If anyone is in Christ, they are a new creation! These are the words we put on the cake we made Mariah for her baptism. What an amazing Saviour we have and a beautiful message to share with the world. When we trust in Jesus as our Saviour, the old is gone and the new has come! Our hearts are made new and we have God’s Holy Spirit living in our hearts. As we walk with Him, He transforms us from the inside out. Baptism is just a physical symbol of a spiritual reality. We have died with Christ, our sins are paid for and we are now spiritually alive with Him, by the Spirit!
As parents, our greatest wish for our children is that they would trust Jesus as their Saviour and follow Him wholeheartedly and passionately. We often pray that our children will far surpass us in their love for Jesus. So it was a special and joyful day on the 29th of January when Mariah was baptised! She became a Christian a few years ago and we were so thrilled when she decided to publicly share her faith in Christ and get baptised.
We had a great turnout for the baptism – a bigger crowd at Trinity Chippenham than we’d ever had. We were so thankful that many of our friends from our homeschool co-op and other friends and family from near and far were able to come too. It made it so special to have each one join us.
Mariah’s testimony was videoed beforehand but the video didn’t play so she had to step up and do it live! Nerve-racking but she did great! She and the other girl being baptised were presented with a book from the church which had a verse printed in the cover, chosen by their parents. These are the verses we chose for her:
John 10:27-29
My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me,[a] is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.
This was the first baptism that we had at the leisure centre where we meet each Sunday. All 100+ people trooped upstairs to the poolside and with lifeguards looking on, we held the baptisms! A lot of planning and organisation went into making it all happen but it certainly paid off. Everything went really smoothly safely and no little children fell into the pool! (we have a lot of little ones at Trinity!)
We had an open house afterwards for any friends and family not from Trinity (we wish we could have invited all the church people too but our house is too small!) and I think we had over 40 people in our house in the end (including many children!) What a special time.
As part of the service, Mariah and Edith were asked for three reasons why they love Jesus. Mariah’s were:
- Because He loved me first.
- Because He loved me enough to die for me.
- Because He is always there for me.
Please pray for Mariah as she continues to walk with Jesus. Pray that her faith and love will burn red-hot for Him and that her life will be a shining light to the world!