Friendships. Need Them. (Steve Martin, Love For His People Ministry)

 

Laurie Martin on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem, Israel, with Steve Martin

 

Friendships. Need Them.

 

“A man of too many friends comes to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.” Proverbs 18:24

 

One thing I have valued in life is having at least one good friend. The Bible warns against having too many friends, which can lead to ruin. (I guess Solomon’s downfall was having too many wives. Imagine that!)

When I was a freshman in high school, back in 1969, I attended Columbus High School (Catholic) in Waterloo, Iowa. This kid had his locker underneath mine, as the lockers were arranged in double rows along the main corridor. I was annoyed each time he came to his locker when I was at mine. He would be in my way.

By the end of our high school days, he had become my best friend. Denny Brennan. He ended up marrying the daughter of the local TV channel’s newscaster (a sophomore when in school, from the same high school) and becoming a butcher with his own shop in Cedar Falls, Iowa. I am not sure whether the two situations, the newscaster’s sweetheart daughter and butchering, are related. But it is a fact.

Reflecting on my life of 70 years thus far, I recall some other treasured moments, new beginnings in fact, when the Lord brought someone to me to be together for His plans and purposes.

Of course, I must begin with my beautiful wife, Laura Jean Unzicker Martin, who came to the former Baptist church every Sunday night in her hometown of LaSalle/Peru, Illinois, with her high school senior best friend, Susan. The “Holy Ghost, Pentecostal-driven, demon-deliverance, powerful worship times with guitars” service was the hottest one in the town of 10,000. Pastor Stan Buren had it going, along with the young men’s worship team of Ron Wey, Bob Smith, Mark Buren, and Mark Rummler. I would think the high school girls had other reasons for coming, in addition to wanting more of the Lord Jesus in their lives.

Stan, himself the former Southern Baptist who had been kicked out of his independent church by the one vote of a 12-year-old, years earlier, had gotten “baptized in the Holy Spirit”. That didn’t mix well with the Baptists. Just a fact.

More commonly known as Laurie, I admired this 17-year-old with her Dorothy Hamill haircut (an Olympic skater gold medalist in 1976) and her white painter pants.

Yes, I married her. Laura Jean Unzocker. Age 18. Photo on the way to our honeymoon in Mobile, Alabama, in 1977.

Susan, her friend who brought her, had an eye for me.

Mine eyes went to Miss Unzicker.

You can read the full story in my book, The Promise: The Journey of a Lifetime, if your curiosity gets the better of you. For the rest is history.

Our Lord, the Living God of Israel, Jesus Christ, Yeshua HaMashiach, brings people together for His eternal plans and purposes. Sometimes, in fact almost always, we never realize the importance of those moments when friendships start, but looking back, we can be amazed at the goodness and love the Lord has for each of us. I personally love His plans. They are always the best.

Treasure the friendships and relationships He gives you. While it will be a “give and take”, as two or more walk together, the destination will be incredible, as you seek Him in all that you do.

Ahava and shalom,

Steve Martin, Founder

Another great friend, David Peterman, shared on our most recent trip 

to Israel in May 2025. Watch!

David Peterman, Steve Martin May 2025

Love For His People Ministry

12120 Woodside Falls Rd. Pineville, North Carolina, USA

 

Message: “Friendships. Need Them.” June 9, 2025, in Charlotte, North Carolina

Website: Love For His People

Email: Love For His People

Facebook: Steve Martin/Love For His People

Why do I go to Israel so much? Steve Martin, Love For His People

 

Meal in Abu Ghosh (5 miles west of Jerusalem) with friends.

Why do I go to Israel so much?

I have been to Israel 29 times (as of May 2025) since 1989 (36 years now) and have been asked the question, “Why do you go so much?”

My simple, quick response is, “Because I want to visit my friends, to encourage and support them in their Land.”

And then they typically ask, “But couldn’t you take that money instead (i.e., $1500 for a plane ticket, another $1,500 for lodging, food, transportation, etc., for 10 days) and send it to them for needs they have?”

So I ask them, and now you (if you similarly think as they do)…

Do you give your spouse, kids, or friends just money, for their needs, and never actually be with them, to eat with, talk with, in person, or do things enjoyable together? Are your relationships built on money only?

I have thought about how Yeshua (Jesus) walked from the Galilee (in northern Israel) to Jerusalem (central Israel in Judea) on several occasions during His earthly ministry. For one reason, among others, to be with His friends. Lazarus, Mary, Martha, and more who lived in that area.

Have you ever walked the distance between Capernaum, His Galilee base, and Jerusalem (125 miles on foot, taking at least 30 hours one way, while climbing the hills all along the way? Could not Yeshua just send money on someone’s donkey and let it be at that?

He didn’t have a car, nor an airplane option of course, but He did “pay the way” to go in person Himself.

His actions were about relationships. He encouraged people with words and in person, giving hugs, blessings, and meals together. True, faithful, long-lasting friendships were developed and maintained.

That is why I spend the money (my own) to go to Israel so often. (And at this time, our friends in Israel need our encouragement even more. You can talk the talk, but walking the walk is far better.

Ahava and shalom (love and peace),

Steve Martin

Love For His People