Pastor Buddy’s Blog

Such rare beauty…

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Well Journal,

Its off to fun and personal sharings time again. 

Another Martin granddaughter off to high school homecoming. Wow, I tell you those Martin girls are just strikingly beautiful. And naturally we would only allow the most handsome and intelligent young man of high moral standing to escort one of our lovely Martin granddaughters.

Thus the picture to the right. Now just take a look at Faith and Jacob. Aren’t they a picture of poetic beauty! In fact their very names speak to this. Jacob of the Bible was noted for wrestling with God by which he obtained the name Israel, which means, ‘the prince that prevails with God.’ 

We have found Jacob to be a prince of a young man. Ain’t that right Jacob!

Now Faith. How do you describe this picture of beauty and grace. Well, her name comes from a Hebrew word in the Bible that fits her very well. The Hebrew word can be translated as faith, as truth, or as faithfulness. It is often found in companionship with the word, ‘lovingkindness.’

I have no problem apply truth, faithfulness, and lovingkindness to our Faith. Those words describe her very well. She is very much a princess. And by way of proper introduction, Faith is the second of the three daughters of our oldest son, Nathan and our lovely daughter-in-law, Lori. 

And now for our latest news - Christian Challenge is in the movie business…

Yup, we’ve just completed our first film. Had a private showing for the CCI congregation last Sunday. Looks like it will be a block buster. I can’t say too much without giving away the plot since you will need to see it for yourself. Not sure yet which theaters will be after it. We are expecting a Hollywood rush.

There are only three characters in the film, the motorcycle buff and two nerds. Without giving away the intensity of the movie, here is a picture of the stars.  You will have to guess who the motorcycle buff is.  

Well ok, since you insist! At the left is Jon Martinez. In the center, Buddy Martin. And to the right, Rich Carlisle. But I can’t tell you more because of copyright laws. 

However, in the movie you do hear a sound-over of the voice of God. I think it will be alright to show you who the speaker is. Now you realize it isn’t really God Himself. It is our beloved brother, Jim Ross. 

Just one more item…

I can’t tell you how much I am enjoying our Tuesday morning Bible ministry time. We are still just a couple of handfuls, but what a wonderful time we are having. Yesterday morning we had eight adults. After our Bible study time, we all headed out for China Queen Restaurant. (At my challenge.) Who knows, maybe that will become our norm. Man, I love Chinese food. 

Anyway, what I enjoy so much about these Tuesday morning study times is that I am seeking to help our group to recapture some of the ambiance of the early years of Christian Challenges. I’m doing this partly by drawing from a chorus book that I designed in 1978-79. The songs we sang were simply songs of the heart. (Jenni is making several books based on the original book so that our group can learn some of these wonderful songs.)

There is a reason for this on my part. I realize that we can’t go back in time. But I do believe we can regain something that has been largely lost through the years. There was a move of God in the ’70s that carried with it a certain innocence. This innocence somehow got misplaced over time. (With many groups.) Much of what you hear today is this earthly-minded, ‘we-are-god’s’, prosperity and glitter teachings, that in my opionion are distortions of the true gospel of Jesus Christ.  (This is not the case with all ministers and certainly not at Christian Challenge. But you do see it a lot, especially with TV preachers.)

Anyway, it is in my heart to bring our Tuesday morning group back to a truly heart-felt simple devotion to the Lord. It is working and I am loving it.

And remaining small is not likely to happen very long. As the word gets out we’ll find more and more folk showing up. Now that is a good problem to have. What do you mean, you don’t like Chinese food!!

Well, that’s all for now.

Blessings,

Buddy