Showing posts with label Love For His People. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Love For His People. Show all posts

Monday, September 18, 2023

Love For His People - The Next Generation

 

Love For His People - The Next Generation

Sept. 11, 2023


Greetings once again from Jerusalem.


Our time here has been filled with discerning the guidance of the Holy Spirit as to be where He wants us to be, and when. That has taken us up and down Jaffa Street on the light rail train multiple times. Today, Monday Sept. 11, my son Josh and me will travel on a bus for an all-day trip to Masada, the Dead Sea, and Qumran, where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered around 1947/1948.


One of my personal aspirations is to connect the next generation with the people and Land of Israel. Bringing my 40-something son Josh is part of that. Introducing him to several friends I have been connecting with over the last three decades has been very important to me and I know will be for him.


He has been amazed at the number of people on the streets most of the time, and at one point said “how respectful” they are to one another. When is the last time you heard that in the media about Israel, and Jerusalem specifically? Totally opposite the garbage the news articles and reports would like you to see and hear daily in their reports.


Our support for the Jewish people, and more importantly the Messianic believers, is vital to Christians as much as for ourselves as for them. It has always been on the heart of God the Father that His people would be restored, and saved, and that Christians would be instrumental in supporting them by “bringing them on their shoulders” (the prophet Isaiah) back to their Land.


Thus my many trips here, to bring home that point to them, and to you who also know Yeshua as Messiah.


As a side note, I am always filled with strength and joy when I am able to attend the King of Kings worship service on Sunday nights in Jerusalem. Last night was no exception.


May that which is on the Lord’s heart in these last days become more so on yours.


Until next time, shalom from Jerusalem.


Steve Martin


P. S. Above photo: Uri Shlakim with Steve and Josh. Uri has the best quality hoodies and t-shirts on Ben Yehuda Street.

On the Jerusalem train once again. This time there was even room to sit!

SHARE


Making another new friend, Jacque, the restaurant owner in the Old City Christian Quarter. A good place to go on Shabbat!

The King Solomon’s Quarry, or Zedekiah’s Cave, just east of the Damascus Gate is literally a “cool” place to go on a hot day.

“I Love Jerusalem” on the way to the Old City near Jaffa Gate.

At least the gray hairs are getting less. Disappearing!

Ein Gedi and the ibex

The small waterfalls of Ein Gedi where David fled from King Saul. (The large waterfalls further on was closed. Someone had fallen in and died 3 weeks ago.)

Love For His People ministry | 12120 Woodside Falls Rd.Pineville, NC 28134

Thursday, June 22, 2023

Keep searchin’. Steve Martin, Love For His People

 

Keep searchin’. Steve Martin, Love For His People

June 16, 2023 Charlotte, North Carolina

Greetings to my family and friends of Love For His People Ministry.

50 years ago I graduated from high school in Waterloo, Iowa (Columbus High School), and I recall going to TEC (Teens Encounter Christ) my senior year. It had a big impact on me, especially being I was a practicing Catholic at the time, and was not fully aware of Who the Lord was personally, and how much He had in store for me.

I share this message “Searchin'” as I reflect upon our ongoing need to keep seeking, searching, looking for His acts in our lives, so that we can fully walk in His ways He has ordained for us.

Enjoy your summer! And enjoy this new message too!

Ahava and shalom,



Steve MartinFounder, Love For His People Ministry

P.S. When you share this message with another, they too can receive these emails directly into their InBox by signing up here for the future ones: SIGN UP
Searchin’ 

“As for you, my son Solomon, know the God of your father, and serve Him with a loyal heart and with a willing mind; for the Lord searches all hearts and understands all the intent of the thoughts. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will cast you off forever.” 1 Chronicles 28:9, NKJV  

In February 1974 the music band Chicago (originally named Chicago Transit Authority for those who really knew them) came out with the song, “(I’ve Been) Searchin’ So Long. Having just graduated from high school the year before (50 years ago May 2023!) I had been invited to participate in what was called Teens Encounter Christ (TEC), a weekend for high school seniors put on by the Catholic organization of the same name. 

Being I had attended a weekend in my own senior year in 1973, I was very happy to be among the leaders to share what the Lord Jesus had done, and Who He was, in my own life at that time. With no “outside” influences to distract us (no watches, TV, radio, etc.) during the 3-day event, the 20+ guys had a good weekend to reflect, and to search, for the Lord themselves, hoping they would make a lifelong commitment to know and follow Him. 

I was to give a short presentation, later learning it was called my testimony in “evangelical terms”, and I played the Chicago song as a lead-in. My heart was pounding as I had never done this before – a nineteen-year-old Catholic boy witnessing to others who had been raised in the Catholic church. Not something we were accustomed to doing. 

The full lyrics are as follows:

As my life goes on I believe
Somehow something’s changed
Something deep inside
Ooh a part of me

There’s a strange new light in my eyes
Things I’ve never known
Changing my life
Changing me

I’ve been searchin’So long
To find an answer
Now I know my life has meaning, oh

Now I see myself as I am
Feeling very free
Life is everything
Ooh it’s meant to be

When my days have come to an end
I will understand
What I left behind
Part of me

I’ve been searching so long
To find an answer
Now I know my life has meaning, whoa

Searching (don’t you know I’m)
For an answer
To the question
Oh yeah”Who am I?”
Maybe (maybe it’s true)
It’s only natural (it’s only natural baby, yeah)

Good things in life
Take a long time (yeah yeah)

Source: LyricFindSongwriters: James Pankow(I’ve Been) Searchin’ So Long lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Spirit Music Group 

I had accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior prior to that time, and knew what impact, and salvation, He would have in their life if they too would choose to follow Him. My heart was that these young men, all in their late teens, would also believe on Him, and let Him lead each one to their full destiny that only He can reveal to them and give them through His Holy Spirit. 

As I look back on that time, I realize that each of us needs to continually search for the One Who alone can lead and direct our steps. In an earlier message I wrote, “Next Step”, I shared how even now I personally was expecting of the Lord to show me what He has next for myself and others, even these 50+ years later.

It is a good thing to depend on the Lord. I trust you are still searching daily for the Lord’s heart for you, His people Israel, and the plans He has written of and will fulfill in our lifetime. I trust your heart is still searching for the Life He alone gives, and you are walking in faith and trust for Him to fulfill all that He has called you to be, for His glory and honor. If not, keep searchin’. 

Even as He promised to the Jews, as we see today returning to their Land of Israel as He prophesies and promised, He will be found by all who seek Him. 

“I will be found by you, says the Lord, and I will bring you back from your captivity; I will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you, says the Lord, and I will bring you to the place from which I cause you to be carried away captive.” Jeremiah 29:14, NKJV 

“Seek the Lord while He may be found; call upon Him while He is near.” Isaiah 55:6, NASU 

Ahava and shalom, 
Steve Martin
Founder, Love For His People 

Message #143 in this series – in the year of our Lord 06.16.23 – “Searchin’”  Friday, 8:30 am in Charlotte, North Carolina Love For His People Ministry. is a charitable, USA humanitarian ministry started in 2010 to share the love of the Father in the nations, especially to and within Israel. If these letters minister to you, please consider sending a charitable gift of $5-$25 today, and maybe each month, to help us bless known families in Israel, whom we consistently help through our humanitarian ministry. 

Tuesday, December 13, 2022

Messiah – Steve Martin, Love For His People

 

Messiah – Steve Martin, Love For His People

Christ Church stained-glass windows in the Old City, Jerusalem, Israel (Photo by Steve Martin, 11.01.22)
Dec. 13, 2022 Charlotte, North Carolina

Greetings to my family and friends of Love For His People Ministry.

Speaking with my Jewish friends in Israel is always a joy, but sometimes a challenge, and dependence on the voice of the Holy Spirit guiding me is an ongoing must. In my message following, I share some of what the Lord has given me to do when I go, and how I relate to the believers and others in the Land of Israel.

During this season of Christmas and Hanukkah, talk of the Messiah is even more so on the minds of the nations. For some, they know He has come and will come again. Others are yet looking for the Messiah and the hope of His appearance.

I hope you the joy of the season, with family, friends, co-workers, and beyond your sphere of influence.

Share the love of Messiah! Bo, Yeshua! Come, Jesus!

Ahava and shalom,



Steve Martin
Founder, Love For His People Ministry
Messiah  

“And not for a single day, either in the Temple court or in private homes, did they stop teaching and proclaiming the Good News that Yeshua is the Messiah. “ Acts 5:42, Complete Jewish Bible  

In November of 2022, I again had the opportunity to spend time with a Jewish rabbi friend in Israel near Jerusalem. We had met before in his office a few years back when my good wife Laurie was with me, but this time I was on my own, being she nor another was not able to join me. The Rabbi and I had a deep discussion about the Messiah – Who He was and when He would come.  

Knowing I am a Christian who strongly supports Israel and the Jews, the door had already been opened and I had been allowed into this God-ordained appointment. Having gained a reliable measure of trust with him, beginning with our Love For His People Ministry’s regular support of his work, going back at least 7 years, I had shown that I was not another “taker”, or looking for a “photo op” to raise my own funds back home in America. Those kinds of Christians, in name only, had already come and gone.

And given the previous and even ongoing history of all the murders, thefts, and banishment from their homeland…much done in the name of Jesus Christ throughout the centuries gone by, it is no wonder it takes time to build relationships, trusted ones, between a Jew and a Gentile such as myself. Honestly, I too would certainly have had a very hard time befriending someone associated with such a past, even if that was of the generations prior to my own. We must not allow the sins of the fathers to become our own. 

I have learned to be forthright and honest in my associations with Jews in Israel. Giving support in substantial ways, proven through a long-time relationship, has laid a good foundation that can be built on for future times together. They know that I am not out for my own benefit, or on a secret mission. 

As Yeshua Himself said, “For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.” John 6:38, NASU

The primary focus of our ministry, established in 2010, was and remains to primarily support the Messianic Jews in the Land, known as the believers. With that focus kept in focus, the Lord has also opened the doors to befriend those who have yet to see the One Who already came the first time, revealing Himself to be the Messiah. Having already come, accompanied by miracles, fulfillment of prophecies recorded by the Jews themselves in the Torah, Tanach, and Prophets, including the resurrection from the dead, and further understood by the Jewish writers of the New Testament of the Bible, many people of Israel know Yeshua HaMashiach personally. Others continue to look for the Messiah. 

For those who have seen and believe, Yeshua is the Promised Messiah, the One Who has already come. For others, the Messiah is yet to come. 

In my interaction with the Jews, when I have spoken of the Messiah having already come, one Jewish friend has told me that in my theology He may have already come, but in his, He is yet to come. So as is a common saying among us and others, my friend may ask Him when He comes, “Is this your first time coming or your second time.”Before the Messiah’s return, I hope he finds the answer. 

When Yeshua came for the first time to Israel, the Land of the Jews, He didn’t come as the conquering king so expected of the Messiah – to free them from the scourge of the Romans or any other occupying harsh rule. As in Isaiah 53, rarely if ever taught by the rabbis or discussed in the yeshivas (Bible schools in Israel), the Suffering Servant’s appearance was not one they accepted. On more than one occasion when I had the joy of sharing with Jews, be they currently in a yeshiva or having graduated from one, they tell me that Isaiah 53 is not taught or discussed. In fact, the word of the rabbis exceeds that of the Written Word. Thus, they continue to miss the opportunity to know Him, even from when He came for His own at His first appearance. 

Read from Isaiah 52 and 53. “See how my servant will succeed! He will be raised up, exalted, highly honored! Just as many were appalled at him, because he was so disfigured that he didn’t even seem human and simply no longer looked like a man, so now he will startle many nations; because of him, kings will be speechless. For they will see what they had not been told, they will ponder things they had never heard.” Who believes our report? To whom is the arm of Adonai revealed?

For before him he grew up like a young plant, like a root out of dry ground. He was not well-formed or especially handsome; we saw him, but his appearance did not attract us. People despised and avoided him, a man of pains, well acquainted with illness. Like someone from whom people turn their faces, he was despised; we did not value him. In fact, it was our diseases he bore, our pains from which he suffered; yet we regarded him as punished, stricken and afflicted by God. But he was wounded because of our crimes, crushed because of our sins; the disciplining that makes us whole fell on him, and by his bruises we are healed. 

We all, like sheep, went astray; we turned, each one, to his own way; yet Adonai laid on him the guilt of all of us. Though mistreated, he was submissive —he did not open his mouth. Like a lamb led to be slaughtered, like a sheep silent before its shearers, he did not open his mouth. After forcible arrest and sentencing, he was taken away; and none of his generation protested his being cut off from the land of the living for the crimes of my people, who deserved the punishment themselves. He was given a grave among the wicked; in his death he was with a rich man. 

Although he had done no violence and had said nothing deceptive, yet it pleased Adonai to crush him with illness, to see if he would present himself as a guilt offering. If he does, he will see his offspring; and he will prolong his days; and at his hand Adonai’s desire will be accomplished. After this ordeal, he will see satisfaction. “By his knowing [pain and sacrifice], my righteous servant makes many righteous; it is for their sins that he suffers. Therefore I will assign him a share with the great, he will divide the spoil with the mighty, for having exposed himself to death and being counted among the sinners, while actually bearing the sin of many and interceding for the offenders.” Isaiah 52:13-53:12, Complete Jewish Bible 

When I am given more opportunities to be in Israel, with my Jewish friends, I will continue to pray for times of expressing the love of God the Father, sharing the words of His Only Begotten Son, and discerning the movement of the Holy Spirit to bring His Light among His people. 

Salvation is available to all who will hear, and who do believe in Yeshua HaMashiach, the Messiah of the Jews and the world, for all those who will believe in His first coming, and know Him as their Messiah too. 

Ahava and shalom, 

Steve Martin
Love For His People Founder 

Message #130 in this series – in the year of our Lord 12.12.2022 – “Messiah”  Monday, 3:48 pm am in Charlotte, North Carolina 



Love For His People Ministry. is a charitable, USA humanitarian ministry started in 2010 to share the love of the Father in the nations, especially to and within Israel. If these letters minister to you, please consider sending a charitable gift of $5-$25 today, and maybe each month, to help us bless known families in Israel, whom we consistently help through our humanitarian ministry.  Go here for safe ONLINE GIFT GIVING THROUGH  OUR WEBSITE using major credit cards, Zelle, or PayPal 

Contribution checks can be sent to:  Love For His People Ministry P.O. Box 53  Pineville, NC 28134Todah rabah! (Hebrew – Thank you very much.) 

Please share this encouraging message with your friends.


David Peterman and I recorded a new “Ahava Moments With You” last week in his home in South Carolina. This one is entitled, “As Unto Him – on the Job“, as we share our experiences in serving our bosses when on the secular and ministry jobs we have had. We hope you are encouraged as you listen. Another one we recorded is entitled, “Change”.

And…for the fun of it, Walk With Me in this little town in South Carolina. “O Little Town…”


I do hope you have bought my latest book. If not for you, then as a gift for a loved one for Christmas or Hanukkah.
I gave it a new cover too and then blessed you with lower prices!
Click here: WHY WE DO WHAT WE DO- Paperback ($8.95, Kindle ($1.95), and HARDBACK, for only $12.95!
WHY WE DO WHAT WE DO by Steve Martin (published Nov. 14, 2022)

On Nov. 11, 2022, as I awaited the shuttle to the Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv, Israel, I asked the Lord what the title of my 36th book should be. “Why We Do What We Do – We Live For the Lord” came the response from the Holy Spirit. So, I named it that. The morning after I got home on Sunday, Nov. 13, 2022, I opened the November/December 2022 issue of Charisma Magazine which my good wife Laurie had been reading on the kitchen table.

I skimmed through the pages and noticed an article by Rod Parsley entitled, “Seek the Father’s Face, Hear His Voice”. I had known of Rod and his ministry, but not a regular listener. On page 57 of his article, the written paragraph header was, “His Voice in My Ear”. In the 4th paragraph, he wrote of the Lord asking Him this question, “Why do you do what you do?” Confirmation! Thus, I had heard the Lord also. 

This book contains the five months of messages I shared with subscribers to my weekly email, and then posted on our website www.loveforhispeople.com and other social media platforms. For each of us to accomplish the Lord’s will, plans, and purposes for our individual lives we must know what we are to do and do it. We will then understand the “why we do what we do” question, as we walk out His ways. 

Be inspired and encouraged as you read, either as a daily discipline or as a book with examples as to how to walk the Christian faith in your own life. And as you know the “why”, your courage, boldness, and firmer commitment to live for Jesus Christ, Yeshua HaMashiach, will be evident to many. You may not even have to say a word. 

I have also included the six messages I wrote from Jerusalem, between Oct. 24-Nov. 11, 2022 when I was there on my 26th journey to the Land. Since 2010 I have called these journeys “Ahava Adventures”. “Ahava” is love in Hebrew. 

To purchase on Amazon:  WHY WE DO WHAT WE DO- Paperback $8.95 Hardback $12.95 E-book $1.95