be found anywhere else. There is a peace that comes with salvation that can filter out the ridiculous world we live in. There is an all-encompassing feeling of love and satisfaction in knowing that no matter what happens worldwide, we are in the arms of Almighty God. What is right and pure and trustworthy will always be right and pure and trustworthy no matter what the world says. Our filter is Jesus Christ and He will never steer us wrong.

“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things (Philippians 4:8).”

Read Psalm 11-17

© 2018 Marie McGaha

The Path of Righteousness

“The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for His name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”

~Psalm 23

Some of the most touching and powerful prayers are in the book of Psalms. In King David’s psalms, there is much heartache, heartbreak, fear, and loneliness, but there is also much joy. David knew God was with him no matter the circumstances. He experienced great highs and great lows but his faith that God would deliver him never wavered. We, like David, also experience these same times of great highs and great lows, but are we always sure God is with us? The strength of our faith will determine how we handle the ups and downs of life.

Verse 1: The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want.

A shepherd is one who keeps the sheep from danger. He will go to any lengths to fight off wild animals to keep his sheep safe. If we truly believe the Lord is our Shepherd, how much further will He go to keep us safe? The shepherd makes sure his sheep are fed and watered, they have no need to go in search of food because the shepherd provides for them. They want for nothing, and when we depend upon the Lord, neither will we (Philippians 4:19-20).

Verse 2: He leads me beside still waters.

Sheep can’t drink from running waters, it has to do with the shape of their mouths. They have to have a still pool to drink from to satisfy their thirst. Still waters also indicate peace, so when we trust the Lord, He will make sure we have His peace, no matter what’s going on in our lives (Ephesians 2:19).

Verse 3: He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for His name's sake.

When we live in sin, our souls are in turmoil but when we have our lives in Christ, our souls are at peace. They have been completely restored by Jesus. He becomes our Shepherd and directs our paths for His name’s sake. Why? So that He will be glorified. We are the glory of God and when we walk the path He has for us, everything we do will glorify Him to the rest of the world (2 Corinthians 13:5).

Verse 4: Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

The valleys we walk through can be dark and fearsome. The events in life can make us feel like life isn’t worth living, or if a lot of traumatic events have taken place in our lives, we can live in constant fear that something else is going to happen. But when we walk the paths of righteousness in Christ Jesus, we do not have to fear because He is our comfort (2 Corinthians 1:3-4). When we trust completely in Him, our fears are put to rest.

Verse 5: You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.

I love this verse. Imagine your enemies all around you, the way they were David, yet, in the midst of the chaos, you sit down to eat the finest meal you’ve ever imagined, without a care in the world. I think it would blow the enemies’ minds! Jesus is like that. He will lead us right through the fire without letting us get singed even a little bit. He anoints us with heavenly oil that marks us as belonging to the only true King, Him! He provides for us to the point that no matter what we do, we can’t contain the provision that is pressed down, shaken together and running over (Luke 6:38). Our Shepherd cares for us, keeps us, loves us, provides for us beyond anything we can ever imagine.  

Verse 6: Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Because of Christ’s immense love for us, He pours out His goodness and mercy upon us all the days of our lives. We are His children, and like any proud daddy, He wants to give us everything we need. Of course, we will have trials in life but that’s just how a fallen world works, but unlike those who drudge through, we, the children of the Most High, can walk through life with our shoulders back and our heads held high. If God is for us, who can be against us (Romans 8:31)? We have all that Heaven offers through the blood of Jesus Christ and in the end, we will realize the fullness of that love when we step from this life into everlasting life in Heaven. We will dwell in the Lord’s house forever.

No matter what is going on in your life, Jesus Christ is with you and He will not leave you (Deuteronomy 31:8). Your Shepherd is with you and He will protect you.

Read Job 38-42

©2018 Marie McGaha

Something To Believe In

“That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which He has called you, what are the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His great might that He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places (Ephesians 1:17-20).”

When we are children, our world is confined to the house we live in, our parents, siblings, and perhaps, grandparents or other extended family members. And we are perfectly content in that world. As we grow, our world expands to include school, friends, and outside activities. Our world continues to grow larger the older we get. There eventually comes a point when we want to know what is beyond our city, state, and even our country. It’s a big world and we often feel the need to explore whatever it is we think lies outside of our view. It’s how the world was conquered. If not for those who wanted to know what lay beyond the great oceans, the New World would not have been discovered. If there had never been anyone who looked into the sky and thought, what if I could build a rocket to take someone there, Neil Armstrong would have never set foot on the moon. We have an inborn desire to know who we are, where we came from, and why we are here. People have traveled millions of miles, built monuments to unknown gods, and traversed the stars seeking answers only to find they still have questions. We are all simply searching for something bigger than ourselves to believe in.

“By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible (Hebrews 11:3).”

Belief in anything takes faith. If you go rock climbing, you have faith in your gear and your training so that you don’t plummet to your death. When you jump out of an airplane at 13,000 feet, you have faith that when you pull the cord, the parachute will open. Every morning when you jump into your car to go to work, you have faith that turning the key will start the engine. Everything we do requires some belief that what we are doing will succeed. But what about the biggest questions of all – is there a God? If there is a God, why is planet earth so messed up? What is the purpose of life in the grand scheme of things? Why am I here? Those are questions I’ve had too. And after a lot of exploration and faith in things that did not matter, or were not good for me, I came to the conclusion that no amount of education or knowledge of this world is going to answer those questions for me. Those answers were inside of me my whole life and are completely answered by faith and belief.

“And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who seek Him (Hebrews 11:6).”

We are born with a God-shaped hole inside of us. I tried to fill mine with everything but God, and I was never satisfied until I filled it with the Word of God. No, I didn’t come to the conclusion that Jesus was the answer because there was suddenly some enlightened place inside of me; I concluded Jesus was the answer because all else had failed. Nothing I had tried in life fulfilled me, nothing had made me feel as if I had the answers, and almost everyone in my life had let me down. Yet I knew somewhere deep down inside that there had to be an answer, there had to be more, and when I was out of answers, God gave me His.

“There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under Heaven given among men by which we must be saved (Acts 4:12).”

God created everything that is created from nothing. He spoke it into existence. He also gave us that desire to create, to explore, to expand, to reach for more. But He never intended for us to do it without Him. That is where people went wrong. We became more, had more, did more, went farther and created monuments, not to unknown gods, but to ourselves. We stepped outside the scope of creation in the false belief that we could do it ourselves. That’s why, no matter how successful we are or what we accomplish, we still feel unfulfilled. That God-shaped hole can only be filled by one person—Jesus Christ.

“Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.  For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.  Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need (Hebrews 4:14-16).”

Read Job 32-36

©2018 Marie McGaha

Whisper Hope

“When his vision came round there was a young girl on the ground
And he knew she was finding it hard to cope
She never was a fighter until he laid beside her
And gently whispered hope
They got up to their feet and they sang Hallelujah
People in the street were turning around
They looked them in the eyes and they sang Hallelujah
Oh, there's someone here that we have found
They sang, Hallelujah, Hallelujah
We are the voices crying in the wilderness
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
The people in the street started their sins to confess and a chorus of
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Every knee will bow and every tongue confess
And the voice of one crying in the wilderness
Crying out Hallelujah, Hallelujah.”

~Lyrics from Gabriel and the Vagabond by Foy Vance

This is from one of my favorite songs by Foy Vance on his album, Hope. It doesn’t take much to give someone the hope that tomorrow is going to be a better day, or that their life is worth living. For some, life seems to be a series of disasters lined up like thunder clouds in the distance. For others, life seems to come up roses no matter what they do. The disparity between us can sometimes feel unfair and not worth the trouble. But when we look at others to compare ourselves, we are always going to come up lacking. That is part of the problem in our world today; we are so commercialized and constantly inundated with the idea that if we have more, bigger, better, shinier, and newer things, our lives will be better, happier, and successful. In reality, it’s a lie being sold by an industry that is not in the least bit concerned about anyone’s happiness or success, they are interested in lining their pockets with our money. There’s a line from a movie where the actor plays a person who makes commercials: “It’s sell, sell, sell and we’re all going to hell, but here’s a huge check to smooth out the ride.” Yet, in the midst of all our wealth and the mountains of things that we own, the number of people who are in therapy and on drugs for depression and anxiety are at an all-time high. There is something very wrong with our priorities and how we live our lives.

“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.  Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you (Philippians 4:4-10).”

I like putting the first words in verse 4 with the last words of verse 10: Rejoice in the Lord and the God of peace will be with you. What we need for peace and happiness will never come from what we can buy, it will always come from what we find inside of us through a relationship with Jesus Christ. That’s not to say we won’t have trials. Our children won’t suddenly become angels, and our spouses won’t become some 50’s TV show idea of marriage, and the bills will still show up on a regular basis, but when we have the peace of Christ within us, those things won’t be our focus. And what we focus on is what we pursue.

^“But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.  But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses (1 Timothy 6:9-12).”

When we pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, and gentleness, fighting the good fight of faith, we are also called to help others. Hopelessness is all around us, but it doesn’t take much to share our hope and faith with those in need. Hope can be seen just as hopelessness can be seen, and it takes so little to share real hope with another person. We are the hope of Jesus Christ to someone who has no hope for tomorrow, so share!

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to His great mercy, He has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in Heaven for you, who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ (1 Peter 1:3-7).”

Read Job 27-31

©2018 Marie McGaha

A Few Gray Hairs

“So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.”

~ 2 Corinthians 4:16-18

Yesterday I had laser surgery for secondary cataracts. This is a condition that has a low occurrence after cataract surgery when new lenses are implanted, which I had in 2015. The actual laser procedure takes less than a minute and is completely painless. The results are amazing, except for the floaters I now have that are supposed to settle down within a few days. The biggest difference is how much better my vision is in my left eye now than my right, which I always referred to as my “good eye.” However, the secondary cataract in the right eye isn’t big enough yet for the laser to work, so I have to wait until it is.

“Even to your old age I will be the same, and even to your graying years I will bear you! I have done it, and I will carry you; and I will bear you and I will deliver you. (Isaiah 46:4).”

We call it aging. Our hair turns silver, or in my case, snow white, lines appear on our faces, skin sags, our energy levels decrease, we have aches and pains, arthritis sets in, our hearing isn’t as good, and our vision begins to go. I always say old age isn’t for sissies! Everything around us seems to be geared toward the younger generations. Clothing, activities, music, movies etc. and while youth may be wasted on the young, it’s good to know that God loves us old folks.

“But ask the beasts, and they will teach you; the birds of the heavens, and they will tell you; or the bushes of the earth, and they will teach you; and the fish of the sea will declare to you. Who among all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this? In His hand is the life of every living thing and the breath of all mankind. Does not the ear test words as the palate tastes food? Wisdom is with the aged and understanding in length of days (Job 12:7-12).”

There is something very comforting to me about being older; having the insanity of my youth behind me, and a wisdom that comes only from living life and learning from it. Being young is full of stress, worry, strife, difficulties, and each step forward seems fraught with an undiscernible future. Trying to reel life in isn’t easy, and none of us were born with an instruction booklet. It can feel as if we are just left to flounder on our own and hope it turns out all right. But growing older in life and growing up in the Lord at the same time is a wonderful place to be. Learning to live in your own skin, coming to grips with your regrets, and settling in to who you are instead of all the compartmentalized aspects of life is very comforting. In spite of the physical degeneration, life has never looked better.

“The righteous flourish like the palm tree and grow like a cedar in Lebanon. They are planted in the house of the Lord; they flourish in the courts of our God. They still bear fruit in old age; they are ever full of sap and green, to declare that the Lord is upright;

He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him (Psalm 92:12-15).”

Read Job 22-26

©2018 Marie McGaha

A Smidgeon of Faith

“Though you have not seen Him, you love Him. Though you do not now see Him, you believe in Him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.”

~1 Peter 1:8-9

I remember when I was a little girl my cousins and I played with dolls. We spoke for them, made up places they went, events that happened, and married Barbie and Ken over and over again. It was called ‘make believe’ and as a parent, I listened as my kids played games of make believe. A chair and pillow became a car, a cardboard box was a treasure chest spilling gold and jewels onto the ground, and my kids were teachers, doctors, cowboys, and Indians. Make believe is great fun. It’s when we get older that we realize make believe is for kids and we have to face the reality of being a responsible adult. But what happens when we are told Jesus is make believe? We pray to a God we can’t see, we wait for miracles from a Lord that isn’t visible, and we hope for salvation that will be fulfilled when He returns, or we die and go to a place called Heaven. How do we reconcile ourselves to believing in what many call ‘make believe’ when it comes to the Bible?

“At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, ‘Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?’ And calling to Him a child, He put him in the midst of them and said, ‘Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of Heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of Heaven’ (Matthew 18:1-4).”

Children are so trusting and have no hang ups about being honest and open. I remember when my son, Michael, was being potty trained. My husband was in prison, so the only man around was my next-door neighbor. I asked him to help me, so he took my son out back and showed him how to pee on a tree. Michael was tree trained from that day forward. One day, we were walking downtown and there were trees planted at the edge of the sidewalk every so often, and I noticed Michael was no longer beside me. I turned around and there’s my son with his pants at his knees, watering the tree. Of course, he was three at the time and passersby chuckled. My son had no shame, no fear of reprisal, and he wasn’t embarrassed. That’s how we believe in Jesus—without shame or embarrassment no matter what anyone else might say.

“That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which He has called you, what are the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints (Ephesians 1:17-18).” 

I have been mocked and ridiculed for my faith. Once or twice it hurt my feelings but in the long run, those are the people I pray for the most. I know their minds have been blinded to the truth of Jesus Christ. It takes just a smidgeon of faith to be saved by confessing Christ is Lord, and I pray for everyone to have just that much faith because I know if they take that first shaky step, the Holy Spirit will multiply that faith more and more with each successive step. And with faith comes hope, peace and joy in what we cannot see with our eyes but with our spirit.

“In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace, which He lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of His will, according to His purpose, which He set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in Him, things in Heaven and things on earth (Ephesians 1:7-10).”

Read Job 17-21; Ephesians 1

©2018 Marie McGaha

To Immerse or Not

“Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.” Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.”

~Acts 2:36-41

Tomorrow is a special day for me. It’s my husband, Nathan’s birthday, and I have the privilege of baptizing him. He took a long time to come to the Lord but when he did this past January, he wanted to be baptized in the river. As this day has drawn closer, I’ve been thinking more and more about what to say during the baptism. I know to most, it seems like a pretty simple event but for me, this is special. It’s like a marriage—sacred, and like marriage, a covenant between the person being baptized and the Lord.

I have been baptized three times. The first time, I was 18 and had accepted Christ as my Lord and Savior; the second time was when my late husband, Bear and two of our kids were baptized. I felt as if being baptized as a family was important for all of us. We were baptized by full immersion in water, in the Name of the Father, Son & Holy Spirit. Some years later, I began attending a church that believes being baptized in any way except the Name of Jesus, is incorrect, and I was baptized for the third time. I have thought about this a lot, probably too much because that’s me, but I am not convinced I would go to hell for failure to be baptized in the Name of Jesus only. On the other hand, I complied because the pastor was so adamant about this belief and what did it hurt for me to get wet again?

“The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because He has fixed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by a Man whom He has appointed; and of this He has given assurance to all by raising Him from the dead (Acts 17:30-31).”

There is no doubt salvation comes through repentance. Without repentance, baptism is just a bath and does nothing for the person being dunked. So, baptism is the second step in salvation—first, we accept Christ as our Savior by confessing our sins for forgiveness and second, we are baptized by immersion. This helps us to identify with Christ’s resurrection. We go under the water, burying our old selves, and come up out of the water, resurrected into a brand new life. I find no where in the Bible where anyone was sprinkled with water, and I find no where that infants were baptized. In order to repent, one has to be old enough to understand sin, therefore, baptizing anyone unable to understand what they are doing has no point. Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist, who had been baptizing people for some time by full immersion in the Jordan River. When Jesus came along, John baptized Him as well. When Jesus came up out of the water, the heavens opened up and God spoke. (Matthew 3:13-17). Now, there is no record of what John said when he baptized people but I imagine it was in the Name of the Father.

“Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them.  And when they saw Him they worshiped Him, but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, ‘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, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age’ (Matthew 28:16-20).”

Clearly, Jesus says to baptize in the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, so why was I told I had to be baptized again in the Name of Jesus for my baptism to count? The reason is in Acts 2. Jesus had been crucified, buried, and rose again. He had spent forty days on earth with His disciples and they watched Him ascend into Heaven. What we don’t know is everything Jesus taught during those forty days, but Acts 2 was written about what the disciples did immediately following Christ’s ascension. (Acts 1 retells of Christ’s ascension and replacing Judas Iscariot). This is the account of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit fell on everyone present and they spoke in other tongues and were endued with power from God. In verse 38, Peter tells the people to “repent and be baptized in the Name of Jesus.” Things had changed for the disciples. They were now the ones left to teach what Jesus taught, to lay hands on people, to heal the sick, and raise the dead. The disciples had felt the power of God descend on them through the Holy Spirit, the same thing that happened to Jesus immediately following His baptism.

Do I think if someone has been baptized in the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit and dies, that they will go to hell? No. I do think that if a person was baptized as an infant or did not understand what or why, they do need to be instructed and baptized again, but only after repentance. If someone was baptized by sprinkling or pouring of water, I think they do need to be baptized by full immersion. Our sole reason for baptism is to identify with the burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and full immersion is the way to do that. Baptism also infills us with the Holy Spirit, so when Peter, who spent so much time with Christ says, “Be baptized in the Name of Jesus,” and we have the chance to do so, we should be re-baptized. Or if it’s our first baptism, we should make sure our pastor, or whoever is doing the baptizing, understands we want to be baptized in Jesus’ Name.

“Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. Being therefore a prophet and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne, he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that He was not abandoned to Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption. This Jesus God raised up, and of that, we all are witnesses.  Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing (Acts 2:29-33).”

Read Job 14-16; Weekend reading Job 17-24

©2018 Marie McGaha