Good morning, brothers and sisters.
Our verse for today comes from Acts 2:41, “Then those who received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls.”
Our church is inviting anyone who has ever decided to follow Jesus but has never been baptized to come on Easter Sunday and be baptized. What better day to declare your devotion and love and new life in Christ than the day of His resurrection. Yesterday, a friend of mine showed me a picture of her son getting baptized this past Sunday. She said that when her daughter saw what her son was doing, she wanted to do it, too. Now, if what the daughter wanted to do was commit her life to following Jesus and declare that through baptism, then amen to that. If what she wanted to do was just be baptized, then there’s probably a little more work of the Spirit that needs to happen in her heart. But what is the deal with needing to be baptized? We all know, or should know, that getting baptized has no effect on your soul or its eternal destiny. But obedience does. And if you’ve read these devotions for any length of time, or more importantly, if you’ve read your Bible, then you have heard plenty about the importance our Savior puts on obeying Him. So when He says to follow Him and be baptized, the obedient son or daughter does just that. And that act of obedience, as with every future act of obedience to your new King, does have an effect on your soul, at that very moment and for all eternity.
You’ve probably gone to church enough to realize that hearing someone else talk or write about obeying or surrendering or any of the other calls that God makes on our lives has little to no lasting impact on you. Words, emotions, motivations, and inspirations all come and go with the sun. What must happen is the conviction brought on by the Spirit of God. That is the work of the Divine and the very thing for which we must cry out to Him. We must have His mercy, or else all is in vain. So if you hear the call to obedience but are struggling to answer, ask your loving Father for mercy and grace. He wants you to obey, so He is there to deliver you. Don’t make another commitment to obey, just commit to relying on Him.
As we seek Him today, let your obedience be an outflow of your devotion and dependence on Jesus.
Have a faithful Tuesday.
#4 Rich Holt
Dad of Ripken, Koy, TrishaJean, Samantha, Kakie Holiday and Raleigh
Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them.
