Reflection On My Life Experiences

Everyone has their own little struggles in life, and like many people believe, things happened for a reason. Well at least that is what I have experienced. Throughout my life I have been taught by my parents that doing the right thing and having a set goal is one of the ways you can succeed in life.

know it John 3: 36. “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life.” Roman 10: 9 “That

God’s calling on my life was unclear before I came to Evangel, I said many prayers asking God what his plan was for my life. While I still don’t know the whole plan he has slowly confirmed and revealed more and more of it throughout the time I have been attending here. Along with my “calling” God has revealed what it means to be a Christian and he has done that through people, sermons, and through the books I have read in Essential Christianity. While I may not know all of the answers, I know God will reveal more of it when the timing is right.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have everlasting life (John 3:16).”

Although this position offers a secure perspective on eternity, it does not offer present assurance of salvation. The command to persevere until death is echoed by many biblical authors and is an integral part of the doctrines of soteriology and eternal security (John 8:31-32; Col. 1:22-23; Heb. 3:14). Jesus told Jewish converts, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples” (John 8:31). As a result, those who subscribe to this branch of soteriology and eternal security believe the word abide gives credence to the belief that only those who are born again will persevere until death. Genuine faith is evidenced by continuing in the Christian life (Heb. 11:1). Subsequently, some have a false sense of assurance and will fall away from faith. Unfortunately, according to the proponents of

When all else fails, aren’t you supposed to try again? But, then, how many times after are you going to fail once more? Will you find yourself halted, wavering, and the petulant frustration ripping at the inside of your skull like a rabid animal? Like malnutrition and

“Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.” (Hebrews 10:22-23)

As I reflect on the “Who Are You? Document” and my Self-Knowledge Survey, I cannot help but think about my past and all things that have led me to this point. I was raised in a very religious household. My father was a pastor and we spent most of our time at church or in bible studies. When I was much younger, this excited me. I greatly enjoyed being a part of the worship services, praying before meals, and our religious traditions around the holidays. My parents protected me from the realities associated with life outside of the church, but as I grew older, I would acquire small tastes of the realities of life outside of religion and over time, I grew bitter at my family for “protecting” me from things that my religion taught were bad, but

the heart and lungs, and the abdominal cavity encases the organs of the digestive, urinary and

It supplies our bodies and its different organs with oxygen, which is fundamental for our survival.

Throughout the course of adolescence, our family regularly attended the Holy Trinity Lutheran Church. My parents always emphasized on the importance of raising their children in a complete Christ-centered environment along with ensure a familiarity with the Holy Scriptures. My family lived in a middle class neighborhood called Palma Ceia that was located near downtown Tampa, Florida. My parents were inspirational and encouraged me to follow God’s lead through vocational ministry. In addition, they mentored and ministered to population of youths in the community that later inspired me to be a social worker. My parents were completely optimistic and viewed every person equally important and continuously reminded me to always

"I began attending church at the age of five, and I would look at the picture of Jesus in the Bible and tell my mom that 's who it was in the light. I still have many physical difficulties with my health because of being premature. But there is a

Much of our time we spend on things that are irrelevant to our life or those which are not necessary, their negative impact creates space for sadness.

Not too long after arriving in Texas I committed myself to being a Christian. In retrospect, I understand I didn’t fully understand my actions, but I knew that my aunt, uncle, and cousins were different and I wanted to experience the love, joy, and freedom they all have. As a result, on a June summer night in a hotel with my extended family, I prayed to the God “Come into my heart Lord and be present in my life.” At that exact moment, a feeling engulfed my body that is hard to explain; it's almost like a wave that crashed over my head and moved down to my feet. Even though I was surrounded by my extended family, I understood that like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego we weren't alone but another had entered into our company. The mountain top experience of my salvation was brief and sadly inconsequential in my life for a couple of years. Life moved on and as a ten-year old, I didn’t want change to consume my personality despite my recent conversion. I had just been introduced to this concept of the church being enjoyable and fun; anything that stood against that idea was put to the wayside. Relationships between my brother became tense and strained. Life during the spiritual transition from an immature child and a growing one is reminiscent of James chapter three verse six through nine,

I intensely remember my first trip to China one year ago. I was just a few weeks into my appointment as Adviser to the Minister of Economic Development, Tourism, Trade and Entrepreneurship. I was given the opportunity and privilege to work with this extraordinary professional, and my perception of China was at the time was still quite asymmetrical.