Monthly Archives: October 2021

Baptized in the Greek means—

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When we read the word baptized, what does it mean to you? How does it impact your life? Do you categorize it as an intellectual thought, or spiritual delivery?

~ Lisa Blair

To be baptized means you are immersed, dipped, or submerged, to become cleansed of impurity. The truth is you are renewed the moment you accept Christ as your Lord and Savior. The act of baptismal is sharing your conviction with the world. The two are linked and create the new creature in Christ and changes how we represent ourselves. As Christians, we enter as sinners, and arise renewed with a change of mind and heart. (Holman Bible Dictionary, Studylight.org) Once baptized we take on a new perspective on life. We become guided by the Spirit who is in, by, and with us. We take on the characteristics of Christ, stripping our own self-motivated, self-determined nature to exude Christ in our breath, actions, and deeds.When we intentionally stay connected with the Holy Spirit, our actions take on the love of Christ. We are no longer isolated, we become one with the body of Christ. Our intentionality in demonstrating the characteristics of Christ is spelled out in Galatians 5.

[Image, Galatians 5:16, Bible.knowing-Jesus.com]


“For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love. For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!”
‭‭Galatians‬ ‭5:13-14, 22-23‬ ‭NLT‬‬
https://bible.com/bible/116/gal.5.13-23.NLT

This post is extracted from today’s (10/27/2021) LECTIO (app) devotional. I strongly encourage you to download the app. I take no credit, I did not write the devotional, but do plan to apply it to my walk today.

This is a great way to begin and end your day with, in, and by in the Word of God

Yield

As I return to the passage, I listen for a particular word or phrase that the Holy Spirit is highlighting to me today…

[Image, 1 Corinthians 12:27, Faithandhealthconnection.org]

Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. For we were all baptised by one Spirit so as to form one body – whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free – and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. And so the body is not made up of one part but of many.
1 Corinthians‬ 12:12-14‬

What word or phrase jumped out at me from these verses?

I noticed the phrase ‘baptised by one Spirit’. The Greek word translated as ‘by’ can also be translated as ‘in’ or ‘with’.

I become part of the Body of Christ by the Spirit, I live each day in the Spirit, and I face every challenge, as well as every celebration with the Spirit. 

Closing Prayer

Father, help me to live this day to the full,
 being true to You, in every way.
Jesus, help me to give myself away to others,
 being kind to everyone I meet.
Spirit, help me to love the lost,
 proclaiming Christ in all I do and say.
Amen.

Join us this weekend at The Gathering Online. Book your free ticket to pray with people from the 24-7 movement around the world: https://www.24-7prayer.com/events/GatheringOnline21

What does Serenity mean to you?

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Where there is peace and meditation, there is either anxiety nor doubt.

~ St. Frances of Assisi

Serenity is defined as being calm, peaceful, unruffled. Peace is defined as harmony, stillness, silence. They are inextricably woven. When I experience serenity, I am experiencing a peaceful, silence. A calm engulfs me, I experience the peace that is greater than our understanding. It is beautiful. The best way I can describe it is like floating in space, no worries, no thoughts trying to anchor me to earth (the problems of the day). It is creative to some degree. But most of all, it is experiencing God’s love. It is though faith that we can experience His love and His peace.

We experience God’s love through faith. We have been justified by faith. Faith offers a number of attributes to Christians if we choose to ascribe to His will and His way. Romans 5:1 tells us that because we have faith, we have peace. “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

The Bible refers to serenity as inner peace, the term serenity does not appear in the Bible, the Bible refers to inner peace. I use them interchangeably. When I experience serenity, I experience inner peace. My favorite scripture is John 14:27. “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.”

The Holy Spirit who dwells in us informs us that we should not worry. When do we worry most, when does it seem to intensify to the point of keeping us awake all night? For most it is just before bedtime when we should let go of the anxiety, and deadlines of the day’s events or hardships and focus on rest, instead we focus on the upheaval of the day’s events. Psalm 4:8 is our instruction to let go, to find peace and serenity in the Lord. It reads, “In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.”

God emphasizes the need to identify His peace in our lives. Daniel 10:19 expresses this in his writings when he stated His command to Daniel and all of His children. “And He said, ‘O man greatly loved fear not, peace be with you; be strong and of good courage.’ And as He spoke to me (Daniel) I was strengthened and said, ‘Let my Lord speak, for you have strengthened me.’ We are all members of Daniel’s family, what God told Daniel is the same thing He is telling us. ’O man greatly loved fear not, peace be with you…’ Let serenity reign in your life, seek the peace that God provides to all of His children. Seek and you will find. Ask and it will be given to you.

Saint Padre Pio Pietrelcina of the Philippines (1887-1968) wrote – “Peace is the simplicity of the heart, serenity of mind, tranquility of soul, the bond of love.”

”For me, it is essential to have the inner peace and serenity of prayer in order to listen to the silence of God, which speaks to us, in our personal life and the history of our times, of the power of love.” ~ Adolfo Perez Esquivel

References: Online Dictionary; Scriptures-Good Housekeeping Magazine; everyday power.com/serenity-quotes