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Hi, we’re Josh and Naomi Mallett! Josh is the new Tech Ministry Coordinator here at Mountain Christian. We have 3 kiddos, Jason, Rose, and Olena and we have lived in or near the East mountains our entire lives. We started coming to MCC in June of 2021 after scouting for a new home church within the East mountains. We have a couple friends and Naomi’s little brother, Daniel Knapton who recommended MCC. We officially joined up shortly after visiting and liking what we found.

Our family hobbies are making music, art, and food. We also enjoy doing almost anything outdoors!  We are thrilled that we get to be a part of the tech team and are loving the privilege of getting to know and serve with everyone here. We look forward to building more relationships with our brothers and sisters in Christ and above all seek to honor the Lord with our hearts and our actions.

Juntos targets the youth and families who live in Albuquerque’s International District and East Central. The families they support include 50% immigrants, 25% Native American and 25% other demographic and local residents. Their focus is youth development with the goal that those who participate will become spiritual leaders in their families and the community. They operate from a mindset of holistic discipleship. This means they address both the spiritual needs as well as the social, mental and emotional well being of youth and their families.

Juntos engages with the community through a number of programs including: high school discipleship study on Sunday nights; middle school Bible study on Tuesday nights; Rally Night on Mondays focusing on teaching elementary/middle school kids the Word while proving leadership opportunities for Juntos high school students; Thursday afternoon Learning Lab provides tutoring resources; and Kids Club which meetings on the 2^nd week of June and provides a VBS experience for the Juntos children.  

Impact:

• Serving 50 children and their families,
• Numerous Juntos High School students leading activities attended by younger students,
• Numerous students have graduated from the program only to return and work for Juntos or volunteer their time.

Opportunities to Engage:

• Serve as a tutor on Thursday afternoons - various subject for grades K-12,
• In June volunteer for Kids Club - need help with worship, small group leaders and activity leaders,
• Volunteer when you can to help with special events.

Romans 10:17 says, “Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.” Hebrews 11:6 says, “And without faith it is impossible to please Him for whoever would draw near to God must believe that He exists and that He rewards of those who seek Him.” From the very beginning of our journey as believers, God expects us to have the faith to trust Him. Salvation cannot take place unless we begin to trust Him but our salvation is only the beginning of our faith. Our faith is developed in at least two ways. Since hearing the word is the source of faith, faith is developed and becomes stronger as we spend time in the Bible. Thus, our faith is directly dependent on how much time we spend in the word. In addition, John 16:24 says, “Hitherto you have asked nothing in my name. Ask and you shall receive that your joy may be full.” Does that mean that we can ask for anything and God will provide it? Definitely not!! James 4:2-3 says “² You desire and do not have; so you kill. And you covet and cannot obtain; so you fight and wage war. You do not have, because you do not ask. ³ You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. Our faith is designed not for meeting our own needs but especially the needs of others. There are certainly times when God provides for us individually but faith is most rewarded when we seek to meet the needs of others. We live in an age when we see many “disciples” preaching and teaching in a way to benefit themselves. Did the disciples at the time of Christ benefit themselves and become wealthy with regard to the world? NO. They used their faith to bring the gospel to the known world.

            Faith is a spiritual muscle that requires exercise. Our faith does not grow unless we exercise it. We cannot walk out the door and expect to see major answers to prayer or major physical or spiritual needs met without faith. Jesus told the disciples that they would say to a mountain move hence to yonder place and it would move if they had faith. How many of us could walk outside and literally move a mountain? Faith does move mountains. It does not necessarily move physical mountains, but it does move spiritual mountains.

            Faith exercises start with small things. When Cheryl and I were first married, I used to have a thirty mile trip to work every day. During the five years I worked there, I never established a routine for filling my car with gas. I always asked God if I had enough gas to get to work or to get home when I was getting low on gas. He would always tell me (through the Spirit) whether I needed to get gas. During the five years, I only ran out of gas one time and that was within 100 yards of our home. We need to put ourselves in faith building situations. When we moved to New Mexico, we were paying two mortgages and it took 1.25 years to sell our house in New York (we were $2,500 a month short). Through our faith building exercises over the years, we learned that we could trust God to meet our needs. He met it so well over that one and one quarter years that we didn’t even have to change life styles. We need to exercise and build our faith muscle to be assured that God will provide during the coming persecution.

St. Patricks day- the day we pull out a green shirt and eat corned beef and cabbage. But what do we really know about St. Patrick?  Patrick was born in Romanized Britain and at 16 was captured by Irish raiders. He was taken to Ireland where he was enslaved for 6 years before he escaped back to Britain. He then felt the call to return to Ireland and serve the Irish people by sharing the gospel. He is also known for his confession in which he writes about his trials along with his heartfelt testimony.  You can read the first four stanzas below or click here to read in full.

Confession

To read more click here

The Structure of Reality                                                           Which reality is real? Is it what we feel on the inside or what we and others can observe on the outside? Are there really three realities, or maybe four including the so-called Metaverse? As portrayed in the Bible there is one reality comprised of two realms, the seen (human perceptions) and the unseen (the realm of God). This is an issue, since the supposition of “personal reality/ truth” is so pervasive today. In the last days, Jesus warns of a great deception. Might this be a sign of coming greater persecutions and tribulations? Be encouraged to meditate on the Scriptures, which claim our faithful LORD God is the only source of truth – reality.

The dictionary defines truth as that which is true; the true or actual facts of a case; conformity with fact or reality. Reality is defined as the state or fact of being real; resemblance to that which is real; a real thing or fact; that which exists independently of ideas concerning it. The dictionary defines faithful as true to one’s word; what may be relied upon, trusted or believed; true to fact.

Having examined, in a Bible Concordance, biblical references to the use of the words true or truth, and the words faithful or faithfulness, there is an interesting correspondence. In the Old Testament, truth is defined as certainty; trustworthiness; faithful; sure; true, truth. Faithfulness is defined as truly; truth; verily; faithful. In the New Testament, truth is defined as true; verity. Faithfulness is defined as trustworthy, sure; true; faithful.

How do we know the truth?

1. The truth is Jesus. Get to know Him! (Jn. 14:6)
2. The Holy Spirit will teach us truth. Ask Him! (1 Cor. 2:13)
3. Become a real friend of Jesus. Obey Him! (Jn. 15:14)
4. Test the spirits out there. Make Jesus the “plumbline” to measure truth! (1 Jn. 4:1)
5. Know the Word, especially the promises! (2 Pet. 1:3-4)
6. Walk in the Light, in fellowship with brothers and sisters in Christ! (1 Jn. 1:7)
7. Find the best truth resources you can! (Jn. 8:32)
8. Pray every day that truth and deceptions would be revealed! (Mt. 24)

Prayer is the tissue that connects the seen and the unseen realms of true reality. It connects what is going on down here, that we see and experience, with what is going on up there, where we know by faith and not by sight. Be encouraged to pray; pray as a community of believers.

How do we pray?

1. Pray in faith. Believe God and His Word! (Lk. 22:32)
2. Pray according to God’s will! (Col. 1:9)
3. Pray in the Holy Spirit. He is our Intercessor! (Rom. 8:26)
4. Pray through the names of God. Let Him reveal Himself by His names in Scripture!
5. Pray asking, seeking and knocking. (Mt. 7:7-8)
6. Pray binding and loosing on earth, that binding and loosing may happen in heaven. (Mt. 16:19)
7. Pray in a group!

In these coming days we must stand in the truth and pray. Be encouraged to look at circumstances with an eternal perspective; we have such an awesome hope in God’s promises to us. We also have a great responsibility to pray for God’s will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. This does not mean we pray that our circumstances might be exactly according to our liking (all about me), or that we pray without hope (in fear).

God, help me to pray! Light a fire, LORD.