Wade in the Water...

We had a wonderful day in church today. 6 people got baptized. 3 of them were believers who had never been baptized before and the other 3 were new believers in Jesus! I always get teary at baptisms but this time I was so elated! These people had decided to follow Jesus and their lives really show it.

I remember my baptism as a teenager. I was fortunate to be baptized in Lake George in May. For any of you unfamiliar with Lake George, the ice doesn't completely melt until July (exageration)! It was cold. Really cold. The coldest water I have ever been in. As the brother put me under I remember my breath being taken away. It was as if I died. And as he brought me out of the water I inhaled as if I had ascended from 100 feet below. It was like a baby's first breath.

I have realized over the years that the picture the Lord gave me in that frigid baptism is one of the reality of my life in Christ. I died with him and just as he was resurrected to new life, so was I (Romans 6). I was born again. Baptism united me with him in a real way. The Old Ed was left at the bottom of Lake George. The new Ed lives on through Jesus.

24 years later I'm moving forward. Jesus is all to me. Sometimes it takes the baptism of another to remind me of all that my HERO has accomplished for me. Thanks Lord!