Hello and welcome to Manifest Blog,
My name is Stephen P. Porter. I am first and foremost a follower of Jesus Christ. Any other title I may hold stems from that one statement: husband, father, son, brother, friend, university faculty, writer, artist, speaker: none of these titles has any value without Christ. In fact, we can not even begin to understand what these titles mean apart from the Heavenly Father, who created everything through His Son, the bridegroom, by the power of His Spirit, our teacher and inspiration.
I became a follower of Jesus Christ on June 30, 2006. Before that I was an evangelical atheist. I disliked Christians and Christianity as well as any kind of organized religion. Much like Saul before he became Paul, I persecuted Christians ruthlessly. I never killed any, but there were moments when I thought I could. What changed it all? God spoke to me. Audibly. I wasn’t alone. Others heard Him.
He said, “Give up the things you love, and follow me.”
When I surrendered myself to Him, I sold everything I had and gave away what wouldn’t sell. I haven’t looked back since. This blog chronicles my walk with God as well as reviews some Christian media—mostly because they send it to me free, so that I will post a review here. If you’re interested in blogging for books, you can find more information about that here. My wife (Gayle Porter) and my mother-in-law (Marji Gustafson) have both become active participants in the blog reviewing books just to keep up.
In the end being a follower of Christ is what matters most in this life. If you have stumbled upon this site and you do not understand what it means to follow Christ, please use the contact page to get in touch with me, and start reading here.
