“He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.”
mark 16:16
On Sabbath 3rd of November at Clayfield Church, we had a special morning worship service where Brother Ben Thiel shared the Word of God to church members and many visitors, followed by a profession of faith taken by Br. Paul Chapman. We also had an enjoyable combined lunch, then we all headed off to Pirate Park at Scarborough by the beach to witness Brother Fernando Balarezo committing his life to Jesus through baptism. Family and friends joined their voices with songs of praising and thanksgiving. We praise the Lord for this special occasion. Let us remember Brother Fernando in our prayers, and may we all be a blessing and support to him.
~ Jacob De Souza
Sitting by the ocean, I thanked God for such a memorable and significant day. It was lovely to see so many individuals from our church family join us, to celebrate this occasion.
My family have prayed for many years that Dad would be ready to take this step, and two weeks earlier, he surprised us by announcing that he would like to make his stand in baptism.
As he walked into the water, we sung the hymn ‘Just as I am’ and then we all stopped singing as he publicly committed his life to God. He picked this hymn as it was significant in his journey to accepting Jesus. After struggling to change his life, he decided to give himself to God, ‘just as he was’, and then he found peace. This was my own experience, I had tried so many times to be a different person until I finally decided that I could not change myself. I needed to come to God just as I was and let Him take over. If you have not experienced this peace just say, “Jesus, here I am, change me. I cannot change myself.” Don’t hide anything from Him. Come to Him just as you are.
~ Elisabeth Balarezo
It was such a privilege and a special moment to be able to attend my dad’s baptism. As we know, baptism is a pubic declaration of the miracle that God has changed us from within, and we get to renounce the world and become a new creature in Him. We were able to make music on earth as my dad was baptised, but I like to think that in one way, we were joining in the heavenly choir that I really hope to be a part of one day. My dad’s testimony and example has really helped me to understand that the love and patience of God knows no bounds, and time is not an issue with Him. We must continue to trust in Him knowing that what we pray for is heard in heaven, and that if we accept Jesus’ perfect life to cover our own and then cooperate with him each and every day, we have nothing to fear for our future. Philippians 1:6 “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:”
~ Daniela Balarezo
