Be like a sheep
While many of us tend to add new skills to our repertoire as we become older disciples; Jeremiah reminds us of one major principle, the fundamentals are key.
Chief Editor~ Ricky Jean
Liam: Tell me about where you’re from and how school went for you.
Jeremiah: I’m from Lancaster, TX. Which is really near Dallas, TX. It’s a community of African Americans and it’s pretty ghetto for lack of a better word. I remained there through middle school and most of high school, then I transferred to Grand Prairie. I spent the rest of my high school career there.
Once I graduated I attended TCC College, and then I transferred to UTA as of last year. My major is in Computer Science. I have always been very much of a tech guy; I got into technology mostly through video games and being interested in that type of stuff. It helps that I’m very mathematically inclined, because it definitely serves me well when it comes to computer science.
Liam: What are your favorite hobbies?
Jeremiah: Of course video games. Another one is really diving deeper into God’s word, and being able to translate scriptures from their original languages in hopes of finding a deeper meaning. I also really enjoy art, spending time with the disciples, board games, optimizing numbers, and coding as well.
Liam: You enjoy translating and diving into the Bible? What are some cool insights you’ve come across?
Jeremiah: One big thing I’ve picked up on– is that in order for God to recognize our feelings as genuine, we need to follow them up with an action. For instance, simply saying to someone that you love them without showing it is not love in God’s eyes. This is very evident in the Hebrew culture; if you have an emotion you have to show it.
Another example would be if you found delight in someone, then you would give that person a gift. In the same way Jesus was in a sense our gift from God, because He found delight in us.
Liam: What was your religious background before studying the Bible?
Jeremiah: My religious background was kind of agnostic with some Christian values. I grew up in church for a brief moment, but we stopped going towards the end of my elementary years. In high school I studied with a couple of Jehovah Witnesses; however, I stopped studying with them pretty early on. For most of my life I definitely labeled myself as Christian. However, looking back, it’s clear that I didn’t have much of a biblical truth.
Liam: How did you get invited to study the Bible and who reached out to you?
Jeremiah: One evening, last fall– I was walking right outside of the school library, when I was approached by a tall guy who seemed to appear out of nowhere. He said his name was Albert and he asked me to study the Bible. I agreed, and it took me about two weeks to get through the studies and get baptized. I finished my studies on a Thursday. The week of thanksgiving last year, and I was baptized on November 28th, 2021.
Liam: What is one practice that helped you strengthen your relationship with God?
Jeremiah: One practice that has helped strengthen my relationship with God, is keeping his Word close to mind. It’s one of the ways we keep the full armor of God on us at all times. I’m definitely doing my best to memorize more scriptures; if anyone is struggling to do this, a great practice would be to focus on a scripture that sticks out to you and memorize it.
Writing it over and over will definitely help out with memorization. And learning more about that scripture can definitely help it stick to memory.
Liam: What are some of your favorite scriptures?
Jeremiah: “For no word from God will ever fail.” (Luke:1:37)
It’s a very simple reminder to all of us, that God will always keep his promises. If anyone is ever reading the Bible and is like, “How do we know God will actually do this for us?” Well he said he would and he has proven he is trustworthy; with his actions throughout the Bible.
“Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” (Psalms 37:4)
This one really sticks close to me because when I was studying the Bible, it really helped me make it through and get baptized. I learned to love God and find delight in Him, by truly learning His character, and getting to know what He’s like as a person.
Liam: What story in the Bible do you relate to the most?
Jeremiah: Galatians 4. Particularly because that chapter talks about how a son wasn’t able to take ownership of the household and inheritance, until he was completely ready. I relate to this pretty well because while I was studying the Bible– I felt unworthy of God and His Grace. But God knew I was ready for His inheritance.
Liam: What do you love about the kingdom and being a disciple?
Jeremiah: Purity. I love how everyone understands that we all face similar struggles when it comes to sin, and that fear of being judged goes away. Which in turn allows us to be open with each other. Having the opportunity to be open, and pour ourselves out to each other is how we can continue to pray for each other to have our sins forgiven.
Liam: What is one piece of advice you would give to yourself, or to someone who’s studying the Bible?
Jeremiah: The desires you truly want are aligned with God because He made you. Chase after God through the studies to find out what you truly want out of life.
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