Tag: urgency

Urgently Doing Something Weird

Dale Pollard

“Look! Water! What prevents me from being baptized?” He commanded his chariot to stop and was baptized immediately (Acts 8:36-39). 

“…the same hour of the night…” (Acts 16:33).

If you’re ready— don’t wait. 

You know you’re ready when you feel an urgency that’s based on your understanding of God’s expectation. Once you know what it means to follow Jesus, and you know what it means to be lost, you know you have sins that need to be addressed, and you know that we’re not promised tomorrow. It’s fear driven, it’s love driven, and it’s clarity driven. While there’s nothing sinful about scheduling your baptism, it could be an indicator that you’re not exactly sure why you’re doing it. If you know you have sin that needs washed away, why would anybody wait? 

So, Baptism Is Weird 

This is my opinion based on conversations I’ve had with Christians who struggle with either the reason they were baptized or some other hold up they face before getting into the water. It’s just a strange thing to do. 

What About Feelings? 

You might feel relief. You might feel awkward or slightly uncomfortable. You might not feel anything at all. But don’t base your own baptism off of how you feel but rather what you know to be occurring. The baptism garments can be leaky and the water might be a little cold or dirty. The act itself might seem so foreign or unnatural that the whole event is tense or fills you with anxiety. 

All of that doesn’t matter. 

Is it a little weird? It can be. I’ve baptized people and even dropped a guy and had to start all over! We laughed, he was immersed, we hugged, and we quietly got out of the baptistery. His family didn’t know whether or not they should clap or sing or— really what to do afterwards!

All of that doesn’t matter. 

It has nothing to do with the people who are around; this is strictly a you and God thing. God’s doing every bit of the cleansing and adding. You need a belief that convicts you enough to act on an unnatural faith. You need two arms and a strong back to get the job done. You’ll need a body of water deep enough to cover you. That’s it! You don’t need family and friends around or a minister to give his certificate of approval. Everything is between you and God. Don’t overthink the Truth. God’s trying to save you, and it’s really that simple. 

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Here’s all the examples of salvation through baptism in the book of Acts: 

 (Acts 2:38,41; 8:12; 8:36-39; 9:18; 22:16; 10:48; 16:15; 16:33; 18:8; 19:5).

DETERMINED TO GET OUT THE NEWS

Neal Pollard

I spoke with our newspaper deliveryman this morning, and he had some story to tell.  He summarized his experience as the longest 15 hours of his life.  He got stuck once and had been towed twice.  He delivers his newspapers in a 2014 Toyota Camry, a front-wheel drive vehicle fighting against 10-12 inches of snow in a thousand cul-de-sacs.  Surprisingly cheerful, he was plodding on until finishing his task—delivering The Denver Post to every customer on his route.  That, my friend, is dedication!

As a former subscriber to the Rocky Mountain News and current subscriber to the Post, I cannot describe his product as “good news.”  With the internet competing, the newspaper is far from the exclusive or timeliest source of news.  That notwithstanding, this man is determined to get out the news.

The gospel is, by definition, “good news.”  Without a doubt, it is the most important and timeliest news of all time and eternity.  Every person needs to be exposed to it as it contains information that will impact where they will spend their forever.  God has given the job to you and me and every Christian in this nation and around the globe. Every day, we see people and relate to people on their everlasting journey.  They may or may not be oblivious to their need, but we are well aware of it.

Are we determined to get out the news?  The first century church was.  In bad times (Acts 8:4) or in good times (Acts 2:47), the news went near and far.  Paul described it as news which had reached every creature under heaven (Col. 1:23).  Christ commissioned that the news be spread to that extent (Lk. 24:44ff).  The challenge is great today, with over seven billion people on the earth.  But we have more resources than they did, and there are more of us, too.  The difference, then, may be the level of our determination.  Until we are determined to let nothing stop us from getting out the news, darkness will eclipse light and our challenge will grow.  Let’s let nothing stop us from sharing the great salvation of Jesus to everyone we meet.