Shabbat Shalom to our Jewish friends!

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Shabbat Shalom to all our Jewish friends worldwide! We love you!

Steve & Laurie Martin

Charlotte, North Carolina

Love For His People Ministry was founded in 2010 by Steve & Laurie Martin. Charlotte, NC USA

"A Broken Relationship, or Something Else?" Mesage by Steve Martin, Love For His People

 

(Photo by Linel le Roux in Judean desert south of Jerusalem, Israel 02.06.2026)

A Broken Relationship, or Something Else?

 

“Solomon said, “You were extravagantly generous in love with David my father, and he lived faithfully in your presence, his relationships were just and his heart right.” 1 Kings 3:6, The Message

 

We have all experienced the pain and hurt when a relationship, one we may have long held, no longer continues. Whether it's a misunderstanding, a lie, an incident one or the other doesn't want to “work it out,” or even just weariness from struggles that never seem to end, the friendship is over.

Companies fire employees. Marriages break apart. Parents and their children walk away from each other in bitterness and resentment. People leave churches, synagogues, and communities because of a “wrong word” or an “unforgiving action.” It happens so many times.

I think of those in the Bible who experienced this, as all of us have, where two who have walked together, worked together, did many things together, no longer do so. They no longer want to mend the broken relationship. Over. Done with.

It happened with David. It happened with Jesus. Paul and Barnabas, two apostles set apart from the local church in Antioch to go out together in ministry, parted ways after a big disagreement.

^“Now it turned into such a sharp disagreement that they separated from one another, and Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus.” Acts 15:39, NASB

Are these always the work of the devil? Is it human nature that we have ongoing problems and can’t seem to get along with people? Is it due to pride, jealousy, wanting our own way, the way we want it? “My way or the highway!”

Sometimes. Sometimes not.

I have had two primary relationships where I considered “my best friend” turned their back on me. And it hurt. Forgiveness on my part, to protect my spirit and soul, was the only way to go to keep me from ongoing resentment, bitterness, anger, and not “burning the bridge”. It has also happened in ministry, which should be of no surprise to anyone by now – that ministries are not perfect, nor the greener grass necessarily.

Before Laurie and I got married in 1977, we told each other that we would never use the “D” word in our marriage. The commitment we made to each other, not having “divorce” as an option, has kept us together by our Lord’s grace, binding us to that commitment. We had to work things out.

A good friend of mine (and still is) recently spoke of how the Lord was taking him and me on separate paths. Is this a broken relationship? No. We both sensed that our time working together, in so many ways, was preparation for what now lay ahead for both of us. We will continue to support one another in His plans and purposes, but the time for each of us to “expand our tents” will lead us to do so on different pathways.

My prayer is for you to go the extra mile when necessary. Persevere in your relationships to keep them strong and lifelong. Families, churches, and synagogues need the Lord's unity to fulfill His Kingdom purposes. You are meant to be a vital part of that.

Ahava and shalom,

Steve Martin

Message #4, 2026, “A Broken Relationship or Something Else?” Feb. 9, 2026, 2:30 pm

#BrokenRelationship #SomethingElse #SteveMartin #LoveForHisPeople #Jesus #Yeshua, #relationships #Paul #Barnabas #friends #linelleroux

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