“The LORD said, ‘Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, since Abraham will surely become a great and mighty nation, and in him all the nations of the earth will be blessed?
“For I have chosen him, so that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing righteousness and justice, so that the LORD may bring upon Abraham what He has spoken about him.” (Gen 18:17-19)
Journal,
The two cherubs in the picture above are my great-grandchildren, Aiden and Kennedy. (I have another great-granddaughter, and another cherub on the way. Not sure whether the next one will be a lad or a lass.)
Anyway, as things go, last year I shared a journal entry, ‘Tell your children and your children’s children.’ I want to piggy back on that entry and provide more thoughts that have rested on my heart of late. It all has to do with family generations and in particular the passing of spiritual values on to our children.
I realize that not everyone will be interested in renderings on the Martin family but there is a point in all this. Please bear with me as I reflect on the gospel of Jesus Christ, and how the message of heaven is to be handed from one generation to the next.
Borrowed picture. Yes, I well remember families living in log cabins. I also remember studying by kerosene lamp, drawing water from a well, the old outhouse, no electricity, cooking on a wood stove, and so on. Guess what? It really hasn’t been that long. Another guess what – Life is short and needs to lived well. Living well means to live for the Lord.
My family has been Christian as far back as we have a record. The first Martin of our line came to Louisiana with his Indian wife, in 1803 thereabouts. He was a Revolutionary soldier. According to the information I have, Billy Martin was Methodist.
Billy and Elizabeth, are buried at Mitchell Cemetery in Anacoco, Louisiana. The top of their joint headstone reads, ‘Pioneer Martin.’ It gives their names and the names of their nine children. (Eight sons and one daughter. My lineage is through two of the sons, Billy, Jr., and Charles Seth.)
We have this rendering of the Mitchel Cemetery from another early settler.
“Pioneer Minister Tells of First Cemetery”
by Rev. Thomas Franklin [Quotes in part]
“I have been acquainted with people of this country ever since the year 1835, and the history of this graveyard from the time the first grave was opened. …
In my early days there were no churches, no schoolhouses, preachers, nor anyone who could offer prayer in public, but my mother. … I well remember when the people were called to bury John Martin’s infant child. …’
There was no man of God to speak a word of encouragement …
At this time the Martin, West, Miers, and Franklin families made the principal part of the citizens …
I well remember the old preacher preaching the funeral of Thomas Martin. He was the first man I ever saw kneel and offer prayer to God in this graveyard …
Now as we have been following the history of servants of the Lord since 1835, we now turn more directly to the history of the graveyard for here lies the body of the old and the young resting.
“Here is the body of William Martin, an old Revolutionary soldier, with his wife, also many children and grandchildren. …”
From Mitchell Cemetery I have to bring you to…
Campbell Creek
Buried at Campbell Creek Cemetery in Sharp, Louisiana are some of my forbearers all the way back to Charles Seth Martin, the son of the Revolutionary soldier.
In a line from the front left, are the graves of my father, Lawrence Bert, our son, David Lynn, my grandparents, John Allen and Frances Ella, my great-uncle, Jessie, my great grand-parents, James Erwin and Mary, and my great, great-grandfather, Charles Seth Martin, the son of the Revolutionary soldier.
Also in this cemetery is a message from my grandfather.
When my great-grandfather, James Erwin Martin, died in 1905, my grandfather prepared a homemade headstone for him. On the front of the head stone he encased behind glass a paper which reads,
“Remember friend, as you pass by,
As you are now, so once was I.
As I am now, you soon shall be.
Prepare my friend to follow me.”
My great-grandfather, James Erwin Martin, was a school teacher. His wife, Mary Lize Edwards, descended from the Spanish-and French settlement forts of Natchitoches, Parish. In her line we are said to have Apalachee Indian. (She spoke little English.)
Due to a broken edge of the glass and the weathering over the years, the paper is now barely readable. I’m one of the few people who knows what it says.
Very often when I do a funeral, I’ll call attention to those words. And more often than not, someone will want me to show them my great grandfather’s grave. Of course I’m always happy to do that. It gives me a chance to share the gospel from his headstone.
Yes, there is a life lesson in all this. It consists of the headstone message of my great-grandfather, and a simple prayer we should learn to pray.
The prayer should include the words…
Lord, Teach Us to Number Our Days
The faith of God’s people goes back thousands of years. In fact it reaches back to the very beginnings of the generations of men. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, David are names we are most familiar with. But the list is unending.
For example, when Moses looked down on the tents of Israel that were scattered over the wilderness expanse, he said,
“Lord, You have been our dwelling place in all generations. Before the mountains were born or You gave birth to the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God. You turn man back into dust and say, ‘Return, O children of men.’ For a thousand years in Your sight are like yesterday when it passes by, or as a watch in the night.” (Psa 90:1-4)
Moses then adds these words,
“So teach us to number our days, that we may present to You a heart of wisdom. Do return, O LORD; how long will it be? And be sorry for 
Your servants. O satisfy us in the morning with Your lovingkindness, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.” (Psa 90:12-14)
Did you catch it? Lord, teach us to number our days…
It is only when we remember that life at best is short, that we should learn to live in a matter that speaks to the generations to come, in how we should make our days count for eternity.
What is the Life Lesson in all this
And so the story continues. In the Bible record of the righteous, we often simply read, “And he died.”
“So all the days of Seth were nine hundred and twelve years, and he died.”
“So all the days of Enosh were nine hundred and five years, and he died.”
“So all the days of Noah were nine hundred and fifty years, and he died.”
Yes, one generation continues to replace another. It has always been that way. We can only live in the generation of our birth.
But there is an issue that this generation must pay special heed to.
There is an insidious danger many are not aware of. It has to do with a message that is becoming lost in a maze of modernism. It is the message of the cross. There are so many voices in the world today who are making the cross something that it isn’t about.
The Lord spoke of this concerning His second coming: “When the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?” (Luk18:8)
Listen to the many warnings that speak to this generation —
“But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons, by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron.” (1Ti 4:1-2)
And again,
“But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves.
“Many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned; and in their greed they will exploit you with false words; their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.” (2Pe 2:1-3)
I don’t mean to labor this. It simply brings me to my own concerns for this generation, for my children, my grandchildren, and my great-grandchildren. They world they are facing seems far removed from the world of my younger years.
I’ve never seen such a deterioration of morals and spiritual values as can be seen today. You find it in high government, you find it in our schools, you find it in religious circles, you find it in the entertainment business, and you find it in family structures. It is like a flood of ungodliness and degradation is beginning to sweep the earth.
My questions are simple –
‘Where are you in the maze of life?’
‘What spiritual values are you passing on to your children?’
Yes, I believe the gospel of Jesus Christ is wonderful beyond words. Yet, I do carry in my heart an aching for the young generation of today. It is hard to look at those who seem to have no conscience about sin and the powers of darkness, and wonder, why?
What can I do? What can you do? We can listen to what David had to say –
“What shall I render to the LORD for all His benefits toward me? I shall lift up the cup of salvation and call upon the name of the LORD.” (Psa 116:12-13)
My constant prayer is that the Lord help me to be a faithful servant of the gospel to this generation. Do I believe the end time is near? Absolutely.
Perhaps this song says it best… [Jesus Is Coming Soon.]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejDCt1euySM[/youtube]
Your Servant in Christ always,
Buddy
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