"All Out War In The Streets of Chicago" - w/ Julio Mercado

I met this brother, I think it had to be in 2020, um, right, right before the uh, pandemic, I believe you. Uh, is, is that when you went to, uh, new Life,

And, um, you know, the guys from the Indiana Baptist Church, okay, they to come knocking on the doors and, uh, and they got ahold of my dad one day and they, you know, they talked to him and man, the Holy Spirit got in him and that, that was it. You know, like once, once there was no going back for him. That was it. So then, um, you, we used to go to Catholic school and everything, you know, we, we came outta Catholic school, went into the public school system.

you know, when I was little for a long, long time, I thought like, you know, oh, we were so dirt poor and this and that, and you, and we were poor. Okay? You know, don't get me wrong, we were poor, bud. We always had food in our house. Okay. You know, always, always. And we had, you know, we had more than others, you know, I mean, there was things that, you know, that we had less of.

But looking back now, especially as a grown man, like, I'll definitely say like, you know, we were poor, but we were definitely blessed from a young age with a lot of things that a lot of the people, you know, they didn't have that we had. So, you know, we had a lot of food. We had, you know, we had a lot of family. You know, my parents were together and, you know, we were blessed.

You know, when you're younger, you don't really realize the blessings you got until you get older and you get into the world and you gotta start making your own way. And then you realize like, Hey, you know what, like we were blessed, you know? Yeah. And my parents like, you know, they, they overcame a lot. You know, I, I, I believe that, you know, now I, I look back and I said, you know, they, they overcame a lot, you know, and they, they taught us how to come up, you know?

And. So fortunate to come up in a two parent home. You know, in that area though, there, there was a, a lot of two parent homes. Oh yeah. You know. Yeah. You know, we had, we lived on this block that was, you know, we lived on Erie Street. Okay. And, you know, there was something about that block in particular, you know, there was like two blocks that there was no gang banging on that block. Okay. You know, and the next block over was Huron.

And it was, it was really, it was on and popping on Huron. Oh yeah. And then on the other block over, it was Otis, but there was a school there. And you know, it was, you know, when I was coming up, you know, the schools were off limits, you know, the schools were for the kids. So, 'cause the schools were on the other side, we didn't have that. So on, you know, on our block it was all families, kids playing outside. And, you know, we were really fortunate, you know, to have that as well.

We, you know, we weren't outside playing and, you know, gunfires, you know Yeah. Erupting, you know, it was, it was. A peaceful little block that we lived

Yeah. And, um, you know, we would see like, you know, the drug dealers and the gang bangers, they were even, they were driving up and down our blocks and nice cars, sweet paint jobs, rims sounds, you know, they got jewelry, nice clothes, you know, I remember sitting on the porch and, you know, just sitting with your friends and you're like, yeah, that's my car. That's my car. You know, no, no, that one's my, that's my car. You know? Right, right.

And that's really how it was like, you know, we were kids and, you know, we were fascinated by that, you know, and I don't know what it was, but it really like, it really, really, like, it got a hold of me, man, like, way more than, than my other friends. Like most of my other friends are just normal, you know, it got, One of my buddies that used to sit there with me, you know, he's a cop now.

Okay. But that is something about that life that it really, it grabbed onto me and it just, it never let me go. You know? It just, I, I literally, it was like I had to fight my way out of that. Like, you know, most kids, you ask him, you know what you wanna be when you grow up? Oh yeah. I want to be a cop, or I want to be a fireman. And I knew from probably eight, nine years old, I knew what I wanted to be and I knew what I wanted to do. And, and that's all there was too.

I don't know where I got it from. You know, my mom worked, my dad worked. Yeah. You know, they weren't involved in any type of drugs or Okay. You know, illegal activity or, you know, anything like that. But it was just something that, about that, that it fascinated me, you know? And, and it just like gripped onto me and it, it, it just wouldn't let me go and, You know, and I just said, that's what I'm gonna be, you know, when I grow up, that's what I'm gonna be, you know?

Yeah. And that's what I became. Yeah.

You know, like, you know, when you're Catholic, you just go to church sometimes on Sundays for holidays or whatever, you know, you know, except for like the older people, they're really like, they want, they go every Sunday, but otherwise, you know, you don't really do nothing. Yeah. But once my dad became Baptist, it became, things changed in the house, man. He started, you know, he would minister to us constantly, always, you know, letting us know.

Like, you know, he made it very, very, very clear from a very young age that there was heaven, there was hell and there was consequences. Uh, make no, you know, let there be no mistake. Like we were very aware of the wages of sin is death from young. He always let us know that. He always let us know, like, you know, that, you know, your actions have consequences spiritually. Yeah. Even if you get away with it here and nobody sees you here.

You know, he let us know from a very young age that, that, you know, that's not gonna fly one day, we are going to pay for our sins. He, he let us know that from young. And then, you know, my mom, she turned ca um, Baptist. So, you know, they come from hardcore, you know, my mom is Italian, so they were hardcore, you know, Catholics, you know Yeah, right. In a sense hardcore, but that they were Catholic, not that they actually practiced it. Oh, yeah. Yeah. It is used

You know, the Catholics like, you walk into another church, it's like, like you just spit right on the, you know, on the Virgin Mary or something. Like, they were very, like, they were very upset, you know. Oh, okay. When they turned, you know?

Yeah. Okay. I was always, you know, stay out the way, you know, individual, so I never pursued it, you know, I was fascinated by it, and I was it, but I never pursued it, you know? I, I was into sports and, you know, drawing and, you know, hanging out with my friends, you know, like it pursued me. Okay. You know what I mean? Like,

You know, we just played, we just did, you know, we were just normal kids, played a lot of sports, you know, like I stood at the park, you know, day and night, and then I started going to the Boys and Girls Club, you know, and, um, but that Boys and Girls Club, it was literally located on the street that was a borderline between folks and people. Okay. I mean, it was that, that street, that Wallcot, Hey, for

You know, think the Star Wars, you know? Yeah, yeah. So I gotcha. You know, but yeah, it was, you know, those two sides, you know, there is no compromise, you know? That's it. You know, you're from, you're that side, you're that side. Yeah. You're this side, you're this side.

And this was, you know, so that boys' club, it was like right there on the hung on the border, on the borderline, you know, and I used to walk there, but, so when I used to walk there, I was walking there, but I was walking through three hoods to get there. I was walking all through folks hood to get there. Yeah. You know, but they always are seeing me come from this way. Yeah. Into that way and then into that way. So every side was always seeing me come from the other side.

So I was also bigger than most kids. Okay. So how

You know, Hey, I don't, you know, I don't be about that, you know, and just be about myself. I always see you coming from over there, you know, you're over there with them, you know, that's what you are. You, you scared, you scared, you know? And I, that was a problem was that I wasn't scared. Yeah. That was, that was a big problem actually. 'cause I wasn't scared. Um, I used to box actually, so I was never scared to throw hands, you know?

And back then, you know, I, I came from an age when the gunplay was just coming into like, fruition. It was like really, really being born and like, it was starting to really, really happen. I. But you know, I, I always stood my ground, like I don't be about nothing. Right, right. I'm just coming from there, you know, I live over there. I'm going to the boys club, so I'm walking through here, through here, through here, and that's all it is, you know.

But the problem was, you know, they see me every day, you know what I mean? So they kind of believed me, you know, like, oh yeah, that's, that's just dude that lives over there. You know, he is going to the boys club, you know? 'cause I mean, I was born, you know, pretty much born and raised there. Right. But it was when I would go to the other side, if I would pass Walcott and I'm going towards Damen now, them cats, they don't know me 'cause I don't really got business over there.

Yeah. You know, I wasn't, there was really nothing that I was doing there. Occasionally I'm walking through there, but I didn't really have business over there. So those dudes, they looked at me like, he's lying. Yeah. They, that dude's from the other side. He's over there. You know, he's folks that, guy's, folks, you know. Yeah. So I used to get some, you know, I used to get some pushback from them dudes. And then, um, one day they decided that they were gonna, they were gonna push on me.

I was, uh, I was 16. I was 16 years old. And, um, and they decided that they were gonna push on me. And, and from that day on, I waged war on them nonstop. No, no, no. Push on

And, um, and they just swore that out, you know, that I, and I'm just telling them like, you know, I don't be, and one of them threw a egg at me. And when he did, I, um, I moved, he missed, but I muffed him. And when I muffed him, they, they pushed on me that day right there. And when they did, I went straight back, uh, and got my violation in. And started

So, yeah, so, you know, we just, I would just drill on them, dudes. Just nonstop. I mean, nonstop. I would constantly find out where they were at, what they were doing, where they were gonna be at, what they were driving, um, you know, whose house they were going to, what girls they were seeing. Like I would just start just, you know, there wasn't a lot of us either. Okay. And it was a lot of them. But that, that made it easy because, you know, they were everywhere.

So it was, you know, to finding out where they were at and what they were doing was easy. 'cause they weren't hiding. Yeah.

Okay. Um, and life took a drastic turn when, when I turned, you know, when I, when I turned with them things, they really evolved.

They were, every single one of them month was like me and worse. So, you know, putting in work became something that was, it was amazing. 'cause you had other people that were doing what you were doing. So it was like, you didn't have all the pressure on you, you didn't have, the police weren't always looking at you. It was just easier, you know, but it was dark, like, so that gang was, you know, was, it was the real deal.

You know, they had a lot of, they had a lot of, um, a lot of ties with Humble Park. So they used to really get down in Humbolt Park, you know. So how, how, how, how close is that to,

So, so it just, it took a whole different turn, you know, when, when, when we went to that side.

Like, I mean, when I say ruthless, I mean like, we were ruthless and there was always somebody on our block morning, noon, and night. There was always guns out there, there was always people selling. It was just, it was, um, it was a really, really dark place. Hmm. Gotcha.

So these guys weren't, they weren't, they weren't on that level. Gotcha. So, but the mks were totally on that level. So I found myself a home there. And I felt at very, I felt very much at home there too. I didn't go into some foreign thing that I was like, Ooh, scared. You know, like, I went into that like, like I felt like I belonged there. Gotcha. You know?

And we didn't have to worry about the police coming for us because they weren't telling and they didn't have to worry about the police coming 'cause we weren't telling either. So getting, you know, gun play was an everyday thing. I mean, we literally stood outside on our block table while our hood was open 24 hours. Like I, I might go home at four or five in the morning, but there's plenty of people that didn't. And there was a bunch of people that were coming out at that time too.

So, you know, there was a lot of money in our neighborhood. A lot. Okay.

But, you know, even it got so bad where even that was like hard to get your hands on, like weed, like just kind of like disappeared for like a year or two. And, you know, all them, all them weed her heads, they all turned the coke heads. And then when crack hit the scene, you know, all those crackhead, um, weed heads, I mean cokehead, they turned the crack heads. So, you know, crack the high doesn't last long. That's a very strong high, but it doesn't last long.

So it was a, it was a huge, huge moneymaker. Yeah. It

And then eventually, like he stopped coming with her and, you know, from once in every, you know, great. While. Then it became once in a while, then it became on the weekends, then it became every day. But I remember he had a nice Lexus. A real nice Lexus. And the next thing you know, he's, we're using the Lexus, you know, for, you know, here's a 50 bottle of crack, you know, now we're driving a Lexus all day.

Um, and um, before you knew it, like the Lexus was gone, and then, uh, then he was coming on a bicycle. And then from the bicycle, then he was coming on just walking. And, you know, I remember like a, a time where, you know, he would, he just started coming. He would be dirty and his lips would be all burnt from the, from the pipe. The pipe gets so hot, you know, but they can't stop smoking, so they just keep smoking this super hot pipe and it just burns their lips.

And like, I, it just, it was just like, you know, to watch, you know, you watch this successful man, you know, just turn right in front of our faces, you know, just in a matter of months to a crack head. He lost it all. You know, he lost it all. Chasing the pipe. So it was, you know, it's, you know, you learned a lot of lessons just watching and being alive. You learned everything, you know, like, I definitely don't wanna do that. I'm definitely not gonna touch that.

And she's like, here, you guys can have her just gimme some drugs. Yeah, man, that's horrible. And he, he said in the midst of his darkness, he said like, man, like this is crazy. Like, how, how crazy is it? Like then, then he told man, get, get your daughter and get outta here, man. But the, the drugs, how, Like you mentioned from a dentist with a Lexus and just straight up lose it all and lose your humanity in a sense, man. To be able to

And I remember coming to the hood one time, and one of my cousins were over there and she was all cracked out. And she was telling all the guys, you know, like, oh, you know, I'm Palma's cousin. I'm Palma's MA's cousin. And they're like, get outta here. Get outta here. Get outta here, man. We're not gonna sell you anything. You know? And I, and I remember I got there and they're like, Hey, man, folks, man, your cousin's over there, dog. You know what I'm, you know, she won't stop bothering me.

And she just tried to rob me, dog. And, you know, I'm telling her, get outta here. We don't wanna sell to you. She said, cousin, I told her, you don't wanna sell to come over here. I'll sell to you. You know, I, I had no heart. You know, I, I'm not letting, I'm not leaving a penny on the table. I'm taking that money. You know, I don't know why you don't wanna sell to her, but I'll sell to her. You don't wanna sell to her, I'll sell to her. You know?

Then it went to, well, it's not your turn, bro. You know, but it's just, it's just, you know, it be, you know, we were dark. Right. You know, I mean, like, to this day I'm actually surprised that they didn't sell to her. You know, because I mean, there was guys that, you know, like their parents would come, their sisters, their brothers, you know, and I mean, we sold to everybody.

You know, if you were there, I. There was one thing that we learned about a drug addict was, you know, they're gonna get high no matter what, and if you sell to 'em or the next man sells to 'em, you know, we didn't have no morals. Right. You know, like when I tell you it was a dark place, it was a dark place. You know, we had no, no morals, none. We just, you know, that's why I say we were just as addicted as they were. Right. Because we wanted that money. Like, just like they wanted that money.

Gotcha. Like, they wanted that high, we wanted that dollar. So like, you know, we were a perfect couple.

I would come to the hood and just get rocked and, you know, I would black out. I would act stupid, you know? And we weren't even allowed to do that, you know? 'cause we were in war. Yeah. You know, all those other mobs around us, you know, they were doing their thing, you know, whatever. But it was all out warfare on our block. Like we were a small gang, but we were strong right there. Gotcha. That spot where we were at, right there was, it was extremely strong spot.

Like nobody used to come and try to pull it right there. You know, like when they came, they came, you know, they came for, they came for it all. So we weren't allowed to do any type of drugs, you know, like that just, we could smoke weed, and, you know, We could drink, but that was a, that was all right. We weren't even allowed to sell heroin. Okay. Because it was too addictive and the temptation would destroy you. So we couldn't even sell that. Oh

Just based on the stories that people had shared and how addictive and, uh, the destructive, uh, that is. You know,

Yes. You know, like the one thing I say is about, about the Lord is linking you. He doesn't, you don't get treatment from Jesus. You know, you get healing from Jesus. Amen. I don't believe that. You know, you'll be like, oh, you're gonna be an addict forever. I don't believe that. No, I don't believe that. I, you know, Jesus set you free. Yes. And when he set you free, he set you free. You know, that's the, you know, he, he's the healer.

I don't, I don't believe there's anything that you can't overcome. Right. You know, once you, once you got God in your life, that that's it. Mm-hmm. When you let the, when you surrender and you let the Lord in, you're healed. You're not treatment, you're not to your next high. No. You're healed. That's, you know, I believe that, you know, in my heart of hearts, I believe that like, that there is, he does everything all the way. Jesus is in a treatment. He's secure. Yeah,

Now what, what eventually begins to happen? Maybe that makes you, I guess, want to change your ways or leave that. Nothing. Nothing. Okay.

Up until, you know, so, you know, up until I was like 16, you know, my dad, he, you know, he used to make us go to church, you know? Yeah. And I remember like, you know, Saturday the guys would come from Indiana Church, they're knocking on doors, they're trying to bring everybody to church. And I, I hated it. So I used to like, I used to stay up all night because I was, I didn't want to go to sleep and have to get up and go to church. It's crazy.

I would be so tired, which would make my next day worse because, you know, you go to church, you're there like eight hours, bro. It was, it was a long, long, long day.

So I would go to church there, you know, and Hermano, Fabio, his services were in Spanish. So his daughters would sit next to me and she would, they would, um, they would translate for me. Okay. You know, which was funny. 'cause most of the time we were the only ones in the church. I was really small church. Oh, yeah. You know? Yeah. But, you know, I learned, like, you know, I discovered Awana's there and, you know, I, I, he, he imprinted on me. You know, it's like he imprinted on my soul.

Jesus. You know, and that even though I knew I was doing wrong, I knew it when I was out there and I still did it. I, I, the only thing I could say is I, I had to be possessed because I knew what I was doing was wrong. I knew that that was wrong. I, I had that, that right and wrong in me from church, you know, and I still did it. Um, but once I went into the hood, that was it. Church stopped, it ended.

My dad would still try and try and try, you know, but I just, you know, I got older, I moved out. Okay. You know what I'm saying? So, so, you know, I remember my dad used to do drive-bys, you know, we'd be watching TV or whatever and, you know, he'll come from the room and you know, he's going to the fridge or the bathroom, he's going somewhere. And he would do drive-bys, you know, walk by. There's no TV in heaven. There's nothing. And in hell, there's nothing but eternal torture.

And I'd be like, man, what? What's going on? And you know, and this was we all, even my friends, you know, they used to come over. Okay. And you know, my mom always wanted to feed everybody. My dad was like that too, you know, don't ask 'em nothing, just give them a plate, you know. That's it. So, you know, if I had to come by, you know, from the n you know, I would come with the guys to the crib, you know, you know, they, they're bringing food out, you know, they're feeding us.

That was their thing, you know, my mom and my dad, you know, they were hosts, you know? Yes.

And I'm sure that maybe even your friends, you, you, you know, I don't know, you know, maybe some of them later on those words, those prayers, you know, maybe ministered to them. You never know. Oh

Like they still, to this day, all of them actually, everybody re they'll say that about my mom. She used to feed him and then my dad used to preach to him. You know,

I'm sure they're, you know, like inside, you know, like, man, you know, I don't deserve to be treated this nice, but that's, that's Jesus,

I remember my mom used to be like, you know, every time I hear shots over there, you know, I wonder if it's you. You know, I, I always wonder, you know, are, you know, are they gonna come and tell me, you know, that you're dead. You know? And I, and you know, there was shots every single night. I mean, there was every single night like. You know, it was little Iraq. That's what they used to call the hood. Oh yeah. Yeah. So they, you know, there was always shots going on right there.

Like, always, always going on right there, man.

You know, like, so, you know, when I look back, like, you know, like just the willingness to, you know, to do the things that we did and, you know, and then, you know, force other people to do it as well, you know, like, oh, it's war time. You know, I literally take a piece of paper, write every single person's name on that, on that piece of paper, and every single piece of every single person on that paper is gonna go, everybody's gonna pull a roll.

So you better get there early, because by the time they get to the end of that piece of paper, the police are gonna be all over that neighborhood and you're still gonna go. I mean, we were just, you know, we, we were just about that. I mean, like, we, we didn't, you know, say like, brothers get killed, brothers go to prison. And you know how we used to counter that argument? Sacrifices gotta be made for the nation. That was it. Don't even open your mouth to, to say something back.

That's just the end of the word. That's it. Sacrifices gotta be made for the nation, so, you know, be smart or not, but you're gonna do it. Right. That was, you know, that was it. You know? And so, you know, I did that for my, my whole life, man. You know, like, you know, I always say if I put that much effort into anything else, man, I'd, I'd have a doctorate. You know what I'm saying?

I would, I'd be, you know, like I would've been something huge if I had put that much effort into anything else. Right.

Yeah. For a real long time, you know. Um, what,

Like they were the next over, like they were the next over, I mean literally like the border was them at then, then. Yeah. You know, they were, you know, we were on this block and the very next block they were there. Yeah. Right. So we were, and you know, we all knew each other, we all grew up together. We all, you know, so this war, it got so bloody that, you know, once there was a couple of murders, like, it was like, there was no stopping it now, like right.

Like these are, you know, lifetime friends, people you know from, from birth, you know what I'm saying? So there was no block, there was no backing down. So, but I don't know who you would say won. Um, I would say that at the end of the war we were without a hood and they were without their whole first line. So everybody from their side that started the war was dead. And, and they stood with a block, but they could go outside and stand outside.

We couldn't, every time we would go outside, the police would come and get us. Every time they see us, they were grabbing us and these guys got guns. These guys are doing this, they're doing that, they're doing that. So we had so much heat on us that we couldn't move. We couldn't even breathe. So there was no way for us to, to do anything, to make any moves. And then that made us like super expand. But at the same time, it gave us that, it gave us that, that breath.

And I think I started realizing, man, that I've been in a cell my whole life. Everything I did was there. I ate there, I drank there. I bought my clothes there. I. Every, everything, everything I did was there. And then when we left, it was like, I tasted freedom. Gotcha. I started seeing the whole city. I remember like driving to Cicero from my hood, which was a 15 minute drive. It felt so far away, man. That felt like so far I'm not going all the way over there.

That nigga's way over there, I'm not going over there. That's, you know, that's far away, bro. It, it just seemed like, it seemed like an eternity, you know, away even going up to Fullerton, you know, we would drive up to Fullerton and, you know, do the Fullerton Drive. You know,

But like, we were stuck in this little, little tiny world and, I had discovered a whole big world, and I started exploring it and I started living it, and it started making me see another life. Like, you know, there's more to this world than this, you know? And, you know, I started getting older, I started seeing the disloyalty, I started seeing, you know, just the ratchetness of, you know, what I had been surrounded by.

I mean, you know, we, we, we lived, you know, we lived our life with an iron fist. You know, you, any, any mistake you made, you were getting a violation. And they weren't little ones like, you know, I remember one time, uh, more than one time, like literally getting bones broken, you know, and these are just violations, you know, like literally bones are broken. And, you know, I remember paying four, $500, you know, a week in fines.

You know, like, you want to get banged up or you wanna pay this fine, you know, our, our violations are, You know, they're famous. Like, you know, there there was so many recruits that were like, I'm not going over there, bro. Them dudes, they, they, they don't play them. They, I'm not going over there. Like, our violations were ruthless, just like we were, but I, there was just so much ratchetness, you know? And I started seeing all the, all the, all the, the disloyalty, you know what I mean?

And, and it, and it sickened me. You know, like you give your whole life to something, right? And then you realize like, what a scam this is a, these guys are a scam. They don't care about you, man. They could care less about you. You know, like you were an asset and you know, and now you're not. Yeah, that's it. Now you don't wanna do all that. You know what I'm saying? Because like, how many years you going to give, you know, I gave 30, I gave 30 years.

You know, like, that's, that's a lot, bro. Yeah. You know what I'm saying? Like, That's a lot. Yeah. I gave 30 years to be alive Is, is amazing. You know what I'm saying? Like amazing. You know, I've been shot down, I've been beat with bats, I've been stabbed. You know, I've just told on just, you know, you name it man, you know, you name it, you know, I've been through it all and it was all just a big scam.

So it's like, you know, when you started realizing it, it kind of like I turned away from it. Yeah. And then, I don't know. Then one day it was just like, I started feeling like, I don't know what happened. One day I just got up and I was like, I'm gonna church today.

It had been what, like five years had passed or something. And I just got up one day and I was like, you know, I'm gonna go to church. So I started, this was like in 2020, you know? Okay. Right. And I started going back to New Life, you know, over there. And then, you know, I went there for a while, then the pandemic happened. Yeah. And then I ended up not going back. And then a couple years ago, actually last year, my, one of my cousins, he got cancer and, um, he was in Georgia.

So, you know, I was going down there, you know, and we were like two peas in the pod that, you know, okay. Me and my cousin, like, we were very, very similar. And did he grow up out here? He also grew up in the city. Okay. He was up on the north side, like by Montrose and Hazel. Okay. All right. Around in that area, he was always, uh, an extreme north sider.

Okay. So, um, you know, he got sick, man, so, you know, I started going to to Georgia to visit him, you know, and then it was a p a period where he started getting better and then, you know, uh, the cancer took a, a real bad turn for the worse. So when it did, um, he ended up passing away and I, it was at his funeral actually. I was at his funeral and this pastor came, and the pastor was, he was actually preaching in Spanish.

And I remember first an American dude got up there and he was preaching. And then after him, the other pastor got in. You know, my Spanish is absolutely horrible, okay. But every hair on my body stood up. And when I tell you, like, for the first time in my life, the, the Holy Spirit fell on me. Mm. And I, I didn't realize it 'cause I was a pallbearer.

So I was sitting in the front row, but my wife was in the back, you know, like in the middle, you know, over there with everybody else, with the family. And it fell on her too. So that night we were at the house, you know, we went back, we were staying at an Airbnb and you know, we were drinking, you know, smoking, you know what I mean? And you know, and my wife was just like, man, you know, she was like, something happened when a pastor guy, you know, was up there talking, you know?

And I was like, which one? Which one? And she told me, you know, I, I still don't know his name. Yeah, yeah, yeah. He's from Indiana though. Okay. And, um, so weird. He's from Indiana. My cousin knew him, met him in Utah, and then he was in Georgia. Right, right. It's so weird. Did you know? So, you know, she was telling me, yeah.

Something weird happened and you know, and she's like, look, I got, my hairs are standing up and I just wanna, I just wanna cry and, you know, I think we need to change our lives. And I was like, what the hell? You know, what's what? So then I was like, I, but the thing is, is I felt it too. Gotcha. And I was like, man, I felt that too. Like, you know, like, I don't know what happened, like when he got up there, you know, and I just, I felt it all over my body.

So then we came back and, you know, like nothing happened. And then that's just one day I just got up and I was like, you know what, man? I'm gonna church today, man. And my wife was like, well, can I come too? I'm like, yeah, but I'm going, I'm not waiting on y'all. I'm going right now. So, you know, my wife got up, she got ready, you know, got the baby ready and you know, we, we went back to, we went back to church.

Okay. You know, it was crazy how, you know, because in 2020 we ended up at New Life and we seen Rudy there too. And I was like, whoa. Cicero. That's crazy. Yeah. Yeah. Cicero. Yeah, we went, 'cause we were living in Cicero, you know? Okay. So we ended up over there, you know, and we see Rudy there and we're like, wow, I remember you from over, you know, at the other church, you know? Right.

And then, um, so yeah, so I just, you know, I, I went back and then, you know, the devil was like, so the devil was, he wasn't ready. He wasn't ready yet to let you go, huh? Nah man. And so he, he turned up the heat, like, he turned up the heat, like, you know, like, like, like never before. Um, You know, they just, it started, you know, and he hit me from every direction, you know?

And my wife, she was, she was, you know, going back to church too, at that time, you know, we were trying, you know, and there was a woman's retreat, and, you know, and my wife, she, you know, she was gonna go, was the one that was downtown at Moody. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

So it was, you know, she had went to the women's retreat, and I remember she had told me, you know, before she left, she was like, you know, I don't know, but I feel like, you know, like, like the devil was just gonna come after you, you know? And, and I feel like he's gonna come after you and he's not gonna let you go. Like he's, you know, I feel I, for some reason, I feel like he's, he's, he's going to try to hurt you. And, you know, I, I was feeling it, but like, you know, I wasn't there yet.

You know what I mean? Gotcha. Okay. So I was just like, yeah, yeah. You know? All right. All right. So, you know, plus we were fighting because the devil was in war with me. Yeah. He was hitting me from every angle. He was attacking me, you know, through my family, through my marriage, financially, through work. I mean, when I say he was busy, he was literally, he was hitting me from every angle.

So she went, she went to Moody and then, you know, when she came back, I think it was the next day or two days later, you know, I had to go, I had to do a side job. So I remember it was pouring down rain again, just like it was that day when she told me. And I went to go do my side job. And you know, when I got there, there was nowhere to park. I was irritated, you know, already he was irritating my soul. Like he, he was, you know, he was hitting me just right. You know what I mean?

Before I left, I had checked the mail. There was like five bills, just, I mean, I was just like, oh man, you know? Fed up with my job. I'm fed up with my wife. I'm just, I'm fed up, I'm fed up, and I'm fed up, you know, and then, you know, so I get over there and I'm like, you know what? I'm not gonna even do this today. Like, you know what? I work for myself. I can, I'm coming back another day. I don't feel like doing this, man.

I jump back in my car, I leave, and while I'm coming home, I, I remember I put on some Brian Trejo and I put on the middle of my storm, and I was listening to that, and I, I had been listening to that song for years already. But that day, man, it hit me so hard that day was the day that the Holy Spirit came into my life. Mm. And and he took a tighter grip on me than the, than the devil could take on me.

Very Amen. His grip on me was, you know, and he just, he, he, the Holy Spirit descended on me in that car that day. I just started crying while I was driving. I was just, you know, I was just, Uncontrollably. I was just weeping. And he, like, the Holy Spirit just revealed everything to me. He revealed like, like his love, like, you know, I, I got this, you know, I got this. And at that exact moment, like I just, I surrendered, like, you know, I was just like, you know what? Like, I'm done.

I'm done. I, I'm done trying to fix this, you know? And, and I, I didn't know what I was doing. I had never did anything. I didn't, had absolutely no idea what was going on, what was happening. I just know that, that, that peace and that security that came on me, I had never felt it in my life. And I, I, I just, I surrendered right then and there, like, you know what, Lord? It's, it wasn't even like if you do this, if you do that, it wa no. I, I surrendered. Like that's it. Unconditional.

There's no strings attached here. Yeah. There's no, no nothing like, just, just come into my life. I'm, I'm done trying to do what I do it my way, you know? And, and, and the Lord revealed to me, like, it's almost like I could see the devil. Like he just showed me exactly like, this is, this is what's happening here. You know? He revealed to me everything. And it became so clear, you know, I, I could hear my wife's voice, you know, like the devil. This is the devil's attacking you, you know?

Yeah. And I seen, I seen his plan. I seen him, like, I seen like, oh, he's, he's attacking me. He's using my family to attack me. He's, he's using finances to attack me. He's using, you know, unhappiness at my job, which I should be so grateful for my job, you know, I got a great job, you know, like just two years ago. I prayed for a job they don't like that I got now. So like, what are you frustrated about?

Yeah. Like you should be so happy I should be falling down on my knees every morning and praising God for putting me in the sit. All of a sudden everything became clear. Like, look at last year. Look at two years ago. Yeah. Look at your life right now. Look at you like your finances. Even though like I'm ungrateful, I'm living in the flesh, he still, he has been blessing me. He has been setting up this very moment.

Even though I didn't deserve it all this time, everything became clear and I just started. And then from crying, I just started laughing like hysterically in the car. Like I see you, you know? And it's like I just looked at and I just said I could see the devil. Yeah. And I seen his little plan and I seen the strength of God and I knew that the devil was. Powerless. Yes. Only power that he had was what I was giving him. That's it. I was fueling his power.

I was giving him dominion over me, and all I had to do was stop. Yeah. I, there was nothing extra, nothing special, nothing supernatural. All I had to do was stop. That's it. I, I, I, his, his plans became clear. It's like, if it enraged him, you know, and I just, I couldn't, I mean, I was literally with tears running down my face. I'm flying down the highway and I'm laughing hysterically in my car like a crazy person, you know?

And I'm thinking in my head is, whoa, you know, when I get home, I tell my wife like, yeah, it's true. It's true. She was right. She was right. You know? And I swear it was almost like the devil was like, trying to like, scare me. Now he, he's mad and he's like, you know, like trying to tell me like, you know, like, I crashed this car right now, you know? And. You know, and it was something that was like, so scary and he just, I just started laughing harder.

Yeah. Because at that moment I realized, man, that I heard about it. And, you know, I thought I did it before, but at that moment I realized that I was saved. I realized that I was saved and his threats were nothing to me. All I thought was like, go ahead and I'll be with my father right now. Yes, go ahead. You could, you are powerless. Satan. You have no power over me. None. Nothing. You, nothing you can do can harm me.

If you were to crash this car and kill me right now, I know where I'm going. I'm not scared of you. You don't scare me. Your, your threats can no longer dictate any direction in my life. Nothing. And I remember I got home and I, you know, and I told him, man, you're right. The devil's been attacking me. And, you know, and I, and I told her everything that happened, you know, and, and, you know, and since then, it's like, like I, I, I'm so grateful now.

Yeah. You know, like, I'm always so grateful now. Like, I think I, I get mad, you know, I'm still fighting with anger. Okay. You know, I, that's, you know, this is my, my achill tend like, I'm still fighting with, with, with anger. And, and you know, and there is, there's still hate in my heart. You know? Like, these are the things that I pray for. Constantly, constantly, you know, like, Lord, please, you know, I, I know that it's the devil. I know. It's that little bit left in him.

And you know what, it took me, you know, it took 50 years to make me like this, you know, so it's not gonna all be gone in one day. I have to, you know, you know, when I go to church and now, you know what I'm saying? I really, really like for the first time, you know, like, When I, when I read my scripture, I absorb it. Okay. I understand it. Yeah. It speaks to me. I'm not just reading words on a paper. I'm not just reading a story anymore.

Like, I'm understanding that there's a message behind that now, you know, and, and I'm taking it in and I'm learning from it. Yeah. You know, I, when I, when I, when I hear the pastor, when I hear him preach, now I'm learning from that. I'm taking from that, you know, we have our meetings and we talk, you know, and I have brothers to lean on and ask questions.

You, Cisco, Mike, Bruno, Arturo, you know, like, this is, like, our fellowship means everything because that fellowship, I'm, I'm learning from that fellowship. I'm becoming a real man. You know, I'm becoming a better father, a better husband, a better Christian, a better person. I, I'm, I'm absorbing what's being told to me now. I'm now taking these, these examples, you know, and I'm absorbing them now. And, and just seeing like, you know what, you know, I'm learning these holy habits.

Yes. I'm learning like, okay, you know what? I'm learning to catch it now. Okay. You know, I gotta get these thoughts outta my head, you know, Lord, please help me. Like, you know, once I even catch it, I can now, I can now squash it. Yeah. I can get it out. I'm recognizing them and you know, like once, once, once the Holy Spirit, once you accept them, you know, it's like, I don't know how really to explain it except for, you know, like, you just have to surrender.

Yes. That's all it is, is, you know, just surrender. Like, just let go, stop trying to be in control of it. Just surrender to God, you know what I mean? Like, he loves you and you know, No matter who you are, no matter what you've done, you felt the Holy Spirit tugging at you. You know what I mean? I know you have. There's no way, you know, you have felt the Holy Spirit tugging at you. That's, that, that's the Holy Spirit. He, he's, that's, that's, that's He's knocking. Yes, he's knocking.

All you have to do is, you know, is open the door. You know what I'm saying? I'm also learning, you know, like, you know, learn how to be quiet, you know, be quiet. So this is a, a problem for me too. I have a big mouth and I think I know way more than I do. You know what I mean? But I'm learning now. I'm learning now that, you know, I'm learning, like you have to be quiet just because you learned a couple verses and you maybe learned one lesson. You're not even close.

You're not close, you're not there. So I'm learning how you know, and. You know, like, like they say, you know, God gave you one mouth and two ears for a reason. You know, listen. Yep. Listen more, talk less. Yes. You know, let your actions speak. Listen, and let your actions speak for you. You know, lean on the scriptures. You know, I was talking to Simon one day, okay. And I was telling him, you know, like, you know, um, he had the sinner's prayer with us one night.

Okay. You know, and I, and I saw to me like, you know, I'm letting you know, man, like, you know the devil he's gonna, he's gonna come for you. The devil's gonna come for you because he's not, he don't wanna let you go. Yeah. He's gonna come you, you know, and I know you got a lot of questions and the devil's gonna, you know, the devil, he's, he's a liar. You know? That's the only truth to the devil is that he's a liar. You know? That's good. And I told him, You don't need to believe anybody.

And the reason that you don't need to believe anybody is because we have the scriptures. And any question you've got, it's there. Yeah. But you gotta put in the effort to read it and find it. That's it. Put in the effort and you'll find it. You know, if you don't wanna believe anybody, you don't want people to lead you astray. You feel like you're still like, not really sure about what's going on, read your scripture. Like, if there's one thing I can say is, read your scripture.

Read your scripture. Read your scripture. Like, you know, that's, that's another thing that the devil uses too, is he tries to make you busy. Yeah. You know, so you don't get to, you don't get to get into the script. The scripture, I'm so far away from where I need to be with reading my scripture, but. I'm far enough to know that I need my scripture.

Like, our father loves us, you know, he's, you know, how does it say, you know, I, I knew you before you were in the womb. Yeah. How does it say? Right. Yep. I

And, you know, praise God every day, wake up and just say, thank you Lord. You know, because you woke up and somebody else didn't. Yeah. You know, somebody ran out of time and you didn't Yeah.

You say you put on some Bryann Trejo. For anybody that, that doesn't know Bryann Trejo, you need to go search him up. That's kingdom music. Basically a Christian rapper, and you mentioned this song, you listened to it before, but something happened in that one moment where man, it almost like spoke to you and the Holy Spirit fell. And man, the Holy Spirit could encounter you. And I'm talking to those that are listening to this podcast, right in your vehicle, right in your home.

You ain't even gotta be in the church. You ain't gotta be in front of a pastor like my brother mentioned, man, surrender. Stop, stop trying to do it on your own. You feel that, that knock, that, that tugging man, the Holy Spirit's been probably at you through different people through preaching. Maybe people been praying for you, people you encountered, been telling you, man, you need to draw close to God. You need to, to seek and follow Jesus and take this opportunity.

You know, don't, don't let it pass you. You know, if, if my brother's words, uh, we're speaking to you, man, just surrender like he did. Stop fighting him. Stop fighting. God. And that's, You mentioned something, the joy, the life that you have. It's amazing

Yeah. But it was probably a point in time when, you know, I know for me, like I wish that I could be living the way that I'm living now, you know? And I'm so focused on, you know, keeping up with the Joneses and yeah, oh yeah, I want this and I want that, and I want this and I want that. But there was a point in my life where all I would were just thinking like, man, if I could just do what I'm just doing right now, I would be so happy. My problems would all be over. You know what I mean?

The fact that we're alive free. Like, how many funerals have you been to? You know, how many people, like, do you know, that are doing life in prison? 20, 40, 60 years. 80 years, you know, in prison. They don't even gotta hope to come home. Yeah. You know what I mean? And here we are complaining that you're gonna get up and go to work a job that's, you know, paying for a pretty nice life. Yeah. You know, a life that you prayed for at one point.

Yep. And now you're like, now you're upset that you're gonna go to that job. Like, we're so blessed. The only thing is, is that we, we block the blessings. We block the, we block them because we're focused on what the next man got, you know, something else. Yeah. Instead of just being grateful that for what we got, you know, what we've been blessed with, um, we, we know too many people that didn't make it. Yeah. We know too many people that didn't make it.

You know, we drive by in our car every day. People that, that didn't make it. Yeah. You know, asking for money, drug addicts, mental problems, you know, living in the streets, you know what I mean? Like, you think that you got it bad, you know what I mean? Like they got it bad. Yeah. You know what I mean? And for you to just be ungrateful for what you got and then not even help them, you know what I mean? Drive by them and act like they don't exist.

Like they're like, they're just some disease or something, you know? And they're all God's children. Like we're God's children. Somebody loves them. You know, they were born at somebody's son, you know, at somebody's brother, somebody's sister, somebody's dad. These are people. Every person matters. We all matter. You know what I mean? And we have to, we have to stop looking at people like. Like we're, you know, that, that we're just a, a filthy sinner like anybody else.

Yeah. You know what I mean? So to look at somebody and even judge for a minute, you know, that the Lord, like our sins are, make us as dirty as that person that we're, you know, that we're judging. So, you know, get off, you know, sometimes we need to get off our high horse, you know what I mean? Yep.

And the passions of our flesh carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and we're by nature, children of wrath like the rest of mankind. And it in the beginning. And you were dead in your trespasses. When I read that, it reminded me. 'cause now man, I've been, I got saved in 2004, so it's been what, 17, 18 years now. And man, my life's totally different right from where it was from gang banging drugs and all that. Right From that, uh, uh, demon possessed, you know, I was there.

The darkness you mentioned. No conscience. You know, that's like long, long time ago now. Right. But I, I need this reminder that it says, and you were dead in your trespasses. And since me, I was there. So like you mentioned, when you see that, that brother that's struggling with the drug addiction, you know, that's maybe still out in the streets still. Gang bang, maybe his eyes haven't been opened. Like, like I was, I, I, I must never forget that I was there, that I was dead in my trespasses.

But then it says this in verse four, but God being rich in mercy because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses. Man, that's, that's, that's deep. Yes. You know, it says, even when we were dead in our trespasses. Amen. Amen. It says, he made us alive together with Christ. The only reason you mentioned a little while ago, life, man, that life, that joy.

Yep. Man, when the Holy Spirit came on you and just, you experienced that joy, even in the midst of the, the, the financial, the, the marriage, the all the whatever stress you were going through, all that pile up work, man, he, it says he made us. It says, it made us a a alive together with Christ by grace. You have been saved. And we by grace, we must never forget that. It's nothing that we did. Nothing that we deserve. What, what, what do we deserve is wrath. That's right.

What do we deserve is death. Hell yeah. Punishment. But, but what? By grace. And we must never forget that. Like, man, it's for real. Ephesians two. For anybody that's hearing this, our encourage. You read Ephesians two, that's only like a few scriptures, but all the way to like 14. It says in, uh, verse 13, it says, but now in Christ Jesus, you who once were far off, have been brought near by the blood of Christ. The only thing that brings us close to God is the sacrifice that Jesus did for us.

That's right. That's it. Amen. It's nothing, it's not nothing. We did me praying, me helping old lady cross the street. Nothing. There's nothing that me or Julio could do to atone for our past sins. You, you just heard this man, share his, all his past there. There's nothing he could do now. Pay the penalty about whatever crime, whatever things you were involved in. Nothing. But it says here in Ephesians two 13, but now in Christ Jesus, you who was, who were far off, which is all of us.

Maybe if you're listening and, and you feel far away from God, like man, maybe your lifestyle, maybe the, the things you've been doing, things you've been involved in, you know, you know in, in, in your heart. Like man that's separated. The Bible says that is sin that separates us from God, right? But what what brings us near, it says, we've been brought near by the blood of Christ.

So all you gotta do is accept the sacrifice, accept Him as Jesus, I believe in Roman says, for if you confess with your mouth and believe in your heart that Jesus is Lord, you will be saved. And it's that simple. It's a prayer. It's a, like my brother in, in his car. You, you could experience that, that the salvation, you could experience that, that freedom that comes even in the midst of life storms to have joy. To know that man, you have purpose, that you mentioned your alive for a reason.

Yep. You could have been dead. How many funerals, how many brothers are locked up, you know, doing all this time. But yeah, I just wanted to share that. I know when you started talking, that's why I had to go to the scripture, man. Yeah. That

That's a, that's the only pathway to get there. Amen. You know, we have to be grateful. We have to accept that, you know, we have a living God. You know, our God is a living God. You know? Yeah. What other gods. Are living, you know, like no other gods are living. Only one You know, you can, whatcha gonna, you can go pray to a statue. Go ahead, pray all day. I think it's a statue. Will never speak back to you. Never. There is no other religion with a living God. We, uh, we have the living God.

Our God speaks to us. Our God loves us. Our God is involved in our, every single day lives protecting us, every day trying to lead us. You know how much love and grace is that he literally spends, you know, every waking moment of every day trying to, to get us to acknowledge him and realize that, you know, he's there. All we have to do is accept it. And that's, you know, that's for us. Like, that should be easy. Yeah.

Like, I, I believed in that, you know, like, you know, I'm not gonna name 'em, but certain statues, certain images, if you didn't believe in 'em, I, I didn't want to hear anything you had to say. Mm-hmm. I was all about that. You know, it's all about like worshiping in and believing 'em, paying homage. is Isaiah 44, 15 through 18. And it is talking about, uh, here, he, he's talking about, uh, somebody that cuts down a tree, right?

And, and, and, and, and this is in Isaiah 44 and the starting of verse 14. It says, he cuts down cedars, or he choose, chooses a cypress tree or re oak, and lets it grow strong among the trees of the forest. He plants a, a cedar and the rain and nourishes it. Then it becomes fuel for man. He takes part of it and warms himself. he kindles a fire and bakes bread also. He makes a God and worships it. He makes it an idol and falls down before it. Half of it, he burn burns in the fire.

Over the half he eats meat. He roasted and is satisfied also. He warms himself and says, aha, I am warm. I have seen the fire. And the rest of it he makes into a God is idol. He falls down to it and worships it. He prays to it and said, deliver me for, for you are my God. They know not nor they, nor do they discern for He has shut their eyes so they cannot see in their hearts. So they cannot understand.

No one considers, nor is their knowledge or discernment to say half of it, I burned in the fire. I also baked bread on its coals. I roasted meat and have eaten, and shall I make the rest of it An abomination shall I fall down before a block of wood? Man, when, when, when I came to, to faith, when in, in, in Christ, that scripture like just blew my mind. Like in this story, he cut down a tree. He made a fire with part of it, right? The tree, part of the tree, he burned.

He used to cook meat and with another part of that same tree, he made an idol and bowed down to it. How foolish is that? Right? To bow down to something where you have an idol, they make it into a form of a God. They make it into a form of a saint, and the other, they make it into an ashtray. They make it into a cup, can make it into anything anymore. And here you are, bowing down to it, worshiping it, kissing it. Like I, I, I just gotta share that man.

'cause I, I don't think I've talked about idolatry. Mm-hmm. But I was heavily involved in it. And man, I, I just wanna throw it out there, like, read the scriptures. I know my brother, you kept talking about, man, I need more scripture. Read the scripture. It was the scripture that opened my eyes to what I was doing basically, man, that's one of the 10 commandments. You know, you should not worship anything, you know, idolatry. But you know, hey, if, if, if you're doing it, if.

If you've been, you know, maybe somebody's told you about it and you just reject them. Ah, man, get outta here, man. You ain't gonna make me change my mind. I'm gonna keep doing what I'm doing. My, my parents were doing it, my grandparents, and I'm gonna keep the tradition going. Just open up the Bible, pray ask the Holy Spirit to speak to you and see if that's what you should be doing. You know? But I, I just want to touch, touch on that man, that idolatry man. But, uh, Hey, hey Julio.

What, so that happened. You wanna tell us what's God doing in this season? Or maybe what's he placed in your heart as like, moving forward?

I'm, I'm no longer making plans, you know what I mean? Like, now I'm waiting on, you know, what the Lord wants me to do, you know? And what I'm learning too in my walk is you don't have to, don't make plans. He'll, he'll deliver you the plans. He'll, he'll bring you what you, what he wants you to do. All you have to do is shut your mouth and listen. That's it. Listen. Stop talking. Stop planning. Just listen. The Lord brings you. To where you need to be.

It, it's a, it's again, you know, it's about surrendering and, you know, having faith and a hundred percent trust in the Lord, he'll, he'll bring it to you and you'll know that it's him when he brings it to you. So, you know, right now it's all about, you know, just, you know, just trying to get in my scripture, you know, um, overcoming these, you know, these last things I got, you know? And of course, the never ending battle or the flesh that will never end, you know?

But, you know, just, just listening and, you know, and obeying. Amen. You know, I just wanna be obedient right now. I wanna be listening. Um, you know, I need to, I need to, to be in his scripture so I can hear him when he comes to talk to me. So, you know, right now I just wanna serve, you know, and however, you know, however he puts that on me to do. And, you know, I. And that's what'll happen.

You know, like you were saying, like, you know, on Thursday we're gonna go to Wheaton, I didn't plan that. Right. You know what I mean? I didn't plan that. And when you don't plan it and you let God lead you, he'll lead you to where you need to be. It's just have faith. Amen. Have faith, have the patience. Shut your mouth, open your ears. Be obedient. You know, you listen, you listen. You know, put me in Coach, right? Yes. All right, well, listen.

Yeah. And when he's ready, he'll put you in, you know? So that's where I'm at right now, just getting myself prepared, you know? Um, so when the time comes, I'm ready.

It's gonna, it's going speak to them and, um, I pray that this will minister to them and that many will encounter in God the way you encountered Him. Ev even alone, like I mentioned, the car at home, wherever they're at, we, I pray, we pray that you will encounter God, the Holy Spirit, the way my brother encountered him. Hey, Julio, any final words? And then could you close us out in prayer? Sure.

So I appreciate, you know, you, um, You having me on here today? Um, I thank you for your guidance. Uh, you've, you know, you've been a big part of, of my spiritual walk since I've been here in the church. Um, you know, you've been very much have been a role model. Just, you know, um, taking the time out, you know, to, to show me and, you know, and, and, you know, not, not just tell me, but show me. Mm. So that's, you know, that's a big thing, you know, the fellowship.

I, I thank all my brothers too, you know, for being there for, we could, you know, to lean on each other. And I just hope that, you know, that, that we, you know, just keep it moving and, and, you know, and, and get where we need to be. You know what I mean? So, yeah. I, I thank you for that. Um, I pray for everybody that's out there. You know, if, if you feel God's tugging at you, you know, just don't fight it, you know, don't fight. You know, just surrender, you know what I mean?

And, and just be obedient. It's all about obedience. So, you know, um, be obedient. Listen to that inner voice. You know, we all know right from wrong. So, you know, we all, we need to do what we need to do. We know what we're supposed to be doing. So, you know, let's, let's just get to it.

That, that you could see that you're not alone, that Jesus is there. You know, our father is there and he loves us. He gave everything for us, Lord Jesus. Everything. You gave it all for us, Lord. And we thank you for that. We're gracious for that. We thank you for your mercy, for your mercy, that, that you have given to us Lord, that we're, that we're sinners, and, and you, and, and you have just a nonstop love for us.

We, we thank you for the gift of eternal life, Lord, and to allow us to, to come and be with you, Lord. Um, we pray for every year that's hearing this, that, that they, that they, they lean on the person who's there speaking with them. There's always somebody speaking with them, trying to deliver your message, Lord Jesus. And we just, we pray that they would just listen to them and, um, and come home, go to that church. Call them, call that number on that pamphlet.

You know, whatever it is that you found and that put that, that put the Lord on your heart. Just that, that, that they would just listen to that. We ask all this in your name, Lord Jesus. Uh, we thank you for being a living God. And for being with us every day. And we pray, Lord, that, that we could live up to, to where you need us to be. So pray this all in your name and the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. Amen.

But you definitely need to get plugged in. Uh, get plugged in somewhere where they got maybe some small groups where it be for men, women, youth, and man, just go somewhere where people are gonna challenge you to grow. And I know you mentioned like growing spiritually, you know, like getting in the word prayer. We, we all need one, one another in this walk.

We need God. But then God will send, you know, men, brothers to pray for us and encourage us and just continue to, to, to walk this walk, you know? So, uh, I just wanna thank my, my guests, Julio Mercado for joining us on here. Uh, once again, I wanna thank you guys for joining us. Matthew four 16 reads, the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death, light has dawned. That's Julio Mercado I'm Omar Calvillo.

We are wrong to strong.