As I was led to write about the “baptism of fire” to share with my prayer group ladies, I didn’t realize that I was also writing it for myself. My dear nephew, Brandon got into a terrible car accident. He is a good and responsible young man but is a prodigal in the faith – having received Jesus Christ as a child at a church retreat but wandered away from his faith in high school. I will share the details below of his car accident if you can please pray for him. Thank you so much.
Hello ladies! I hope all is well with you and your family. This message about the three types of baptism has been a blessing. In my opinion, a good blessing is receiving biblical wisdom and understanding – because it takes away confusion and doubt; especially when tough things are happening to you or your loved ones.
Currently, my fall semester small group is studying the book of Matthews. With each chapter that we read, I also like to provide a sermon by a reputable teacher. Since Cornerstone church has a well-organized, library of messages on each book of the Bible, I find myself using their free resources for our Bible studies rather than searching all over as I used to do.
This message on Matthew 3 talked about the three different types of baptism that John the Baptist spoke about – water, Holy Spirit and fire. I believe that we all need to go through each types of baptism as legitimate children of God. The baptism of fire 🔥 is probably the hardest baptism, and sometimes we abort the process in the middle of our baptism of fire. I still vividly remember about 11 years ago; I was picking up pies at my favorite farm store in Freehold. I got into my car after buying pies for Thanksgiving and then the Holy Spirit told me suddenly, loud and clear that now I will learn the secret to being content. My face frowned and my heart sank dreadfully. With my new smartphone, I immediately googled to see if there is a bible verse about learning contentment. I found it immediately. And yes, I went through the baptism of fire for a long while. However, it is in this process that I learned a lot from the bible, God’s will, and His heart and desire for me as His child.
I heard pastor Jeremiah Johnson once say that when we come into God’s family, we are like wild and unruly stallions. We will all go through a painful process where we are learning to be controlled by the Holy Spirit and come under the submission to the Father through our Lord Jesus Christ. This I believe is the baptism of fire 🔥 as John the Baptist talked about in Matthew 3. I have to say that it hurts even more when you see a loved one go through the baptism of fire, wondering if they will make it through the process. Please don’t lose heart, have faith that God’s got this. I’m sure if I had close eye-witnesses when I was going through my baptism of fire, then they would have wondered if I would make it out okay. I did. The wild, unruly, destructive side of me has been broken in, and now I am reigned in by Jesus Christ for the benefit of my family members and society.
One more thing – I recall in year 3 or 4 of my baptism of fire; I was quite used to living life in the barren desert and accepting that perhaps this is how it will be until I reach Heaven. By this time, I was okay with it too since I must have successfully learned biblical contentment. I just wanted to be faithful to God and no longer abort any process. Then suddenly, the Holy Spirit interrupted my silent thoughts with these powerful statement over me. He said to me very loudly and with authority, “God is not only the God of the desert, but also the God of the ocean, the God of the sky and the heavens. He will let you experience all these in time.” Wow, God really knows our innermost thoughts! Can’t hide nothing.
I used to wonder what is the ocean and what do you do there. Well, I am not sure if I am in the ocean yet, perhaps I am in a pond or lake. As God’s children and ambassadors for Jesus Christ, we are send out to fish for people who are headed towards destruction. As a fisherman/woman, we are learning the art of fishing, watching the skies and weather for optimal timing to go fishing, casting our nets and poles into the water, and also refraining from fishing when a great storm is coming, then we bunker down until the storm passes.
Just remember this one important point – Baptism of Fire is a process for ALL children of God. If you abort this process in the middle, then you will painfully have to do it again. Just remain where you are and do not run away please. Let this baptism of fire finish its process. Stay together in a community of like-minded believers who can encourage you, pray for you and cheer for you too. Here is nice testimony of a young lady who went through her “baptism of fire” when she started work. She made it out successfully and she credits a lot of it to a good Christian friend who pointed her in the right direction. And I hope I am doing the same for you too. With love and prayers from your librarian.
https://www1.cbn.com/devotions/there-is-someone-who-understands-you?utm_source=news&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=news-eu-newsquickstart&utm_content=20220930-5203010&inid=9bd2af30-5b5a-498a-acd6-6c21310aa24d&mot=049259
Matthew 3:
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%203&version=NIV;VOICE
Message on Matthew 3 by Cornerstone Church:
https://cornerstonechapel.net/teaching/20200621/
Philippians 4:11-13 (NIV)
11 I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 12 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13 I can do all this through him who gives me strength.
Urgent Prayer Request: Hello ladies! Please pray for my nephew, Brandon. He got into a big car accident on Wednesday eveningduring his commute in the Long Island expressway. Three cars were affected. His car flipped over and was totaled. He was airlifted to a nearby hospital. Medical team and we all thought it was a miracle that nothing happened to him. But yesterday rather than being released from the hospital, he had to go into an emergency surgery for his abdominal area. I don’t have the exact details but I believe they found bleeding due to couple of openings in his intestinal area. He is in recovery now.
Please pray for his quick healing and full recovery. Please pray that there will be no infections. Also please pray that this incident will help him to see the brevity and fragility of his life and that he will rededicate his life back to God and join a good church family.
Please also pray for the other two cars and passengers too. First car was being driven by another young man. Second car was a mom with two kids. Brandon’s car was the third one that flipped over. Let’s pray that they will all be okay and that God will use this terrible situation to draw them and their families towards Him. Let’s also pray for God’s favor and guidance for everyone when dealing with the insurance companies. Thank you for your prayers for my nephew Brandon. God bless you abundantly.
Prayer update on Brandon: Thank you so much for your prayers for my nephew. His surgery went well, and he is being well cared for at ICU this weekend. He is alert and sound. Praise God!
Yesterday I thought he was fine and going to be released from the hospital. And so, I only asked a few people to pray for him. But perhaps God wanted to show more people that what happened to him was a miracle. His small car rolled over multiple times off a highway. The hospital medical team and Howard’s brother who is a surgeon and called the hospital for us today; they all admit that it is a miracle that Brandon survived this and had no broken bones, brain damage, etc.
I pray that Brandon and my non-believing family members will be able to see the obvious protection of God for Brandon in this car accident. Thank you so much for your prompt prayers. I so appreciate you all!
Please also pray that Brandon will not get addicted to the strong pain meds. I have heard of many good, young people who get addicted after surgery. Thank you so much.
New update: I visited Brandon yesterday. He is recovering well. He’s still in pain from his surgery but only taking Tylenol. He understands the dangers of addictive pain meds. Praise God! Recovery will be long since it was surgery on his intestines (the surgeon had to remove a portion). My visit was to encourage him and my family. But something did come up. I always thought that he was saved as a child but now I don’t think he is. I thought that he wandered off the faith like I did. Now I don’t think he ever received Jesus Christ into his heart. Please pray for his salvation. He’s a very good and respectful young man. I left him few Christian books and devotional. Let’s pray that he will read them and receive Jesus Christ for his salvation. Also keep praying for God’s favor and guidance on their legal and insurance processes too. Thank you so much for your prayers.
Many children who attend church or summer retreats don’t necessarily have the true gospel ever preached to them. Back in 1980s when I went to these events there was more of these messages shared from the pulpit with great clarity. I also remember people handing out salvation tracts to me in Flushing, Queens. I remember reading these tracts and having great fear of hell and this is the main why I accepted Jesus Christ. I gladly accepted my free, fire insurance policy. It’s the Lordship of Jesus Christ over my life that I struggled mightily for a very long time.
In my long drives back and forth to Queens, I had time to listen to several messages in the car. Since my Bible study group is discussing Matthew on Mondays, I listened to Cornerstone’s sermons on the chapters that we are on. They are all excellent.
This message about the Temptations of Jesus Christ is really good. Pastor Gary summarized well in this message who Satan is and what his intentions are towards us. Please listen to this message in case you have never heard a sermon about Satan and hell. Perhaps you have also not signed your signature on the free, fire insurance policy. My strong advice to you is sign up immediately. You can deal with the lordship part after…like I did.
Journal of Faith 