Holy Spirit

Nov

2010

Strong Consolation – Terror Expectation

“Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

“Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, 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.

“For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a terrifying expectation of judgment and the fury of a fire which will consume the adversaries. Anyone who has set aside the Law of Moses dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses.

“How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace?” (Heb 10:19-30 NASB)

Journal,

Is it possible that the world as we know it has entered the countdown of the age? Do we really have cause for concern? Actually no one knows the exact timing for the Lord’s return but we have ample prophetic descriptions of the times to know that everything is coming into place.

The Scriptures above may have a similar parallel that equates the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. with what is soon to take place in the near future. Hebrews was written not long before a judgment of God came on Jerusalem. Thousands of Jewish people encircled the city on crosses. Other thousands would be taken as slave.

While the parallel may not be exact it does carry an eerie sense for what is to come. At the same time these Scriptures hold a strong consolation for those who have come to faith in Jesus Christ. We know that many thousands of Jews are coming to faith in Jesus.

I want to break down the afore Scriptures so that we can see both the consolation for believers and the horror that will descend on those of the world who have no regard for Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

But before I do that please take note of the following video. It has to do with a, “revered rabbi in Israel who died about 4 years ago at the age of 108 who, before he died, said that the Messiah had appeared to him and revealed His name.” (Thanks Doug for the video.)

Is Ariel Sharon still alive? Yes. Go here for the latest report as of November 10, 2010 –

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/nov/10/ariel-sharon-may-leave-hospital

In a prior Journal entry I shared this ad that was put in the Jerusalem Post by an anti-missionary Jewish rabbi:

What Are We Doing Wrong, and What are They doing right? Why Have more Jews Converted to Christianity in the Last 19 Years than in the Last 1,900 Years?” Rabbi Tovia Singer – Jerusalem Post [Of course he was out to sell his 24 tape package for $113.]

Now for our text Scriptures. Let’s begin with…

The testimony of the blood

Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, Let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.” (Heb 10:19-22)

The apostolic writer is using Old Testament imagery. Once a year the high priest entered into the holiest of holies. He carried a basin of blood that would splatter on his robe and on his feet, leaving a trail from the sacrificial altar all the way to the mercy-seat of God. Jewish readers would have grasped the significance of this picture.

Through the cross we now have a new and living way, that is, we walk a living trail made alive by the blood of Jesus, and we are now invited to enter into the holiest of holies at will. Not only is the trail a living trail but our very hearts have been sprinkled clean by that same blood. So our hearts have also been made alive.

The significance of having our bodies washed with pure water could well be an allusion to water baptism. The early Christians very much considered water baptism as part of the covenant experience. However, bodily washing may also speak to our acceptance before God as a whole being. Paul refers to this as ‘the washing of water with the word.’

…so that He might sanctify her [the church], having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless.” (Eph 5:26-27 NASB)

Holding fast our confession of faith in Jesus

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, 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.” (Heb10:23-25)

Here the cautionary warnings begin. To hold fast their confession is a clear juncture to how salvation begins. Our continual confession of Christ is the benchmark of a living faith. It is possible that some of the intended readers of this letter had never made a clear demarcation in their hearts with regard to the law of Moses and their allegiance to Jesus Christ.

An indicator of this was likely is some of them ‘forsaking‘ the assembling with other believers. This was such a time of duress for the Jewish church. They were being persecuted and reviled for their confession of Jesus. And while many still attended the synagogue, the pressure was on to renounce Jesus. But the Lord said this division even in the family would happen. This was the ‘sword‘ He came to bring. The sword linked to the confession.

Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven.

“Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I came to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and a man’s enemies will be the members of his household.

“He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.” (Mat 10:32-38 NASB)

Did you know that the Messianic community [Christian Jews] in Israel are undergoing considerable persecution? Take time to view this video of the Hebrew Christian Ami Ortiz, the son of Hebrew Pastor David Ortiz, who experienced a deadly bomb that was sent to his home by an orthodox Jew.

The warning of a terror to come

Keep in mind that the book of Hebrews deals with only one sin – The sin of rejecting Jesus Christ as the Lord and Savior of Israel and of all mankind.

For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a terrifying expectation of judgment and the fury of a fire which will consume the adversaries. Anyone who has set aside the Law of Moses dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace?” (Heb 10:26-29 NASB)

Once again the ‘sinning willfully’ had to do with the rejection of Jesus Christ. This was a terrifying place to be. If they turned from Jesus, after having heard the message of the gospel, a message that went to Israel first, it was the same as trampling the Son of God underfoot, and as an insult to the Spirit of grace. Judgment was swiftly on its way.

This warning is a clear reflection on something the Lord spoke through the prophet Isaiah;

In all their affliction He was afflicted, and the angel of His presence saved them; in His love and in His mercy He redeemed them, and He lifted them and carried them all the days of old. But they rebelled and grieved His Holy Spirit; Therefore He turned Himself to become their enemy, He fought against them.” (Isaiah 63:9,10 nasb)

The warning becomes more intense.

For we know Him who said, “VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY.” And again, “THE LORD WILL JUDGE HIS PEOPLE.” It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” (Heb 10:30-31 NASB)

What was going to happen to Jerusalem in a short while would be beyond imagination. Jewish factions would turn on one another. And the Roman soldiers would cover the city with a thirst for blood that would be uncontrollable. Thousands of crosses would ring the city. Multiplied thousands would become slaves. A raging fire would consume the temple while blood flowed through the streets of Jerusalem. No longer would there be a vestige of Old Testament Judaism with its sacrifices.

Was this a judgment of God? Absolutely. Jesus described it more than once. When the women were mourning over Him as He carried His cross, the Lord said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, stop weeping for Me, but weep for yourselves and for your children.” (Cf. Luke 23:28-31)

Note: According to the historian Epiphanius, for some unknown reason there was a temporary pulling back of the Roman forces. During this time the Jewish Christians made their escape to Pella. Over the centuries this tradition was held without question. Certainly we know that the Lord always makes a way for His people, when there seems to be no way.

A final word of consolation

Therefore, do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised. For yet in a very little while, He who is coming will come, and will not delay. But my righteous one shall live by faith; and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him. But we are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the preserving of the soul.” (Heb10:35-39)

There you have it. Can there be a parallel to this for the world today? What do you think? Take time to listen to this song – Jesus is Coming Soon

Much love to be found in Jesus,

Buddy

Nov

2010

The Promise of the Father

“And behold, I am sending forth the promise of My Father upon you; but you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”

(Luk 24:49 NASB)

Journal,

The Bible uses the term ‘metamorphoo’ to describe changes that take place in a person’s life when they truly receive Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. [meta = over. morphe = form or shape] At the moment of true faith, the Spirit of Christ enters the heart of the believer and a seal is placed upon the believer’s heart. The seal is called ‘the seal of redemption’.

From that moment on the nature and attitudes of Christ are thus transposed into this person’s innermost being. It is this experience Jesus spoke of when He said,

He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.'” (Joh 7:38 NASB)

The action that places the believer into Christ is called the believer’s immersion into Christ or the believer’s baptism into Christ. It is in our heavenly birth that we are made one with Christ. The apostle also speaks of this action as our being clothed with Christ. In another place Paul says that our life is now hidden or concealed in Christ. Thus we have the miracle of the cross.

This brings us to the major thought in our Scripture reading. What did Jesus mean when He directed attention to the promise of the Father?

The Sphere of the Spirit

The promise of the Father reaches back into eternity. We see it played throughout the pages of the Bible. The promise was the promise of a new life to come. Even before the fall of Adam the scene of new life is set forth in creation itself.

Notice carefully how the Spirit of God and the Word of God meet together in bringing forth new life:

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters. Then God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light.” (Gen 1:1-3 NASB)

It is this scene that will be played out time and time again each time a new person is birthed into the kingdom of God’s beloved Son. Note the elements:

Formless and void. The sinner’s life of darkness.
The Spirit of God begins to move over the heart of the sinner, arranging and preparing.
Then God says, ‘Let there be light’, and the light of the gospel of Jesus Christ enters thebelieving person’s heart and now we have another child of the living God.

Does this sound like an overreach on my part. Listen to Paul:

And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

“For we do not preach ourselves but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your bond-servants for Jesus’ sake.

“For God, who said, ‘light shall shine out of darkness,’ is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.

(2Co 4:3-6 NASB)

A point needs to be made. Anyone can be religious. Being born again is not an emotional work-up, nor is it simply mental acquiescence. A person can be a church goer all his or her life and be nothing more than religious in nature. It happens all the time. Suddenly this person wakes up. It dawns on them that they have missed the boat. What made the change. The Light of the gospel of Jesus Christ begins to penetrate their heart. Their darkness was a religious darkness. They were simply religious sinners into ‘church-idolatry’. And now they become a truly born from heaven child of God.

The Day of New Life – Pentecost

When Peter began to preach on the day of Pentecost, he called attention to the Father’s promise. Concerning the Holy Spirit, Peter said,

For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.” (Acts 2:39)

Then we have this from Isaiah;

For I will pour out water on the thirsty land and streams on the dry ground; I will pour out My Spirit on your offspring and My blessing on your descendants; and they will spring up among the grass like poplars by streams of water.” (Isa44:3,4)

The baptism of the Holy Spirit is a term that speaks of the covenant experience wherein a believer receives the life of Messiah. The apostle said,

For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.” (1Co12:13)

The Covenant of Christ

The most beautiful picture we have of the Father’s promise of our new life in Christ is found in the analogy of the Vine and the branches. (John 15:1-8.

Look at it closely —

“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser.

“Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.

“Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.

“If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples.” (Joh 15:1-8 NASB)

It is easy to misunderstand what the analogy of the Vine and branches is about. The Vine had long been a symbol of Israel’s covenant relationship with the Lord. Over the temple door was the emblem of the vine. Jesus had in view Israel itself. Those of Israel who reject Him would become the rejected branches.

When Jesus said, “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing,” the Greek word ‘meno‘ means to stay in place, or to remain within a sphere.

We have a picture of this when God said to Abraham,

I am God Almighty; walk before Me and be blameless. And I will establish My covenant between Me and you.” Gen 17:1,2

The word covenant in Hebrew is ‘berith.’ In Greek it is ‘diatheke.’ Both words speak of a declaration of the will of God concerning His own commitment, promises, and conditions by which He enters into relationship with man. God is the initiator and completer of the covenant. This is why the vine is a vivid picture of our new covenant relationship in Christ. The believer is to look to the Lord Jesus for everything in life.

What did Jesus tell the disciples about their vine life?

Without Me you can do nothing.”

Our perfect example for the vine life is Jesus Himself. Not one time in His earth walk do we ever see Jesus defensive or frustrated. His secret is in something He said;

I can do nothing on My own initiative. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.” (John 5:30)

The flow of new life

It really isn’t hard for a child of God to learn to live in the flow of new life. There are things we need to understand. First, we need to understand that God has a perfect will for all of His children. Secondly, we need to know that God is the only One who can work His will in our life. And finally, we must learn the great principle of new covenant life. Listen:

I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.” (Gal 2:20 NASB)

It is in our trusting in Jesus that we come to know more about this wonderful thing called God’s providence. There is no part of a believer’s life that the Father is not vitally concerned with. The prophet of old said,

The Lord’s lovingkindness indeed never cease, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.” Lam3:22,23

As we learn to walk in loving submission to the Lord, we are given a promise of fruitfulness. The privileges and experiences of a new covenant child of God are awesome indeed. Where the Old Testament saint relied greatly on a prophet and priest mediator, the new covenant child of God has direct, open, and immediate access to the Lord, at any moment, and under any circumstance.

What do you think about ‘The promise of the Father’. Would love to hear from you.

Let this song minister to your heart. – ‘I Believe in Jesus’.

Much love to be found in Jesus,

Buddy

Oct

2010

Whispers of the Heart

“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 NASB)

Journal,

One way I know to testify to the goodness of the Lord is to share stories of how the Lord has often sustained me through the years. After all I am now seventy years on the pathway of life. As you read this entry I hope you will be able to look over your own life and remember just how oftentimes the Lord has blessed you. It could have been in the midst of a trial. Yes, we are all the same. We all have trials. We serve and love one Master.

This is why I wanted to call this entry, ‘Whispers of the Heart.’ There is something very special that happens between the Lord and His people. Jesus said that His sheep know His voice and would not follow another. Most of God’s speaking in our lives will be like whispers of the heart. And in those whispers comes His peace. Yes, we do know the Shepherd’s voice.

Jesus is a living Savior.

Living by faith is a life of discovery. It begins with a call upon our heart. It completes itself with our entrance into heaven. And in between there will be many points of reality where the Lord shares something very special with us. With each sharing we acquire a renewing of God’s s goodness. Most of these sharings will be like whispers in our heart.

The Bible calls our walk with the Lord, ‘the path of life’.

“You will make known to me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; in Your right hand there are pleasures forever.” (Psa 16:11)

Fruitfulness in the Kingdom.

God makes known to us the path of life. Everything in a believer’s journey of life has in its setting the working of the Lord. It is important to understand this aspect of our journey. What the Lord may tell one believer, He will not necessarily tell another believer. Our walk will always be deeply personal. Every situation is different. And how the Lord works in each situation will be different. Everything wraps around the word ‘trust.’

I well remember when the Lord began to open my understanding to how fruitfulness works in the kingdom of God. Fruitfulness is basically a product of sowing and reaping. This principle affects everything that we do in life. It is one of the greatest of all the spiritual laws.

Paul shared some insight with Timothy:

“The hard-working farmer ought to be the first to receive his share of the crops. Consider what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.” (2Ti 2:6-7 NASB)

Notice that Paul said the Lord is the one who gives us the understanding. Sowing and reaping isn’t merely about finances although this is certainly a key to financial blessings. Sowing and reaping is about everything in life. You want to be loved, be a lover of others. You want friends, become a friend to others. It is no different from natural sowing. If you wish to grow corn, you have to plant corn.

This is why Paul said that whatever a man sows, this is what he would also reap. Yes, financial well being is a real part of this great law. This is something that Betty and I learned. Every believer needs to learn this lesson in life. If you are not a sower don’t expect to be a reaper.

Let’s hear it from the apostle:

“Now this I say, he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed.” (2Co 9:6-8)

Now listen carefully to what Jesus said,

“Give, and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure–pressed down, shaken together, and running over. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return.” (Luk 6:38)

This was only a beginning place.

My heart was stirred. But it was only a beginning place for us. Not only did I repent of making debts but I soon saw where I was not to be signing notes for others when they make debts. I decided to never co-sign a note for anyone at any time. I was learning the ways of the Lord.

“The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower becomes the lender’s slave.” (Pro22:7)

What does this have to do with whispers of the heart? Very much indeed. When we saw that sowing ‘according to the Spirit’ was a vital key in living a fruitful life, Betty and I ask the Lord to guide us in our sowing. We began sowing in new ways. It was during this time the Lord spoke to my heart. He said, “Because you have believed Me, in six months you will be out of debt.”

Six months later we were completely out of debt. We were back into full time ministry. And we have lived on that level of life ever since. It has been well over 35 years since we’ve had a car payment or any other kind of debt. We don’t borrow. We don’t make debts. We don’t sign notes for others. And we learn to sow by the Spirit.

I will remain forever grateful and humbled for how the Lord taught me this wonderful truth of sowing and reaping. And it all revolves around living according to the Spirit.

But walking down the path of life isn’t simply about finances. The real key is to learn to live a life under the influence of the Holy Spirit.

This brings me to ….

A word on healing

It is important to remember that God knows what we need at each point of our life journey. With regard to healing, oftentimes the Lord will use doctors to help us in our walk. At othertimes He can provide a healing miracle. The important thing is that the Lord is always in the background of our life, guiding us, providing for us, and arranging circumstances in a way that is according to His will and purpose.

The Lord has blessed me through physicians. He has also blessed me with direct healing from His hand. My latest healing was from cancer. The Lord prepared me for this when He spoke to me, saying, “Expect the unexpected.”

(For this testimony see: http://buddymartin.net/blog/2010/09/a-dove-on-the-wire.)

I well remember another case when the Lord gave me something to do. It happened in March, 1978. Here is the story. I’ll title it…

Run for Your Life

It was March, 1978. In closing the seminar in Garland, Texas, I began to feel a weakness in my body. On my way home from Garland, the weakness became more pronounced. The two times that I stopped along the way, when I stepped out of the car I would stumble. This was really strange. (Once for a snack. Another time to fill up.) I was getting concerned.

The weakness worsened. I had never experienced anything like it. After I made it home the weakness became worse. I could barely walk without falling. I had no strength in my arms or hands. Finally I was talked into seeing a doctor. Blood work and all the minor tests were made. They couldn’t find anything wrong.

The doctor said that he suspected multiple sclerosis (MS) and wanted to do further tests. That’s when I said no more tests. I felt that it was a spiritual attack and not simply something physical. (There is so much more to the story. This is a shortened version.)

Then it happened. I’m at my desk at home when I have this impression that I was to run. How could I possibly run? It was difficult to walk without tripping over. The impression was strong. I stepped out the kitchen door, and made a vain attempt to run. If anyone could see me they would think I was crazy. Every few steps I would stumble and fall.

Now I’m back at my desk, sweaty and puzzled. It came again. It was a whisper of the heart. I’ve learned to trust those impressions of the Spirit. I was to run. Once again I stepped out the kitchen door. This time something different was in play. As I began to run I literally felt a strengthening in my body. I picked up speed and ran around the house without stumbling. My strength was returning. Next thing you know all the weakness has left.

And that is the story of my healing from whatever it was. Do I believe it was spiritual? Yes, I do. Would I recommend that anyone do what I did? No, I would not. Living by faith is too personal a thing to go around trying to mimic others.

While there is more to the story I will share something the Lord said to me. It left me in tears of thankfulness. The Lord said, “I delivered you out of the mouth of the lion.”

Is that all?

I could go on and on. For instance there was the time that a tornado was racing towards the church and our parsonage. Betty and the children were in our trailer home. (Church parsonage.) It had just hit a store up the road. The lady had walked to the center of the store and all four walls flattened out. She was unscathed.

The tornado was on a straight path towards the church and the parsonage. I was outside in the church yard. I saw the trees were whipping and snapping off. I began running towards the trailer home. That is when I heard the Lord speak to my heart, “Satan would like to destroy you, but he can not. I have you in the palm of My hand.”

It hit and knocked me to the ground. I watch the front porch of our trailer parsonage rip through the woods. Along with it went our storage building. Yet the trailer did not even tremble. Betty and the children were safe.

Oh yes, I have stories to tell. They are all true. And they are all about my walk down the path of life. But they are not hero stories on my part. I am not a hero. These stories are all about the goodness of the Lord.

The greatest story of all is that Jesus Christ is truly my Lord and Savior. Had He never provided any sort of miracle for me, I could never thank Him enough.

How about you? Do you have stories you could tell? Feel free to share them. (If you like you can use the comment portion of the blog.)

That’s all for now.

May you discover all of God’s goodness for your life.

In love with Jesus,

Buddy

Dec

2009

Welcome to the world of the disciple…

Journal,

Congratulations to our graduates!

We just graduated our 43rd School for Christian Workers. They now belong to that select group of believers who have entered the world of the Biblical disciple. And now we get to watch these new disciples branch out into their respective stewardships from the Lord.

Some will continue their training. All of them have responded to how Jesus directed us to pray. He said, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to sent out laborers into His harvest.” (Luke 10:2)

The Christian Challenge logo has a story to tell concerning the disciple. The elements of the logo consists of the dove, representing the Holy Spirit, the Bible, representing the gospel of Jesus Christ, the mountains, representing the kingdoms of the world, and the rising and setting sun in the circled background, representing the gospel age. Yes, I firmly believe that we are at the closing moments of the gospel age as we know it.

The logo is based upon Isaiah, which reads,

How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth! Thy watchmen shall lift up the voice; with the voice together shall they sing: for they shall see eye to eye, when the LORD shall bring again Zion. Break forth into joy, sing together, ye waste places of Jerusalem: for the LORD hath comforted his people, he hath redeemed Jerusalem. The LORD hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.

(Isa 52:7-10)

“How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth! Thy watchmen shall lift up the voice; with the voice together shall they sing: for they shall see eye to eye, when the LORD shall bring again Zion. Break forth into joy, sing together, ye waste places of Jerusalem: for the LORD hath comforted his people, he hath redeemed Jerusalem. The LORD hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.” (Isa 52:7-10 kjv)

This Isaiah passage is also the theme song of Christian Challenge International. You can listen to a non-professional rendering of it here:

http://www.christianchallenge.org/audio/music/14_How%20Beautiful%20Upon%20The%20Mountains.mp3

Then we have this passage that speaks to the world of the disciple.

“From the rising of the sun to its setting the name of the LORD is to be praised.” (Psa 113:3 nasb)

The Christian Challenge International School for Christian Workers is not a Bible college.

We have structured our courses for the work-a-day believer. This is why the classes are generally evening classes. Our courses have been extended to other areas and also in Mexico.

While we don’t propose to take the place of a Bible college, it needs to be pointed out that all our courses have a specific goal, which is to open up a believer’s spiritual life by way of introducing him or her to the walk of Biblical disciple.

We’ve had students tell us that they received much more of a spiritual value in our one course, ‘The Disciple’s Heart’, than they did in two years of Bible college. The primary reason for this again is our emphasis on the walk of a Biblical disciple. A second reason is because most Bible colleges are concerned primarily with a denominational setting. That is not the case with Christian Challenge. We are non-denominational and non-sectarian. We have one interest alone, and that is to take the gospel of Jesus Christ into all the world.

The 44th School for Christian Workers begins in February, 2010.

We normally offer two schools a year. Because of interest, sometimes we squeeze in an extra school. The dates and additional information for the next school will be forthcoming.

However, with this next school we will be offering a new course, the Disciple’s Heart Class #2. This class expands on the world of the disciple. It is for those who have taken the initial Disciple’s Heart course. The Disciple’s Heart #2 serves as a bridge between the Disciple’s Heart class #1 and the Shepherd’s Heart class. The theme of this class is ‘Learn to Walk with God.’

At present our line up of classes will consist of the following:

The Disciple’s Heart
The Disciple’s Heart #2
The Shepherd’s Heart
Old Testament Survey
New Testament Survey
Conversational Spanish

If you would like to know more about the School for Christian Workers, you can call our office at 318 640-4300. You can also email me at Buddy@ChristianChallenge.Org

Finally, for those within driving distance of Pineville, Louisiana, you may want to consider registering for the next school. (We’ve had students drive 100 miles each way to attend the school.) Those who are able to relocate, or are praying about a relocation, see if the Lord has Pineville on your scope.

In the meantime here is a short video to share a bit of history on Christian Challenge…

The Lord bless you in your walk with Him,

Buddy

Holy Spirit

Strong Consolation – Terror Expectation

The Promise of the Father

Whispers of the Heart

Welcome to the world of the disciple…

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Buddy Martin CCI Founding Pastor

Buddy’s Facebook and Christian Challenge

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