THE STORY BEHIND "TREASURES FROM HEAVEN" BY TERRY M. PORTER

Greetings, 

 On November 30th 1955 my mother went into labor two months early. That was just the beginning of the troubles to come. I had gotten behind the afterbirth and it ruptured inside my mother’s womb. I drowned. When the doctor delivered me I was dead. The same doctor that had delivered my three older sisters and knowing how bad my dad wanted a son decided he wouldn’t give up on me and worked to get me to breath. Time lapsed and my mother knowing something was terribly wrong prayed to God to send Michael the guardian angel to help me. It was at that moment I took my first breath and started to cry. My middle name is Michael because of this. The doctor told my parents that time had gotten away from him and he hadn’t realized how much time had passed. Twenty minutes had passed before I took my first breath. He told my parents that he should have stopped trying much earlier because I probably wouldn’t live more than a few days. He told them that if I did survive I would most likely be a vegetable. He told them that without oxygen to my brain for that long, the best they could hope for is that I would be severely retarded. Three days later I went home healthy. That turned out to be the first of many miracles I would experience in my life.  

 I grew up with an alcoholic father who abused me physically, mentally and emotionally. By the time I was thirteen I rebelled and began a life filled with rock bands, drugs and wild girls. I did somehow, by the grace of God, manage to graduate from high school but still leaned towards playing in bands and smoking cigarettes and pot. At the end of my second marriage and three beautiful kids later I was working at one of Houston’s largest floor covering company’s when, during setting up for a photo shoot, a carpet rack broke and a steel bar holding about three hundred pounds of area rugs came crashing down from twelve feet and landing on my head shattering my spine in several places. When the doctor looked at my MRI he was astonished. He couldn’t believe I was standing there. He told me that for anything to hit me that hard on the head it should have crushed my skull, killing me. He also said that he had never seen anyone with that type of injury still being able to walk. The impact had forced my spine against the spinal cord and was cutting it off. 

 From that point I endured two surgeries, all types of torturous testing and physical therapy that just seemed to make things worse. The doctor had me on heavy pain killers, muscle relaxers and Xanax to help me sleep. I was on those drugs for over two and a half years when the doctor abruptly stopped them citing that they would do severe damage to my liver. I was now not only in mind numbing pain but also addicted and going through withdrawals. I started wanting so bad to take my own life to stop the pain and all. It was my deep love for my kids that kept me from committing suicide. I decided instead to look for something that would stop or at least ease the pain. The pain killers that doctor had me on just eased the pain but the pain was always there. Finally, someone introduced me to crack cocaine. I was desperate and decided to give it a try. I took one hit and was amazed. For the first time in four years I didn’t hurt anywhere. At all! I was immediately hooked. I began life as a crack head. One good thing that came of that was I no longer desired to smoke pot. Crack was very expensive so I eventually realized it would be cheaper to buy cocaine and make it myself. It then occurred to me that I could sell the crack I was making and it would allow me to have mine for free. I then began my life as a crack dealer. 

 As I should have expected, it soon all came crashing down when I got busted. They were seeking to give me twenty-five to life. When they first brought me to the county jail, I was placed in isolation. They said it was due to my injury. There was only a bed, sink, toilet, shower and a Bible someone had left behind in that cell. 

 I had never read the Bible and frankly doubted it was true or real because in my mind it was written by men and how could they possibly know what God wanted to say. I soon decided to read it since there was nothing else to do all day every day. When I first read it I was only confused. It made no sense to me at all. It was a King James version with the thou’s , thee’s, hath’s, etc. I decided to read it again, and again and again. Each time I read through it I understood more and more what I was reading. At the end of my fourth time reading it cover to cover I laid it down and accepted Jesus into my heart and told Him I would be willing to be used by Him and would do whatever He wanted. At that point I had been there for forty days. It hit me at that point that my pains had almost completely dissipated.  

The next day they came to get me and placed me in a twenty man tank. I clung to that Bible and paid little attention to everyone in the tank. Soon the guys started coming to me asking about the Bible and I decided to start holding Bible studies. It began with one and myself but soon, one after another joined in. We also started having a prayer circles at night in the front part of the tank. Soon, all but one was joining us. I saw almost every man in that jail come to Christ. I saw one miracle after another occur in that tank. The guards were even asking us to pray for them, along with getting notes from other tanks asking for prayer. 

 Soon after I began the Bible studies, I was settling down to sleep one night and after saying my prayers I heard a voice say “get a pen”. I grabbed a pen and legal pad and as soon as the pen hit the paper words started flowing. I was almost scribbling trying to keep up with what was coming into my mind. Then the words just stopped like God was telling me that was enough for now. The next morning I decided to re-write it as it was hard to read having written it so hastily. It then occurred to me how God would use someone to write what He wanted to be said. The guys in the tank wanted to read it also and started passing it around. Everyone said they felt like it was written just for them. The messages to me occurred often. Sometimes the next night or the night after that. I would just hear those words,” get a pen”. I never had any idea about what it was I was about to write. I was always amazed at what “He” had written. This went on for a year as I fought the charges against me going through two attorneys and eventually agreed to a plea deal which should have paroled me out of county.  

After saying my prayers I heard a voice say “get a pen”.

I had an elderly friend on the outside who I would send the manuscript to and he found someone to type it up. We mailed it back and forth until I was satisfied with the final editing. It was at that point I was paroled but to a treatment center. Once I arrived there, God spoke to me. He told me that He wanted me to read the Bible again and He would point out Bible passages that He wanted me to put in the back of the book as an appendix. Once I had completed that, I was paroled out.  

 Once I was freed, I began trying to get the book published. I made several copies and spent a small fortune making copies and postage as I sent it to every publisher I could find. I only heard back from one and it was a rejection. I told God that this was His book and if He wanted it published that He would have to do it. I then set it aside as I began my new life. It occurred to me that God may have wanted me to write it so that I would know how to live this new life. I used what I had written to guide me and the way I was to live. 

Time went on and I soon found out that the things I was told and had written were real. I had never tithed before but as soon as I started making money I began tithing diligently. The more I tithed, the more that money came my way. I was soon living a wonderful life. I started watching CBN regularly and became a partner with them and as funds grew, so did my giving to them along with other organizations that helped people in Jesus’ name. I also started watching TBN regularly and noticed that they advertised Trilogy Publishing. I contacted Trilogy and was told that all submissions had to be in digital form. I had no way of doing that, so, again I put it in God’s hands. Soon after, the police officer who did security for me was in my office. We often talked about God and the Bible. I happened to mention something in the book and he asked me about the book. I told him and when I mentioned Trilogy and their requirements he asked to see the manuscript. He asked if he could take it with him and I agreed. A couple of days passed when he came back in with it transferred to a digital format. He had used the Houston police departments equipment to get it done.

I then sent that to Trilogy Publishing and they, very shortly, contacted me with the news that it was exactly the type of book they like to publish. Soon after signing a publishing contract with them they told me about promotion packages they offered starting at around five thousand and going up to twenty thousand. I decided to pray on that. God told me to “go for the gold!” I knew He wanted me to go all out on it at this time. The only problem, where would I possibly get twenty thousand dollars? Again, I prayed and God reminded me of the gold and silver I had accumulated. As I mentioned, life was very good to me and with the extra money I had each month I decided to invest in gold and silver. Just fairly small amounts each month. I would order a little and put it up. I didn’t really know how much I had but over the course of a few years, the price of each had gone way up. I took it down to a reputable gold dealer and found there was just enough to purchase the premium package. I realized it was God who had encouraged me to buy gold and silver, knowing I would need it when the time came. God is amazing and He continues to show me what it is that He wants done. I now know that He wants me to share my testimony with as many as possible along with the message of the book. I am determined to do His will always as I know it will always lead me to my best life possible. 

Every believer in Jesus Christ has been called by God for a reason. Each of us has a specific calling and are part of God’s plan and purpose but it’s up to us to receive that purpose from God and that’s what this book is all about. If you believe in Jesus, then that means you. Read the book and follow the advice given and you too can live your best life possible. God bless you!

~ Terry M. Porter

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TERRY M. PORTER spent his entire life running from God. It wasn't until God put him in a place from which he couldn't escape that he learned about God's will for him and his life. God spoke to him in ways he could never have imagined and changed his life forever. His life is now spent serving God and not running from Him, and his purpose is now to teach others the wisdom and messages sent to Him by God Himself, helping as many others as possible with this knowledge.