Standing in support of Israel, Jews, and believers in all the nations, in the name of Jesus (Yeshua). Sharing biblical truth, encouragement, news and prophecy.
When Your Prophetic Journey Meets With Spiritual Warfare
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Mary also received prophetic words: Her Son would be king of the Jews. So why were they banished and suffering in an uncomfortable and foreign land? Mary didn't realize that the prophetic timetable for the fulfillment of Jesus' destiny would be a grueling 30 years long. You, too, will spend time in the wilderness; you will experience seasons of barrenness. Are you willing to wait on the Lord's timing?
An Ordinary Life "Finally, after several years in Egypt, God spoke to Joseph again in a dream. Herod was dead. This time it was I who grabbed Jesus and ran out the door with Joseph trailing behind. We couldn't get home fast enough.
"Things eventually settled down, but mothering Jesus was always a challenge. Once, when He was 12 years old, and we were returning in a large group from the festival in Jerusalem, I realized He wasn't with the other children. We frantically returned to the city to look for Him. Finally, we found Him in the temple. You know what He said? He said I should have known He was there! Oy vey! I wanted to ground Him until He was 21!"
Do you feel as if you're on a shelf, living an ordinary life? Are you changing diapers, cooking dinner and dealing with the neighbors while crying out in your heart: Lord, have you forgotten me? Why don't people recognize my gifting? Don't they realize I had a radical visitation back in 1990?
Mary had 30 years of obscurity to develop a hidden testimony--a secret history with God. You, too, have an appointed time to build family, community and greater intimacy with Jesus. In the midst of that time you may feel like crying out, What's taking so long? By the time my destiny comes, I'll be pursuing it in a wheel chair! But seasons of preparation are important. These are the times when God works patience, radical passion and deep devotion into your life.
Finally, Ministry Begins "When I was 45 years old, life changed dramatically for Jesus and me. He started bringing home a ragtag bunch of fishermen to dinner. Then, at a wedding, He changed water into wine. From then on He moved in amazing signs and wonders, and a huge crowd followed Him everywhere. The excitement grew daily as Jesus walked among the people, bringing revival. But I still don't understand what He meant when He said, 'Who is my mother?'"
Mary had to relinquish control of her life and Jesus' life in the midst of an outpouring of the Spirit. In your life and ministry, you also have to let go--of your plans, your expectations, your ways. Just as Jesus had to leave His home and follow the Father, you also have to relinquish control of your life and follow the Father, even if it takes you to the cross.
And it will.
The Dark Night "Why God, why? Why have You forsaken Him? Why have You forsaken me? He was supposed to deliver us. He was our salvation, and now He's gone. If you really love us, why have You allowed this to happen?"
Jesus was in the prime of His life. The countryside was in the midst of a tremendous revival. But now He was dying on the cross--and so was Mary. Overcome by feelings of abandonment and betrayal, she was in the middle of a crisis of faith.
When Jesus chose to go to the cross, Mary was compelled to go there, too. The truth is, the cross is always being worked in our lives--sometimes through the choices of others. Your daughter has an abortion; your son abuses drugs; your husband files for divorce. You never intended to go to that cross, but there you are.
You want to believe the Lord will rescue you at the last moment, but often His plan is to crucify you. Everything dies at the cross: relationships, ministries, agendas, reputations, finances. It's painful, but it's necessary. If you cry out to be part of the bride of Christ, then you must be--you will be--identified with the sufferings of the Bridegroom.
Resurrection "He's alive! I thought I'd cried all my tears on Golgotha, but when our eyes met, it was like a flood. As I ran into His open arms, He scooped me up and spun me around in joyous laughter.
"The times we shared after the resurrection were the most precious of my life. They made it easier to release Him--again. As I watched Him ascend, I prayed again, 'Lord, let it be unto me according to Your word, for the rest of my life.'"
Out of great death comes great life. Mary's prophetic promises had been limited by her worldview. In her mind's eye she had seen Jesus as king over the little nation of Israel for the span of His lifetime. In reality, He was King of kings and Lord of lords for all people and all time.
At the cross, God crucifies our limited view concerning the fulfillment of our prophetic destiny and resurrects it to His eternal view. The Lord revives our broken dreams--when they come to pass, they rarely look as we thought they would.
“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.
For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners
against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” Hebrews 12:1-3, NASU
Dear family of friends,
Sometimes one wonders (me too) how long
situations are going to last before a resolution comes. It seems like we each
have a few going on at one time or another.
During those times of waiting for the finale’, which may take a day, week,
month or even years, the Lord does a work in our hearts. He's looking for
something. He's checking us out to see how much resolve we have; how long will we
endure; will love or bitterness win out? Will persistence through the grim and
grind prove we are willing to be a worthy fulfillment of His plans and purposes
in our lives, and those around us? Every good parent does this with his/her
child. It makes them strong. It causes them to grow up into the mature men and
women we need.
Employment situations, family relationships, church congregations, government
policies, the world in general for that matter - each offer opportunities to
test our hearts, to show us what we are made of in the very depths of them.
Your heart has ached at times, just like
others who want to please the Lord, while pushing forward through the head
winds that come at you and I more often than we’d like. But we keep pushing on.
We keep our eyes fixed on Jesus (Yeshua), Who has the Holy Spirit (Ruach
HaKodesh) walking with us on this planet.
At the end of the journey we have the promise,
we have His trustworthy commitment that we will hear God the Father say, both
to you and I, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
I have passed a few tests. I have failed a lot. So I keep taking them, because
ultimately I want to be one of those "standing" when He gives out the
rewards. My eyes are fixed on Him, and He will provide the grace to endure what
He has directed for us during our journeys.
Our faith, our grounded and yet heavenly trust
in Him, will be the fuel burning in our spirits on this unpaved, often
uncharted road we travel.
Pass the test. Complete the grade you are currently in. Move on to the bigger
challenges that come with the bigger rewards.
Ahava to my family of friends,
Steve & Laurie Martin
Founders
Love For His People, Inc.
Love For His People,
Inc. is a charitable,
not-for-profit USA organization. Fed. ID#27-1633858.
Please consider
sending a charitable gift of $5-$25 today, and maybe each month, to help us
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Todah rabah! (Hebrew
- Thank you very much.)
I hope you get my two
books The Promise (CreateSpace/Amazon 2013) and Ahava Love Letters (Xulon
Press, 2013). Both available through Amazon.com Xulon Press.com , plus other
website book stores.
You can also order
both books, The Promise (on Amazon.com for $7.19 plus $3.95 S/H) and Ahava Love
Letters Xulon Press for $14.90, plus $3.80) or you can get both from our office
for $29. Send check to the address above. I will autograph all copies ordered
through our office. (Hey, and please include a contribution for Israel too!)
Please share this
Ahava Love Letter with your friends.
Note: You don't have to have a Kindle, smartphone or tablet to download the e-book edition. I downloaded the free app below onto both my PC laptop and desktop computers.
(Steve Martin)
Anybody can read Kindle books—even without a Kindle device—with the FREEKindle app for smartphones and tablets.
The printed version is also available
on Amazon for $7.59 (181 pages).
Back cover text:
Throughout our lives, God keeps His hand on our shoulders and nudges us on to more than what we could ever realize. I am excited to share how He did it this with me, and am confident mine will be a story you’ll be able to relate to.
As I unveil my story, think back to those times when you knew there was something more but you just couldn’t put your finger on it. You knew deep down that life wasn’t what the TV sitcoms portrayed it to be. In our souls there is the hope, the cry for more, that someday questions will be answered and promises fulfilled if we just kept plugging away at what we know to do.
In The Promise I share my 40 year journey with you, and show you that dreams do come true. Though Peter Pan isn’t real, the Lord, the One Who created us, certainly is, and He has a plan in place for each one of us. When you are done reading this story, my prayer is that you too will know more of that good plan and His purpose for you.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Steve Martin served with seven Christian ministries from 1987-2012, all having a national and international outreach focus. During that time he made ten ministry trips Israel, as well as ministering in China, India, Trinidad and Tobago, and the United Kingdom.
On his overseas journeys he enjoyed sharing written journal entries with family and friends back home through Internet media. His light-hearted stories gave an up close and personal touch for those reading along.
In 2010 Steve and his wife of over 36 years, Laurie, began “Love For His People, Inc.,” a 501(c)3 non-profit humanitarian aid ministry. This work touches the natural and spiritual lives of those around them, and internationally, with needed encouragement and strength.
His regular “Ahava Love Letter,” posted both on the Love For His People Blog and Facebook, feature his encouraging letters of spiritual enrichment, plus selected photos and commentary. In addition to The Promise, Steve has also written Leadership Through Love and Ahava Love Letters, the first edition having 52 of his letters.
“Have your delight in the Lord,
and He will give you
the desires of your heart.
Trust also in Him,
and He will do it.”
Psalm 37:3,4
DEDICATION
To all those who have a desire and a dream that is yet to be fulfilled, but continue to hang onto the promise the Lord has given you – I dedicate this book.
In agreement with the Bible verse that I have printed on a note card standing upright on my home computer desk, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up” (Galatians 6:0, NIV), I declare that He will do it.
As surely as the Lord God of Israel lives,He will bring it to pass!!!
We’ve Only Just Begun…
Back in the ‘70’s, when music was still decent, and you could really understand the words, a brother and a sister, the Carpenters, came out with a popular song, We’ve Only Just Begun. For those of us around at that time, songs like this gave us some hope, as we made our way through grade school or high school. Deep in our souls, whether we realized it back then or not, something, or Someone, was calling after us, and songs on the radio helped draw us on.
Not sure which way to go at times, we knew something was still possible, even as our parents sought after the “Almighty Dollar”, and the Sunday service was at least a place the family, which still looked like one, went to on Sundays. Friday night football games, followed by the sock-hop (finally realized that we had to wear socks, not our shoes, because of the gym wooden floor), gave us potential stability, after coming out of the ‘60’s and before the ‘80’s hit.
Through it all, Someone kept His hand on our shoulders, and nudged us on to more than what we would ever realize, before now. And then…boom! The answer comes in an unexpected way.
As I unveil this story, think back to those times that you knew there was something more, but you just couldn’t put your hand on it. You knew, deep down, that life wasn’t just what Walter Cronkite said it was every night on the CBS news, or that the faith and love shown by John Boy to Grandpa, Jim Bob, and the other twenty Waltons wasn’t just for their family. Deep down in our souls, the hope, the cry for more, would someday be answered and fulfilled, if we just kept plugging away at what we did know.
I want you to share my journey with me, as I look back over the last forty years, and you see that dreams do come true, and that though Peter Pan isn’t real, the Lord, the One Who created us, is, and He has a plan in place for each one of us. And when you are done reading this story, you too will know that…we’ve only just begun.
Book Chapters
Going To Africa
Father Thomas Purtell
ColumbusHigh School
“I am a Christian”
Laura Jean
The Dream
Hasselbring-Clark
Bonnie, Derek & Mahesh
Heritage USA
The Barn
Worship The Lord God of Israel
The Beginning of the End
Jerusalem & The Western Wall
This Season Completed
The Incredible Journey
New Beginnings
Steve Martin & The Raiders
“Carry My Bags” – The Great Wall
A Season of the Soul
I Thought It Was Over
Roll Call of Honor
Editor's Note:
It was very exciting to know that my book came out during Rosh Hashanah, the new year of 5774, on Sept.4-6. This is a new beginning in the Lord's purposes and fulfillment of promises given to Laurie and I. I hope you read my book! Steve Martin
