Thursday, April 12, 2007

PICTURES I WANT TO SHARE









These pictures are some of my favorites taken last year.
you can view two of my pictures on another site
www.picture.com then go under kathyjo harry and kristin basto to view

Thursday, April 05, 2007

Water Baptism

Being baptized was beautiful. I am a new person and the old has washed away. on 4/4/07 I am a new person, I feel so free, free to be more for christ, free to run and dance. Satan did not want me to be baptized, for one he tried to steal my Joy in the lord, then he made me nervous, I had so many feelings about being baptized, I know that God wanted it. I was so scared, and you ask why? because Being baptized is a statement that you will serve God for the rest of you life. If you were baptized as a baby you would not understand the newness of life you get when you are baptized as an adult.

WHY BE BAPTIZED?

Baptism is closely linked with believing in Jesus Christ. Some scriptures place them side by side as part of becoming a Christian: Mark 16:16 states ‘Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned’. Acts 2:38 ‘Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, so that your sins may be forgiven’. Acts 22:16 ‘And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptised and wash your sins away, calling on His name’. Matthew 28:19 ‘Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit’.

1. Command for all believers:

Acts 2:38 states: 'Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the Name of Jesus for the forgiveness of your sins and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit'. John 2:5 says: 'Whatsoever He saith to you, do it'.

2. Jesus did it:

Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be Baptized by John. See Matthew 3:13-17. Wherever Jesus goes we have no alternative but to follow Him. We are His disciples. He is our example. We should follow His steps.

3. Apostles practiced it:

Acts 2:41. Jerusalem.
Acts 8:12. Samaria.
Acts 8:36. Ethiopian Eunuch.
Acts 10:48. Cornelius' House.
Acts 16:33. Jailer at Philippi.

4. Symbolic sign of the forgiveness of our sin:

By complete washing of the inner man with the blood of Jesus.

5. Sign of being a disciple:

A disciple of Jesus Christ.

6. Making a break with the old way:

Declaring that we now trust in Christ, are dead to our old sinful past, and are now rising in the power and strength of Christ. We identify with Christ and declare complete allegiance before all principalities and powers. Read Romans 6:3-5. We are Baptized out of love and obedience and copying our Lord Jesus. When we choose to follow Christ we must ask "What can I do to please Him?" I don't want to miss out on anything in this life that is in God's will for me, even if others don't agree or they think it is non-essential. Jesus believed it was the way to make a start to His ministry. He certainly didn't need to deal with His own sin, yet He was baptized in the River Jordan (Matthew 3:16).

Bible memory verse: Colossians. 2:11-12 Learn these verses:

'In Him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ, having been buried with Him in baptism and raised with Him through your faith in the power of God, who raised Him from the dead'.

Every believer needs to be baptized:

The Bible makes it very plain that every believer needs to be baptized. It is such an integral part of Christian initiation that the New Testament takes it for granted that a profession of faith in Christ will be followed more or less immediately by water baptism.

Consider the following verses:
Acts 2:41 'Those who accepted His message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day'. Acts 18:8 'And many of the Corinthians who heard him believed and were baptized'. Jesus at the Jordan - See: Matthew 3:13-17, Mark 1:9-11 and Luke 3:21-22. Can you find two reasons why Jesus was baptized? You may find the key to one reason in Matthew 3:15. Write these reasons down.

WHAT DOES BAPTISM DO FOR THE BELIEVER?

1). It is an act of obedience to Christ:

A clear demonstration that we know and acknowledge our new Lord, who said; “Go, therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them satisfaction in obeying the Lord”. Our baptism will set a pattern of obedience to His lordship in our lives as a whole.

2). We have new life in Christ:
The next and immediate step in Christ's plan for our lives is baptism. Romans 6:2-4 states: 'Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with Him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life'. We can see from this scripture that by being baptized, we are associating ourselves with Christ's death. We are showing that 'our old being (our old life before we became a Christian) has been put to death with Christ on the cross' (Romans 6:6). We are showing that our life is committed to Christ. It is important to remember that we prove this commitment not only on the day of our water baptism but each and every day of our Christian walk. We do this by living our lives according to HIS word, HIS will and HIS spirit.

Some other Scripture references for you to study: Galatians 3:27, Acts 8:12 and Ephesians 4:5

WHO SHOULD BE BAPTIZED?

Baptism is for believers only. Which implies a certain level of mental development and maturity. (See Mark 16:16, John 4:1-2, Acts 2:38 and Acts 18:8)

Children are baptized, but only when they have a clear understanding of Jesus as their Lord and Saviour and because they want to be obedient to Him.

WHY FULL IMMERSION?

Baptism by sprinkling, strictly speaking, is a contradiction in terms. The word "baptize" is an Anglicization of a Greek word meaning to dip, immerse, submerge or plunge into a liquid. It was used by dyers to describe the act of dipping material in dye. New Testament baptism is by full immersion.

"Unlike a piece of cloth immersed in dye that it might take on its colour, we have by faith plunged into Jesus and become so completely united to Him that the death He died was our death, and the resurrection life He possesses is now our life too".
Billy Graham.


This explains baptism in full
I just don't know what to say, but I will say it again, I feel free to be who God called me to be.

Be blessed in everything you do!!

Sunday, April 01, 2007

Encounter With God

Hey all you ladies that read my blog, if you have never been face to face with God you need too!!! God is an awesome God he is everything he says he is. God has completely changed me for the Good, I will stand upon the rock and know that he is my father. God is my everything, there were times in my life that I was ashamed of him, but no longer am I ashamed, for he is the great I am. God really worked at the women's encounter this weekend. God took all my stuff and junk and baggage and rolled and kicked it all away. I was a women of un forgiveness, but God said today you are a women of grace. I was ashamed of who I was, but God said I love you, and you are beautiful. I was living in fear, but God said I am not of fear, be bold in who you are in me.
We all Got name changes this weekend and my new name is one full of grace, not only that but God told me that I was Mary that and she was a women of grace and she also spoke of great wisdom, when she bore Jesus she was very young, when Jesus died she felt pain but she knew that he came into this world the bear our sins and that's exactly what he did. Mary was a virtuous women and a women of integrity. She was full of grace and God called me to be full of grace just as Mary was. I will stand upon the promise of God and no one will ever take away that from me. I free to love, to live and shine for Jesus Christ my lord and saviour.
I will be the light that shines in the darkness, I will be that person full of grace, I will stand for whats right, and I will never go back again to pick up the junk that I left behind. I will stand firm in Jesus.
this is my declaration once again:
THIS IS MY DECLARATION

I Kristin declare to serve God to the fullest, to be a prisoner of the lord , to bound to him and do his perfect will, and live in the today's and not worry about the tomorrows. I will always do my best, and confide in God for everything. I will no longer hold bitterness or anger against me or anyone else. I will love my enemies and I will choose to forgive those who hurt me. I will no longer hold on to the things of this world and hold on to little petty things that make me mad. I will talk about my anger with God and someone else and I will deal with the problem right away. I will not be afraid to serve God and share my faith with others. I will trust God in what he is doing in my life, and know that it will all work out in the end. I will learn to lean on God. I will pray more often and worship with a true heart. I will find my purpose in this life and understand what I am supposed to do. When I find that God given thing, I will walk fully in it, and waste no time. I will no longer be lazy in what God has called me to do right now, I will just do it. I will do everything unto the Lord. I will not complain about anything. I will just be the person God has called me to be. (Loving, kind, gentle, compassionate, caring, motivated, healthy, energetic, goofy, level- headed, trustworthy). I will be healthy, in every way. I will Just BE GODS GIRL.
This is my added declaration
Psalms 91
1 Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty. 2 This I declare about the Lord: He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; he is my God, and I trust him. 3 For he will rescue you from every trap and protect you from deadly disease. 4 He will cover you with his feathers. He will shelter you with his wings. His faithful promises are your armor and protection. 5 Do not be afraid of the terrors of the night, nor the arrow that flies in the day. 6 Do not dread the disease that stalks in darkness, nor the disaster that strikes at midday. 7 Though a thousand fall at your side, though ten thousand are dying around you, these evils will not touch you. 8 Just open your eyes, and see how the wicked are punished.
9 If you make the Lord your refuge, if you make the Most High your shelter, 10 no evil will conquer you; no plague will come near your home. 11 For he will order his angels to protect you wherever you go. 12 They will hold you up with their hands so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone. 13 You will trample upon lions and cobras; you will crush fierce lions and serpents under your feet!
14 The Lord says, “I will rescue those who love me. I will protect those who trust in my name. 15 When they call on me, I will answer; I will be with them in trouble. I will rescue and honor them. 16 I will reward them with a long life and give them my salvation.”



Kristin Marie Basto


April 1, 2007