Fear Not Little Flock - Steve Martin

 

Fear Not Little Flock

 

“Do not be afraid, little flock, because your Father has chosen to give you the kingdom.” Luke 12:32, NASB

 

Back in the day, oh about 17 years ago to be exact, I was the USA Director of Vision For Israel, the Israeli believers' ministry founded by Barry and Batya Segal near Jerusalem. We had moved the American office from Savannah, Georgia to Charlotte, North Carolina. After hiring the four others who joined me on staff, we commenced building the office and warehouse setup for VFI and the Joseph Storehouse, as the humanitarian effort was also known around the world.

There were times when I liked to remind the staff, particularly during the trying times, that the Lord was in charge, He was on the throne, and all would be well. I liked to quote this verse in King James, “Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” Luke 12:32

As we all know this temporary world is not getting any better, if viewed with the natural eyes. It is just getting hard to live as we all are feeling in – spiritually, economically, socially.

In the spiritual realm, we experience the ongoing battle of standing on the Word of God, which is constantly under attack, if not even thrown out altogether in many regions. Dismissed as irrelevant, outdated, or for the “older generation” only, it is maligned along with our Lord Who is the very One Who Created the very ones who deny Him. Teaching our children, the basics of life, forever written in His Word, is a daily fight to accomplish, as all that is around them is pulling them in the other direction.

Economically the increasing cost of goods with inflation, shortages, lack of service, and distribution problems with the lack of full labor is putting pressure on all of us to be wise in our spending and provision for daily needs. It can be a fearful time.

And then the social atmosphere that abounds with fear, pitting this one against that one, this group against that group, this way against that way. If you say one “wrong” thing to another, relationships become stressed and then break.

No wonder the suicide rate among the generations has rapidly risen, with people succumbing to uncertainties and hopelessness.

Yes, I would remind the staff, and myself, that our Lord has what we need to combat the fear, by continually agreeing with Him, that we need not fear, for He is with us, guiding us, and providing for us.

Recently we had to have our Bradford pear trees cut down, being over 30 years old and just waiting for the next windstorm to bring the frail limbs crashing down on our house or cars below. What I miss most about the two not being in our front yard anymore, as I still enjoy the porch swing and rocking chairs, are the lack of birds that would rest in their branches, and the frolicking squirrels that would change each other around 20 feet above the ground. They never lacked the care of our Father, and they enjoyed His provision for life. He had promised to take care for them, and He fulfilled that.

So too must we continue in trust and faith for His provision, guidance, and protection.

²⁵ “For this reason I say to you, ^[q]do not be worried about your ^[r]life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is life not more than food, and the body more than clothing? ²⁶ Look at the birds of the sky, that they do not sow, nor reap, nor gather crops into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more important than they? ²⁷ And which of you by worrying can add a single ^[s]day to his ^[t]life’s span? ²⁸ And why are you worried about clothing? Notice how the lilies of the field grow; they do not labor nor do they spin thread for cloth, ²⁹ yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. ³⁰ But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith! ³¹ Do not worry then, saying, ‘What are we to eat?’ or ‘What are we to drink?’ or ‘What are we to wear for clothing?’ ³² For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. ³³ But ^[u]seek first ^[v]His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be ^[w]provided to you.

³⁴ “So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will ^[x]worry about itself. ^[y]Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Matthew 6: 25-34, NASB

Next time you are pressured or in stress about today, and tomorrow, repeat the word, “Fear not little flock.” His assurance will bring peace to your spirit and soul.

Ahava and shalom,

Steve Martin, Love For His People founder

Be Not Whitewashed or Woked - Steve Martin

 

Be Not Whitewashed or Woked

 

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness.  "So you, too, outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.” Jesus Christ, Matthew 23:27-28, NASU

 

With the watered-down gospel preached in many churches these days, Jesus (Yeshua) will never be quoted saying what He said when He walked the land in Israel in 30 A.D. In fact, much of that being taught, if you want to call it that, from the pulpits in the churches where many don’t read the Bible for themselves, Jesus is portrayed as an “all-loving”, “don’t rock the boat” type of nice man. And thus, you can do what you want, when you want, how you want, and He will always love you no matter what.

Truth can easily be lost when you mix it with deception and lies. Those who don’t teach the full truth are as deceived as those who stay and listen to it.

How do I know? During the COVID months years ago, how many, after being “locked out of their churches for those months” (some with no fight or push back at all against government control) have returned to fellowship and solid teaching? You know the lost numbers too as well as I do.

Many Christians will fall away during these times, in these last days, because they have not been taught Who Yeshua (Jesus) actually is. They have been fed a “love me for who I am” gospel, which is not THE Gospel.

And thus, we have “wokeness” abounding even in so many American churches. Tickle the ears of the people, and when reality hits home, they will lose what faith they had and fall away. Their hearts have been made cold because men and women have chosen to water down what Jesus truthfully said and did when He came the first time.

He previously asked if He would still find faith when He returns the second time. He was right.

“Jesus told them a story showing that it was necessary for them to pray consistently and never quit. He said, "There was once a judge in some city who never gave God a thought and cared nothing for people. A widow in that city kept after him: 'My rights are being violated. Protect me!'

"He never gave her the time of day. But after this went on and on he said to himself, 'I care nothing what God thinks, even less what people think. But because this widow won't quit badgering me, I'd better do something and see that she gets justice — otherwise I'm going to end up beaten black and blue by her pounding.'"

Then the Master said, "Do you hear what that judge, corrupt as he is, is saying? So what makes you think God won't step in and work justice for his chosen people, who continue to cry out for help? Won't he stick up for them? I assure you, he will. He will not drag his feet. But how much of that kind of persistent faith will the Son of Man find on the earth when he returns?" Luke 18:1-8, THE MESSAGE

“Persistent faith”, or as it is simply stated in the NASU version in Luke 18:8, “However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?" will not be found in as many Christians as we would hope. These have been quietly, routinely, regularly been fed too much pablum, baby food, and no meat to chew on, and thus will not have the faith to stand when the heat gets turned up. As it is certainly these days.

They looked for the “worship experience” rather than the One Who is to be worshipped.

Preachers and teachers who do not give out the truth are whitewashed, having a “clean looking” appearance on the outside but nothing worth keeping on the inside.

Wokeness will eventually kill what faith you have if you are not founded on the truth of the Bible, and the faith that comes from reading it.

Cold hearts will not be able to pump out faith when the time is most needed. No solid foundation produces weak and soon fallen buildings.

Be not whitewashed nor woked. Have faith. In Yeshua (Jesus) and His Word only.

Ahava and shalom,

Steve Martin, Love For His People founder

The Great Falling Away - Steve Martin

 

The Great Falling Away - Steve Martin

“Adonai said to Gid‘on, “I will use the three hundred men who lapped the water to save you; I will hand Midyan over to you. Let all these others go back home.” (Judges 7:7-8 Complete Jewish Bible)

There is a great falling away coming from among those who once walked with the Lord. In fact, it has already started. For decades, it was “popular” to be a Christian. Not so anymore, especially when one considers the numbers who attend a weekly church service. Looking around any given Sunday morning gathering, and in most churches you will see mostly grey hairs; and they are dying off. Sure, there are those churches that are doing well among the youth, but that is an exception. We give thanks for them.

After a major crisis occurs in a nation, the pews do fill back up. But within a few months, or even weeks, the “Crisis Christians” no longer come around. It is back to normal as usual. (We may still have the “C & E” group – Christmas and Easter, but even those numbers are dwindling fast.)

The apostle Paul said that in the end of days there would be a great falling away. We are living in those times.

"Now we request you, brethren, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, that you not be quickly shaken from your composure or be disturbed either by a spirit or a message or a letter as if from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come.

Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God.

Do you not remember that while I was still with you, I was telling you these things? And you know what restrains him now, so that in his time he will be revealed. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way.

Then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming; that is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders, and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved. For this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false, in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness.” (2 Thessalonians 2:1-12 NASU)

Lest you become fearful, and wonder what is going to happen when so many are gone, let me share a little insight with you. It will inspire you in faith, I believe.

The Lord seems to allow for the reduction of numbers when He has a job that needs to get done. Unlike humans, more is not always better. As my good wife Laurie likes to remind me on certain occasions, “Less is more.” My accounting mind doesn’t always see it that way, but it is true.

Let’s look at a few instances in the Word of God, and see how the Lord chooses to accomplish His purpose, and achieve the final victory.

Take what happened when the Lord decided to flood the earth. He saved a remnant, Noah’s family of eight (Noah, his wife, three sons and their wives) and repopulated the earth with those alone. Looks like that worked.

And what about Gideon’s army, when it came time to defeat the Mideonites? Gideon took as many warriors as he had available, starting with 32,000. By the time the Lord had set up a few tests, the number was finalized at 300. With those remaining, the job got done. Victory was won.

Yeshua (Jesus) chose only 12 who would walk with Him for a little more than three years. Then He released them (even knowing one would be replaced by another) into the world. Empowered by the Holy Spirit, those twelve apostles changed the world.

Jesus also fed the multitudes, with very little. “All we have with us,” they said, “is five loaves of bread and two fish.” He said, “Bring them here to me.” After instructing the crowds to sit down on the grass, he took the five loaves and the two fish and, looking up toward heaven, made a b’rakhah (Hebrew – i.e. gave thanks). Then he broke the loaves and gave them to the talmidim (Hebrew – i.e. disciples), who gave them to the crowds. They all ate as much as they wanted, and they took up twelve baskets full of the pieces left over. Those eating numbered about five thousand men, plus women and children.” (Matthew 14:17-21, Complete Jewish Bible)

The Creator of the Universe can get the job done with very few.

What about the 144,000 in Revelation of Jesus (Revelation 7:4)? That sure is something to consider.

“I heard the count of those who were sealed: 144,000! They were sealed out of every Tribe of Israel: 12,000 sealed from Judah, 12,000 from Reuben, 12,000 from Gad, 12,000 from Asher, 12,000 from Naphtali, 12,000 from Manasseh, 12,000 from Simeon, 12,000 from Levi, 12,000 from Issachar, 12,000 from Zebulun, 12,000 from Joseph, 12,000 sealed from Benjamin." (Revelations 7:4-8 THE MESSAGE)

There is a great falling away that is coming through the Christian ranks. It will remove the lukewarm as the Lord Himself is going to weed them out. I believe He will then emblaze the remnant with His Holy Ghost fire, and show the world Who is the King of kings and Lord of lords. In the process, millions during that time, yet to be saved for all of eternity, will come into His kingdom, gathered from all the nations.

Are you going to be one of the few? As the Marine’s would say in their motto, I pray you are.

By His grace you will keep committed and stay faithful to the end. It is going to be a battle, but He wins. Stay on His side.

Steve Martin, Founder

Love For His People Ministries 12120 Woodside Falls Rd. Pineville, NC 28134

loveforhispeople@gmail.com  loveforhispeople.blogspot.com

Baggage. Less of It. - Steve Martin

 

Steve Martin, David Peterman in Israel (Sea of Galilee)

Baggage. Less of It.

 "…lay aside every encumbrance…” Heb. 12:1, NASU

 Yeshua (Jesus) loved to use stories, which we call parables, to teach others.

Think of it. One of the best ways we learn is by hearing stories. Wonderful biographies of others’ exploits; encouraging enactments of heroic quests; exciting adventures that inspire us to press on in our own lives.

Even little kids love to sit on the floor, look up, and hear fascinating stories that let their young imaginations fill in the unspoken words surrounded by glorious images.

So here is a story for you, to help you envision some hopeful results.

Two traveling men, one age 56 with a full beard and long hair to match it, and the other 67, with somewhat the beginnings of the balding status on the front line, set out from a rather busy airport on the east side of the land split by a major river…to cross the Big Pond to a promised land.

One bag apiece, weighing under the allowed 50 pounds/bag, was checked in at the airline counter. A nice lady served them, and once all set, they went and awaited the boarding of their Boeing 747-400 plane. All seemed well. Seemingly, of course. Until the huge plane and the approximately 430 passengers arrived at the foreign destination at the receiving end of the international flight.

Trusting that the checked luggage also arrived in good order as they did, they made their way through customs, straight to the baggage delivery section. They waited. They waited some more. They waited until nothing was left that came around the carousel oval-moving belt.

Their checked baggage did not arrive.

Nada. Nope. Not here.

Getting on the high-speed rail from the airport to the capital city of the Land, Jerusalem, Israel, took only 22 minutes. It was an enjoyable trip mingling with the sabras (native-born citizens), and with less heavy baggage to carry and maneuver up the four major long escalators to above ground, the final leg to the hostel on the light rail train brought back memories not forgotten from over 2.5 years ago.

The two weary men, a bit more hair having grown on their faces during the 17-hour total time trip, shuttled to their reserved room and collapsed. On the one bed. (Another story. Another day.)

One day passed. Two days more. Then one checked bag arrived. The other’s did not.

Three days, then four. Clap your hands and wait some more.

Two hours before departing from the hostel for the return trip home, the second checked bag arrived at the front desk. Joy erupted as some very special and valuable items in that bag were returned to the owner, from whence wherever they had been for 10 days.

During those days of “less clothing, less baggage” a natural lesson was learned.

The moral of the story is this: you can do without a lot more than you think you can. You need less baggage than you thought you did and will still get by.

Also, a spiritual lesson can be taught from this. What you think you need to walk with, you really don’t. The comforts once thought to be essential are not as important as you think they are. Prepare for what is ahead.

The Lord has you covered. You can get by with a lot less than you think and come out ok on the other end. (The 20,000 Ukrainians landing in Israel after escaping war in their land, many with all but one bag to their name, is also a major visual for all of us. One bag sometimes is all you need.)

“Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Hebrews 12:1-2, NASU

Ahava and shalom,

Steve Martin

Love For His People founder

We Bless by Steve Martin

 

                                                    Arriving off the train at the Jerusalem depot. Steve Martin

"Yes, they were pleased to do so, and they are indebted to them. For if the Gentiles have shared in their spiritual things, they are indebted to minister to them also in material things.” Romans 15:27, NASU

 Every time the Lord gives me the opportunity to go to Israel as part of our Love For His People Ministry, I greatly enjoy spending time with our good friends among the Jewish people. Some we have known for 17 years now. Blessing them, as the good Lord has instructed us as Christians, has been on my heart now for over 48 years, beginning when I was first given the understanding of our debt to Israel and the Jewish people. Because of their faithfulness to the living God of Israel in spiritual things, we now have an indebtedness to them in material things.

Because of His faithfulness to them above all, the Jews, we Gentiles, now believers, have been grafted into the olive tree as well.

“And if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them, and with them became a partaker of the root and fatness of the olive tree, 18 do not boast against the branches. But if you do boast, remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you.” Romans 11:17-18, NKJV

Standing with the Messianic Jewish believers in the Land and befriending the “pre-believers” has enriched my spiritual life for many years. These connections the Lord has made continue to grow, as we see the days becoming darker and His light shining even more.

Being friends with Nissim and Hadassah, Nouri, Avraham, Uri, Danny Boy, Chaim and Deanna, Richard and Carolyn, Kokeb and Menalu, and the several ministries we have stood with and supported over the years allows the Holy Spirit to do what He has given us to do as our part in the restoration and salvation of Israel and His people re-gathered there once again, as He prophesied centuries ago.

I have written previous messages of the debt Christians owe the Jews, as I first heard and learned from the great Bible teacher Derek Prince. Because of the Lord’s granting them as a people the knowledge of Him and His Word, the Torah, through whom our Messiah Jesus has come, Yeshua HaMashiach, we are now too grafted into the olive tree, and can partake of their salvation and inheritance, among all Who call upon the Name of the Lord.

Understanding this basic, vital foundation in the life of believers is necessary for further unity in His Body, as He joins Jew and Gentile into the One New Man, the Bride that is being prepared for the return of the Son of God, Yeshua (Jesus).

Thank You, Father, for Your great plan of salvation, which has been laid out in completion through the Word of God, from Genesis through Revelation. Seeing Your fulfillment of prophecies and plans from Your heart encourages us to press on as we now do our part through faith and obedience.

Bless the people of Israel, Lord, and may those be blessed who realize the debt we owe them and seek to bless them also.

Ahava and shalom,

Steve Martin

Founder, Love For His People

"Walk With Me' in the City of David on the street up to the Old City from the Pool of Siloam.

Man of War and Mighty Men - Steve Martin

          

Man of War and Mighty Men

 

"Now these are the heads of the mighty men whom David had, who gave him strong support in his kingdom, together with all Israel, to make him king, according to the word of the Lord concerning Israel.” 1 Chronicles 11:10-11, NASU

 

Anyone and everyone who knows Bible history are very familiar with King David. From the time he was taken from the shepherd’s field in Israel and anointed king by the prophet Samuel, through his gallant leading of his mighty men to remove the ungodly from the land, and onto reigning as king over the tribes of Israel, David bears witness as a large living example in the walk of faith.

The Lord raised up David and put him in positions to first take on the lions and bears attacking the sheep; then the giant Goliath; and further beyond to the people of Canaan who did not know the Living God of Israel but instead served false and evil gods.

During his mighty battles and wars, the men who fought under David’s experienced leadership fought through the rigors of war. Many received wounds and sufferings as they took the Land that was to be theirs, given first to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and the generations following them.

How ironic that believers today often fail to understand the natural and spiritual battles that we go through, believing that once saved all becomes a rose garden. But we must realize that that is part of the promise yet to come. The beautiful rose garden.

So, here on this earth it is a battle for us in both the natural and the spiritual, fought on our knees, but at times calling for us to take up arms to destroy the wicked who threaten us and our families.

The Lord Himself, the Anointed One, the One with the armies of heaven on His side, clearly states of things yet to come.

"In that day the Lord will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the one who is feeble among them in that day will be like David, and the house of David will be like God, like the angel of the Lord before them. "And in that day I will set about to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.” Zechariah 12:8-9, NASU

Is this just a spiritual battle that is coming, which I believe is sooner than many would want to realize, in our day? If I read it correctly, there is some major physical conflict going on “in that day.” The Lord Himself will destroy the nations that come against Jerusalem, the capital of Israel, and the Jewish inhabitants. No doubt about that.

Did not Israel have to take the promised land in Joshua and David’s time, and then fight to keep it in the 1948 War of Independence, the Six-Day War, the Yom Kippur War, and today yet battling the ongoing rocket attacks from Hamas in Gaza, and threats from Hezbollah in Lebanon? With Syria’s threats on the east and others further north? And as always, Iran trying to carry out their promises of completely destroying Israel with nuclear bombs while many shut their blind eyes?

Am I also saying that there is war coming in these days in America? Did not the first Americans fight a Revolutionary War, while generations later the Civil War, followed by two world wars and so many after that?

Maybe so. And Christians will be called upon to defend truth, righteousness, and the godly principles the Righteous God has set forth in His Eternal Word. His will being done won’t come by just letting the enemy run amuck in our land, with rampant lawlessness and violence carried out under the guise of “peaceful marches” and “my right to protest any way I want.” His will certainly will be done as it has been done in history gone by.

David’s men fought and won for the King.

American men and women fought for freedom to be maintained in our land and the freedom of others needing our help to defend theirs.

The Lord is raising up godly men and women, brave and courageous, not afraid to give their lives for the lives of the unborn, children, young and old, among all families, and to take a stand and fight for that which is right and true.

I am not a man of war. But our God is a Man of War, and He does and will do whatever it takes to give His people, Jew and Gentile together, that which His Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ, Yeshua HaMashiach, died, buried, and rose again for - a Bride and people unto Himself.

“The Lord will go forth like a warrior, He will arouse His zeal like a man of war. He will utter a shout, yes, He will raise a war cry. He will prevail against His enemies.” Isaiah 42:13, NASU

Prepare yourself. Our God reigns, and He will have the last word.

Ahava and shalom,

Steve Martin, Love For His People founder

We Carry Them - Steve Martin, Love For His People

 

                 Photo: Jaffa Street in central Jerusalem, Israel Sept. 14, 2023 (Steve Martin)

We Carry Them

“Thus says the Lord God: "Behold, I will lift My hand in an oath to the nations, and set up My standard for the peoples; they shall bring your sons in their arms, and your daughters shall be carried on their shoulders;” Isaiah 49:22, NKJV

Ancient prophecies proclaimed and then recorded centuries ago by the Hebrew prophets in the land of Israel are being fulfilled today. Do you want to hear a good prophetic word? Heed the words that came forth from those who were in the Land and spoke by the urging of the Holy Spirit.

We are a fulfillment of those words, who are now helping the Jewish people return to their land, making aliyah (“going up” in Hebrew). The Promised Land. The Land was given to them since the days of their patriarch Abraham when he heard God’s voice saying to him,

“Now the Lord said to Abram, "Go forth from your country, and from your relatives and from your father's house, to the land which I will show you; ad I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great; and so you shall be a blessing; and I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed." Genesis 12:1-3, NASU

Gentiles, non-Jews, goyim in Hebrew, who know the Bible, believing the written words from the first book of Genesis to the end when Jesus (Yeshua) returns to Jerusalem, Israel, will act on those words, and do what we have been called to do. Carry the Jews back as we assist in support through prayer, finances, encouragement, and whatever provision has been given to us at our disposal, to be used in this divine act of God.

Today, we are standing with feet on the ground in Israel, ourselves a part of helping bring the Jews back to their land and manifesting the eternal truth as we too proclaim along with Isaiah, “they shall bring your sons in their arms, and your daughters shall be carried on their shoulders.” Isaiah 49:22

Love For His People Ministry, founded in 2010 for this very purpose, to bless Israel and His people, is walking it out in the Land of Israel, as we have again come to bring Yeshua’s (Jesus’) love and life, His encouragement, His faith and hope to these who have already returned and inhabiting the place which has been given to them, since the days of Abraham.

“Walk with me”, as I like to say in my videos, as we again experience the goodness of the Lord among His people. “Come and see”, as The Chosen TV series likes to say, as I share in these messages and through the sights and sounds that come your way, the marvelous acts of our God being done in our day.

What a day we are living in! Even so, “Bo Yeshua”. Maranatha! Come Jesus!

Ahava and shalom,

Steve Martin

Love For His People, Founder

 Love For His People Ministry. is a  USA humanitarian ministry started in 2010 to share the love of the Father in the nations, especially to and within Israel.

 

If these letters minister to you, please consider sending a charitable gift of $10-$25 today, and maybe each month, to help us bless known families in Israel, whom we consistently help through our humanitarian ministry. 

 

Go here for safe giving using PayPal

Contribution checks can be sent to: 

Love For His People Ministry  12120 Woodside Falls Rd.   Pineville, NC 28134

Todah rabah! (Hebrew – Thank you very much.)

Please share this encouraging message with your friends.

Email: loveforhispeople@gmail.com  

We stand with Israel. Eternally. As does Yeshua HaMashiach, the Living God of Israel.

We stand with Israel. Eternally. 

As does Yeshua HaMashiach, 

the Living God of Israel.

 

We Bless - Steve Martin, Love For His People Ministry

 

                                              (Steve Martin with Danny Boy in Jerusalem April 2023)

We Bless by Steve Martin

"Yes, they were pleased to do so, and they are indebted to them. For if the Gentiles have shared in their spiritual things, they are indebted to minister to them also in material things.” Romans 15:27, NASU

Every time the Lord gives me the opportunity to go to Israel as part of our Love For His People Ministry, I greatly enjoy spending time with our good friends among the Jewish people. Some we have known for 15 years now. Blessing them, as the good Lord has instructed us as Christians, has been on my heart now for over 46 years, beginning when I was first given the understanding of our debt to Israel and the Jewish people. Because of their faithfulness to the living God of Israel in spiritual things, we now have an indebtedness to them in material things.

Because of His faithfulness to them above all, the Jews, we Gentiles, now believers, have been grafted into the olive tree as well.

“And if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them, and with them became a partaker of the root and fatness of the olive tree, 18 do not boast against the branches. But if you do boast, remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you.” Romans 11:17-18, NKJV

Standing with the Messianic believers in the Land and befriending the “pre-believers” has enriched my spiritual life for many years. These connections the Lord has made continue to grow, as we see the days becoming darker and His light shining even more.

Being friends with Nissim and Hadassah, Nouri, Avraham, Uri, Danny Boy, Chaim and Deanna, Richard and Carolyn, Koken and Menalu, Tuly and staff, and the several ministries we have stood with and supported over the years allows the Holy Spirit to do what He has given us to do as our part in the restoration and salvation of Israel and His people re-gathered there once again, as He prophesied centuries ago.

I have written previous messages of the debt Christians owe the Jews, as I first heard and learned from the great Bible teacher Derek Prince. Because of the Lord’s granting them as a people the knowledge of Him and His Word, the Torah, through whom our Messiah Jesus has come, Yeshua HaMashiach, we are now too grafted into the olive tree, and can partake of their salvation and inheritance, among all Who call upon the Name of the Lord.

Understanding this basic, vital foundation in the life of believers is necessary for further unity in His Body, as He joins Jew and Gentile into the One New Man, the Bride that is being prepared for the return of the Son of God, Yeshua (Jesus).

Thank You, Father, for Your great plan of salvation, which has been laid out in completion through the Word of God, from Genesis through Revelation. Seeing Your fulfillment of prophecies and plans from Your heart encourages us to press on as we now do our part through faith and obedience.

Bless the people of Israel, Lord, and may those be blessed who realize the debt we owe them and seek to bless them also.

Ahava and shalom,

 

Steve Martin (with Avraham Saiden of Jerusalem)

Founder, Love For His People

 

Message #147 in this series – in the year of our Lord 09.01.23 – “We Bless” – Friday, 9:00 am in Charlotte, North Carolina

Love For His People Ministry. is a charitable, USA humanitarian ministry started in 2010 to share the love of the Father in the nations, especially to and within Israel.

If these letters minister to you, please consider sending a charitable gift of $5-$25 today, and maybe each month, to help us bless known families in Israel, whom we consistently help through our humanitarian ministry. 

Go here for safe donations using major credit cards with PayPal.

Provision Comes - Steve Martin, Love For His People Ministry

 Provision Comes

 

 

"In vain do you get up early and put off going to bed, working hard to earn a living; for he provides for his beloved, even when they sleep.” Psalm 127:2, Complete Jewish Bible

 

When I clearly heard the Lord back in mid-2009 to give my usual six-month notice that I was leaving my position at that time as the USA Director of an international ministry, I was sincerely seeking the Lord for what would be the provision going forward. He had finally given me the go-ahead to start our new ministry after years of wanting to do so, and my faith was founded on Him and the funds to make it happen.

 

Assuming that money would “just come” to cover the ministry costs, and our own personal expenses, being I was obediently following His leading, I was not overly concerned. After all, I was doing as He said, and it was often heard, “Where the Lord guides, He provides.” I believed it.

 

But after a few months, things got a bit uncertain. And we didn’t have a savings account or dollars stuffed under the bed to cover the mortgage, car payments (2), and regular monthly bills that still came. With my income dropping from $70,000 per year to just over $11,000 (I still have all my accurate tax returns for those years and following so as not to “exaggerate”), my good wife was greatly encouraging me to do something. Even if it meant for me getting a job at McDonalds if I had to.

 

Thankfully, her part-time job as a child caretaker provided food and some other needed income for the home.

 

In my heart, I knew the Lord was going to provide. I waited for His clear direction. In the meantime, He did lead me to seek a part-time accounting job, which I did.

 

And then He spoke. “Use what I have already given you.”

 

“What?” I asked.

 

He responded further. “Your home. The extra bedroom.”

 

Being our four kids had moved out, we had two extra bedrooms in our home, basically unused. That was 13 years ago, and we have had a renter ever since, providing income for the ministry and more.

 

In addition to that, with the accounting contract services jobs He has provided over those 13 years, it covered all ministry expenses for frequent Israel trips, and gave us additional monthly support for our Messianic Jewish friends living in the Land.

 

With that being said, we had decided to no longer have a renter, to take a “break” from it. This August 2023 was to be the end of it. And I thought, “There goes my Israel ministry trip funds” as I had known. I even began to think that there would be no trips to Israel in 2024. And so, I again put it in the hands of the Lord to see where His next means of provision were to come from, for He hadn’t removed the calling and ministry that He had first given 13 years ago.

 

And then on Aug. 7, 2023, I got a voice message from someone responding to a “room rental ad” I had placed in January of this year (2023) but had placed the ad on “pause” in February. How did that happen - that it was seen?

 

When I mentioned the call to Laurie, she responded rather positively, surprisingly to me, after I had already told the person we no longer were renting the room.

 

And then Laurie had the person come over that same night…and now we are going to be back having a renter here near the end of the year, after giving it a few months break. And the rent income will be double what we were getting from the last one! Ministry income!

 

The Lord does provide. He is always faithful to enable us to fulfill what He has called us to do. Each one of us, if we but keep our eyes fixed on Him.

 

As He promises to each of us in faith, “…and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith…” Hebrews 12:1-2, NASU

 

What He has called you to do, continue doing it. Even when it looks like it may be “done and over”, He will still make a way, until it is really done and over, and we have reached our eternal reward in heaven.

 

Ahava and shalom,

 

Steve Martin

Founder, Love For His People

 

Message #146 in this series – in the year of our Lord 08.08.23 – “Provision Comes” – Tuesday, 12:40 pm in Charlotte, North Carolina

 

Love For His People Ministry. is a charitable, USA humanitarian ministry started in 2010 to share the love of the Father in the nations, especially to and within Israel.

 

If these letters minister to you, please consider sending a charitable gift of $5-$25 today, and maybe each month, to help us bless known families in Israel, whom we consistently help through our humanitarian ministry. 

 

Go here for safe donations using major credit cards with PayPal.

 

Contribution checks can be sent to: 

 

Love For His People Ministry  12120 Woodside Falls Rd.   Pineville, NC 28134

Todah rabah! (Hebrew – Thank you very much.)