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When I was 15 years of age I was involved in Presbyterian Church (PCA) in Crystal River Florida known as Seven Rivers My sister who is 3 years younger than I were baptized without really my parents knowledge and/or my sisters and I’s knowledge. Let me set the premise up a little better, my parents talked with our minister about the possibility of having their children Baptized and they never fully came to a final decision and it just kinda happened. I know that it was a miss-communication in the flesh but it was loud and clear in the Spirit. When I was Baptized I sprinkled. I was not immersed, but, even though the argument of the ages is about being immersed vs sprinkled to me it is irrelevant. The Holy Spirit is already with in you when you except Jesus as your Lord and Savior, when you pray the sinners prayer and really submit as a servant to the Lord and try and be obedient as one can being in the flesh, then the Holy Spirit already dwells within you.

I am living proof of this, I am going to Heaven, not because of my own submission nor because I wasn’t immersed but because of the blood that was shed on the cross. I am not here to argue whether immersed or sprinkled I am here to share another triumph, another win.

I grew up going to several different denominations, everything from Southern Baptist, Church of Christ, Methodist, Presbyterian, and non-denominational. The reason I say that is because I am not a believer that one denomination is better than the other, as long as they are Biblical based and teach from the Bible, The Word of God and know that Jesus is the King of Kings & Lord of Lords I do not care that one has a different doctrine than the other. Men wrote doctrines and came up with ideas to put in place why a certain denomination believes the way they do or even a better use of words would be the different denominations “traditions.” Sorry this is turning into more of a rant than anything, I promise there is a point to this.

About 8-9 months ago as a father and head of my household I decided that we needed to start going to another church, because it was closer and would give us a better chance to be a part of the local community and would allow us to be more involved on a daily basis, our other church has a wonderful church family but was 35 minutes away after we moved and it was hard to be as involved as before, so I prayed about it and we church hopped for a few months until we found the church that we are at now. Creekside Christian Church is and continues to be a great home for my wife and kids as well as myself.

My wife and I talked about whether or not we wanted to transfer our membership to Creekside and we decided to meet with the minister and after a great meeting and discussion we really wanted to join. However, you can only become a member if you have been immersed at some point. I was at a crossroad with this, I have already been Baptized at age 15 just not immersed. However, I didn’t want this to be a pride issue, I didn’t want to not be a part of this church family because I was so prideful and set in my ways. I needed to seek advice, I wanted to ask and pray about it.

I had recently befriended the newly acquired Worship Minister and asked if he would like to go to lunch to discuss. After talking with him the one thing I walked away with was, be an example to the kids.

I then also sought out council from my Earthly Father who is also an Elder in his church and his council turned it back on me and asked me if I wanted to be a part of the Church Family there, the answer of Course was Yes.

With all that being said I have not been immersed yet we are going to make it a family event, probably in August stay tuned…

The Baptism of Jesus
¹³Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. ¹⁴But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?”

¹⁵Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented.

¹⁶As 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. ¹⁷And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” Matthew 3:13-17

Below is a great article I found about “Struggling With Sin”

found here…

“Struggling with sin” is a phrase that is used rather lightly in many religious circles. What does it mean to “struggle” with something? The word “struggle” means to “fight against”; it means to “strive, put forth effort in order to not give in”. It does not mean or imply that the one who is struggling is on the losing side of the struggle. And yet, many believers when they say that they are “struggling” with sin they mean that they are committing sin(s) even while trying not to. They mean that they have struggled and then they were defeated by sin. And so perhaps the word “defeated” rather than “struggling” more accurately describes such people. Sadly, many people accept such “struggling” (actually defeat) as a way of life. They have not truly struggled so hard that they have suffered any great deal striving with all their might not to give in to temptations (Heb. 12:4).

An example would be appropriate here. I have spoken with many young men who say that they “struggle with” lust. Actually, they mean that they fight against it a little, but end up giving in to their lusts. They claim that they are trying not to sin. (See the article, “I Try“.) But in reality they watch commercials that promote lust; they watch movies and television programs that encourage lust; and they listen to music that contains all sorts of sexual lyrics. Can they actually say that they are trying to overcome lust? Will God believe them when they say that they tried? Make every effort to enter the kingdom of heaven through the narrow door, Jesus says, because many will simply try but not be able to (Luke 13:24).

We are not saying that a Christian will have no struggles with temptation. We are saying that when a Christian is tempted, he must love God more than the temptation. Fighting against the temptation must be “worth it” because he would never want to do something to grieve God. A Christian desires to make sure that he is fully submitted to God to resist the temptation; the devil will then flee (James 4:7). For we are promised that no temptation will be too difficult for us because God himself will make a way for us to stand up under every temptation (1 Cor. 10:13). We may suffer or struggle and it may be difficult, but we can overcome. There is HOPE! Even Jesus suffered when he was tempted (Heb. 2:18). Remember the Garden of Gethsemane!

Many people lose heart because they have “blown it” too many times. Put your faith in God! BELIEVE that you can and will overcome because of HIM. Don’t rely on establishing a good “track record” before you have confidence. Believe today! Know that your belief entails a love affair with God–so much that you will do ANYTHING for him. But don’t believe the lie that “struggling” is the same thing as “sinning”. It is not true. Struggling against sin does not mean that you are displeasing God. Struggling against sin is one of the main evidences that you hate sin. So, struggle and be victorious through the glorious power of our great and mighty God.

A wholehearted Christian is someone who struggles against sin and then gains the victory through Christ who gives him strength. Christians do struggle with sin…and then get the victory through faith. The “struggle” of the Christian is not a vicious cycle of try-fail, try-fail, try-fail,… No, the struggle of the Christian echoes the sorrowful, yet rejoicing cries of the Apostle Paul, “we faced trials far beyond our ability to endure” (2 Cor. 1:8); “God has delivered us and will continue to deliver us” (2 Cor. 1:10). “Now thanks be to God who always causes us to triumph in Christ” (2 Cor 2:14).

Perhaps you are convicted by God. Perhaps there is sin in your life that you cannot seem to give up. Do not lose hope. (See the article, “If Any Man Sin“.) Rather, repent and get rid of everything that hinders you (Heb. 12:1-2). Ask God to give you a revelation of the LOVE that he has for you. BELIEVE! Truly submit to God. Resist the devil and do not give your temptations a foothold.