Mark 1: 4-8- Baptism and Sanctification

Mark 1: 4-8- 

Baptism with water is a public proclamation that a person is going to follow the teachings of Jesus Christ in their lives. This day should be a red-letter day for a person and a day they long remember as a guide to how they will live their lives. I remember the Sunday I was baptized when I was 14 or 15 years old. This is a public declaration that we should all do. John the Baptist had more to say in verses 7 and 8, ‘And he preached, saying, “After me comes He who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. I have baptized you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”  

God wants us to be baptized in water as an outward symbol but being constantly sensitive to the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives is something that is daily and ongoing. This is not a one-time event but part of our progressive sanctification as we work to live our lives for God. God’s plan provided for us by allowing His Spirit to guide our hearts. We need to make sure our spiritual ears are open to His Spirit every day and open His Word so we can feel the move of the Holy Spirit in us as we read what God has provided for us. There is a beginning for us in our lives with God but there is never an end.  

Proverbs 2: 6-7- (6) For the Lord gives wisdom; From His mouth comes knowledge and understanding; (7) He stores up sound wisdom for the upright; He is a shield to those who walk uprightly.  

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