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Gerry Gutierrez' Update
Engraving for you the name of Jesus my friend. “Engraving the name of Jesus.” If teaching is
learning twice, then the
front sitter in the classroom of evangelism and discipleship is the evangelist
and the mentor of disciples himself. When we hear of
Jesus, we remember best if we write in our journal the insights from scripture
about Jesus. When we teach
about Jesus and we hear our own voice speaking, the sweet name of Jesus, we are
engraving in our minds as in fresh Concrete Cement the precious sound of his
name, which is learning twice. Silence is not
the way to irrigate faith, which is the gift of God. Just as life is a gift of
God for which we are responsible and will give account to God, so it is with
faith. The daily bread of faith is the testimony of other saints. As a follower of
Jesus I am part of the one body with my fellow believers united with Jesus our
head. I know no other
way to take care of myself and the members of the body of
Jesus, but by communicating what the mind of God in Jesus is for me and
I share it for the common good. For years my
sweet and beautiful wife Ruthie was the spokesperson of our family about Jesus
and our ministry. She was the letter writer and fascinating storyteller. In
a way I comfortably hid behind her skirts doing my periodic appearance in the
pulpit to discharge my duties as a witness of Jesus. Now that she has
gone home to be with the Lord I was left with the taunting task to take her
place in communication and to honor her by writing to our common friends, as
she would have should she still be alive. Her last words to
me were, “Now you will have more time for your Lord papa.” She knew that I
would be in a relentless pursuing of intimacy with the Lord through Prayer and
meditation. Just like the fresh
streams of water that come down from the Golan Heights to the Lake of Galilee
to later overflow into the Jordan River, irrigating the East and the West Bank,
so the living Word of God fills up my mind to overflow in my writings and go on
as far as the curse is found or die in neglect just as the waters of the Jordan
River die in the Dead Sea. Ruthie’s mailing
list and my personal friends from around the World have received hundreds of
letters in my attempt to irrigate and encourage by Pen and Persuasion through
what is becoming, “The History of a Human Heart” that in this case is my
history as the account of a Pilgrim’s Progress. Some might say, “Who
cares?” Some Pastors get
stuck with a congregation they are not happy with, while some congregations get
stuck with the Pastor they do not like, but in our case we hang out together by
choice on the basis of mutual and informal trust in agreement in spirit and
truth. Every now and
then we cross-pollenate by the Sovereign will of God and rejoice spending our
inheritance together, because as Paul said, In Heaven
Fellowship is devaluated to its minimal expression, as perfect unity and
oneness in Jesus will replace “simple” Fellowship. It is on earth
that I need to see and hear my Jesus from my fellow believer’s life and voice. As
a dear Lady put a magnet on her refrigerator for her silent husband that read,
“Talk to me.” Start by
answering me with a sentence about you and not only posting a link of someone’s
post. Please chew with your own dentures and write me about your love
affair with our Lord. I need to hear Jesus from you pen. Engrave Jesus in your
heart by telling me your story and his story.
Gerry Gutierrez.
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