Mark 1:8 (GNT)
I [John] baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.
Passport d365.org author Grace Burton-Edwards writes today of immersion baptism in terms of a chocolate dipped strawberry. Just that image got me to thinking. Unlike a strawberry, however, where the chocolate only coats the outside, our baptism with the Holy Spirit is an immersion in the flames of God which will then burn throughout our whole being. Baptism by Spirit changes us from the inside out. It changes the essence of who we are because we now belong completely to God. We now hold the image of God and a part of God inside us. That is a baptism that is far more than an outside scrubbing or bath! Far more than a chocolate coating!Yet, how many of us treat our baptism exactly as such...a coating of Christianity that looks good on the outside but doesn't really change our soul or inner being? When the fire of the Holy Spirit ignites us from within our 'Christian-coat' can melt and the true God-self within will flow from us. As much as I love chocolate, I want to be a Spirit dipped Christian!
May the light of God illumine the heart of my soul.
May the flame of Christ kindle me to love.
May the fire of the Spirit free me to live,
This day, tonight, and forever. (Celtic Benediction - J Philip Newell)
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