Episode 47 – Armando Flores Interview -

Welcome to Anchored by Truth brought to you by Crystal Sea Books. In John 14:6, Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” The goal of Anchored by Truth is to encourage everyone to grow in the Christian faith by anchoring themselves to the secure truth found in the inspired, inerrant, and infallible word of God.

Script Notes:

You have searched me, Lord, and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue

you, Lord, know it completely. You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.

Psalm 139, verses 1 through 6. New International Version

In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, … All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God a may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

2 Timothy, chapter 3, verses 12 through 17. New International Version

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VK: Hello! Welcome to another episode of Anchored by Truth brought to you by Crystal Sea Books. I’m Victoria K in the studio and today we’re going to hear the story of someone whose life was changed by the Bible – actually changed by one particular story within the Bible. As long time Anchored by Truth listeners know we believe that there are four lines of evidence that demonstrate that the Bible is the inspired, inerrant, and infallible word of God. First, the Bible is historically reliable. Second, the Bible displays a remarkable unity for a book that was composed by over 3 dozen human authors who wrote over a span of 1,500 years. Third, the Bible gives evidence of supernatural origin especially through a large body of fulfilled prophecy. And the 4th line of evidence is that the Bible has resulted in an untold number of lives that have been positively changed by its transcendent message.

So today we’re going to hear the story of one of those lives. We’re going to be joined on the phone by a very special guest Armando “Mondy” Flores a very successful businessman and entrepreneur from Tampa, Florida. Today Mondy is a committed and mature Christian but it wasn’t always that way. Mondy was living a very successful life – at least he thought he was successful – until he took a fresh look at one of the best known stories in the Bible. How successful was Monday? Well, he had been one of the youngest branch managers in the gigantic Xerox corporation before becoming a senior executive in a Fortune 200 corporation when he was still in his 30’s. Moreover, he was such a successful college football player at the University of Tampa and Louisiana State University that he was offered a contract to play for the Miami Dolphins and – but he turned that opportunity down so he could focus on his career in business and family. In fact, he is in the University of Tampa Hall of Fame and as you will hear he’s someone who had achieved that success after dealing with significant challenge and adversity early in life. All in all his story is one of the most remarkable you will ever hear. So let’s welcome Armando “Mondy” Flores to Anchored by Truth. Mondy would you like to say a word of greeting to the Anchored by Truth audience and maybe tell us a little about your background?

Mondy: Thanks for inviting me to join you on Anchored by Truth.

• Introductory comments - Life in West Tampa

VK: Thank you for setting stage for us, Mondy. Well, before we get too much farther into our interview we’d like to take a few minutes to meditate on one of the most important aspects of living victoriously – knowing that our savior not only saves us but also continues to make intercession for us every day. We’re going to do that by using a devotional extract from RD Fierro’s book on prayer entitled Purposeful Prayers. This happens to be day number 10 from the 30 day devotional study.

----------- Purposeful Prayers Devotion, Day Number 10, Christ’s Intercessory Ministry

VK: Well, I think meditating on the fact that Jesus not only saves us but actively continues to intervene with the Father on our behalf – and on behalf of our friends and loved ones - sets the stage pretty well for today’s discussion. Mondy, despite your success in your life it didn’t come without challenges and significant ones at that. I believe you lost your father at a fairly early age. Can you tell us a little about that?

Mondy: Comments about growing up in west Tampa, losing father at age 6 and family dynamics.

VK: Sometimes in situations where a boy loses their father early there are other male figures – an uncle, older brother, teacher, or someone in the neighborhood – who can step up and fill the void. Did that happen in your case?

Mondy: Comments about not having a strong male influence.

VK: Now it sounds like you did not grow up in a family where faith and Christ were emphasized. Is that a fair statement?

Mondy: Comments about being around Christianity but not knowing that it was really all about having a personal relationship with Jesus.

VK: I believe you have often said that there was a particular Bible story that was instrumental in your coming to know Christ as your savior. How old were you when you had your conversion experience? Could you give us a few more details about which story in the Bible was so important to you and what role did it play in you accepting Christ?

Mondy: Comments about conversion.

VK: As I recall there was a cassette tape that was very instrumental in your salvation. Could you tell us some more about that?

Mondy: Comments about listening to cassette tape and finding salvation.

VK: At that point in your life you were 35 and you said you met Judy your wife when you were 15. Is it fair then to say that she had been praying for you for 19 years before your conversion?

Mondy: Comments about Judy and family praying for his salvation.

VK: Mondy, there may be some people listening that have been praying for their husband or wife or cousin or a friend of theirs for years and have yet to see that person come to salvation. What would you say to someone who is in that situation?

Mondy: Don’t give up.

VK: Well Mondy, before we close out for today I think it’s important to note during your business career you have met and been friends with a large number of very influential business, political, and sports leaders. For instance, you have a very good friend who won the World Series both as a player and coach. Yet a lot of these friends and people you have known have not only had stellar careers they have also been dedicated and committed believers. What observations have you made about these people that might be helpful to the Anchored by Truth audience?

Mondy: Comments about placing Christ first.

VK: Mondy, do you have any final thoughts for the Anchored by Truth audience for today - perhaps thoughts about things for which you’re particularly grateful.?

Mondy: Final thoughts

VK: We’d really like to thank Mondy Flores for being our guest on Anchored by Truth today. I think we can all be inspired by the kind of faith that his wife and her family displayed in praying for him for almost 2 decades before their prayers were answered and Mondy came to a saving knowledge of Christ Jesus. And while we didn’t get a chance to talk much about Mondy’s life after his conversion it’s a life that has yielded a bountiful harvest for the Lord and continues to yield blessings to a great many even today. Mondy’s story is just one more example of how sacred scripture –the Bible – continues to demonstrate its supernatural nature through lives that are changed for the better for all eternity by its saving power. Today for our closing prayer how about if we pray that everyone would come to a saving knowledge of the God of the Bible who is our one sure anchor to truth.

---- Prayer for the spiritually lost, radio version.

VK: We hope you’ll be with us next time when we’ll continue our discussion with Mondy. And we hope you’ll take some time to encourage some friends to tune in too, or listen to the podcast version of this show.

If you’d like to hear more, try out crystalseabooks.com where “We’re not famous but our Boss is!”

(Bible Quotes from the New International Version)

Psalm 139, verses 1 through 6. New International Version

2 Timothy, chapter 3, verses 12 through 17. New International Version