The Chaplains Bunker

Daily I wake and have to face my greatest foe, Myself each day. But in 1975 I kneeled down on my kitchen floor and surrendered my whole life, heart  and will  totally to the Lord Jesus Chrsit.

Now I was raised abused, beaten, and at then left to raise myself at ten years old on the streets. At the age of 18,  I wanted someone to make a man out of me so I joined the Marine Corps. That compounded my problem and built a moutain of pride and ego of self-ability that I could do anything with nothing I thought for a long time.

My life really started falling apart when I came home from Vietnam. I began to drink all day, every day, smoke an ounce of pot everyday and sometimes even chase it with a case of beer too. I thought I was all right, but my life was going down hill fast and I was headed to destruction. I flipped my car end over end 2 or 3 times and somehow came out without a scratch. Then I hit a tree doing 120 miles an hour head on and still lived without a scratch. I rolled off a mountain in a 57 chevy with friend and lived without a scratch. I cheated death several times while I was young. I was wild and careless with my life. But there must have been someone somewhere praying for my lost soul somewhere, because I did not die when so many of my friends did that did the same stupid things I had done did. It makes me feel so guilty to even be alive sometimes when I look back on my life and see how stupid and careless I was and how God spared me, but for some unknown reason others that made the same mistakes I made didn't make it.

I will never forget this because it was on an Easter Sunday in 1975  This drunk finally went to church. I could not wait to get out of that place man. I felt so out of place and I felt like that man preaching was starring all the time at me for some reason. But that same night when I went to lay down to go to sleep I heard an audible voice speak to me and say, " If you shut your eyes and turn away from me one more time that is it." I got out of bed and looked down the hall, bathroom, out the window. I heard someone speak to me. I wasn't religious. I did not know God. I had been to chuch since I was eight years old. I didn't even own a Bible much lest read one.

I came to conclusion I was hearing things so I layed back down and just as I began to shut my eyes, That Voice spoke to me again, " But this time my conscience was awaken that I was on my way to Hell as a sinner and that right now was my time to choose whether I wanted to go to heaven or hell. My heart stopped and it felt like it come up in my throat. The fear of God struck me so strong I could not close my eyes. I got up and went into the kitchen and got on my knees and face and begged and pleaded for God's forgiveness and ask Jesus Christ to come into my heart and become my Lord and Savior. I remember feeling this strange peace that I had never felt before in my entire life filled and fill my heart and for the first time in my life i felt love and peace. I couldn't even believe it myself to be honest the next morning. I wasn't even the same person. I wasn't cussing ever other word out of my mouth and the desire to drink alcohol was completly gone. I felt happy inside for the first time in my life. I had experienced real, true love for the first time on that kitchen floor when I ask Jesus to come into my heart. And you know something, He has never left me. Oh how many times I have failed him and even tried to walked away feeling so ashamed of failing Him, but His love just won't let me go. Thank you Jesus for coming into my heart and saving me by your loving Grace.!

The very next day two deacons from a Baptist church drove up in my driveway to witness to me. I was witnessing to them before they could get out of their car good about what happen to me on the kitchen floor last night. They told me that I needed to come to church Sunday and get saved when time came for the altar call to receive Christ that I should publickly go forth and receive Jesus as my personal Lord and Savior. I didn't know I had gotten saved on the kitchen floor already! After all I wasn't a religious person.

I went to church that Sunday and when that man gave that altar call I went to step forward to go up front and the Precense of God came into me like a flood from my head to my toes. I grinned all the way down that ilse. I started witnessing to every person I met and winning souls for Jesus. Finally after about 6 months those two deacons that had come to my house an invited me to their church said, Brother Butler we have a question we would like to ask you?

I was so hungry, thirsty, and desperate for the things of God. They said; "brother Butler, "What world did you come from?" your are not like us? You cannot be Jesus 24 hours a day. I said, what do you want me to be? I was lost. I was a drug addict, a drunk. Every other word out of my mouth was cursing and God in an instant on a kitchen floor took that away from me. I did not want to be like that person I used to be anymore. All I wanted was to be more like Jesus. John Butler died on that kitchen floor.

Hope you enjoyed this short testimony. You can email me your prayer request or any questions at:

               Semper-fi email me liferealm@yahoo.com

Sincerly your servant Chaplain  and Counselor John D Butler

USMC, 3rd.battlion 1st Marines, Kilo Compnay, Vietnam Veteran

You know something you may be reading this so God can bless your life with His love and forgiveness just like he has done for me, and still daily does for me. Just surrender your heart and will to God right now and ask for his mercy and forgiveness. Now ask for Jesus to come into your heart and invite him to become your Savior. Make that decision right now and commit your soul to the only man that died for your sins to be forgiven, which is the Lord Jesus Christ. That's real love when someone is willing to die so you might live. Jesus wants you to go to heaven and have a clean heart and he shed His own blood on the cross to wash away all your sins no matter how bad they might be. But you must humble yourself before him and trust him to forgive you and love you just the way you are and ask him to come into heart and change your life and ask him to help you live for him. He has done it for me and I'm no-body special. If he will do it for me, then he will do it for you. When you will give yourself completly to Jesus Christ then He will completely give Himself to you. The cross is an everlasting sign of his symbol and act of his love that he died for you to be saved and free. 

 Semper-Fi  John D Butler

email me at: liferealm@yahoo.com

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