The Foundation has been laid…
Filed in General |
Journal,
Hard to believe that its been almost a year since I passed the mantle of Senior Pastor to Nathan. Looking back I really have much to rejoice over. Not only did the Lord grant me a healing of cancer, but He gave me a transitional time in order to become more involved in other aspects of ministry. (Some of those aspects remain to be seen.)
But I must confess — Though I continue as General Overseer of CCI, it has been strange for me not to be at the helm of the mother church. Its been sort of a mixed blessing. While I am throughly pleased that I am now free to pursue other ministry options, and yet after 30 years of continual ministry, with very little break, I’m not sure just how I feel at times. What makes this strange is that I have never questioned whether we are in the center of God’s will. I believe Christian Challenge is right on course with our forward direction.
Well, something real neat happened yesterday. While listening to Nathan minister so competently, I could not help but feel the goodness of the Lord. Here I am listening to my own son handle God’s Word in an excellent manner, in fact, so much so that I’ve come to look forward to his Sunday teachings on ‘What the animals can teach us.’ (Or anything else he may be teaching.)
It was during Nathan’s teaching that the Lord open my heart to hear something He wanted to say to me. The Lord nearly always begins speaking to me from the Scriptures. This time He speaks to me through the apostle Paul –
“According to the grace of God which was give me, like a wise master
builder, I laid a foundation, and another is building on it. But each man must be careful how he builds on it. For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” (1Co3:10,11 nasb)
It was like the Lord was saying, ‘I gave you a stewardship to raise up Christian Challenge. You have done well in laying the foundation. Now you have a son who is building on the foundation. See how well he is doing. His foundation is sure.’
What I wish to say is that while I am the founder of a ministry, I am certainly not the foundation of that ministry. There can only be one foundation. The apostle said it well enough:
“For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.” (1Co2:2)
Have you been to your fig tree lately…
Did you know that when you come to understand Hebrew symbols and thought forms, the Bible will become even richer? For example, did you know that ‘the fig tree’ is a symbol of several things. In addition to being a symbol of various things, it was also an idiom that has to do with the study of God’s Word. Being under the fig tree meant to be before the Lord, with His Word, and in the place of peace and security.
This Wednesday evening I’ll be sharing a bit on how the fig tree idiom has a place in our lives. My subject will be ‘The Rejected Cornerstone.’ If you would like to view our text Scriptures, go to Matthew 21:33-46.
The ministry will devote itself to these areas:
I - The Life of God
II - The Stone Rejected
III - Under the Fig Tree
Ok, we did it again — Back to our little Greek place…
Today Betty and I ventured back to our ‘Little Greek Restaurant.’ And once again, wowee. The people there make us feel right at home. But this time we brought a bundle of plates to go with their custom of breaking plates on the floor and saying ‘Oppaa!’
To catch up on this go to the right side of this site, under ‘Recent Posts’, click on ‘Yes, I know a little Greek — Opppaa!’ Check them out. You will not be sorry.
Or just click here: http://www.buddymartin.net/blog/2007/11/21/yes-i-know-a-little-greek-oppaa/
That’s it for today.
May the blessings of the Lord overtake you,
Buddy
