"The Source of Our Strength"- w/ Arturo Gamino & Cisco Terrazas

Welcome to the podcast, brothers. Thanks. Thank you.

Okay.

But yeah, maybe give a little recap of maybe why people should go, you know, and check out your

So, take a listen. You can, hear my story. Um, the things, that I've been through before, knowing Christ, uh, like he said, BC right before Christ, um, and what God's done after, uh, he, he basically, uh, opened my eyes, right? Mm-hmm. I think, uh, that's one thing. We're all, we're all blind before we know him, right? Mm-hmm. Uh, we're, we're living in darkness, but I, I get to share, kind of a bit of my, my life growing up, uh, in Chicago, in, uh, around 26th Street area.

And, um, and I think it's very relatable to many. so, uh, like he said, like he mentioned, it's, uh, one of the first episodes. Um, I'm not sure exactly which one, but, uh, take a look. I'm Arturo. and it references Little Village, so yeah. Mm-hmm. You know, I get to share about, uh, my family, myself, what God's done, just the people in the neighborhood, uh, things like that. So, uh, I think it's very, very interesting.

Um, I was used to, you know, I have a big family, very, very large family. You know, I remember, I think I had explained them the, um, in the podcast. We had like almost 18 people, 18 deep bro in one house, bro, like three floors, you know what I mean? So it was always definitely just, it, it was constant gatherings and, and, my house, which, which was my dad's house, uh, that was the party, the go-to. Everyone always had, uh, was always welcome and stuff like that.

But anyways, you know, obviously that's just me growing up, uh, getting married, you know, getting a job, going to school and, and, and in the midst of all that, still not having Christ making a ton of mistakes, bro. And then eventually, you know, I get that, that, that really hardcore like, I turn around, I say, what am I doing in my life? You know?

And that's when God makes me, opens my eyes, release, relieve me of those blinders, like the horses dude, and helps me to see, dude, you know what I mean? Mm-hmm. And it's, and ever since then, dude, it's just been really like, like I had mentioned before, being grounded and, and just re remaining faithful in the word bro, even though I know every day is not a perfect day, but every day is an opportunity, bro, to always be growing and always be doing better, you know what I mean?

Uh, and that's through him, not through me, dude. 'cause, because every time I took control, that's when I always lost navigation. You know what I mean? So I always have him make sure that he's in the front seat and I'm the passenger. You know what I mean? Right. So,

You know, like, is this guy crazy? You know? What was your first thought back then? 'cause think about it, it was fresh. I didn't know what I was doing. You know? What was your, what was your mindset back then when you decided to sit here and man, and start this out? Basically, man,

So this is my second. Uh, church where I now am totally a lot more committed at this point now, and like, and I have so much deeper connection, relationship with you guys, you know? Uh, so it's been always now new life, Cicero. Right, right. Uh, in a sense, and not, not to, not to, you know, not to call out any other place. Every other place is gonna be different for everyone. You know, this is just this, this was my calling. Right? Right.

You can kind of say in a sense, but, um, you know, both you and I, well, you started the, the, the Wednesday workout, right? And, um, and I just decided, Hey man, you know what, it's, it's time for me to commit a little more and say, let me try to help you out whenever I can. Right? So even before this podcast, you had that kind of going on. You had other stuff going on too, and so did you, you know, going with the Bible, uh, Thursdays and stuff like that.

Um, and then you brought this up and I'm like, it, it sounded, it did sound crazy. Not in a bad way, dude. I'm not say like, it did sound crazy. Not in a bad way, dude. It's just more like, I, I wasn't expecting it to move as fast as it did. Then here's, here's the thing I'm thinking more like, again, it kind of comes to that mind thinking. It's like, are are you in control or is God in control? Right? And when you said, you know what, man, this has to be done. It needs to be done.

It wasn't because it was like you were the one who wanted to do it. It's because, you know, this was God's calling. You know what I mean? And JC pushed you, bro. He put you on that seat and said, take off with you. You know what I mean? Dude. And look where we're at now. We, I dude, to be honest with you, I didn't even think a whole year. I mean, it's been a year already, bro. It's gonna be a year next month, you know what I mean?

So that, that was just my, my thought pattern to it, you know what I mean? So

I had a burden, like to clean my basement. Remember, I reached out to you, I reached out to a few brothers, and, uh, yeah. For those that don't know, my, my, my basement was like filled with, uh, like old stuff. When we bought this house, it still had like old furniture and old things, and I, I wanted to keep it, give it a kind of that antique look. We even had a pool table and stuff, but man, I just felt like, man, I need to clean out, throw out everything. I don't know. And, uh mm-hmm.

Arturo was here, man. He helped me throw a bunch of stuff out, right? Helped me put a bunch of stuff in the garage. And, uh, so that, that, that's how it started, man. It started by a burden. Like, I, I didn't know what was gonna happen in this basement. Mm-hmm. But I think I shared with you, I, I, I just felt like God want, wanted to be more, uh, to show more, uh, hospitality. Mm-hmm. Like to open up my home to invite men, to invite, uh, you know, like to do ministry, you know what I'm saying?

To invite guys over. But I didn't know how that was gonna look. And, uh, that was in November. And that, that's when, uh, that same month later on, uh, that's when, uh, JC got saved, you know, and that's when we reconnected about a month later. And going back to, uh, what he mentioned about the workout in the word that started in April, which is like, what, three months later?

Yeah. So basically workout in the word Wednesdays, we get together here, you know, we live weights for about an hour, hour and a half. Yeah. And then we, we get into the word, we get into a a Bible study. And then come September, Mm-hmm. So September the idea came and in October we started as we sat, sat down. But yeah, I just wanted to share that Arturo was there. Hey, we, we cleaned out this basement, not knowing what it was gonna be used for.

And here we are now in a little makeshift studio that we got some signs, some lights. Mm-hmm. But, uh, yeah, let, let me ask you that question, Arturo. Uh, when, when you came, we only, there was no lights, no nothing, no camera, just audio. What, what, what was your like, uh, I guess thought. When, when, when we started this, like in the beginning? Well, well, you

and so I, you know, I came along with other, uh, uh, some other brothers here. Um, your brother was here too? Yeah. Um, helped us out. Uh, and we just, we, we, we cleaned out the basement, um, I didn't really know what was, what was in, in store. Right. but, but I'm like, all right, let's do it. And then he started a few months later that, like he mentioned, was the, uh, the workout and the word, you know, the, the put out the, uh, the weights and So when, months after that, right.

Fast forward, then you're like, Hey man, I got this thing. I bought this equipment, this and this and that. I'm like, oh, cool. You know? That sounds good. I was excited, you know, um, I, and not so much because like, oh, cool, I get to be on a podcast. I didn't even, I honestly didn't even wanna be on a podcast. Whoever knows me, I'm, I'm like really laid back and I like to stay. I love to help out, but I like to be in the, in the background, you know, introvert too, right? Introvert, yeah.

Very right. And, and, and then, um, so he asked, uh, how was it, right? With no cameras and everything. It was great. No cameras, right? Yeah. But I still, you know, uh, um, just sharing on, on something recorded was, was, was challenging, right? Mm-hmm. But at the same time, like I know, You had that burden, like you mentioned, you had that burden.

It was a God-given burden, you know, and, and I, really enjoy just, um, attaching to, to, to places where it's, uh, like a God-given thing, you know? Uh, even, even do I go along as a passenger just to see what God's doing. Yeah. Or, or whatever it is, you know. Um, so when he's like, uh, when he wanted to do this, I'm like, all right, cool. You know, I started praying for him, uh, praying with him. Yeah. Um, and so, and then he asked, Hey, man, you wanna, I'm like, all right.

Like, I'll pray about it, you know? Yeah. Um, but, but I did, and praise God, you know, I figured, well, we'll give God the glory, you know, but, and then fast forward to now, almost a year later, um, you're right, we're going almost two years when you first had that burden, right? Right. To get the basement prepared. Um, and not only did he clean it out, but, but he did work down here. He painting, right? Mm-hmm. Lighting all kinds of stuff.

but you know, it's really awesome to see, like, when someone is just driven by a burden given to them by God, you know? Mm-hmm. So you, you do want to go ahead and somehow be a part of that, you know? Mm-hmm. Even like I said, if, if you're just sitting in the passenger seat or whatever, but, to see, to see what God is, to see God moving, and for those who, who see God moving, they, they know what I'm talking about. Just how awesome that is, you know? Mm-hmm. Just really, it's an awesome thing.

So, um, I was, you know, I, like, I was

But, uh, one thing I wanted to share about that you, there, there, there's a song is like, I will make room for you. What I'm saying, like, I will make room, basically making room for God. Mm-hmm. And I think a lot of times we try to over spiritualize things and like for instance, that fact just cleaning out this, this basement, like physically it was physical labor. Mm-hmm. There was nothing, if you think about nothing spiritual in that. Right.

But just getting rid of old junk cleaning the house and just, and I, I didn't know I, there was really like no plan. Right, right. There was no workout in the word. Mm-hmm. Uh, like, you know what I'm gonna do because of this or that. Nah. Like, I just feel like I gotta be hospitable. I don't, I don't, yeah. There was, there was no blueprint.

And, um, I think sometimes you just gotta do those promptings, like cleaning your room, like cleaning your house and you, you don't know what, what's, what's coming next. And like you said,

'cause you, you don't know what was in stored, but you knew, okay, I gotta prepare, you know? Right. So

He uses you as the vessel, bro, and you're moving around, you don't know what's going on, but that it's not for you to know it. Like it's, he's got the plan. He's the one who knows what, what he's doing. We're just like the vessel and we're just kind of like moving as it's kinda like, like we're his puppets. You can kind of say, you know what I mean? That's kind of how I feel sometimes.

Most of the times, especially when I'm making moves, I'm like, as long as I know that I'm, you know, putting God first, right, in every decision making that I, that I do. Sometimes when I put that, that first step forward, sometimes I don't even know where the heck I'm going to be honest with you. I'm like, wait, where am I going? It's like, is this, is this? Then I start thinking, I'm like, well I can't, I'm not the one in control, right?

It's like I'm letting God be in control, so let's see where this goes. And that's kind of where I kind of take it kind of day by day in a sense. You know, maybe. I think that's just, maybe that's what happened. You know, you were moving around cleaning everything out 'cause he was already preparing you for

So that, that, that's the way I, I, I look at it, my ministry, you know, it's like, it's, it's even not even this, it's not even, I think what makes this easy for me is that it's not about me, is the person that's sitting right here in the chair mm-hmm. That's doing most of the talking, you know? And for real, that, that makes it easier. 'cause I know Arturo mentioned, you know, being introvert, being quiet, and that's me.

I be, you, you guys, Don I don't like to talk, I don't like to be the center of attention, but man, I thought that's what makes it easy. And I, and, and that this is for, for that person and for their story. Mm-hmm. And, and, and another reason why I wanted these brothers here, one of the things I wanted to talk about today specifically is what role the bible, the scripture played in our lives, in our transformation and the change that happened in our lives.

But also as we look throughout these stories, so for, for those people that have been listening to these podcasts, you, you hear the, the, the transformation. A lot of these guys streets, gangs, drugs, drug dealing, incarcerated, And then, man, God came in and, and changed their life, right? Mm-hmm.

But a lot of them, if you listen to the story, they, they share scriptures or certain occurrences where somebody shared something, uh, whether they evangelized to 'em or a certain, uh, uh, part of the Bible was shared to 'em, maybe they heard a sermon. Mm-hmm. And, and, and, and throughout all these stories, the word of God played a big part.

So one, one of the questions I asked these brothers to, to share some stories, how, how the word of God, how, how the Holy Bible, the scriptures, played a role in basically getting them to where they're at today as men, as husbands, as fathers. So, so that's the the question I'm gonna throw out. Who, whoever wants to go first, you know, don't, don't don all rush in at once. You know, I don't know how too, you

Um, and, and it's alive, right? Uh, but when I first became a believer, you know, I, I just would read it because I thought that's what we were supposed to, I'm, I'm, I'm

That that's the way I, I, I'm gonna be honest. Yeah. So, uh, what was your guys, uh, perspective of the Bible prior to God? Coming into your life, softening your heart and opening up, you know, the importance of the Bible. What was your view on the Bible prior to that? So maybe let's start there. Yeah. Well, you know what, like, like my view,

I was very, very ignorant when it came to even just thinking the Bible. 'cause eventually, um, As I grew into my teen years, I started getting into this dumb idea that I'm like, oh man. It's like, ev, any guy, every, any average schmo, uh, schmo who wrote it, they probably lied about it anyways. Right. Okay. It is like, so what's the point of even following it in a sense? So you thought,

It's just like, even the people that I do love so much, bro, and were, you know, came up to me, even talked to me about it, dude. I, I almost kind of like made them feel bad, bro. Yeah. Like, I was really horrible dude as a person. Definitely, dude. I was a, I had a wicked heart, bro. Definitely. And I'm not saying that I don't have a wicked heart now, dude, but I definitely like, look back, bro. I was ashamed, very, very ashamed of this dude, because now it's like, man, I know.

My who my father is, dude. And I was like, I would never ever want to even think of ever going back to that. You know what I mean?

Dismissing the Bible and dismissing his people. Mm-hmm. You know what's funny?

It says, All scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. Two Timothy three 16. So like now, maybe is, is there a story or something where the, where the word of God, like maybe brought confirmation, brought some conviction, some change in your life? Like, you, you wanna share

Uh, you know, because I, obviously, uh, accepted Christ, I wanted to draw near to him. Mm-hmm. Um, but I was very young, right in, in, in very young, in age and very young in, in, in the, in the Lord. Um, so I started to pray and then I see, as I kept continuing to read, it started making sense. You know, not all of it, but a lot of those, a lot of, a lot of the scriptures started popping out at me, you know? Um, it started like, oh, hey, I do that.

And the Bible saying I shouldn't be doing that. You, you,

And if the light you think you have is actually darkness, how deep that darkness is. This is one of the first scriptures that, going back to when, uh, when I got saved, you know, when I gave my life, when I surrendered my life to Christ and I opened up the Bible, like you mentioned now was popping out. Yeah. Basically like coming alive or like understanding it and like bringing conviction. Yeah. Yeah. This one is actually the first podcast I released was, uh, have you seen the Light?

That was the title. It was based on this SCR scripture. And I remember, uh, and I shared it in that podcast. I won't share the whole thing, but mm-hmm. How a, a gang member used to come, uh, come to us and tell us, Hey shorties, when are you guys gonna see the light and join the gang? Like, turn out. That was his way of telling us that that's the light, that's what we should be doing. Mm-hmm.

So then this scripture, tying it back to scripture, when I read this, it brought that to remembrance that, that incident mm-hmm. Or those few instances where they would tell us, Hey, See the light and join the gang, you know, turn out, you know, be part of us. And like, man, like if the Bible says, man, if the light you think you have is actually darkness, how deep that darkness is.

Yeah. So, man, I was deep in darkness to think that that lifestyle, those things that I was a part of and partaking in, what's light was the light man, that was, yeah.

We were living was wrong. That we were on, on the way to hell, you know? Yeah. Um, and, and, and blind. When you're blind, you don't, uh, uh, obviously I'm not blind, right. But, uh, from my understanding, when you're blind, all you see is darkness. Mm-hmm. That's how we were, we were blind and we, and we were so in this darkness, and that's what made us blind. Yeah, that's sin. Yeah.

Yeah, it's a pretty thick book, bro. Yeah, it's gonna take you some time to read, but I think it's a good read. It's a definitely good read. You know, I'm, I'm almost to a point actually of almost completing it for the first time in my life. Nice. Completing the whole thing, you know? Uh, so it's gonna be a little over, just slightly over a year completing it. But, uh, anyways, just to kind of give you an example of, of, of me, right? There was one scripture, um, it was Isaiah 41 13.

I'm not gonna speak on it yet because I'm gonna talk about what brought me to that scripture. Okay. Um, so I got saved in 2013. That was like 10 years ago, bro. I'm 39 now. So I was like, about 29 is when I, when I, when I got even, yeah. Baptized. Actually, I got saved 2011, got baptized 2013. Anyways, dude, I'm almost, I'm in my, you know, well in my thirties already at this point, close to my thirties. Um, back in 20, I think it was like 2000, man, it was like early 2000, dude.

Um, this is obviously BC before Christ, right? Um, I had this, this, um, this dream, bro. And, and this was during a dark time, bro. I was going through, um, through a depression. Uh, I had really bad anxiety and I never actually even knew I had all that stuff 'cause I never went to the doctor for it. And I mean, that's typical Latinos, bro. We don't go to doctor for anything. We're we're, we're hardcore, man. We don't need doctors, right? Tell us what to do.

Anyways, dude, I had this dream, um, and it was just really nuts, bro. It, it's like, it was like, it was really, really, really bright bro. Super, super bright. And I was, and I saw this fence, this, this black, straight up like, bro, like the hood, like those, uh, metal fence dude, that everybody paints black and stuff like that, you know, like it will, okay, so I'm on one side, dude, and, and I'm looking around my side of the fence and it's, it's all the hood, bro. It's all the high rises.

The, the, the, the, the buildings. Um, which may call it like the, just the neighborhood bro, like my neighborhood, right? And then on the other side, dude, I saw, um, But I could only describe Dude to be kind of like heaven, bro. And, and I can't really describe it, bro. Right. It's really, really, really hard because the reason I say that is because I saw an image, someone bright bro, and I'm talking about Bright. I could not see his face at all, bro. And, and I did see like a robe, right?

He was wearing this white robe, bro, this Garmin or something like that, dude. Yeah. And for some reason I wasn't scared of it or anything like that. I just couldn't really put my, like, what, what I was seeing. I couldn't understand what I was seeing. I remember just sticking my hand, uh, between the fence, bro, kind of like almost asking him to, to touch me. And he did, bro. He actually grabbed my hand. It was a him, bro. I can tell. 'cause it was a manly hand dude.

And he grabbed my hand and the only thing I heard from him was like, everything's gonna be okay. Everything's gonna be all right. I remember waking up, bro. Just in tears, bro. Just bawling in tears, bro. I went, go talk to my, my mom about it. 'cause that was probably the only person I kind of felt comfortable about it. Right. But I was kind of dismissed, bro. You know what I mean? Like, you know, typical mother's like, ah, it's like, ah, yeah. It's, it's, it's a, it's just a, it's a dream.

What else? What else can you say? Right? But I know that was God bro. That was God talking to me, you know what I mean? Like really telling me everything's gonna be okay. Now I fast forward, bro. I didn't get saved till like 10, 11 years later, bro. And, and you know, it's like all these things just kept going, right? Anyways, getting back to the scripture, bro. So in Isaiah 41, 13, the scripture is, um, for I am your Lord, your God. What? Hold on, bro. Ahead. Get it.

Listen, I'm getting, I'm actually getting nervous, bro. 'cause I can't sometimes remember scripture that,

Um, I don't, I can't remember exactly when I read that scripture. I was, it was a little bit before I got saved. Right. Uh, but like I said, it spoke to me, dude, and it just, it hit me dude hard like that. You know what I mean? So that's why I really do believe Yeah. It has that God's breath. You know what I mean? Yeah. That, that's how powerful scripture

And by me praying, the scripture coming, I don't know, to my mind or to my heart, however, that was, that's all it took for me to get married. Like, I know that God speaks to us like through his word, you know? Mm-hmm. So that's just one example, like, and I have so many. Mm-hmm. But like the, like as I was, I was telling my wife as, as I've been, uh, as we've been doing these podcasts, that's been a, a common theme. The word of God. It's not just God, isn't it?

That, that's why I wanted to share like, the importance even like in the, like a physical bi bible, uh, in, um, who was it? Uh, Damien. Damien cash interview. Mm-hmm. Uh, and if you guys go back to listen to him, I think his was from beats to the streets. Mm-hmm. There's part where he's in the, in the, in the federal prison. And, uh, he's like really low. They throw him in segregation. So he's basically locked, locked up by himself in a cell.

And he, he was mentioning how he was, he made a, basically a, a rope outta sheets. He said he cut his sheets, made a rope. He was getting ready to hang himself, and he said he was throwing the, the rope over a kind of like a light, what we say, like a light pole or something? Light fixture or something? Yeah, like a light fixture. He was trying to get it over. He said he kept throwing it and throwing it in one of those throws. He said that the rope went to the, the gate.

Okay. You know, like his door. Mm-hmm. And, uh, he said that the. The light was coming in through a window or something. He said, look, I remember he, he said it looked really like movie ish mm-hmm. That the light was hitting directly at the gate, and right at the gate was a Bible. So he said he looked like, man, who, who the heck put that there? So he said, he grabbed the Bible and started reading Psalms, and he just kept reading and reading and reading.

And basically that, like he mentioned, he said, the Bible saved my life. You know, it's like it is. So that's just one that that came to my mind. I'm like, man.

And it is more like is, is as I'm, I'm thinking about these, uh, interviews of, of guys sharing how the transformation came even from somebody sharing the word with 'em or, you know, but yeah, if you guys have any other like scriptures or stories where, you know, the Bible convicted, that taught you, corrected you or encouraged you, you know mm-hmm. Helped you, you know, like you mentioned anxiety. Yeah. You know, that you were going through. But

Is you're believing things that aren't true, right? Mm-hmm. Um, but, but the Bible says, uh, cast your, your thoughts on things that are true, right? Yeah. And so, so that's part of, that's part of the scripture, right? That helped me so many, you know, uh, the word of God talks about anxiety so much, right? He cast your, your, your, your anxiety, you know? And so that's one in one sense, right? Like there was, there was so much scripture, you know? Right. Mm-hmm. Regarding that, you know?

Like, like, it, it's, it's, uh, interesting how, uh, what people go through nowadays. It, it's still in the Bible. It's all in the Bible, you know? Yeah. It doesn't change, you know? Um, so like, you know, we know the Bible was written over 2000 years ago, right? Uh, and it's, and I never really struggled with anxiety, you know, until a couple years ago. And,

Because it's clear there. Yeah. It says, you know, it's like give, he says, gimme your anxiety. He's like, put your thoughts on things that are true things, you know, not things of this world, you know? Yeah. Um, uh, and then that's exactly, that was one of the key points there that really turned, turned it around for me was think, put your thoughts on things that are true. I'm like, well, right. It's true. You know, my, my, my crazy thoughts aren't true, you know? Mm-hmm.

I just keep thinking what if, or this, that, blah, blah, blah, you know? But what is true is that we know that God, God is good, you know? Mm-hmm. That God, God, uh, will work things out, um, that he's got a calling on our lives. Mm-hmm. There's things there and there's always things in our lives that we need to do. Right. So it just, Do those things, honor God, advance his kingdom. and so those were, those were the things that were, that, that God was helping me get through, you know?

Amen. So, with truth, 'cause that's what the word the scripture is truth, right? Yes. So it's

My, uh, my faith is in Christ, right? And my hope is in, in Christ, you know? Uh, and so that, okay, well, and we know that, where do we learn this from? Well, everybody from experience. I knew that. I learned all that from the word of God, right? Yeah. Even if I've heard sermons many times, where do they, they come from, they sharing scripture. Hopefully that's what Oh, yeah,

It'll give you, so, so any of you guys, just a little, you know, if you guys are like, man, there's this scripture. Mm-hmm. Even if you remember three, four words. Yeah. Punch it in on Google, they'll take you to the word, uh, uh, cast your, your fears, I think is one of 'em. And then like, think on things above and not below. Right? And, uh, like, I'm thinking like the mind of Christ.

So certain times I just want to throw that out there, like, man, if you remember part of it, nothing wrong with Google, man. No,

It's nothing bad. There's nothing bad with trying to find a scripture pretty fast. Right. You know? 'cause sometimes people just wanna. You know, remember something. And even in scripture, bro, like right now, it's like I'm getting to a point where I wanna read the entire book. Right? Um, of course, try to understand it the best I can. It doesn't mean I'm gonna stop reading it. I'm gonna keep reading it as, as far as, as, as I'm to, I'm no longer here. You know what I mean?

That's, that's the purpose. But my next step is now remind, like, remembering scripture. Like I don't wanna constantly be going to the book. I need to wire my brain, bro, to, to remember scripture, you know? Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah. And so, like I mentioned, you know, uh, I'm, I'm an old floppy, this, I don't have too much memory left, right? So I gotta Google, but, but, um, no, the beautiful thing about, um, it's highlighting, right? Okay. Mm-hmm. Um, uh, and with now with the apps, you can store things, right? But, uh, you, you

Um, I was much, much younger and, and, and the, and the memory was working really good, you know, so I, I was able to memorize, but you have to train it, right? Yeah. And part of that was really simple. It was just really reading it over and over again. You know, you had a scripture that you would read for a week or for a couple days, uh, writing, writing it out. That worked for me. You know? I know that's old school. Mm-hmm. Right?

Like what's writing everyone, you know, either talks it into their, their, uh, devices or whatever. Yeah. You know, but, that and that's what helped for me to memorize scripture, you know? Right. And I was able to memorize it, you know, now was like, kind of how I talk now. I, I, I remember parts of it. I gotta

So my suffering was good for me, for it taught me to pay attention to your decrease. Like looking back in life, do you feel like certain things you went through, some suffering, pushed you? Like, man, let me, let me start to focus on your decrees on your word. Mm-hmm. On, on what was just like a nice souvenir or a nice adornment in the house. Now it has like value, like any, any of you guys would wanna talk about that. Yeah. How suffering pointed you to the decrees.

I think the, I can say the majority of us probably come to, uh, to Christ at, at some point in our lives where we're kind of going through some stuff where we're just kind of like outta control. Like we don't know what to do and we kind of like, all right, let's, let's try this God thing. Let's see if it works. Right.

I feel like that's where a lot of people navigate to, but my thing is like, think about like where you were in the past in comparison, you know, before God into where you're at now. That mind bro has totally changed. It's a one, it's a complete 180, bro. It's like the way I used to think, the way I used to just view the world was it's so much more different. Definitely a lot more cruel. It wasn't. And, and in the way I, I should have been seeing it the way God would, would want me to see it.

You know? Uh, you have to be open-minded, bro to understand really what God is calling you for. And, and even though I can say that I'm, you know, went through a suffering and I can, I'm still going through suffering. Right? Um, the one thing I can definitely say, and this is something I actually brought up to, to one of my family members, uh, just recently, dude, is that even through that now, bro, I could find joy. I can actually find joy through my suffering, dude.

Because before, in the past, before God, I couldn't find any joy whatsoever. I was like, everything was depressing, sad. Everything's like, all right, the world is over. I am, I'm defeated. But now here, bro. I'm like, you know what, man? I can go through this because I know I have God by my side. Yeah. And that's kind of how I view the world. Like how it is like every day Yes. Is a challenge, but it's like, but I'm not alone in this, bro. Yeah. You know what I mean? Like, I'm not alone in this.

Not only do I have God, but I have good brothers like you. You know what I mean? Like depending dependable people that I can actually call trust, you know? And you guys can just get into pray with me or whatever the case may be. It doesn't matter. You always, you, you guys are always my lifelines no matter what. You know what I mean? That's kind of how I

So do I suffer? No, but I, but it is, it's not enjoyable, it's not pleasant, right? Mm-hmm. Um, but I didn't really understand that before because I was like, we mentioned we were in darkness, you know? Mm-hmm. We couldn't see anything but what I did realize, and that's what God, uh, his, through his grace, uh, revealed to me that I, I was heading to hell, right? Mm-hmm. And so through that, I realized either I go to heaven or I go to hell. Uh, and so I, and God made that real to me.

You know, uh, we've, I think we all heard it before, for those that, that are listening and maybe are not believers or don't know Christ, um, that probably maybe doesn't make sense, but we're going to heaven or we're going to hell. And, and, and I had heard it before, but didn't really, it wasn't a big thing, right? Until one day, you know, boom. Uh, and so I accepted Christ, you know, but after that is when I started seeing, okay, what his word says. Mm-hmm.

Uh, the suffering, the consequences, and, and, and it began to change things, you know? Mm-hmm. Um, and then I realized, okay, that is, there is suffering. There is, uh, because of the consequences I need to change, right? But, um, but also on the other part, you know, the Bible also talks about, uh, like another form of suffering, right? It says, consider pure joy when we face trials of many kinds, right? Mm-hmm.

So, so it's not only, uh, suffering, consequences, consequences are from our actions, but, uh, trials come, just come, you know? Mm-hmm. From others' actions or, or just life, right? Yeah. But the Bible says consider a pure joy, you know? Yeah. Um, and I remember when I used to read that, I'm like, how the heck can I,

I still, I did start considering pure joy. Mm-hmm. You know, because I started growing, I started maturing. I started realizing that I can't, something doesn't go my way, that I can't just have, uh, just pout and have a, a tantrum, you know? Right. Mm-hmm. Uh, and and trust me, there's times I still do, even real recently, you know, I was kind of like, God, what are you doing? You know? Yeah. But I gotta remember, God, you're in control. Yeah, man.

Yeah. And, and so, um, which is great because it makes me realize, um, uh, that, Hey, I, I'm a fool. I still gotta submit and humble myself, you know? Yeah.

My brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance, let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. Mm-hmm. On, I, I just asked Arturo to look up the definition of a word. One thing that I find helpful is whenever I read a scripture is sometimes we, we read words and we think we know what the definition is, and we just go, go over it. Mm-hmm.

But sometimes I'll just go and just, man, let, let me find the definition of this just to, to get a little bit more insight of what, what is this really saying? You know? 'cause a lot of times we could read over something and that one word could make a big difference in getting like, more, um, more understanding, more insight, or it, it'll speak to you in a more, I don't know, you could say like profound ways.

So, So here we're saying that, uh, you know, you consider pure joy when all these things happen, but you consider it joy because it says that, uh, that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. And then it says, let perseverance finishes work. So what does the perseverance mean? What was the

But you have, so

And you're all over the place, bro. You just have no clue what you're gonna do or when the next, what the next step is, right? Because you're, you're in control. You think you got it all. But in all reality, it's like everything's just. It's just, it's havoc, bro. You know what I mean? It's not, it's, it's not gonna go well. And now my mind and the way I think is just more like, if I can give you one good, uh, thing to always remember, it's like a trust fall.

It's like I know that I don't have to come to this mind, that I, my mind has to go everywhere. I trust that God is going to lead me to where he needs me to go. Granted, I know that I'm in a hurting place, right? And there's nothing wrong to say that, you know, us Christians too, we have feelings. We, we, um, you know, we do cry. We, we, we go through burdens, you know, each and every one of us have, uh, you know, our ups and downs. We have our seasons, right? And seasons can be good.

Seasons can be bad, you know, and some can be really, really bad, right? But in, in, in all of that, you know, having God by your side, it's just like you're given that opportunity, bro. To not fall into a depression, to not see something so dark that you're never gonna get out of it. Right. But it's not up to you, dude. It's not you.

It's like as long as you let God work in you, you're going to then see like the joy of, and, and even talking about it, still saying like, man, how the heck can I find joy in, in, in, in the, and the hurt, right? Is like, no, trust me, dude, once you do that, trust fall with God. It, it all goes away, dude. It's like, because it's like you, you just, you kind of let him just take control again.

It's like letting him just take control of your, of, of the way you're thinking and stuff like that, you know? Um, I think that's the only way you're really gonna capture and really understand. Even just reading the Bible too, the word, you know, it's just being more susceptible by being open-minded. You know, the,

I know it's gonna be maybe a little off topic, but mm-hmm. You mentioned dealing with anxiety, maybe a little depression. You mentioned what, what's the importance of, of men, like voicing that to another man? Because a lot of times we, we go through that and we think, man, you know, I can't share that with nobody. You know, I can't share that I'm anxious that I got fear, depression. Mm-hmm. What, what's, what's the importance of that man?

'cause a lot of times, you know, we just wanna tell men, or our family or brothers, Hey man, I'm good. You know? Mm-hmm. Nothing going on. Like, what's the importance of sharing that? Hey man, brother, I'm, I'm going through this. I'm feeling like this. Pray for me. You know, like, yeah. As men, you know, for, for those men that are watching or hearing it, that man, they feel like they gotta maintain that macho, you know, like, I got this. Mm-hmm.

What, what's the importance of being vulnerable in

I may not have, uh, the wisdom and say, Hey, this is what you should do. And, and, and thank actually, thankfully, a lot of times I do. Right. But one thing I know is that, that we come, we can together, we can come before the Lord, you know? Mm-hmm. But, but we gotta, the Bible says humble yourselves before God. Mm-hmm. Yeah. So humbling ourselves is very important. Um, the Bible talks about dying to ourselves, you know? Yeah. Uh, so, so we do have to lay our pride aside, you know? Mm-hmm.

It's a big step, and, and it's true, like man, a lot of times. you know, we don't wanna show our emotions. We have that poker face, you know? Yeah. Uh, whether we're mad or happy, we're not gonna show it. Right. But, you know, a as God works in us, we, we, I think we learn to understand that that's something that we need to do, you know? Mm-hmm. Um, we need to be, like you said, vulnerable, right? Mm-hmm. You mentioned vulnerability. It's very important to be vulnerable, uh, being vulnerable.

Uh, tears that pride down. And, and, and you mentioned about, uh, I think about a song about filling us up or make room, right? Yeah. Making room. Mm-hmm. Making room. So, so we empty ourselves out of that pride. 'cause, because when we're full of, of, of ourselves and pride mm-hmm. There's no room for the Holy Spirit to come in. No room for God to work in. Yeah. We're not making room for him. Right. So we need to do that. Um, and, and, and that's actually how, how we do it. Right.

Um, prayer, Being on our knees. Mm-hmm. That's vulnerability, you know? Yeah. Uh, I know in the world, right. Uh, you know, men choke about ah, being on your knees, whatever, whatever. Right? Yeah. Um, but a godly man will always be on his knees. Yes. You know? Yeah. Yeah. So, I, I think, um, yeah, Vulnerability, you know, uh, humble humbleness. Mm-hmm. And, and just learning to die to yourself, you know? You know,

The higher or the bigger or the, the more control you're gonna give him in your life instead of, like, you, I know you mentioned like you don't want to be in control, so mm-hmm. The lower you go, the higher he gets. And, and humility, man. Very important man. Mm-hmm. Thanks for bringing that up. Yeah. Yeah.

They, I, I don't know if they're just kind of afraid of wanting to show their emotions and they feel like maybe they're gonna cry like a bunch of little girls or something like that. I don't if you wanna put it in those kind of terms. And it's like, oh, and I don't want nobody to see me cry. And it's like, you know what, dude, actually it's, it's okay. It's okay, man. Yeah. I mean, if you really have to think about even, even our backgrounds, you know, just kinda like us as, as an example.

We, we grew up in the hood, bro. And, um, you know, a, a lot of these things that we, we got to see as we grown up. Um, there was a word you actually brought that, that, um, that really kind of got stuck to my mind is that we got prone to seeing all these really. Pretty bad things, man, as we're growing up. But as men, we weren't able to really kind of express our emotions, right? It was just something that, you know, we really didn't have the guidance or anything like that.

And I'm not trying to, you know, shun like the parents or anything like that. It's just, it's just the way the, the, that life was during that time, you know? So it's like, so it's not like we really had the, the necessary help, even as men to be able to let these emotions out. So you'd be surprised that it's, it's all very like, in, in regards to like therapy and stuff like that and, and needing that kind of help and assistance, you know? And it's okay.

It's okay to, to, to, to go to someone for help, you know what I mean? Of course, Jesus should be number one. God should be number one above all, right? But it's like, but also take care of your mind, your, your, your, your soul, your body, you know what I mean? Like, it even says it in the Bible too, is like, you gotta take care of yourself too. You know, it's a, it's your, you know, it's your temple too. You know what I mean? What's the word? Like a ho

That, that's where I kind of, I, I don't wanna say they got diagnosed, but it's like, but just giving them the examples of everything I walked through, through the therapist. You'd be surprised, man. It's like there's a lot of Pandora's box in everybody's mind that you need to tap into, man. It's like, these are things that we can't just take to the grave with us, you know what I mean? Like, 'cause that's super unhealthy, you know? Yeah. And people should be aware of that, you know?

It is like, it's, it's a, it's a mental thing that, you know, I'm hoping that everybody, you know, Take care of you, you know, take care of yourselves, you know? 'cause that's super, super important. But at the end of the day, it's like, yeah, without a doubt. It's like, pick the right people, man. The right people that are gonna help you. They're going to uplift you. Right? Uh, get on, get on the knees with you, man. Pray. And, and that's the first thing.

That should be the, that's the first go-to, bro. It's like, get into prayer, man. Yeah. You'd be surprised how powerful prayer is, man. 'cause it's super, super powerful, you know? So. Yeah. Yeah. Definitely. It's like, I think it's just that mentality that, you know, you got these guys that are super tough, don't want to like, and I think that's what they're just afraid. Oh yeah. They're just afraid to become vulnerable. Yeah.

He visited our group, we're having, that's when we were meeting in the, the little, uh, prayer room. Mm-hmm. And, uh, he went there and, and we, we were talking, you know, we were going over a bible study and he, he, he opened up, he, he was quiet at first and he opened up and he shared something about his life. You know, I'm not gonna share, you know, but, uh, he, she shared something personal.

Then he started crying and then he's like, man, I'm, he, I remember, I remember this 'cause he said, man, I'm 60 something years old. Mm-hmm. And this is the first time that I'm able to talk about this. And then he said, you know what? I, I can't share this with my family, with my brothers, with my cousin, man, they, they'll laugh at me. That's what he said. Mm-hmm. You know, and he broke down.

And, and, and, and it, it hurt him to realize that he's sharing something that he's probably been carrying for what, 50 years of his life, you know? And not to be able to open up and share it. Man, that's gotta be, it's gotta be tough.

Go. Going back to something you mentioned A burden that's a burden that he's been carrying all these years and he was able to release and, um, In, in a place where he felt comfortable, where you mentioned, uh, you know, you, there's a brother that's there to encourage you mm-hmm. To pray for you that, that wants to, to help you. So it's very important to get in a community of men that, you know, hey man, these men, they've been through some stuff. Mm-hmm.

They're seeking God that, and they're praying, you know, they're, they're sharing the word and they're praying for me. But no, I still remember that like, man, like you mentioned, there's nothing wrong with getting some counseling. Mm-hmm. Um, uh P T S D is something that I always associated only with military. It's only with the, with the military people. Yeah. We talked about that. Yeah. We talked it iss only them that have that, but man, P T S D, like in the neighborhoods, man, like mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm. I, I know, uh, what comes to my mind you being like five years old and seeing a body on your way home from school, like sharing and, uh, I dunno if you wanna share briefly at that and, and like what, how P T S D affects even people like us mm-hmm. That grew up in mm-hmm. Crazy neighborhoods.

Yeah. Uh, and so we were kind of talking about praying with each other, but at the same time, yeah, man, it's so being vulnerable, you get to share that. And, and then whoever you're sharing it with, they're gonna bear that with you. Mm-hmm. You know? And, and, and that's biblical. That's scripture. Right? And, and so we're, we're called to do that, to be with bear one of those burdens, you know, be with each other, pray for each other. Um, and you know, we're not counselors, right? Mm-hmm.

So how, what sometimes we don't know what to say, how to explain, but I, one thing we can do is, Hey, I'm gonna pray for you. Let's just pray together, you know? Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah. Will let God work his Holy Spirit, you know, the, the,

Or even something personal, you know. Mm-hmm. Uh, with them that, but I'm being led by the Holy Spirit.

It's like, you know what, man? You're hurt. I'm hurt too, man. I'm actually hurt too because I can, even though I may not know you, it's like I, I want to feel that hurt and I wanna share with you because I don't want you to go through it alone. Yeah. Like, because I wish, like if, if I was ever in a state too of I'm, I'm, where I'm hurt too is like, You know, for someone just come and, and lay their hands on you and start praying with you and just get to that point.

Like, you, you, even, even when you get into prayer, man, there's times where that Holy Spirit is like, it's just totally like, um, like really reaching even to the person that that's not hers. Just praying. And you'd be surprised how many people actually start coming to tears, bro, because that's them feeling your pain too, like going through it. You know what I mean? Like I said, it's like the Holy Spirit. It's super powerful, bro.

It's like just people don't understand it until you're at the moment. And really being like able to see something like that, it's, it's really something that you can't really describe man. You know what I mean? So that, like that that, that was the first thing that came to my mind. When you say it's like, bear someone's burden, bro. It's like, yeah, it's meet someone where they're at. Right? That's what you wanna do. You know what I mean?

Like, to really be able to help someone you know, and understand like, Hey, you're not alone.

So if anybody that's listening to this podcast or you're watching it and you would like a copy, man, a comment or send me a email or um, Facebook, Instagram, I'll post it on there and I'll, and I'll, I'll get these out there to you guys, you know, for free. I'll pay for the shipping and everything. But yeah, this is, uh, I think it's pretty cool this, these Bibles we're giving, uh, to my kids by, I think it's, they're called Meant for More now.

It's an organization that helps, uh, students start bible clubs in their schools. But yeah, I just wanna throw it out there. Anybody, if, if you've been listening to us, basically talk about the importance of scripture, uh, the effect that has had in all of our lives.

And, and every story that you hear on, on this, uh, wrongs of Strong Chicago podcast, the word of God had an effect in turning their lives around, turning the, the destiny of their families, breaking stronghold, generational curses. It's all through this. you heard us say, we dismissed it. Mm-hmm. Right? We mocked it. You, man, get, you know, get that away from me. This is the very thing, like Arturo said, man, it's the, the breath. It's alive, it's active, it's, it's powerful.

And we just want to get the, uh, this scripture into your hands. Maybe you're a skeptic, maybe you're dismissive of it. Man, like my brother said, pray, open it up and see if God will speak to you through this. But yeah, I just wanna throw, throw that out there. it's wrong, the number two strong [email protected]. That's my email.

But if you go on the, on the, on the show notes of the podcast, there's links available to everything, to every platform, YouTube, uh, but yeah, we definitely wanna get the, the scripture into your hands. So we're already one an hour and 15 minutes into this man, and had a great conversation with these guys. I know we could continue going, but any final word, comment, anything you wanna share, something on your heart and then, uh, at the end?

Well, I'll ask maybe both of you guys to say a prayer before we close out, but yeah. Any final words? Good one, man. Hey, real quick, that's been a blessing, man, for real. Mm-hmm. We needed to do this and, um, I'm gonna try to do this, man, maybe every other month or something. We get a few guys in here and. Man, just talk about the importance of the word I, that that's the reason I wanted to do this, just to emphasize it.

Again, I, I know the stories are awesome, you know, getting all these stories mm-hmm. Testimonials out there, but the word man. Yeah. All, all, all woven through all these stories is the word. So I just wanted to Yeah. Get a podcast episode just strictly focusing on the word of God, man. Yeah. Because I know, I know, man. It's, it's changed my life, changed my perspective and destiny. But yeah. Any final words? Anything?

Um, and like I said, dude, it's just, it's been a blessing, you know? And, and I, and I just pray man, that it just continues to be a blessing and we get more and more people just getting their hands into be able to hear, hear this man. 'cause these are some really beautiful testimonies, bro. And I don't know what else God has in store, bro. It's just, there's so much more to come, dude. And like I said, it's been over already a year. Yeah. And it went like this, bro. Yeah. So quick.

You know what I mean? So It did, sure did. Flew by, man. Yeah. So, so thank you. Thank you so much, man. For just, you know, letting me just

Um, that listened to some of these podcasts, you know, and, and began to, uh, just, you know, God was already working, uh, somehow in their lives, right? Yeah. And, and they just, it drew 'em even closer, realizing their need, you know, and, and that's just in this little small circle from what I've seen, right? Yeah. And, and, and, but you've had many, many, uh, guests on your show. Mm-hmm.

And so I know even within their circles too, like, like, uh, brother Cisco mentioned how they ask questions, you know? So Yeah. um, I know for sure that that God has brought a lot of people closer, where they've surrendered their lives to Christ. You know? Um, maybe I haven't seen that, but I, um, but just through their testimonies, I know that, that, that testimonial has been very powerful. and, and within their circles, they, they've probably reached out to them, Hey, you know, this and that.

I've been going through this, or, or, or, tell me more, you know, uh, how you've had how

You know, just, again, like you mentioned at the beginning of the story, just that burden you've had and to see, you know, you've mentioned, uh, you used to mention a lot about riding the wave, you know? Oh, yeah, yeah. Just going and seeing what, you know, just going and, and being faithful and obedient, you know? and so, again, man, you're right. It is, it is. You don't, you, you don't wanna miss out on what God's doing and what God has in store for you, you know? Mm-hmm.

It's an awesome thing.

And, um, I just wanna say, uh, thank you to Brother Omar and to the platform, Wrong and Strong. You know, it's been such a blessing just to be able to share, you know, not just my testimony, but so many other testimonies, you know, from other men, you know, and then, and then also for his wife too. You know, she has her own podcast too. Um, you know, so I definitely don't wanna exclude that there, there's just so much blessings, you know, uh, that that's been kind of going on, you know?

So I just wanna say thank you to them, uh, for being that blessing, you know? And, and, and, and I just pray that you. Allowed to, to just touch many hearts, God out there, you know, with these, with these podcasts. That, that's the whole purpose, God. It's, it's for your purpose, you know, not ours, you know? So I just pray that you continue to use us, God, uh, as, as tools, you know, and, and just continue to give us the guidance that we need on a day-to-day basis.

You know, there's so many people out there that are just hurt, um, that, that, that aren't needing you, God urging for you. Maybe they don't know it, you know, they just need, uh, uh, uh, someone that just touched them and start praying with them. Like brother, uh, Arturo says, you know, to just come with some, uh, to someone, lay their hand over 'em and just pray. And that's, that's what we need to do, God, for each and every one of us.

You know, even for those non-Christians, it doesn't matter God. 'cause we, we love everyone. God, you know, everyone is our brother and sister God. So, I just pray that you continue to use us, God, and continue to, to guide us through, through the paths, through our, through each and every one of us have a purpose and, and know that everyone does have a purpose in life.

God. So, so thank you, God, for just giving us scripture and, and giving us that breath of life, God, that something that we can, that that desire Also, God wanting to also read your word, God, it's just, it, it is just something that, I can't even describe it until someone really reads it and, and starts really understanding God. It's, it is the Holy Spirit, you know, guiding us to understand these words. You know? 'cause they're not just typical, average, normal words.

These are some really powerful words. And, and I'm thankful God, that I'm at least ca able to capture that. And I pray that many people can be able to capture that God. So, so I just wanna say, so thank you God, for being such a, a, a graceful, um, merciful God. And, and, and we, and I just wanna say, I love you, God, you know? Yes. And, and, and again, God, I just wanna pray over my, my brothers here.

Um, and every one of us, God, you know, for our homes, our families, God, you know, every day is, it may, may be a battle. Uh, but, but no matter what, God, we, we have to see the joy in all of this God. Right? Because you created a God. You, you created this world in six days and rested on the seventh, right? And we always have to remember that God, the, the, the everything is possible through you. Impossible through us, but possible through you God.

So, so again, God, just thank you for everything in the mighty name of Jesus,

Uh, but I just wanna pray, Lord God, for those, uh, that. Father God, for those that don't know Lord God, that they're sinners, that you would just open their eyes to see that Lord God, that your Holy Spirit will just grab a hold of them, Lord God. And they would realize that 'cause it is very important, father God. Um, your word says that, Lord God, uh, that our bodies here are temporary, Lord God. But afterwards, Lord God, it's eternal Lord God. Uh, and it's either hell or heaven, father God.

That's what your word says, father God. Uh, this isn't a story. This isn't a old tale Father God. Mm-hmm. But it's what your, what, what your word says, father God.

True. Um, and so we just pray, Lord God, that um, that that eyes will be open, Lord God, that ears will hear Father God, um, Lord God, that, uh, uh, through, through this podcast that, that my brother has Lord God, through the testimonies of, of the men that, that you have changed their lives, Lord God, those stories that, that, that, um, You could use that Father God. Mm-hmm.

But, um, yes, even more so, Lord God, your Holy Spirit at work, father God, uh, not only through here, uh, through, but through just throughout, Lord God, your kingdom, Lord God. That's why, uh, you, you've called many. That's, that's the plan you have for us. That's what we're called for, Lord God. Uh, not, not just to keep this se a secret, but to share with others who are

Just show them, make a way, father God, and we know you'll make a way. Um, Lord God, uh, you made a way in our lives, Lord God. Mm-hmm. And you're still working in our lives. And, and again, we're thankful for that. We're thankful for our families, Lord God. Mm-hmm. Uh, I pray for blessings over our families, Lord God. Yes. Um, and, um, and just have your way, Lord God. We, we, we pray Holy Spirit lead, have your way. Mm-hmm.

Um, and again, Lord God, we give you glory, honor and praise, Lord God in Jesus

Didn't wanna open the door before to the people of God, but when God comes knocking the, the door of your heart, open it to him. That's the best thing you could ever do in your life. Yeah. Don't wait man. And that's true life. Mm-hmm. When you let God in. But with that, we're gonna get ready to, to close this out, I just wanna thank my guests for joining me.

Uh, 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, alongside Arturo and Cisco. My name's Omar Calvillo. We are Wrong to Strong.