Pastor Buddy’s Blog

Morning Journal,

Said I had a top secret to share today.? It happened last evening at the Christian Challenge Super Bowl party. Our youth pastor Jon Martinez openly proposed to Jessica Youngblood for marriage. Sorry I wasn’t able to be there. I’ve been Jessica’s pastor since she was a little girl. What a thrill!

But the newspaper was there. In fact they did a write up. You can see it at:

http://www.thetowntalk.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070205/NEWS01/702050313/1002

Well, I must report a? disappointment of late. Besides my guitar and music, and my writings, my personal hobby is genealogy. I’ve done considerable work on my Martin family line. Recently found? information? on a forebearer that set me back.? Guess we all like to see our family line as squeaky clean. I found some unsqeak information that I would rather have not known.

Shucks. What I really? discovered was that all my family were sinners before any of them came to know the Lord. Isn’t that the pits??

But? I do have family members that I am very proud of. Got to thinking about a couple of my mother’s brothers? who fought in WWII. One uncle was a survivor of Pearl Harbor. He is now deceased. (Uncle Holiday.) Another uncle survived the sinking of the USS Indianapolis.

Quite a few books have been written about the tragedy of this great ship. She was involved in? Pearl Harbor. When the USS Indianapolis was struck and sunk by the Jananese torpedos in the Philippine Sea, of? the 900 original crew members only 316 survived the shark invested waters. Uncle Grover was one of the survivors. (He lives in California.)

There are a number of? sites that have the story. Consider:

http://www.ussindianapolis.org/

There is so much to the tragedy of this story that it is hard to even think about it. Uncle Grover has appeared in films about the sinking. I have a couple of books that tell the story.?

A great amount of guilt was placed on Captain McVay that should? never have happened. Seems the Navy was looking for a scape goat. McVay eventually committed suicide.?

Well, as far as genealogy goes did you know that I am really the only son of grace? It’s true. Course I should spell grace as Grace. My mom’s name is Grace. I’m an only son. Got you.? ?

Had my devotion from Job. The Scripture that caught my attention was Job 2:1. It says:

“Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them to present himself before the Lord.”

Isn’t this an odd statement. Two questions are in place. Who are these sons of God? And, why would Satan be among them to also present himself before the Lord?

Here is my opinion. I think that in God’s original creation he first created a class of angels who were given the title ’sons of God.’ They were still created beings and not sons by generation from the Father.

This special class of angels were present when God’s fuller creation was made. They were probably given assignments over parts of the creation.

There really isn’t much said about these angel beings. But in this we may find a valuable key as to the spiritual warfare in place against the human family.

Satan appearing with these sons of God likely relates to his first position? over the earth. In his rebellion he lost his right relationship to the Lord but not his place as a prince angel.

Here is the key. Adam is the only man in the Bible ever called ‘the’ son of God. He took this title because Adam was not a created on the order of angels. God literally breathe His own life into Adam. Hence Satan’s hatred for the human family.

Through the fall of Adam, Satan hoped to do away with any relationship the human family could have with God. The cross changed all this. God still loved the world. He loved the human family with a special love that the angels could not understand.

Thus we have the story of redemption. Out of the cross comes God answer to Satan. Paul writes, “For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:26 nasb.)

While the New Testament does speak of an act of creation with each person born from above, we are not created as were the angels. Every child of God has been inbreathed of God’s own Spirit. Thus we are literally God’s very own children.

This is why John wrote, “See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are. For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him.

“Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is.” (1 John 3:1,2 nasb.)

What a great and wonderful mystery this. To have a glimpse into this wonderful mystery helps us understand why Paul said that nothing, including any created thing,? will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is found in Jesus Christ.

In fact all of creation will one day be subjected to God’s children. Did you know this? Satan knows it well. This is why he hates believers.

8;50 a.m. - To the office for emails and Ask the Pastor.

Call from Lane. Boy is he ever excited about last evening’s Super Bowl gathering. There is such a bonding time going on at Christian Challenge. We have new members making their appearance.

What thrills me as much as anything else is how the Lord has set me to the side? while He establishes Nathan in his proper role as Senior Pastor. It is Nathan’s turn to take the ship called Christian Challenge into the future. Nothing could make me happier.

In the meantime the Lord is shaping me for my own future work. Betty and I will have plenty of God-given things to do. We will continue to sail into the? deep waters of God’s faithfulness.

Speaking of deep waters, my ship the USS Calvert was in Hong Kong harbor when Typhoon Tiger hit. (1961) We weathered the typoon well enough but some ships and boats were cast up on the shores.

I remember some of our crew being sent to help dig people out of the mud slides. (I was on duty as a radioman.) Much of Hong Kong is built on hills. The torrential rains caused massive mud slides. Don’t know how many people were saved.

Actually Hong Kong is a strange city. It has a city on top of a city.? On the roofs of the downtown buildings you have an entire ‘other’ city with shops, etc. I heard that some of these people had never been in the streets. They were born and raised there. Don’t know how true that was.

Running out of things to say. Hmmmm. Has to be a funny story here somewhere.

Ok, here it is. I’ve shared with you how Betty spiked my cup of coffee with pepper juice. Got to tell this one. Perhaps you will feel a bit of pity for me.?

We were newley weds living in Colorado. I worked? for the Grand Junction Police Department. Knowing how I loved pudding, Betty would put a cup of pudding in the refer each evening for when I came in from work.

This day it was different. The way our bedroom was set up, Betty could see the refer from her bed. Guess what she did? You would never believe this of my sweet Betty.

She put a cup of beef gravy in the front of the refrigerator where she normally put my pudding. Yes, I did. I took a spoon full of beef gravy, put in in my mouth, and out it came, all over the refer. You could hear the snickers from our bedroom.

There you see. I’ve always been the innocent party in our marriage. This is why I? sleep with one eye open.? I know that Betty has Indian in her. Also know about scalping. Why take any chances.

Okey dokey, I’ll talk with you later.

Love you all,

Buddy

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