Christmas: A Perfect Time for Rededication

As we enter the Christmas season, I’ve been praying over what to focus on these next few weeks. Many ideas I’ve tossed aside like I do burned out lights or mashed up tinsel, thinking them too shallow for now.

We all know the familiar refrains and encumbrances associated with this season and they become so distracting as to be unimportant. What is all of this stuff for … exactly?

It’s become more and more about Santa Claus and less about Jesus. Most of us know the story of Jesus’ birth in humble beginnings and that He was sent to save us from ourselves. He was the greatest gift ever given and He is truly the light of the world. And oh, how we need His light now.

I was fortunate to be raised in the church and accepted Jesus as my Savior when I was nine years old. I was baptized by immersion in an unheated baptistry that next spring on a frosty Easter morning. One of my grandmothers fretted I’d get pneumonia because my hair was wet that cold day. The other grandmother, the one I wrote about in Mud Holes and Magnolias: Lessons on Faith from Mama’s Stories, wasn’t. Her reply was, “I’ve never heard of anybody gettin’ sick from gettin’ baptized.”

But, how much did I truly know about what I was doing at the age of nine? Not much. This past summer, I had the opportunity to be baptized again; this time, in the warm summer waters of the Gulf of Mexico. It was not a baptism required by my faith, but a symbol of my rededication to Jesus Christ. Our theme for the event was “I Have Decided.”

As we enter this holiday season, I pray that you take a moment, maybe right now, to ask yourself where you are on the question of Jesus. Is He your Lord and Savior or just another good man? Do you believe He is truly the King of the World, Prince of Peace, and Lord of Lords?

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16

Christmas is coming and I, like you, will enjoy the parties, cookies, and gifts. But I hope you’ll join me in using this season of 2018 to rededicate yourself to Jesus or accept Him as Lord for the first time.

He’s a free gift and one none of us deserves. I know you love FREE, who doesn’t? So, will you receive this one?

It says in Romans 10: 9 “if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”

Have you confessed with your mouth and believed in your heart that Jesus is Lord? Do you believe without a shadow of a doubt Jesus was raised from the dead after suffering death by crucifixion?

Standing against the strong undertow in the Gulf this past July, ready to be immersed, the preacher asked me, “Who is Jesus to you?”

I answered, “He is my Lord and Savior. I accepted Him as a child, but today I want to be baptized again as an adult because I more clearly know what I’m stating.”

Jesus is the reason for the season. Don’t miss Him this year.

 

Here’s the video:

[wpvideo KePAfzBV]

 

I’d love to hear some of your baptism experiences. Feel free to use the comment section below>>>