The switch-over to our new server has been made. Its time to check things out. Thanks Jenni for jumping in to save a submerging fella.
Let’s begin with Zaccheus the Great. He will soon be coming home with Betty. Looking at this picture makes you wonder if Zaccheus is thinking, ‘Gosh mom, do you have to show everything in my baby picture?’
Then we have the issue of grandfathers.
Here is a picture of ‘Little Man’, the grandfather of Zaccheus, with me, the grandfather of fifteen and about to be a great grandfather of one. Oh well, we grandaddy types have to stick together. :)
And now for the wedding moment…
Yesterday evening was wedding time at the Martin plantation. Yours truly officiated. My daughter Shana is now Mrs. John Wrubel.
From the start there was a quiet beauty. I shared with all the family that in the Bible, a wedding was offered as worship. And regardless of what the past may hold, the Lord meets us where we are. He gives his blessing to the couple that places Him in the center of their marriage.
Because of the blending of two families, this ceremony included a very unique feature. A beautiful glass vase was set on the wedding table along with glass containers of various colors of sand. The bottom of the vial had rocks to symbolize Jesus Christ as the foundation of their future lives.
John and Shana first poured their ‘red’ and ‘white’ sand over the rocks. (Red and white are the symbols of unity.) Each child in turn, beginning with the oldest, would pour their vessel of sand into the glass vase. Each child had a different color for their sand. It was a very touching moment.
It was also touching when John’s daughter, Meagan, hugged Betty and me, and asked if we were now her grandparents. You could tell that it was a thing of her heart. We assured her that we were indeed her grandparents, which called for another hug.
Off into the future…
John and Shana headed north. The rest of the Martin clan and their spouses headed to ‘Tunks’, where Andre was playing with ‘South Bound.’
Had a pleasant evening. In fact Andre dedicated a song to ‘daddy,’ that he called the ‘national anthem of Louisiana.’ Course it was really pretty much the theme song for South Bound.
Ever heard Matilda from the ’50s. Well I couldn’t find it, so we will have to let it pass.
Sure, we really are a Jesus loving family…
Yes, the entire Martin family belongs to the Lord Jesus. So I really wanted to conclude this entry with a song by one of my favorite singers, Stephen Hill. He is singing a song that I’ve loved since childhood. It is titled ‘When God Dips His Love.’
Ok, readers. This entry takes on something very personal. It has to do with the lady of my life. But if you don’t care for the romantic side of life, just delete this entry. The rest of you 99.9999% of humanity can read on.
Let’s see. What happened on May 27th, 1943?
Hmmmmmm… - Ok, these folk were born:
May 27, 1943 Bruce Weitz, Norwalk, Connecticut, actor, ‘Hill St. Blues’, ‘Death of a Centerfold’.
May 27, 1943 Cilla Black, Liverpool England, rock vocalist, ‘You’re My World’.
May 27, 1943 Sue Simmons, American Journalist
May 27, 1943 Archpriest Peter Bourdukofsky (Russian Orthodox Diocese of Alaska)
Well, as deserving of recognition as those folks may be, I don’t know any of them. And they don’t shine a light to the beautiful lady of my life.
Oh yeah - The most notable person ever born on this planet on May 27, 1943, was my sweet Betty…
Yep, right there in Oklahoma, there she was in all her glory, with those beautiful big blue eyes.
In fact Betty was such a pretty baby, that at three days of life, her older sister Lareta ask mom and dad to take her back. Course that weren’t gonna be. God had a special program laid out for this wee lassie. It included yours truly. : )
But on top of things at six weeks that old sneaky devil tried to take her life with a case of whooping cough. When will he ever learn that he can’t destroy what God has created for Himself.
Why of course the Lord also had me in the picture…
Just two and three quarter years earlier a boy baby had been born in Louisiana. This boy baby was going to need a lot of help in order to fulfill the call of a preacher. He would need a very special lady in his life.
And so the story continues. I met my sweet Betty right after her twentieth birthday. Three months later we found us a hitching post. (Getting married for you who don’t understand Southern English.)
And here’s a picture of our young preaching days.
Well, today is the day.
We’ve been married close to 45 years and today is my lady’s birthday.
So being the thoroughly romantic person that I am, I wanted to dedicate a special song that speaks of my special love for this wonderful lady of my life. And one of my favorite songs of yesteryear was the song ‘Sincerely’ sung by the McGuire Sisters.
You’ll need to transpose the words of the song as the love of a man for his sweetheart, rather than that of a lady for her man. (It is sung both ways, depending on who is singing. But no one can sing it like the McGuire Sisters.)
Here it is:
Here’s a recent picture of my beautiful lady…
Betty has a new ‘buddie’ about to arrive at our home. Her Yorkie is still a bit young. Anyway, we came across some folk selling Yorkies so I took a picture of my Betty with one of the pups. The puppy in her arms is what her Yorkie will look like when she brings him home.
Of course Betty’s new buddie was a Mother’s Day gift from myself and our kids. She is still undecided on a name. Perhaps Zaccheus the Great.’ Zack for short.
Do you remember the story about Zaccheus in the Bible. He was a wee bit of a man. The Lord had to call Zaccheus down from a tree.
Here it is:
“Zaccheus was trying to see who Jesus was, and was unable because of the crowd, for he was small in stature. So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree in order to see Him, for He was about to pass through that way. When Jesus came to the place, He looked up and said to him, ‘Zaccheus, hurry and come down, for today I must stay at your house.’ And he hurried and came down and received Him gladly.” (Luke 19:3-6)
Well, someone wrote a song about Zaccheus, the wee little man. And since Betty’s new pup is really a tiny little fellow, Betty is thinking about giving him a big name. Thus, Zaccheus the Great. Course we know that ladies reserve the right to change their minds. — Learn this and live, fellas –
Ok, where is the Bible lesson in all this?
Glad you asked…
Did you know what the Bible says about the excellant wife…
Take time to medidate on this final Proverb::
“An excellent wife, who can find? For her worth is far above jewels.
The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will have no lack of gain.
She does him good and not evil All the days of her life.
She looks for wool and flax And works with her hands in delight.
She is like merchant ships; She brings her food from afar.
She rises also while it is still night And gives food to her household And portions to her maidens.
She considers a field and buys it; From her earnings she plants a vineyard.
She girds herself with strength And makes her arms strong.
She senses that her gain is good; Her lamp does not go out at night.
She stretches out her hands to the distaff, And her hands grasp the spindle.
She extends her hand to the poor, And she stretches out her hands to the needy.
She is not afraid of the snow for her household, For all her household are clothed with scarlet.
She makes coverings for herself; Her clothing is fine linen and purple.
Her husband is known in the gates, When he sits among the elders of the land.
She makes linen garments and sells them, And supplies belts to the tradesmen.
Strength and dignity are her clothing, And she smiles at the future.
She opens her mouth in wisdom, And the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.
She looks well to the ways of her household, And does not eat the bread of idleness.
Her children rise up and bless her; Her husband also, and he praises her, saying:
‘Many daughters have done nobly, But you excel them all.’
Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the LORD, she shall be praised.
Give her the product of her hands, And let her works praise her in the gates.”
Proverbs 31:10-31 nasb
Happy birthday, baby, from my heart to yours.
Love you more than all the love the world can hold.
It seemed like yesterday but it happened about 20 years ago. Christian Challenge was in a transitional phase. We were meeting in two sections of a mall while our new facilities were being readied for occupation. It was a Friday evening. I kept noticing that this gentleman would slip in and sit at the back of the congregation, listen to my ministry, then get up and leave at the end of my message. This happened several times. Who is this guy I wondered?
What I didn’t know was that the gentleman was a Jewish attorney who was also on the board of the local Jewish temple. His heart was being stirred towards the Lord Jesus. He decided to check out a Christian Church that had a Friday evening service. And yes, it did happen. The Jewish brother came to know Jesus as His own Lord and Savior. And, yes, he lost his Jewish family. But in time the Lord gave him a Christian wife.
Some time after that I had a lovely conversation with our new brother. We were at a table together. He said to me, “Brother Buddy, what do you consider to be the most important message you’ve ever preached?”
My response was, “Brother, I only have one message. I always preach Jesus Christ. And no matter what you hear me teach or preach, you will always hear me talk about Jesus.” (A near conversation.)
Well, this Jewish brother had fallen in love with his Jewish Savior.
I’ve always been intrigued when I hear of a Jewish person coming to faith in Jesus. Yes, I know the BIble says that we do not know Jesus after the flesh any longer. Yet the fact remains that Jesus was born of Jewish parents. No one can take that away from Him. But He wasn’t born of Jewish parents simply to be a Jewish Savior. He was born to be Savior to the world in accordance with the promise made to Adam and Eve.
And I also know that God’s new covenant program of redemption began in Jerusalem, and it will end in Jerusalem. Yes, with the Jews. You see the nation of Israel has a divine appointment. It will take place under a cloud of war. The Lord God spoke through prophet Zechariah, saying,
“And in that day I will set about to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they will look on Me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn.”(Zechariah 12:9,10 nasb)
Salvation ends with Jerusalem…
Listen to part of the conversation between Jesus and the lady at the well:
“The woman said to Him, ‘Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped in this mountain, and you people say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.”
“Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews.”
“‘But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. god is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.’”(John 4:19-24 nasb)
What did Jesus mean in saying that salvation is from the Jews? The issue has to do with God’s work of redemption that could be traced from Adam until it culminated in the Jewish Virgin girl named Mary. In Matthew, the genealogy of Jesus reads thus from Abraham:
“The record of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham: Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers. …
… Eliud was the father of Eleazar, Eleazar the father of Matthan, and Matthan the father of Jacob. Jacob was the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, by whom Jesus was born, who is called the Messiah.” (Matt 1:1,2,16)
When a Jew reads the New Testament, he hears a Jewish voice…
This is why the Jewish religious leaders through the centuries have tried to write Jesus out of their history. A curse was placed on the reading of the gospels. Of course this did not prevent the Lord from reaching into the hearts of His ancient people. So, one by one by one, and in some cases, many ones, became acquainted with the gospel, heard the voice of their Shepherd and became one of the Redeemed of the Lamb.
What many people do not realize today is that there is a movement among the Hebrew people to reclaim Jesus to their history. And though they want to see Him as a great Jewish rabbi, at least this is a step in the right direction. Hang around. The steps are going to increase in the days ahead.
Would you like to hear a Jewess voice sing about Jesus? Listen…
When I hear the Isaacs sing it reminds me that …
I have a dream of sorts…
Guess I need to reveal my heart a bit more. I’ve had a dream for years. When I think about my three kids and their musical abilities, I think, ‘Wouldn’t it be great if I could form a gospel group with my kids.’ Oh well, dreams are what life is made of. And Pop isn’t as young as he use to be. Oh well, I can dream can’t I?
Anyway, some years ago the kids helped me to make a Jubilee CD with songs that the Lord had given me. They provided the music for my songs. One song was entitled, ‘The Disciple’s Song.’ It is one of Nathan’s favorites. Perhaps you would enjoy listening to a song that speaks to the heart of a disciple of Jesus Christ. It really is my testimony of life.
Look closely at the world map. See all the red dots. Some are larger than others. The dots represent the numbers of people who are reading my blog.
The larger dot (Louisiana) represents 100 to 999 visits in the last 24 hours. The smaller dots indicate anywhere from 1 to 99 visits.
You could click on the map to the right of my blog, just under my picture, and received the larger picture. But I’m showing this particular picture map for a purpose. This map captures a moment in time. It sets forth how ministry can take place from a small office in Pineville, Louisiana, and reach out into all the world. At that point in time, in the past 24 hours, I had received 564 visits to my blog with a total of 1002 pages being reviewed.
Let me draw a bigger picture. Five hundred sixty four visits in the last 24 hours may not seem so great. Guess what. In the past month I’ve had 8,324 visits with 20,426 pages being reviewed. Let’s go one more step. In the past year I’ve had 56,074 visits with 104,882 pages visited. (And what makes this all the more interesting is that my blog visitors are increasing all the while.)
I’ll make a point to all this in a moment. For now just think about it. Yes, most of my visits are from the USA. But also look at Western Europe. Then let your eyes travel to the far east and down to Australia.
Alright already, what is the point in all this…
Yes, there is a point and I hope that you get it.
My point is not to brag on my blog. There are multitudes of blogs that have many times much higher readership that my blog. My point is to simply show how the term ministry has forever changed. In forty plus years in the ministry, never in all those years would I have dreamed of being able to share the gospel with people across the globe that my blog is reaching today.
(And I’m not so naive as to assume that all my visitors are being blessed. But some are. Besides that, I believe the Lord directs the hearts of those that He wishes to visit my blog.)
The issue is that God has made a way for us to reach the world on a level never envisioned in years gone by. Many years ago there was a song which said, ‘Lord, take us back to the old brush arbor days.’ I use to love that song. Not so much any more.
My response now is, ‘Lord, don’t take us back…
…I’ve been there. I’ve preached in church buildings, in brush arbors, in movie theaters, on the streets, in mountain villages, in tents, in schools, in nursing homes, in homes, on creek banks, and just about anywhere You gave me a place to preach. But, Lord, don’t take us back to the old brush arbor days. Just help us to reach the world with the tools that we now have.’
God spoke the prophet Daniel concerning the final days in His redemption plan. Listen:
“Those who have insight will shine brightly like the brightness of the expanse of heaven, and those who lead the many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever. But as for you, Daniel, conceal these words and seal up the book until the end of time; many will go back and forth, and knowledge will increase.”(Daniel 12:3,4 nasb)
There are two things that especially stand out in what Daniel is told.
God said that in the end-time, those who have insight would shine brightly. The insight has to do with turning many people to righteousness. The Geneva Bible explains the insightful ones this way: “He chiefly means the ministers of God’s word, and next all the faithful who instruct the ignorant, and bring them to the true knowledge of God.”
Then we have this, that ‘knowledge will increase.’
This increasing knowledge has to do with a sudden burst of understanding. The Hebrew word for knowledge [da'ath] is most often used in the Scriptures for ‘wisdom.’ And the word for ‘increase’ speaks to an increase in volume, extent, power, or influence. It often addresses a sudden increase in a multiplication of time, or the idea of swiftness.
We are in a time of redemption history where the ability to reach out into the world has increased on a level that far exceeds anything the Church has ever known. Listen carefully to these statements:
Mar 16:15 “And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.”
Mat 24:14 “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.”
Mar 13:20 “Unless the Lord had shortened those days, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect, whom He chose, He shortened the days.”
Heb 10:25 “…not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.”
It is no secret…
Perhaps doing a blog isn’t something the Lord would have you do. But I do believe that He has something wonderful for you to do. And don’t feel like you are unworthy. Who among us is worthy of anything. God loves to work with people who are acquainted with their own weaknesses and failings. I’ve often said that if I were in God’s place, I would never have called Buddy Martin to the ministry.
Anyway, who knows what the Lord has in store for you.
Listen to this song by Jim Reeves. Let the Lord speak to your heart. And just tell Him that you are available for whatever ministry He would place in your hands…
Be encouraged. Everything is working according to plan. (God’s plan that is.)
In my library I have a book that is forty-five years old. It was given to me by a Navy chaplain, early in 1963. There is a story behind this book.
I had been aboard my ship, the USS Calvert (apa32 - Attack Troop Transport), for nearly a year and a half. We were in and out of ports, transporting troops across the Pacific. (During the early phase of Vietnam.)
It was during one of our voyages that I found myself becoming so tired of the life that I was living. Nothing satisfied me. Seemed my misery kept growing every day. The Lord was dealing with my heart but I was not yet at a place where His work in me could be completed.
I love the title of one of C. H. Spurgeon’s sermons, ‘Miseries, Messengers of Mercy.’ Sure worked for me.
Some speak of this journey of spiritual misery as the dark night of the soul. The Bible calls this conviction. And once conviction has run its full course, then we are ready to discover what true life is about.
It was during this intense time of misery that I decided to talk with one of our chaplains. He was kindly enough. During our conversation the chaplain gave me a book, ‘Father Smith Instructs Jackson.’ It was written in dialogue form which made for easy reading.
Anyway, as I began reading the book, it seemed to be more about religion than anything else. Nothing in the book really responded to the yearning in my heart. Part of the problem was that I had too much Sunday School in me. Much of what I was reading did not measure up to what little I knew about the Bible. And so my misery increased. (I’ll save you from the painful memories.)
I set that book aside. What I needed was something that could speak to my life and bring relief to my troubled soul. It wasn’t to be found in that particular book.
Of course I found the answer. And I found it in another book.
Which brings me to the story of the Bible…
The Bible is the most awesome book ever written. What makes it so awesome is that it was inspired from heaven. The sad side of this book is that it remains a closed book until a person finds the key to its treasures. But you can’t simply find the key. The Key Master has to open your eyes to see who and what the Bible is really about.
Even the prophet of old said that the Bible would become a closed book until the Person of whom it wraps around makes His appearance in human history. Listen to how Isaiah addresses those who simply have a religious spirit:
“For the LORD has poured over you a spirit of deep sleep, He has shut your eyes, the prophets; and He has covered your heads, the seers. The entire vision will be to you like the words of a sealed book, which when they give it to the one who is literate, saying, ‘Please read this,’ he will say, ‘I cannot, for it is sealed.’
“Then the book will be given to the one who is illiterate, saying, ‘Please read this.’ And he will say, ‘I cannot read.’
“Then the Lord said, ‘Because this people draw near with their words and honor Me with their lip service, but they remove their hearts far from Me, and their reverence for Me consists of tradition learned by rote. Therefore behold, I will once again deal marvelously with this people, wondrously marvelous; and the wisdom of their wise men will perish, and the discernment of their discerning men will be concealed.” (Isa29:10-14)
The best religion can give are traditions…
You may find it interesting that a religious spirit is common to all of humanity. God placed in us an inner sensing concerning the things of eternity. This innate sensing has to be awakened to life by the Eternal God Himself.
And so the prophecy does not end there. Something marvelous was going to happen and it would have to do with the Person of the book. Listen on:
“On that day [coming of Messiah] the deaf will hear words of a book, and out of their gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind will see. The afflicted also will increase their gladness in the LORD, and the needy of mankind will rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.” (Isa 29:18,19)
The book comes alive with Jesus.
Well, I don’t need to tell my story again. It is enough to say that the very first time I heard the Shepherd speak to me was while reading in John 14.
Jesus simply said to me, “Buddy, have I been with you so long and you don’t know who I am.”
It was at that moment that the light of life entered into my soul.
The dark night of the soul was over. Sure, I had to wade through some of the religious trappings, but over time the message became clearer and clearer.
What was the message? The message is that Jesus did not come to give us another religion. He came to give us Himself.
Salvation is about the love of God…
This is something else I discovered over time. The Lord did not save me because I qualified by some measure on my part. No one is ever saved because they merit it. No one gets healed because they became good enough. People are saved, healed, delivered, and set free of all sorts of bondage’s because of the love and compassion of Jesus Christ.
This is why I dearly love this song by Jake Hess, ‘He Loved Me.’ Take a moment to listen:
Well, its that time again. Need to close out for the day
And this evening I will be ministering on the subject, “Bring them to Jesus.”
If interested you can visit our live service this evening at 6:30 p.m., central time. Go to:
I want to provoke my readers to consider what the term ‘Christian’ really means. The term ‘Christian’ has to do with a new humanity that has been created in Christ Jesus.
But I have a second purpose for this study. I want to encourage my Christian brothers and sisters to keep in mind our heavenly destiny. So as a beginning point, let’s take time to listen to Andrae Crouch…
Now for a word from the great apostle to the nations. Paul writes:
“For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”(Ephesians 2:8-10 nasb)
Note carefully the term, “We are His workmanship.”
This expression comes from the prophets. The term Christian relates to the workmanship of God as it is found in the prophetic writings. The apostle Peter instructs us to never be ashamed of this name.
He writes:
“…but if anyone suffers as a Christian, he is not to be ashamed, but is to glorify God in this name.” (1Pet4:16)
The prophets of old spoke of the work of God’s hand in two senses. One had to do with the original creation. The other spoke of a new creation.
This new creation would deeply affect the human family. In the new work of God’s hand, there would be a bringing forth of God’s children in the earth.
God promised Abraham that his descendants would be as the sand of the seashore …
… and as the stars in the heavens. That same promise passed to Isaac and on to Jacob. Yet the Patriarchs never saw these children in their lifetime.
God spoke through Isaiah, saying,
“Therefore thus says the Lord, who redeemed Abraham, concerning the house of Jacob; Jacob shall not now be ashamed, nor shall his face now turn pale; but when he sees his children, the work of My hands, in his midst, they will sanctify My name, indeed they will sanctify the Holy One of Jacob and will stand in awe of the God of Israel.” (Isa29:22,23)
The Lord again speaks through Isaiah;
“Thus says the Lord, the Holy One of Israel,and his Maker, ‘Ask Me about the things to come concerning My sons, and you shall commit to Me the work of My hands.” (Isa45:11)
It is so important for believers to understand that the work of the cross was not to produce a new religion in the earth. The cross had to do with God’s heavenly children.
Listen to these Scriptures:
“Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of faith, who for the joy set before Him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Heb12:2)
What was the joy set before Jesus? Hear again;
““Behold, I and the children whom God has given Me.” (Heb2:11,13 respectively)
How desperately we need to understand the deeper meaning of the cross.
Let’s bring it to where we live. Many of us have seen pictures of the earth taken from the space shuttle. The earth is beautiful. We see a perfect orb of blue encompassed with swirling clouds.
Yet on the earth we see a different picture. We see the drug scenes, violence in schools, wars and devastation, famine in various places, earthquakes, and wasting diseases.
The ugly on the earth continues, and according to the Scriptures, it will grow worse as the day of the Lord approaches.
This is why we believers are instructed to set our affection on things above and not on the things of the earth.
As for proper perspective, Paul said,
“[God] raised us up with [Christ], and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness towards us in Christ Jesus.” (Eph2:6,7)
The Lord very much wants His children to be heavenly minded.
God’s Redeemer has come and is coming…
All through the Scriptures, the prophets pointed to God’s Redeemer. Jacob spoke of Him as “Shiloh.” Moses called Him “The Prophet.” Isaiah called Him “The Branch.” Zechariah told the people to ‘look for the wounds.‘ Jeremiah said that God was going to give us a new heart. It goes on and on and on.
The message was that God’s redemption would complete itself with a Savior and in a new creation. The new creation would be the work of God’s hands. No man would have a part it it. Our works of righteousness would never enter the picture.
But what of the term ‘Christian’? Where does this term fit in?
It is so amazing at what you can learn through the prophets. God speaks through Isaiah, and says,
“For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not keep quiet, until her righteousness goes forth like brightness, and her salvation like a torch that is burning.”
In 33ad, the torch was lit. The righteousness of God went forth as a torch burning. It continues to burn today.
He goes on to say,
“The nations will see your righteousness [the righteousness of Christ], and all kings your glory [Jesus shares God's glory with us]; and you [God's covenant children] will be called by a new name which the mouth of the Lord will designate.” (Isa62:1,2)
The term, “mouth of the Lord” is a Hebraism for the prophetic utterance…
… or for a divine oracle. Here it says God’s people will be given a new name by a prophetic oracle.
But it doesn’t stop there. God speaks even more clearly in Isaiah chapter 65, where He shows a clear distinction between those who received Jesus as the Messiah, and those who set themselves against His Christ.
Listen carefully -
“I permitted Myself to be sought by those who did not ask for Me; I permitted Myself to be found by those who did not seek Me. I said, ‘Here am I, here am I,’ to a nation which did not call on My name.” [Speaking of the gospel going to all the nations. V1]
The Lord then directs attention to the historical elements of a divided Judaism. The righteous portion of Israel would enter into the redemption program of God. The rejecters will walk a path of devastation.
“Behold, My servants [new covenant community] will shout joyfully with a glad heart, but you [rejecters of Christ] will cry out with a heavy heart. And you [the rejecters] will wail with a broken spirit. … But My servants [new covenant community] will be called by another name.” (Vv14,15)
The issue of the heavy heart was to a people who would no longer have an overseeing covenant relationship with the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Jesus drew attention to this, when He said,
“Many will come from the east and west, and recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven; but the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (Matt8:11,12)
Twice in Isaiah, God says His servants will be “called by another name.” Keep in mind that this expression speaks of a divine oracle or a prophetic utterance. Now listen to Acts 11:16,
“…For an entire year they met with the Church and taught considerable disciples; and the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.”
The early Christians had several designations to begin with…
…but the term Christian became the proper name for the new covenant children of God. Christ was the firstborn from the dead. True Christians are born out of death and take upon themselves the name Christian. Christian means ‘belonging to Christ,’ ‘followers of Christ,’ ‘like Christ,’ and even ‘the anointed ones.’ We have been anointed with the life of Christ.
It is interesting how this term reaches back to Abraham and the prophets. Note that new covenant believers are actually called ‘the children of Abraham.’ We, like Abraham, are pilgrims.
What does God say in the Old Testament? He says, “Do not touch My anointed ones, and do My prophets no harm.”(Psa105:15) This expression reaches across history, and includes all the Abrahamic family up to the very last child of to be born of God.
When Jesus describes the new covenant children of God, He explains them as a prophetic people. He said,
“He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.’ But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive, for the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.” (John 7:37,38)
The new covenant children of God were all to be anointed with the life of Christ.
This anointing would reveal itself as ‘life’ flowing from their lips. The children of sin would have death flowing from their lips.
Did Moses know about the creation to come? Most assuredly. His dream was to see these children of God. Moses knew full well that the people he then worked with were not the new creation people. He spoke of this in his song of redemption. In Revelations this song is called the song of Moses and the Lamb.
Part of the song of Moses says,
“The Rock! His work is perfect, for all His ways are just; a God of faithfulness and without injustice, righteous and upright is He.”
Paul said that the Rock is Christ.
Moses goes on to describe the unrighteous generation;
“They have acted corruptly toward Him. They are not His children, because of their defect; but are a perverse and crooked generation.” (Deut32:4,5)
The defect issue has to do with the unregenerated person. All sinners carry a spiritual defect. This defect can only be removed by the blood of the Lamb in an act of regeneration.
Why do the words of Moses sound so familiar? Peter quoted from them on the day of Pentecost, when he preached Jesus as the Christ of God. He told the peoples,
“Be saved from this perverse generation!’” (Acts 2:40)
The redemptive program is not an issue of anti-semitiism.
The early Church was exclusively Jewish at the beginning. The perverse generation would apply to all who made themselves the enemy of Christ. By extension this applies to anyone, Jew or Gentile. But in a prophetic sense it spoke of those in Israel who turned from Christ.
So, we now have on this planet two kinds of humanity. You have the Adam-ites, and you have the Christ-ites. The latter group is known as Christian. The former group needs to hear the good news sent from heaven, that they, too, may become Christ-ites.
Think about it. Is there anything more important in life than sharing the heavenly message with the Adam-ites? We are dealing with people of destiny. Christians have a divine destiny. Those who reject Jesus will not be found with the children of God. Their eternity is elsewhere.
As I bring this devotional study to a close, consider these words from Paul concerning the Christian:
“For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself.” (Phil:3:20,21)
On August 31, 1949, Secretary of Defense Louis Johnson announced the creation of an Armed Forces Day to replace separate Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force Days. The single-day celebration stemmed from the unification of the Armed Forces under one department. The day selected would be the third Saturday in May of each year.
It just so happens that Armed Forces Day is tomorrow, which is the day of our Carver family reunion.
What made me want to write this ‘tribute to our warriors’ was a post sent to our Carver Family conference by a distant cousin, Brenda Soileau. She called attention to a web site where the US Army Band and Chorus welcomed Pope Benedict XVI at the White House.
The song they sang and played was the ‘Battle Hymn of the Republic.’ As I listened to the song you can be sure that shivers went up my spine. (Thank you Brenda.)
…and the patriotism what swept our nation. And I’ve never forgotten that many of my kinfolk fought in that war and in the wars that followed, including my son Andre, who served in Desert Storm. (My Navy service was during the Vietnam era.)
I guess a deep sense of military honor will always reside in my heart. The fact is that many of my family, both the Carvers and the Martins, have taken their place in the conflicts of our nation. Wish I could share all the names of my kin who have served as warriors, but I’d be sure to miss someone. (On the Martin side, the very first Martin that came to Louisiana was a Revolutionary soldier.)
However, there are two names that I want to especially recognize. Two of my mom’s brothers served in the Navy in WWII, Uncle Holiday and Uncle Grover. Uncle Holiday retired as a Commander in the Navy and has since gone to be with the Lord of Glory.
Uncle Grover lives in California. He was aboard the USS Indianapolis and was only one of the 317 who survived out of a crew of 1,196. A number of movies and books have been provided for what was considered to be ‘the worst naval disaster in history.’ The story of the Indianapolis is found at this site:
Every time I see a uniform I want to hug these guys and girls…
I just can’t help it. I am so proud of our service men and women. They will always be my heros. Here is a clip that tells the story of our warriors.
Tell them how very proud you are …
Don’t let the weekend go by without shaking the hand or hugging the neck of one of our service people. Let them know that they are your hero’s. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if every church throughout our land would give a standing ovation this Sunday to our service people.
Some many years ago the Lord began giving me songs, and each song carried a message from heaven. It was sort of like preaching the gospel in music.
Because I knew where the songs came from, it was my desire to make them available to anyone who would benefit from them. I did two things. First, I made a pledge in my heart to provide 200 CDs of my music as a free gift to whoever would like to have them. And so, in our 25th Christian Challenge Jubilee, I did just that.
The second thing that we did was to make my songs available through our web site. These songs can be downloaded and used freely. (Of course they are copyright so I ask that no money be involved in the use of the songs.) To review my music go to:
Jesus asked the attendant for the scroll of Isaiah. This is where He began to read:
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed, to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.”
“And He closed the book, gave it back to the attendant and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him. And He began to say to them, ‘Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.’”(Luke 4:18-21 nasb)
The ‘favorable year of the Lord’ was a term that expressed kingdom time. There was an allusion here to the Old Testament ‘year of Jubilee,’ that is, the 50th year, when the trumpet was blown and liberty was proclaimed throughout the land. The slaves were to be set free, all debts were to be remitted, and the restoration of lands was to be given back to the original family owners.
On the first day of the year of Jubilee, the priests would go throughout the land with the sounding of trumpets, declaring the blessing of the Jubilee year.
The year of Jubilee has a special Messianic meaning. It directed attention to the coming of Messiah.
The gospel message can be likened to a trumpet sounding our freedom in Christ…
Perhaps the saddest time in all of redemption history was when Israel rejected her King. In doing this she also rejected her Jubilee freedom, and has lived in bondage ever since. The Bible tells is that God wept over Jerusalem. (If you don’t know that Jesus is truly God, then you need to know this above all things.)
It says,
“When He approached Jerusalem, He saw the city and wept over it, saying, ‘If you had known in this day, even you, the things which make for peace! But now they have been hidden from your eyes. For the days will come upon you when your enemies will throw up a barricade against you, and surround you and hem you in on every side, and they will level you to the ground and your children within you, and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not recognize the time of your visitation.‘” (Luke 19:41-44)
How about you? If you have not already called upon Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, today could well be your day of visitation. Listen to the trumpet sound. Jesus Christ is saying that He loves you and He wants you to be free in Him.
The key to salvation is to believe in Him and forsake your old life of sins. He wants to give you a new life.
Here is God’s promise to you:
“But what does it say? ‘The message is near you. It is in your mouth and in your heart.’ This is the message of faith that we proclaim: If you declare with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For a person believes with his heart and is justified, and a person declares with his mouth and is saved.
“For the Scripture says, ‘Everyone who believes in him will not be ashamed.’ For there is no difference between Jew and Greek, because they all have the same Lord, who gives richly to all who call on him. For ‘everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’” (Rom 10:8-13 ISV)
Just remember that it is not about which religion you belong to. It is all about Jesus Christ. You want to belong to Him. And He will tell you which flock you need to be in.
There is nothing that makes me happier than to see my sweet Betty happy. And happy was what she was yesterday on Mother’s Day.
Yep, here’s a picture of the lady of my life with the newest addition to our family. “Jigger” was born Thursday, May 8, 2008. In this picture he is just three days old.
‘Jigger’ was a Mother’s Day present to Betty, from myself and our kids. He is a Yorkie (Yorkshire Terrier). Course Jigger is just his nickname.
Betty gave him his nickname. She will arrive at a much more dignified registered name that is suitable to the aristocratic, high-brow Martin family, when we bring him home. (Jigger needs to stay with his mama until he is eight weeks old. Don’t want to put any stress on him or his mama.)
Might mention that after Betty’s dog, Snickers (her pug), went to doggie heaven, some time later Betty began to desire another small doggie-friend that she can snuggle up with. You know, one of those doggies that she can put in her special ‘doggie’ purse. She was absolutely thrilled to find out about her Mother’s Day present.
And of course it would not do to neglect an honorable mention to another beautiful lady who had a major role in Jigger’s arrival, which is Jigger’s mama, Miss Faith. She is a darling. Here is a picture of Faith, in her palace along with Jigger nursing. By the way, it really is her palace. All her doggie friends and family want to nuzzle up to Jigger. So mama makes them keep their distance.
A special message for the ladies…
This past weekend was really great. Our special speaker was Nathan’s father-in-law, Lori’s dad, Dale Chapman. Dale and Barbara are such a beautiful couple. And Dale’s message yesterday morning was deeply moving. He had a special message for the ladies that had to do with getting past cultural norms and traditions. It was a very unusual message.
I would encourage my readers to take time to listen to Brother Dale. To view the message via video recording go to the following site, drop down to ‘View sermon archives,’ and click on ‘Sunday.’
Course many of my readers won’t know what ‘Red Dirt’ means. We have a beautiful National park area in Central Louisiana, called ‘Long Leaf Vista’, but locally known as ‘Red Dirt’. It is simply gorgeous with its canyons, nature walking trails, and views. You can see for about ten miles. And the wind whistling through the pine trees is like music to the soul.
Anyway, following our Mother’s Day luncheon, we set out to get a look-see at Betty’s new doggie, Jigger, and then headed on out to Red Dirt. Lois and Jenni rode with Betty and me, while Dale and Barbara rode with Nathan and Lori. Had a wonderful relaxing time.
The President’s daughter…
In reading the Drudge Report I saw the article concerning President Bush’s daughter’s marriage. The article said that Jenna picked the song, ‘You Are So Beautiful To Me,’ as the song she wanted for her dance with dad. When I saw that, my mind instantly went back to when my daughter Shana was just a wee bit of a girl. She would dance with me by standing on my feet, and I would sing that song to her.
Thought I’d share it with you.
Isn’t it something — You fall in love with every child born into your family. We began with Nathan, then David, then Andre, and then Shana. And you love every one of them in a very special way.
Well, thank you Lord for all the mama’s, and all the children, and all the doggies, and all the other pets. What a beautiful world you have created.
Zaccheus the Great. He will soon be coming home with Betty. Looking at this picture makes you wonder if Zaccheus is thinking, ‘Gosh mom, do you have to show everything in my baby picture?’ 
picture of ‘Little Man’, the grandfather of Zaccheus, with me, the grandfather of fifteen and about to be a great grandfather of one. Oh well, we grandaddy types have to stick together. :)
Well I couldn’t find it, so we will have to let it pass. 
My point is not to brag on my blog. There are multitudes of blogs that have many times much higher readership that my blog. My point is to simply show how the term ministry has forever changed. In forty plus years in the ministry, never in all those years would I have dreamed of being able to share the gospel with people across the globe that my blog is reaching today.
until a person finds the key to its treasures. But you can’t simply find the key. The Key Master has to open your eyes to see who and what the Bible is really about.
The prophets of old spoke of the work of God’s hand in two senses. One had to do with the original creation. The other spoke of a new creation.
in the earth. The cross had to do with God’s heavenly children.
The message was that God’s redemption would complete itself with a Savior and in a new creation. The new creation would be the work of God’s hands. No man would have a part it it. Our works of righteousness would never enter the picture. 
The early Christians had several designations to begin with…
The redemptive program is not an issue of anti-semitiism.ArmForDay.jpg)
could share all the names of my kin who have served as warriors, but I’d be sure to miss someone. (On the Martin side, the very first Martin that came to Louisiana was a Revolutionary soldier.)
Think about it.
those doggies that she can put in her special ‘doggie’ purse. She was absolutely thrilled to find out about her Mother’s Day present. 
