Yes it has been a long time coming but i am finally here to record the greatest day of my life…
I will start by giving you a brief prelude in saying, the path to my baptism has been a long and at times difficult one, but the wheels only started turning at full speed this year…
For those of you who don’t know Pastor Larry, please read this blog entry to provide some background on him… “Walk the Walk” . When Larry Called and suggested Baptism to me, I felt impressed to take the opportunity as for years I have left the timing of this event in God’s hands, and now it seemed to be his will, I was happy to take that step and it was quickly picked up By My Local Pastor, Frank Williams…
While I have always read my Bible, it was always in a somewhat intermittent fashion, but leading upto my baptism i knew that if i wanted God to be truly in control of my life it was going to take more than cursory reading of my Bible and Church attendance. So about a month before I was to be baptized I started driving down to the beach and spending an hour with God every morning, studying the Bible,and praying.
At first, it was a bit of a hassle, but soon the benefits started to show themselves, no longer was my faith blind, I had proof, references, information, and much more understanding than I had previously enjoyed or indeed expected.
This set me in a great place for my baptism, I was, on that day (and to now) totally sure of my Creator, what he did for me, and what i wanted to do for him, all my doubts were cast into the depths of the deepest sea… but those doubts were not alone, with them went my sins, My Saviour, Jesus Christ paid my debt many years ago on an old rugged cross. I accepted that free gift, and it gave me peace.
My Baptism turned into quite an event people came from far and near, many from Hervey Bay of course, the Samoan wing of my “family” came up from Brisbane and even interstate friends, Naomi and Collin Flew in from Sydney for the occasion…
Sabbath morning came, and I arrived at church amongst many well-wishes and smiles the day began, after a bit of running about, getting microphones sorted, the service started with the dedication of a new baby in the church, after which, Larry began his sermon on the rivers found in the bible, the rivers of life, discouragement, healing, restoration and living water, it was an amazing message made all the more amazing by Larry’s health, after over a year fighting a very aggressive Cancer, Larry was, to the glory of God, Finally in remission, although still a shadow of his former self, when he preached, it was with such power and joy, there was no question left in my mind that he was working in the power of the Holy spirit…
At the end of his sermon, the whole church was amazed by this Physically small, Spiritual Giant, at this point there was a special item by Steve who, as I mentioned earlier is part of my “family” on the Samoan side, he sang a song he had written for his own baptism only a couple of weeks beforehand called “In my Father’s presence” and it was Great, when God’s people commit themselves to his service he really does bestow amazing talents.
Frank, Larry and myself then went into the baptismal font, after Larry briefly recounted my story they Baptized me… getting Baptized is a very individual thing, people react to it differently, some experience euphoria, others weep, some feel absolutely nothing, in my case it was none of the above, it was a realization, for want of a better term, it felt like I was Commissioned into his service, like up until that point, it was a wrestle for my personal salvation and now I just want to work for him, helping guide people into a saving relationship with him.
Definitely the most powerful thing that has ever happened to me…
However, the day did not stop there it continued with about 50 friends/family coming back to my place for Lunch/fellowship etc. that Day had a profound impact on me, and I just want to share that joy with all who would listen.
A relationship with God means living With Joy as your constant companion, that does not mean you will be happy all the time (in fact quite the contrary), there is a chasm of difference between joy and happiness, happiness is an emotion based on your circumstances, but True joy, is an attitude to life knowing that regardless of how bad the situation becomes you are under the care of the Creator and nobody can take that Joy from you.
I think Paul Said it best in Philippians 1:21 “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” That is to say (if you read the context of that passage) while I live, I will joyfully work for Christ and if I die in that pursuit, that is ok too, because the next concious thought I have will be The Second Coming of Jesus and I will be Going to Heaven with him. Not only does that allow you to live a life of purpose and victory, it conquors the biggest fear of all, Death.
May God Bless anyone reading this Post, I hope it has encouraged you, and if not, I hope it has provided a window for you to see the changes in my life.
|G|Luke|
Our beliefs are vastly different, but I still recognise the importance of this occasion for you. Positive life-changing events are really something to be cherished. Congratulations mate on achieving one of your major goals. 🙂