This last Sunday night we had baptisms at the pool. When I heard about it the previous week, I was so excited and had an excitement in the thought of getting baptized. I got saved when I was 11 and got baptized then, but throughout High School I fell away from the Lord. Even during this time, I felt the Lord's nearness but I was acting out in rebellion and resisting Him. He called me back to Him and changed my heart and its desires. He gave me a heart for ministry and serving Him, and a desire to know Him more through His Word. After going to Peru on a mission's trip in 2005, my Peruvian friend, Lili, told me about Bible College when I was seeking guidance in how to prepare myself for ministry. To be honest, I never hearing of such a thing before, but I started to pray about it that maybe this was what the Lord wanted. I can look back and see the hand of God in how He orchestrated events and what He called me out of/into, and sin He redeemed me from.
This verse kept coming to my heart after hearing about the baptism the coming week:
"Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witness, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us." Hebrews 12:1
I am reminded over and over again how blessed I am to be here studying God's Word, being set apart to be equipped to do God's work. I am so grateful for such a great cloud of witnesses I have around me each day as we all seek to be more like Christ as we die to our flesh. Even last night in my Revelation class in speaking of the seven churches John wrote to, I was so encouraged with the renewed passions to serve as a missionary and sharing my faith!
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