Conversion Then Immersion: Faith Required by Michael Doyle
It is said firmly, and I believe it Baptism is not a matter of take it or leave it Immersion, conversion: Faith is required To take on the Holy Spirit, it's acquired
It's a living truth for this generation To be applied with the strongest veneration The eternal word of God will never change However much society itself might rearrange
God's inspired Word is given that we may live Within His principles, the best life can give Baptism's conversion is not a pick and choose Without immersion in your path, you simply lose
As Matthew teaches, and it must be understood The necessity of baptism is for our own good Discipleship is part of the Great Commission All authority holds that lack of baptism is an omission
That cannot be missed as a first principle observed It is the will of God, and right of all deserved Baptism is only for believers as a sign of trust It is the work of Christ at Calvary, making it a must
It isn't just a physical act, but the belief in salvation Delivered by Jesus as savior to the Christian nation This is a matter that is a completely personal experience Deeply meaningful with significance beyond any preference
Sprinkling a child is only a matter of dedication It is no guarantor of the much-needed salvation But this is a parental decision, not their own And this sort of decision is that person's alone
The dedication, though well-meant, won't save a soul However much the love, only the child has the control Revival meeting baptisms made in a rushed moment Will not save a person from Hell's fiery torments
Getting right with God can be had in only this sort of way It comes to understanding regardless of what they say The only scriptural way to salvation is through immersion Symbolic as it is, immersion speaks to a soul's conversion
The timing of baptism may sometimes seem demanding But it comes down to receiving the truest understanding That the cost is to the soul in not fulfilling God's will It takes the immersion following conversion to distill
One's faith acted on in the spirt of the Great Commission To do otherwise becomes a matter of purposeful omission Which counteracts a life lived otherwise in full obedience And can never be excused away as a matter of expedience
A lack of being baptized stands as a grievous sort of sin That is in contravention of the Lord's three-fold commission We are to follow the Lord's path as set out on the page By baptizing the disciples, God will be with us in every age
There is no half-way gospel, salvation precedes baptism Immersive baptism is really an act of contrite symbolism But this then goes beyond some simple sort of expression It is, indeed, the set example of a very public confession
To be born of the water and the spirit, begins our days In which we, to our best, live out our lives in Godly ways As children of God, we are called out to live under grace Becoming our best within the Holy Father's loving embrace
(c) September 28, 2023 Michael Doyle All Rights Reserved
“The freedom of speech is a principal Pillar in a free Government: when this support is taken away the Constitution is dissolved, and Tyranny is erected on its Ruins.” – Benjamin Franklin, Pennsylvania Gazette (November 17, 1737)
“There is always more goodness in the world than there appears to be, because goodness is of its very nature modest and retiring.” -Evelyn Beatrice Hall, biographer (28 Sep 1868-1956)
“Civilization is a choice. We get up every morning and decide to follow certain rules of decorum and behavior because that’s how you keep a society together. We have seen a total breakdown of those norms year after year. It affects music, arts, public discourse, behavior in our schools, you name it. While some standards may change and relax over time, the wholesale abandonment of standards is rarely, if ever, a good thing.” – Gary Bauer
A plate of bread And juice of grape Brings life to be spread Like its spiritual landscape
We come together for communion As part of God's family Celebrating in this reunion The blessing that brings us unity
Forgiveness in Christ is shared Through the burden of the cross All the sin of man is bared That we gain salvation and not loss
In the Lord's Supper, we recognize A table set in three directions Laid out before our spiritual eyes The past, present, and future in inspection
At Passover, bread and cup were passed around A New Covenant borne by His body broken This was done in remembrance of the past In atonement given that would come to last
This sacrifice was freely offered and given That all us sinners could be forgiven Bringing us fellowship in the present of now With God and other believers as we bow
Joining hands in prayer and with commitment That reminds us that through Jesus we have victory In the destruction of Satan, we can be confident In the hope of resurrection as is His story
Through the Hell suffered in those three days We find cause to pause, spent in reflection On God's love and faithfulness shown in His ways We accept now this gentle yoke of His correction
(c) September 26, 2023 Michael Doyle All Rights Reserved
“Man, once surrendering his reason, has no remaining guard against absurdities the most monstrous, and like a ship without rudder, is the sport of every wind.” – Thomas Jefferson (1822)
Doesn’t this sound like the response to Covid in all of its variants? .. And a bit like Biden’s economic policies that he touts as working so well despite doing the reverse.
It’s no mystery here. I am happily, doting father who loves his daughters more than life itself! I am blessed enough to have two beautiful girls who call me dad. If you have a daughter or are a daughter, Happy National Daughters Day!!
Heading out of Australia to escape this Aussie winter. First stop Japan, then UK/Ireland and if work doesn't call me back, onto Chicago. I will make it up as I go along
