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Over the last two years, particularly after becoming involved with International Students Inc., I've wondered a lot about my Christian witness and how it manifests in my life.

There are ample opportunities to witness but am I doing it right? Am I witnessing when I repeatedly referred to Christ?  Or, is it when I quote or paraphrase scripture? Is it when I love people by meeting their needs without expecting anything in return? Am I really serving the Lord or am I simply serving myself because I enjoy what I'm doing? I have so many questions, and it so much to think about, but what a great opportunity to consider!

Two years ago, Doug Eury invited me to a weekly gathering of foreign UNM students through ISI. The students we met that night were determined to improve their understanding and usage of conversational English. After several weeks of participation in a group setting, I was asked by a married student if I would consider tutoring her in English. She needed help preparing for the TOEFL exam, a graduate-level English proficiency test, required prior to admission to United States universities.

God used that simple request to change our families lives and my understanding of how we can truly be witnesses for Christ.

In summary, I've gone from talking to unknown foreign university students within a structured format, to becoming close friends with Maryam and Mostafa, an Iranian Muslim couple. We consider them very dear friends and even have explicit permission to teach their four-month-old baby, Sam, about Christ as he grows up! Sam is regarded by Kara and I as our fifth grandchild and we have become Maryam and Mostafa's “American parents."

In addition to that amazing blessing, on Christmas Day we hosted eight students from both Iran and Bangladesh in our home, representing three distinct language groups, besides English!

While the English may have been fragmented, the fellowship was amazing. And, the good news is that I think "it" is just beginning.

International Students Inc. is one of the many ministries with which Mountain Christian church has encouraged participation. ISI is a program at UNM. It has been embraced by the college, in recognition that it is a Christian organization, because of the amazing services performed by this organization. ISI serves students and their families by greeting foreign students upon arrival at the airport, making housing arrangements, providing temporary shelter until those arrangements are secure, hosting social gatherings, conducting hikes, providing numerous food fellowship events, tutoring, language training, providing furniture, providing legal information – and the list goes on! The need is huge!

ISI offers us, as Christians, a wonderful witnessing opportunity and chance to step in a serve someone when they need it most.

So, take a chance and engage with others, propelled by the "idea" of witnessing; initiate a relationship and hopefully a friendship, reach out in love and serve others for Christ.

To learn more about ISI and how you can get involved contact Tom O'Brien.

I heard a story the other day that I just can’t shake.

A young man, Jerome, was awarded a scholarship to Wheaton College through the Posse Foundation.  Jerome was transported from his high school in The Bronx to Wheaton’s beautiful campus in Illinois.  He had access to everything he needed to succeed at Wheaton, including a support team supplied through Posse.  But Jerome didn’t make it past his first semester before dropping out.  Why?  In his words, Jerome simply believed he didn’t belong there…wasn’t deserving of a college education.

A young lady, Melanie, attended the same public high school as Jerome and was in his graduating class.  Everyone always told Melanie that she’d be president when she grew up.  She was that smart, and that motivated.  When Melanie arrived as a freshman at this school and found that it had no advanced placement classes or library, she concluded that instead of being prepared for college, she and her classmates were being prepared to, in her words, “flip burgers” for the rest of their lives.  She, too, sadly chose to believe that she was not worthy of a college education or a bright future outside of the poverty-stricken neighborhood in which she’d grown up.  She struggles today as a single mom, and wonders every day what might have been if she’d chosen to believe something different.

The core belief that Jerome and Melanie share is that they are essentially worthless.  They believe that they have nothing to offer the world, and so, are undeserving of anything good in it.

These beliefs are false.  And we Christians, we are the truth-bearers.

How can we communicate to this generation of children that they are valuable beyond what they can imagine?  How can we show them the great love that resides in the Father’s heart for them? 

How can we convince them that He made them for a purpose, and gave them gifts to share with the world and glorify Him?

Well…we’re working on it.  There are so many factors that come into play in a child’s perspective of his or her place in the world.  But we do have the opportunity to become one of those factors…one of those voices in their lives that help form their ideas of themselves and who they were made to be. 

Shine has created a database for the purpose of offering special guest presenters to the teachers at A. Montoya Elementary.  It is our hope that a teacher could look on our database and find a biologist, a lawyer, a business owner, a stay-at-home parent, a chef, a politician, an artist, and YOU…a person who would be willing to come in once or twice a year to speak to his class or help him develop a special activity that pertains to your area of expertise. 

The goals of this database are as follows:

1. Lend support to our teachers. Teaching in a Title 1 school means that you fight the core beliefs Jerome and Melanie formed at young ages.  This is not an easy task.  Help them change these precious kids’ minds about themselves, and give the teachers new depth to their lessons. Show the teachers they’re not alone in their fight for this generation.
2. Show the kids their worth. They won’t believe they’re worth your  It means a lot when you step out of your busy, important life to be with them.  It demonstrates our core belief that God loves them.
3. Encourage the kids to dream. When you, a real person from their own community (NOT a teacher) tells them that a bright future is within their reach, it sticks a bit more than when their teacher says it. In fact, you may be the person that causes them to believe it.

Please consider adding yourself to the list of potential presenters.  We need artists, scientists, writers, stay-at-home parents, crafters, runners, business people, and YOU!  Please click on the following link to fill out the form to be added to the database.  Praise God that we get to be part of His transformative work!

Shine Bright Database

Click here to learn more about Shine and all the ways they serve students, teachers and families at A. Montoya!

Valentine’s Day has passed. Maybe it was everything you hoped for, or a lot less than you imagined. Maybe your marriage is dynamic and everything is going great, or maybe your stuck in a bit of a rut and wondering how in the world that happened? Either way, I want to share some ideas on how your marriage relationship, and you personally, can grow and thrive in Christ.

Ruts are a result of erosion, a natural and dynamic process, yes, but destructive rather than constructive. If your marriage is in a rut, perhaps you are not deliberately protecting it.

The thing about a rut is that you can accidently fall or drive into one simply by not paying attention…but rarely will you accidently get out of one. It takes deliberate and focused effort.

Whether driving, or thriving in your marriage, the main issue is to actively pay attention, close attention so you can stay out of the rut. Make your marriage a priority, stay focused, and at a minimum, devote time to these activities:

Listening: What was your spouse's day like? What was the best part of their day? What were their struggles – what was the " big rock" of their day? Also recognize if things were difficult for them, and they really don't want to talk about it – maybe there something else you can do right now to help them? Ask how can you best serve them, and then listen to the answer? It’s better to ask than assume.

Talking: Good conversation is the lubricant of marriage! If you're the kind of person that doesn't talk much, consider cultivating communication for your spouse's benefit. First, don't expect your spouse to read your mind and second, try not to interrupt!

Proverbs 18:2 tells us:

“A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing his opinion.”

When you interrupt, people can lose their train of thought and it can be very annoying – so I’ve been told directly.

Praying Out Loud Together: Communication reveals the mind and our thoughts to one another, but prayer unveils the heart, and ultimately the soul.

It is the experience of being in the inner sanctum when your spouse is in communion with God. And you get to share in that! This doesn't happen overnight, especially if you haven't been praying together previously -  but this is the goal, and it is very achievable with practice! Start praying together and watch the Lord bless your marriage, because of your active inclusion with Him at the center!

Encouraging: Marriage is a team sport! Be the person your spouse can't wait to see, can't wait to be with, can't wait to talk to, and always trusts to be honest with them! Be on their side, even if they do something wrong – maybe most especially if they do something wrong! God extends grace and mercy to us; we certainly need to follow suit with our spouses. You must accept that they, like you, are imperfect and will inevitably sin. In Ephesians 4:2-3 we are given a beautiful picture of how to encourage someone after they have made a mistake,

“with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”

We are called to walk together, recognizing that each will sin, but working together toward godliness.

“speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.”

We can recognize that neither partner is perfect while working together to grow in our relationship with Christ. There is a difference between accepting your spouse as a sinner and allowing them to remain in active sin.

Be graceful as you encourage them to “live a life worthy of the calling you have received” as part of the body of Christ. (Ephesians 4:1).

Playing: Yes, having fun! If you're not having fun in your marriage, get with the program! Plan date nights, play board games or listen to music, go for walks or tell jokes! Having a heart that is open to “playing” yields great joy! Simply watch children, the experts of play! They have perfected the art of joy, naturally, as you likely once did in the beginning of your relationship with your spouse or as a child yourself.

The above ideas can help with creating peace in a marriage. Every marriage is unique, so be attentive and focused on what is, and is not, working in your marriage!

Pray, Play, Listen, Encourage, Talk and see how God draws you together! Put God at the center of your marriage and watch what happens!

If you are looking for some tools or ideas on how to improve and work on your marriage, be sure to watch for upcoming Marriage Matters workshops!

It’s that time of year again. People are setting the New Year’s resolutions or goals that they want to achieve this coming year. 

Perhaps you want to improve your health, fitness or a relationship you are in. Maybe you want to get those finances under control. There is a Biblical reason and way to do that! 

Here are a few helpful tips that may be useful in the financial arena.

1. Rediscover your pay stub. Look at every category to make sure that everything is correct. You’d be surprised how many times you can find an error!
2. It’s almost tax time again. While your doing your taxes, this year make sure that you are not overpaying each month.  Getting a big tax refund is not a creative way to have a vacation fund, it’s just an interest free loan to Uncle Sam. Increasing your deductions can allow you to have more money each paycheck to put towards your goals.
3. Get your kids involved. If you have middle/high school aged kids get them involved in how the household finances are run, so that they can learn now and apply what they learn later in life.
4. Define Savings Correctly. I think most Americans believe that savings is how much you save when you buy something. Well, that’s just marketing.  Perhaps some actually do put cash into a savings account, but it comes out at the end of the month to cover all the over spending. Savings is actually money you put into an account and it stays there for a specific purpose.  In the last 3 years the personal savings rate has dropped from 6% to less than 3%.

Be more than average.

If you want any help with these tips or other financial resolutions please consider our upcoming Living Debt Free Workshop on February 24th from 9 AM to 3 PM.   If that class does not work for you, please consider taking our short survey (just a few questions!) below on one of the other classes offered through Mountain Christian Church.

MCC Financial Stewardship Survey:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/Y9SCFDN

One of the keys to Christian growth is learning to exercise faith as a child in our daily life. Exercising faith teaches us to trust God and recognize the blessings that He constantly bestows upon us. We can often fail to recognize God’s gifts, and the ways that He is at work.

In Mark 10:15, Jesus states, “Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all.”  

Early in my Christian life, God taught me how to trust His promises and exercise my faith. 

Second Peter 1:3-7 says,

“His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness through the knowledge of Him who called us to His own glory and excellence by which He has granted to us His precious and very great promises ….”

As a young Christian, I read Hudson Taylor’s Spiritual Secret.  Hudson Taylor was the founder of the China Inland Mission and grew up in London, England during the late 1800s.  He wanted to go to the mission field in China and tried to grow spiritually in every way that he could.  (He even learned Chinese on his own.)  His employer was very forgetful and often had to be reminded to provide his earnings.  Rather than asking for his paycheck, he decided to trust God to remind his employer that he needed it. 

As he expected, a couple of weeks later his employer forgot to pay him.  He didn’t ask for his paycheck and trusted God to remind his employer to pay him.  He ate his last apple on a day when he went to minister to the poor in London.  On his way home, he was hungry and rather despondent that God hadn’t met his need.  He wasn’t paying attention to his route home and “just happened” to walk by his employer’s home.  His employer saw him walking by through the window, called him to his door, and paid him. 

Hudson Taylor saw his simple faith develop into complete trust years later as he had to depend upon God to provide not only his need, but the need of his ministry on a daily basis.

I have also seen God provide for my food, when I ran out of money.  I chose to trust Him, and He provided an unsolicited check on the day that I ate my last can of tuna.  Since that time, I have seen God work mightily to answer prayer in many other ways.  Exercising faith has made me feel like a child in a candy store of God’s goodness.

God wants to answer prayer and He wants us to grow our faith.  Consider an action today where you might see God grow your faith.