Contents:
From Sherly's Desk
Story Time
This Week's Riddle
From
Sherly's Desk
People have different opinion about
baptism and the method of baptism. Let us look from the Bible that what is the
opinion of the Bible:
Apostle Paul talks about three types of baptism in Acts
19:1-6. Paul was on his journey and went to Ephesus where he found few
disciples. Paul asked them, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you
believed?" So they said to him, "We have not so much as heard whether
there is a Holy Spirit." Paul asked them, "Into what then were you
baptized?" So they said, "Into John's baptism." Paul
answers in Acts
19:4 that, "John indeed baptized with a baptism of repentance, saying to
the people that they should believe on Him who would come after him, that is, on
Christ Jesus."
Here we see that John the Baptist preached about the "Baptism of
Repentance" and to believe on Jesus Christ. Bible says in Matthew
3:5-6 when John was baptizing people, "Then Jerusalem, all Judea, and all
the region around the Jordan went out to him and were baptized by him in the
Jordan, confessing their sins."
Jesus
also started His ministry preaching the repentance from their sins as we read in
Matthew
4:17, "From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, "Repent, for
the kingdom of heaven is at hand."
So Bible tells us about a baptism of repentance through which a person confesses
his sins and repents from it. And believes on Jesus and gets the salvation or
forgiveness of their sins.
Further Acts chapter 19 says that when those disciples heard that, "they
were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus." Jesus said in Mark 16:16
"He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe
will be condemned." When
we read every passage that talks about the baptism, it first talks about
believing on Jesus or repenting from sins then taking the water baptism. Water
baptism is only a outward significance of burying with Christ and resurrecting
for new life with Christ. This is a significance of our confession that we
repent from our old sins and are ready to live a new life with Christ. Water
baptism cannot save us nor give us forgiveness of our sins but only Jesus Christ
who died for our sins on the cruel cross.
The third type of baptism we see in these verses is the "Baptism
of the Holy Spirit". The Bible tells us about the disciples of Ephesus in
Acts 19:6, "And when Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon
them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied."
The believers of Ephesus took the baptism of repentance, believed on Jesus
Christ, baptized and when Paul laid his hands on them they got filled with the
Holy Spirit. Many believe that, we get baptism of Holy Spirit or filling of Holy
Spirit when we get salvation or when we repent from our sins. But no, it is not
reality. Baptism of Holy Spirit is totally different experience just like the
experience of "forgiveness of sin" Paul specifically asked
those believers that whether they got the baptism of Holy Spirit or not when
they believed? If the baptism of the Holy Spirit is not a different experience
then, Paul did not need to ask at all because they were already disciples or
believers.
John the Baptist said in Mark
1:8, "I indeed baptized you with water, but He will baptize you with the
Holy Spirit."
And Bible tells us in Acts 2nd chapter that when disciples and others were
gathered and praying with one accord, the Holy Spirit came and they were all
filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit
gave them utterance Acts 19:6 say the same thing that when they got filled with
the Holy Spirit they spoke with tongues and prophesied. But it is very sad that
many Churches have forgotten the gift of God - the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
And they teach a new doctrine that people gets filled with the Holy Spirit when
they get salvation.
But I want to tell you that there is a baptism of Holy Spirit, there is filling
of Holy Spirit and there are gifts of Holy Spirit that God wants to give to
every believer. The only thing you have to do is to ask God and receive His
wonderful gift. The only eligibility to get the baptism of Holy Spirit is, your
sins must be forgiven, your sins must be washed away by the blood of Jesus. God
filled the disciples of Ephesus almost 2000 years ago and He has not changed. He
is the same yesterday, today and forever. He is ready to fill you with His Holy
Spirit if you ask. Do you want this wonderful gift of God, just ask!
Story Time
Once
a man named Manoah who was from the tribe of Dan lived with his wife.
They had no children. One
day the Angel of the LORD appeared to his wife and said to her,
"Indeed you are a barren woman and have borne no children, but you
shall bear a son." Further
he said to her, "Now therefore, please
be careful not to drink wine or similar drink, and not to eat anything
unclean. For behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. And no razor shall
come upon his head, for the child shall be a Nazirite (a
man who was separated or dedicated for God)
to God from the womb; and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of
the hand of the Philistines."
When
the woman heard these things, she went to her husband and told him saying,
"A Man of God came to me, and His
countenance was like the countenance of the Angel of God, very awesome;
but I did not ask Him where He was from, and He did not tell me His name.
And He said to me, 'Behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. Now
drink no wine or similar drink, nor eat anything unclean, for the child
shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb to the day of his death.'
Then
Manoah prayed to the LORD, and said, "O my Lord, please let the Man
of God whom You sent come to us again and teach us what we shall do for
the child who will be born." And
God listened to the voice of Manoah, and the Angel of God came to the
woman again as she was sitting in the field; but Manoah her husband was
not with her. Then the woman ran in haste and told her husband, and said to
him, "Look, the Man who came to me the other day has just now
appeared to me!"
So
Manoah arose and followed his wife. When he came to the Man, he said to
Him, "Are You the Man who spoke to this woman?" And He said,
"I am." Manoah said, "Now let Your words come to pass! What will
be the boy's rule of life, and his work?"
So the Angel of the LORD said to Manoah, "Of all that I said
to the woman let her be careful. She
may not eat anything that comes from the vine, nor may she drink wine or
similar drink, nor eat anything unclean. All that I commanded her let her
observe."
Then
Manoah said to the Angel of the LORD, "Please let us detain You, and
we will prepare a young goat for You."
And the Angel of the LORD said to Manoah, "Though you detain
Me, I will not eat your food. But if you offer a burnt offering, you must
offer it to the LORD." (For Manoah did not know He was the Angel of
the LORD.) Then Manoah said
to the Angel of the LORD, "What is Your name, that when Your words
come to pass we may honor You?" And the Angel of the LORD said to him, "Why do you ask
My name, seeing it is wonderful?"
So
Manoah took the young goat with the grain offering, and offered it upon
the rock to the LORD. And He did a wondrous thing while Manoah and his
wife looked on; it happened as the flame went up toward heaven from the
altar; the Angel of the LORD ascended in the flame of the altar! When
Manoah and his wife saw this, they fell on their faces to the ground.
When
the Angel of the LORD appeared no more to Manoah and his wife, then Manoah
knew that He was the Angel of the LORD.
And Manoah said to his wife, "We shall surely die, because we
have seen God!"
But
his wife said to him, "If the LORD had desired to kill us, He would
not have accepted a burnt offering and a grain offering from our hands,
nor would He have shown us all these things, nor would He have told us
such things as these at this time."
So
the woman bore a son and called his name Samson; and the child grew, and
the LORD blessed him.
And
the Spirit of the LORD began to move upon him at Mahaneh Dan between Zorah
and Eshtaol.
This week's Riddle
They walked in the fire because they did not bow down before gold
image. And fire could not consume them. Who they were?
Kids, who will be able to answer correctly, their names will be published
here. While answering please do not forget to write your "name" and "age" To send your answers click here
<<<
>>>
_______________________________________
Home | Games | Stories | Historical Events
World Travel | Quiz and Riddles | Email |
