I was recently given the opportunity to talk to my blogging friend Joshua Swanson. Having been familiar with his work for a long time, I was very comfortable asking him questions and having the same directed at me. Needless to say, we had some fun with it in both our question creation and answers.

Joshua is a fantastic blogger, one who puts a lot of passion and heart into his work. Guys, if you aren’t subscribed to his blog, be sure to do so- he’s only a few behind me and I’d like him to catch up (kidding). You can find his blog here.

Alright, without any further ado, let’s dive right in.

1: What is your favorite book of the Bible and why?

Elisha: Hmm, quite a difficult choice, but I believe my answer to be Romans. There is so much in there, I could read it twenty times and only comprehend 1%. There’s also a lot of guidance to younger Christians, so I greatly appreciate Luke’s foresight in his writing.

Joshua: That is also a hard question for me! For now, my favorite book of the Bible is 1 Corinthians, mainly because Chapter 15 of 1 Corinthians is my favorite chapter in the Bible. Chapter 15 is like a summary of the Gospel, and is easy to understand.

2: Who is your favorite Bible character?

Elisha: Besides Jesus? Easy answer- Elisha. He had several great traits- he was bald, he was faithful, and when kids messed with him, he restrained himself and let God do the work.

Joshua: Jesus Christ is of course my favorite Bible character, because He is God Himself! He is the Word and the Lamb of God whose precious blood was shed for the remission of the sins of His elect. I believe that He died on the cross for me, for which I am forever grateful. He still lives because God raised Him from the dead on the third day after His death, and He will come back in glory to judge all the people who ever lived on earth, sending the unsaved people to Hell and bringing His chosen ones to His home to live eternally with Him in Heaven! I am looking forward to the day when I will meet Jesus, my Creator and my Lord and Savior, face to face.

3: What is your favorite Bible verse?

Elisha: The Lecrae verse, Romans 1:16. It says, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.” I am unashamed! Do what you want, call me names, insult my age, insult my upbringing, but I’m in this “Till the day I die”.

Joshua: My favorite Bible verse comes from 1 Corinthians: “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.” – 1 Corinthians 15:58

4: Do you like your name?

Elisha: Of course! It’s actually related to the name of Jesus! They have similar meanings- Elisha means “God is salvation”, while Jesus means “to deliver”. In fact, my name is very similar to yours!

Joshua: Yes, I do! I am thankful to my parents and ultimately God for giving me my name, which is the Hebrew equivalent to the name “Jesus,” which is Greek. My name, “Joshua,” means “Jehovah saves” or “Jehovah is salvation.”

5: Which do you prefer: American food or Mexican food?

Elisha: I don’t eat a lot of either, but American food would take the slight preference, given that it’s a bit more extensive. While Mexico has tacos, America has burgers, steak, ribs, etc.

Joshua: Hmm, that’s tricky! I think I like Mexican best because I am a fan of tacos and taco rice. My favorite American foods, by the way, are hotdogs and hamburgers!

6: What is your favorite African food?

Elisha: Matooke! It’s a type of mashed plantain that’s served with peanut sauce. It’s quite filling, but I manage to eat more than the average man, so I usually request it on my birthday!

Joshua: I don’t think I’ve tried African food before, but I would like to someday when I have the chance!

7: How many siblings do you have?

Elisha: I have five biological siblings, and three that I would consider adopted (although not legitimately). My biological siblings are, in order of age, Noah (13), Isaiah (12), Ellie (10), Malakai (5), and Selah (3). My non-biological siblings are Betty (29), Hannah (19), and Johnny (18).

Joshua: I have one brother named Jeremy, named after the Old Testament prophet, Jeremiah. He’s almost 16, and God has given him gifts in music and making things!

8: If you could only write about one subject, what would it be?

Elisha: Christianity. It’s such a massive niche to write in, I don’t think I’ll ever run out of content. Even when you’ve written about all possible doctrine, something new is unearthed or spoken about nearly every week.

Joshua:  Like you, Elisha, I would write about Christianity, because it is the only thing worth writing and taking about — true Christianity, straight from the Holy Bible, which is God’s holy Word. God never lies, therefore His Word is true.

9: Would you consider someone, besides Jesus, in the Bible as your role model?

Elisha: Absolutely! Although Elisha is my favorite character, I would place Timothy or Paul as my role models for different reasons. Timothy was a young man during the writings of many of the New Testament letters, and many of the words addressed to him can be beneficial towards young Christian men. Paul, on the other hand, was an older but wiser man, one well-versed in Scripture. Quite possibly the most brilliant man of his time, he had the equivalent of two PhDs by the age of 21!

Joshua:  I would like to be someone like Peter was in Acts. He was once of a timid nature, and he went so far as to deny three times that he knew Christ (John 18). Right after he committed that wickedness, which Christ had foretold he would do (John 13:38), he repented (Luke 22:62), and a few days after Christ rose again from the dead, He appeared to Peter and commanded him to take care of the church (John 21). Later on, Peter, after being filled with the Holy Ghost, by Whom all true Christians have the capability to serve God, preached the Gospel of Jesus Christ in the very city in which Jesus was crucified (Acts 2). God gave him the gift of preaching and the courage to do so. I would like to be a preacher and a soul-winner like Peter, by God’s grace!

10: What’s your favorite movie?

Elisha: Lord of the Rings. The music, characters, plotline, everything is completely unparalleled. Harry Potter takes a close second, but it’s rather dark, which marks it down a bit in my books.

Joshua: I like Star Wars Episode 3, mainly because the lightsaber duels are so cool!

11: Do you watch Marvel?

Elisha: As often as I can! When a new movie comes out, I try to watch it as soon as possible, which isn’t too hard to do here, since movie tickets aren’t extremely expensive.

Joshua: Yes, sometimes. I’ve watched probably about half of them, but not in chronological order. My favorite one is Avengers: Endgame. My personal opinion is: If you watched one, you watched them all!

12: If you could choose one place to eat at for your birthday, where would it be?

Elisha: Mesa Shawarma. It’s a shawarma place in Kampala and it serves quite possibly the best shawarma and fries in existence. If you haven’t had shawarma, you need to try it as soon as possible- it is a gift from God.

Joshua: I would choose Sushiro, which is a… (Yes, you guessed it!)… a sushi restaurant!! There’s nothing better than raw fish meat on rice dipped in soy sauce… or is there???

Alright, that is the entirety of the interview. Joshua, thanks a ton for doing this with me, I had a lot of fun with it. To the rest of you, if you haven’t taken a look at Joshua’s blog, be sure to do so.

Anyway, that’s all for today. Thanks a ton for reading! I hope you had as much fun as I did. If you haven’t already, be sure to click that Follow button below (or to the side), so as to not miss out on any new posts. Thanks again, and I hope you have a wonderful day!

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