Jerusalem celebrates the last night of Hanukkah in the Old City Jewish Quarter. Walk with me, Steve Martin

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The last night of Hanukkah in Jerusalem’s Jewish Quarter of the Old City. 

Steve Martin, Love For His People, Dec. 21, 2025

Watch here also as Joshua Aaron sings, “O Come Emmanuel”

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Christian Friends of Israel celebrates 40 years of prayer, service and ministry – looking ahead with hope

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(Photo: Christian Friends of Israel - Jerusalem)

As Christian Friends of Israel (CFI) marks 40 years of ministry, Executive Director Tristan Hall reflected on the organization’s origins, growth, and spiritual calling during an interview with Christian journalist Paul Calvert. 

CFI was founded in Jerusalem in December 1985 by an international group of believers who felt God was initiating a new season in Israel during an especially productive spiritual period. Hall explained that CFI’s roots were shaped by both prayer and action. 

“For CFI, the overriding impetus was to do something. To pray. Yes, to pray, because nothing here happens without prayer.” Alongside intercession, CFI's founders are dedicated to real-world expressions of love and to supporting Israel and Israelis via practical aid – a central tenet of the mission that continues today.

For more than four decades, Hall has witnessed a notable transformation in relationships between Jews and Christians. Mistrust in the early years eventually softened and gave way to reconciling friendships. 

“The difference between then and now is stark,” Hall noted, pointing to what he describes as Naomi–Ruth–type relationships – bonds marked by loyalty, humility, and faithfulness, built through consistent service rather than power.

Since leading CFI through war times, Hall told Calvert about the challenges facing the primarily volunteer-based team, saying, “They leaned into the Lord, they leaned into their faith, and He gave them the strength that they needed.” 

Despite shaky footing, the wartime conflict tends to draw believers from nations who feel called to stand with Israel in practical ways, he explained.

Recent CFI 40th anniversary celebrations brought together international representatives in Jerusalem for events focused on thanksgiving, fellowship, and firsthand encounters with communities impacted by the war. 

Hall emphasized that the organization's long success marks “a time to thank God for what He has done and what He will do.”

In the interview, Hall emphasized the importance of volunteerism, noting a significant rise in the number of people willing to serve through the ministry. He explained that volunteers arrive from around the world, bringing practical skills and a shared desire to support Israel in tangible ways. 

According to Hall, this volunteer-based model is central to CFI’s work, as it not only allows individuals to participate personally in what God is doing but also enables the organization to direct the majority of its donated resources toward aid projects.

Looking ahead, Hall expressed a hopeful vision for the next 40 years and stressed the importance of being attentive to God’s leading. 

“We really want to be looking up and to seek the Lord for His counsel,” he said, likening this moment in Israel’s history to the time when Joshua led the nation across the Jordan into a new season. 

For Hall, the comparison underscores CFI's call to move forward with courage rooted in faith. His prayer, he said, is that Christian Friends of Israel will remain bold, obedient, and faithful as its mission continues to unfold, serving Israel with humility, prayer and steadfast commitment in the years ahead.

Click below to listen to Paul Calvert's full interview with Tristan Hall, executive director of Christian Friends of Israel.

Read more: CHRISTIANS | PRO ISRAEL

#ChristianFriendsOfIsrael #TristanHall #Jerusalem

“Walk With Me” Steve Martin in Israel. More short videos added. Sit back and enjoy.

Enjoy my updated “Walk With Me” short videos from Jerusalem and parts of Israel. Over 150 recorded since Laurie and I arrived over two months ago (Oct. 16, 2025) with three more weeks to go. 

So…more to come! Thank You, Jesus!

Ahava and Shalom,

Steve Martin, Love For His People Ministry

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Grab some popcorn and a drink. Sit and relax and walk with me as I take you on an adventure in Jerusalem and around Israel.

Elvis Restaurant 5 miles west of Jerusalem.

Yad Hashmona Messianic village west of Jerusalem.

Tel Aviv and Jaffa in the Mediterranean Sea.

An old church remains in south Iarael.

Christian Friends of Israel Jerusalem - On their walk from “The River to the Sea”.

Church of the Beatitudes on the Sea of Galilee upper hill.

Love For His People Ministry was founded in 2010 by Steve & Laurie Martin. Charlotte, NC USA

Blessing on those who fear the Lord.

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Psalm 128

Tree of Life Version Blessing on Those Who Fear God

Psalm 128

1 A Song of Ascents.
Happy is everyone in awe of Adonai,
    who walks in His ways,
2 for you will eat the labor of your hands.
You will be blessed
and it will be good for you.
3 Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house.
Your children will be like olive saplings around your table.
4 Behold, thus will the man be blessed
who fears Adonai.
5 May Adonai bless you out of Zion,
and may you see Jerusalem in prosperity
    all the days of your life,
6 and may you live to see your children’s children.

Shalom be upon Israel!

(Photo of Jerusalem at night taken by Steve Martin Dec. 20, 2025)

Love For His People Ministry was founded in 2010 by Steve & Laurie Martin. Charlotte, NC USA

Why I Am Here by Steve Martin

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Elisabeth  Laurie, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers, Steve

Why I Am Here

 

“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: may they prosper who love you. May peace be within your walls, and prosperity within your palaces for the sake of my brothers and my friends I will now say, “May peace be within you.” For the sake of the house of the Lord our God, I will seek your good.” (Psalm 122:6-9, NASB)

 

 

The winter season at any army base can be a bit more brutal than elsewhere in a country. Making do with government supplies and equipment just does not make one feel “warm and cozy” at times, while in the realm of protecting one’s country. Especially when the setting is out in the fields of the low country, with winds coming off the sea nearby.

 

 

Though one wouldn’t expect soldiers to have it all, “as at home”, we do want them to be alert, prepared, and ready for their active duty when called upon. We want (need) them to have the resources that one would expect them to have. But they always don’t.

 

 

So it was with the IDF soldiers, whom the volunteers with Christian Friends of Israel came to connect with, befriend, and share the love of Yeshua through practical means. We want them to know, whom most are Jews, that the Father has sent Christians to “bear them up” and bring some of His provision from the nations.

 

 

Laurie and I (USA) and Elisabeth Oelwein (Germany) did just that in the middle of December, arriving when the sun had set and the cold wind blew. We came to bring His love and warmth.

 

 

After the two-hour trip to collect the military clothing near Ashkelon, meeting with Rani at Galtex, we drove further south to meet with tne commander at a base near Nahol Oz, the one raided, partially destroyed, and saw the murder of 18 women soldiers monitoring the security system, by Hamas killers.

 

 

With his duties requiring him to be on mission that afternoon, after a three hour wait, we drove to another base 45 minutes away to meet with Noar, a 43-year old volunteer commanding a force of young soldiers. The excitement and enthusiasm he revealed, when accepting the warm blanket and supplies which he called “as candy for the men”, we heard back from the commander that he had returned to base.

 

 

Returning to the base, the two young soldiers who greeted us there, David and his “brother-in-arms”, who had lost a brother on Oct. 7, 2023, were so filled with gratitude and acceptance when we unloaded the van full of winter clothing and toiletries.These two were younger than some of our grandsons. A father’s heart for them indeed welled up inside me. Just as His heart does daily for all of us.

 

 

Christians, helping Jews, in their Promised Land given to them by the Living God of Israel.

 

 

Christian Friends of Israel, here in Jerusalem and in the nations, are helping to fulfill the mandate given to Christians from the Lord, to lift the Jewish nation’s arms as they return to, and fight to keep, their Land.

 

 

One reason why I am here.

 

Ahava and Shalom,

 

Steve Martin

Love For His People Ministry

Jerusalem, Israel

 

 

P.S. Please read as to why Laurie and I are here in Jerusalem to begin with. As ones who stand with the Jews, alongside Christian Friends of Israel, and what this great ministry has done for 40+ years, you can read what part we are doing.

 

Look here on our website, Love For His People Ministry

 Martins in Jerusalem

 

 

Please subscribe to Christian Friends of Israel Jerusalem’s Facebook page, radio programs, and more on social media. Ask Galya Hall, Media Director!

 

 

We welcome your prayers and support as we together bless Israel and His people in their Land.

 

 

Contributions are welcome online on our webpage. Look for the little DONATE button on the right-side column. DONATE HERE.

 

 

Love For His People Ministry    P.O. Box 1113    Pineville, North Carolina 28134 USA

 

 

Message #18 of my new “Jerusalem 2025”series. “Why I Am Here” Dec. 19, 2025