Dear Baptized Ones,

     On Sunday, we will participate in the baptism of Maverick Joseph Weathers along with his parents Joe and Maggie. What a gift that we get to be reminded of the many times in which God has delivered His people from death to life through the tumultuous waters of judgment! Baptism reminds us of the judgment endured by Jesus on our behalf through His passage through death and the newness of life granted through His triumphant resurrection. In Jonah 1:4-6, we will see the prophet’s disobedient flight from the presence of the Lord resulting in God mercifully hurling a storm as judgment on Jonah’s sin.  In subsequent weeks, we will discover Jonah’s faithful response of repentance to being confronted with his sin against God and need for being saved. Similarly, Maverick will one day need to respond to God’s confrontation of his sin and need for a savior with repentance by faith alone in Christ alone through God’s grace alone. We pray that the Holy Spirit will use his baptism in the accomplishing of this redemptive purpose so that he may dwell in his Abba Father’s presence eternally. 

     We too are called to respond to this means of grace as baptized ones. The Holy Spirit will use our participation in Maverick’s baptism to improve our own. O. Palmer Robertson’s words in Jonah: A Study in Compassion help us to prepare for this sacrament: 

“Life never stands still. Either you are running with the will of God, or you are fleeing from the will of God. Time puts you on the move, and you cannot stop. Every day you become more in the image of God, or you regress from that image.”

Pray for the Holy Spirit to help you to know and run with the redemptive will of God in your various spheres of influence such as work, family, marriage, parenting, and neighboring. Ask for the eyes to see where you are being shaped ever more into the image of God in Christ. Remember that this process can be messy so be gracious to yourself as what may be seen first is what doesn’t reflect the image. May this send you running boldly in your hope to the throne of grace to stand in God’s loving presence to be reminded of who and whose you are truly! Pray for those who gather Sunday to taste and see just how good the Lord is to His people!

In Christ,
Cameron