I am feeling like a Hero if for my eyes only.

“Remember to tell it to the world.”

The wonderful mystery of memory is a tremendous help as I navigate the uncharted waters of the present time moving forward to spend the balance of my future.

Today I’m feeding myself from my own testimony of how in my first 25 years of life I was a confessed atheist, a violent man, a persecutor with no regard or fear of the Lord.

Last Saturday our Lord answered a prayer and I want to tell it to the nations.

“Give thanks to the Lord and call out to him! Tell the nations what he has done!”
Psalms 105:1. The prayer was still on my lips when his answer was already delivered.

At High Noon I was sitting in a very large Picnic praying under the shadow of a tree after lunch only a few yards from a possible tragedy that would have injured or fatally wounded some little children. A sharp part of the roof fell down with an impressive crashing sound. After a quick assessment of the situation, I noticed that nothing bad had happened to the little ones. Without losing a heartbeat I heard myself praying out loud. “Thank you Jesus, thank you Jesus, thank you Jesus.”

You may say. “What’s the big deal with that since nothing bad happened”.

It was a big deal to me since I was there specifically praying like Job for his beloved children. Remember that once I was a foul mouth man of the world, a blasphemer, a persecutor, a violent man, a radical ignorant unbeliever, a regular despicable man.

Last Saturday you might have predicted anything but to hear from the lips of blasphemer words of unplanned praises to God for answering his prayers.

That is the gospel. That is what the Gospel of Jesus does to a person. That is what being born again does to a person. That is Jesus in me, the hope of glory. That is the transforming power of God through Jesus in my heart where I no longer live but Jesus in me as the hope of glory. It was out of character for me to claim out loud something that I have never done before. I shy away from even now from lifting my hands or extending my arms to receive the benediction.

I have been called to be a witness of Jesus and if my testimony does not first feed me, I should not expect to feed others, let alone the hungry and thirsty around and about me.

Today I rose early in the morning to say one more time, “thank you Jesus,” thank you for showing me your favor in my own life by replacing my heart of stone with a heart of flesh. Thank you for the opportunity to love, to care for your little ones and pray for them and see the answer to my prayers while the prayers were still in my lips.

It sure is good to know why you have let me live a little longer Lord. I rejoice in the protection of my God over the lives of the Covenant children and the childlike. Thank you for letting me live long enough to see the “Bronaries” (Brother Missionaries) working together for Jesus.

Lessons for the Body:

“When prompted by God to pray. PRAY!!!” For it is God who puts in your heart the desire to will and to do.

“When prompted by God to do a good deed for God, DO IT and let God take care of the details. For we are created by God to do good works prepared beforehand to do it.”

“When Covenant people reach out to Covenant people, the Lord is in their midst, blessing, providing and protecting. On Saturday I saw God loving Nathaniel, Caleb, Jeremiah and Gerry, three generations of witnesses of Jesus.”

Gerry Gutierrez.

“Lord, I remember what you have done. I remember the amazing things you did long ago. I think about those things. I think about them all the time.”

Psalms 77:11-12.

PS. I am making this letter public after consulting with Nathaniel, Lois, Cheryl and Caleb’s approval.