I’m feeling some random thoughts coming on. Getting back after a week of vacation will do that to you.
Speaking of vacation, I maintain that Chicago is a nice place to visit. We navigated the Metra train system into downtown (and back!), hopped aboard a CTA bus to Shedd Aquarium (or close, anyway), and hailed a taxi back to the train station. So we’re broke now, but really enjoyed our city visit. Just wouldn’t want to do it every day.
Is it just me, or is this the year of the locust? I’m talking an invasion of biblical, eighth plague proportions. Maybe not quite that bad, but still. At the base of our back yard trees, empty locust shells lie abandoned by the thousands. Their late evening crescendos have drowned out normal conversations. The children are afraid to go outside. Where have all the cicada-killers gone?
Note to all Jr. High and High School youth: Starting on Wednesday, June 15, and on Wednesdays throughout the summer, you’re invited to come and hang out, play some games, munch on some goodies and hear about the goodness of God. Gallatin County 2011 graduate Derek Catiller has a heart to reach our community’s young people with the love of Christ, and is putting plans in motion to do that. Help us get the word out – Wednesdays at 6:30 at the Ridgway First Baptist Church.
Baptism! This coming Sunday, Lord willing, my son Toby will be making a public declaration of his faith in Christ Jesus in the act of baptism. He’s only six, but he’s pretty sharp on understanding God’s salvation. He has that “child-like faith” that believes in the Lord without putting limits or boundaries on what he believes God can do. He knows that he has sinned (like everyone else), and he knows that Jesus died on the cross to take away his sin. He’s received His forgiveness and he wants to live in a way that pleases Christ.
I’m planning on saying more about the meaning of baptism Sunday, but hear our position from The Baptist Faith & Message: “Christian baptism is the immersion of a believer in water in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It is an act of obedience symbolizing the believer's faith in a crucified, buried, and risen Saviour, the believer's death to sin, the burial of the old life, and the resurrection to walk in newness of life in Christ Jesus. It is a testimony to his faith in the final resurrection of the dead. Being a church ordinance, it is prerequisite to the privileges of church membership and to the Lord's Supper.”
I want to be as clear as the Montana sky in saying that getting baptized saves no one. Salvation is a gift of God’s grace through Jesus Christ our Lord which we receive by faith. There is nothing we can do to earn it, not even getting baptized. In fact, I fear that many on our own membership rolls as well as in other churches mistakenly think that because they were baptized at some stage in their life, they have done what it takes to go to heaven. As they arrive at the pearly gates they’ll hand their baptismal certificate to St. Peter and he’ll usher them on in.
The real question is this: Have you been born again? Have you repented of your sins and turned in faith to Christ? Are you trusting in what Jesus did for you on the cross, or are you trusting in your own works to be saved? Are you following His ways, or are you doing what seems right in your own eyes? Do you love the Lord with all your heart, all your soul and all your strength? Is His love for others evident in your life? Does His Spirit control you, and are you increasingly being marked by the fruits of the Spirit?
If yes, you’re also welcome to come this Sunday at 10:40 and publicly testify of your wholehearted faith in and unending allegiance to Jesus Christ through baptism. If you have any questions or would like to talk to someone, feel free to call me at 272-5921 and we’d be glad to meet with you.
Final random thought: To my Cub fans friends, we had a great time at Wrigley Field, wore my Cubs hat, cheered for the home team and sang “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” during the 7th inning stretch. And watched them drop a 3-1 game to the last-place Astros. Oh well, there’s always next year!
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