Why I Go So Often To Israel - Now Think On This by Steve Martin

Why I Go So Often To Israel

“Then I will reverse your exile. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have driven you,’ says Adonai, ‘and bring you back to the place from which I exiled you.’ (Jeremiah 29:14, Complete Jewish Bible)

“So why do you go to Israel so often?” I was asked recently, after returning from my most recent time to that nation traveled many times to over the past decades. That was followed with the statement, “Your sister asked me”, from an immediate family member. I am sure they were wondering the same.

I am quite positive others have thought that too. “Well, he’s just a bit …..?” I must admit that that has been spoken by more than one too.

Why not spend the money on a dream vacation to Hawaii, or a week-long cruise to the Bahamas; or a rented car tour throughout France or other parts of Europe? Hey, why not even a night out at Wrigley Field, which some still hold dear to their hearts. That would only cost a mere $200 or so, depending on seats, food, parking, and more.

Simple answer: the Lord has given me that privilege, honor, and life’s purpose, and I know it clearly. Even before I was prophesied as being called as a “scepter for Zion”, when I was ordained in 2003 in the little town of Pineville (kind of like Bethlehem is to Jerusalem in size and distance, but in this case, Charlotte, North Carolina where we have lived the past 25 years, since 1994) it had been firmly planted in my heart.

“Privilege?” you write? “Called?” you ask? “Honor?” you say? What is a scepter for Zion anyway?

Let me tell you.

Since that cool, August night at the Mackinac Island, Michigan Christian conference back in 1978, 

having driven the long, long hours from our home at that time in Peru, Illinois, though East Lansing, Michigan, the Lord has put in my spiritual and natural being to connect with the land and people of Israel. When the great Bible teacher Derek Prince spoke eloquently and specifically about “Our Debt To Israel”, as Christian believers, something was birthed in my heart. And it has grown in size ever since. (Not to be funny, but the Lord changes hearts. Similar to the story with the fictional Grinch.)

Derek Prince with Steve & Laurie Martin Ft. Lauderdale, Fl. 1988

Having been raised a Catholic, I had been wrongly taught that the Roman church was now “Israel”; that all that had been promised to the Jews and their Promised Land had been passed onto the ones Yeshua (Jesus) had called Himself to be His disciples (not pope) – Peter and His  followers. Starting just a few decades after His ascension, and definitely by 330 AD,  with the Roman Emperor Constantine the Great, that church organization has been trying to, and has accomplished much, in “de-Jewing” the very foundation of the Judeo-Christian faith.

Having falsely claimed this as the truth, the Replacement Theology theory, which I didn’t even know about until a few decades ago, has consumed the masses, declaring that the Church has replaced Israel and all the promises pertaining to it and the Jews.

That is what the Deceiver and Liar does – he twists the truth until people, in their accepting deception, can’t see the truth being eliminated, even as it is happening right in front of them.

So prevalent today in the societies of the nations worldwide, even that which has been rightly known as blatantly wrong is now considered right. Evil has replaced good as the accepted norm.

When it comes to Israel and the Land belonging to the Jews, as given to them by the Creator of the Universe, God Almighty, it has now been long taught throughout all reporting and newscasts that they, Israel and the Jews, are wrong, and everyone else is right. How absurd!

It is because He is right, stated for all ages in His Word, that I go to Israel so much. To stand with my friends the Jews while at the same time counting myself among those who do, and forever will, continue to do so, is a privilege and honor.

The Lord is returning His people to their Land. It is called aliyah. I see it. I know it. I stand with them in the midst of it, in the very land of Israel.

"For on My holy mountain, on the high mountain of Israel," declares the Lord God, "there the whole house of Israel, all of them, will serve Me in the land; there I will accept them and there I will seek your contributions and the choicest of your gifts, with all your holy things. As a soothing aroma I will accept you when I bring you out from the peoples and gather you from the lands where you are scattered; and I will prove Myself holy among you in the sight of the nations. And you will know that I am the Lord, when I bring you into the land of Israel, into the land which I swore to give to your forefathers.” (Ezekiel 20:40-42, NASU)

This is just one verse out of the entire Bible where He proclaims, He will bring them back.

I believe God. I believe in His Son, Yeshua (Jesus). I trust the Third Person of the Trinity, Holy Spirit. Therefore, what They have had written about Israel, from beginning to end, I don’t twist and turn for my own theological purposes. I take it for what He says it says and go with it. 

That makes it right. No one or no other will change that.

One thing I can further be sure is this, that even as the rest of the world shakes, rattles and rolls, the Lord reigns, His Word is true, and those who stand committed to His purposes, knowing the end of the Book, will, in the end, see His long-time plans fulfilled.

Thank you, Yeshua. And thank You for the friends and relationships You have established, and continue to expand, as we bless Your people in Israel. The rewards promised are even greater.

Now think of this,

Ahava and shalom,

Steve Martin

Founder/President

Love For His People, Inc.

P.S. On May 10 I returned from my 20^th trip to Israel. And guess what? I brought back for you my last 58 short videos I entitle “Walk With Me in Israel”. Watch them here on our YouTube channel: Walk With Me - Israel May 2019

Also, my previous ones from other locations are here also on YouTube: Walk With Me

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 in Israel whom we consistently help monthly through our humanitarian work. Your tax-deductible contributions receive a receipt for each donation. Fed. ID #27-1633858.

  

Please donate online safely through our website. Click here: DONATE  

(or use the DONATE  buttons on the blog.)

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.) 

                            

                           Order here: Amazon - paperback & Kindle          Oder here: Amazon - paperback and Kindle

Please share Now Think On This with your friends on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Tumblr, and LinkedIn.  Others will be thankful you did.

Now Think On This #422 - in the year of our Lord 05.15.19 – “Why I Go So Often To Israel” – Wednesday, 4:30 pm

American Jewish Leader Urges Jews to Get Out of America - by Rivkah Lambert Adler BREAKING ISRAEL NEWS

Pro-Palestinian protesters from the US Pales­tin­ian Com­mu­nity Net­work in Chicago. (Photo: ADL Blog)

American Jewish Leader Urges Jews to Get Out of America

By Rivkah Lambert Adler   BREAKING ISRAEL NEWS  January 28, 2016

“And I will be found of you, saith the LORD, and I will turn your captivity, and gather you from all the nations, and from all the places whither I have driven you, saith the LORD; and I will bring you back unto the place whence I caused you to be carried away captive.” (Jeremiah 29:14)

Lori Palatnik, a leader in the American Jewish community, has just released a video in which she calls for American Jews to move to Israel, in fulfillment of the Biblical prophecy about the ingathering of the exiles.  At the End of Days, Palatnik teaches, “Ultimately, the Jews are all going to move to Israel.”

Lori Palatnik (Photo: Video Screenshot)

Palatnik is a Jewish educator, author and speaker. In March 2015, Hadassah, the prestigious Jewish women’s organization, named her among the “Most Outstanding Jewish American Women of Our Time.”

The 3-minute video, first published on January 23, 2016, opens with a reference to 9/11 and “the scary prophets that talked about what happens at the End of Days.” In an interview with Breaking Israel News, Palatnik confirmed that she was referring to the Books of Isaiah, Jeremiah and Zechariah. More specifically, she spoke about the events of September 11, 2001 as a clear fulfillment of prophecy.

And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. (Joel 3:3)

Palatnik reflected on Biblical prophecy coming true in our lifetime. “After 9/11 was a huge wakeup call,” she told Breaking Israel News. “When they talk about pillars of smoke like date palms, it sounds like nuclear holocaust. When they were writing this, did anyone understand what they were talking about?”

And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the peoples that have warred against Jerusalem: their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their sockets, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth. (Zechariah 14:12)

Her warning to American Jews is controversial. Palatnik told Breaking Israel News that, although this is the first time she’s said it publicly, “I speak about this all the time in my community. I talk that way to the people around me. I say, ‘Don’t get fooled. This is coming down. This is happening.’”

Palatnik is referring to the dangers of increased anti-Semitism. “There’s been a build up. Anti-Semitism is worse than before the Holocaust. In Paris you can’t wear a kippah on the street. Is that what we’re waiting for?” she asked.

Millions of American Jews do not yet see the danger about which Palatnik is speaking. Even if they believe that ultimately they will end up in Israel, concerns about making the adjustment are common. Additionally, most American Jews think they still have plenty of time.

Palatnik disagrees. “I think it won’t be long,” she warned. “As the winds of anti-Semitism and politics change, your child having a hard time adjusting to an Israeli school will be very minor compared to the need to get out, get out now!”

Acknowledging the difficulty some Jews will have adjusting to life in Israel, Palatnik quoted the rabbinic commentary on Proverbs 13:24 which teaches that, “God has given the Jewish people three gifts, but all of them must be acquired through suffering. These are: Torah, the Land of Israel and the World to Come.”

The way she and her husband raised their own children is an echo of her deeply-held beliefs, she said. “My kids have been told since they were very young, ‘America is not your home. We’re here doing a job for the Jewish people. Israel your home.’ I hope and pray that we’ll all end up there.”

Palatnik addressed the issue of the current dangers in Israel in her video presentation by saying, “It’s not that Jews there are going to be immune to any tragedy, but it’s clear, and I checked it with different rabbis, that you’ll be safer in Israel than anywhere else in the world.” 

Asked to elaborate on this concern by Breaking Israel News, she responded, “I am a firm believer that God runs the world and He already knows when it’s your time. To die as a Jew in Israel, it has meaning. Does our life and death have meaning? I don’t want a meaningless death.”

Critics of Palatnik’s message claim that it’s wrong to scare Jews into moving to Israel. They feel that people should come to Israel for something, not because they are running away from something. In response, Palatnik told Breaking Israel News, “I strongly believe that people should make aliyah (immigrate to Israel) by choice. But you can’t stand by. Things are getting worse and worse.

“I’m not a prophetess, but the Almighty is starting to make it uncomfortable, because being comfortable seems to work against us. I don’t want to wait for that. I don’t think anyone should wait until they’re running for their lives.

“And it’s clear in the Torah that Israel is where God wants us to be.”

Courtesy of
Aish.com

Enjoy this article? Get BIN updates directly to your inbox.