As some of you know, from one of our newsletters a guy by the name of Rosendo who I have been meeting with. For those of you who don't remember, he is in his late 40's and is meeting with me weekly to do a bible study. Last week we started again after having some time of for Christmas and the holidays as he is a school teacher and was not in Autlan for most of that time. So we started just talking about scripture. He could find his book we are going through, so I thought I would just go over what we have been studying in our church bible study which is the sermon on the mount in Matthew. We didn't get very far when he said something that I had to address. We were talking about how we can leave a legacy with our kids just by how we live our lives for Jesus. He then said that he is so blessed because his mom would pray for him every time he would leave and go back to his own home. She would pray a prayer of protection and blessing. So he then said that he is still receiving this "blessings" or at least he felt he was from his mom who was in heaven praying for him. Ok, so that was something, I said was still part of the Catholic teachings. I tried to get him to see that it was really the same that "saints are doing for us right now". He doesn't believe in saints but he didn't see the correlation between the two. Saints are one thing but this is your mom asking God to continue to bless you. So I needed to address according to scripture. I brought him to Luke 20:27-38 where the Sadducee questioned Jesus about resurrection with a women who was married to 7 different men who had all died. Which one would be her husband in heaven? Jesus responded with:
Jesus answered and said to them, “The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage. 35 But those who are counted worthy to attain that age, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage; 36 nor can they die anymore, for they are equal to the angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection. 37 But even Moses showed in the burning bush passage that the dead are raised, when he called the Lord ‘the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. 38 For He is not the God of the dead but of the living, for all live to Him.” (NKJV)
So that got him thinking. Then I brought him to Romans 8:26-27
26 Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. 27 Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.
The lights came on. He said "ahhh. I see what you are saying. It is not my mother praying for me but the Holy Spirit." It was one of those moments you get to see the word of God work in the heart and mind of someone. Before he thought something and after reading scripture he now thought something different. My heart was so happy to see Rosendo receive the truth of scripture. My pray is that there would be more people like Rosendo who are willing to be corrected when they may not be thinking
Jesus answered and said to them, “The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage. 35 But those who are counted worthy to attain that age, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage; 36 nor can they die anymore, for they are equal to the angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection. 37 But even Moses showed in the burning bush passage that the dead are raised, when he called the Lord ‘the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. 38 For He is not the God of the dead but of the living, for all live to Him.” (NKJV)
So that got him thinking. Then I brought him to Romans 8:26-27
26 Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. 27 Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.
The lights came on. He said "ahhh. I see what you are saying. It is not my mother praying for me but the Holy Spirit." It was one of those moments you get to see the word of God work in the heart and mind of someone. Before he thought something and after reading scripture he now thought something different. My heart was so happy to see Rosendo receive the truth of scripture. My pray is that there would be more people like Rosendo who are willing to be corrected when they may not be thinking