Showing posts with label Jerusalem & Friends. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jerusalem & Friends. Show all posts

Tuesday, November 28, 2017

Jerusalem & Friends - Yad Vashem, The Holocaust History Museum. Now Think On This by Steve Martin

Jerusalem & Friends
-          Yad Vashem, The Holocaust History Museum

Now Think On This
Steve Martin


“He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There will no longer be any death; and there will no longer be any mourning, crying or pain; because the old order has passed away.” (Revelation 21:4, Complete Jewish Bible)


Near the end of the Jerusalem light rail train line, on the west side of the city, is the Holocaust History Museum, known in Hebrew as Yad Vashem. Now that I think about it, for many Jews during World War II, Auschwitz, Buchenwald, Bergen-Belsen and similar concentration, extermination death camps were also at the end of the line. For those back then, it was evil at its worse, with death for the millions. For the living who visit this memorial now, it is the opportunity to see and observe a part of what had happened, but also to commit to not let it happen again to the Jewish people.

This official museum, remembering those gassed by the Nazi regime, established in 1953 on the western slope of Mount Herzl, is the second most visited tourist site in Israel. I personally have been there five times. I would encourage any who make it to Israel, as a tourist or otherwise, to take it all in.

After making the way down the entrance street, either by bus or on foot from the train, is the building greeting the visitors. From there you enter into the main grounds, having the Children’s Memorial, the Garden of the Righteous Among the Nations, and the main Hall of Remembrance, Another building included is the silent, dark, ever-candle burning hall with the names of each extermination camp spelled out on the floor behind the circular railed walkway. One really gets the sense of honor to those who perished in the gas chambers.

As you walk to each building, the paths are lined with small trees, each one planted in remembrance of Gentiles, the Righteous Ones, who helped save Jews from certain death. Names such as Oskar Schindler (his story told in the movie Schindler’s List) and Corrie ten Boom are two of the ones more familiar. A listing of over 26,000 names can be found on the museum’s website Yad Vashem.

Tears are often shed during the hour long (or more) walk through the main Hall of Remembrance. One can only pause, sit, listen, and simply try to image the horror that families went through. The ugly hate, the lies viciously spread, the cruel beatings, starvation, and then the gas chambers built as the final solution for six million Jews. With every possible display of actual photos and movie footage; historical facts of each European country where Jews were rounded up as cattle and loaded into actual cattle trains; and recorded documentaries of the old, then young, survivors - never again shall this atrocity happen to the Jewish people. With those who have already made Israel home, and the ones who will yet make Israel their home, all are committed to this end. Never again.



As a ministry committed to bless the Jewish people, those who for many centuries were driven from their homes, businesses, and then beaten or killed by satanic people “in the name of Christ”, Love For His People, Inc. will continually stand with Israel. Helping those in the Land; assisting those going back to the Land (aliyah); and sharing the eternal truth, through social media and other writings in support of their Land; it is our heart and purpose to bless our friends of Israel.

We cherish Jerusalem and our friends within. I pray you too will have the opportunity to visit this special land, chosen by the Eternal God to put His Name there, and the place where our Savior and Lord Jesus, Yeshua HaMashiach, will make His triumphant return soon. His coming back will be in time to save His people, and to set up His throne of righteous rule and reign.

Shalom and ahava (peace and love in Hebrew).

Now think on this,
  
Steve Martin
Founder/President
Love For His People, Inc.


Please be sure to sign up for our newsletter. Use the "Sign Up" button on our website, or go here: Sign Me Up!

If these messages have ministered to you, please consider sending a charitable gift of $10-$50 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.


Secure, conveniently contributions can be done online now. 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.) 

Please share Now Think On This with your friends on Facebook, Google+, Twitter, Pinterest, Tumblr and LinkedIn.  We appreciate your help.

Now Think On This #334 - in the year of our Lord 11.26.17 – “Jerusalem & Friends – Yad Vashem”, Sunday, Nov. 26, 2017 3:40 pm


Yad Vashem
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Yad Vashem (Hebrewיָד וַשֵׁם‎) is Israel's official memorial to the victims of the Holocaust. It is dedicated to preserving the memory of the dead; honouring Jews who fought against their Nazi oppressors and Gentiles who selflessly aided Jews in need; and researching the phenomenon of the Holocaust in particular and genocide in general, with the aim of avoiding such events in the future.
Established in 1953, Yad Vashem is on the western slope of Mount Herzl, also known as the Mount of Remembrance, a height in western Jerusalem, 804 meters (2,638 ft) above sea level and adjacent to the Jerusalem Forest. The memorial consists of a 180-dunam (18.0 ha; 44.5-acre) complex containing the Holocaust History Museum, memorial sites such as the Children's Memorial and the Hall of Remembrance, the Museum of Holocaust Art, sculptures, outdoor commemorative sites such as the Valley of the Communities, a synagogue, a research institute with archives, a library, a publishing house, and an educational center, the International School/Institute for Holocaust Studies.
A core goal of Yad Vashem's founders was to recognize Gentiles who, at personal risk and without a financial or evangelistic motive, chose to save their Jewish brethren from the ongoing genocide during the Holocaust. Those recognized by Israel as Righteous Among the Nations are honored in a section of Yad Vashem known as the Garden of the Righteous Among the Nations.

After the Western Wall, Yad Vashem is the second-most-visited Israeli tourist site. Its curators do not charge any fee for admission, and welcome approximately one million visitors a year.

Thursday, November 23, 2017

Jerusalem & Friends - The Camels. Now Think On This by Steve Martin

Jerusalem & Friends
- The Camels

Now Think On This
Steve Martin


“Then Rebekah lifted her eyes, and when she saw Isaac she dismounted from her camel.” (Genesis 24:64, NKJV)


Rebekah was a natural. Being she was raised among camels, the normal means of desert travel, she certainly knew how to get on and get off properly. She probably never gave it a second thought. A camel girl well trained!

On any tour to Israel one thing you really enjoy looking out for are the roaming camels. These beasts of burden have been around since before Noah I would imagine, who would have had two on the ark. Abraham and his two sons certainly had many, being rich in favor. Jacob and his boys accumulated herds of them, roaming the deserts of the Promised Land under the watchful eye of the Living God of Israel.

Each time I have had the opportunity to ride the touring bus through the Land, my camera was always ready, hoping to catch the Bedouin’s camels walking in the nearby hills along Highway 1 headed down to the Dead Sea from Jerusalem. You can often see these created creatures among the black tents of these desert people or corralled within a makeshift fenced-in area nearby on the sloping, sparse landscape. To both young and old, seeing a camel out in their natural habitat is a real delight.

My first experience in riding one didn’t go so good. It was at a tourist restaurant stop on the way to Beersheva, with its robed owner awaiting any tourist, even the not-so-knowledgeable ones. Anyone ready to give him $5 for a few short laps, or at least two, around the food stop parking lot. My thought, “I can do this. Get the camera out and watch me ride!”

Already down on his really thick knees, head proudly held high, this camel gave me a look, and stayed somewhat still while I pulled up onto his single hump, covered with multi-colored blankets and some leather under them to serve as the saddle. I was given a few instructions on how to hang on, and then slowly walked around the parking lot. Not a big deal, until the dismount.

What I failed to hear, or even to be told, was most likely thought by both owner and camel one of two things. I was either a seasoned rider, or I was smart enough to figure it out - how to properly prepare for the upcoming, or down coming, dismount. Being I hadn’t paid any attention to others I had seen on other occasions, or because they typically had a platform to get on and off from, I had little idea how it would happen.

The camel did his normal thing. He stopped, bent his front knees forward, and dropped down to the blacktop. HARD.

As for me? My head jerked back at first, and then before I could say, “Help!” I flew over his brown head. Down I went, flying head first into the hard ground.

No, it wasn’t a “10” on the dismount. Maybe a “2”.

My glasses smashed first, giving no cushion for my head. This photo tells the result. At least I could still smile!

Would I do it again? Why certainly! But now a bit wiser, and paying attention to the fact that you must lean way back, hang on tight, and act like a rodeo master when on the back of a camel just naturally preparing to let you down.

When you make it to Israel, hoping for that opportunity and provision to come, go ride a camel! The ones along the road in the desert are just waiting for you to show them you have what it takes to ride ‘em!

Shalom and ahava (peace and love in Hebrew).

Now think on this,
  
Steve Martin
Founder/President
Love For His People, Inc.

Be sure to sign up for our newsletter. Use the "Sign Up" button on our website, or go here: Sign Me Up!




One of my favorite camel photos! Near Eilat, Israel at the Camel Ranch. (Oct. 2008)


If these messages have ministered to you, please consider sending a charitable gift of $10-$50 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.


Secure, conveniently contributions can be done online now. 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.) 

Please share Now Think On This with your friends on Facebook, Google+, Twitter, Pinterest, Tumblr and LinkedIn.  We appreciate your help.


Now Think On This #333 - in the year of our Lord 11.23.17 – “Jerusalem & Friends – Camels”, Thursday, Thanksgiving Day. My 63rd birthday. 11:00 am 

Sunday, November 19, 2017

Jerusalem & Friends - Derek Prince & Israel - Now Think On This by Steve Martin

Jerusalem & Friends
-Derek Prince & Israel

Now Think On This
Steve Martin


“They were pleased to do it, but the fact is that they owe it to them. For if the Gentiles have shared with the Jews in spiritual matters, then the Gentiles clearly have a duty to help the Jews in material matters.” (Romans 15:27-28, Complete Jewish Bible)


Derek Prince (1915-2003), one of my favorite all-time Bible teachers (born in India to British parents, educated at Eaton and King’s College in England, pastored in Canada, ministered from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Hawaii and Jerusalem, and buried in the German Colony of Jerusalem) spoke often of the Gentiles’ (goyim, non-Jews) debt to Israel and the Jews. In fact, his small booklet, Our Debt To Israel, had a profound impact on my life in 1985. Truth was discovered and believed.

Having studied God’s Word extensively, and thus becoming a strong supporter of the Jewish nation of Israel, while at the same time dismissing the errant teaching of Replacement Theology (the lie that the Church has replaced the promises given to the Jews, land and all), Derek preached and taught that those who have received so much from the Jews owe so much to the Jews.

Knowing that foundationally all that we have, as believers in Jesus (Hebrew/Jewish name Yeshua), has come through the Jews (God’s Chosen People), as Gentiles being grafted into the olive tree (Israel), we must be strong in our commitment and support of the Jews continually and unwavering, as Derek taught.

Beginning with the Patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac and Jacob), through the Prophets (Isaiah, Daniel, Jeremiah, Amos, and more), with the Kings (Saul, David, Solomon) and then ultimately with the lineage birth of the Messiah in Bethlehem (Bet Lehem, Israel), Yeshua HaMashiach (Jesus the Christ) - all that we have, fully inscribed and written through the centuries in the Torah, Tanakh and complete Bible – proves historically and spiritually that salvation for the nations has come through the Jews. Even all but one of the apostles (Luke the Physician), those who received God's Word through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and wrote the complete New Testament, were Jews. 

“Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father.  You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him.  God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."

The woman said to Him, "I know that Messiah is coming" (who is called Christ). "When He comes, He will tell us all things." Jesus said to her, "I who speak to you am He." (John 4:21-26, NKJV)

How can we not owe a huge debt to the Jews! Our very Savior, Jesus, Himself a Jew, chose to reveal Himself to the world, through God the Father, along with the Holy Spirit (Ruach HaKodesh), through the Jews. In Israel He was born, lived 33 years, taught the only way to the Father, was crucified on a tree, died, buried and was resurrected, preparing from His throne in heaven to come back a second time, soon.

“Yeshua said, “I AM the Way — and the Truth and the Life; no one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6, Complete Jewish Bible)

Derek and his wife Lydia, followed by his second wife Ruth, lived in the capital city of Israel, Jerusalem, for several decades, teaching the Church and the nations to believe the full Word of God. Because of his commitment to His Savior’s teaching, many now are numbered among those who stand strong for the people of Israel. Indeed, my family is counted with these.

This is not a matter of subjective theory, but of plain, historical fact. If there had never been a nation of Israel, there would have been no patriarchs, no prophets, no apostles, no Bible and no Saviour. In John 4:22, Jesus Himself summed all this up in one simple statement: "Salvation is from the Jews." Christians from all other racial backgrounds owe to the Jewish people a spiritual debt which can never be calculated.Derek Prince

We owe a tremendous debt to the Jews. With faithful Biblical teachers like Derek Prince, we can know the truth and walk in it. Having received in the spiritual, we now must repay in the natural – with our finances, voice, actions and the written word – to the Jewish people.

Shalom and ahava (peace and love in Hebrew).

Now think on this,

Steve Martin
Founder/President
Love For His People, Inc.

Be sure to sign up for our newsletter. Use the "Sign Up" button on our website, or go here: Sign Me Up!

P.S. I had the honor and privilege of working with Derek Prince Ministries for eight years, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and again in Charlotte, North Carolina. His radio messages, books and recorded teaching continue to be distributed worldwide through more than a dozen international offices. You will do yourself a great service by connecting with one of them. Click here: Derek Prince Ministries

If these messages have ministered to you, please consider sending a charitable gift of $10-$50 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.

Secure, conveniently contributions can be done online now. Click here: DONATE 


Secure, conveniently contributions can be done online now. 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.) 

Please share Now Think On This with your friends on Facebook, Google+, Twitter, Pinterest, Tumblr and LinkedIn.  We appreciate your help.

Now Think On This #332 - in the year of our Lord 11.19.17 – “Jerusalem & Friends – Derek Prince & Israel”, Sunday, 7:00 am  

Wednesday, November 15, 2017

"Jerusalem & Friends -The Western Wall" - Now Think On This by Steve Martin

Jerusalem & Friends
-The Western Wall

Now Think On This
Steve Martin


"When my soul fainted within me, I remembered the Lord; and my prayer went up to You, into Your holy temple.” (Jonah 2:7, NKJV)


Jerusalem is filled with ancient history, spiritual experiences and people from all the nations who are continually seeking the Living God of Israel. One of the most revered, and most contested place in all the world, is here in the Old City. It is the Temple Mount. This sits on top of Mount Moriah, where Abraham went to sacrifice his son Isaac, in obedience to the testing of the Lord. (Genesis 22:2)

In April of 2000, my heart had become very troubled in regards to a ministry position I held in Charlotte, North Carolina. I needed to desperately hear the Lord’s heart concerning this. When attending a Ruth Heflin Men’s Conference that month at her ministry campgrounds in Virginia, I heard through a prophetic word, ‘Go, loose yourself from things over you.” In further prayer later, I believed the Lord spoke for me to go to Israel, and specifically to the Western Wall.

On Tuesday, May 16, 2000, at 9:15 pm I stood at the Wall (The Kotel in Hebrew). My good friend Martin Berger, a Brit from Brighton, England, who was also GOD TV’s representative for TV placement time in North America, had often flown to Israel. After first contacting him in April as to his time trip to Israel, I met him in London, and together we flew British Airways for a short three days in the Holy City, arriving a day earlier before I made it to this revered place.

I walked up to the Wall and put written prayers into one of the cracks - prayers my friends back home had given me. Then I quietly stood there, wanting to place my hands on the massive stone block, but uncertain if Gentiles were permitted to do this. I looked around. Mostly it was Orthodox Jews praying against the Wall in their full black garb, from head to toe. When it seemed OK for me to touch the Wall also, I did.

Then I put my head against the cold stone, and the anointing of the Lord fell. I wept and wept, while my legs trembled. I said to the Lord, “I have come as You said for me to come.”

With tears streaming down my face, my nose filling up, I stayed leaned against the Wall with my head for 20 minutes. With the anointed presence of Adonai, I spoke out quietly every person’s name I could remember - those of my family, the church worship team (which Laurie and I often led), relatives and dear friends. After five and a half years of being part of the Watch of the Lord, an all-night Friday praise, worship and prayer time our church held in Charlotte, I more fully understood what it meant being a watchman on the Wall. Literally.

I then wrote down on 2” x 2” cards I carried in my pocket the names of all these spoken out loud, plus many more I thought of. By the time I had finished, I counted 70 names.

During this life-changing prayer time, I sensed the Lord Yeshua tell me that my 13 years with the ministry had not been in vain. This was but a firm foundation for the future. He had done a solid work on which He would build upon in the times to come.

Once I returned to the States I gave my seven-month notice that I was leaving this ministry, in order to pursue other opportunities. I was confident the Lord would open doors for me to walk through, after obeying Him by having gone to Israel. Again, it was there at the Western Wall when I clearly heard His voice for my future.

At times the Lord will require you to go to a specific place in order to discern His direction for your life. It may be another city, another state, another country. Or just maybe your prayer chair. Wherever and whenever, it is a good time to obey. Once there, He will speak the Word to you that you need to hear. He did this for Abraham. He did it for King David. He still does it for you and I today.

Jerusalem is an awesome city. The Western Wall is even more so, as a holy place of prayer. And it will be at this location, where the Messiah will return to sit upon His Holy mountain in His glorious temple.

Shalom and ahava (peace and love in Hebrew).

Now think on this,
  
Steve Martin
Founder/President
Love For His People, Inc.

P.S. You can read further on this special occasion in my book The Promise available in paperback and Kindle.

Be sure to sign up for our newsletter. Use the "Sign Up" button on our website, or go here: Sign Me Up!

  
If these messages have ministered to you, please consider sending a charitable gift of $10-$50 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.

  
Secure, conveniently contributions can be done online now. 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.) 

Please share Now Think On This with your friends on Facebook, Google+, Twitter, Pinterest, Tumblr and LinkedIn.  We appreciate your help.


Now Think On This #331 - in the year of our Lord 11.15.17 – “Jerusalem & Friends – The Western Wall”, Wednesday, 5:55 pm