Baptism and New Beginnings

          Revelation 21:1-5

Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” He who was seated on the throne said,

“I am making everything new!”


Recently, I rededicated my life to Christ and the Church here in Rose Creek. I desired to have a new beginning. I wanted to be fully functioning in the church. I wanted to be completely surrendered to Jesus in all of what he expects of me as His Disciple and a part of His Body. I didn’t want to be drifting in a sea of unreality or laying on the shore like a beached whale, gasping for air and life. I felt my life needed a new start, I needed to draw a line in the sand and go forward.

So, I was baptised into Christ and the Church.

My earnest desire is to be fully immersed in this Body, the Church, and all God has for me here. I need a new vision to see and follow inside the church here. I believe that starts with an act of submission, namely baptism, and the laying down of everything that needs to die. I need a cleansing of my mind, will and emotions. I want to look at everything in my life that doesn’t line up with the will of God and be rid of it. I need that cleansing and renewal of the Holy Spirit to enable me to walk in righteousness towards God and His Church.

And the Church received me, prayed for a fresh renewal of the Holy Spirit to fill me and empower me to walk uprightly in the Lord.

In and through all of this, I need to walk in wisdom and truth every day. I want to possess and utilized a clean mind and a sound heart. I need to, and I desire to lead my family into all the righteousness of Christ, into following Him and obeying his commands. I need and want to be the example for them to pursue God's will without any selfish and personal gain, reputation or interests. I need and want to be the father all my children need, so they can to learn how to worship and obey our Heavenly Father.

I need to be the best husband to my wife that God desires me to be, leading and guiding her with wisdom and gentleness, considering her needs and providing a safe place for her. I want to love her as Christ loves His Bride.

I want my life to be used of God and sanctified in the doing of his will every day. I want a consistent mindset and spiritual outlook on every aspect of service to others in the church. I need my desire renewed to care for all who God puts before me, especially those of the household God.

I need to be led by the Holy Spirit in all matters of this life and not to grieve Him with my actions or thoughts. I need to be completely filled up and accepted into the Church by the outpouring of the Spirit, enabled to see, hear and act in accordance with His will. I need to be set free because where the Spirit of the Lord is there is Liberty.

I want to be of one heart, one mind, intent on that one purpose of following Christ with all of those who desire to believe in and walk in the Life of Christ.

As always, there are others who may feel like they need a new start. Even if you have been a Christian for a long time, there is an opportunity to begin again and re-dedicate your life to our King and Lord Jesus Christ. There is no shame in doing that. Your life may be like mine was. You may be feeling the weight of the past, of things gone wrong or things left undone. You may have fallen into sin somewhere in your walk and fallen into the ditch of despair. There is hope and salvation available for you. You have a choice you can make. You can do something different.

Don't know what or how to change things? That's ok. There is one thing you must do immediately before you do anything else. STOP! Stop doing what you are doing. Repent. Confess to the Lord what you have been doing, or not doing, and ask Him to change you. Cry out for His rescue and salvation. Weep, wail, holler out for Him to cleanse you and make you new. Seek Him with all your heart, mind and strength. Don't let go of that desire to be changed and cleansed from all you have done against Him. I spent a long time meditating on the cry that David made to God for his sin. This is one passage that is dear to me in many ways. One of my favorite musical artist (Keith Green) put this to song years ago. It always brings me to tears when I hear it.

Psalms 51
Have mercy upon me, O God,
According to Your lovingkindness;
According to the multitude of Your tender mercies,
Blot out my transgressions.
Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
And cleanse me from my sin.

For I acknowledge my transgressions,
And my sin is always before me.
Against You, You only, have I sinned,
And done this evil in Your sight—
That You may be found just when You speak,
And blameless when You judge.

Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,
And in sin my mother conceived me.
Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts,
And in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom.

Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
Make me hear joy and gladness,
That the bones You have broken may rejoice.
Hide Your face from my sins,
And blot out all my iniquities.

Create in me a clean heart, O God,
And renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me away from Your presence,
And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of Your salvation,
And uphold me by Your generous Spirit....

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit,
A broken and a contrite heart—
These, O God, You will not despise.

I believe God has spoken to me through the heart of David. His repentant heart and humility is where I began to plead for God to see me and make me new again. I need to know the joy of His salvation and clearly see Him walking before me, every day, so that I can follow Him as His disciple.

“I am making everything new!”

There is a new beginning for everyone who believes in the name and power of Jesus Christ. His mercy is plenteous and His grace is abounding. He will always fulfil His promises to those who honestly come to Him in all humility and sincerity for salvation and life everlasting. He has a new beginning for you, too.

Here is another song by Israel Houghton about Moving Forward in Christ as He makes all things new.  Just click here to hear his song.

I Need a Factory Reset

In the computer industry there is a process known as a Factory Reset to wipe clean the hard drive and install over with a fresh and clean set of operating software. This process allows you to be rid of anything that has developed in your file systems which can cause your computer to act erratically. It solves all the problems of missing, broken and mis-configured software elements. Once this reset is completed your computer is restored to the originally created environment it came with from the manufacturer.

However, there is a catch to all this Factory Reset process. You have to be willing to sacrifice all the information you may have created or installed after receiving your originally configured device. Cell Phones and other devices have this same capability. Unless you back up your personal information before doing this you will have to "start over" with your device.

The saving grace of this is that you have a fresh, clean, and like new computer again. Everything runs and operates like it was intended to when you first got your device.

Now, think about this process in terms of your spiritual relationship with God. There is a process of Factory Reset that can be done in the spiritual realm. Jesus called it "being Born Again". John records an account of Nicodemus coming to Jesus and finding out there was a way to start over. He is a bit confused at first because he cannot understand how this actually happens. (They didn't have the computer technology we have today.) So, after a few exchanges of thoughts Jesus tells him that he must be born again in order to see the Kingdom of God. He wanted to be saved and see the Kingdom of God.

This encounter with Jesus shakes Nicodemus to the core because he comes to realize that everything in his past and present must be forsaken. He must repent of it all and start over with a new set of eyes, ears and heart. Everything will be wiped clean and he will be starting over fresh. He will be programmed to operate as a disciple of Jesus Christ and receive power from the Holy Spirit to enable him to follow the instructions of Jesus.

On top of all that, he doesn't yet know, but will discover he needs to be baptized and enter into a whole new relationship with the Church that will be born out of Christ. He will have a completely new life inside of Jesus and the Church.

This analogy came to me as I am contemplating a reset in my own life. My life has become clogged with things that were not designed for it to operated correctly. Don't take this the wrong way. I am not a heathen or unbeliever but I can sure act that way and have to the point of needing a reset in my own life. I need that fresh and clean process of starting over with Jesus. I need that touch from Him and the Holy Spirit in order to be cleansed new again.

Over 30 years of learning and experiencing the Christian life as a person who does believe in God and His Son Jesus Christ, acknowledging Him as Lord and Saviour, going to church, living in a Christian community, sitting under the teaching of several men, years of Bible reading and studies, and most of all, trying to figure it out but forgetting that it is not what I really need. Why? Because most all of it has been done by myself, in my own strength and understanding.

There is a clarification that needs to happen here. I need salvation from myself and my ways. I want to repent from my ways, thoughts, and desires and give all of that up for disposal in the reset process. I need my operating system wiped clean and start over again. If not, I am heading for a hard drive crash. There are already indications that this device has suffered damage. It has been hacked and taken hostage by malware and viruses. There is no longer any anti-virus corrections that can be applied to fix this. I need a factory reset.

I know this is kind of a cute and light feeling blog post but I am really serious about needing this touch from God. I don't want to be this way anymore. I am done with where I am. I'm not where I need to be and I know what it is going to take to be right. There is a lot of hard work involved with this process and I don't know everything that is gong to need to happen, but what else do I have to look forward to if I don't?

As I am going through this process myself, I can't help think there are others that are in the same condition. I would ask you to consider where you are at in your walk with God. Are you really obeying Christs commands and living your life as a disciple of Christ? Are you in honesty and sincerity living the life that honors God and demonstrates the love of Jesus? Are you pretending you are letting God control your life while all the time actually being the one in the drivers seat? Are your thoughts and ways His thoughts and ways? Are you one with Him and the church?

If you are thinking you are or wondering if you are I would ask that you pray and ask God to reveal who you really are and what you are really doing. You may find out you are not as holy and righteous as you think you are. You, too, may need a Factory Reset.