This blog is here for me, Ike, to share what God has been teaching me now and over the years about Him and His character in obedience to the calling placed on my heart . This blog will attempt to bring us back to a Biblical understanding of what it means to follow Christ as opposed to what many people think it means to be a Christian. Matthew 28:18-20, “Then Jesus came near and said to them, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” This blog will attempt to fulfill the “…make disciples…” and the “…teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you” parts of this well known command. We may never meet face-to-face, but I hope this blog encourages those of you who follow Christ, exhorts those of you who have stumbled following Christ, and provide the final push to those of you curious about what following Christ really means. This is going to be uncomfortable for you the reader and for me the writer. I will pull no punches for you or for me as we go through the Scriptures. Galatians 1:10 says, “For am I now trying to win the favor of people, or God? Or am I striving to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a slave of Christ.” I choose to be a slave of Christ. That is why I do this blog.
So who am I, the writer? I go by Ike. I was born in Lima, Peru and adopted into a family in Missouri where I grew up in a Christian home going to church every week. I was by no means an ‘easy’ child. I surrendered my life to God when I was 12 years old and I have been under great Christian teaching as far back as I can remember. Growing up I was very involved in my youth group at church. I volunteered in my church’s special needs Sunday School class in high school and started a Bible Study club at my public high school my senior year. I served with my college’s Baptist Student Union and taught on occasion and had a small group called, “The Tribe” that went through The Barbarian Way by Erwin McManus. Currently I volunteer with my church’s middle school youth group with the 8th grade boys group. In my personal studies and for this blog, I will use the HCSB (Holman Christian Standard Bible) as the main translation of the Bible in order to keep continuity throughout. I married my beautiful and loving wife in July 2012 and we had our first born son in January 2018. I don’t say all of that to try and sound “holier than thou” but to show how my heart has been changed forever by the Savior. Had the Lord not called me out of my slavery to sin at an early age, my story would look much different. I obey out of love for the One who gave His life as a ransom for many that we might be called children of God. I pray that by His grace that those of you who read this blog would come to faith in the one and only true God.
So, with that out of the way, I hope you will come on this journey with me.
For His glory,
Ike