Loving God of truth and beauty, open the eyes of this dear reader as You share that which enriches their lives; in Christ Jesus I pray, amen.
Here's our text for this morning: Matthew 28:19:baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you.
Baptism before discipleship? At the conference I am attending the emphasis has been on the declining North American church and what we can do to make more disciples. As we look at Jesus' Great Commission for today we see that we are to baptize in God's Name, then to teach them to obey all that the Lord had commanded us. Baptism is that which brings us into the Body of Christ. As we celebrate our baptism, others celebrate with us and it is a moment of great joy. It is a symbolic washing of that which can and does separate us from God. Then the discipleship begins. We learn from each other, from God's word, from Sunday school lessons, from sermons, from hymns and songs; from whatever God makes available to us to learn more about His love and how we can best serve Him.
I heard some good news at this conference: While most people when asked, "What's the fastest growing religion in the world" will answer Islam, the truth is that we are! In India alone there are some 100,000 converts per month! And when this was shared at a global conference, a Chinese representative said, "Well, whatever is going on in India you can at least double for what is going on in China, but we just can't broadcast it." And most of us say, well, we need to show them how we do it. Uh huh; we're seeing the results here, arent' we?
Remember your baptism and be glad. Yes, that's from our UM worship, but it's also a great idea. Be thankful for what God did on that day of your baptism. You may not remember it, but God does. Be glad that someone cared enough to present you before God to be baptized. Do something for God and not worry about getting re-baptized. Then seek to be the best disciple you can.
PRAYER: I thank You, O God, for my baptism and I am glad. I pray that I might be a better disciple today. May my life be a sermon that touches lives today. I ask this in Christ Jesus' precious and powerful name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
Eradio Valverde
