Tag Archives: better Baptism

My Spirit’s Musings

29 Sunday Jan 2017

Posted by in Poetry

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apl-large-musings2

 

Now if the ministry of death, which was engraved in letters on stone, came with such glory that the Israelites could not gaze at the face of Moses because of its fleeting glory, will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more glorious? For if the ministry of condemnation was glorious, how much more glorious is the ministry of righteousness! Indeed, what was once glorious has no glory now in comparison to the glory that surpasses it. For if what was fading away came with glory, how much greater is the glory of that which endures!

Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very bold. We are not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face to keep the Israelites from gazing at the end of what was fading away.

But their minds were closed. For to this day, the same veil remains at the reading of the old covenant. It has not been lifted, because only in Christ can it be removed. And even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts. But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.

Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into His image with intensifying glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. ~ 2 Corinthians 3:7-18, Berean Study Bible

 

 

For those of you who may not know me, I have never really been someone who likes to promote herself. Actually, it makes me uncomfortable just mentioning that I published some books, which is why I didn’t promote my previous books.

When I told Avis Ward—my beautiful sister in Christ—that I was thinking about starting an author page on Facebook for My Spirit’s Musings (2017) and my other books, she immediately went to work creating the majority of the graphics, the banner, and the trailer that are on my Facebook author page. Her infectious interest in helping me promote my books sweetly compelled me to follow through with my plan to create the page I primarily would use for promoting my latest book.

On January 9th, I published my third book—My Spirit’s Musings (2017)—which is my second collection of poetry. The poems in My Spirit’s Musings emphasize the importance of living a life that reflects godly characteristics or the image of God. Essentially, my poems describe God’s image or His characteristics as holy and righteous living—true Christlikeness in action.  

The following video is the book trailer for My Spirit’s Musings:

 

 

 

Special thanks to my sister in Christ, Avis Ward—the creator of my book’s trailer. She really makes my book look interesting.

 

reflecting-gods-image

Functional Family

21 Tuesday Jun 2016

Posted by in Devotional

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Dysfuntional Family

 

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. ~ Proverbs 3:5-6, ESV

 

Without a doubt, many Christian churches have dysfunctional believers in them. Unfortunately, these dysfunctional brothers and sisters in Christ tend to rely on their own wisdom, understanding and knowledge—those pit lovers that end up pushing dysfunctional believers into their pits of their own making. In fact, most of the time these dysfunctional believers never will see their own imminent fall from Grace coming. Yet there they are—way off the path that leads to righteousness and holiness.

That a fall from Grace is possible for people who have been in a local church for years is why it is unwise to put our trust in our own or in churchgoers’ wisdom, understanding and knowledge. That a fall from Grace is possible also is a major reason why it is unwise to put our trust in the world’s wisdom, understanding and knowledge. Only God can provide us with His Perfected Wisdom, Understanding and Knowledge that will point our feet in the right direction so that we can escape life’s dreadful pitfalls.

God wants dysfunctional believers to know that He has a divinely healthy and functional Family that He wants them to fellowship with on a daily basis. God’s Family members are the cooperative, powerful, edifying, nurturing, and honorable friends of righteousness and holiness. These functional spiritual Family members are eager to help their fellow brothers and sisters improve every area in their lives where godly Wisdom, Understanding and Knowledge need to be applied.

Since Godly Wisdom, Understanding and Knowledge are closely related and well acquainted with each other’s characteristics, this truth is why God wants all believers in Christ not only to be intimately familiar with them but also to use them. God wants all dysfunctional believers to begin to function properly so that His Household of Faith only will have effective witnesses for Christ.

In order for all dysfunctional family members to become familiar with God’s divinely healthy and functional Family—the Bride of Christ—they first need to surrender to the Lord and to the Holy Spirit. Then they absolutely have to allow the Holy Spirit to baptize them. They need the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, because it helps all believers keep their spiritual eyes on the Omnipresent God; seek and apply His Holy Wisdom, Understanding and Knowledge; trust in His Righteous Instructions; and discern where they can fellowship with others who are doing the same. Shalom. 

Keep it real…Live it out…Watch it work!

 

~ from my one-year devotional published in 2015—Keeping It Real: Daily Renewing the Mind

The Better Baptism

19 Saturday Sep 2015

Posted by in Spiritual

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Luke 3_16

But John intervened: ‘I’m baptizing you here in the river. The main character in this drama, to whom I’m a mere stagehand, will ignite the kingdom life, a fire, the Holy Spirit within you, changing you from the inside out. He’s going to clean house—make a clean sweep of your lives. He’ll place everything true in its proper place before God; everything false he’ll put out with the trash to be burned.’ ~ Luke 3:16-17, MSG

 

One of the most uncomfortable truths about God’s Holy Spirit is that He does not FILL everyone He indwells. A closely related uncomfortable truth is that the Holy Spirit does not automatically change from the inside out every person who professes Christ is his or her Lord and Savior.

Moreover, in order for any phase of believers’ supernatural transformation to take place—after they receive their born again hearts (have their own new heart, new nature) and their own saved life (their own salvation, eternal life)—they also must receive the better Baptism. This better Baptism is the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. This better Baptism takes place, when Christ followers allow the indwelling Holy Spirit (the Spirit of Christ, which lives in their born-again hearts) to baptize them with the Holy Spirit and Fire. Through this better Baptism, genuine followers of Christ receive everything they need to be able to live and walk holy, righteously and victoriously. 

Furthermore, followers of Christ need to know, understand and believe that God sends His Holy Spirit to them—the Lord’s true Body of Believers—not only to reveal and explain future events but also to feed, lead, comfort, equip, endow, and teach them. The Holy Spirit is able to accomplish all of these ministries because of His better Baptism.

Far too many of today’s believers in Christ, unfortunately, fail to cooperate with the Holy Spirit so that He can baptize them with His better Baptism. The major reason why many of these believers do not surrender to the Holy Spirit’s control is because they do not agree with the following uncomfortable truths about Christians who do not have the better Baptism: They have unbelief. They are ignorant about most of God’s Divine Truths. They are powerless witnesses for Christ. They are weak (spiritually speaking), and some of them fall away from the faith.

Now if the Holy Spirit who lives inside us ALSO is allowed to baptize us (fill us with His Living Water and FIRE), then His FIRE will be in our reborn hearts. In other words, the indwelling Holy Spirit now can fill our hearts with His burning flames of passion. However, what too many of us who profess to be Christians fail to understand is that—before the Holy Spirit can fill us—we have to cooperate with Him. We have to surrender to His control—to his leading, prompting, teaching, sanctifying, and so forth. If we do not surrender to Him—if we do not cooperate with the Holy Spirit who lives inside us, by allowing Him to baptize us (initially fill us) with the Holy Spirit and Fire AND by allowing Him to continue to refill us ad infinitum—then we are quenching the Holy Spirit.

The point here is that, if we are baptized with God’s Holy Spirit and Fire, AND if we are cooperating with the Holy Spirit who is progressively sanctifying us, then this spiritual truth means we have allowed the Holy Spirit to fill us so that He can perfect our spirits, souls and bodies. Put differently, if we are full of the Holy Spirit and we are cooperating with His Progressive Sanctification Process—if we are permitting the Holy Spirit to grow us up in the Spirit so that we are changing into the image of Christ—this spiritual truth means that we also have allowed the Holy Spirit to set our hearts on fire for the Lord with burning flames of passion. On the other hand, if we are baptized with God’s Holy Spirit and Fire BUT for whatever reason we have stopped cooperating with His Progressive Sanctification Process, then not only will we not be on fire for the Lord but also we no longer will be changing into the image of Christ. In essence, when our burning flames die out and we just are smoldering (burning sluggishly without flames)—or if we never have been ignited—our spiritual growth also is about to stop or already has ceased.

The bottom line is that there is NO MIDDLE GROUND. We either are on fire for Christ, or we are lukewarm Christians. In order to not be lukewarm Christians, we have to receive AND cooperate with the better Baptism that John the Baptist speaks about in Matthew 3:11 and Luke 3:16. We have to be baptized with the Holy Spirit and Fire.

Lastly, if we do not have the Holy Spirit in us at all, then we still are spiritually dead. If we are still spiritually dead, then we neither are born again nor saved. Selah (pause and calmly think about that . . .).