The Waters of Baptism: A Journey of Faith and Obedience.

• What is baptism?

Baptism is more than immersing in water. It might look like that in the physical eye. But spiritually what happens is that our spirit aligns and becomes one with the nature of God. Everything indeed is spiritual in this world.

• What does baptism signify in the life of a Christian?

when we are baptized, we become born again in the spirit. The veil before our eyes is lifted and we can see the world how God sees it. The book of Romans 8:9-25 says "But you are not in the flesh but in the spirit, if indeed the spirit of God dwells in you. If anyone does not have the spirit of Christ, he is not his. If Christ is in you the body is dead because of sin, but the spirit is life because of righteousness".

Because we are now born again, we require the spirit to communicate with God and that is why most Christians are required to speak in tongues which is the heavenly language. This language (not the only factor but) shows a relation with other Christians as we're able to communicate words we cannot put together. But the spirit we receive helps us translate our hearts to Christ.

• How does baptism signify a step of faith and obedience in the life of a believer?

Once we understand baptism, we also see part of it in Ephesians 6:12 "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood but the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms". We accept to be baptized to show outwardly what in our hearts we have decided to receive and baptism seals that for us as Christians.

• Discuss the concept of being a new creation in Christ and how baptism symbolizes this transformation.

As new creations in Christ. Baptism signifies that our sin is being washed away by the blood of Jesus on the cross and our new life begins through the resurrecting power of Christ as we become new at heart.

• Discuss the challenges and joys that come with living a new life in Christ after baptism.

As a new Baptizee, you are now alert and on your toes of what comes next. Baptism comes with a flood of joy and peace but of course, the devils would try to creep in to challenge you. You might see that when you start to speak in tongues you begin to doubt yourself if it's real and you sound funny. Trust me it's just the devil trying to detour you because he knows the power of speaking in tongues.

• Provide practical tips and insights on how to maintain a mindset and lifestyle that reflects the new life received

You now have a spirit that lives inside you. You need to feed that spirit. You don't want it to starve and die down in you but to keep burning alive in you. To carry on you need to always enlighten your spirit with the word of God, listen to worship songs, and spend quality time with God.

The spirit would keep burning and always convict our hearts when we begin to go astray and we need to listen to stay blessed and pay close attention because that conviction is a grace at that moment.