Saturday, December 31, 2011

Ahava Love Letter - "The Initiator"


             “The Initiator”
    
“…which way He did initiate for us — new and living…”
(Heb. 10:20 Young’s Literal Translation)

Dear family of friends,

When I consider the ways and means of the Lord, one aspect I have come to appreciate is to know Him as The Initiator – the One who sets things in progress. Or better yet, the One who sets us in progress.

Have you ever felt, like I do at times, that things in your spiritual life have come to a standstill, or you have come to a crossroads? Usually when I come to this point, my natural instinct is to try and make something happen. And then out of frustration I try to keep “driving down the road”, for after all, you “can’t steer a parked car.”

When I get fearful of things not seemingly moving, or I am not  “working for the Lord” as I should be, or things are a bit too quiet for me, I tend to get anxious, and wonder if the Lord still knows I am here. I start feeling guilty of “just sitting still while nothing is progressing.” When the time has come where one season, or even era has ended, and the current transition is a slow train coming, it is at this point where I must still try to not make things happen, in my own flesh, but must continue to wait on the Lord. He is The Initiator. He is the One whom I need to let open the next door, and direct me to the next place or location I am to inhabit.

When Abraham got anxious for the promised son, and proceeded to help the Lord out, Ishmael resulted. When Moses used his own physical strength to “save” the Hebrews, he ended up in the desert for 40 years. When Saul got anxious for Samuel to arrive and perform the sacrifice, he didn’t wait, and ended up losing his kingship (1 Samuel 15). Others in Scripture took it upon themselves to try and make things happen, and they missed the Lord. Not fun.

Those who chose to wait upon the Lord, and let Him lead, experienced different results. David held his hand when he could have killed Saul in the cave, and the Lord’s plan to raise him up as king came to fruitation. When Joseph was held in Pharoah’s prison, and served even in that almost forgotten place, the time finally did come for the Lord’s timing and release. Joseph became second in command over all the country. Even Paul had three years in Arabia and Damascus (Gal. 1:17,18) before he went to consult with the apostles in Jerusalem. Soon thereafter his own apostolic mission went forth.

As for me, I have initiated too many projects, even those which seemed good at the time, and yet later found myself wondering where I missed it. At this critical point in my life, I am waiting for Him to initiate the next move. Once I hear, and then obey, it will be good.

May this year be the same for you.

Ahava to my family of friends,

Steve Martin
Founder/President


Love For His People, Inc. truly appreciates your generous support. Please consider sending a tax-deductible monthly charitable gift of $5-$25 each month to help us bless Messianic Jews in Israel. You can send checks to the address below. Todah rabah! (Hebrew - Thank you very much.)
Steve  Martin      Love For His People, Inc.  12120 Woodside Falls Rd. Pineville, NC 28134      

Ahava Love Letter #39   Date: Jan. 1, in the year of our Lord 2012    


Friday, December 16, 2011

Merry Christmas & Happy Hanukkah



Love For His People, Inc.    12120 Woodside Falls Rd. 
Pineville, NC 28134     704-806-6934 
Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah to our family of friends!
We are grateful to be able to send this year end letter to you, sharing with our family and friends the good year  the Lord has blessed us with. As the year of 2011 draws to an end, our first full year of growing the ministry of Love For His People,  we treasure what the Lord has accomplished. It is because of your friendship, support and encouragement along the way.  As I thought about what the Lord’s provision and direction has brought, my heart is most appreciative. We give thanks, while continuing in the path He has been leading us on. Without the Holy Spirit’s presence, and yours in our midst, I know the trek would have been less fruitful. Let me share some of the moments and events that Laurie and I participated in, and the work of the ministry that we were able to participate in, to bring encouragement and strengthening to others.
Beginning in January, Laurie and I began hosting the newly formed Friday night meetings called Beit Tikvah, as part of Antioch International Church in Fort Mill, SC. These continue to be a time to bless Israel, learn of our Jewish roots, and share in the Shabbat candle lighting. Leading Messianic style song worship, most often with the help of Little Big Eagle, Mary and Little Deer, and others, was a joy. Senior Pastor Peter Wyns shared regularly on our Jewish roots and our need in standing solidly with Israel. We are most grateful for our heritage given to us as believers, through the Lord’s chosen people.
In February we attended the NRB (National Religious Broadcasters) annual convention in Nashville. Our greatest joy was being invited to the Israel Ministry of Tourism breakfast. Later that night we further showed support for Israel by attending the annual ministry meeting of Proclamation to the Nations, headed by Laurie Cardoza Moore, of Nashville. Our desire continues to grow stronger to stand with those who stand with the nation of Israel, and the Jewish people worldwide. That is one of the major thrusts of the ministry entrusted to us.
Three times this year Laurie and I led worship for the quarterly assemblies of Highway to Zion, here in Charlotte, NC, headed by our good friend Cathy Hargett (also a director on our LFHP ministry board). Additionally we greatly enjoyed our times with our dear friends of Beit Yeshua in Lincolnton, NC. Curtis Loftin (another director on our board ), whom we have grown to very much appreciate over the past five years, his wife Carolyn, along with the Williams, the Miles and the Anthonys, regularly included us in their feast celebrations. I shared a brief word on how to practically support Israel, at their annual “Honoring Israel Night” in May.
Later that month we joined in the March of Remembrance, annually commemorating Holocaust victims, at the China Grove, NC gathering. Headed worldwide by Messianic song artist Ted Pearce, the local public display of support was put together by our friend Rabbi Yossi Wentz and the Messianic congregation of Beit Shofarot.
I personally enjoyed writing the 30 issues of the Ahava Love Newsletter this year, shared through e-mail, on our blog site http://loveforhispeople.blogspot.com/,  and my personal Facebook note pages. It also is a regular posting on our Cross TV web page  (http://www.cross.tv/love_for_his_people_ministries).  Included in each edition was my Ahava Love Letter and an article by another board member, Dr. Bill Duerfeldt, from Asheville, NC (when he and his wife Cindi are not volunteering in Jerusalem!)
With a major portion of the generous donations of over $17,000 received this calendar year, we were able to give monthly support to a Messianic Jewish family of five in Jerusalem.  Also serving in Jerusalem, Jim and Linda, volunteers on the staff of Christian Friends of Israel, received monthly support through us for their work in The Land. Pastor John Ebenezer of Hyderabad, India, beginning his new orphanage called Lighthouse Center India, was blessed through the gracious contributions of our regular donors. Orphans in Liberia and Jewish kindergartens in southern Jerusalem were also impacted this past year, as together we extended His loving embrace.
Thank you for your ongoing support. We simply cannot extend His love for His people without you in 2012. We love you!
Shalom and ahava,
Steve & Laurie Martin