FAQ
Helpful Information About Walking with Jesus Blog
General: Why this blog?
For this question it is quite simple: I felt convicted by the Holy Spirit to share my journey and knowledge of Jesus, especially how to have a quiet time with God, so that others may grow in Christ and expand God's Kingdom. Below are the verses that spoke to me the most on the topic and why I've decided to start this blog.
Mark 16:15 (HCSB) - "Then He said to them, 'Go into all the world and preach the gospel to the whole creation.'"
Psalm 96:2-3 (HCSB) - "Sing to Yahweh, praise His name; proclaim His salvation from day to day. Declare His glory among the nations, His wonderful works among all peoples."
Matthew 28:19-20 (HCSB) - "'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.'”
Luke 12:8-9 (HCSB) - "'And I say to you, anyone who acknowledges Me before men, the Son of Man will also acknowledge him before the angels of God, but whoever denies Me before men will be denied before the angels of God.'"
1 Corinthians 9:16 (HCSB) - "If I proclaim the gospel, this gives me no ground for boasting, for an obligation is laid on me and woe to me if I do not proclaim the gospel!"
Philemon 1:6 (HCSB) - "I pray that your participation in the faith may become effective through knowing every good thing that is in us for the glory of Christ."
Blog Writer: What is Filip's background?
Filip is a first generation American, born of two parents that immigrated from the former Yugoslavia in the early 1970s. Born in the early 80s in the very diverse and busy area of the DC metro area, Filip had an interesting variety of experiences. Filip is the youngest of three kids, with his brother being 8 years older than him and his sister being 6 years older than him.
Due to alcoholism, adultery, physical and emotional abuse, his parents divorced when he was in elementary school, leaving him to live and be raised by his mom and older sister. There was never a father figure or positive male role model in Filip's life, so growing up into a man was extremely complicated and an uneducated battle.
He did have some church experience, but not the typical. His mom was working quite often due to now being a single parent, so she would take him to a very traditional suit-and-tie, hymns singing type of church whenever she was off work to do so which was maybe a couple times a quarter at most. Additionally, my sister would often take me with her to her best friend's family church which was your very traditional gospel type of church. This was probably every other Sunday. Between the two, the church experience was a large variety as one church would be in the word of God and very quiet and still whereas the other would be in the word of God, preaching excitedly, dancing, shouting, etc.
Although he did believe in Jesus growing up as a result of these experiences, he didn't truly start slowly but surely FOLLOWING Jesus until many years into his military career during a rough time in his life while stationed in Germany. His wife's hardships led her to church and Jesus, which eventually led him there as well. Throughout this time there were some waves where Filip's walk was going great. Unfortunately, there were more times of rebellion, being stuck in the flesh, and living the worldly way.
It wasn't until very close to the end of Filip's military career when his personal life was in turmoil due to anger, irritability, depression, anxiety, worry, and selfishness issues that God led him to an amazing Christian men's group called Real Men Connect. The lessons, accountability, and relationships with all of these God-driven men from all types of backgrounds all over the world and also living through the struggles of the flesh while pursuing God have been an absolute blessing. God used these men to get Filip back into God's will, back onto the right path, and began amazing change in his life and walk with Jesus.
Filip has no professional theology or pastoral training. He is simply here to share the experiences, knowledge, and God's word as he walks his personal journey with Jesus in hopes that his experiences helps others to grow in their relationship with God as well.
Filip is married with 5 kids (all boys), proudly served in the US Air Force for 20+ years, has a Master's degree in IT, and has been trying to be a follower of Jesus since he was reborn in 2012 with many failures in his journey along the way. This blog is simply to continually share that journey in hopes that others may learn from the experiences to grow and glorify God's Kingdom.
Blog Topic: What is the purpose of the Quiet Time topic?
This is my personal quiet time with GOD from my journal. I use the SPACE method for my quiet time journaling that I learned from a Christian Men's Group I'm a member of. Journaling is important for multiple reasons, but for me personally it helps me to retain what I've learned and it gives me something to look back on to see what God has done for me and how I've grown in relationship with Him.
I always "sandwich" my quiet time with prayer by praying at the start and finish of my quiet time. I personally do my quiet time as soon as I wake up and I adjusted my sleep schedule a while back to account for that when I first started doing this regularly. Also, I read the entire chapter(s) first before I start journaling so that I can get all of the context of the chapter(s) in order to better understand what God is trying to say to me. I typically stick to just one chapter, but some chapters are quite short so I do sometimes read maybe two chapters to get enough context for my daily quiet time.
Below is the "SPACE" acronym and how I use it. I focus on one at a time and I always go in order. I try to have a reference verse(s) for each one so that I can focus, but every now and then the Holy Spirit convicts me to write down something that could be related to the entire chapter or maybe something not related at all such as a confession for the sin block. Don't feel like you have to write a dissertation for each category, just go with whatever you're comfortable writing and let God work in you as you have your conversation with Him and grow in Him.
Sin: What sin do I feel God wants me to confess from this scripture?
Promise: What is God's promise in this scripture?
Attitude: What attitude is God wanting me to change based on this scripture?
Command: What is God's command in this scripture?
Example: What example is God wanting me to follow in this scripture?
Blog Topic: What is the purpose of the Personal Journey topic?
This category is simply to give some tidbits of my personal journey in my walk with Jesus. I'll share any of my personal experiences in my journey that I feel God put on my heart to share with others so that it may hopefully bless someone as He has blessed me in that moment.
Blog Topic: What is the purpose of the Random Thoughts topic?
This is simply random Biblical/Godly thoughts, convictions, or perspectives of mine that do not fit in the other categories and I feel inclined to share with others.