Today’s reading: Romans 4:1-12; John 3:5-6

Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit

John 3:5-6

There seems to be a wealth of car washes popping up in the area. There must be a lot of dirty cars in Springfield. When I moved here a few years ago, there was one basic chain of car washes. This particular place offered, for what I thought was reasonable, unlimited car washes for a monthly fee.

Since I do love a clean car and didn’t desire to wash my car by hand in the driveway, I purchased the package. I could wash my car every day or even get back in line and go through the wash again if I felt the car wasn’t clean enough. And they have vacuums free for the using. As nice as this service is, the car would soon get dirty again and would have to go through the wash again. It was mere water mixed with a little soap. Stinking birds anyway!

When we are washed by the waters of baptism, we are cleansed by water and the Spirit. When we are baptized and believe, we are washed clean and born into Christ. Our sins are forgiven, gone and forgotten. We don’t need to be rewashed. It is by the Spirit and the waters of baptism that we are saved. We are heirs to the Kingdom of God. We are blessed to be cleaned once and for all.

Prayer:

Gracious Father, thank you for cleansing us in the waters of baptism. Thank you for sending your Holy Spirit and making us heir to Your Kingdom.

Contributed by Tom Johnson