Live Generously - Steve Martin Message, Love for His People

 Live Generously

 “A generous person will be prosperous, and one who gives others plenty of water will himself be given plenty.” Proverbs 11:25, NASB

My good friend David Peterman and I had finished our recorded messages for the subsequent YouTube releases (check out the Love For His People channel) and were feeling a bit famished. Well, at least hungry. Having by now realized that Golden Corral offers the best value for our dollars, I followed him in his red Prius south to Rock Hill, South Carolina, from Ballantyne (Charlotte), North Carolina.

When we arrived at our destination, with the sweet aroma of wonderfully prepared food and trimmings, the place was not as yet opened. We had a half hour to kill.

I said, "Let's go to the Christian thrift store down the road," and he followed me in my 2013 Hyundai Elantra. (Royal Blue. Not all have white paint, as is so common these days in vehicle color.)

As I looked through the shirts for men's XL, one t-shirt caught my eye.

"Live Generously". Hmm, I thought to myself. Even though it had a bank's logo on the back (imagine that), I paid the $3.00 for it at the counter. And got 10% off for Senior Citizens' Day!

I'm not one to advertise for an unknown bank, but I liked the words and design and could see myself wearing it at the gym, on Walmart visits, or wherever.

The Holy Spirit then encouraged me to write a message to you and others about the importance of being generous. I love how He speaks to us. Just a simple word. Full of truth and encouragement.

Over the centuries, the Lord Jesus (Yeshua) has spoken to His people about the importance of being generous. Others in the walk of faith also wrote to the Messiah's followers, sharing the same message in the early days as believers in His Word, which provided instruction and guidance.

"In everything, I have given you an example of how, by working hard like this, you must help the weak, remembering the words of the Lord Yeshua himself, 'There is more happiness in giving than in receiving." Acts 20:35, Complete Jewish Bible

I encourage you to live a life of generosity. More joy comes when, out of His provision to share, we do. They will know us by our love and our care for the family of God.

To be continued...

Ahava and Shalom,

Steve Martin

P.S. Occasionally, I do like to "buffet" my body, but even in this, we must walk in moderation. Skip the fatty stuff. Enjoy the healthy items! We need to care for this temple He has given us to perform the work He has entrusted to us entirely.

Write to me here: Love ForHis People email.

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Love For His People Ministry 12120 Woodside Falls Rd. Pineville, North Carolina, USA

Message #5 in new series (2025): "Live Generously" June 27, 2025, 6:40 am in Charlotte, North Carolina

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Walmart Panders to Arab-American Pressure, Removes IDF Halloween Costume From Stores - BIN

Screenshot of IDF soldier costume from Walmart.com.

Walmart Panders to Arab-American Pressure, Removes IDF Halloween Costume From Stores

By Abra Forman October 28, 2015  BREAKING ISRAEL NEWS

“In that day the Lord will snatch away their finery: the bangles and headbands and crescent necklaces, the earrings and bracelets and veils, the headdresses and anklets and sashes, the perfume bottles and charms, the signet rings and nose rings, the fine robes and the capes and cloaks, the purses and mirrors, and the linen garments and tiaras and shawls.” (Isaiah 20:18-23)

Under pressure from Arab-American groups and anti-Israel consumers on social media, the giant retail chain Walmart has stopped selling an IDF soldier’s Halloween costume for kids.

Walmart first came under fire for selling the costume IDF uniform, which comes with a toy Uzi gun, on Twitter and the company’s Facebook page. Users claimed that the costume was offensive to Arab- and Palestinian-Americans and demanded a boycott of Walmart.

One customer wrote on Walmart’s website, “Might as well sell a Hitler outfit for children as well!”

Another post called the costume “extremely offensive and highly insensitive, not only to the millions of Palestinian-Americans that shop in your stores, but to anyone who has an ounce of humanity in their bodies.”’

American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee President Samer Khalaf said in a statement, “The Israeli forces are responsible for the continued death and occupation of the Palestinian people. Such a symbol of fear, violence and a long history of dispossession should not be used for entertainment purposes.”

He added, “Selling merchandise which mocks Arabs, or any other race or ethnicity, must not be tolerated. These images do nothing but perpetuate racist tropes that have long been used to demonize, otherize and alienate Arab communities throughout history.”

As a result of the outcry, Walmart removed the costume from their store.

Interestingly, Walmart continues to offer costumes which might be considered much more “demonizing” and directly offensive to Arab communities. One of them, the Dictator Military Jacket Movie Halloween Costume, is a nod to the Sasha Baron Cohen (better known as Borat) movie “The Dictator”, which the Internet Movie Database describes as “The heroic story of a dictator who risks his life to ensure that democracy would never come to the country he so lovingly oppressed.”

Screenshot of The Dictator Movie Halloween Costume from Walmart.com.

Cohen plays the starring role of a tyrannical, sexist, anti-Semitic dictator of a fictional Arab country who openly supports al-Qaeda and is desperate to develop nuclear weapons with which to destroy Israel. Unsurprisingly, “The Dictator” has been accused of reinforcing negative Arab stereotypes. Nadia Tonova, director of the National Network for Arab American Communities, wrote that the movie bought into the Hollywood clichés of depicting all Arabs as “terrorists, dictators, sheikhs, oil tycoons or Bedouins.”

However, the costume, which clearly ridicules Arab leaders, has drawn no criticism from the same public which raged at Walmart over the IDF costume, calling it “offensive” and “immoral” and “a mockery of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict”.

Walmart also sells US military costumes, Navy SEAL costumes, skimpy women’s army costumes, and police uniform costumes. 

The IDF costume is still available on Amazon, but perhaps not for long, considering the apparent influence of anti-Israel consumers.