Showing posts with label Messianic Jews. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Messianic Jews. Show all posts

Tuesday, July 30, 2019

"If I Be Lifted Up" - Now Think On This by Steve Martin


“If I Be Lifted Up”


“And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself." John 12:32, NASU


Speaking of His soon approaching death on the wooden cross, Jesus (Yeshua) told His disciples that when He was lifted up, this would be the main catalyst that would then draw all men to Himself.

When Jesus was lifted up, He drew all people to Himself.

In a recent Sunday worship time, before the speaker came to the podium, the beautiful song being sung wonderfully proclaimed Jesus. As the congregation focused in on praising His Name, I could really sense the move of the Holy Spirit drawing those focused on Jesus, and bringing them into a greater realm of the spirit. Jesus was being lifted up in our midst. He was drawing the people even closer to Him.

We weren’t focused on our needs. We weren’t singing, “Bless me. Bless mine.” Or, “Woe is me. Help me. Take care of me.”

We were singing Jesus.

Over 7 years ago now I led a worship team at a local Highway to Zion assembly here in Charlotte, North Carolina, headed by founder Cathy Hargett. We sang several Messianic songs, written by Messianic Jews, and a few written by popular Christian worship leaders. Present in the meeting was a Messianic Jewish leader from Israel, one very prominent in the movement taking place among believers in the Land of His people.

After the time set for all on the schedule had been concluded, he came up to me afterward and said, “I never heard the name of Yeshua in all of the songs sung during the singing and worship time.”

I was startled and immediately said, “We sang all songs written by a Messianic Jew!”

His reply was, “You never mentioned the Name, Yeshua.”

A bit offended, for days, I dismissed it as, “Who is he to come here to America and tell us what we should sing, when we are singing Messianic songs, written by Messianic believers.” Others who had been there agreed, and yet the Lord wouldn’t let it go in my thoughts and spirit.

Again, during this recent time of Christian worship in the Sunday gathering, when Jesus’ Name was lifted up, the Holy Spirit began moving among the people. Hearts and souls were being centered on Jesus, not on themselves.

In many Christian circles these days, with a lot of the songs played on the radio, sung in our churches, or used among small and large gatherings, a self-centered theme is very prominent.

Even in the sermons and messages being delivered from the pulpit, it is a lot of the “me” stuff.

What can Jesus do for me today? What needs will be met if I seek Him to have them fulfilled? When will my hurt and pain and suffering endured daily as I drink my Starbucks and drive my new car to the high-paying job be over with?

I write this in a somewhat demeaning way, but isn’t it often how we think? It is “Me, me, me. It is all about me.”

When Yeshua (Jesus) is lifted up in our lives, when it is Him Whom we are focused on, for Who He is, high and lifted up in the heavens, and not on ourselves, things will change. When He is praised, when He is worshiped, when we vocally and prominently declare His supernatural actions and reflect on the results of overflowing His love and grace for the nations, then we will be amazed at how He will move among us.


“If I be lifted up” Jesus said, He promised to draw all men and women unto Him. Not only did He then on the cross, but He will now among us this day.

That will be amazing when we finally do.

Lift up Jesus. Glorify His Name. Forget about yourself for a moment and think, thank Him.

Now think on this and see what good things the Lord has in store for you and those around you.

Ahava and shalom,

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

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This Friday night, Aug. 2, 2019, at 7 pm, Strength For Israel will be having our monthly meeting, the 2nd one to be held in the main auditorium of The Barn, at Antioch International Church in Fort Mill, SC. Come and celebrate the goodness of our God! Look here: Strength For Israel


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

loveforhispeople@gmail.com

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

Now Think On This #443 - in the year of our Lord 07.30.19 – “If I Be Lifted Up” – Tuesday, 5:30 am

Saturday, May 11, 2019

Joshua Aaron - new CD - "Live at the Tower of David" May 2019



Joshua Aaron - new CD 
- "Live at the Tower of David" 
May 2019

May 10, 2019

This was in the mail when I got home from Israel. Thanks, Joshua Aaron for your gift and sharing your music of Yeshua HaMashiach with us!

Ahava and shalom,

Steve Martin
Love For His People ministry
Charlotte, NC USA



Sunday, February 24, 2019

Paul Wilbur - "Song of Ezekiel" (dry bones live!) - Antioch International Church in Fort Mill, SC


Paul Wilbur - "Song of Ezekiel" (dry bones live!)
- Antioch International Church in Fort Mill, SC








Published on Feb 24, 2019

Paul Wilbur - "Song of Ezekiel" (dry bones live!) - Antioch International Church in Fort Mill, SC Feb. 24, 2019 Sunday, 10 am meeting Videos filmed and shared by Steve Martin - to give appreciation to and love for those we support, through Love For His People, Inc.



Saturday, February 16, 2019

Israel! - Here we come again! More Ahava Adventures!


Israel! - Here we come again! More Ahava Adventures!
May & October 2019


We like Israeli camels! - Steve & Laurie Martin



Feb. 16, 2019

Love For His People's Ahava Adventures!, our bi-annual ministry trips to Israel, will again be happening this May and October 2019.

Those joining Laurie and I will be visiting the Aliyah Return Center in Tiberias in the Galilee, the new location where Yeshua (Jesus) was baptized near Jericho, Masada, the Dead Sea, and of course the Israeli capital city of Jerusalem.

The baptismal site near Jericho, where Yeshua was most likely immersed. (Photo by Steve Martin, 2013)

Our main purpose in travel is to always encourage and spend time with friends, families, and ministries that Love For His People supports monthly with financial and spiritual support.

Up front, you need to know that we don't do the "typical" 30-40 people bus tour, though I have recommendations if you ever want to. Our friends here in Charlotte, NC, and the Fort Mill, SC area do annual tourist bus tours, which I highly recommended for the 1st time tourist.

Our Ahava Adventures (ahava is love in Hebrew) take you for 8-9 days on the very same ground that Abraham, Issac, Jacob, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and above all, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Yeshua HaMashiach, walked. We will get you connected to His Land, but even more importantly with His people. Each and every believer needs to have, at least once in their lifetime, a connection to the People of Israel, personally.

The Lord is bringing back (making aliyah) the Jews of the nations to their Promised Land. Come spend time with the ones who have already done so.

If ever you want to join us, let us know!

For further information:

Ahava Adventures
Love For His People ministry
P.O. Box 414
Pineville, NC 28134

loveforhispeople@gmail.com

Come along!

Steve & Laurie Martin
Founders

P.S. These two this year will be Steve's 20th and 21st times of travel to Israel. I know some places you have never gone before. Or might not ever will, unless...

(Below photos by Steve Martin - October 2018)

Hostel staff on Jaffa Street in Jerusalem

The Golden Gate (Eastern Gate)
.
Gathering together in Jerusalem

Ben Yehuda Street entertainer
Jerusalem


Wednesday, November 14, 2018

ISSUES online! Spiritual but not Religious - Matt Sieger A Messianic Jewish Perspective

Many people today say they are spiritual but not religious. But what does that mean? According to the Hebrew Scriptures, the source of true spirituality is the divine breath of God. Have you connected with Him?
Is it either/or?

Spiritual but not Religious?
by Ruth Rosen

Issues relevant to the “spiritual but not religious” movement are so ancient that the Jewish Bible addresses many of them—and so does Jesus in the “Newer” Testament.
God was a child?

Messianic Prophecies (Fulfilled)
by Rich Robinson

The New Testament throughout shows that Jesus is indeed the “Mighty God” who has come among us as a human being. Jesus does things only God can do, such as forgive sins and command nature to obey him.
I knew in an instant!

Jewish Father. Catholic Mother. Protestant Wife. My Cure for Spiritual Confusion
by Philippe Lewkowicz

I had a semblance of Jewish education and a strong sense of Jewish identity. But since my home was a home without God – and since the Christians and the Jews I knew did not seem to truly believe – I assumed that God must be present elsewhere.
The first Reform Jew?

Q&A: What Kind of Jew was Jesus?
by Jews for Jesus

The kind of Judaism Jesus represented is debated, but Judaism it was. For there was as yet nothing called “Christianity.”
ONLINE EXTRAS!
IssuesMag
Publication Site
or view the entire edition as a PDF here:
© 2018 Jews for Jesus | All Rights Reserved | Privacy Policy
Jews for Jesus 60 Haight St San Francisco, CA 94102 USA | Phone: 415-864-2600

Wednesday, August 15, 2018

Why Messianic Jews Have Second-Class Citizenship in Israel - EITAN SHISHKOFF CHARISMA NEWS

(Pixabay/succo)
What is the place of Messianic Jews in Israeli society? When a Jewish believer in Yeshua applies to become an Israel citizen under the "law of return," is he or she received as any other Jewish person returning to our biblical homeland? When seeking to buy or rent property as a Messianic ministry, is there discrimination? When a modern-day Israeli disciple of Messiah applies for employment, will that believer have equal opportunity to be hired?
While the answers to these questions can be nuanced and varied depending on the situation, the bottom line is that we do not enjoy equal rights with other Jewish returnees to the land of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
  • Citizenship? Currently, the Department of the Interior will not even grant citizenship to an applicant who is known to be a Messianic Jew.
  • Property rights? We have been turned down on several occasions when attempting to rent property for our congregational meetings.
  • Employment? Employers, particularly those whose business depends on Orthodox customers, may reject an employment application for the reason of faith in Yeshua alone.
Disrupting the Status Quo
To know why these conditions of intolerance exist—especially ironic in a nation whose history is filled with vicious victimization— requires only a basic knowledge of Jewish history for the last 2,000 years. Justifiably, most Jewish associations with Jesus and Christianity are anything but positive—excruciating would be more like it. We can protest that "Jesus is Jewish. The New Covenant is based on the Hebrew Scriptures and its context is first century Israel." But those facts are yet largely unknown. Change, however is beginning to happen. And accelerating that change is the goal of this article.
This situation presents us, as Messianic Jews, along with all of our friends throughout the world, with a profound responsibility. With no exaggeration, we have been handed an opportunity to stand against this colossal misjudgment—that (a) One cannot believe in Jesus and remain a faithful Jew, and (b) Israeli society has no "place at the table" for its Messianic Jews.
Historic Examples of Success
Two examples from other ethnic groups encountering societal prejudice inspire me. If other people groups have overcome bigotry, especially through the courageous acts of highly motivated leaders, can we follow a similar path?
In his book, Profiles in Audacity, Alan Axelrod chronicles the history-changing initiatives of W.E.B. DuBois and Mahandas Gandhi. DuBois refused to accept a second-class status for African-Americans. Gandhi stood against the demeaning colonial rule of the Indian people by the British Empire. Both men dedicated long decades of their lives to rallying the hearts of their respective peoples. At the same time, they used every available means (short of violent revolution) to address the injustices suffered at the hands of the dominant race. Gandhi's bold, non-violent opposition to British oppression ultimately gained independence for India. DuBois, the first African-American to receive a Ph.D. from Harvard University (in 1895), wrote and spoke tirelessly on behalf of full rights for all African Americans. We are witnesses that his efforts changed history.
Time for Action
Why do I believe that now is the time to challenge the second-class status of Yeshua's Israeli followers?
  1. Many Israelis are tired of our society's values and agenda being set by the ultra-religious.
  2. The faithful service of several thousand young Messianic Jews, serving in the Israeli Defense Force, has created an excellent reputation for our nation-wide movement.
  3. Our devoted friends in the nations are steadily gaining more influence in Israel. Our government is listening to the input of the evangelical church, acknowledging a dramatic reversal. Instead of anti-Semitism. These Christians are now standing resolutely with Israel. If the issue of full rights for Israeli Messianic Jews is addressed by Christian leaders, the government of Israel will hear it.
Let's take inspiration and courage from past leaders like Gandhi and DuBois. The status of Messianic Jews in Israel can be changed. It must change. It's up to us. 
This article originally appeared at reviveisrael.org.