Journal,

In the book of Ezekiel, we read,

“I searched for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand in the gap before Me for the land, so that I would not destroy it; but I found no one.” Ezekiel 22:30 nasb

It took me a while to find a certain Scripture that would seem to speak for our dear friend Lois Gibson. This dear lady has relocated herself to the Pineville area, and she is sorely in need of a godly man to help with the chores. Don’t know what the problem is other than it seems her motto Scripture is,

 ‘“Now I would not have you ignorant, brethren, that oftentimes I purposed to come unto you, (but was let hitherto,) …” (Partial quote from Romans 1:13 kjv.) 

Truth of the matter is that Lois had four handsome men at her beck and call jest this morning, helping to put her house in proper working order. 

Don’t know what those other guys would have done without my superior supervisory giftings.

Note - Picture used with permission by Lois. (She jest grinned.) 

Ok, now for a more serious note…

Yep, went fishing again this past Saturday morning with my son Andre. Caught seven bass, eleven white perch, one gasper goo, and tossed back a few catfish ‘bait stealers.’

Wouldn’t be fair to tell who caught what, so here’s a picture of the two larger bass that my son Andre caught. I’m holding them closer to the camera so you can get a better idea of their true size. Actually they were about three and a half pounders.

Well, I must tell the truth. I caught two bass, of the smaller sort, but legal, and three or four white perch. Boy, you should have seen the ones that got away.

Still trying to bring my blog up-to-standards…

Guess I’ll need to look to my dear friend, Jenni Baier for help in that affair. Course Jenni is also relocating to the Pineville area. Should be here Friday. Course I don’t think Jenni is in the same search mode as is Lois. 

Ok, guess its time to get out of the humor mode. And for all of you who have been missing my devotional studies, here is something I would like you to think about. Just this morning during my devotional time, I got to thinking, (dangerous thing to do), and it really came home to me that the key to life is easily found in one word, the word ‘Love.’

How so, you say? John 3:16 always says it best,

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His own begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”

Think about that for a bit. - God’s love is so awesome that He says whoever believes in the Son, shall not perish.

So how about a Bible study. Let’s talk about…

A love beyond understanding….

It all began in a small middle eastern country some time ago. And what began as a fledgling movement in the eastern world, mushroomed to become the largest religious ingathering of peoples this planet has ever known. And regardless of its diversity, Christianity remains unique to all the religions of the world. The love of God is the secret to the phenomena of Christianity.

All the apostles knew that the love of God was at the heart of His redemption plan. This is why the subject of ‘love’ is found so much in their writings. Paul says it best when he wrote,

“For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Rom8:38,39)

So the great mystery of the Christian faith is really the mystery of God’s love. He loved us before we ever knew Him. He never stops loving us.

The more you study the gospel, the more your understanding will be opened to the love of God and to the wonders of redemption. God’s love for His children knows no bounds. Not only were we chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world, but our entire life was set before God at that time. Even our times on earth - where we would be born, what our nationality would be, and many many more factors - were determined beforehand. And behind all this stands the love of God.

One of my favorite songs will always be ‘If That Isn’t Love,’ by Dottie Rambo. Listen to it as it is sung by Elvis. Let God’s love speak to your heart. 

The Lord gave David insight into this awesome area of spiritual realities. What is said by David is to be said by every child of God. David said,

“Even before there is a word on my tongue, behold, O Lord, You know it all. You have enclosed me behind and before, and laid Your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is too high, I cannot attain to it.” (Psa139:4-6)

Paul concurs in saying that God’s love for us is incomprehensible. Incomprehensible simply means that the mind cannot grasp it. Believers soon come to realize that there are things we can perceive with our hearts, that cannot be fully expressed to others. Why? They are things of the heart, incomprehensible things.

Paul said,

“Who knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God.”

Things of the heart are things that the God opens our hearts to perceive. They are instilled within us by the Holy Spirit.”

But what is it about God’s love that is so incomprehensible? We know the answer to that only so well. We have all found that God’s love is not static. His love surrounds us. God’s love reaches into our pits and draws us out. How often have we been ashamed of a misdeed, wondering how God could ever love us still, and yet, in our turning to Him, we found Him ever there.

I have never met a Christian who could not look back on their childhood, and say, “Lord, You were there even then.”

Not even the prophets understood this. Those times they had to issue stern pronouncements, in a moment of time a love song would burst forth. This song was about God and His children.

A example is with the prophet Micah. After dealing with issues of judgments, the prophet writes,

“Who is a God like You, who pardons iniquity and passes over the rebellious act of the remnant of His possession? He does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in unchanging love … You will give truth to Jacob and unchanging love to Abraham…” (Micah 7:18-20)

Unchanging love to Abraham is the catch phrase. All true believers have been made children of Abraham through our faith in Jesus Christ. Paul says that we are the children of promise.

Then we have this from Jeremiah, which again speaks of God’s love for His people;

“The Lord appeared to him from afar, saying, ‘I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have drawn you with lovingkindness.’” (Jer31:3)

Again we hear a call of eternity. Jesus expresses this eternal call in saying, “Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you, abide in My love.” (John 15:9)

Now for another step - Did you know that the single greatest testimony that God is your very own Father is your love for Jesus Christ? Jesus said to certain of the Jews,

“If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and have come from God, for I have not even come on My own initiative, but He sent Me.” (John 8:42)

Now couple this with how the apostle Peter described the heart of a true believer;

“And though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory.” (1Pet1:8)

And so the gospel is actually the greatest love story ever told. This is why Christians sing love songs to Jesus. We sing love songs to the Father. We sing of His love to us. We sing, “Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world.” We sing, “Love lifted me. Love lifted me.” We sing, “Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so.”

But why? Why do we Christians have such passion over the love of God. After all, you don’t hear Muslims singing, ‘Mohammed, lover of my soul.’ It can be summed up in the cry of the human heart. This cry can only be met in an encounter with Jesus. Paul describes it as the ‘Abba! Father!’ cry. We have found our Father.

Abba, Father, is an expression of true sonship. It speaks of intimacy. It is a cry of recognition. It is a cry that goes far beyond religion. It is the cry of a child’s whose heart has been filled with ‘Father consciousness.’ But it is a cry that goes both ways. We say, “My Father.” God says, “My beloved child.”

So we ask, ‘How much to you love us, Jesus.’ He stretches out His arms, and says, ‘This much.’ And His outstretched hands is the message of the cross.

Just something to think about.

Blessings,

Buddy

Posted: May 5th, 2008 under Devotions & Studies, General.
Comments: none

Journal,

This evening I will be ministering on the subject, ‘It’s About The Children.’ (6:30 p.m. Central time. Go to:

http://christianchallenge.org/live/index.html

Don’t let the title throw you. The emphasis involves the original purpose of creation. The story of creation is the story of Jesus Christ and the children of God. If you love Bible studies, you will certainly enjoy this one. I always let the Bible speak for itself. (If you are unable to be with us this evening, the visual study will be archived for a week.)

My text Scripture will include Ephesians 2:4-7 and also John 11:49-52. You may find it interesting to know that Israel’s high priest, Caiaphas, prophesied over Jesus, without knowing it, and yet it was this same Caiaphas who was responsible for sending Christ, the high priest of the new covenant, to the cross.

What Caiaphas said was given to him by the Holy Spirit. It had to do with the gathering of God’s children.

The teaching will include three major points. (You can fill in the blanks.)

I - The Children of Eternity

II - The Signature of God’s Children

III - Why it can never be religion

Just a taste for the teaching - Did you know that all children of God have a three-fold signature in them that goes much deeper than religion. This is why it can never be religion.

The three-fold signation can be capsulated as the love sign, the homeward sign, and the vision sign.

Ok, enough on that. I’ll need to be in the pulpit in about two and a half hours.

Still checking out my blog…

This shortened journal entry will go out to my subscribers and will also appear on the Christian Challenge web site. Still not certain if it will go to the various groups that it is intended for.

Much love coming your way,

Buddy

Posted: April 30th, 2008 under CCI, Devotions & Studies, General.
Comments: none

Journal,

First for an update on my fishing excursions.

I was up at 4:30 a.m. this morning for another jaunt to Cleco Lake. This time Andre, Judy and me were going after white perch. The time of compassionate fishing was over. Sure enough, we caught twenty-four beautiful white perch and two channel catfish.

The picture tells the tale. At upper left is Queen Bee Judy, taking over the cleaning job from Andre. Ain’t she pretty. I knew I had to go fishing this morning when Andre told me that he was taking a pretty lady along. Course I knew all the time he was talking about Judy.  

Next to Judy are the two hunks, Andre and papa bear Buddy. Naturally good looks just runs in our family. I’ve always called that the curse of the Martins.

Anyway, the bottom picture is yours truly holding up two of the white perch that we caught. I’m holding them closer to the camera so you’ze can get a good idea of their size.

Now as to who caught what, I really ought to leave that unsaid. But being the gentleman that I am, I think Judy and I (or is it ‘me’. I’m always confused on which word to use) caught maybe five or six a piece, give or take one or two on my part. Andre caught the rest.

Course Andre knew exactly where to put his bait. Fact of the matter is, I distinctly heard Judy tell him that if he didn’t stop catching so many fish, she was going to throw him out of the boat. Now that’s the honest truth. Seems to me that when the Queen Bee speaks, you ought to go to listening.

What does any of this have to do with my journal subject? Not a thing in the world. So, let me share a bit of a devotional study. This is especially for my readers who enjoy studying the Scriptures.

The Footsteps of Messiah
By LAWRENCE E. (BUDDY) MARTIN

The early Jewish believers spoke of their walk with the Lord as “The Way.”  (Greek “o hodos.”) The Greek term  can mean the road, or, the journey, or even, that way. This term is deeply rooted in prophetic writings. Because of its Messianic overtones it was taken up very early by Jewish believers with regard to their walk with the Lord. (You find references to ‘the Way’ in Acts 9:2; 19:23; 24:22)

The ancients also used a similar term, iqvot haMashiach, which means the footsteps of Messiah.  (Mashiach is Hebrew for Christ.) They taught that the Messiah leaves his footprints in the souls of those who belong to Him. This may sound peculiar to us, but it does give expression to the beauty of a believer’s walk with the Lord.

Listen to Psalm 85:10-13:

“Lovingkindness and truth have met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other. Truth springs up from the earth, and righteousness looks down from heaven. Indeed the Lord will give what is good, and our land will yield its produce. Righteousness will go before Him and will make His footsteps into a way.”

It is often in Psalms that we find the most beautiful expressions of the Messiah. Where it says, “Truth springs from the earth,” this surely speaks of Jesus. Isaiah 11:1 says,

“Then a shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse, and a branch from his roots will bear fruit.”

Jesus was every bit a man. His body was an earthly body just like ours. Yet He was the Lord of glory.

Where it says, “Righteousness looks down from heaven,” this would relate to the voice that came out of heaven; “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.” Matt3:17

Where the Psalmist says, “Righteousness will go before Him and will make His footsteps into a way” we need to hear the conversation between Jesus and John the Baptist at the River Jordan.

John hesitates to baptize Jesus, “I have need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me!”

The Lord responded, “Permit it at this time; for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Thus water baptism is seen as belonging to the way.

Jesus walked into our world to meet us, to take us by the hand, and to walk us into His world. This is the yoke experience.  Jesus said, “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” Matt11:29 (Remember my last entry concerning the mule-headed believer?)

Notice carefully that Jesus says we will “learn from” Him. This can mean no less than Jesus walking with us every step of the journey. We hear this in His final promise to the disciples; “I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Matt28:20

Why was Jesus baptized in water? To fulfill righteousness. Why are we baptized in water? To follow in His footsteps. Where do the footsteps of Jesus take us? Keep in mind that the Psalmist said, “Righteousness will go before Him and will make His footsteps into a way.”

The footsteps of Jesus carried Him to the cross. There his feet were nailed to the wood. Our baptism in water is a picture of the cross. Jesus was taken down and placed in an empty tomb. He arose. He walked out of the grave. He departed from the earth and ascended to the throne of glory.

Did God make his footsteps into a way? Indeed! The Lord Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”  He also told the disciples, “Where I go, you cannot follow Me now but you will follow later.” John 14:6; 13:36

Does the Lord not pass us through the cross and to our final destination and placement in His eternal kingdom? Yes, a thousand times yes. Every child of God has imprinted in his or her soul “the Way.” It is this imprint that keeps us longing for our final destination.

The footsteps of Messiah are eternal. The prophet said, “His goings forth are from long ago, from the days of eternity.” Micah5:2

The Messiah has always been present in the lives of His people. He has left his footsteps across the sands of history.

Where the ancients said the footsteps of Messiah are in the souls of those who long for Him, this accords with the new covenant. Paul said,

“In the future there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not to me only, but also to all who have loved His appearing.”  2Tim4:8

Perhaps what is written about God’s people of long ago best tells the story. It says, “[Abraham] was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God.”

Then again, “But as it is, they [the believers of old] desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He has prepared a city for them.” Cf. Heb11:13-16

So, we are still telling the story — If you are walking with Jesus, you are walking in the footsteps of Messiah.

Think about it,

Blessings,

Buddy

Posted: April 26th, 2008 under Devotions & Studies, General.
Comments: none

Journal,

My apology for the last blog. It was sent accidently with nothing in it.  On well - You live and you learn.

How’s about this for compassionate fishing. I went white perch fishing yesterday afternoon with my son, Andre, and my grandson, Justin. There were a number of boats in the area but no one was catching anything. Guess everyone decided to do some compassionate fishing.

Anyway, at one point I simply threw my line in the water, set my rod and reel down, reached over for a diet coke and honey bun, and settled back for a relaxing moment. Suddenly Andre’ shouted, ‘Dad, grab your pole. You have a fish!’  Believe it or not, my pole was about to take a deep sea dive.

So’s I grabs it and sure enough this montrous bass was on the other end. Well, I fought, and I fought, and in after a bitter contest I finally landed that monster. It was so large that I don’t even wish to guess its weight.

Now would you believe that my monster fish was the only fish we three compassionate fishermen caught yesterday? And we fished until it got dark.

Ok, so here’s a picture of Mick, Mike, and Mustard, and the monster fish. (Boy, you should have seen the one that got away.)    :)    

Ok, what’s that got to do with being mule headed….

All joking aside. As if that is possible with we Martin men. 

Wednesday evening I ministered on the subject of ‘Don’t be a Mule Headed Believer.’ Took Psalm 32 as my text. My main projection came from verses 8 and 9, which says,

“I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go; I will counsel you with My eye upon you. Do not be as the horse or as the mule which have no understanding, Whose trappings include bit and bridle to hold them in  check, Otherwise they will not come near to you.”

You see, a mule-headed believer has no real sense of direction so he tends to be double-minded. On top of this, the mule-headed believer resents anyone trying to help him with good advice. Why, shucks, he is that kind of  believer that don’t no nobody to tell him what its all about. Got his own way of doing things.

The sad note in all this is that the mule-headed believer is really missing out of the life that Jesus came to give him. He tends to live a life of confusion, with one problem following another problem. And all the while many of his problems could have been solved had he simply learned how to walk in the ways of the Lord. But not him - He’s too smart for all that.

What about the believer who has learned to walk in the ways of the Lord, and who always looks to the Lord for guidance? Now this is a horse of a different color. This believer has learned that the race of life is all about moving step-by-step with Jesus. This believer is a true winner.

David describes this winning believer as saying,

“You are my hiding place; You preserve me from trouble; You surround me with songs of deliverance.” (Verse 7)

The winning believer goes where Jesus goes, stops where Jesus stops, and refuses to take any measure of life to himself, unless it is something that the Lord would show him to do. It is sort of like what Jesus said of His heavenly Father, “My Father is working until now, and I Myself am working.” 

Which brings me to an interesting issue that many folk are not aware of. Has to do with…

The Issue of two rests…

Some years ago I discovered an interesting thing about the Lord’s call to rest. Jesus actually spoke of two rests, one rest is given and the other rest has to be taught. This certainly fits into the ‘don’t be a mule-headed’ believer scenario. You know, the guy that you can’t teach anything.

Listen and you will pick up on the two rests:

“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” (Matt11:28,29 nasb)

Notice how the first rest is given but the second rest is a learned rest. The first rest has to do with our entrance into God’s kingdom, otherwise known as our birth from above, or, our initial salvation experience. Jesus explained this to Nicodemus as a new birth of the human spirit. It is instantaneous.

The second rest is for our soul. The soul of man and the spirit of man are not one and the same. The soul is our personal self-life, or that part of our internal makeup that gives us individuality, character, and personality. The spirit is that part that must be born anew. The soul is where our personal life learns God’s ways through the transformations of truth. 

Paul explained it this way:

“Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. but we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.” (2Co3:17,18)

There is so much to be said about these soul transformations, but I’ll have to leave that alone for time’s sake.

However, one point does need to be made. What the believer is beholding as in a mirror, and what it is that is transforming his life, is the glory of the Lord Jesus that is found encapsulated in the sacred text, the Bible. We are beholding His majesty.

I also like to call these transformation moments, ‘Life gates.’  (A subject in itself.)

This is why our walk with Jesus can be called ’the yoke of life’ …

Where Jesus tells us to take His yoke upon us, this was a Hebraic way of telling us to come fully under His government. Jesus is telling us to enter into the majesty of His life. It is He alone who can teach us how to live. He does this by living His life with us and in us. Such a mystery, this.

To the Jews, the covenant of Moses was called the ‘yoke of the Law.’ In the new covenant we have the yoke of Christ. This is why Paul says, “For the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking (rabbinical laws that governed all factors of life), but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” (Rom14:17)

Being under the yoke of Christ, has to do with learning to live for Him under the auspices , the guidance, the love, and the protection of the Holy Spirit. Again this is something that has to be learned.  But as we learn this, we have a change over from being an immature believer, to a believer who is able to discern life in its fullness.

And it can only be taught to a fully surrendered life. 

Beware of strange yokes…

Many of God’s people are unable to come fully under the yoke of Christ, because they have placed upon themselves strange yokes. These yokes can be a person, even a false prophet or teacher. It can also be the yoke of religion. This means that if our particular religion is replacing the yoke of Christ, then we will never know the true rest that belongs to followers of Christ. A religious yoke is where we place our faith in our religion rather than where it should be placed, that is, in Jesus Christ.

Yes, we do need balance in this area. It is possible to go to an extreme in more than one direction. For instance, we are commanded to assemble ourselves together in church bodies, that is, as flocks of the Lord. However, never should we allow any religion or any person to ursurp Christ’s place in our life.

How do we learn to distinguish the true yoke of Christ from a religious yoke? It all comes back to personal surrender. The place to begin is with ’the’ book. The Bible is designed to be a book of living for believers. We should study the Scriptures to receive understanding.

But this brings me to the second distinguishing marker for the true yoke of Christ. It has to do with the voice that speaks in our hearts. Jesus continually reaches out for His people to come and walk with Him. The prophet Isaiah addressed this:

“Your ears will hear a word behind you, ‘This is the way, walk in it,’ whenever you turn to the right or to the left.” (Isa30:21)

What voice was the prophet referring to? Isaiah was drawing attention to the voice of Jesus Christ Himself. Jesus said,

“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand.” (John 10:27,28)

So, now only one questions remains. Have you heard the voice of Christ for yourself? Jesus speaks from the empty cross. His voice is from heaven but He speaks in our hearts.

Not much else to be said for now.

Ok, let’s all learn not to be mule-headed believers.

Much love coming your way,

Buddy

Posted: April 24th, 2008 under Devotions & Studies, General.
Comments: none

Journal,

Ok, so it wasn’t a twenty-five pound bass. So, how’s about a picture of a four pound bass that I caught on Cleco Lake, Saturday morning. Tried to take a picture of an alligator swimming near by, but the sun was too bright for a good picture. 

Anyway, it was me and my youngest son, Andre’, out to catch us an early mess of fish. You should have seen the ones that got away. I had four bass right up to the boat, but I think they were mocking me. One of the bass broke my line.

Out of the water they’d come, shake the lure lose, grin at me, and back into the deep they’d go. I jest hate being mocked by a smart alecky fish. And especially that one that had the nerve to break my line.

Course I never was much of a natural fisherman. I’m jest now learning how to fish for bass. I’ve always fished with live bait. And its only since I’ve semi-retired that I take much of a turn at fishing. Almost always with Andre’.

But I do have to admit that I’ve done some my best fishing over the years by catching men and women for the Lord. In fact back in the CB days, my CB handle was simply ‘the Fisherman.’

Now I figure out there in the world there’s still plenty of fish to be caught for Jesus. In fact if I remember correctly, someone once told me that he heard that if we’d catch em, Jesus would clean em. I really like that idea. I never much like cleaning fish anyways. But oh how I love to catch em for the Lord.

Sure makes you wonder if we are close to that final fish-catching season of the kingdom of God’s beloved Son…

Could well be. Don’t no one know for sure.

However, the Lord gave several parables to explain kingdom of God phases during the church age. The last parable He gave in Matthew 13, was about the final fishing phase of the age. Jesus said…

“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet cast into the sea, and gathering fish of every kind; and when it was filled, they drew it up on the beach; and they sat down and gathered the good fish into containers, but the bad they threw away. So it will be at the end of the age; the angels will come forth and take out the wicked from among the righteous, and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”(Matthew 13:47-50 nasb)

So how will we know when the final fishing phase is over. We will know when the Lord says, ‘Its over, boys. Time to go home. No more fishing.’

According to the Scriptures we will know fishing time is over when we hear the sound of a special trumpet. Some call this the midnight cry.’  (Based on Matthew 25:6 kjv)

Let’s hear it from Michael English…

I haven’t shared a study in awhile. For you who enjoy an occasional Bible study, here is one that calls for a review as to where we are in the time frame of God’s redemption program. Of course when studying end-time happenings, there has to be a give and take.

Let’s simply call it…

The Gospel of the Kingdom to the Whole World…

Jesus said, “This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.” (Matt 24:14)

With regard to the gospel going forth over the last decades, we have seen amazing things taking place on our planet. Dividing walls have crumbled, including the iron curtain. But there remains huge blocks of people who have been shut off from the true gospel. One of these great blocks involve those of the Muslim world.

The world of Islam is confusing in more ways than one. While Islam teaches that Jesus is the Messiah, and that He is coming again, yet their description of Jesus as Messiah is non Biblical.

For example, they teach that Jesus is not God, that He did not actually die on the cross, that His blood has nothing to do with atonement of sin, that no one can have communication with Him, or with the Father, and that when Jesus returns, He returns to convert the whole world to the faith of Islam. The list is endless.

See the issue at stake? The apostle said, “But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed!” (Gal 1:8)

Seems to me that any religion that claims an angelic appearance as validating their religion, that religion is in real trouble.

Anyway,

It has to end in Jerusalem…

But there is a counter measure in all this. God has never stopped loving all the peoples of the world, including the Muslim people. And there is no question that the Lord’s purpose is that all peoples of the earth hear the true message of the kingdom.

And here is where we come to Jerusalem. Zechariah 12 describes the happenings that involved the turning of Jerusalem to Jesus. Here is a brief survey:

(Verse 2) “Behold, I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that causes reeling to all the peoples around; and when the seige is against Jerusalem, it will also be against Judah.”

(Verse 3) “It will come about in that day that I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples; all who lift it will be severely injured. And all the nations of the earth (United Nations) will be gathered against it.”

(Verse 8,9) “In that day the Lord will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the one who is feeble among them in that day will be like David … In that day I will set about to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.”

(Verse 10) “I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace (the same Spirit that brought you to Jesus) and of supplication, so that they will look on Me (Yahweh) whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him (Jesus Christ), as one mourns for an only son (God’s only Son), and they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn (He is the firstborn of many brethren).”

The last verse speaks for itself. When the Jewish peoples recognize that it was Jesus Himself who was crucified, that they have been deceived into believing a ‘lie’ given them by the rabbis, they will experience the deepest of a broken heart.

So here we have the answer — There is only one answer that I can see. Jesus said the ‘gospel of the kingdom’ must be preached on all the world as a testimony to all the nations. And the ending of this prophecy heads up in Jerusalem.

Jerusalem was where Jesus was crucified. Jerusalem is when Jesus is returning.

Much to think about.

Blessings,

Buddy

Posted: April 21st, 2008 under Devotions & Studies, General.
Comments: none

Journal,

Guess its time for another laugh moment.

Been laughing with my kids. Thursday at noon has been our family get-together time for a number of years. We use this mostly just to catch up on personal family stuff. It is important to make sure that we are in touch with one another on a regular weekly basis. Life is too short to get too busy not to share a bit of family love.

Anyway, today the kids were laughing about this song that Andre had introduced to us a good time ago. It was titled, ‘What I love About Sunday,’ by Craig Morgan.

The song includes a bit about the Martin family. Regardless of any resemblance to my family, the song was actually about those Martins over across Greasy Creek up on Billy Goat Hill. 

The laughter had to do with the take on that mean red-headed kid who was known for breaking windows. It also spoke of sweet Miss Betty who likes to sing off key. Naturally we Martins never did have a red-headed kid that liked to break windows. And my Betty, why she can sing like a nightingale. This proves that the song was never about us.

Boy I wish to share the song with you, but couldn’t find a copy to put on my journal. Oh well, here are a couple of the lyrics:

 - That’s What I Like About Sunday -
Craig Morgan

Raymond’s in his Sunday best,
He’s usually up to his chest in oil an’ grease.
There’s the Martin’s walkin’ in,
With that mean little freckle-faced kid,
Who broke a window last week.
Sweet Miss Betty likes to sing off key in the pew behind me.

That’s what I love about Sunday:
Sing along as the choir sways;
Every verse of Amazin’ Grace,
An’ then we shake the Preacher’s hand.
Go home, into your blue jeans;
Have some chicken an’ some baked beans.
Pick a back yard football team,
Not do much of anything:
That’s what I love about Sunday.

Ooh, new believers gettin’ baptized,
Momma’s hands raised up high,
Havin’ a Hallelujah good time
A smile on everybody’s face.
That’s what I love about Sunday,
Oh, yeah.

That’s what I love about Sunday,
Oh, yeah.

While I’m in a laughing mood, let’s see if there isn’t something else that may be funny. Hmmmmmm…..

Ok, What if cartoons characters got saved….

Ever thought what it would be like if people’s favorite cartoon characters really got saved. Well, listen to this song. It tells the tale –

Nuff on the laughter side of things. Well, it wouldn’t be proper if I didn’t draw your attention to heavenly things. Let me share something with you that reaches back into yesteryear.

Do you remember the days before television…

I remember them well enough. I remember when we would sit around the radio to listen to Red Ryder, the Lone Ranger, Amos and Andy, Dragnet, Fibber McGee and Molly, only to mention a few. The radio was our entertainment. What a joy just to set there and let your imagination run free. Now all of this was back in the 40s and early 50s.

Then a bit later we’d begin to hear a bit of religious programming. Now Betty and I didn’t even have a television until 1974. (Believe it or not.) But I well remember over the years when we would travel, that I would turn the radio to a religious station out of Mexico or New Orleans. There you could hear all kinds of preaching and singing.

Well, I said all that to say this. Some of my earliest memories about the things of the Lord, come by way of radio. In fact, I even take a longing for those days at times. Guess this is why I dearly love the song, ‘I heard It First on the Radio,’ by the Gaithers.

I’m going to share one more video to close our this journal entry. Take time to get mellow. The video isn’t as clear as I would like, but it sure speaks of the wonderful early days of radio.

Take a listen:

What can you add to that? We’ve had a chance to laugh, but we’ve also had a chance to let our hearts become mellowed with song. 

Just wanted to say that I love you in Christ. And remember,

Jesus loves you more.

Buddy
 

Posted: April 17th, 2008 under Devotions & Studies, General.
Comments: 4

Thats right Journal,

I came into this twenty-first century clawing and clinging on to everything I could get my hands on that spoke of old-timey ways. You should have picked up on that by now, with all my memory sharings and such like.

In fact my theme song was, ‘I shall not be, I shall not be moved.’  After all, we pioneer preachers have a hard time adjusting to these new fangled ways. Well, if drawing water out of a well was good enough for papa, why isn’t it good enough for our grand younguns.

Well, I finally made it. Course you’ve likely picked up on that. Fact is I learned to turn on a computer. And I found the magic word to use when I get in trouble. All I have to do is cry out, ‘Nathan!!.’ And naturally Nathan will do his best to bail me out of trouble.

You see, he also knows a bit about old timey ways, especially that one where the Lord says, “Honor your father and your mother so that your years on the earth will be long.”  (I’m really glad the Lord put that one in the Bible. I’ve been known to pull it out ever so often.)

Well, if I were a rich man…

Just kidding. Every child of God is rich beyond measure.

But I do need to pick on a good brother in the Lord. His shortened name is ‘Rich.’ I love to tell him that I know a Rich man. (Speaking of him of course.)

Not funny? Well it might be if you were familiar with ’Fiddler on the Roof.’ Great movie from yesteryear. Remember Tevye the poor Jewish man who had a number of daughters. Hmmmmm. Wait a minute. This is sounding a bit like Nathan.

Ok, so I decided to dedicate Tevye’s song to Rich and Tevye’s dance to Nathan. Nathan is the one who can do Tevia’s shaking dance. (Course Lori has pretty much put the quieten down on Nathan’s dance.)

Another hmmmmm. Wonder if I could get Andre to do the Tevye dance. After all he and Judy have been going to these fun dance classes for a good while. They are pretty smooth on the dance floor.

Anyway, here goes my dedication….

Where to from here?? On Yeah…

By the way, have you been to any rock throwing contests lately…

I sure hope not.

Was talking with a brother today about such a need for compassion in the church. Sometimes we can be pretty good at rock-throwing events, but what about putting loving arms around hurting people. Wasn’t this one of the main lessons Jesus was teaching the people of that day. 

For example, when Jesus was accosted by the Pharisees for dining with tax collectors and sinners (prostitutes), this is what we hear:

“When the Pharisees saw this, they said to His disciples, ‘Why is your Teacher eating with the tax collectors and sinners?’ But when Jesus heard this, He said, ‘It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick.

“But go and learn what this means: ‘I DESIRE COMPASSION, AND NOT SACRIFICE,’ for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” (Matt 9:11013 nasb)

The Bible word for ‘compassion’ speaks of kindness or good will towards the miserable and the afflicted, joined with a desire to help them. [Thayer]

Does this mean that sin is alright?

It isn’t a matter of telling sinners that sinning is alright…

Jesus never did that. He simply loved people out of their sins. Did you know that loving people out of their sins still works?

Every person should know by experience that sinning is not alright. Sin is the breaking down of life as God intended it to be. And in the breaking down of life comes broken-heartedness, broken relationships, broken health, and just plain broken everything.

Jesus knew this. This is why Paul wrote,

“For while we were helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man somone would dare to die.

“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ dies for us.” (Rom5:6-8)

Would you like to love the way Jesus loved? You can because Jesus lives in every believer. We just need to learn to live the Jesus life.

If anyone ever want to know what God is really like, simply study the gospel story of Jesus. Just about the only people that Jesus would rebuke were the religious, self-righteous leaders. He became angry at them because they had lost all sense of kindness to the hurting and afflicted. But there were times that he rebuked His own disciples for their attitude towards others.

But He put his arms around hurting people. This is why the early Church had such an appeal to the lost and the afflicted.

Maybe it is time to repent…

It isn’t my intention to put a guilt trip on anyone. All I ask is that we think about it. Some of us may compare better with the Pharisees in our religious attitude than we do with the love and compassion of Jesus. If this is the case, then surely we must repent.

Is there someone that you may have hurt. Do you think the Lord may like you to make this right?

And in our repentance should we not ask God to give us a heart like the heart of Jesus.

Oh yes, I’ve had to repent many times over a bad attitude. That is why I love this following song so much. Listen to it. Maybe the Lord will bring it home.

Yes, it is good to laugh. But it is also good to cry.

So, can you tell yourself what time it is…

You must decide for yourself which time best fits your situation. The sage said,

“There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven–

“A time to give birth and a time to die; a time to plant and a time to uproot what is planted.

“A time to kill and a time to heal; a time to tear down and a time to build up.

“A time to weep and a time to laugh; a time to mourn and a time to dance.

“A time to throw stones and a time to gather stones; a time to embrace and a time to shun embracing.

“A time to search and a time to give up as lost; a time to keep and a time to throw away.

“A time to tear apart and a time to sew together; a time to be silent and a time to speak.

“A time to love and a time to hate; a time for war and a time for peace.” (Eccl3:1-8)

Guess its time for me to leave things be for now. Sure, I’m quite happy to be in the twenty-first century. And yes, I have brought my old timey ways with me. 

And always remember that Jesus loves you more than you can ever know.

Buddy

Posted: April 15th, 2008 under Devotions & Studies, General.
Comments: none

Journal,

I’m sending a shortened version of this entry for the purpose of testing my blog-journal. Recently had an upgrade but it appears that my last two entries did not make it to my subscribers. Hopefully everything is now fixed. By the way, I had my check up today on my cancer healing. Everything looks great.

Ok, here goes…

The first time I remember stepping inside a church was in 1949. I was nine years old. It was an old-timey Pentecostal Church in Burr Ferry, Louisiana, right near the Sabine River. This is where my grandpa and grandma Carver went to church, along with others of my kinfolk. For a little fellow who had never been to church, it was a world to behold. Guess you could say that I dealy fell in love with that church. But not just that church. I soon found myself in love with churches in general.

Now I realize that this may sound a bit odd, but to this day when we are traveling, every time Betty and I  pass a Christian church, I get this warm fuzzy inside. Sure, I know where the feeling comes from. Every church speaks to me of God’s people and God’s people are my family. So I always have this homey feeling.

Course you have to understand that I tend to be very idealistic. For one thing I place a high value on the word Christian. Certainly this makes me a little naive or over-simplistic about life. After all, Christians are just people trying to make their way through life, needing all the help from the Lord that they can get.

Guess this is one reason that when I am ministering at Christian Challenge, I always place a strong emphasis on a love for all God’s people. Last evening in my ‘Shepherd’s Heart’ class, I called attention to the term ‘the body of Christ,’ that with regard to Pineville, this term speaks of all the true Christians of Pineville. No church should ever take to itself as being exclusively the body of Christ.

And this is why I love listening to the old hymns…

I’m talking about those hymns that remind me of my childhood. You see, I had the privilege of having two church backgrounds. One was Pentecostal. The other was Church of God (Anderson - non-Pentecostal.) Both settings had their own songs that remain precious to me to this day. Where the Pentecostals tended to be more exuberate, Church of God singing was more mellow. And I loved them both.  I’m not that familiar with highbrow singing. Course it all sort of depends on my mood at the time. 

Now here is a video that combines my love for churches with my love for good old down to earth church singing.

The first part is more like my Church of God memories. The second part is more like my country Pentecostal memories.

Just take you a listen….

Wanted to make this entry short for the purpose of the upgrade. I’ll be sharing more a bit later.

Blessings,

Buddy

Posted: April 14th, 2008 under Devotions & Studies, General.
Comments: 2

Journal,

Isn’t this about the cutest little fellow you’ve ever seen? Just look at him — a perfect picture of innocence. Why, what mama would not want this little tyke to be her own little boy? Such a charming young fellow.

Sorry to all you mamas - He has already been taken. And there isn’t another one like him in all the world. This little tyke was born to the marriage of Lawrence Bert Martin and Grace Williams Carver. Yup, that’s really me.  

Ok, here’s another one that’s even far more on the beautuful side. Look at that striking, blue eyed, Oklahoma lass, sitting on her bronco. Course you can’t see her proper like. Just take my word for it. She is the prettiest thing west of the Mississippi River, and most likely east also. 

Why, the first time I looked into those blue eyes, my toes began to curl. They’ve been curling ever since. Yeah, I know. I said this before.

Well, did you know that they even wrote a song about this Oklahoma beauty. Course I’m sure they likely had other folk in mind, but I’ve always loved the song, titled ‘Oklahoma Hills.’

Yeah, I know - I also shared this one before.

Want to hear it? I thought you would. Now keep in mind that the music they have in heaven may well be pure country. Can’t say that for sure, but why take any chances. You might as well get use to it down here.

What’s all this got to do with ‘I once was young…’

Didn’t think you would ever ask. The two pictures of me above, that is, the kid and the older gentleman on the right of the kid’s picture is proof positive of something that King David said several thousand years ago. It is something that has become my own testimony in life. David said…

“I have been young and now I am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his descendants begging bread.” – Psalm 37:25 nasb

You see, David had gone through just about everything in life that we can think of, from shepherd boy, to a king, from the victories of a warrior, to the horrible down failings of life. In fact if we were looking for someone to fit our idea of what a righteous man should be, David would most likely not fill the bill for us.

In fact if you study the lives of most Bible heros, what you will find are a lot of failings. Did you know that the very first time the word ‘righteousness’ is used in the Bible, it is used with a man who had made several wrong turns in life.

So righteousness doesn’t mean that we never make a wrong turn, or have some sort of stumbling in our life. God places the term ‘righteous’ on that one who truly believes in the Lord. This means that in spite of down turns or up turns, the Lord still sees us as righteous.

Listen to these Scriptures:

[First time used - concerning Abraham] “And He took him outside and said, ‘Now look toward the heavens, and count the stars, if you are able to count them.’ And He said to him, ‘So shall your descendants be.’ Then he believed in the LORD; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness.” (Gen 15:5,6) 

[Concerning Lot. A righteous man?] “…if He rescued righteous Lot, oppressed by the sensual conduct of unprincipled men (for by what he saw and heard that righteous man, while living among them, felt his righteous soul tormented day after day by their lawless deeds)…” (2Pe2:7,8)

[Concerning you and me.] “…that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.” (Rom 10:9,10)

Did you catch it? Righteousness is a condition of the heart. It has to do with right believing.

So I can say with David, “I have been young and now I am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his descendants begging bread.”

The point is that the Lord never forsakes His people. And if you would like to read a portion of Scriptures that speaks to this reality of life, take time to read the total of Psalm 37.

You see, David wrote all forty verses of this Psalm. Each verse has something to say about a believer’s walk with the Lord. There was a message that David wanted to get across to God’s people of all the ages. And because David was a prophet, the message he gives comes directly from the Spirit of Christ.

Think about it. Go ahead. Read Psalm 37.

And don’t be too hard on yourself or on others who may be struggling with issues of life. Jesus said that He would never forsake us or leave us.

Much love coming your way,

Buddy

Posted: April 12th, 2008 under Devotions & Studies, General.
Comments: none

Journal Readers,

In all my learnings while passing through this life, there is one thing that seems to stand out the most. It is a lesson that I keep having to come back to time and time again. But for the most part I have taken this awesome lesson to heart. And what I have discovered is that life will always be a matter of what is going on my heart and what is happening in my speaking. The simple side is that if I wished to be blessed of the Lord, then I must learn to be both a blesser and a blessing.

And learning to speak properly is the vital key. This one great lesson in life can be summed up in the statements, ‘Do I really need to say it? Would it be a blessing if I spoke it? Would it create a bad impression or a good impression about the person I am speaking of?  Would it serve to lift someone up? Would it really be true? Would it be praise worthy? Would God be pleased with my passing judgments on this person?’ (etc., etc., etc.)

Let this country boy bring it to your house for a moment. (Its already been to my house.)

Didn’t you learn nary a thing what your ma told you? She said, ‘If you can’t think of something nice about someone, don’t you dare say anything. You hear me boy!’  Now had you listened to your ma, I wouldn’t be having to write right now. Fer shame. Fer shame. 

So if at all possible, you ought to go hug your mama jest as soon as you can and tell her just how much you love her, and sure nuff thank her for her wisdom of life.

Well, there really is a more serious side to all this…

You see, mama really was a pretty smart lady. Of course paw was too. Our problem was that we were too smart for our own britches. We didn’t much want ma and pa interferring with our life.

Well, did you know that the whole of our lives and to a large extent the lives of those around us, is straight off affected by the words that we speak. I think this is why in many instances, the Bible speaks of the sins of our mouth in a stronger way than it does even with some of our fleshly failings. This is not to say that our fleshing failings are not important, cause they are.

 Just listen to what God says:

 “He also loved cursing, so it came to him; and he did not delight in blessing, so it was far from him. But he clothed himself with cursing as with his garment, and it entered into his body like water and like oil into his bones.” (Psa 109:17,18)

“For, ‘Let one who desires life, to love and see good days, must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit.’” (1Pet3:10)

“There are six things which the LORD hates, yes, seven which are an abomination to Him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that run rapidly to evil, a false witness who utters lies, and one who spreads strife among brothers.” (Prov 6:16-19)

Then we have this one from the apostle Peter:

“Make sure that none of you suffers as a murderer, or thief, or evildoer, or a troublesome meddler.” (1Pe4:15)

The troublesome meddler was what your ma was talking about…

Now the word ‘troublesome meddler’ is an odd word in the Bible. In fact in the original it is only used one time. [Allotrioepiskopos - Wow, what a long word.] The Greek word speaks of someone who busies himself with what does not concern him, a busybody, and certainly would include someone who likes passing his opinion about others.

Did you really catch it? Look at the companions to the troublesome meddler. They include murderers, thiefs, and evildoers.

Does it still hurt? Well, it should. Even what we consider to be a little thing like gossip means that we are playing the devil’s music. Gossip destroys. Satan loves to kill, to steal, and to destroy. Think about it.

Makes you shutter to even think about it. Fact when your mom was asking you to stop passing your opinions, and judgements, and gossip, and slanderings, about others, she was telling you to ask yourself the question, ‘Do I really need to say that?’

So, what is the answer to all this…

The answer is simple. Learn to be a blesser and learn to be a blessing. Where the troublesome meddlers cause stress to those around them, there is another kind of maker who enjoys a wonderful life in the Lord, and who brings the joy of the Lord to others. Jesus calls them ‘the Peacemakers.’

God spoke through the prophet Isaiah, saying, “And the work of righteousness will be peace, and the service of righteousness, quietness and confidence forever. Then my people will live in peaceful habitation, and in secure dwellings and in undisturbed resting places.” (Isa32:17,18)

What does a peaceful habitation look like? Maybe it is somewhat this picture. Rather peaceful, don’t you think? Peaceful habitations are places that people love to visit.

Well, here we are. Let’s begin all over again. Ask and receive the Lord’s forgiveness for all the bad things that have come our of your mouth.

And from now on, before you speak ask yourself the question, “Do I really need to say that?

Time to move on.

Remember - Much love coming your way.

Buddy

Posted: April 11th, 2008 under Devotions & Studies, General.
Comments: none