Author: Pat Vick

What If You Weren’t Beautiful?

~ Pat Vick ~ 9 Comments

A Reflection on Holiness…

I once met a lady (Let’s call her Naomi) who had been burned severely over the top half of her body. She had leaned in to light a stubborn gas stove and it ignited with her bent over inside. The flesh of her scalp, face, arms, hands and upper torso was literally melted off in a second. In a flash of heat, she was no longer beautiful, at least not in any way that society defines beauty.

You might be thinking that you know people who are not beautiful, but I disagree. Perhaps not every feature is aesthetically pleasing, but most of us have what we consider to be our best feature that we rely on to charm our way into other people’s affections. Maybe it’s dark, soulful eyes with sculpted brows, or full pouty lips. Maybe it’s chiseled muscular runner’s legs, or velvety skin the color of warm honey. Maybe it’s a thick, flowing mane of hair, or dimples that beg for attention.

These features become tools of the trade, if you will, to express ourselves, to glean attention, and I dare say to manipulate others into doing, thinking or feeling the way we want them to. Depending on whether we are an extrovert or an introvert, our features enable us to shine in the spotlight or blend into the crowd.

For most of us, our features dictate how we feel about ourselves and how we project ourselves to others. Someone with pearly white teeth is likely to smile more, thereby projecting confidence, while someone having a bad hair day might not make eye contact, and thereby seem withdrawn or standoffish.

Beyond our physical attributes, we use all manner of extras to embellish ourselves. After all, presentation is everything, right? We often feel like we can’t face the world without our makeup mask, a trendy cut, colored and permed hairdo, the latest clothing fashions and lots of bling to top it all off. These exaggerations leave very little room for the Holy Ghost to shine through.

Naomi visited our church with a mutual friend, who had prepared me ahead of time that she would be covered in bandages. I knew she would feel out of place, and expected her to be the epitome of social awkwardness. Was I ever surprised?! On the contrary, she was the embodiment of grace and contentment. It turns out, I was the one who felt uncomfortable, while she projected perfect peace.

She calmly held my eyes as I tried not to show my distress at her physical condition. She spoke genuine and kind words as I reined in my emotions. Naomi knew that she was a curiosity, but she wasn’t embarrassed or offended by it.

Through the openings in the bandages I could tell that she had no defined lips to apply lipstick to. No eyelashes to coat with mascara. No ear lobes to hang jewels from. All of the trappings that we rely on to face the world with confidence had been burned away from Naomi. Still, she was calm and reassuring, not seeking attention, neither shrinking from it.

Oh, I’m very sure she didn’t arrive at this place right away or even voluntarily. My mind flinches to think of the physical and emotional pain she had endured. By the time I met Naomi, she had gone through months of treatments and therapy. It’s not uncommon for someone who has gone through severe trauma to end up bitter toward God and to turn to every form of pseudo peace and synthetic beauty. Not Naomi; she was barely there.

So many people, both churched and unchurched, think of holiness as a list of rules and regulations. Many have called it legalism, and so it is if you are only trying to appear holy. However, if you are seeking for true holiness, you will eventually come to the realization, as Naomi did, that the only adornment the soul needs is the light of God’s pure Spirit.

“Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel; But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price.”

(1Peter 3:3-4)

THINKING POINTS:

-Name an embellishment that you rely on to feel confident.

-How do you feel when you think about being in public without it?

-Do you act differently with it than without it?

The Holy Ghost Is For You

~ Pat Vick ~ Leave a comment


Receiving the Holy Ghost is the third step in the New Testament New Birth experience. Remember, (1) repentance symbolizes Jesus’ death, (2) baptism in Jesus’ name symbolizes His burial, and (3) receiving the Holy Ghost symbolizes Jesus’ resurrection. Just as Jesus’ sacrifice for our sins would be incomplete without all three natural elements, so would our salvation experience be incomplete without all three spiritual elements. Each one is essential to the whole.

The words “Holy Ghost” or “Holy Spirit” can be used interchangeably to describe this wonderful gift which is simply God dwelling inside of people. The same Spirit that was embodied in Jesus Christ, the Spirit of the Father, is now available and even essential to our salvation.

Only a select few ever knew God in the power of His Spirit in the Old Testament, but the Prophets foretold of a time when He would pour out His Spirit on whosoever wanted it. A time when He would abide not only with mankind, but in mankind.


Foretold By the Prophet Isaiah

“For with stammering lips and another tongue will he speak to this people. To whom he said, This is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest; and this is the refreshing: yet they would not hear.” (Isaiah 28:11-12)

 

Foretold by the Prophet Ezekiel

“A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.” (Ezekiel 36:26-27)

 

Foretold by the Prophet Joel

“And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit.” (Joel 2:28-29)

 

Foretold By John the Baptist

“I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:” (Matthew 3:11)

 

Foretold By Jesus

“In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)” (John 7:37-39)

“And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.” (John 14:16-18)

“And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.” (Luke 24:49)

 

Fulfilled In The New Testament

On the Day of Pentecost, the Promise was fulfilled, as 120 people were gloriously filled with the Spirit of the Lord and began to speak in languages unknown to them.

“And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord none place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.” (Acts 2:1-4)

To the crowd that was gathered in the streets of Jerusalem that day for the Feast of Pentecost, Peter explained the phenomena, “But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel;” (Acts 2:16) He also took the opportunity to preach Jesus to them, and when they responded to his preaching with sincerity, he shared with them the New Testament salvation message.

“Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every on of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation.” (Acts 2:37-40)  

 

For You Today

It has been taught that the Baptism of the Holy Ghost is not for us today, that it was only for the early Church. If this is so, how am I filled with the Holy Ghost today? We live in the same dispensation as the early Church with every one of God’s promises to them still in effect.

From the Day of Pentecost until this, throughout the New Testament, throughout the centuries and decades and years and last week and today, God has and is still pouring out the Holy Ghost on anyone and everyone who seeks Him with a whole heart in true repentance. Every day we are hearing and reading the reports of Missionary friends from all over the world of tens and hundreds and thousands who continue to receive this priceless gift of the Holy Ghost.

 

Is Essential To Salvation

“But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.” (Romans 8:9)

“But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.” (Romans 8:11)

“The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:” (Romans 8:16)

Don’t let anyone tell you that’s it’s not real, or that it’s not for you today, or that it’s not necessary. The Baptism of the Holy Ghost is real. It is for you today, and it is most certainly necessary to your salvation.

Warm Regards, -Pat 

As always, if you have questions or comments, don’t hesitate to reach out, either by leaving a comment here, or emailing me at pat@patvick.com.

Who Is The Gardener of Your Mind?

~ Pat Vick ~ Leave a comment

The thoughts you are thinking right now, are they from God or satan? Do you know? Have you checked? Can you tell?

-Do they promote God or self?

-Do they encourage holiness or worldliness?

-Do they convict you of sin or condemn you for it?

-Do they speak faith or fear?

-Do they urge you to adhere to or resist your own conscience?

-Do they make you feel focused or confused?

-Do they make you want to bow down in humbleness, or to bow up with pride?

-Do they affirm the Word of God or contradict it?

*Remember, the devil is a master at implanting a seed of thought into the fertile soil of your mind and laughing as it grows to maturity and begins to bear fruit.

a Bike, a Pool and a Cross

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When I was a little girl, I didn’t want anyone teaching me how to do anything new. Not because I was too independent, but because I was too shy to try in front of anyone and possibly fail. Since the most meaningful and fulfilling endeavors in life take a lot of trying, I’ve spent a lot of my lifetime in excruciating embarrassment. 

I remember two learning adventures from my childhood when the adults thought I needed to learn a new skill. The first was learning to ride a bicycle. My foster dad did all the right things. He held on tight and walked beside, letting me find my balance. He sped up to a fast trot, and I peddled my chubby little legs harder. We were zipping along now. Don’t let go! Of course, he couldn’t keep holding on. Legs can’t go as fast as wheels. All was going well for a few seconds, until I began to hear yelling. What were they yelling? Turn! Turn! I looked up and saw the tree, but couldn’t make my arms respond to the instructions. I was locked in. I didn’t turn.

Not surprisingly, that lesson ended painfully and with much embarrassment. I did eventually master bicycle riding, however. Those few seconds of feeling the wind in my face were enough to make me practice in private until I could stay up on my own. The cause was greater than the embarrassment.

The second learning adventure was much like the first. The adults thought I needed to learn how to swim. Again, my foster dad was tasked with the duty. There we were in the pool. He finally coaxed me into letting him hold me up on top of the water so that he could teach me how to float on my back. I can still remember his hands solid against my upper and lower back, the sun warming my front. I had barely started to relax when I felt his hands gently turn loose. Of course they were only an inch beneath me, but I didn’t know that. My body, which had only seconds before felt so light and unencumbered, now felt like a rock. I was sinking. There was thrashing and flailing and coughing and crying.

That lesson also ended traumatically with much embarrassment. I did, however, eventually master the art of swimming. Those few seconds of delightful buoyancy were enough to make me go to the kiddy pool by myself and practice in six inches of water until I felt myself lift up off the hard bottom. The cause was greater than the embarrassment.

Today, all grown up, I’m still that same little girl inside, extremely embarrassed to learn something new in front of anyone. Therefore, this newly launched blog ministry has been excruciating. Oh, I’ve written a lot…in private…where it was safe to fail. But I’ve taken another look at Jesus’ Cross and realized His Cause must be greater than my embarrassment.

Hopefully, some of you will come along with me as I put my face in the wind and feel the delightful buoyancy of His Spirit lifting me. I cannot guarantee that there won’t be some flailing and crying, but I’ll try to keep it to a minimum.

Perhaps you have a ministry tucked safely inside, away from public view, that God is moving on you to bring out into the light. Let’s learn together. After all, the cause is greater than our embarrassment. 

-Pat Vick

X, Y, ZZZzzz

~ Pat Vick ~ Leave a comment

So, the whole transgender movement has me shaking my head. Not only at a President who has dictated his own agenda outside of any legislative process, not only at humans who insist that mine and my children’s rights are taken away so that they can pretend to be something other than God made them, not only at a country that has forgotten it was formed as one nation under God and His laws, but at a Church who is snoozing softly as the very foundation of our great America is being jack hammered away beneath us.

People get confused all the time. Some confusion is from lack of concentration, some from lack of teaching. Some confusion is from too hectic of a lifestyle. Some is because of an underlying medical issue, or some simply from the aging process. This gender confusion issue, however, is an all out deception from satan, himself.

Sometimes, the Church can even get confused, especially by issues that are marketed under the label of Human Rights. In times when we need clarity, we should always go back to the Word of God.

“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply…” (Genesis 1:27-28a)

“The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman’s garment: for all that do so are abomination unto the Lord thy God.” (Deuteronomy 22:5)

These scriptures clearly reveal that from the beginning, God created man and woman with their own gender specific roles and a clear distinction between the two.

I know there are many people whose core belief system is not founded upon the Bible, but on science. True science, however, will prove, not contradict the scriptures. If the transgender issue is looked at from a scientific point of view, it should all become clear, as well.

If you take a DNA sample from any person, living or deceased, it will clearly reveal whether that person is male or female. According to recent scientific research, the human body has approximately thirty-seven trillion cells (give or take a trillion). The majority of those thirty-seven trillion cells each has a nucleus which carries your genetic code. Within each of those microscopic nuclei there are 23 pairs of chromosomes. These 46 chromosomes are your genetic identity. They are who you are. One pair of these chromosomes are sex chromosomes. If you are a female, you have 2 X sex chromosomes (XX). If you are a male, you have 1 X and 1 Y sex chromosome (XY).

I’m sure that someone might point to random genetic flukes, abnormalities, anomalies, variations or mutations that I don’t have the medical knowledge to even converse about, and claim these as validity for transgender tendencies. To that I would simply say, because sin first entered into the world, death now works in our bodies. But it wasn’t so from the beginning, and since Jesus Christ offered Himself as our sacrifice for sin, it doesn’t have to be that way in any of our lives now.

Others might conclude that people should identify with whichever gender feels right to them. To that I would say, feelings are tricky things. They are manufactured in our hearts that do not always know, believe or live Truth.

“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.” (Jeremiah 17:9-10)

I am not any kind of medical professional, but I have been reminded by a few internet searches on “DNA” that our bodies were created by God Almighty by specific design. He wasn’t confused when He coded our genetic identity within each of us trillions of times over. Furthermore, no amount of alternative clothing choices, restroom preferences, hormone treatments or surgical alterations will change the truth of who you are.

There is no reason for the Church to keep hitting the snooze button on this one. Be who you truly are, and encourage others to do the same.

“Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee…” (Jeremiah 1:5a)

The Moment I First Felt Apostolic

~ Pat Vick ~ 4 Comments

I was walking through the Galleria mall with my husband in Birmingham, Alabama, when I heard them. The words that made me truly feel Apostolic.

My husband had been raised in this Jesus’ Name Truth, but it had only been revealed to me during my junior year of high school. Our personal conversion experiences didn’t come until the early years of our marriage.

I had been in that “in between” stage for a while. The place where every new convert has a rite of passage through. That place where part of your wardrobe looks like you’re going to church, and the other part looks like you’re going to a barn dance. That place where your hair is too long to leave down, but too short to put up. That place where any photos taken of you draw looks of sympathy from saint and sinner alike, and for the same reason. I wanted desperately to look like I belonged in the Church. I wanted to look Apostolic.    

I know many young ladies today who are shedding layer after layer of anything that resembles separation from the world, but when I came into this Holiness way, I longed to look the part. I wasn’t embarrassed to look like the Church. I was embarrassed to look like the world.

So, as my husband and I were walking through the mall, two young men in their early twenties approached us and gave quick nods as they passed by. After they had only gone a few strides, I overheard one say to the other,

     “Now, there goes an Apostolic lady.”

There are moments in our lives when everything comes into focus for a fraction of an instant. This was one of those defining moments for me, the moment I first felt Apostolic.

Of course, someone noticing that I finally looked Apostolic did not make me so. I had been born again according to Acts 2:38 for several years. Knowing that I was visibly identifiable as an Apostolic Pentecostal, however, did wonders for my sense of belonging.

If you have been Apostolic Pentecostal all your life, like my husband, remember there are people who weren’t born into this Truth. People who are learning as they grow. Be kind. Be helpful. Be supportive.

If you weren’t born and raised Apostolic Pentecostal, like me, but you have set out on this biblical journey, remember that being born again according to Acts 2:38 is only the beginning. Be faithful. Be consistent. Be holy.

If you don’t have any real working knowledge of what it means to be Apostolic Pentecostal, like many, but you’re interested in finding answers, remember your first source should be the Bible and secondly, someone who actually is Apostolic Pentecostal. Be inquisitive. Be receptive. Be prayerful.

-Pat Vick

A Lesson on Making Salmon Patties

~ Pat Vick ~ 4 Comments

While opening a can of salmon yesterday, I was reminded of the first time Granny (my husband’s maternal grandmother) ate my salmon patties.

The men in my husband’s family were farmers and because of this, the women were fantastic cooks. Now don’t get me wrong, the women in my family were great cooks, as well, in more of a gourmet meal kind of way. The women in my husband’s family were meat and potatoes, stick to your ribs, country cookin’ kind of gals.

Any time of day or night, you could go into Granny’s house and there would be pots on the stove with yummy smelling food inside. Any hour the men came in from the field or a grandchild wandered through, there would be something to eat. Inevitably, there were stewed potatoes, green beans, meat, a pan of cornbread and dessert.

I admired their cooking ability and aspired to learn their trade, knowing it would impress my husband if I could cook like his mother and grandmother.

Deciding to start with salmon patties (which my husband only tolerates to this day), I gave Granny a call and she walked me through the process on the phone. “A little of this. A pinch of that.”

I remember that salmon falling open in the bowl and seeing that long line of vertebrae and spindly rib bones. Mashing a little chunk of backbone between my fingers, I commented to Granny that the bones were surprisingly soft and did I have to remove them.

Now what she said and what I heard were obviously two different things. I thought she said I could leave them in, so I smashed them all as best I could, mixed up the whole batch of this and that, formed beautiful round patties and fried ’em up just like I thought she would do.

Granny and Papa came over that evening to do a taste test and I was so proud and eager for her approval. There they lay all golden and crispy on the platter (albeit a bit lumpy). I’ll never forget the expression on Granny’s face as she chewed that first bite. Slowly.

“You didn’t take out the bones,” she said in a hesitant voice as she swallowed. Slowly.

“I thought you said I could leave them in,” I replied, realizing that this wasn’t turning out as I had hoped. I wasn’t going to get Granny’s Blue Ribbon Seal of Approval for this batch of salmon patties.

She looked me in the eye and gently said, “I said if you missed a few you could leave them in. I didn’t say you should leave them all in.”
Of course, I was embarrassed. We laughed about it through the years, and I learned to make salmon patties with no bones.

The most important lesson that I learned, however, was in the wisdom she imparted to me that day which I have applied time and again in all areas of my life…Just because you CAN do something, doesn’t mean you SHOULD.

The Arrival

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“And they shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels…” (Malachi 3:17)

Every year at this time I begin to look for the first hummingbirds of the season to arrive. The early arrivals generally make their appearance on my oldest son’s birthday, April 9th. Sometimes a day early, sometimes a day late. Always weary and thirsty from their long journey. The red feeder with sweet nectar had been up a week.

This year, the big day came and went without a jeweled wing in sight. I watched for them with longing. I walked to the window time and again, at first with anticipation, and then with anxiety. I went out onto the porch and scanned the horizon. What could be keeping them?

I hung a new spring welcome flag and picked up some wayward trash from the yard. As I swept puffs of yellow pollen dust from the porch, I heard the familiar hum. I looked up with delight. Only a chubby bumble bee.

I went back into the house with a sigh. They’re going to make it. I’m sure of it. They know the way. Everything is prepared. They’re coming any time now. I’m sure of it.

Family members are filled with excitement. The atmosphere is charged with anticipation. One more time by the window. One more expectant glance.

I inhale a quick breath and let it out slowly. There at the feeder. A single traveler is home. She slipped in quietly. She made it safely. Sweet relief.

Celebration.

Baptism In Jesus’ Name

~ Pat Vick ~ 2 Comments

Is It Really Necessary?

Isn’t salvation granted by faith? Absolutely. Baptism does not destroy faith; it fulfills it. If a person truly has faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, then he or she will follow through with His commandments. Is it possible that a person can be a true believer and yet ignore Jesus’ very words?

It was Jesus at the Great Commission of His disciples, just before He ascended into Heaven, who spoke these words, “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.” (Mark 16:16) The obvious implication being that a person who truly believes, will be baptized and a person who doesn’t truly believe, will not be baptized. And that it makes a difference to his salvation.

Let’s also consider the words that Jesus spoke to Nicodemus in John 3. He told him that unless a man was born again, he couldn’t see the kingdom of God. At Nicodemus’ confusion, Jesus clarified his statement by saying, “…Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” (John 3:5) From this passage of scripture we learn that the born again experience is essential to our salvation and that it involves two elements, water and Spirit.

Moving into the Acts of the Apostles, we hear a very important message from Peter. Remember, Jesus gave Peter the “keys of the kingdom” in Matthew 16 because of his revelation of Jesus’ true identity. If anyone other than Jesus Himself should be able to say what steps are necessary to salvation, it would be Peter.

The crowd that was gathered on the Day of Pentecost heard Peter preach about Jesus and were “pricked in their hearts,” wanting to know what they could do to right the enormous wrong they had done by taking part in Jesus’ crucifixion. Peter was full of Apostolic Authority when he stood up before the crowd that day and instructed them saying, “…Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.” (Acts 2:38) He summed up his oration with the sobering words, “Save yourselves from this untoward generation. (Acts 2:40)

Peter also tells us in his first letter that just as humanity was saved by water in Noah’s day, so are we still saved by the water of baptism today. “…when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a-preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water. The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us…” (1 Peter 3:20-21)

Paul reminds us that when the Lord delivered the children of Israel from Egyptian bondage by the hand of Moses, every one of them had to pass through the water of the Red Sea. Turning back from this water crossing would mean either death or a return to slavery. There was only one way to the Promise Land, and it required two elements: to travel under the cloud and through the water.

“Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea.” (1 Corinthians 10:1-2)

Both Noah’s family and the children of Israel were saved by God’s mercy, but that salvation was still dependent on their obedience to the process He established. It makes one wonder, why believers today want so desperately to avoid the water and the Spirit.

The Question of Works

Many people avoid baptism, using as their excuse that baptism is not essential because we are not saved by our works.

When the Bible says we are not saved by works, it is speaking of good deeds, not baptism. Works of service are a natural extension of a Christian’s walk with the Lord and very much expected, but cannot be used as leverage to tip the scales in one’s favor for salvation.

Paul makes it very clear in Titus 3:5 by what process we are saved, “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost.” (The original greek word for washing used here is “loutron,” Strong’s 3067, meaning to bathe or baptize). Baptism is not works; it is OBEDIENCE to the gospel.

The Formula For Baptism

Jesus sets the stage for the formula of baptism when He commissions His disciples in Matthew 28:19, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.”

Many ministers baptize by reciting these exact words over the person. But it is important to realize that Jesus was not telling His disciples to say what He said, but to do what he said. They understood fully that He was instructing them to speak the name of Jesus over those they baptized.

We know this is the case for two reasons:

First, we know that Jesus is the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. The only way the disciples could have fulfilled Jesus’ instructions was to baptize using His name.

Second, we can look through both scriptural and historical accounts and find that when the disciples baptized, they used Jesus’ name. Not one time does scripture record that the early Church baptized reciting His titles. Either Jesus’ disciples understood Him to mean for them to speak His name when baptizing, or all baptisms in the early church were administered incorrectly.

New Testament Accounts of Baptism

“Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost…Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.” (Acts 2:38, 41)

“Who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost: (For as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.)” (Acts 8:15, 16)

“And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord.” (Acts 10:48)

“Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus. When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.” (Acts 19:4-5)

“And now why tarriest thou? Arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.” (Acts 22:16)

We Are Innocent By Association With His Name

“Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him in baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall also be in the likeness of his resurrection.” (Romans 6:3-5)

“For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” (Galatians 3:27)

The Name of Jesus Is The Only Way

“Neither is there salvation in any other; for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12)

“And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus…”(Colossians 3:17)

It was Jesus’ precious blood that was shed for us. It was Jesus who hung on the cross in agony until the work was done and He could say, “It is finished.” It is Jesus to whom we owe our lives and our allegiance. If we claim Christianity, why wouldn’t we want to take on the name of Jesus Christ in baptism?

A Small Cup

~ Pat Vick ~ Leave a comment

Once a year, on the Wednesday night before Easter, we always have Communion at our church. Our Communion set has forty small openings to hold forty small glass cups. For as long as we had pastored here, we had only ever had thirty-nine small cups to fill the forty small openings. One small cup had always been missing.  One s2Q==mall opening had always been vacant…until a few years ago.

One year our newly elected neighboring
pastor and friend called and asked if we might have a Communion set that his congregation could borrow. It worked out that we weren’t going to have Communion on the same night, so we were able to oblige him.

As I handed over the shiny set, I apologized for the missing cup. He assured me that it was no problem at all and that he was just thankful to have the set to use. Within the week, our Communion set was returned with much appreciation and we were happy to have been able to help.

I didn’t open the set right away. I just put it in the church kitchen until it was needed. It was a day or two later as I was going to fill the cups with grape juice for our own Communion service that I noticed it. All the openings were full. There were no missing cups. Our friend had filled the vacant hole with a small glass cup of his own.

I don’t know where he got it from. Perhaps he had some from a lost or damaged set and that’s why he needed to borrow ours. Perhaps he went to greater lengths to acquire the missing piece.

I do know how it made me feel, however.  When I saw that small cup, I felt like something had been made complete. Not just in the Communion set, but in me. Something was lost, and now it was found.  Something was broken, but now it was whole because someone had cared enough to fill a small, vacant space.

Communion is about remembering our Lord Jesus’ sacrifice for us.  His  sinless blood that was shed for our sins.  His body that was broken for us. The ceremony is beautiful and soul-stirring. Often, we forget what Jesus did next.

“He riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel, and girded himself.  After that he poureth water into a bason, and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded…If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another’s feet.” 

(John 13:4-5, 13-14)

As we await that Great Day of Jesus’ return for His Church, we are the Body of Christ in the earth.  When Jesus washed his disciples’ feet, it was a reminder for us to humble ourselves and serve one another in love.  I wonder when was the last time we poured ourselves out for someone.  When was the last time we did something, perhaps seemingly small and insignificant, to fill a small vacancy in someone’s heart.

Once again, we had Communion Service at our church last night.  Just like every year at this time, when I opened the Communion set, I was reminded of the kindness of a fellow-laborer.

It was a small thing, really.  A small cup.  A small gift.  A small gesture.  A small hole that was now filled.