Meditation

Meditation for 10/25/2019

“Then bring Aaron on and his sons to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting and wash them with water.” (Exodus29:4)

Here we see that God is orchestrating His people, giving them specific instructions and guiding the people into obedient behavior. In this one sentence from Exodus, He has given instructions on offerings in the tabernacle, the construction of the ark, the table, the lampstand, the altar of burnt offering, the courtyard, priestly garments and all the adornments on the clothing, and now He is guiding the baptism of the priest, before they are allowed to dress in their garments or vestments of today’s times.

This is a time of teaching the people of God and helping them to become acquainted with all the requirements for remaining sacredly clean. The furniture, incense, clothing, all garments and clothing along with the symbols of their authority and responsibilities revealed openly, to making sure their own bodies are ritually clean, held a purpose and every purpose was a lesson from God. Today, the act of baptism is symbolically used to dedicate the one being baptized to God and they have been cleaned, dressed, anointed with oil, and are presented to our congregations as the newest Christian in the church. God still teaches, beloved, are you listening to Him?

PRAYER FOR THE DAY:

Precious Abba, churches baptize at differing times, but all are baptizing to the glory of God and in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. The process remains to prepared them to be ritually clean and prepared to receive the sacrament of baptism and it is and always will remain a celebratory act by the church, to bring in another soul for Christ. It is a beautiful and joyous time for parents,, grandparents, godparents, etc., and also for the whole congregation, to witness. To baptize a child or adult is an honor and a very special event in the life of the church. Thank You. This we pray in Jesus’ Holy Name. Amen

THOUGHT OF THE DAY:

“Church, now open between Easter and Christmas!”

KNOWING GOD:

“Then Moses brought Aaron and his sons forward and washed them with water.” (Leviticus8:6)

This “Levitical washing” or symbolic cleansing of the priests for religious service is the background of all religious ceremonies of cleansing in the Bible. It was practiced in the Dead Sea Scrolls community of Qumran, and it probably influenced the popular understanding of John’s baptism and Jewish proselyte baptism. Christian baptism differed from these washings in these ways: it was performed only once, pictured the death and resurrection of the believer with Christ, and pointed forward to the final resurrection unto eternal life. Because all Christians are priests and ministers unto God, Christian baptism became the sign of their dedication to Christ and their new life in Him. (Reference Hebrews 10:22)

I AM:

The Church, Background of Baptism: (Acts13:34)

The Gospel is good news to those who are not saved. Proclamation in the New Testament is the sharing of the good news of God’s salvation in and through Jesus with the non-Christian world. It is the open and public proclaiming of the redemptive work of God through Jesus Christ. In short, it is evangelistic in nature. In the New Testament, preaching does not have to do primarily with the delivery of sermons to the converted. Most often the proclamation of the good news is to the non-Christian world. For those already in Christ, the sacramental act of baptism, is an opportunity to welcome a newly baptized child or adult into the church, and is a reminder of everyone’s own baptism. Thus, we include retaking our own vows, to reinforce the baptized in their new walk with Christ Jesus.

Second Thought of the Day:

“They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea.” (1^st Corinthians10:2)

Baptism pictures the great redemptive act of God in the death and resurrection of Jesus. The great redemptive act of God in the Old Testament was the Exodus and the crossing of the Red Sea. This event was seen by Christians as a preview of the new Passover and the new covenant which would come in Jesus. Paul drew a parallel between the crossing of he sea and Christian baptism. The “cloud” was the cloud of God’s glory, representing the divine presence that surrounded them as the waters of baptism surround the Christian believe.

Passing through the sea was like passing through the waters of baptism to the new life in Christ Jesus. God has one plan of redemption. What the people of the old covenant experienced in the Exodus was pointing to the fulfillment in Jesus Christ, the new Moses, who sealed the new covenant with His death and resurrection.