DAVEMIERS.COM
Here’s the 2nd edition of SNAPSHOT. Live music last week. This week from another mate from Bible School: Nathan “Nate Dawg” Lowery. Water, sky + sun. Enjoy.
Sunrise @ Narrawallee Inlet, April 08: Waking up at 5:30am to cook brekky for Christian surfers has its good points as well – seeing the dawning of a New Day for me is another reminder of the blessings we constantly receive from our God. – Nathan Lowery
[click for high res]
BAPTISM – THIS RITE EXHIBITS UNION WITH CHRIST
by J. I. Packer
Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. ROMANS 6:3-4
Christian baptism, which has the form of a ceremonial washing (like John’s pre-Christian baptism), is a sign from God that signifies inward cleansing and remission of sins (Acts 22:16; 1 Cor. 6:11; Eph. 5:25-27), Spirit-wrought regeneration and new life (Titus 3:5), and the abiding presence of the Holy Spirit as God’s seal testifying and guaranteeing that one will be kept safe in Christ forever (1 Cor. 12:13; Eph. 1:13-14). Baptism carries these meanings because first and fundamentally it signifies union with Christ in his death, burial, and resurrection (Rom. 6:3-7; Col. 2:11-12); and this union with Christ is the source of every element in our salvation (1 John 5:11-12). Receiving the sign in faith assures the persons baptized that God’s gift of new life in Christ is freely given to them. At the same time, it commits them to live henceforth in a new way as committed disciples of Jesus. Baptism signifies a watershed point in a human life because it signifies a new-creational engrafting into Christ’s risen life.
Jesus did many things. He healed the sick, he calmed the storm, he told parables, he taught with authority. But out of everything that he did, it was his death on a bloody cross that is of first importance. Why did Jesus have to die? Was it really necessary?
At his crucifixion Jesus was mocked. They said that Jesus claimed to be someone special, yet he couldn’t even save himself from being killed! They put a sign above his head ridiculing him: JESUS KING OF THE JEWS (John 19:19). They didn’t really believe that he was the king. They were expecting their coming king to be powerful and mighty. Jesus looked too weak to be a mighty king.
I’m 28. Over the last 6 months, I’ve learned of an increasing number of my peers (+ or – 5 years) who have been separated or divorced. Some of them I know well, others I’ve known in the past, still others are acquaintances/facebook friends. Either way, it’s heartbreaking to learn about Christian marriages ending.
In most of the circumstances, I don’t know all the details, nor do I need to know, but as far as I can see there are 3 main causes of breakdown in these marriages:
I’m sure it’s much, much more complex than the 3 bullet points above may suggest! If you’ve recently separated or divorced, I sincerely hope you aren’t offended by this post. If your marriage is currently on rocky grounds – get help now (if you don’t know where to turn, contact me and I can hopefully point you in a helpful direction). Here’s the key questions I’m thinking through:
Any suggestions? Feel free to leave an anonymous comment.
Do you suck at getting things done? First step is to pray, because, if you’re like me, not getting things done is often a spiritual issue – laziness. Secondly, work out a system that will help you to get things done. I started reading ‘How to Get Things Done‘ by David Allen about 3 years ago – but ironically, I lost the book and I only just found it!
Getting Things Done (GTD) is a well-known system that aims for stress-free productivity. I kinda implement some of his strategies, but would do well to implement more! Ben Bathgate has done a great service by summarising GTD into 7 readable posts:
Check out these summaries, get the book and start getting stuff done! sxc pic
This Sunday, I’m leading the music at church. It’s the first time I’ve done it for years! I’m looking forward to it, but I’m a bit rusty on the guitar (and voice too)… But it’s not about me – it’s such a good thing to encourage others as together we sing praise to Jesus.
I’m going with 4 songs. 2 upfront and 2 at the end.
Dominic Steele from Christians in the Media – God’s word on the bushfires – Luke 13