Greetings Fairy Followers,
The BDF has been flitting to and fro from her hollow log of late and is behind on her posts. On the heels of my apology, I'm bringing you pictures and notes from what was one of the highlights of my summer.
Floating on a piece of driftwood on Lake Arbutus, the fairy watched as Frank chose to express his faith in Jesus through the right of Baptism before embarking on the adventure of college.
Baptism is probably one of the most debated sacraments in the history of the church. Should you baptize infants or adults? Does baptism guarantee salvation?
While I could give you my personal opinion, instead, I shall point you to the word of God itself. My favorite baptism story is in Acts 8:26-40. Philip was directed by an angel to go and talk with a man who was reading the book of Isaiah while he traveled. He didn't understand what he was reading and Philip began in Isaiah and explained the gospel of Jesus to the man.
When he believed the man asked, "Look, here is water. Why shouldn't I be baptized?" And he was. Believe and be baptized. There is never a basin of holy water dedicated to baptism in the Bible. They use whatever is handy - a lake or a river. There is never a priest around. Whoever was preaching the message is the one who baptizes. There is never a ceremony - you just did it.
Baptism was designed to be a public declaration of a private decision. A chance to tell the world that you believe in Jesus. Have you believed? Once you believed have you been baptized? Why or why not?
Log on and share your thoughts.
Blessings, The B.D.F.
