My Water Baptism on March 25, 2012 at

Glad Tidings Church in Quincy MA.

 I was given 5 question to answer however the Spirit

led me to answer them, so here they are.

 Are you born again? When were you born again?

Yes, I truly believe that I became born again on October 25, 2008 for the following reasons on this day I finally felt His presence in my soul and my eyes became open to the light of Christ and that I never had to walk again by myself as all I needed to do was to turn myself over to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. In Matthew 7:7-8 it says "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.” So I ask for direction in my life as I started seeking I found answers within the Words of God then as I started knocking on doors that the Words of God were leading me too, they also became open and then for the first time in my life I was seeing things and understanding them in a new way. In John 14:6 Thomas said to him, "Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. I know that Jesus is the way and the truth and that He lives in me giving me new life.

How do you know you are a child of God?

By my faith in Christ! I truly believe that God came as a little baby giving up His Divine being to humbly live here on Earth and that He died on the Cross for all of our sins and then His resurrection over death and is now living among us. We are truly blessed that we have a loving forgiving God. As the apostle Paul stated in his letter to the Ephesians; as for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of the world and ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of God's wrath. However, because of his great love for us, God was rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ, even when we were dead in transgressions –" it is only by grace I have been saved." Sometimes the Spirit must, like a good friend, use tough love to remind me what I needed to change in my daily walk. By knowing me from the inside out, God can bring to my mind my shortcomings, that I would prefer to overlook. However, when I feel empty, misunderstood, and lonely, the Spirit offers me comfort, calming my anxiety, and walking with me in my fears. Most of all, the Spirit reminds me of God’s love, his very presence a token of the fact that I have been graciously adopted as one of God's children.

Has there been a change in your life since Jesus entered in? What changed?

Where do I begin, I guess the first thing is that I now see my life in a different way and know that I am here for a purpose and that all things I do must be glorifying to God, also that I was formed in their likeness from the very beginning of time my life was planned to serve Him. However, like Adam and Eve, I chose to live in the flesh and not in the Spirit. As I now live my life based on the Fruit of the Spirit and as my faith continually grows, so does my confidence that my individual life is somehow contributing in some small way in God's plan. My story contains many details that I regret and even resent; self-centeredness, wrong choices, broken relationships, missed opportunities, and the disappointment in my own failures. By learning about God's grace mercy, and love, my hopes and faith are now in the birth, death, and resurrection of Christ. That His death on the cross paid the price for the sins of the world, and also that my sins also died on that same cross.“How privileged we are as Christians, to understand so well the divine paradox that strength rises from weakness, that humiliation goes before resurrection; that pain is not the price but the very cornerstone of spiritual rebirth."

What does the symbolism of baptism mean to you personally?

It means to me being obedient to my Lord and Savior, just as Jesus was baptized Himself. It’s states in (Matthew 3:13-17) Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. But John tried to deter him, saying, "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?" Jesus replied, "Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness." Then John consented. As 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. And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased." By being baptized today I am publicly showing my commitment to my Lord and Savior and cleansing myself in His righteousness.

Are you ashamed or afraid to declare to all that Jesus lives in your heart today?

No, just like what Paul said in his first letter to Timothy Here is a trust worthy saying that deserves full acceptance; Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners – of whom I am the worst. However, for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life. For this very same principle I have faith that God is going to use me to help others who are in need of his love and care, through my experiences of the trials and tribulations placed in my life, which I have overcome. Also I am thankful for having come to realize that whatever I was battling with in my past; attraction to lust and infidelity, or the spirit of bitterness, and blame; that the good news was I did not need to clean myself up first before approaching God I've come to know it was just the opposite; in the Spirit, God has found a way to live within me, helping me from the inside out. I can now see and understand that God never promised me a state of constant bliss or a problem free existence, but has promised to always be present in the silence and in the darkness and to exist alongside me and with me.

Do you desire to serve the Lord with all your heart?

Yes, I now see that it is our neediness and our incompleteness that drives us to God. His grace comes as a gift, received only by those with an open heart who are willing to seek Christ in their daily lives. It is important to me to use the gifts that God has given me so I can do the work He has planned for me by doing His will so other can see the Light of Christ shining through me and doing the work put forward in The Great Commission(Matthew 28:16-20) Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

I will close with 1 John 3:5-15. But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin. No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him. Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. He who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work. No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God's seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God. This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother This is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another. Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brothers were righteous. Do not be surprised, my brothers, if the world hates you. We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers. Anyone who does not love remains in death. Anyone who hates his brothers a murderer and you know that no murderer has eternal life in him.

Thank you Glad Tidings for welcoming me into your family.

Your Brother in Christ