Bible Study long-distance

This week I started a new Bible study, though this one is through correspondence with the American Bible Academy. It is free to inmates and their spouses, so if you know anyone who is interested, you can pass on the word.

The study I have begun is on the Gospel of John. After this one comes a pair of studies on Christian doctrine, then Acts and Galatians. The study on John is mostly just reading the verses and answering questions about the details. There isn't much to slow you down with thinking so I have to pause every now and then to think deeper and pray about what I've read.

There has been one good section on Christ's discussion with Nicodemus about baptism that went beyond the text to show why baptism is necessary. I miss being able to talk about and go deeper in Scripture with a group of friends like I did in the college ministry I was involved in before I was incarcerated. This is a good substitute, though. There's just not a lot of meaty stuff so far.

Tonight we had a baptism service in the gym where 33 - 33! - guys were baptized. Will was among those who were dunked for Jesus and I was proud to see him make his statement of faith. He also made it known that there were a few people who helped him get to that point.He told me afterward that I was one of those people. How cool is God.

There was another guy that came out of my dorm to get baptized, but he was only doing it to get a certificate to show parole that he had done good things so he could go home earlier. He has made it known that he is not a Christian and doesn't believe in a God of any kind. I told him that I thought it was wrong to get baptized for those reasons and that it made a mockery of a Christian tradition, though I could understand his reasons. He joked that as long as the water didn't boil when he stepped in, he would be okay. The water didn't boil, but I still disagree.