My Times Are In Your Hands (Confidence in the Lord) - Now Think On This by Steve Martin

My Times Are In Your Hands

Confidence in the Lord

Now Think On This

Steve Martin

“My times are in Your hand…” (Psalms 31:15, NKJV)

Confidence is a big deal. If you are confident in something, or someone, you will go beyond the expected norm to get something done, to go somewhere (where no man has gone before!), or say what is really on your heart. You know you have the backing of another.

In the case of the believer, the Lord Jesus (Yeshua) has your back. For your times are in His hands.

I can only imagine (love these music lyrics!) what it will be like in our heavenly realm. I certainly look forward to that day. But in the here and now, we need to have the confidence in our hearts, in our heads, to work through our bodies; that what we are called to do here, what is our specific mission in this life, we can and must accomplish. 

The world, the nations of earth, knowingly or unknowingly, is depending on it. Being saved into God the Father’s family is more than getting a free ride to heaven. It is to do what He has given us to do here. Now. More than ever in our lifetime.

What have you been called to do? Do you know? Do you want to know?

Steve Martin saying

When we have the assurance that the living God of Israel is standing up, cheering us on, and giving us the energy and gifts of the Holy Spirit, along with the Comforter Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit) Himself to walk with us…whatever the Lord Yeshua (Jesus) gives us to do, we can and must do it.

Faith to me is having the trust, the confidence in my God, Who He says He is, that what He says He will do, and what He has promised to me, to bring about its fulfillment in the exact time it needs to happen, gives me the boldness to step out in faith and do what I am supposed to do.

Do that “something” that we can know what we have been given the assignment to do.

At some point in our lives we need to just “do it.” That is an overworked advertisement and cliché, but none the less you know what I mean. You get my point.

And as the late, beloved musician, artist and missions-minded man Keith Green sang so much, “Jesus commands us to go!”

Hanging in our garage. Photo by Steve Martin

 There have been several key times in my life when a major decision had to be made. Each of the four times it involved my immediate family (numbering up to six, depending upon what year it was, and how many kids had arrived by then), our local church and my current job. Those times called for a move from one USA state to another. Major moves to be sure.

Was I hearing the Lord properly? Would my good wife Laurie walk in agreement? What about the financial concerns, the kids in school, the family and friends we had strong connections with? All these factors were needed to be considered.

Prayer? Yes indeed? Fasting? You bet! Council from others? Always wisdom in the abundance of counselors.

Proverbs 24:6 rightly says, “For by wise guidance you will wage war, and in abundance of counselors there is victory.” (NASU)

After we have sought the Lord, confirmed His word to us, and made the decision to walk in faith, our trust that we are in His hands, He has our back, and we can move out, standing on the firm conviction we have, on the strong foundation He has given us, we did what we had to do.

We can do what He has called us to do. You can do what He has called you to do. We must. For His sake, our sake, and for the lives of those we will have an effect on by our obedience.

Others have walked in faith and have seen the fruit of their obedience. I love reading the biographies of the patriarchs, matriarch and other saints who have gone on before us, from Abraham, Moses, King David, Paul the Apostle, to Eric Liddell, Oskar Schindler, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and so many more.

 Eric Liddell, The Flying Scotsman

 

   Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. "I have a dream."

Seeing Jews make aliyah blesses me, as they leave behind the comforts of one home to return to their real homeland, that of the Promised Israel (Yisrael). I am encouraged in my walk of faith, seeing people like our good friend Hadassah and her family, living near Jerusalem, hearing the Lord speak specifically to them, and responding accordingly.

She wrote for the Love For His People blog her message "Just Say Yes", “While I was watching the sun come up from the crater and worshipping, I was overcome with gratitude. I cried out to God, “Why have we been allowed to live here?” And just as at times before when we have asked this question, the answer was the same - because you said “Yes!”

Hadassah's family in Israel

This is part of the basics of life, to have that foundational trust in God our Father. Those who do have and maintain this confidence can hear Him speak personally, walk then in obedience, and do that which they have been created, before the beginning of time.

Our times are in His hands enabling us to do this. We must.

Now think on this,

Steve Martin

Founder

Love For His People, Inc.

 P.S. I would be most grateful if you'd share this encouraging word with your family and friends. They might need it. You can easily use the social media icons below. Thanks! Steve

We are blessed when the ministry receives gifts to support the families that we do, primarily for those living in Israel, Pakistan, Northern Ireland and India, and the hurting ones here in the USA. You also can share out of the abundance you have been given.

Love For His People, Inc. is a charitable, not-for-profit USA humanitarian organization started in 2010 to share the love of the Father in the nations.

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

DONATE TO BLESS FAMILIES IN ISRAEL, PAKISTAN AND NORTHERN IRELAND.

 
Love For His People, Inc. is a 501(c)3 ministry in the USA.

MLK's Prophetic Word Was 100 Percent Accurate - JOHN PIPER/DESIRING GOD CHARISMA NEWS

Thank you for your sacrifices. May our Lord Jesus hasten the day when the terms "white church" and "black church" will be unintelligible. (Courtesy)

MLK's Prophetic Word Was 100 Percent Accurate

1/18/2016 JOHN PIPER/DESIRING GOD  charisma news

Dear Dr. King,

You were right. You prophesied, "If today's church does not recapture the sacrificial spirit of the early church, it will ... be dismissed as an irrelevant social club with no meaning for the 20th century."

But we have lost more than a sacrificial spirit. One of your prophetic heirs, Carl Ellis, has made clear that many black and white churches have become "irrelevant social clubs" because they have lost the God-centered, Christ-exalting, Bible-saturated gospel. God has been sold for good agendas.

There are times I wished you had made the biblical gospel clearer. But I am sure you would agree that the power you wielded was rooted in God.

Today, as I look at the gospel-weak white and black churches, I would say that both need a transcendent reference point in the sovereignty, supremacy and centrality of God, expressed supremely in the gospel of Jesus Christ. God-centered, Christ-exalting, Bible-saturated churches where the gospel is cherished—these are the birthplace of the kind of racial harmony that give long-term glory to God and long-term gospel-good to the world.

Again you were right about the folly of passive waiting. Biblical waiting is not passive. It does not compromise. Nothing that needs changing changes without effort.

Some may have quoted, "Wait on the Lord; be strong, and may your heart be stout; wait on the Lord" (Ps. 27:14). But this call to wait for the Lord never meant stop doing what he commanded us to do in the pursuit of holy goals.

Waiting for the Lord means our action is essential, but his is decisive. The farmer must wait for the harvest. But no one works harder than the farmer.

Thank you for your sacrifices. May our Lord Jesus hasten the day when the terms "white church" and "black church" will be unintelligible.

This letter from John Piper is published as part of his chapter in the book Letters to a Birmingham Jail: A Response to the Words and Dreams of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., edited by Bryan Loritts and including chapters from Piper, John Perkins, Matt Chandler and others.

Read the entirety of Piper's chapter, "Waiting for and Hastening the Day of Multi-Ethnic Beauty," now available online.

For a limited time, we are extending our celebration of the 40th anniversary of Charisma. As a special offer, you can get 40 issues of Charisma magazine for only $40!

NEW from CHARISMA: Do you want to encounter the Holy Spirit and hear God speak to you? Increase your faith, discover freedom, and draw near to God! Click Here

How Should Pro-Israel Voices Tackle the War of Ideas on College Campuses?

 6/1/2015 JEFFREY F. BARKEN/JNS.ORG  charisma news

Pastor Dumisani Washington, Christians United for Israel's (CUFI) diversity outreach coordinator. Washington spoke at an April 30 event at Columbia University (not the speech pictured here) concerning the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr., and his support for Israel. (Courtesy of Christians United for Israel)

Recent ordeals for Jews on college campuses include being probed on their religious identity in student government hearings, seeing swastikas sprayed on their fraternity houses, and the presence of a student-initiated course accused of anti-Semitism.

Pro-Israel voices are fighting back, but who is winning this war of ideas? An episode at Columbia University, a historic hotbed of anti-Zionism, illustrates the complex dynamics at play. 

Last month, Christians United for Israel (CUFI), America's largest pro-Israel organization with more than 2 million members, planned a lecture at Columbia concerning the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr., and his support for Israel. CUFI says that the school administration meddled with the event in a way that unfairly singled out the pro-Israel group. The university imposed an "unprecedented level of bureaucratic scrutiny in an effort to intimidate," says David Walker, CUFI's national campus coordinator.

Walker tells JNS.org that the university moved the lecture to a much smaller venue at the last minute, demanded to know the names of all off-campus individuals expected to attend, and denied the general public entry—all of which he calls evidence of "bureaucratic bullying." Some organizations partnering with CUFI on the event proceeded to withdraw their support in the aftermath of the administration's actions.

Despite the obstacles, CUFI's diversity outreach coordinator, Pastor Dumisani Washington, was permitted to speak at Columbia during the April 30 event. He began by refuting a statement issued by the Columbia Black Students Organization (BSO) in which the group condemned Aryeh, a pro-Israel student organization at Columbia, for using "the image and words" of Martin Luther King to promote Zionist views and co-opting "the black liberation struggle for the purposes of genocide and oppression."

"When I see black students saying these things I know there is a great deal of confusion," Washington says. His lecture offered a history of the civil rights movement in the U.S., demonstrating how King and his closest followers were always aligned with Israel, both spiritually and politically. By citing the shared experience of slavery as epochs uniting Jews and blacks, recalling songs about Moses, and highlighting excerpts from New Testament and Old Testament psalms that figure prominently in King's speeches,

Washington defended Christian Zionism and King's legacy as a pro-Israel voice.  

In his presentation, Washington also included a short video that illustrates BSO's "confusion." The video recalls the 1975 United Nations General Assembly resolution that declared Zionism as racism. Noting the maxim "follow the money," the video connects the dots of a complicated political strategy devised by the former Soviet Union. At the height of the Cold War, the USSR sought to manipulate and intimidate poorer member states (mostly African) into passing anti-Israel resolutions. The real target of this strategy was not Israel, but rather America, the Soviets' chief rival. Since the U.S. and Israel are close allies, the Soviets reasoned, any discrediting of Israel's reputation as a humane democracy reflected negatively on the U.S., creating ideological conflicts of interest.

With CUFI's event going on planned, the pro-Israel side at Columbia University managed to have its voice and narrative heard—at least for that day. Columbia, as it turns out, sits atop a recently published list of 10 American college campuses where anti-Semitism is most rampant. The list was compiled by JewHatredOnCampus.org, an initiative launched earlier this year whose mission is to engage directly with students at institutions of higher learning where pro-Palestinian student groups are using school funding to launch aggressive anti-Israel and anti-Jewish propaganda campaigns. The new website publishes a regular newsletter and provides a portal for reporting anti-Semitic incidents.

"Fifty-four percent of Jewish students on college campuses feel they've witnessed anti-Semitism," says well-known conservative writer David Horowitz, the founder of JewHatredOnCampus.org. "The problem is that Jews aren't fighting back."

But how should they fight back? A 2010 incident involving Horowitz sheds light on the activist's strategy of choice. In a post-lecture Q&A session hosted by the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), Horowitz asked a UCSD Muslim student, Jumanah Imad Albahri, to condemn Hamas and Hezbollah as genocidal terrorist organizations. Albarhi's answer shocked the audience, and the video of their heated exchange quickly went viral. 

In the video, Albarhi asks Horowitz "to explain the purported connection" between UCSD's Muslim Student Association chapter and "jihadist terrorist networks." Horowitz doesn't answer directly. Instead, he counters by pressing Albarhi to refute the documented statement by the head of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, expressing his desire for Jews to gather in Israel so that "it will save us the trouble of going after them worldwide." Albarhi appears rattled. She worries that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security will label her a terrorist if she sides with Hezbollah, but denies that pro-Palestinian organizations are aligned with doctrines of hate. 

"For it or against it?" Horowitz persists, demanding an answer regarding Albarhi's opinion on Hezbollah's rhetoric. Finally, Albarhi leans toward the microphone and says decisively, "For it." (Though Albarhi later denied supporting Nasrallah's comments.)

Indeed, similar YouTube clips and social media debates reveal the intensity of student opinions regarding Israel, as well as the animosity directed at Jewish students and professors. Horowitz believes that one common Israeli public relations strategy—the spotlighting of "all the wonderful things Israel has accomplished, from medical inventions and agricultural advances to being tolerant of gays"—falls short as a proper defense of the Jewish state's policies. From his perspective, history is what provides a legitimate justification for Israel to exist under its present borders. He cites the original Palestinian Liberation Organization slogan declaring a fundamental intention to "push [the Jews] into the sea" as clear-cut evidence that Israel does not have a partner for peace. 

"You have to call it what it is," Horowitz tells JNS.org. "You cannot make peace with people who want to kill you. These are literally Nazis ... planning another Holocaust openly." 

Against the backdrop of that sense of urgency, Horowitz advocates a robust and unapologetic public relations campaign on the part of pro-Israel advocates as the only way to repair the damage done to Israel's image by its enemies. The press release that launched his JewHatredOnCampus.org initiative lists anti-Jewish acts such as "Israeli Apartheid Week" (the annual anti-Israel showcase on campuses around the world), the interruption of university activities by staging mock "checkpoints" on campus, the hosting of speakers on campus that call for the destruction of the Jewish state, and harassment and violence against Jewish and pro-Israel students.

Horowitz's efforts to counter anti-Israel and anti-Semitic rhetoric has sparked many contentious debates at the more than 400 college campus visits he says he has made. CUFI speakers are similarly accustomed to meeting fiery opposition. On the same day as the recent Columbia event, CUFI Outreach Coordinator Kasim Hafeez—a British Muslim of Pakistani origin and a jihadist-turned-Zionist—had Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) activists walk out on a speech he gave at the University of Toledo.

Horowitz concedes that the current debate over Israel on campus is a shallow shouting match to which he contributes his own propaganda. He expresses his desire for an "informed scholarly debate," but says of pro-Palestinian advocates, "I don't believe there is an honest way for them to argue their cause... [when their] side wants to annihilate the other."

For the original article, visit jns.org.

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