Sharon Sloan

Delighted by His Word. Dependent on His Grace.

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Baptized At The Beach

July 12, 2009 | 10 Comments

“Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. But John tried to deter Him, saying, “I need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?” Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented. As soon as Jesus was baptized, He went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on Him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased.”Matthew 3:13-17

I asked God to meet me in His Word a week ago on Sunday morning, July 5th. As I rose early in the morning to spend time with Him, I asked Him to simply meet me in His Word…in a special and clear way. Our children had expressed a desire to be baptized. We were now vacationing for a week in Ocean City, New Jersey, where one of our sister churches (Calvary Chapel of Ocean City) “just happened” to be having an Atlantic Ocean baptism the one Sunday afternoon we were there (which they only do twice a year — once in the summer and one on New Year’s Day).

Jim and I had prayed with and for our cherubs. Jim had spent time explaining to them the importance of being baptized and the significance of being immersed under the water and then being lifted up out of the water. We shared with them the deeply meaningful moment that baptism is to a Christian. We told them we had dedicated them to the Lord when they were babies, and that their decision to be baptized represented their own personal dedication to the Lord.

They were ready. They wanted to be baptized.

When I woke last Sunday morning, I was asking the Lord to confirm for me that our children being baptized that day was His will and His timing for our children. As I opened His Word, He met met IN ABUNDANCE! This year as I am reading through the NIV One-Year Chronological Bible, I have been beginning my daily quiet time in my chrono Bible. My chrono Bible was open to July 5th and this is a portion of the scripture appointed for July 5th:

(Various portions of scripture from July 5th – 2 Chronicles 29:3-31:1)

“Now I intend to make a covenant with the LORD, the God of Israel…the LORD has chosen you to stand before Him and serve Him, to minister before Him…consecrated…purify…following the word of the Lord…purified…prepared and consecrated…sanctuary…singing to the Lord…the whole assembly bowed in worship…so they sang praises with gladness and bowed their heads and worshipped…You have now dedicated yourselves to the Lord…thank offerings…willing hearts…all the people rejoiced at what God had brought about for His people…celebrate…submit to the Lord…come to the sanctuary…serve the Lord your God…for the Lord your God is gracious and compassionate…the hand of God was on the people…following the word of the Lord…May the Lord, who is good, pardon everyone who sets his heart on seeking God — the Lord, the God of his fathers…they celebrated joyfully…God heard them, for their prayer reached heaven, His holy dwelling place…”

Once again, I was overwhelmed by God’s goodness by meeting me richly and clearly in His Word. Why do I sometimes doubt that He will meet me there? Last Sunday morning, I sat with my chrono Bible open, my jaw dropped and my heart gushing forth with thankfulness. Thank You, Lord. Thank You for meeting me. Thank You that Your Word is alive and active. Thank you for the peace and surety of Your confirmation through Your Word. “You have now dedicated yourselves to the Lord.” 2 Chr. 29:31

When the children awoke, Jim and I sat with them again. Through tears and with a lump in my throat, I was able to read to them the scripture God had given us for July 5th. July 5th…the day of the ocean baptism. They have seen time and time again how God meets us so personally and intimately through His Word. Thank You, Lord, for Your faithfulness.

I have to confess something. Although I accepted Jesus into my heart in 1979, I had never been baptized. God, in His grace, gave me this moment to be baptized with our children…by a dear friend of ours who is the pastor in Ocean City. My heart is so deeply humbled and thankful. (And you might remember that Jim was baptized in the Jordan River this past February when he was in Israel.) We are all celebrating joyfully!

It was a special day on the beaches of Ocean City, New Jersey, as over 70 people were baptized. Our dear friends were visiting for one night, which made it extra special and meaningful for us. Here are a few photographs:


“…they celebrated joyfully…”
2 Chronicles 30:23

Also part of the July 5th daily chrono Bible reading was

Psalm 66 (He Holds Our Lives In His Hands…click here) and

Psalm 67 (A Missionary Psalm…click here).

Thank you for stopping by for “Baptized At The Beach”!
We had a wonderful vacation. It’s nice to be back.
I was mostly cyber-free on vacation,
so I am looking forward to catching up on blog visiting soon!

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Filed Under: Joy in the Truth

Comments

  1. Unknown says

    July 12, 2009 at 7:18 pm

    Oh Sharon – my heart jumped for joy reading this post!

    How faithful and good is our God!

    What an amazing moment for your family and the 70 others baptized this day!

    Oh I'm thrilled for all of you!

    Praising God for the goodness of our LORD!

    Love and blessings – so glad you had a joyous trip to the beach!

    When do you leave for COTW's?

    Jill

    Reply
  2. Mich says

    July 12, 2009 at 7:24 pm

    doing a victory dance right now. AWESOME, my friend! God is GOOD!

    I'm glad you had a wonderful vacation with your family.

    I've missed you…

    Reply
  3. Wendy Blight says

    July 12, 2009 at 7:33 pm

    Oh, Sharon, I LOVE this story. Having just been through this with Bo, chills cover my body right now as I look at your pictures and remember. There is no moment like it. I wish we could hold on to it forever!

    How GOOD is our God. Praising him with you!!!!

    Blessings and Joy,

    Wendy

    Reply
  4. Runner Mom says

    July 12, 2009 at 8:38 pm

    Oh, Sharon! I have tears in my eyes! That was so beautiful, so precious, so…GOD!!! His timing and ways are just perfect. I loved the scripture and the photos–felt like I was there with you!!

    Love you!
    Susan

    Reply
  5. Gayla says

    July 13, 2009 at 1:08 am

    Congratulations Sharon! God is so Good. What a wonderful lifetime moment to share with your children!

    Reply
  6. Unknown says

    July 13, 2009 at 2:10 am

    I have been checking over here to make sure I didn't miss it! I'm so excited to read this wonderful testimony! yay! I was "baptized" (sprinkled) as an infant, but was baptized (immersed) last November. So I can relate to your excitement!

    How precious that you & your children could all be baptized together!

    Thanks for sharing! What a blessing.

    Reply
  7. Heather says

    July 13, 2009 at 11:43 am

    It was so wonderful being there but even more wonderful re-living it! Anne got good pics!!! I downloaded mine into shutterfly and made a book for your family – I am still waiting for it's arrival!!! I will save them to a disk also.

    You know the Lord was dancing when all those people publicly professed their desire to follow Him. What great joy!!!

    Thank you for sharing, now I can post on my blog:)

    Have a great week!!
    Heather

    Reply
  8. christy rose says

    July 13, 2009 at 10:44 pm

    Wow Sharon! How Cool! You got to be baptized with your children in the ocean! that is the neatest thing I have read about in a long time! I am in awe at how overwhelming that this post has been for me. What a beautiful thing that God has ordained for you and your children. Thank you so much for sharing this.
    Christy

    Reply
  9. Melanie says

    July 14, 2009 at 1:24 am

    Sooooo cool!
    Melanie@Bella~Mella

    Reply
  10. Edie says

    July 15, 2009 at 5:27 am

    What an incredible moment for all of you! I love the way God orchestrates our circumstances!

    My word verification is "repenst". 🙂

    Reply

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