Ends Are Nothing More Than New Beginnings (part 2)

So maybe I'm not the best blogger, but oh well.  I usually decide to write when the Spirit of God is telling me that I need to tell my story to others.  So where were we... oh that's right!

Most people would agree that it always seems like something terrible has to happen when everything seems to be going perfect.  Second semester of my sophomore year comes around, and this is the semester that will challenge me the most.  For those in Air Force ROTC, the second semester sophomore year is the hardest because it is Field Training Preparation semester.  this is the semester where the training is vamped up to a whole new level.  You have all the training officers getting in your face and stressing you out, trying to take your wits end and beyond.  This semester is the most important because at the end you find out if you get an enrollment allocation to go to Air Force Field Training.  In order to continue in the program and commission in the Air Force, you have to go through field training so as you can imagine everyone wants to do their best in FTP.

Through this training I pushed myself harder than I ever had before both physically and mentally.  I began feeling like this was where I belonged, that this was the path that I was meant to take.  Of course I had my second brothers there to guide me along, Nick and DaVonte.  Finally the day came to find out who got enrollment allocations and who did not.  Tensions were high that day and I was pretty nervous myself.  When I was told I could go to the detachment and find out whether I made it or not, my first thought was to run straight there, but I knew I needed to prepare myself.  At that moment I had a revelation that I may not receive one, and as I thought about it, I sat down and prayed.  I prayed like Jesus did just before he went to the cross.  I prayed that I would get an EA, and go to field training, however I knew that it was not my will but His will. So I prayed that His will be done, that whatever happens I know my Father has control and I asked Him to hold my hand when I get the news so that I may have strength.

After my prayer I walked calmly to the detachment and waited in line.  When I was called back to the Major's office I was shaking more than I ever had before, and braced myself for the news.  He looked me straight in the eyes and said, "I'm sorry Trever, but you did not receive an enrollment allocation..."  I clenched preparing myself to try and hold back tears, but they never came.  I felt no sadness nor remorse, but just acceptance.  I had already made my peace with God when I had prayed.  When I prayed I received my answer that I was looking for and so when the Major gave me the news, it was no surprise.  I smiled at him, shook his hand, and said, "Thank you very much for all that you have done," and left with no sadness on my heart, but pride that I did my best and the rest was in my Father's hands.

When I got back to the lobby I knew my work was not yet finished.  As I reached the lobby I had my head held high with a smile on my face. My friends surrounded me and as I told them the news they began to sympathize, but I said, "do not feel sorry, what's done is done, and now we just have to keep moving forward."  I continued to stay around comforting my friends as they went to find out their fates.  The strength that God had lent to me I shared with my friends that I had grown so close to over the past two years.  I was one of the few who left without tears in my eyes after hearing that unfortunate news and I give all credit to God!

It's funny how narrow our vision is compared to the grand scheme of things that only He can see.  What I did not realize is that God had just freed up my schedule so I may devote more time to Him, and spreading his Word!  Now I continue to become more of a Leader in Christ, and I continue to go to Bible study to learn more and more about the Word.  Through my mentor Nick, Christ has allowed me to learn so much about Him and God.  I have begun to have the strength to teach God's Word at Bible study, and each day my eyes are open wider and wider by His light.  The amount of joy in my and passion in my heart for God burns brighter than all  the stars in the universe combined.  It is this passion, granted to me by my Father, that fuels me to teach his word from the Bible.

So what do you say, will you join me in glorifying Jesus and our Father? 

Ends Are Nothing More Than New Beginnings. (Part 1)

Well, it's been quite a long time since I've done this, and to my followers I am sorry.   I could come out and say that life has kept me extremely busy, but that's never a valid excuse.  I may have strayed away from my blog, however I can promise you that I did not relapse back to straying away from God.  In fact it's quite the opposite.  With that let me catch you up to how far my faith has come.

Let's go back a couple years to May of 2012.  I graduated from the place that brought me back to God, Trinity Christian Academy.  That day, which I thought would never come, left me with a bitter sweet feeling in my heart.  Although the realization that I was going to be attending my dream school, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, I also had the fear of straying away from my faith after leaving that environment.

August of 2012 finally comes around and I begin my journey at Embry-Riddle.  I begin to feel like I've finally found where I belong.  That God has placed me right where I was supposed to be.  I began striving to become a private pilot, and join the Air Force ROTC detachment 157 as well.  I began to meet some of the greatest people I've ever met, but being out of that faithful environment, I began to stray away again.  I was not sitting aside time for praying, or just sitting in God's presence.  But then, once again, God came to the rescue and put a person who would become my best friend, mentor, and older brother, in my life.  His name is DaVonte DeLoney.  I would never had seen what was to come next in my future.

Freshman year flies by and first semester sophomore year begins.  Little did I know how much God had planned for me this year.  I again hit the ground running, working hard to get good grades and learn all that I could about my passion.  But still I felt distant from my faith, and one day while I was wondering where I could go to reignite that fire, DeLoney comes up to me saying that he is going to start a bible study.  God had just answered my prayers in that moment, but that was just the start of a whole new beginning.  Through these bible studies, I would come to meet another amazing friend, mentor and true inspiration in Christ, Nick Griffin. He is a man who's life was put through the ringer before he found God, but now his faith in God is a fire that burns so bright that no Christian could turn away from it.  As my faith continued to strengthen to knew limits, little did I know that God was preparing me for the hard and dramatic day that I would soon have to face.

To Be Continued...

My Relationship With God

Hello, my name is Trever. I thought it would be a good idea to tell a little bit about myself. I am a half black, half white, high school senior currently attending Trinity Christian Academy. I am a confirmed Roman Catholic. I was adopted by my cousins, who I am very grateful for taking me in, and I thank God everyday for giving me such a family. I currently live down in sunny Florida, which I've only been living here for about a year and a half now. Before I moved to Florida, I was born and raised up in Virginia.

I began my walk as a Christian back when I was around 7 or 8 years old. My best friend at the time was a big Christian along with his family. One day while hanging outside he began to tell me about his church and what his faith entailed. His description of Christianity had me hooked, almost as if God was there telling me to come to him. My friend started telling me about Jesus, telling me how he was the one and only son of God; the savior of mankind. After hearing my friend talk for about an hour about Christianity, I felt compelled to become one. So I asked him, how do I become a Christian. This is what he said, "It's easy, all you have to do is pray to God and accept him into your life and proclaim Jesus as the one and only son of God." And so it began, right there and then I closed my eyes and prayed to God, accepting him into my life and proclaimed his son as my savior and God's son.

Not long after that my parents had enrolled my sister and I into a special kind of catholic CCD program to get us baptized, first communion and confirmed all in one day. At this point my life was devoted to God. I looked forward to church and learning about the Word and what it had to teach me. I began seeing life in a new way, with a new meaning. I felt as though my life had finely had a purpose.

At the age of 8, a little less than a year of doing the CCD classes, the day came to become a full member of the catholic church. My class was the first to go through this ceromony in the new church that they had just finished, which was magnificent. First, I was baptized. I remember the warm holy water coming just below my knees and the priest pooring it over my head. After my baptism came the first communion. I remember walking up to the priest, hands held out one over the other, and received the body of Christ, at which I said "amen" as instructed in my classes. My cousins, who I now refer to as my brothers, had always complained that the bread tasted disgusting, but I found it pretty good. After the communion, next up was confirmation. This, although one of the more important parts in the ceremony, is the most vague in my memory. I remember standing in the isle, holding a candle while the priest preached to us, confirming us into the Catholic church.

After the formal ceromony came the celebrations. There were songs of joy played by the quire. Everyone was happy for us, like one giant family. I could feel the presence of God all around me that night. The most memorable part that really showed that God was there with me was when I received a nice glass cross from a member of the church. I had been walking around in the crowd when all of a sudden a women came up to me wondering if I was Trever, to which I replied yes. She then gave me a box with the cross in it and said, "Here, we put the kids names in your class in a hat and drew one by random and you won this nice glass cross." Now some may argue that happened by chance, but what are the chances that one women just happens to find a small 8 year old wondering around a crowded party, to give him a cross?

It has been 9 years since that amazing day. Since then I have fallen in and out of my relationship with God. For a long time my family had stopped going to church, and I felt my faith slowly creeping away. Like that comfort and joy I got from praying to God just suddenly started to dissapear. Last year, the year I moved down to Florida, I felt like I had no faith what-so-ever. I payed dearly for strayin away from God too. My life was hell, I just wanted to give up every day at school. It felt as if I was forcing myself to keep on going. I kept asking myself, "why is my life so bad?!" At the end of the year I realized, that comforting feeling was no longer over my shoulder, I had strayed away from God. Realizing my mistake I quickly began to pray again, pleading for Gods forgiveness.

That leads me to where I'm at now. I feel as if I'm back to my old self. My relationship with God has returned and is stronger than ever. I believe it was God who put me in this Christian school, and for that, I am eternally thankful. He has given me the best of friends, and practically a new life. I have that appreciation and enthusiasm again when learning about God. My Bible classes in school have become one of the most inspiring classes that I have ever taken. It is from my Bible classes and my excellent Bible teacher, that I will be basing this Blog off of.  The lessons I have learned are priceless and I would like to do my part to try and teach it to all of you.

Good vs Bad Justification

Why do we believe, what's the point, is there even a God? These are all questions that many of us Christians face. Faith in God allows us to justify our actions behind God. This brings up the question, when is your justifications good or bad, right or wrong, godly or ungodly? In this post, I will attempt to show you, through scripture, what is good and bad justification to help you with your decisions in life.

"I love you God, God bless you, God I hate you, why God?!" Those are just few of the thousands of ways that we tend to put God's name on things. But does putting God's name on everything make it holy? Some would argue that it does. It's the same with asking for forgiveness from God. Christians as a whole need to sit and think, "who is God to me?"

When it comes down to it there are two ways people see God; as a tool or as someone you want to have a full mutual relationship with. Most Christians, including myself sometimes, when they pray, only ask for help from God. We ask for so much but barely give in return.

Many christians tend to use God as a tool and take his forgiveness for granted. Can we truly call them Christians then? Those are the ones who, when they do something sinful, justify themselves by saying "It's okay, God will forgive me." This is true, he will forgive you if you ask God for forgiveness, but that isn't how a relationship with God works.

A Christian can't truly have a relationship with God by using him as a tool to justify their actions. So before the next time you decide to pray, think what your praying for. Are you going to ask an endless amount of questions, or are you going to take that time to thank God for everything that he has given you.

There is no need to ask God for help for it says in Matthew 6:8, "Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him." So I challenge you now, go forth and pray as the book of Matthew 6 instructs you. Repent to God for your sins and forgive men that have betrayed you. For it is when you are able to forgive the men who trespass against you that God will forgive you. That is when you will begin to know the love that the Father has for you, and you can truly have a relationship with Him.

Omniscience for Other Beliefs

Have you ever believed in something so strongly that you felt that anything else has to be wrong? It is this kind of thinking that can get you in a corner whenever you are trying to express your self in anything you do. It is necessary to have an omniscient understanding of all the beliefs and knowledge around you. Having a wide understanding of other beliefs and opinions, no matter how radical they may seem, can give you a better understanding of your own beliefs. For today's post I hope to shine light on the importance of opening your mind to others opinions, for it is when you allow others to influence your own thoughts that you may begin to influence them.

There are many types of beliefs out there that may seem a little extreme or irrational. For Christianity we have apologetics. There's Islam, for Muslims, secular humanism, Marxism, post modernism, new age movement, atheism, agnosticism, polytheism, pantheism, monotheism, polytheism, deism, satanic worship, and many other beliefs. Each of these beliefs has their own set of customs and theories that go along with them that followers of them will argue that they are absolute truth sometimes. By equipping yourself with basic knowledge of other beliefs, you will be able to hold your ground if an extremist of another belief wants to start arguing over who's write and who's wrong.

One thing to keep in mind while learning about another belief is that you will not find out who is write and who is wrong. If that is what you are looking for then you might want to adjust your thought process to finding info that will best help with standing your ground. When you gain knowledge of another belief, you gain the ability to answer the golden questions, "why do you believe?" and "why don't you believe?" Now I am not asking you to go and change your religion or beliefs as you go through researching what other beliefs are around you.  I am simply suggesting that doing this will lead to you having more confidence in what you believe in.   Knowledge in another persons belief will help you back up your arguments well enough so that you don't make yourself look dumb if a person asks you one of those golden questions. In the end you will find that you have more confidence in what you believe in because you now have been able to immerse yourself in other beliefs and justify what you do and don't believe.

Take evolution for instance.  One thing that really infuriates me about people who don't have basic knowledge about evolution is when I hear someone say, "I don't believe in evolution because I don't think we evolved from monkeys." That is the most invalid argument there is.  It's like going up to a Christian and saying, "I don't believe that Jesus parted the Red Sea." A Christian would immediately know this person has no idea what they are talking about. Now going back to evolution, if someone came to me and said, "I don't believe in evolution because I don't believe that mutations in the gene pool are enough for a micro bacteria to evolve into what we are today and there isn't sufficient evidence of natural selection for me to believe in it." You see the difference in that? You can now tell that that person has done their homework ad has a valid reason for not believing in it. Notice that the argument didn't say evolution was wrong, it simply stated facts that were controversial and brought them out as logical reasons for not believing. The people who can show that they have sufficient knowledge of something to support their own beliefs are the kind of people that you can come to respect.

In conclusion Today's post, I implore you, that before you go about bragging or trying to start an argument on your beliefs, to go and get a generally understanding of other beliefs.  You may find that some of the religions and beliefs you study are actually interesting, and may find something you like more than what you currently believe.  It's like how my parents raised me to try new foods.  Although some I didn't like, others I thought were amazing, and I wouldn't of been able to learn that unless  I tried it.  Who knows, you may find it entertaining when you are able to go to someone and give them a good in depth explanation of why you do or don't believe in something, especially when you know more than they do.  Finally, keep in mind while you are exploring different beliefs,  to keep an open mind, for it is when you allow other peoples beliefs to influence you, that you may be able to influence them.