We are Buried with Him

Disciplining yourself is a constant struggle, whether you are trying to discipline your academic habits, your diet or your spiritual habits. I, for instance, try not to eat sweets, but my wife does not try not to eat them. In fact, she keeps candy and cookies around the house at all times. Last night I came home from work and ate seven Oreos. Seven Double-Stuffed Oreos. I was ashamed of myself. I was so ashamed that I proceeded to drown my inner fat guy with chocolate pudding.

It’s not always easy to stick to the plan. This is especially true spiritually because we cannot see the immediate results of the plan. Aside from reading the Bible and praying, it’s not even always clear what God’s plan for us is. But there is one thing mentioned in the Bible that is both clear and easy, and chances are pretty good that you haven’t done it yet.

Matthew 28:19 records Jesus’ command that believers be baptized in water. “Go and make disciples, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit” (NIV). The Word (John 1:1), through whom all things were made, tells us to get baptized. He said "Let there be light," and there was light. And then He said, “Get baptized.”

What is baptism? Baptism is a proclamation of your faith; it is a first step in telling the world that you are a Christian. In some countries baptism is a crime punishable by death, which is terrible but also ironic, because baptism is a symbol of death. “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, NIV). We go under the water, representing death to our old ways (pre-salvation, not pre-baptism) and come back up representing our new life in Christ.

Look back at Matthew 28:19. Notice that Jesus said to baptize the disciples, the believers. He did not say to go and baptize the babies of the believers. Nowhere in the Bible is an infant ever baptized; baptism follows a conscious decision to follow God. And if someone who was not yet saved did want to symbolize their spiritual life in a giant tub at the front of a church, they would just walk in, stand there for a while, and walk back out. Without salvation, there is no death to sin, no new life in Christ, no testimony, no symbolic dunk and no obedience. But, if you have confessed with your mouth and believe in your heart that Jesus is Lord, baptism is a clear and easy way for you to stick with God’s plan.

Be Still

I don't like to give my mind peace. When my mind is unfocused, it inevitably wanders to either an embarrassing incident in my distant past or a day-mare about possible tragedies in my near future. My mind is apparently a bleak place. As a result, If I'm not working, writing, reading or praying, I listen to a constant stream of podcasts. I listen to sermons, sports shows, comedy shows, lectures, anything to keep me from slipping into a depressing side-stream. Even music doesn't usually hold my attention enough to keep my mind from tripping over the wrong kind of thought.

I have no idea what most people think about when they daydream; I don't know if everyone is trying to avoid mental snares that will depress them. I do know that no one likes to be alone with their thoughts. Why else would everybody be on the phone all the time?

One of the keys to living the strongest Christian life possible is being still in the presence of God. That is something that isn’t easy for me to do, but I know that my prayer life is enriched through it. So, I have to turn off the television, the phone and my iPod, close my bedroom door, and spend time in silence with God. While intercession and supplication are aspects of prayer, silence is, too. Prayer is not just the time to air grievances; prayer is a conversation with God. We get to talk, but we also have to listen.

In Jeremiah 42, the remnant--the poorest of the poor who were left in Judah by Nebuchadnezzar--asked Jeremiah to ask God what they ought to do next: stay in Judah or run to Egypt. Verse 7 says, “Now, at the end of ten days the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah” (NASB). I don't know why God waited 10 days before He answered, but I do know that Jeremiah was listening when He finally did. Unlike us, Jeremiah did not bring the request to the LORD and then get a text message that distracted him from listening for God’s answer.

Imagine if this scenario took place in your life. Let’s pretend that you are trying to find out whether you ought to go to college in your home town or go to a university away from your town. You have added the question to your list of prayer requests that you read to God daily. You follow the A.C.T.S. acronym: Application, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication. You say “Amen,” and turn on the television. You usually watch "Judge Judy," but you have the remote ready to switch it to ESPN in case anybody comes into the room. You do this everyday, and [Your Name Here] 42:7-8 says, “Now, at the end of ten days the word of the LORD came to [Your Name], but he wasn't listening, so [Your Name] decided to become a politician and helped speed America toward its doom.” (Read Jeremiah 42 to see the parallels.) If only you had remembered that quietly listening for God’s voice is an important aspect of prayer.