Here are the other posts in this challenge I’m participating in:
- Day #9
- Day #10
- Day #11
- Day #12
- Day #13
- Day #14
- Day #15
- Day #16
- Day #17
- Day #18
- Day #19
- Day #20
- Day #21
- Day #22
- Day #23
- Day #24
- Day #25
- Day #26
- Day #27
- Day #28
- Day #29
Woohoo!! Day number 30 is FINALLY here! While I’ve really enjoyed sharing my life with the world, it sure has been exhausting getting 30 posts up in one series. I tried very hard to do it in 30 consecutive days but found that it was too much work to do it that way. But at least I got it done, right?
Now on to this final day: yesterday I talked about our decision to leave our Sunday church and become a part of a Messianic congregation instead. Today I’ll be talking about why we chose to get baptized by our Rabi even though we had been baptized once before and how that one act changed our perspective of God completely.
One new thing we learned not long after joining this congregation was the way a Mikvah (baptism) was performed at the time of Paul. Intrigued and rather surprised with the fact that baptisms had changed so much over the centuries we talked privately with our Rabi, asking him if it would be wise for us to be baptized again. He said that it was certainly a good idea, but that it was completely up to us.
He assured us that there are many Mikvahs so it wouldn’t be sacrilegious if we got baptized again. However, one thing he would do during the baptism (besides dunking us in living water) that he was quite positive we didn’t receive during our first baptisms was the laying on of hands and the baptism of the Holy Spirit. This confused us at first as we were always taught that as soon as you get dunked in the water you received the Holy Spirit.
After further study of the scriptures we found out that for the most part believers received the Holy Spirit by the laying on of hands by someone who already had it and imparted it to you (this however is not always the case and we do not limit God’s abilities to man, but if you read the scriptures you will find that for the most part this is how it worked). The only exceptions in scripture were during Shavuot (Pentecost in the upper room) and the believers who came from different bloodlines other than the Hebraic one.
Convinced that doing a baptism with Rabi was the way to go we went as husband and wife down to the waters (Puyallup lake). It was very meaningful to do it as a couple rather than as individuals and seemed to create a bond within us that became even stronger than it already was. Instead of Rabi lowering us into the waters himself we simply went down on our own to signify that it was our choice and no one else’s. Then Rabi put his hands on our foreheads and prayed that we would receive the Power of the Holy Spirit.
We immediately saw marked differences in our walk with God and noticed His power all around us. I had a dream a few nights later I shall never forget:
I was walking in a forest of majestic pine trees that towered over me and up to my waist was water like any other I’ve ever seen. This was the clearest, most refreshing water I had ever stepped foot in and the thought of leaving it actually frightened me. After walking for a while I came to an area where Rabi was standing with his wife and the elders of the congregation. When I came within arms reach of Rabi he suddenly pushed me down into the water. As I was in the water my body changed and I was nothing but a bright shining light and I could feel an incredible warmth spread throughout my body (this is referred to the Shekinah or the covering of God).
Simultaneously I heard the voice of God and am unsure as to what he said but I knew in my spirit that He was greatly pleased with me. When I finally came out of the water the elders and I began discussing 2 of the feasts (holidays) of God: Passover and the feast of trumpets. These were significant in my dream because God was informing me that He was not only passing over me by granting me eternal life but that He also wanted me to be mindful of that day when the final shofar (trumpet) blows so I can be ready to stand before Him.
When I woke the warmth I felt in my body during my dream remained as if it was a testify that what I dreamt was true.
Well, thank you so very much for joining me in this 30 day challenge. I hope you enjoyed learning more about me and can now participate in my blog feeling like you know me as a close friend.
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