Splish Splash

A man with white hair and a white beard stood in waist deep water and asked me who could save me. I looked him straight in the eye and said “That would be Jesus!” and down I went. Floating for a moment under the water I thought about a lot of things, and eventually knew it was time to rise up. Coming up out of the water I celebrated and gave my wife a hug.

I spent this past week at Celebrate Recovery Summit. #CRSummit19 was our annual gathering for the ministry from all around the world. 3000 maniacs celebrating their recovery together is a beautiful thing. We sang and prayed and talked and learned. We also shed some tears also but the way. The closing of each Summit is time of introspection we are all encouraged to find that one thing that we might still be holding on to and nail it to the cross. In order to bring this figurative act into the literal world they bring in 4 massive wooden crosses. We all have the opportunity to write our person or issue on a card and physically nail it to that cross. I have been to Summit several times, and every time, this is the most meaningful part for me. Even in years when I didn’t have a lingering issue to release I felt the impact of the moving Spirit as I listened to the sound of hammers nailing pain to a cross over the sound of worship music.

This year my wife and I both had big ones to leave at the foot of Jesus. I gladly accepted the 10 penny nail and hammer from the host. Started with simple hammering and put about 25 percent of the nail into the wood. Then I decided to quit messing around. I swung again with a vengeance to drive it deeper and deeper. With just a half inch left I decided to seal the deal by bending it over and burying the remainder into that cross. This thing would not come off on accident. I was leaving it there! My wife followed me at the cross. She too nailed her issue down (although with considerably less vengeance). With tears streaming down our cheeks, we just stood there and held each other for the next minute or two.

The waters of baptism are a beautiful thing. It’s not the water that does the work though; the water is just a symbol of the cleaning. It is through Christ, and Christ alone, that I am saved. The water made me float, but Jesus allows me to…

–Rise Up!!