Into the Water

The book of Acts, in a sense, is the "opening act" of the early Church, and in its pages, we see the
obedience of faithful believers. In Acts 2, we can read:
38 Then Peter said to them, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
39 For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call."
40 And with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, "Be saved from this perverse generation."
41 Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them.

Three thousand new believers.  What an incredible harvest!  After they received Jesus into their hearts, they took a step of obedience, a step that showed that they had made a decision to follow Christ.  Water baptism reminds us of the cleansing power of the Holy Spirit, and how we have laid down the old life, dying with Christ, so that we might be raised up with Christ.  And, as Ephesians 4 teaches, we then start putting off the deeds of the old nature, the flesh, so that the new nature may be expressed in the Spirit.

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The act of water baptism is an outward expression of what God has done in the heart of a person.
Romans 6 describes the work:
4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
5 For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection,
6 knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.

She was once part of a group of stars related to the Disney Channel who went on to make quite an impression on the entertainment industry - there were people like Miley Cyrus, the Jonas Brothers, Zac Efron, and...Demi Lovato.  But, pop music success did not erase deep-seated issues in her life.  As the Christian Post reported:

On July 24, 2018, Lovato was found unconscious in her Los Angeles home following a drug overdose. She later publicly thanked God for helping her survive the incident.

"I want to thank God for keeping me alive and well," Lovato wrote in her first Instagram post following the overdose. "What I've learned is that this illness is not something that disappears or fades with time. It is something I must continue to overcome and have not done yet," she continued.

The singer's struggles caught the attention of Christian musical artist Plumb.  The Christian Post related at the time:

"This beautiful girl is not alone. She represents so many of us," Plumb wrote on Instagram Wednesday under a photo of the mainstream superstar.

"We live in a fallen world...with broken, sharp edges all around us and when we don't have God's hand holding ours guiding us, we get cut and scraped and wounded from those sharp edges of this world. All of us," she explained. "However, we can have hope... Because He can heal the wounds and use the scars to tell stories and make beauty from them."

Plumb went on to say, "I'm praying today for Demi Lovato... Not because she's famous... but because she's a broken girl. Because she's a human struggling. Because much like you and I... we need to know we aren't alone and we need love and we need prayer for our broken places..."

Like I have said before, we never know how God might be working in a person's life.  And, there was an encouraging sign recently.  The Christian Post reported that Demi Lovato was baptized in the Jordan River during a trip to Israel.  She had written on Instagram:

"I am an American singer. I was raised Christian and have Jewish ancestors. When I was offered an amazing opportunity to visit the places I’d read about in the Bible growing up, I said yes," the multi-platinum singer wrote in the caption.

“There is something absolutely magical about Israel. I’ve never felt such a sense of spirituality or connection to God … something I’ve been missing for a few years now,” Lovato revealed. “To be baptized in the Jordan river — the same place Jesus was baptized — I’ve never felt more renewed in my life,” the former Disney star added.

In an unfortunate development, as the Rolling Stone website reports, "Lovato immediately received backlash from fans and critics of the Israeli occupation of Palestine, many of whom called her a Zionist for partaking in the trip and ignoring the significant political implications."  Of course, and that quote reflects this perspective, among some, showing support for Israel is not politically correct.  Lovato felt she had to apologize; the entertainment publication's website said:

In a since-deleted Instagram story, Lovato apologized to her followers while claiming that the trip was free. “No one told me there would be anything wrong with going or that I could possibly be offending anyone,” she wrote. “With that being said, I’m sorry if I hurt or offended anyone, that was not my intention. Sometimes people present you with opportunities and no one tells you the potential backlash you could face in return. This was meant to be a spiritual experience for me NOT A POLITICAL STATEMENT and now I realize it hurt people and for that I’m sorry.”

The updated article noted the trip was paid for with private funds.

So, let's talk about some things.  First, the nature of water baptism. That's always worth talking about - it is an outward expression of an inward work; the mere act of being baptized in the Jordan River, a lake, river, or pond, or a church baptistry, does not save if the inward work isn't there.  And, if a person has not committed his or her life to Christ, the outward work is merely a show.  But, if a person has received Christ and experienced His new life, then the Bible teaches that water baptism is a step of obedience.  That act communicates new life in Jesus; that's the message with which each of us who have been born again have been entrusted - through the way we live and speak, we show to the world what God has done.

And a brief reminder, as I said earlier, you never know how God is working in a person's heart. We can be challenged to be faithful to plant the seeds and pray.  And, when an opportunity like this one with Demi Lovato arises, it is definitely an opportunity for the Holy Spirit to make Himself known.

Finally, we can remember to stand with Israel.  The Bible teaches that God has a special relationship with the Jewish people, and that is exemplified in how He has worked through Israel.  In an age where there has been much oppression of and opposition to the nation of Israel, and there is abundant mischaracterization, Christians can show how much we support it.  We don't have to approve of its every move, but we can certainly, especially during this season of High Holy Days, remember its importance in God's plan and role in Bible prophecy.