Remind me daily of my baptism

Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?  We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.  If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection.  For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin—because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.    Romans6: 3 – 7

The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ.  For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free—and were all given one Spirit to drink.  1 Corinthians 12: 12, 13

You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.  There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you all are one in Christ Jesus.  If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.  Galatians 3: 26 – 29

For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority.  In him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead.  When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ.  He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross.  And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.  Colossians 2: 9 – 1

For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God.  He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit, through whom he also went and preached to the spirits in prison who disobeyed long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built.  In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water, and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also—not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience toward God.  It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at God’s right hand—with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him.  1 Peter 3: 18 – 22

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Lord God, Heavenly Father, Beloved Son Jesus Christ and Spirit of life and truth,

Remind me daily of my baptism.  In it, I am united with Christ Jesus—into His death and therefore also into His resurrection, a resurrection that is my inheritance safeguarded for me in heaven until I claim it by Your grace in eternity.  Let me live daily as Your child, as one promised every good thing with You in eternity regardless of how life on earth unfolds; my treasures are not in this world, but are fading away.  As I struggle and suffer in life, as the pain and consequences of sin feel overwhelming, as regret and grief well up inside me, remind me that this life is not all there is:  I am guaranteed life eternal with You, and my baptism ties me to You and to eternity with You.  

Remind me daily of my baptism.  I have been baptized into Christ Jesus, into His death and resurrection.  My body will suffer, will age, and will ultimately die, but that is not my end.  I will go on into life everlasting with You, both in body and in spirit.  My body may rot in the grave, may return ashes and to dust, but You have promised me the resurrection.  In my baptism, I have already passed from death into eternal life; strengthen my faith in this promise and this reality.  Give me perspective daily that this world is not my home, nor this life my only opportunity for joy, for goodness, for peace, for happiness.  The suffering of this present life is nothing compared to the joy You have promised for all of Your baptized and redeemed children.  

Remind me daily of my baptism.  In baptism, I have been freed from sin.  I do not feel free from sin; instead, I feel the devil, the world and my own sinful flesh tempt me, lure me and trick me to sin. My own mind and heart are corrupt and wayward; I struggle to do what is right.  My conscience convicts me; I struggle to remember that I am Your child and my sins are forgiven.  Remind me of my baptism, the promise of forgiveness and freedom from sin:  sin no longer enslaves me, I am declared righteous and adopted as Your perfect and beloved child.

Remind me daily of my baptism.  On the cross, You declared it finished:  the bill of sin was paid in full; the just claim of death upon sinners was broken; the chasm between sinful humanity and Your glorious righteousness was bridged; You look upon us with favor and give us Your peace.  In baptism, I am included in that payment for sin; I am a sinner reconciled to you; I am declared righteous in Your sight; You look on me with favor and I have peace with You. Give me the peace that passes understanding, that comes from Your Spirit and rests upon the sacrifice and resurrection of Christ.

Remind me daily of my baptism.  I am united into Your family, not a family of blood and genetics and likeness, but a family of baptism and faith.  When I look around me at those who are different—those who look differently, those who act differently, those with different perspectives and different personalities, those with different priorities and experiences, those who confuse or confound or frustrate or puzzle me—remind me that as Christians we are united in baptism, called to love and serve one another in faith.  

Remind me daily of my baptism.  Through water with the promises You made, through Your word which is powerful and effective, You redeemed me.  As You redeemed Noah and his family in the ark, through storms and darkness, through falling rain and surging water; as You saved Moses in an ark of reeds floating on the water of the Nile, in which he passed through death and into new life; so remind me also of the salvation You have worked through water and Your word to me. Your word is powerful and effective; Your word brought creation into being, breathed life into humanity, and came to dwell in bodily form in Christ Jesus.  Your word works salvation and never returns to You empty.  In my baptism, I experience the power of Your promises, Your word of life and salvation, made real and tangible through the wetness, the coldness, the physicality of water. When the struggles and pain of this world feel more real than Your promises, remind me of my baptism.

In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit; remind me daily of my baptism, strengthen my faith and bring me through life into eternity with You.  AMEN.