JCSM's Weekly Devotions (click here to listen!)

"Have You Been Baptized?"

Acts 19:1-7  "And it happened, while Apollos was at Corinth, that Paul, having passed through the upper regions, came to Ephesus.  And finding some disciples he said to them, 'Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?'  So they said to him, 'We have not so much as heard whether there is a Holy Spirit.'  And he said to them, 'Into what then were you baptized?'  So they said, 'Into John’s baptism.'  Then Paul said, 'John indeed baptized with a baptism of repentance, saying to the people that they should believe on Him who would come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.'  When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.  And when Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied.  Now the men were about twelve in all."

Acts 2:38-47   "Then Peter said to them, 'Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.  For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.'  And with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, 'Be saved from this perverse generation.'  Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them.  And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.  Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles.  Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need.  So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people.  And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved."

Galatians 3:26-29  "For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.  For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.  There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.  And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise."

Insight: Saved believers should be baptized in water because it is commanded in the Bible.  Baptism is an outward sign of an inward change.  Baptism doesn't save anyone, but baptism is a step of faith and obedience that all Christians should take.

Prayer: "Dear Lord, bless us and help us to be obedient to You.  There is no other like You in all the universe!  Thank you for loving us so much and thank you for your patience with us.  Thank you for blessing us when and after we're baptized in your name.  Convict people to obey You in this matter and in others.  Thank you for giving us a way to please You that isn't too difficult for us to do.  In Jesus' name, Amen."

On January 23, 1892, a nova or exploding star was observed tonight be Scottish observer T.D. Anderson. A dim star suddenly flared greatly in its light output. At its brightest, the nova produced the light of 25,000 suns. The star’s light spectrum also showed that gasses from the star were moving outward at over 600 miles per second. Nova Aurigae is now known as the first well-observed nova of modern times. Within two months, the nova had faded away. This dying process of stars shows that the present day universe is slowly winding down. Hebrews 1:11 declares that the heavens wear out like a garment, just as we continually observe the night sky.

This excerpt was taken from Donald DeYoung's book called, "365 Fascinating Facts From the World of Discovery."

(This explanation came from "The Skeptic's Annotated Bible: Corrected and Explained", by Dr. Jason Gastrich.  This book is on CD and gives over 4,000 answers to alleged Bible errors, regarding the entire Bible at http://www.skepticsannotatedbible.org.  There is also a 300 question workbook that accompanies the CD-ROM.)

There are no new quotes this week.  However, if you like to read wise quotes, you can either visit our Quotations Archive or get a copy of Dr. Gastrich's book called, "10,000 Wise Quotes and Spiritual Sayings"!  It's the largest collection of Bible-based quotations in the world.