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How many only know about the baptism of John?

Now a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was an eloquent man, competent in the Scriptures. He had been instructed in the way of the Lord. And being fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus, though he knew only the baptism of John. He began to speak boldly in the synagogue, but when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately.
Acts 18:24-26 ESV
http://bible.com/59/act.18.24-26.ESV

So what is the baptism of John?

Luke 3:16
John answered them all, saying, “I baptize you with water, but he who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

Acts 1:5
for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now

Acts 19:4
And Paul said, “John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, Jesus.”

Mark 1:4
John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.

And the baptism with water (John the Baptist’s type of baptism,  emmersing people under water to demonstrate their repentance from their sins) and the baptism of the Holy Spirit and Fire (the baptism available to us through Christ coming into our lives as the living water) – the two are demonstrated in scripture as separate and different, just as in the case of Alexandria mentioned above in Acts 18,  and also in the case of Samaria in Acts 8:

Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent to them Peter and John, who came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, for he had not yet fallen on any of them, but they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they laid their hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit.
Acts 8:14-17 ESV
http://bible.com/59/act.8.14-17.ESV

So I wonder how many have only been baptized in the name, or in the water – but not by the Holy Spirit and fire? How many know the words and religious practice in their minds,  but do not have the yearning desire for the Lord in their hearts?

Oh,  if you do not have it,  friend,  seek it out. And not like someone wanting power and glory for themselves:

Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money, saying, “Give me this power also, so that anyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” But Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money! You have neither part nor lot in this matter, for your heart is not right before God. Repent, therefore, of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, if possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven you. For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity.” And Simon answered, “Pray for me to the Lord, that nothing of what you have said may come upon me.”
Acts 8:18-24 ESV
http://bible.com/59/act.8.18-24.ESV

And again, just like Christ warned the seventy two when they returned,  don’t be caught up in the new freedom and strength (because it is His work not your own),  but be thankful that we are His:

The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!” And he said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.  Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you.  Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”
Luke 10:17-20 ESV
http://bible.com/59/luk.10.17-20.ESV

So examine yourself so that you will know that you are alive with the Spirit:

On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.  Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’”
John 7:37-38 ESV
http://bible.com/59/jhn.7.37-38.ESV

And don’t block up the flow once you’ve received,  let it poor out onto others,  let your light shine.

“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.  Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house.  In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
Matthew 5:14-16 ESV
http://bible.com/59/mat.5.14-16.ESV

So, do you know about the baptism of the Holy Spirit? Does Christ live in you today, friend? Come and drink,  the water isn’t just fine,  it’s amazing.

hballingerLeave a comment

Are you taught by God?

As it is written in the Scriptures, ‘They will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who listens to the Father and learns from him comes to me.
John 6:45 NLT
http://bible.com/116/jhn.6.45.NLT

This is refering to the book of Isaiah telling what to expect in the coming Kingdom of God that would be ushered in by the Messiah:

I will teach all your children, and they will enjoy great peace.
Isaiah 54:13 NLT
http://bible.com/116/isa.54.13.NLT

In the book of Matthew,  Jesus warns us to call no one c teacher,  because He is to be our only teacher:

And don’t let anyone call you ‘Teacher,’ for you have only one teacher, the Messiah.
Matthew 23:10 NLT
http://bible.com/116/mat.23.10.NLT

In the book of, John,  Jesus tells us about the Spirit of Truth that is to come

John 16:13 ESV
When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.

And Jesus clarifies further when, He describes the gift of the Holy Spirit that we who are followers of Christ receive:

John 14:26 ESV
But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.

You see, He doesn’t tell us to seek out a great, charismatic preacher or teacher and dedicate ourselves to them. No, in fact He warns us about putting our trust in them and says that we should trust only in Him:

Psalm 118:8 ESV
It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man.

Jeremiah 17:5 ESV
Thus says the Lord: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the Lord.

And this is because men aren’t meant to be as much teacher as messenger, sharing the Word of God and what they to learn from the Holy Spirit’s guidance in their own lives. But since you cannot easily confirm the source of anything they claim to be “from God”, we must test it against what we know is from God.

2 Timothy 3:16
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,

And the people of Berea were more open-minded than those in Thessalonica, and they listened eagerly to Paul’s message. They searched the Scriptures day after day to see if Paul and Silas were teaching the truth. As a result, many Jews believed, as did many of the prominent Greek women and men.
Acts of the Apostles 17:11-12 NLT
http://bible.com/116/act.17.11-12.NLT

We aren’t supposed to blindly follow what a religious leader tells us, this can be very dangerous with the false teachers who are like wolves amongst the sheep. We aren’t just supposed to read the Bible as a self help guide to try to figure it out for ourselves either. We are to be taught by God.

So how do I start being “taught by God”? First, you must surrender your heart to Jesus Christ and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Salvation is not just a water baptism, but being reborn as a new creation with Christ living inside you. It isn’t signing up for a religion, and it isn’t buying your get out of hell free card with a one time prayer. It is deciding to do this life,  hand in hand with Christ who loves you,  forgives,  you,  and wants to teach you and change you moment by moment,  day by day, to be more like Him.

Then, you must be willing to seek His wisdom and to listen, and to examine and test what you hear against the truth of the Word of God. Yes, this requires accepting that the Word of God is Truth. It takes accepting that God knows better than you what is good and acceptable for your life. It takes seeking not only what is acceptable,  but what is holy and will bring God glory and honor. It takes putting God’s will first as the center of your life.

Then you must be willing to repent and put it into action. This isn’t a mind game, learning it in our heads but not applying it in our lives – that is empty religious practice and sacrifice. God desires the change in our hearts that results in a changed life, a changed perspective,  a humbling to remain teachable at the feet of the master.

Then he added, “Now go and learn the meaning of this Scripture: ‘I want you to show mercy, not offer sacrifices.’ For I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.”
Matthew 9:13 NLT
http://bible.com/116/mat.9.13.NLT

We aren’t to practice traditions of men and man made ideas as commandments from God. If you are participating in a church that tell you that you must follow their traditions, or that you must be taught by their leader, or that God recognizes them differently than He recognizes you, test them against the Word of God,  find them false,  and abandon these dens of deceit where they feed off of the lambs like wolves,  or like hirelings who kill the sheep to fatten their own bellies,  instead of sacrificing for, and suffering for, and feeding and providing for the sheep as Christ gave the example of the Good Shepherd.

Jesus replied, “And why do you, by your traditions, violate the direct commandments of God? And so you cancel the word of God for the sake of your own tradition.  You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you, for he wrote, ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship is a farce, for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God.’ ”
Matthew 15:3, 6-9 NLT
http://bible.com/116/mat.15.3-9.NLT

I encourage you, friend. Examine where you are receiving your teaching. Examine who you have laid your trust upon. Is it a man? Or are you being taught by God?

Get it from the source. Examine and test it against the Word of God.

I pray that we can all continue to stay out of the way and simply be the messengers receiving and then delivering the Word of God as humble and faithful servants – not teachers who thinks themselves yet wise or righteous or completed works. I too need to remain teachable, and listening, and growing.

hballingerLeave a comment

What is God’s will?

However, those the Father has given me will come to me, and I will never reject them. For I have come down from heaven to do the will of God who sent me, not to do my own will.
John 6:37-38 NLT
http://bible.com/116/jhn.6.37-38.NLT

I am His. I know this because He draws me near to Him. I can trust that He will not forsake me. And He gave me the example to follow – to do God’s will and not my own.

So the next logical question is,  what is God’s will?

Continue reading “What is God’s will?” →

hballingerLeave a comment

Drawing a Map, Leaving Bread Crumbs

There is a hell, and there is a heaven,  and what you do matters. (Read Matthew chapter 25, paying attention to verse 46)

You still have time. (Read Isaiah 55, paying attention to verses 6-13)

Jesus is the only way.  (Read John chapter 14, paying attention to verse 6 and verses 12-14)

There is a difference between knowing the words of the Bible and knowing the Word of God. (Read 2 Corinthians chapter 3, paying attention to verse 6)

There is a difference between repeating what you have heard from others who claim wisdom, and sharing what you are being taught by the source of all wisdom. (Read Matthew chapter 23, paying attention to verse 10)

There is a difference between pursuing theology and religion in your mind and words,  and pursuing Christ in your life and actions. (Read James chapter 1, paying attention to verses 22 and 23)

I will not always be with you, my friends. And some of you may want to follow to my destination,  while others may not. I only leave crumbs so that you might follow the path of Christ that I seek, not trusting my dim eyes that may lead you astray,  but hearing the voice of the Holy Spirit urging the way, given to me by my Lord, Jesus Christ – whose guidance I continue to confirm by the written Word of God. 

But look past my slow progress and my stumblings, friend. Do not slow your race because of me, but set your eyes upon Christ and run to Him with every fiber of the strength you have left. And pray that we will find each other faithfully in His presence at the end of our long journey.

God bless you, traveler. May the light of Christ illuminate your path,  and may the darkness flee before you. It has no authority or dominion over you any longer, Child of God. And may the light of your walk be visible and apparent and desired by all those still in darkness that you pass. May you offer them living water to drink,  and the bread of life to eat,  and may they know the healing and deliverance found in the power of Christ who lives in you. May the darkness be rolled away before you and the way made clear for the footsteps the Lord has established for you.

hballingerLeave a comment

The truth is freeing

And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
John 8:32 NLT
http://bible.com/116/jhn.8.32.NLT

The beginning of the book of John explains that Jesus Christ is the living Word of God, that He came in the flesh as both man and God to free us from the consequences of our sin and to teach us to live a life that brings glory and honor to God.

Continue reading “The truth is freeing” →

hballingerLeave a comment

His Touch

For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.”
John 4:24 NLT
http://bible.com/116/jhn.4.24.NLT

There is an important difference between ritual and worship, between religious practice and communing with God, between learning about God and getting to know God personally.

If someone hasn’t been called by God, surrendered their life to Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, received the baptism of the Holy Spirit – they can participate in religious practice and ceremony, and they can even gain knowledge about the laws of God and see benefit from the divine instruction of His Word, but they are not yet entering into worship – they have not yet uncovered Truth – because they are only examining with their minds, not yet growing in their hearts from the touch of Christ living in them.

Continue reading “His Touch” →

hballingerLeave a comment

Belief and obedience

And anyone who believes in God’s Son has eternal life. Anyone who doesn’t obey the Son will never experience eternal life but remains under God’s angry judgment.”
John 3:36 NLT
http://bible.com/116/jhn.3.36.NLT

Belief and obedience go hand in hand. True belief results in obedience. Faith results in our salvation because of God’s grace and mercy – that is available through belief and obedience.

Faith = Belief & Obedience

This is because God’s grace and mercy offers us forgiveness for our sins. Receiving this forgiveness of our sins with a heart of belief results in grattitude towards God for this free gift of grace that we do not deserve because our lives are not blameless. This spirit of grattitude opens our eyes to the truth about God’s loving and merciful nature – not as a prison warden holding a list of rules over our heads – but as a loving Father, teaching us through the law that we need Him, that we need to be like Him in order to grasp hold of the blessed life eternal that He has for us (a life of obedience).

Continue reading “Belief and obedience” →

hballingerLeave a comment

Choice

Why do people resist the gospel of Christ?

And the judgment is based on this fact: God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil. All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed. But those who do what is right come to the light so others can see that they are doing what God wants. ”
John 3:19-21 NLT
http://bible.com/116/jhn.3.19-21.NLT

Many who resist are either:

A) not willing to believe there is a God (Denying the Father)

B) not willing to acknowledge that what they are doing is sinful (Deny the truth)

C) not willing to believe that God came in the flesh as a man to save our sins (Deny Jesus Christ)

D) not willing to believe that God can overcome the sin in their lives and in the world (Deny the power of the Holy Spirit)

Continue reading “Choice” →

hballingerLeave a comment

What is grace, and why do I need it?

What is grace, and why do I need it?

Search your heart and ask yourself if there are selfish, prideful things that you have done that benefitted yourself in the short term, but that have negative consequences – either unconsidered costs that you came to realize later, or costs to others that were not a concern to you at the time, or even the bad example that your life choices served for those little eyes around you watching to later replicate your actions.

Does your heart not cry out to you and press you to examine your life and to see a change? And have you not found that your imperfections, your flaws, your addictions – these unseen enemies within you that drag you along in chains into consequences that you would rather avoid – that they are strong and overcome you when you battle them alone?

You are not meant to make war on your own against these unseen enemies,  man of flesh. You are not meant to accept defeat or to be content participating in war against your fellow brothers and sisters. You can know victory.

But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God.
John 1:12-13 NLT
http://bible.com/116/jhn.1.12-13.NLT

For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.  God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.
John 3:16-17 NLT
http://bible.com/116/jhn.3.16-17.NLT

Jesus replied, “Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again.  But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.”
John 4:13-14 NLT
http://bible.com/116/jhn.4.13-14.NLT

The battle is not yours to win alone,  but you can choose to be on the winning side. You can choose to bring positive impact and love and change to the world around you. You can live a life guided by the strength that overcomes. You can be alive to a renewed life in Christ, and freed from the slavery of your old life of sin.

I’m not selling you a religion, friend. I’m not convincing you to buy into a once a week religious practice. I’m not manipulating you to put part of your money into an offering plate,  friend. I’m telling you that religion will send many to hell.

What I am telling you is that Christ can take hold of your whole life. He can live in you and through you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year – and even more importantly,  breath by breath,  thought by thought, loving action by loving action. You can realize that everything that you have is a blessing rained down upon your life by the creator. You can realize what you deserve by your life’s works is nothing c short of hell,  but that by His grace, He offers you nothing short of heaven, of being a born again Child of God.

We are not just men and women of flesh and blood,  friends. Know your true self,  know your true value in eternity as a Child of God. Cling to your right to become a Child of God. Seek first the Kingdom of God and those things eternal. See past the veil of this world’s lies and substitutions that have no glow at all beside the light of His grace and glory.

Know victory.
Know His grace.
Celebrate His Glory.

hballingerLeave a comment

Come, drink, and live

Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
Revelation 22:1-2 ESV
http://bible.com/59/rev.22.1-2.ESV

The life giving waters flowing from the throne of God and the Lamb. Jesus talks of these living waters,  telling us that once we drink of the living waters,  we will thirst no more.

John 4:14 ESV
But whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.

And not only are we, able to stand beside the river of living waters and drink from them,  we are able to tap into the living waters and flow with living waters ourselves.

John 7:38 ESV
Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’”

This living water is the very Spirit of God,  the Holy Spirit, that we become aware of,  that we are able to communicate with even more closely and directly as we continue seeking and growing in our faith. The living waters are the anointing of the Spirit of the Lord upon our lives, changing us, and molding us,  and guiding us,  and teaching us – once we are surrendered to Christ,  once we believe,  once we are decided to follow His will and purpose, not just our own.

It is when we grow thirsty in life that we begin to understand our need for these living waters. It is when we are trapped in darkness that we begin to understand our need for light. It is when we are broken that we understand our need for healing to take place within our lives. So we are never “too far from God” to come to Him. He has never left our side,  even though we were unaware of His presence. He is no closer or further away from you than the great saints and His rain falls upon the parched and dry earth the same as it does on the fertile forests – for all life depends on life giving water and a forest was once empty land before life first sprung forth.

Isaiah 44:3 ESV
For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour my Spirit upon your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants.

Christ calls out to us,  making us aware that He has the very life giving water that we need to nourish our soul and provide healing to our body,  mind,  and soul. So we have no excuse for remaining thirsty when the water is available for us to come and drink.

John 7:37 ESV
On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.

This living water,  He gives to us without payment,  it is a gift, and we cannot work to earn it, nor does it once received allow us to remain the same.

Revelation 21:6 ESV
And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment.

The Lord asks two things of his people, to love Him and to love one another. Jesus Christ explained that, all of the law and words of the prophets grow from this central truth,  that all of it points to this central relationship between ourselves and the living God. That He is available to us to see His face,  to hear His voice,  to walk with Him, to experience life with Him.

They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads.
Revelation 22:4 ESV
http://bible.com/59/rev.22.4.ESV

“Blessed are  the pure in heart, for  they shall see God.
Matthew 5:8 ESV
http://bible.com/59/mat.5.8.ESV

John 10:27
My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.

But the problem is that we ignore the voice and we have continued our lives chosing evil instead.

Revelation 2:4
But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first.

And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.  For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed.  But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.”
John 3:19-21 ESV
http://bible.com/59/jhn.3.19-21.ESV

We have chosen darkness over light, and we have chosen to value things and self more than God.

Jeremiah 2:13 ESV
For my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water.

It is never too late to turn to Him,  to seek Him, to drink of the living waters. To be washed in the blood of the Lamb,  and to know both salvation and the hand of the Lord upon your life, friend. We, the believers, the bride of Christ,  are inviting you to come,  drink of the waters.

Revelation 22:17 ESV
The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.

Isaiah 12:3 ESV
With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.

Revelation 7:16-17 ESV
They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

Isaiah 58:11 ESV
And the Lord will guide you continually and satisfy your desire in scorched places and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.

Isaiah 41:17-18 ESV
When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue is parched with thirst, I the Lord will answer them; I the God of Israel will not forsake them. I will open rivers on the bare heights, and fountains in the midst of the valleys. I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water.

Isaiah 55:1-2 ESV
“Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food.

Come, drink.

And live.