Baptism

At almost every Sunday morning church service I have been to recently, including this past Sunday when I was back at my home church, there has been a baptism during the service. At first I thought nothing of it, but around the fifth baptism I was able to witness, I realized God might be trying to say something (funny how obviously God has to show up before we get a clue sometimes, huh?). I realized that I needed to be reminded of the importance of baptism – both the significance of baptism in Christianity and in my own personal life.
Now I know there are books upon books by theologians and scholars with more Biblical knowledge than I will ever hope to gain who debate the arguments surrounding baptism – infant baptism, believer baptism, where they align and disagree. I don’t want to delve into the theology and specific doctrines followed by different church denominations surrounding baptism, but rather what the Bible, the ultimate authority over all, has to say on the issue.

Prayer

“Prayer does not equip us for greater work; prayer is the greater work.” – Oswald Chambers

During a recent Sunday night collegelife at North Park, we spent an extended amount of time in prayer. God yet again brought me to a place that has not always been comfortable for me or that came easily to me. Of all the spiritual disciplines, prayer is something that I have wrestled with more than any other in my Christian walk. As a child, I can remember knowing that praying was ‘talking to God’  - it meant being quiet, closing your eyes, folding your hands, bowing your head, and listening intently to the Pastor or whoever else was praying aloud. I understood on an elementary level what prayer was, but it was not real to me. My thoughts would wander, I would feel like I needed to have words but end up with none, and it seemed unreal and a bit bizarre to be talking to someone that I could not see or hear respond to me like another person. Even years later I remember having doubts that the God of the universe would really hear what I would have to say, or that what I had to say would make any difference.