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BAPTISED IN A CATTLE TROUGH
"And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord." [Acts 22:16, The Holy Bible, KJV]
The Concrete Cattle Trough, On The Property At Eva Valley, That I Baptised Myself In, On December 25th, 2016.
It was now just over seven years, since I had accepted Jesus Christ, as my personal Lord and Saviour and I still couldn't find anyone to baptise me. Christians appeared to be few and far between, that's if they even existed at all, as I hadn't met any, living in the Litchfield area and those very few ministers, whom I had brief contact with, had not made any real effort, to be friendly to me, or to accept me into their small congregations, let alone, to be interested in, or to understand my unusual testimony, in order that I might feel comfortable enough, to entrust them, with something so serious, as my baptism. At least, it was important to me and I knew that it meant something, to Jesus as well. "Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and [of] the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." [John 3:5, The Holy Bible, KJV] I knew that it was time, to take the next step.
I didn't plan to be baptised on December, 25th. It was just the way that it turned out. Once the new minister of the local church had folded his arms across his chest in front of me, [in a defensive position], it was with a sinking feeling inside my chest, that I knew, he would not be the one to baptise me. Then, after he had laughed and walked off, in front of the people who were present, when I had mentioned the words 'demon', followed by 'UFO', that only reinforced the initial disappointment and my conviction, of finally giving up, on organised religion and all its the satanic pagan rituals, or what I had soon after heard, other Christians refer to as, 'Churchianity'.
I kept hearing Jesus gently speak to my mind. He said, to fulfil all righteousness. It was beautiful. It came as a gentle and persistant encouragement, since I was the only person, at least in the flesh, who was present. "And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him." [Mathew 3.15, The Holy Bible, KJV] It was a few days before this, that Father, by His Holy Spirit, placed the thought inside my mind, to baptise myself in the cattle trough, on the adjoining paddock, of the property where I lived. I also felt, that it was appropriate to be baptised in this way, since Mary had given birth to Jesus in a manger, with only the presence of Joseph, the poor shepherds, who had been called in from the fields, by holy angels of God, by the light of a single star and the animals, whom must have also been witnesses to the moment, relinquishing their own small space, for the humble birth, of the Lord and Saviour, of all humankind.
The Bamboo Tree, With Cattle Trough In The Background, That I Baptised Myself In, On December 25th, 2016.
Since moving to Eva Valley, I had always imagined myself being baptised in a drama of swirling rapids, at Buley Rockhole, in Litchfield National Park, by an 'ordained minister' and with a few people [from the local church] present ... It was a fantasy.
The Dragon once had me, go into at least seven wild rivers, over a short period of time, in a demonically driven, exhilarating experience, where I became one with my environment, telling me, that each time I was submerged and then reemerged, that I was being baptised into nature [the world], over and over again. Now that I knew that he was a deciever and 'the father of lies', that Litchfield National Park, was was infested with territorial spirits [demons], who had attempted to sing me to sleep and that the local church, was involved in pagan [satanic] rituals, it seemed 'right', to be baptised on a property, where God had kept His ever present watchfulness, over myself and the animals that I lived with, for seven years and where I was guarded 24/7, by holy angels of God. While it was not the property itself, that Jesus came to live on, but within my own spirit, wherever I was "Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him." [John 14.23, The Holy Bible, KJV] and while I knew, that I was under TOTAL CARE, come life or death, ... if the enemy, was to witness my baptism, then they could do that, beyond the boundary fence.
The Five Earthly Witnesses To My Baptism
    
There Were At Least Five Earthly Witnesses To My Baptism - Banjo, Bella, Sox, Joey and Spraddles [The Drake].
So it was, that on Dec 25th, 2016, dressed in loose clothes and massuer sandals, that I asked that God be my witness and I also had my four dogs Banjo, Bella, Sox, Joey and Spraddles [my pet drake], as my personal 'earthly' witnesses. I thought that it was appropriate to have them there, since they had each been planned gifts from God Himself, deliberately chosen, to serve a specific purpose in my life. They had each been there for me, through some very challanging times, out on the property at Eva Valley, on my journey into Christianity. Needless to say, I loved them all dearly, now and forevermore. The dogs immediately became excited, by the fact that I was moving slowly into the water, [it was a hot day]. Spraddles remained indifferent, if not curious, at us all, in these, unfamiliar [at least to him], surroundings, as usual, keeping the eyes, on the side of his head, firmly focused, on anywhere that I was. The dogs led the way, as I walked with The Holy Bible under one arm and Spraddles under the other, down the long driveway and out onto a vibrant green back paddock.
Thinking that it would be nice, to read a few words before God, I chose to read some verses, from my great great grandfather's King James Bible, that meant something to me; '1 Corinthians 13:11', 'Pslam 91' and 'Psalm 23'. My attendance at the local church on Christmas Eve and again during the morning on Christmas Day, had caused me to become suddenly and strangely self conscious, when reading The Holy Bible, but by the time I was half way through 'Pslam 23', I was belting it out, to the entire valley! "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever. [Psalm 23, The Holy Bible, KJV] I placed The Holy Bible, gently on the ground and stepped into the concrete trough.
The Concrete Cattle Trough, On The Property At Eva Valley, That I Baptised Myself In, On December 25th, 2016.
I lowered myself carefully into a kneeling position, so that I could then sit in the water. I said, "I baptise myself [I am baptised] in the name of The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit." "Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with [him] through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead." [Colossians 2:12, The Holy Bible, KJV] Then I automatically held my nose, as I allowed myself to fall gently backwards, into the warm green water of cattle trough.
Before I knew it, I was under the water and then back up from under the water and it was all over, so quickly, that I wasn't really sure, whether I had even connected to the significance of it, or not. But as I got to my feet and stepped out of the trough, I just couldn't stop smiling to myself. While great as acting witnesses, Sox and Joey were too fat, to get into the trough, for a swim afterwards, but I made sure that Spraddles had a little dip, before his long waddle home. Then I picked up my King James Bible and we all made our way along the fence, through the side gate of the back paddock, along the gravelly, weed strewn driveway of the house yard and back to the small stone cottage together, but not before I had once again, surveyed the wide open valley of the ex-mango farm, under the harsh glare of a wet season sun.
View From The Cattle Trough, Where I Was Baptised, Down Into Eva Valley And The Ex Mango Farm.
"And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God." [1 Corinthians 6:11, The Holy Bible, KJV]
So it was, that late that morning, as the heat intensified and the first large and billowing grey clouds, began to built up for the day, in time for the afternoon storms, the water remained hot within the copper pipes, the flies remained persistent, at both entrances of the stone cottage, the animals [even the turkeys and roosters], remained very quiet in the approaching midday heat and I would continue to retain, the peace and quietude, that had come upon me, not long after the baptism. It was ... a peace that surpassed all understanding, my smile still holding fast, the unexpected gift of peace within, resurfacing and extending, until it appeared to become as wide as the little valley, that God had brought us to live in.
Small Stone Cottage Nestled Amongst A Few Mango Trees, With Icecream Bean Tree In Foreground. |
