Baptism: Action vs Words or Action with Words

On my journey with Christ, I have met different people who don't believe Baptism is a requirement. They view it as only symbolic, but not necessary, as long as you have confessed aloud or in your heart. This has never sat well with me because baptism has always been apart of my church life and culture.

Why would Jesus get baptized if we only needed to confess (speak) our allegiance? He's literally the son of God, and serves as an example for us in the world. Why would John be baptizing followers, if it wasn't just as important?

After reading and analyzing, I know that actions and words are connected and important. Aren't actions greater than words when it comes to people and loyalty? You can say something, but not really mean it. You can say you are Christian, but not live it. So for me, Confessing Christ as our Lord and Savior is just as important as performing the action of Baptism. Because again, when it comes to people, actions are always greater than words. 

In 1 Peter 3:21, It talks about how the water saved only eight people in the days of Noah, and that this water"...symbolizes baptism that now saves you also-not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a clear conscience toward God. 

This also reminded me of John 13:23. "Jesus replied, "Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them and we will come to them and make our home with them. "

This is one example that shows that action is important when it comes to God. Ultimately, as people we perform what we feel. If you love someone, you show it. 

That's why to me, actually getting baptized is important. Saying or Confessing is one step, and Performing is another. So, why not go get dunked. I think it's an awesome experience. 

Lisa

p.s. This is completely open for discussion. If you have any comments please leave them below. 

What the Book of John teaches us

The Book of John teaches us many things, and here are a few of them that stood out to me. I recommend reading it if you feel led to, and hopefully it will amaze you. I have learned so much from this Book especially with the whole "study" portion of my woman's study bible! For example, did you know that John and Christ were 1st cousins?! That's so crazy, but makes a lot of sense when I think about it. Anyway moving on...

Found in Chapter 1
In the beginning, there was the Word. The Word was always there, but no one recognized it. Everything that has ever been made, would not have been made if not for the Word. Because everything was made through the Word. God spoke everything into existence during Genesis.

The Word is Christ, and he is the light that has always been here, and that still exists. Darkness has never, and will never overcome the light. Christ is the light of the world, though the world didn't recognize it. (world=people) So, the Word became flesh. He went to those that were his own (the Jews of that time), but they didn't receive Him. However, some did, and anyone who did, he gave the right to become children of God. Spiritually born of God. He came to save those who were in the world.

Here are some of the things of the Book of John that stand out to me. And also, some of the things that Christ teaches us.

"Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again." John 3:3
       -This is talking about the acceptance of Christ and the Holy Spirit into our lives. We all make our own choices, but the first step to having Christ into our life, is to become born again-

"Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit" John 3;5

Here Jesus (or Yeshua), was talking to Nicodemus a member of the Jewish ruling council. He was confused when he heard this, and wondered what it meant to be "born again". You cant just jump back into your mothers womb again can you, and she definitely wouldn't want you too. You're way to big! So, how do you do this? Well, pray. Say you would like to be born again, to be saved. When people get baptized, it represents this.

-God loved the world so much he gave up his one and only son.(ch. 4) He was tortured, stripped, and ridiculed so that the world's sins could be brought upon him. He was punished, so that his children would not be.

-There are those who will not accept the light, or hate it because they love the darkness and evil. They will stay away from the light because they fear that their deeds will be exposed. But, people who live by the truth and want to come into the light, know that everything they have done, and will do, is done in the sight of God. (Ch 4)

-anyone who hears the Word and believes it, has crossed over from death to life. Sin leads to death. but whoever believes, will not be judged, and will have eternal life.(ch 5)

-"The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent"John 6:29

Okay, Prophecy was a big part of this book. Past prophecies that were spoken of in the old testament, were fulfilled in this time to show that Jesus was the messiah.

Sometimes things happen, and we don't understand why. But there are for God's glory. For a later glory. (to get others to believe,etc.)

Jesus said that if you loved him you will follow his commands. As I was going through the Book of John, those commands were to Believe, Love one another ( as he loved-he constantly healed,served, and taught those around him) and loving one another will show others who his disciples are, To pray, and to Remain in Him (what are you focused on)

As I was writing this, I felt like I should stop because it really is important that others learn things for themselves. It is a process, and it is important to learn things at your own pace, and through God's timing.

There is so much more to this book, and I was surprised by how much I learned and loved it. It just shows how much Christ cares for us, and wants us to be united with Him and the Father. But, I'm going to stop here.(Thank you for reading this bit of teaser)

If you have any questions or comments feel free to leave them below.

With love,

Lisa

When I'm afraid

When I'm afraid, I pray. This happened to me tonight after I watched a YouTube video about Sandra Bland. I was literally afraid for my life that something like that could happen to me. That I would become someone's victim, and then be shown in a negative light, to make what happened seem justifiable. But then, I remembered this...

Psalm 91

Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High

will rest in the shadow of the Almighty

I will say of the Lord,

"He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust."

Surely he will save you from the fowler's snare

and from deadly pestilence.

He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge;

his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart

You will not fear the terror of night

nor the arrow that flies by day,

nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,

nor the plague that destroys at midday.

A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand,

but it will not come near you.You will only observe

with your eyes 

and see the punishment of the wicked.

If you say, "The Lord is my refuge,"

and you make the Most High your dwelling

no harm will overtake you, no disaster will come near you tent.

For he will command his angels concerning you

to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone .

You will tread on the lion and the cobra; you will trample the great lion and the serpent.

Because he loves me, "says the Lord, "I will rescue him; I will protect him, 

for he acknowledges  my name. 

He will call on me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, 

I will deliver him and honor him. 

With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation."

Going through the Book of John

This summer I have been going through the book of John. At first it was just with my bible study group, but since I didn't always go to bible study, I was behind in it. I started to read it on my own, which turned out to be a really good thing since I have learned a lot.There are things there that I have never really paid attention to before, and others that I learned for the first time.

When I started to read it on my own, I would just read it and move on. Nothing would stick. But, that changed when I got some colorful highlighters. I would highlight the things that stood out to me, and that changed everything. I remember a lot more, and I have now finished the Book of John. Now, I have decided to do a review of everything I have read-so it really sticks. I want to take everything that Christ has taught me through this book, and incorporate it into my life. To live it because everything he said was pretty awesome.

I plan to put my overviews here in separate posts. It was a good 21 chapters, and I was surprised when I finished them. I thought it would take forever as I flipped ahead in the chapters, but I'm glad I stuck it out. I was so closed hearted to this book at first. I told myself "I've read this before" and "I don't want to go through this again". But reading this was a great experience for me, and it actually left me pretty cheerful in the end. So, now I will embark on the second half of my journey of going through the Book of John. Join me if you will.

With love,

Lisa

Learning what it means to be Christian

Since starting this blog, I have been wanting to go more in-depth when it comes to God and Christianity. However, I think it is something that I have been avoiding because I was worried about how people would perceive me. Well, I decided that I am going to let go of this fear, and just do what I want, and talk about the journey of being a believer of God and Christ.

I never really understood what it meant to be Christian. In fact I am still learning. Growing up I have been exposed to so many misconceptions about Christianity, and as I go through life, I see that others have been affected in the same way. I mean, my mom always took me to church, until I hit the age of my rebellion, and the funny thing is, she didn't understand what it meant to be Christian either.

I always did my own thing. But, I was never to much of a rebel in society's eyes. I went to school, got good grades, and did a couple of sports. Someone once described me as a "good girl"and "perfect"-they had no idea of who I really was. My life sucked, and I never got along with my mother once I hit my late middle school years. It was just me, my mom, and my sis, and I paid God absolutely no attention (not any real attention).

This started to change when I was in high school. My best friend, who I met while on the track team, invited me to go to a bible study that a group of students had one morning a week at the school. I decided to go one day, and then kept going, but still, I didn't know what it meant to be Christian. I had stopped going to church, a place that didn't teach me anything about living for God. I went to bible study in high school-that's where I gained some companionship, but still, I didn't understand. There was no one there to teach me more than just practices and rituals, and sugar coated bible stories.

Some time went by, and I got baptized when I was 16, and I think it was because a seed was planted into me by my best friend. I'm glad I got baptized then, even though I was afraid, and didn't want to walk to the front of a church with everyone's eyes on me. And even then, I didn't fully understand.

Everything changed my freshmen year of college. I had been looking for a bible study in college because it was what I did in high school. I was on Facebook one day, and saw that there was a bible study that Friday right across from the dorm I lived in. After that, I don't think I was ever the same. Finally, my eyes and my heart were opening, and I couldn't stop crying. So, this was God the Almighty. A huge being that was leading me this whole time, so that I could become His. God was more then a building I rarely went to, He was more than my routine prayers about food, and the prayers asking that He doesn't kill me in the middle of the night. He is so much more.

I actually started to read the bible on my own that Spring, and I was learning things that I never even heard before. Why in the world had I never been told this stuff before? I tried reading the bible in the past, but at that time I only found it boring. Now, it was completely real. I no longer just depended on what others had told me about God and Christianity, I searched and learned about it for myself. So, God isn't far away and out of reach? Christ was always here? What? He wants me? What do you mean I was chosen? Why?

John 1:1-5 says: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made, without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

We were born in the world, and this world is full of darkness, hate, and horror. We have been in it our whole lives, but there is a way to escape it, and that is through Christ. However, so many people either don't know, don't accept, or have been lied to so much that they run away from the light that saves us.
John 1:10 says: "He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him."
People do not recognize Christ even though he is always reaching out to us, and sometimes they never find him.

So, I guess the whole point of this post is to get people to seek. To not depend on what people, society, and what the media tells you about God and Christ. Find out the truth for yourself. Pray. Actually speak to God. Tell him about your day, your questions, anything. Ask him to help you learn. Do it with all seriousness, even if you feel a little silly. He answers us in various ways, and he wants to hear from you.
Matthew 7:7 says: "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you."
I know God can hear me, and I know that this scripture is true because so many of my prayers have been answered.

Learning what it means to be Christian is a process, but I'm happy with my choice, and want to continue to grow.

Represents light, and those are totally not my fingers.

Sincerely,

Lisa

p.s. (I do think it is important to go to church, you just have to find the right one. I'll go into the reasons later)

The Affects of Thinking and Speaking Positively, Letting go of Negativity

Photo taken by Lisa Ajala

As people, we have the ability to influence situations by the way we speak and think. We can build people up, or tear them down just by the use of our tongues. The words that we speak can have so much power over a person or situation, it is completely insane. That is why it is important to think positively about yourself and others. And once you start thinking positively, you'll start speaking positively.

Why is this so important?

In today's culture, it seems normal to just sling insults at one another, and make fun of what people have or don't have, or at what someone does or doesn't do. But, this isn't how things should be, and it certainly doesn't have to be that way. There is a scripture that say's  "The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat it's fruit."-Proverbs 18:21-

So, we can literally speak life or death into someone's life, and can speak things into existence. If someone constantly hears "you will never make it" or "you will never succeed", "or "that's so stupid", they might actually start believing it, and make those statements a reality.

Words can hurt...badly.

That's why I want to challenge anyone who is reading this to speak life into people. Speak life into your situation. Speak life into yourself. Be kind. You never know what someone is going through, so be a light in their lives. The only way to push out negativity and darkness, is to bring forth positivity and light. For a small example, If someone is a terrible singer don't tell them to shut-up and stop. Tell them to "practice more", "do what you love", "you'll get it eventually". Don't lie, tell them they need improvement, and please don't send them to American Idol.

Think happy thoughts, believe you can make it out of a situation, believe that you are an asset to someone. Believe in your worth. You're are worth so much, who cares what the negative Nancy's say. It doesn't matter. Know who you are, find out your identity. My name is        , and I am kind, smart, artistic, friendly, unique...etc.

The only thing that matters to me is my identity in Christ, and He says: I am loved,I am forgiven, I have a new identity, I have a future, I have a purpose, and I am secure.

You are not defined by your past, you are not defined by other people, you are not defined by society. Don't let negativity weigh you or others down. Be positive, and if you don't know how to be, take it a step at a time. Wake up in the morning and say "I am alive, and this is going to be a great day" Speak life over yourself, and even if the day doesn't seem that great, it is all about how you handle it. Are you going to be positive about it, or negative.

You decide.

Note: If you are hurting, please let someone know. Don't handle your hardships alone. Speak to someone.

With love,

Lisa