Better Know Your Cave - Now Think On This by Steve Martin

Better Know Your Cave

Now Think On This

Steve Martin

“You're my cave to hide in, my cliff to climb. Be my safe leader, be my true mountain guide. Free me from hidden traps; I want to hide in you. I've put my life in your hands. You won't drop me, you'll never let me down.” (Psalm 31:3-5, THE MESSAGE)

By the title of this message, you may have thought this was one to provoke you to get your hiding place ready for when the tribulation comes. Not a bad thought. I have some extra long-term food stored away on hand, for when the troubling times that will come, do come, just as the Word says.

Noah was prepared. Joseph was prepared. Often the Lord told His people in advance to prepare. It isn’t an “unbelief” action as some would make you think. It is wisdom, and knowing that what the Lord says will come to pass, will indeed come to pass. So I have prepared too.

No, this specific message is more about the spiritual aspect of knowing where you go when you need a place to hide, a place to be under the shadow of His wing, the covering that can only be found in the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.

David, the Jewish shepherd boy who was anointed king years before it actually came about, had to learn the secret to “living in the cave.” When his soul was troubled, when he was being pursued by his frequent enemies, primarily King Saul (who, like some modern day “religious” leaders try to destroy the newcomers who have been chosen to take their place) he knew where to abide. He had learned Who to abide in. David knew his cave. And he went there often.

St. George Monastery - Wadi Qelt Judean desert in Israel

(Photo: Steve Martin, 2008)

Both you and I need to know where our spiritual cave is. We need to have established a place where we often meet with the Lord. Not just in the bad times, but in the good as well. It must be a consistent, daily if possible, location. Both physically and spiritually.

When the troubling times come, not if but when, be they today, tomorrow or beyond, we have to be in such a place spiritually so that when the enemy strikes at us (and we know he doesn’t fight fair), we are confident that our covering and protection are solid in the Lord Jesus.

Not in drugs. Not from alcohol. Nor in the TV set or on the Internet, or some other “escape” route. Our refuge must be in the Lord Himself.

The Lord God Almighty promises us this in His Word.

“He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, "He is my refuge and my fortress; my God, in Him I will trust."

Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the perilous pestilence. He shall cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you shall take refuge; His truth shall be your shield and buckler. You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, nor of the arrow that flies by day, nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday.

A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand; but it shall not come near you. Only with your eyes shall you look, and see the reward of the wicked.

Because you have made the Lord, who is my refuge, even the Most High, your dwelling place, no evil shall befall you, nor shall any plague come near your dwelling; for He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways. In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone. You shall tread upon the lion and the cobra, the young lion and the serpent you shall trample underfoot.

"Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high, because he has known My name. He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him, and show him My salvation." (Psalm 91:1-16, NKJV)

During the day, when the stress and pressure on the job, in the family, on the highway, or wherever you may experience it, gets to be too much, we must have learned to call upon the Name of the Lord and abide in Him. We must firmly believe that He is with us, knowing it in our “knower”, as an old wise man used to say. Confidence will be assured, primarily because we had spent time with Him in our “cave time”.

We can learn to be at peace, in His peace, even in the presence of our enemies.

As David wrote, for himself then and as a sure word for us today, “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies…” (Psalm 23:5, NKJV)

Learning to abide in the shadow of the Lord, in His place of refuge, in that “cave” we can go to, will make us ready for the times when we must know how, when and where to know His presence is with us. We can have that assurance by practicing His presence with us today.

Now think on this,

Steve Martin

Founder/President

Love For His People, Inc.

  

If these messages have ministered to you, please consider sending a charitable gift of $10-$25 today, and maybe each month, to help us bless families and pastors in Israel, Pakistan, Northern Ireland, and Nigeria, whom we consistently help monthly through our humanitarian ministry. Your tax-deductible contributions receive a receipt for each donation. Fed. ID #27-1633858.

Secure, conveniently contributions can be done online now through our website: Donate

Contribution checks can be sent to: 

Love For His People, Inc.  P.O. Box 414   Pineville, NC 28134

Todah rabah! (Hebrew – Thank you very much.) Please share Now Think On This with your friends. Steve Martin

Now Think On This - in the Year of our Lord 7.25.17 - #302– “Better Know Your Cave” – Tuesday 6:10 pm

Our ministry outreach to help supply international pastors with our teaching materials is much appreciated by them. We hope you can join us to bless them. Remeber in the past when someone gave you a free book that taught you of our Lord's love and grace? Return the blessing to another.

Nigerian pastors received our books. July 22, 2017

Secure, conveniently contributions can be done online now through our website: Donate

Contribution checks can be sent to: 

Love For His People, Inc.  P.O. Box 414   Pineville, NC 28134

USA tax receipts are provided by our 501(c)3 ministry Love For His People, Inc.

On A Mission From God - Now Think On This by Steve Martin

On A Mission From God

Steve Martin

“Isn't it obvious that God deliberately chose men and women that the culture overlooks and exploits and abuses, chose these "nobodies" to expose the hollow pretensions of the "somebodies"?” 

(1 Corinthians 27-29, THE MESSAGE)

It is amazing how the Lord picks His people to do His work here on earth. There are not many wise, not many strong, not many considered “smart” by the ones who “are”.

Another thing that is amazing is the fact that it is just how He likes it - to confound the wise with the foolish, to show Himself strong through the weak, to overtake the enemy with strategies that wouldn’t have even been considered without His involvement and leading.

“Just look at yourselves, brothers — look at those whom God has called! Not many of you are wise by the world’s standards, not many wield power or boast noble birth. But God chose what the world considers nonsense in order to shame the wise; God chose what the world considers weak in order to shame the strong; and God chose what the world looks down on as common or regards as nothing in order to bring to nothing what the world considers important; so that no one should boast before God.” (1 Corinthians 26-30, Complete Jewish Bible)

For movie enthusiasts, many enjoyed the comical hit The Blues Brothers in 1980. Starring the late night show Saturday Night Live actors Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi as Jake and Elwood Blues, these two “heard the call”, and accepted the mission. From the starting scene to the final one, they gathered the other band members the former Blues Brothers Band, and went on a mission. They needed to raise funds for a special purpose.

They said they were on a mission from God. The reason? They believed they had to save the grade school where they were taught, in their youth by Roman Catholic nuns in Chicago, from certain foreclosure. 

               

If it was up to me, I don’t think I would have picked these two. One had just gotten out of prison, while the other, well, I wouldn’t call him the brightest apple out of the bushel. But as they said, they believed they were the ones to do what it would take to save the nuns and their beloved school from the certain end of all.

It was a tall order for them to take on. They had little money, hardly any means of transportation (remember the car and speaker system they mounted on top?) And yet, they believed. They went for it. They were indeed on a mission from God.

Bluesmobile was a 1974 Dodge Monaco sedan

Each of us have been given a purpose for being here. You and I have been called by the Living God, the same One who also called the Jews to be a light to the nations from their homeland in Israel, to bring forth His Gospel truth to the peoples of the nations.

After His death, burial and resurrection, Yeshua (Jesus) gave one major command to His disciples. This directive, not a suggestion, was for them, and to all who call upon the Name of the Lord, to take His love, peace and salvation to those who have not heard, who have not seen Him revealed as yet.

We are the ones who have been chosen, redeemed Jews and Gentiles, as the One New Man. We have heard and are now called to obey and do.

“And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." (Matthews 28:18-20, NASU)

Even from our mother’s womb, even before the beginning of time as the Bible says, He knew us and planned for us to be His Body here on earth. When Jesus (Yeshua) came the first time, before departing back to heaven, He promised, and fulfilled that word, to send His Holy Spirit, to be with us as we were given this eternal mission. This mission from God, in this real life, here and now. We have been commanded to take His love and truth to the nations, beginning where we are at now. First Jerusalem, then Samaria, and then to the ends of the earth.

“But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." (Acts 1:8, NKJV)

Even as others have been written about in the Lord’s Word, such as Jeremiah, we too have been chosen to be a part of the Body of Christ, and represent Him in the nation we live in, and those He would send us to.

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; before you were born I sanctified you;

I ordained you a prophet to the nations." (Jeremiah 1:5, NKJV)

We each have been given natural and supernatural gifts to accomplish “our mission.” Each of us has the opportunity to fulfill that mission and receive the heavenly reward promised to us.

I am so ready and willing to fulfill the call of God on my life After His death, burial and resurrection, Yeshua (Jesus) gave that one major command. It was for the apostles then. It is for us now, who call upon the Name of the Lord.

We are to take His love, peace and salvation to those who have not heard, who have not seen the love and peace that comes only from God the Father. We are the ones who have been chosen, both redeemed Jews and Gentiles, as the One New Man, to hear, obey and go.

“And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." (Matthews 28:18-20, NASU)

.

Are we ready to do the job? We must be. The nations need to see the love of the Lord.

Now think on this,

Steve Martin

Founder/President

Love For His People, Inc.

If these messages have ministered to you, please consider sending a charitable gift of $10-$25 today, and maybe each month, to help us bless families and pastors in Israel, Pakistan, Northern Ireland, and Nigeria, whom we consistently help monthly through our humanitarian ministry. Your tax-deductible contributions receive a receipt for each donation. Fed. ID #27-1633858.

Secure, conveniently contributions can be done online now through our website: Donate

Contribution checks can be sent to: 

Love For His People, Inc.  P.O. Box 414   Pineville, NC 28134

Todah rabah! (Hebrew – Thank you very much.) Please share Now Think On This with your friends. Steve Martin

Now Think On This - in the Year of our Lord 7.19.17 - #301– “On A Mission From God” – Wednesday 7:37 pm

  

The Blues Brothers

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For other uses, see The Blues Brothers (film) and Blues Brothers (disambiguation).The Blues Brothers are an American blues and soul revivalist band which was founded in 1978 by comedy actors Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi as part of a musical sketch on Saturday Night Live. Belushi and Aykroyd, respectively in character as lead vocalist "Joliet" Jake Blues and harmonica player/vocalist Elwood Blues, fronted the band, which was composed of well-known and respected musicians. The band made its debut as the musical guest on the April 22, 1978, episode of Saturday Night Live, performing "Hey Bartender."^[1]

The band began to take on a life beyond the confines of the television screen, releasing an album, Briefcase Full of Blues, in 1978, and then having a Hollywood film, The Blues Brothers, created around its characters in 1980.

After the death of Belushi in 1982, the Blues Brothers have continued to perform with a rotation of guest singers and other band members. The band reformed in 1988 for a world tour and again in 1998 for a sequel to the film, Blues Brothers 2000. They make regular appearances at musical festivals worldwide.