Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Sometimes....

Have you ever found yourself in a difficult situation, or maybe at a point in your life where you just realized that things are not going as planned, well I have, and I know these times can be very hard to handle. It has been only a few years ago that I was facing one of the most difficult points in my life, and although I will not bore you with the details, I can tell you that I was at the point of no return, and I was literally stuck between a rock and a hard place. My life had spun way out of control, and it was as though I was on the outside looking in as my life went around faster and faster and I was being thrown out of orbit.

Sometimes life can throw you an unexpected curve in the creek, and at other times, we honestly know that the path we are currently on,only leads us directly to that curve in the creek; however, it doesn't truly matter how you arrived at that point, only that you are there and must now figure out what course of action to take now. For me, the choice was right in front of my face; however, I just could not bring myself to take that leap, I was afraid that I would fall in and drown. Obviously, I am using a metaphor to describe the way I felt at the time,but literally, I had a choice to make, the easy choice that lead to points unknown, or the much more difficult path that leads to life. The Holy Bible tells us in Matthew 7:14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it; I was literally at this point in my life, and I knew that something would have to change. Thank God for praying parents and faithful friends; although things had not gone the way I had planned, things happened in a manner that showed God's glory in His ability to change my life.

Shortly after reaching that point in my life and realizing that it was time to try the other path, things began to improve, there was a huge weight lifted off of my shoulders, I had reached an epiphany as I realized that the path I was on previously ran directly into the arms of destruction. Am I saying that you must become a Christian in order to change your life, in all honesty, I am praying that you would at least consider it, just give God a try; taste and you will see that God is good. However, the true purpose of these letters is to tell you that sometimes we make mistakes, sometimes we do bad things, sometimes our lives are just spinning out of control, but you can change, you take steps to begin a new life.

Five years ago, I would never have thought that I would be a full time college student, that I would be involved in any type of ministry, or that I would be writing a blog, tweeting, or face booking;however, here I am now, composing a blog in hopes that just one person could be changed. Set a goal, and chase it down, and then set a new goal, and chase that one down, before you know it, you will be walking down the straight and narrow path. Sometimes you just have to take the first step.

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Brotherly love

In today's fast paced environment of fast food and the "I want it now" attitude, we must stop to do more than just smell the roses. The main purpose of my postings on twitter, Facebook, and even here on blogspot is to encourage others to better themselves and become the person that he or she was meant to be. Therefor, I make no attempt to hide my own faults or to place my skeletons in a closet with a lock and key, rather it is my desire to share them and discuss them openly in an effort to encourage others to change as I have.

Recently, on March 11, 2011 to be exact, I was awakened in the early hours of the morning feeling pain and agony that could not be explained;although I tried and tried to go back to sleep, I simply could not. After deciding that sleep was not an option, I grabbed my mobile phone and began reading the morning headlines, and to my horror, I discovered the events that had taken place in Japan. In my spirit, I could feel the pain of countless lives lost, and I could almost hear the voices frying out in fear of the unknown. In an instant, the lives of millions had changed, and the realization that the world would never be the same fell upon me as I began to pray.

The overwhelming need and desire to pray fell upon me all day, as I walked about completing my daily tasks as tears rolled down my face, I was asked why did I care? And I answered "these are human lives and lost souls that can never be reached" all I could do is pray. In 2 John 1:5&6, the Bible tells us that we are to Love one another; loving one another is feeling the pain of a friend losing a loved one, or lending an understanding ear to an individual who simply has too much on their mind and must let it out. To love one another is to purchase an extra two dollar deal at Taco Bell and give it to a homeless person, to love one another is to feel the hurt of an entire nation as everything changes in an instant.

The title of this blog is Brotherly Love; however, it does not simply mean to love your physical brother or family member, it means to love humanity as a whole. Within the last week, there have been earthquakes in Fiji, Chile, the Acension islands, Dominican Republic, and Ethiopia;knowing and understanding that it is impossible to physically or financially render aid to each of these areas, why don't you just send a little prayer? Brotherly love is more than just a title of a blog written by some weird guy, it is an action that has far reaching implications, Love works, Prayer works, and a simple smile can change the destiny of someone going down the wrong path.

Monday, March 14, 2011

A Fresh New Shiny Start

A few years ago when it became apparent to me that I would need to make some changes to improve my life, one of the largest and hardest obstacles to overcome was me. Sure I consumed a little alcohol, smoked a little weed, and participated in activities that were completely outside the realm of God, but these things were seemingly easy to fix compared to the pride and the guilt I held close to my heart. Pride is important, pride in who you are, pride in my Christianity for example is very important; however, just like anything else, too much pride can be dangerous both spiritually and physically.

Looking back on my life, I can clearly see how an excessive amount of pride forced me to participate in activities that were not only dangerous for myself, but for the general public as well. Street fights, bar fights, gang fights, and any other type of fight you can imagine, I participated in simply because my pride would not allow me to back down; however, even pride could not stand up against the need and the desire to make changes in my life and I was able to put pride in its place, but the guilt of my actions was more than I could bare. Guilt is a funny thing, it is almost like being insane, you know you feel guilty for whatever it was that you did, but then in an attempt to overcome the guilt, you do something else that  you will feel guilty about later, at least that is how it worked for me anyway.

The problem is that we condemn ourselves mentally for the mistakes that we have made, the sins we have committed, or the failures in our lives; however, Jesus himself tells us in John chapter 8. In consideration of time and to make a point, I will paraphrase the story, but feel free to read it for your self. There was a young woman who had been accused of adultery, in those days, anyone who committed the  sin of adultery was to be stoned to death. A group of men presented the woman to Jesus and asked him what should be done with the woman; however, Jesus did not immediately answer them. Jesus then began to write in the dirt, when the group of men asked again, Jesus stood up and said "He that is without sin among you, let him cast a stone at her" at that point, the men began to leave, and Jesus spoke again, this time to the young woman "Where are your condemners?" the woman answered "no one is here" and Jesus said to her "neither do I condemn you, go and sin no more". The premise of the story told in John chapter 8 is quite simple,  if Jesus himself will not condemn you for past failures, why then do you condemn yourself.

There is no one alive on the face of the Earth that has not made a mistake, failed at something, or is guilty of something; however, the question is will it destroy you, will you be defeated by guilt, or will you find the strength to overcome whatever it is that is holding you back. My faith in God has given me a fresh and shiny new start in life, and a little faith can do the same for you. Do not allow a mistake to hold you back from attaining the best that life has to offer you, the plans you have made are reachable, you just have to let go of your pain and failures and let God deal with them for you. Will it be easy?, no of course not, but if you put one foot in front of the other and take it one step at a time, you too can have a fresh and shiny new start in life.

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

You Can Change....

Although I am clearly a believer in Jesus Christ, my main goal is to let people know that there is life outside of the small little hole he or she may be living in. There is an entire world of opportunities available to us as long as we take the first step to reaching that world. Unfortunately, many of us were not raised in an atmosphere in which we were taught that the sky is the limit or that all our dreams are possible; however, I am here presenting myself as living proof that true change is attainable and the sky truly is the limit.

Stepping out in faith is not easy, just the fear of the unknown is enough to stop most people in their tracks. For me the thought of attending college and actually graduating with a college degree in business seemed utterly impossible; however, here I am, second year college student with a 3.7 g.p.a. and 30 credit hours under my belt. Understanding that my life has in no way been perfect, I have had problems with the law in the past, I have even been on probation twice, and I graduated late from high school. Aside from these initial problems, I drank too much, I stayed out too late, and I spent more than my fair share of time on East 6th Street in downtown Austin. However, through it all I have emerged a new man with a new life.


The Holy Bible tells us in the book of Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. What this means is that although what we want or wish for may not be clearly in our hands, or it may seem unattainable, we must believe that it is there in front of us and waiting for us. For me, as I mentioned before, returning to school seemed like something that other people could; however, through faith and the confidence that I could do it, here I am, a full time college student.


The point I am attempting to make here is that you can change; however, you must make that first step, you must step out in faith. Believe in yourself, life is worth living, it is never too late to change. Finally, if you find yourself in need of help or someone to talk to, feel free to contact me at fredblackmanjr@gmail.com, I am willing to help all those I can in any way that I can, thank you, and God Bless.

Monday, March 7, 2011

My Sister

1 Thessalonian 4:13-16 But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: We will meet again my Dear Sister.....Answered Prayers are all Around...God made a way for us to Spend Good Time together Before You Left and I am Blessed to Have those memories....We Will Meet Again...I love You Pamela.....and I Miss you Pamela...Mother...Sister...Auntie...FRIEND....


This is a dedication to my sister who passed away last year as originally posted on facebook