Letter About Rebaptism

Hey their {anonymous}! Hope all is going well. I got your message from the church website about being rebaptized.

There is in fact precedence in the scripture for being rebaptized but it must be used appropriately. In Acts 19:1-7 we read about Paul coming to Ephesus and finding some disciples there. He asks these disciples if they "received the Holy Spirit when they believed" to which they responded that they had never even heard of the Holy Spirit. And this is the critical part: then Paul asks "What then were you baptized into?" And we find out that they had not undergone baptism in the name of the Lord Jesus but rather only John the Baptist's baptism of repentance. And so they were rebaptized. The critical element here is that they had not received Christian baptism. Because their is only one baptism (Eph. 4:5) that is now valid (Christian baptism), the baptism that they had received before wasn't really a baptism at all, it was just getting wet. So too today if one has not received Christian baptism but some other kind of baptism then they have need to be rebaptized because in reality this rebaptism would be there first time being baptized in a valid way. So if it's just because of a multitude of sin in a Christian's life (or something of the like) that makes them feel the need to be rebaptized then they don't really need to be. All they need to do is confess and repent as it says in 1 John 1:9. However if one has never received Christian baptism, then they need to!

But what qualifies as Christian baptism? According to the Bible it is a baptism preceded and accompanied by faith and repentance (Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38). It's a baptism done in the name of "the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit" (Matthew 28:19), that is, it's done in obedience to and as dedication to God three-in-one and not just to please, impress, etc. someone else. It's a baptism "for the forgiveness of your sins" or to "wash away your sins" (Acts 2:38; 22:16). I believe as long as these things are in place then your looking at a biblical Christian baptism. If someone was baptized with all these things accompanying them, then they have undergone the one baptism of Eph. 4:5 and are true Christians (needing no other baptism) that now need to make a practice of confessing and repenting.

Then, of course, the results of such a baptism are astounding! We receive the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38). We're added to the body of believers (Acts 2:41). We will be resurrected like Jesus, that is given eternal life (Romans 6:5). We go from an unsaved state to a saved state (1 Peter 3:21). All these occurrences are God's part of the baptism. So long as we've done our part being baptized with Christian baptism (as defined above) then God will give us all these things.

Hope this helps! If you have any other questions let me know? I don't know whether your asking for yourself or someone else but whichever the case I advise looking at these passage mentioned above and spending time praying about it as well.


God bless,

A Word From Ben Stein that You Should Hear

Apparently the White House referred to Christmas Trees as Holiday Trees for the first time this year which prompted CBS presenter, Ben Stein, to present this piece which I would like to share with you. I think it applies just as much to many countries as it does to America …

The following was written by Ben Stein and recited by him on CBS Sunday Morning Commentary.

My confession:

I am a Jew, and every single one of my ancestors was Jewish. And it does not bother me even a little bit when people call those beautiful lit up, bejeweled trees, Christmas trees. I don’t feel threatened. I don’t feel discriminated against. That’s what they are, Christmas trees.

It doesn’t bother me a bit when people say, ‘Merry Christmas’ to me. I don’t think they are slighting me or getting ready to put me in a ghetto. In fact, I kind of like it. It shows that we are all brothers and sisters celebrating this happy time of year. It doesn’t bother me at all that there is a manger scene on display at a key intersection near my beach house in Malibu . If people want a creche, it’s just as fine with me as is the Menorah a few hundred yards away.

I don’t like getting pushed around for being a Jew, and I don’t think Christians like getting pushed around for being Christians. I think people who believe in God are sick and tired of getting pushed around, period. I have no idea where the concept came from, that America is an explicitly atheist country. I can’t find it in the Constitution and I don’t like it being shoved down my throat.

Or maybe I can put it another way: where did the idea come from that we should worship celebrities and we aren’t allowed to worship God ? I guess that’s a sign that I’m getting old, too. But there are a lot of us who are wondering where these celebrities came from and where the America we knew went to.

In light of the many jokes we send to one another for a laugh, this is a little different: This is not intended to be a joke; it’s not funny, it’s intended to get you thinking.

Billy Graham’s daughter was interviewed on the Early Show and Jane Clayson asked her ‘How could God let something like this happen?’ (regarding Hurricane Katrina).. Anne Graham gave an extremely profound and insightful response. She said, ‘I believe God is deeply saddened by this, just as we are, but for years we’ve been telling God to get out of our schools, to get out of our government and to get out of our lives. And being the gentleman He is, I believe He has calmly backed out. How can we expect God to give us His blessing and His protection if we demand He leave us alone?’

In light of recent events… terrorists attack, school shootings, etc. I think it started when Madeleine Murray O’Hare (she was murdered, her body found a few years ago) complained she didn’t want prayer in our schools, and we said OK. Then someone said you better not read the Bible in school. The Bible says thou shalt not kill; thou shalt not steal, and love your neighbor as yourself. And we said OK.

Then Dr. Benjamin Spock said we shouldn’t spank our children when they misbehave, because their little personalities would be warped and we might damage their self-esteem (Dr. Spock’s son committed suicide). We said an expert should know what he’s talking about. And we said okay.

Now we’re asking ourselves why our children have no conscience, why they don’t know right from wrong, and why it doesn’t bother them to kill strangers, their classmates, and themselves.

Probably, if we think about it long and hard enough, we can figure it out. I think it has a great deal to do with ‘WE REAP WHAT WE SOW.’

Funny how simple it is for people to trash God and then wonder why the world’s going to hell. Funny how we believe what the newspapers say, but question what the Bible says. Funny how you can send ‘jokes’ through e-mail and they spread like wildfire, but when you start sending messages regarding the Lord, people think twice about sharing. Funny how lewd, crude, vulgar and obscene articles pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion of God is suppressed in the school and workplace.

Are you laughing yet?

Funny how when you forward this message, you will not send it to many on your address list because you’re not sure what they believe, or what they will think of you for sending it.

Funny how we can be more worried about what other people think of us than what God thinks of us.

Pass it on if you think it has merit.

If not, then just discard it…. no one will know you did. But, if you discard this thought process, don’t sit back and complain about what bad shape the world is in.

My Best Regards, Honestly and respectfully,

Ben Stein

Some Quick Advice from the Proverb Writer

"A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger." - Proverbs 15:1
Arguments are like dancing: it takes two to tango. Soft words turn the hostility dance into the one man Macarena which doesn’t look good on anybody. 

"The tongue of the wise uses knowledge rightly but the mouth of fools pours forth foolishness." - Proverbs 15:2
Knowledge is only as good as the head that contains it.

Vengeance is God's

Provided by Glory to God for All Things

If you’ve ever been wronged before, you understand the overwhelming urge to retaliate. I mean, “getting even” is only fair, right? This may be the way the world thinks but Christians are called to a higher standard. Jesus admonishes us instead to “turn the other cheek” (Matt. 5:39). Vengeance is God’s responsibility and it is not our place to do it for him.

In 1 Samuel 25, a foolish man named Nabal greatly wrongs King David, an act to which the king’s immediate response was a thirst for vengeance. David was so mad, he swears to kill every last male of Nabal’s household. However, before David could carry out the deed, Nabal’s gracious wife comes seeking forgiveness, offers what was rightfully David’s, and pacifies the king’s wrath. Once David realizes his error, he blesses Abigail (Nabal’s wife) for “keeping [him] from bloodshed and from avenging [himself] by [his] own hand” (v 33). He even goes on later in the story to admit that such retaliation would have been “evil” (v39). What’s the moral of the story? Vengeance is not ours to deal.

But the story doesn’t stop there. Verse 38 tells us that “about ten days later, the LORD struck Nabal and he died.” God did not fail his part. Vengeance is not ours but there’s more: it does belong to God. If you’ve ever felt before like life just isn’t fair, that the wicked win, or that crime pays, just remember “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord” (Rom. 12:19). God loves his people too much to let their oppressors have lasting victory. We will all get what’s coming to us one way or another, so continue to walk the narrow path and leave the vengeance up to God.

Courage is..

Check out this inspiring video from Bluefish TV!

The Orderly Assembly of the Immersed

Provided by the Anger Coach Blog

You might be wondering right now what an article entitled “The Orderly Assembly of the Immersed” could possibly be about, so let me go ahead and tell you, I’m probably not going where you think I’m going (if you have any idea at all). I want to speak briefly with you about the importance of priority and emphasis when it comes to the expression of biblical ideals.

Let me explain. One time I went to this fair sized congregation consisting primarily of elderly members. Much as expected, they were very traditional in the way they “did church.” Most of the prayers were made up of “thee/thou” language, the preacher usually quoted from the KJV, all the songs sung were composed at least by the 1950’s, and everyone sat quietly in their front facing pew as long as someone was behind the pulpit. Now there is nothing biblically wrong with any of this (I would argue that for the sake of being culturally relevant and thus missionally engaged, that some changes would be beneficial -1 Cor. 9:22) but so far, no harm, no foul.

What I do hold against this congregation and others like it is there improper emphases. During the Sunday morning worship, every prayer that I heard spoken included an admonition to the Father that the service be “orderly.” Every one! I didn’t know that Paul’s single contextualized command to an extremely disorderly church (1 Cor. 14:40) deserved so much priority in this 21st Century congregation! What’s more, is that many churches like this carry out the “orderly” in their services often times at the expense of the heartfelt, the Spirit-led, and the true. They’ve blown this ideal out of proportion and given it an over exaggerated preeminence which overwhelms the more important elements of devotion to God. Yes, our worship should be orderly. However when I walk into an assembly of Christian worship that’s already got an atmosphere set for focus on Christ (aka orderly), I don’t need to hear a prayer asking God for an orderly service. What would do me good is to hear a prayer asking God for His Spirit to act on hearts and for members to be heartfeltly engaged in praising the Master.


The point I’m making is that first things should be first. The less important should not be emphasized over the central otherwise you run the risk of wrapping your heart around the secondary instead of placing your heart on what’s truly important. Or as Jesus said, “Where your treasure (time, talent, money…might I add emphasis) is, there your heart will be also” (Luke 12:34). Not only that but most assuredly you will give others the wrong impression about what it means to be a Christian, which leads me to the “immersed” part of this article…

Have you ever overemphasized baptism, so that faith and Jesus and grace fade into the background? Yes, baptism is an essential part of it, but once again we can’t neglect the more important matters of salvation by giving baptism more lip-service than Jesus. Have you “neglected the weightier matter of the law” (Matt.23:23) in your over emphasis of the less important?

Sermon on the Mount

(My Personal Translation/Expansion)

Matthew 5

Provided by the Episcopal Chaplaincy at Harvard

3 Fulfilled are those who don’t put all their spiritual stock in themselves.  They understand that they aren’t perfect and rely on God’s grace to write their name on the heavenly role.

4 Fulfilled are those whose sin causes them great sorrow.  Who look at their sin with tears in their eyes, sorry for what they’ve done, for the God who wipes away all tears will personally soothe their heartache.

5 Fulfilled are those who don’t have to always be on top.  By no means are they weak but they don’t have to be in the limelight to know their worth.  They might not hold positions of earthly power in the here and now but they will receive their reward when this earth is consumed and replaced with the new heavens and the new earth.

6 Fulfilled are those who long for righteousness as a fat kid yearns for cake.  I promise that their hunger for a clean slate will be satisfied in Me.