Psalm 113
Praise the Lord!
Praise, O servants of the Lord,
praise the name of the Lord!
Blessed be the Name of the Lord
from this time forth and forevermore!
From the rising of the sun to its setting,
the Name of the Lord is to be praised!
The Lord is high above all nations,
and His glory above the heavens!
Who is like the Lord our God,
who is seated on high,
who looks far down
on the heavens and the earth?
He raises the poor from the dust
and lifts the needy from the ash heap,
to make them sit with princes,
with the princes of his people.
He gives the barren woman a home,
making her the joyous mother of children.
Praise the Lord!
When we think of Memorable Baptisms, I can think of only a few. Jesus Christ and His Willingness to Please the Lord and fulfill all Righteousness. The Philippian Jailer who knew he was going to die by the Roman Empire because Paul and all the jailed had been released, with the Lord, instead he was Baptized with his entire household, Celebration of Salvation. Acts 16.
What is vastly millenniums old, is new again. The man living in the cemetery cut himself and Jesus healed him. And then this amazing story of Baptism, we must think of with all the sad operations on untested, too young, victimized lives of children. One day, there will be a Tsunami of lawsuits on all the adult people involved.
Acts 8
26 Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Rise and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is a desert place. And he rose and went. And there was an Ethiopian, a eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure. He had come to Jerusalem to worship and was returning, seated in his chariot, and he was reading the prophet Isaiah. And the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and join this chariot.” So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. Now the passage of the Scripture that he was reading was this:
“Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter
and like a lamb before its shearer is silent,
so he opens not his mouth.
In his humiliation justice was denied him.
Who can describe his generation?
For his life is taken away from the earth.”
And the eunuch said to Philip, “About whom, I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?” Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus. And as they were going along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “See, here is water! What prevents me from being baptized?” And he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him. And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord carried Philip away, and the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing. 40 But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he passed through he preached the gospel to all the towns until he came to Caesarea
Similar to John 6:1-21, immediately, the boat Jesus traveled in was on the other side of the Sea of Galilee.
Which part should we start with?
immediately the boat reached the shore where they were heading
Isaiah 40:26
Lift up your eyes on high and see: who created these?
immediately the boat reached the shore where they were heading
Einstein's Theory of Relativity - Space Travel - Warp factor ~ Tells us about the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand. Dimensions melt. Theory for some - Word of God for Jesus.
Jesus has no trouble walking on water when the waters were rough. The Sea of Galilee is prone to sudden rough seas brought on like a wind shear phenomena caused when cool air off the West mountains falls down into the Jordan River flowing into the Sea of Galilee. Hot air trapped around the lake rises suddenly and the waters become very turbulent, inhibiting westward travel over the water. The severity and suddenness of these storms are compared to an earthquake storm. I'm guessing Jesus is really not using the water as a footpath. God healed the widow of Nain's son - with His Word. The Word of God is Living and Active. Something for this generation to think of - how Jesus walked on a Stormy Ocean. In the dark.
Baptism, for learning to go forth when the water in life is rough. Jesus is there with us.
He will not leave nor forsake us. Alleluia.
We would have to agree, the Baptism Philip participated in with the Holy Spirit is remarkable.
The other heartfelt Baptism's are the eagerness of the Baptized. The infants in Christening gowns made with all the Joy of Jesus' own seamless robe. Chifton.
And the one I always, always wept and had joy, was Archie Bunker sneaking off with Joey to make sure Joey was going to be Baptized. I think Jesus probably enjoys this one too! And I've heard the Lord enjoys Humphrey Bogart films.... In one of the OH GOD movies with George Burns.
The Psalm is about change. Do we really see the Lord changes us? In God's Good Creation, He calls Good Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow, we live change constantly. And God is said to uphold the Universe with the Power of His Word.
Almost all the Christian world, praying, 2/3rds say they have known a miracle, only God could bring forth. We have to believe God answers prayer daily, that looks worse than Archie Bunker. I only hope He thinks we are as funny!
I'm going with Archie Bunker on Baptism. We all should try this. At least once.
1 Peter 2:3
Now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.
Ephesians 1:7
In Him
we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins,
in accordance with the riches of God's grace
1 Peter 4:10
Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others,
as faithful stewards of God's grace
in its various forms.
Exodus 34:6
And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming,
"The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God,
slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness!"
Luke 10:21
At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said,
"I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth,
because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned,
and revealed them to little children.
Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure."
Lord, we are grateful
grateful
grateful
not masks and pandemic
in 2022 and 2023
Thank Jesus.
Abba, Father,
Thank You for Jesus Christ.
He is the Bread of Life.
Help us, we pray for Your Blessings,
Dwell in us
and those we love, earnestly pray for.
Help us to seek you first.
You are the Bread of Life,
Help us to have Your blessing to
have hearts pleasing to You
and the aroma of Love
Encouragement
Mercy
Hope
with all
good diligence.
Thank You, Father,
for our many blessings.
Help us to chose Your Joy
and to
see with willing hearts and eyes,
to be Blessing Seekers and Appreciators.
In Jesus Christ
Our Lord
Our Savior
Wonderful Jesus,
we find
Our Alleluia in You.
Amen.
Lift up your eyes on high and see: who created these?
He who brings out their host by number,
calling them all by name,
by the greatness of His might,
and because He is strong in power
not one is missing.
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