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On the morning of Saturday, March 7, the women of MCC were treated to a nourishing retreat at Nature Pointe in Tijeras. We were warmly welcomed upon our arrival to the rustic clubhouse and greeted by a beautiful welcome display where we donned name tags.

The morning started with worship which was led by our own Radigan sisters as we circled the piano and sang from song sheets. We concluded worship with the blessing of “The Lord Bless You And Keep You:"

“The Lord bless you

And keep you

Make His face shine upon you

And be gracious to you

The Lord turn His

Face toward you And give you peace”

The retreat continued in the main dining room, lovingly decorated with flowers, colorful napkins, program materials and a butterfly and flower card for each with a verse from scripture:

Corinthians 5:17: “Therefore, if anyone in in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”

For our retreat, we studied “Seek His Face,” a Gospel Coalition Retreat Ready women’s event focused on cultivating a life of persistent prayer in a noisy world. The program consisted of three videos, each followed by ten minutes of discussion at our tables.

Romans 8:26: “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.”

Session One was: Persistent Prayer When Everything Else Seems More Interesting. The discussion topic for our tables was: Identify one opportunity you have for prayer that you aren’t currently using. Women shared both about their current prayer routine and about other opportunities for prayer. 

Mark 1:35-37: “And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he [Jesus] departed and went to a desolate place, and there he prayed. And Simon and those who were with him searched for him, and they found him and said to him, ‘Everyone is looking for you.’”

Session Two was: Persistent Prayer When Everyone is Looking for You. The group discussion topic was: How does temporarily putting aside people’s needs in order to pray actually enable us to serve them better?

The program concluded with Session Three: Persistent Prayer When No One Else is Praying and the group discussion question: What are some promises of God that you could pray regularly?

After the program lunch was served along with the opportunity for ongoing fellowship. The MCC women who planned and led the retreat graciously ensured that the event flowed and that all were attended to. The warmth and beauty of the retreat, and the fellowship and connection with the women and with God continue on in my heart.

Hello my sweet sisters. As you may have heard, Mountain Christian Church is blessed to be able to bring a women’s retreat, Seek His Face, right here to the East Mountains. It will be held at Nature Pointe in Tijeras on March 7th from 9:30 AM-1:30 PM. 

You may be asking, "Why would I need to attend a women's retreat when I’m fed so well here in church on Sunday morning?" Well, I will ask you a question now: Have you nailed the prayer thing? Or do you feel like things often compete for your attention (and win) when it comes to prioritizing prayers and conversations with your Father in heaven? You are not alone.  

As women in this busy world you may be facing a fulltime career, little children needing all your time and energy, ministry, marriage, school, and the list goes on. While all of these things are important and necessary, I believe we fool ourselves into thinking that any of it can be done and sustained well, without constant reliance on and relinquishing of ourselves to God.

This women's retreat will help us sort through what distracts us and seems more interesting than prayer. We will also discuss how to make time for prayer when everyone is looking for you, and finally, how to seek prayer time with the Father when it seems like no one else is. Believe it or not, Jesus can relate to all of these road blocks to prayer and offers guidance in the Bible. 

Of course, this time with a group of women is sure to be blessed fellowship. We can support each other in our struggles and leave not feeling alone or defeated just because we have not perfected prayer. God is patient and simply wants us to draw near and because we are known and loved, we can begin new habits feeling refreshed and encouraged.

We will begin the retreat with a time of worship, followed by three video sessions. Each session will have a short discussion time after with the women at your table. We will finish by sharing lunch together. 

Whether you are seasoned in your prayer life and can bless another woman with ideas and encouragement, or you need help getting started, please join us. 

Be encouraged, for this is what the Lord says: “Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up, meeting together.” Hebrews 10:22-25

Every age brings its challenges for Christianity. Among them is the fact that living by faith means that we put the ultimate matters of life and existence into the hands of someone that we cannot see. In a world filled with sensory experiences faith in God is a challenge. This is nothing new of course. In the First Century, the Apostle Peter reminded his church that,

“Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.” (1 Peter 1:8–9)

It is not that a lack of sight that makes Christianity seem untenable it just makes it different than most experiences today. Instead of having joy based upon an empirical basis we have joy through our communion with the invisible God through the portal of faith.

In recent years I have noticed a trait, particularly among men, where faith is impeded. I am talking about the cultural fixation upon fantasy. Many man today are wrapped up in a world of fantasy and also find it increasingly difficult to live by faith upon the God who is invisible.

In each of the examples below men are giving themselves to something they can see but is not real. However, with Christianity we give ourselves to something that we cannot see but is actually real. (In the following examples, I want to make clear that I believe the first is sinful but the others are not inherently so.)

Pornography

Over the last 2 dozen years pornography use has exploded. Some may call it an epidemic. Young men are being raised on it and the addiction continues through the college years and into their thirties and forties. As a pastor I don’t often go a week without hearing about somebody’s struggle in this area. Let’s think about what is happening here. Pornography attempts to enjoy the blessings of sex without the relationship of marriage. However, this is not the whole story. There is also the fact the medium for consuming it is not real, it is a bunch of images. Everything about it is a fantasy; the women, the experiences, and whatever the pleasures that come from it. It is all a fantasy. Many men are wrapped up in this sexual fantasy and it is therefore little wonder that they are distracted from a faith what is real yet unseen.

Fantasy Sports

Technological advances have made fantasy sports more accessible. For those who are unfamiliar fantasy sports are a type of online game where participants put together virtual teams of real players in a professional sport. Their teams compete against each other based upon the statistical performance of their respective players on their rosters. Each participant runs their team like an owner or general manager. In these leagues participants will track the stats over the year and award a winner at the end. Obviously playing fantasy sports is not a sin and I am not making this point. However, it is part of the overall cultural preoccupation with a fantasy world. And it is this that attends to my larger point that this fixation upon the visible but unreal tends toward making faith in the invisible but real more difficult.

Video Games

As with fantasy sports, video games are not inherently bad. However, they are a distraction from reality. Nearly 50% of Americans play at least 3 hours of games per week. It is interesting that the average age of a game player is a 35 year-old man. I understand that for many games are fun; they are something of a hobby. I also know for many the hobby can become a bit obsessive and dominating. Many people, particularly men, are caught up in playing video games for hours and hours a day. I have counseled far too many men who were spending their best hours of the day conquering worlds while their real families and real souls were being neglected.

Living in a Fantasy World

When you put these three together there is a common theme of living in a fantasy world. Pastors and church leaders attempt to encourage men to serve in the church, study God’s word, evangelize their neighbors, and step up and lead in the church. However, often times, upon pressing upon the heart, we find that men are reluctant and stagnant in their Christianity because they are thriving in a fantasy world.

Is there any wonder why there is such a decline in biblical masculinity in the church?

It is a shame that many men are far too busy conquering fake lands, looking at fake women, and winning fake championships to follow Christ’s path of self-denying, cross-bearing, service.

Pastors are attempting to preach and teach God’s Word to people who are living in this world with their minds and hearts in a fictional place must be diligent. They must labor to present Christ in his surpassing glory. The Bible that condemns also convicts and converts us. We go from belittling God’s glory to broadcasting it. Christ goes from a fictional hero to a living Savior!

Perhaps you are one who is consumed by a fantasy world. If these things are crowding out or impeding your faith it is time to evaluate and make some adjustments. Perhaps there are sinful indulgences (or in the case of pornography, sinful practices) that are preventing you from growing in Christ. As is always the case the first step is prayer, confession, and repentance. Then work toward accountability and service in the local church. I can assure you that seeing the real gospel work in real people’s lives will bring a lasting joy to your soul that is incomparable by any standard. Christ is far too precious to take a back seat to anything. If we believe this then we ought to live like it.

TheGospelCoalition. The Modern Man and His Fantasy World. Erik Raymond. May 2, 2016.

https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/erik-raymond/the-modern-man-and-his-fantasy-world/

For over 15 years, the East Mountain Wood Ministry has been helping to warm homes, make new connections, and encourage them in their God-given dignity.

The ministry is designed to encourage those who need help to seek relationships with people around them that can help stack wood, deliver wood, or help in whatever capacity they can. The ministry also helps them identify what brought them to this place of need.

Those who volunteer to help are often church members, but we also have people who have received wood in the past help with current needs. And working alongside people from the community has other  advantages! Since we always pray before a work event, it is such a witness to those who may or may not go to church. As we talk to clients about their needs and how we can help, we often ask how we can pray for them. 

I love that this ministry has many people helping. As we work together to get to know one another, we form bonds and can have relationship with people we may not have had an opportunity to get to know otherwise.  Building relationships with both clients and those volunteering are a huge part of the ministry. Our focus is to honor God.

I think the most challenging part of this ministry is finding a time that works for everyone and their schedules. The other challenge I see is being able to connect with clients without them feeling like we are intruding on their space. I love connecting with people and sitting down with them over a cup of coffee, but find people are hesitant to do this in this new era we find ourselves in. I think this is a challenge for people in general. I find people today don’t want connection and are extremely uncomfortable with it. But Christ CALLS us to connection, that is His design for us….so in this culture of cell phones, laptops, computers, and isolation we must work past that to find connection with each other. More importantly, to find connection with those who need Jesus - those who are feeling isolated. This is a hard and uncomfortable balance that we must work through in a loving supportive way.      

If you are interested in helping with the Wood Ministry, we look forward to seeing you. This is a great way for families to come alongside each other to serve not only the body of Christ, but also the community around them. Please be on the lookout in your bulletin for upcoming Wood Ministry opportunities! Coming soon!                

“But You, O Lord, are a shield about me, My glory, and the One who lifts my head.” Psalm 3:3

The goal of the Shield Ministry is to honor and glorify God by being prayer warriors for our First Responders and their families. Day after day and night after night, law enforcement officers, fire fighters, paramedics, and EMTs say goodbye to their families and put their lives on the line to keep us safe. Day after day, they put on the full armor of God Paul spoke of in Ephesians 6:10-18.

We provide spiritual back-up for these heroes with prayer and words of encouragement. This may look like birthday cards, anniversary cards, notes of encouragement, scripture verses, or however the Lord leads.  We commit to praying for their safety, courage, strength, and integrity.  Sometimes we receive specific prayer requests and join our First Responders in bringing them before the throne of grace.  

We encourage everyone to pray for First Responders. If you are a First Responder or are interested in becoming a Shield Ministry Prayer Warrior and receive specific prayer requests, contact Pete Feldner at (505) 350-0399 or Cathy Feldner at (505) 362-8048.

“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”  Thessalonians 5:16-18