What Are You Anchored In?
Baptism Devotional 2017 Day 2:
What are you Anchored in?
‘Baptism’ is derived from the greek word baptizo which means to immerse. The purpose of immersing something is to saturate it. Take, for example, a piece of white cotton fabric and immerse it in red dye. That piece of fabric, down to the smallest fiber, is no longer defined as “white,” but rather defined as “red.” This symbolizes the transformation a believer experiences through water baptism.
When a Christian is baptized, that last thing they hear before their immersion in water is: “I baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19). These three aspects of the Trinity are the names that we become anchored in as we begin our life post-baptism. This is the new anchor for our identity. We do this because Jesus asks us to baptize this way. So, who are we being anchored in?
1. We are anchored in the Father.
The Father, our Creator, knows us intimately. We are his idea, and He created each and every one of us and gave us life. The Bible says, “He knows the numbers of hairs on our head” (Luke 12:7). We are adopted as his own children. His love changes the way we see ourselves, and the people in our lives.
2. We are anchored in the Son.
It’s our faith in Christ Jesus, the Son of God, that gives us direct relationship with God, the Father. We are cloaked in the perfect, blameless, sinless life of Jesus. When God sees us, He sees us through Jesus. It is the blood of Jesus that forgives and dissolves all of our past, present, and future sins. In Jesus, we stand faultless and righteous before God and included in his family.
3. We are anchored in the Holy Spirit.
Once we are immersed in the Holy Spirit, we are no longer weak but strong. The Holy Spirit is the breath of God who gives us power to follow God’s direction for our lives. His Spirit is the fountain we can draw from to be refreshed and sustained. When we are baptized, we are immersed in the power of the Holy Spirit, enabling us to live a God-filled life and to do all that He asks.
Let us each be anchored in the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. His love, grace and wisdom will guide us through any storm life throws at us. Our souls will not be shaken.
Further reading and references
- 1 Corinthians 12
- Acts 4
- Galatians 3
- Galatians 4:4-7
We will be celebrating together as many will make the significant decision to follow Jesus into the waters of baptism on November 19th at all services.