Thoughts and Prayers?

How often have you heard the phrase, "You are in my thoughts and prayers"?

It seems after a terrible incident or accident, wanting to show empathy, pity, or support, "thoughts and prayers" has become the new Hallmark response.

Some victims or friends and family members have outright rejected or criticized this phrase as if it carries no truly meaningful response.

In fact the Bible encourages each one of us to call upon The Lord whenever we need His presence in our lives.

In 1st Kings the Scripture states: "Nevertheless, listen to my prayer and my plea, O Lord my God. Hear the cry and the prayer that your servant is making to you today.
(1 Kings 8:28 NLT).

Prayers are ordained by God as a means by which we can communicate our needs or as a means of worshiping and praising our Lord.

In the Book of Hebrews, the Apostle Paul encourages each one of us to pray, through Christ as our interceptor who now sits at the right hand of God, and where our supplications are presented to our Father who now sits on the Throne of God.  "Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need". (Hebrews 4:16 ESV).

In our time of need, if we sincerely present our prayers and our thoughts, we will find mercy and grace. We shall receive His response to our pledge of encouraging someone in need who we have said, "You are in my thoughts and prayers".

It is not a waste of time, it is not a worthless exercise to just make us feel good. If you tell someone they are in your thoughts and prayers when they may be in a time of need and inspiration, you must follow through and pray for them.

Likewise, we must understand in the fight for the soul of our country, in this civil struggle for the founding values and principles of our country, it will be fought on our knees before the Lord. Don't just say you are praying for our country, do it sincerely and faithfully. Prayers do mean something!

You may have heard of Nehemiah who served in a very important position before King Artaxerxes. Nehemiah was the person who tasted the food and drink of the King. Nehemiah was the official cupbearer. In this position it meant Nehemiah had access on a daily presence before the King.

Nehemiah had an urgent desire in his heart to go back and restore the grandeur and the walls that provided security for the city of Jerusalem.

Although the city and walls had been destroyed, now that the Israelites were returning, the walls needed to be restored to provide safety and security.

In Nehemiah 1:11, he cried out to the Lord in prayer that he might find favor in the sight of King Artaxerxes.
"O Lord, I beseech thee, let now thine ear be attentive to the prayer of thy servant, and to the prayer of thy servants, who desire to fear thy name: and prosper, I pray thee, thy servant this day, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man. For I was the king's cupbearer."

The judgment and penalty for the Israelites rejecting God and continuing in idolatry after being warned to seek the ways of the Lord, the city was literally destroyed.

While the Israelites were in exile, Jerusalem remained in a state of total destruction and in dire need of restoration. It became a deserted city laying in ruins with God's people displaced after  seventy years of exile. King Artaxerxes was allowing the Israelites to return to Jerusalem. After rejecting the commandments of the Lord, and being in exile, God was restoring His people.

Nehemiah presented his prayerful request to the King. "I said to the king, Let the king live forever! Why should not my face be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers' graves, lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire?" Then the king said to me, "What are you requesting?" So I prayed to the God of heaven. And I said to the king, "If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in your sight, that you send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers' graves, that I may rebuild it." (Nehemiah 2:3‭-‬5 ESV).

The king asked, “Well, how can I help you?” With a prayer to the God of heaven, I replied, “If it please the king, and if you are pleased with me, your servant, send me to Judah to rebuild the city where my ancestors are buried.” (Nehemiah 2:4‭-‬5 NLT).

Nehemiah was approaching the King after he had prayed to the God in Heaven. Nehemiah requested a prayer from the King, by asking him for a prayer to God.

Each step of Nehemiah's desire to return to Jerusalem, was led by prayer. Nehemiah's thoughts and prayers were answered.

An important point often ignored was the response of King Artaxerxes, "Well, how can I help you"?

What a powerful question by the King. Likewise when we pray by offering our thoughts and prayers, our God responds in a similar fashion. "Well, how can I help you"?

When you offer to pray for someone, do it! Your prayer by faith will reach the Throne of Grace. Much like incense, the rising incense mixed with our prayers do ascend to the Throne of Grace.

Remember we are encouraged to always pray throughout our day.
"Pray without ceasing".
(1 Thessalonians 5:17 KJV).

Pray without ceasing does not mean you must excuse yourself from colleagues, have a very formal conversation with God. 

Throughout our day, there are moments of quiet where we can whisper our prayers. You can pray silently through the day. 

It is still important to have a prayer closet, a time of reading the Bible, mediating on the word, and whisper a prayer for those you may have pledged, "You are in my thoughts and prayers".

On May 2nd, it is National Day of Prayer across our great country. It is a time recognized where across the country, Believers gather to acknowledge our dependence on God to guide our leaders and nation.

Please join Prayer Intercessors from across our community on the steps of the State Capitol, May 2nd from 11 - 1 p.m. to add our clergy voices to the National Day of Prayer.

LFI ~ LATINO FAITH INITIATIVE
Rev Fidel "Butch" Montoya
Remember: "God Listens"!

Why We Were Created In God's Image

The most important season of the year is when Christian's gather to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the tomb. It is the hallmark of the Christian faith when God gave His Son to die on the Cross bearing our sins, forgiving our sins, and saving us from our sin nature.

God sent His only begotten Son to die on The Cross to fulfill the promise of eternal life with Christ. It also symbolizes God's supreme value God places on life itself. To have His Son die on the Cross for our sins demonstrates the Offering of His Son as one of the most significant events in Christian history. Jesus Christ dying on the Cross and His Resurrection from a cold dark tomb, assures us of eternal life.

The death and resurrection is one covenant that many old time prophets spoke of God's Only Son throughout the Old Testament. It is the central truth of the Gospel.

The Apostle Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 15, that unless we believe in the resurrection, our faith is in vain.

"Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain". 1 Corinthians 15:12‭-‬14 ESV

The central purpose of giving His only Son was to cleanse our sinful hearts and assure each of us of eternal life, by accepting Christ as our now risen Saviour.

When God created the heavens and the earth, God was very clear He  created man and woman in the image of God. God did this so He could be assured of oversight over all of His creation.

"And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth." Genesis 1:26.

When Adam and Eve broke the one law God set in the Garden, they broke their relationship with God's promise of eternal life. That is the reason Christ had to die on the Cross and resurrect three days later to redeem our lives from eternal damnation and to eternal life. Being cast out of the Garden to a sinful and corrupt world was punishment for their idolatry and disobedience . 

The Spring season is often viewed as a time of renewal, a time when that which was in death is given new life. We see new life growing by watching the gray cold winter give way to a flourishing green warm Springtime. 

Likewise, the Message of the Cross renews the Gospel message shared by many old time prophets and Apostles. A Gospel message that never changes. "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever". Hebrews 13:8 ESV

In today's society, the Message of the Cross is often rejected as a myth or some ancient Bible fable. It is not a myth or some fairy tale. It is the ultimate principle and most important belief in the Bible for anyone who wants to accept Jesus as Saviour. "In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood". Hebrews 12:4 ESV. Christ was serious in His commitment to fulfill the call of the Cross. 

We have devalued life to the point that nothing seems to frighten or shake us. Shootings and other violence kills and maims many every day. Domestic violence can often end in death or other long term physical force intended on causing injuries, or mental illness in continuing family disputes. Death by vehicles kills hundreds every year and life seems to just go on. Just another news story affecting someone else.

How can we not mention the hundreds of thousand of babies murdered every year. Past off as a health issue, and I agree that may be the case in some situations, unfortunately it is not the primary reason.

An important issue often ignored or overlooked is the responsibility of the man who was a full partner in the creation of every baby. How often do they abduct from responsibility leaving the young lady broken, confused, and susceptible to offers of "free medical health"?

While often referred to as a women's choice, the man must also accept his responsibilities to provide a life that addresses the needs of every child. The man who walks away is a coward who just may have looked at the relationship as a "one night stand," or was just irresponsible in his actions.

 

Since the Roe vs Wade decision was handed down by the Supreme Court, "there's been well over" 54 million abortions. The Guttmacher Institute has tracked roughly 49.3 million abortions through 2008". "Well over 54 million abortions."

God cherished life and in many instances in the Old Testament, God harshly punished Israel for turning to heathen worship, to the point of allowing the armies of the enemy to destroy God's most Holy dwelling place on  earth...the grand Temple constructed by King Solomon, along with the City of king David, Jerusalem. It was destroyed under very heinous and harsh conditions that befell on the nation of Israel.

In the old days, sacrifices to Molech were made by sacrificing crying babies as they were offered in a fiery sacrifice. "Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, and for Molech the abomination of the Ammonites, on the mountain east of Jerusalem". 1 Kings 11:7 ESV

"They built the high places of Baal in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, to offer up their sons and daughters to Molech, though I did not command them, nor did it enter into my mind, that they should do this abomination, to cause Judah to sin". Jeremiah 32:35 ESV

As we may know, The Prophet witnessed the disobedience, the corrupt idolatry of sin to pagan Gods, and the ultimate judgment of God.

Some may question what does abortion have to do with the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ from the Cross, to the Tomb, to Resurrection?

It is because the Resurrection is about LIFE, not DEATH. It is about the renewal of life, and a new season...a time for a new life ordained by God. We have rejected His dying on the Cross for our sins, turning our back to the Risen Christ. We are living in idolatry and disobedience no different than by God's people in the Old Testament.

We too have the opportunity to accept a RISEN LIVING JESUS CHRIST as Saviour. 

We too have the free will to reject the offer of a precious life given to us by God, by  living in disobedience by choice. 

"But when a righteous person turns away from his righteousness and does injustice and does the same abominations that the wicked person does, shall he live? None of the righteous deeds that he has done shall be remembered; for the treachery of which he is guilty and the sin he has committed, for them he shall die". Ezekiel 18:24 ESV

We too can continue to live in idolatry and civil disobedience to the laws of God and face the penalty of death in eternal hell, the only penalty ordained by God.

Or would you whether accept the truth of The Resurrection and let The Holy Spirit help you live a life free from the temptation of sin and despair? 

Free from a life of death to one of resurrected Hope and Faith?

Remember as we look to the Cross,  Christ died there to bring us the Hope of the Resurrection.

(LFI) ~ Latino Faith Initiative

Rev Fidel "Butch" Montoya

Remember: "GOD LISTENS"!