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.
STEVE & LAURIE MARTIN - LOVE FOR HIS PEOPLE FOUNDERS My good wife Laurie and I (45 years in October 2022!), through the ministry of Love For His People we founded in 2010, give love and support for our friends in Israel and in other nations with friendship, humanitarian aid, and social media support, along with Steve's messages, and our Ahava Adventures trips to Israel. Steve has also authored and published 34 books. We live in the Charlotte, NC area. We have four adult children, spouses, and eight grandkids.
Anyone who has been in ministry can attest that whenever the subject of the Holy Spirit and speaking in other tongues or languages comes up in conversation or messages it can cause some people to become pretty awkward. Even when it isn't brought up, the question still seems to linger in the air. It's the proverbial elephant in the room.
Part of this is because many people have misrepresented the idea of praying in tongues. Hollywood consistently portrays this act of faith in a negative light, making it seem unnatural or cultlike, and as a result, people's assumptions and expectations about it have been skewed. I'd even go as far as to say it has become popular nowadays to feel uncomfortable about it.
Rather than seeking a biblically rooted understanding of this powerful means of communicating with the Holy Spirit, people shy away, afraid of the unknown or, perhaps more, afraid of how others will perceive them. Instead of asking, "How could speaking in tongues enhance my walk with Christ?" they whisper, "Do I have to?"
For new and seasoned ministers alike, this can be a challenging question to address, since doing so means taking on not only that person's assumptions and insecurities but also the culture's assumptions and fears about speaking in tongues. As such, I've learned it's best to respond with a relatable example. Whenever someone asks me, "Do I have to speak in tongues?" I reply:
"Do I have to hug my grandchildren, or do I get to hug my grandchildren? Do I have to get out bed in the morning, or do I get to get out of bed in the morning? Do I have to kiss my wife, or do I get to kiss my wife?"
The answer to all these questions is yes—yes, I have to, but with jubilant joy and because of overwhelming love, I get to!
Instead of viewing these necessary actions as mandates to be checked off the to-do list, I choose a different perspective. It is not a question of, Do I have to? Instead, I think, Wow! I get to hug my grandchildren, and I would love to get to do it more. I get to rise out bed in the morning, and at my age, I am thankful for that. I get to kiss my beautiful wife, and praise God, she still acts like she loves it. Likewise, and even more importantly, I don't have to pray in tongues daily, but I get to pray every day in a prayer language designed to build up my most holy faith.
Language is at the center of all our interaction. More than just the communication of ideas, it establishes authority and agreement, and it influences ability. Because language is also tied to culture, it is a marker of the family to which you belong. This is no less true of our prayer language. The kingdom of God is not a crowd but a family, and our prayer language is a part of our spiritual culture and heritage as believers. Our heavenly Father promises us we will "receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you" (Acts 1:8). It is a powerful gift for us, our children, our grandchildren, and to "all whom the Lord our God will call" (Acts 2:39)—all the sons and daughters of God.
I think where people get off track is that sometimes we get so hung up on the term speaking in tongues that we forget that this gift is a language, a way for our spirit and the Spirit of God both to speak directly and hear one another clearly, unhindered by the constraints of human speech. It is not about the action we take as speakers but rather about the exchange taking place between our spirit and the God who created us and calls us His own. When we speak in tongues, we aren't holding a better, louder megaphone pointed at heaven, but instead we become better listeners and are more tuned in to His voice.
If you find yourself in a season in which you need to hear from the Lord, speaking in tongues will unlock the breakthrough you are seeking. If you are facing challenges that seem insurmountable, pray to your heavenly Father in your prayer language and know that He hears and wants you to hear His voice in return. If you want to receive the fullness of His Holy Spirit, ask Him right now to know His mind, His will and His power and be ready to receive all He has for you—including the gift of tongues.
If you have not yet spoken in tongues, take a step of faith as His Spirit is giving you His language. Allow the rivers of living water to come out of deepest part of your being. You are His child, and He wants to teach you His language. Allow Him to fill you to overflowing for your edification and for the edification of those to whom you are called to minister. Let me know today you were filled with the Holy Spirit at contactmikelfrenchministries@gmail.com.
You are beautiful. I see Jesus in you.
Have an awesome week!
Mikel Frenchhas challenged spiritual awakening all across America, where many celebrations extended into multiple weeks, and has conducted celebrations in France, Sweden, Russia, Romania, Poland, Ukraine, Moldova, Serbia, Germany, South Africa, Malawi, the Philippines, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Haiti, Japan, Singapore, India and Thailand. He conducted an outreach celebration in Manila, Philippines, reaching 200,000 teenagers with the Book of Hope. Through the generous support of partners, he has presented the message of Jesus Christ to millions of people in the nation of Russia through televised citywide soul-winning celebrations. Mikel considers it an honor to assist in conducting the annual pastor's conference, where thousands of pastors from Russia's 11 time zones come for training, teaching and equipping. Mikel and his wife, Marsha, reside in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
“For I satisfy the
weary ones and refresh everyone who languishes." (Jeremiah 31:25, NASU)
We strive very hard to
get refreshed. After a long, hard day at work or in the home, or once we have completed
a difficult task that we dreaded and fretted about for days or longer is done,
we seek to get refreshed in mind, spirit and body. Be it by watching the latest
movie blockbuster, our favorite weekly TV show on the DVR, or just sitting on
the front porch during a cool, spring day, if the neighbor isn’t mowing his
yard, we seek refreshment. It is something that is necessary.
A popular saying in
church sermons the past few years has been “getting our batteries recharged.” Though
that seems a little crude to me, I get it. Daily grinds wear us out – we may be
giving more than receiving - and recovering from them is important. Without regular refreshings, we would get burned out fast.
I recall the many
Scriptures telling the times when Jesus would get alone, pray, and tap into the
strength His Father gave Him each time He did. With the multitudes pressing in
on Him throughout His daily teaching and ministry, He knew the importance of
that time, and I would be certain He most appreciated it when He took that
time.
“After he had sent the
crowds away, he went up into the hills by himself to pray. Night came on, and
he was there alone.” (Matthew 14:23, Complete Jewish Bible)
Our mind needs
refreshing. Our body certainly needs refreshing. Most critical of all – our spirit
needs refreshing. With the spiritual forces coming at us from all directions,
seeking to “steal, kill and destroy”, we need to have our spirit given a daily
boost with the grace and enthused power of the Holy Spirit.
For myself, morning
prayer allows the Lord the time to prepare me for the day ahead. Praying in the
spirit builds up and replenishes the weary soul. Throughout the day, maybe at a
lunch break, I will quietly pray in tongues, particularly as I sense a burden
needing attention.
“But you, beloved, building
yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, 21 keep
yourselves in the love of God, waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord
Jesus Christ to eternal life.” (Jude 20-21, NASU)
However you get
refreshed, I urge you to have the quiet time you’ve so often meant to
experience, but kept putting it off. You will find that when you give that a priority,
strength for the rest will be more known. You’ll be thankful you do.
Now think on this,
Steve Martin
Founder
Love For His People,
Inc.
P.S.I would be most grateful if you'd share
this encouraging word with your family and friends. They might need it. You can
easily use the social media icons below. Thanks! Steve
We are blessed when
the ministry receives gifts to support the families that we do, primarily in
Israel, Hungary, India, Pakistan and the hurting ones here in the USA. You also
can share out of the abundance you have been given.
Love For His People,
Inc. is a charitable,
not-for-profit USA humanitarian organization started in 2010 to share the love
of the Father in the nations.
If these messages
minister to you, please consider sending a charitable gift of $5-$25 today, and
maybe each month, to help us bless families we know in Israel, whom we
consistently help through our humanitarian ministry. Your tax deductible
contributions receive a receipt for each donation. Fed. ID #27-1633858.
Now Think On This - In
the Year of our Lord 04.01.17 - #278 – “Refreshment” – Saturday 4.30 pm
All previous editions
of Now Think On This can be found on this
Blog, and on the website: Now Think On This
Again, I would be most
grateful if you'd share this encouraging word with your family and friends. You
can easily use the social media icons below. Thanks! Steve
I was awakened from a series of dreams in which the Lord revealed to me that there has been an increased assault on the body of Christ in this moment. I recognize that the devil is always accusing, attacking and trying to create havoc, but there was something of significance about this particular warning.
In one of the dreams there was a strong attack of witchcraft that was creating confusion. In this dream, I was being pummeled with verbal attacks, and the more they were released, the more challenge that I had completing basic tasks. The Lord showed me that this is indeed a manifestation of witchcraft, the release of word curses and the resulting confusion. There are people right now who have been having intense mind battles as a result of the deluge of word curses.
The Lord told me to issue a warning to His Bride that we need to stay alert in the Spirit. He is releasing a call to prayer. It is time for the intercessors to man their battle stations and turn back the tide of this demonic wave.
"Pray in the Spirit always with all kinds of prayer and supplication. To that end be alert with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints" (Eph. 6:18).
As the series of dreams continued, I saw the enemy trying to resurrect old wounds and use old strategies in a new way. Be on the alert for this occurrence in your own life. If you are suddenly hit with something you have previously overcome, know that it is a tactic of Satan. This wave of attacks is trying to revive yokes that have already been broken, but the enemy is bringing them about in a seemingly new and different way.
I was dressed to preach in one of the dreams and mud got on my clothes. Mud can be symbolic of accusations. The Lord said this to me, "The enemy is trying to shred your identity and soil your garment." This is not just for me it is for the body. The weight of these attacks is coming directly against the assignment on your life and what you are called to do. In my dream, the enemy began speaking against what I was wearing. He was trying to intimidate me into letting go of my authentic identity. I was also waiting on a ride to preach, and it was delayed. This spirit tries to delay and abort assignments.
When I awoke in the middle of these dreams, the Lord said to me, "Get up and intercede for the body of Christ." He said, "I am showing these things to you in order to expose the tactics of the enemy and to call my people to prayer. Prayer will break these attacks." I checked my phone and saw that one of my spiritual daughters had sent me a word about the downpour and the rain of the Spirit. It shot off in my spirit. I felt the Lord telling me to put out a prayer alert. He said to tell the intercessors to call forth a torrent of glory!
The word torrent means "a tumultuous outpouring, a sudden, violent, and copious outpouring, or a rushing, violent, or abundant and unceasing stream of anything, or a violent downpour of rain, a violent, tumultuous, or overwhelming flow." This is a vivid picture of God's defense strategy. We need a massive and violent downpour of the glory. This eradicates the plans of hell. As I prayed into this, the Lord said to me, "The rain washes the mud away." When you are in God's presence and His glory, it miraculously washes the accusations away.
So shall they fear the name of the Lord from the west, and His glory from the rising of the sun; when the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against him (Is. 59:19).
The original Hebrew text did not have punctuation. As Scripture was translated, punctuation was added. In this case, it makes the enemy appear as the flood, but I believe the flood is not the enemy, but the Lord. When His torrent of glory is released, the flood waters of heaven overwhelm the powers of hell. The Spirit of the Lord raises a standard of glory against the trespasses of the enemy.
I want you to understand that we have nothing to fear. We can rest assured that Jesus paid for our total redemption. We neither glorify nor exalt the plans of hell. We simply expose them in order to conquer them. Identifying the enemy's battle strategy is a critical step in securing the victory. The enemy wants to raise up dead bondages and temptations, but the torrent of glory will overwhelm his schemes. Let's go to the place of prayer and, in unison, release the flood waters of His presence in this season. We win.
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Ex-Witch Breaks Down the Power Speaking and Praying in Tongues Holds
Ex-witch Beth Eckert says one of the key ways to defeat the devil when he launches an attack is to speak and pray in tongues.
However, many Christians today do not believe these are active gifts meant for modern use.
"Recently, I've decided to explore more in-depth about what speaking in tongues is versus praying in tongues and what Scripture says about those things, because I've seen so much controversy on the topic of speaking in tongues," Eckert says.
The ex-witch says most of her research comes straight from 1 Corinthians 14, which dictates how and why these gifts should be used.
Watch the video to see more.
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3 Reasons Why you should read Life in the Spirit. 1) Get to know the Holy Spirit. 2) Learn to enter God's presence 3) Hear God's voice clearly! Click Here to draw closer to God!
Jennifer LeClaire is now sharing her reflections and revelations through Walking in the Spirit. Listen at charismapodcastnetwork.com.
"Arise, you princes, and oil the shields." These words from Isaiah 21:5 struck my heart in a strong way Thursday morning.
"Arise, you princes, and oil the shields."
Isaiah uttered these words in response to a "grievous vision" that sent him into travail, perplexed and dismayed him, and caused his heart to beat fast in overwhelming fear. The Bible says he trembled all night long (Is. 21:1-5). Imagine receiving such a prophetic vision from the Lord!
"Arise, you princes, and oil the shields."
When Scripture leaps off the page, we need to pay attention to what the Lord is trying to show us. In this encounter with the written Word of God, verse 6 also spoke to my heart. It reads: "Go, station a watchman; let him declare what he sees."
Prepare for Spiritual Warfare
We must prepare for the spiritual battle in this season. We must give heed to the watchman's ministry in this hour so they can warn us of the impending attacks that will surely come. We must oil the shields, or as another translation puts it, "anoint our shields."
Oil is a symbol of the Holy Spirit. We need fresh oil in this season with which to oil our shields. Speaking prophetically, some Christians have run out of oil in their lamps much like the five virgins in Matthew 25. The Bible calls these virgins "foolish" because they carried their lamps but didn't take oil with them. When the Bridegroom let out a cry at midnight, the foolish virgins awoke and sought to borrow oil from the wise virgins. The wise virgins refused and the Bridegroom ultimately rejected the foolish virgins.
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In this parable, Jesus concluded: "Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming." I don't know when Christ is returning, but I do discern the signs of the times, and He is coming as a "thief in the night" (1 Thess. 5:2).
Beloved, now is not the time to run out of fresh oil. Now is not the time to depend on someone else's relationship with Jesus or someone else's anointing to carry you through the battles that will emerge in the days ahead. Now is the time to cultivate the oil of intimacy in your life—to invest in a deeper relationship with the Holy Spirit—so that you can stand and withstand in the evil day. Just as Moses used oil to anoint the priests and consecrate them for service, we need to set ourselves apart to receive His anointing so we can faithfully execute His call on our lives.
In Ephesians 6, Paul lists the whole armor of God but concludes by writing, "And above all, taking the shield of faith, with which you will be able to extinguish all the fiery arrows of the evil one." The warfare will grow more intense in this next season. The Holy Spirit is calling us to "oil the shields." The strategy here is not only to meditate on the Word of God to build our faith but also to pray in tongues to oil our shield. Jude 20 tells us, "But you, beloved, build yourselves up in your most holy faith. Pray in the Holy Spirit."
The benefits of praying in the Spirit are too vast to list here. However, let me give you a few and encourage you to study this out yourself and discover the benefits through practical experience.
Praying in tongues: is direct communication to God that the devil cannot comprehend (1 Cor. 14:2); activates the fruit of the Spirit (2 Cor. 3:18); releases a prayer perfectly in line with God's will; releases understanding into the mysteries of God (1 Cor. 14:2); opens up realms of revelation (1 Cor. 12:8); and positions you to engage in spiritual warfare from a position of victory (Eph. 6:18).
The Coming Prophetic Season
We are coming into a season where we will see "people fainting from fear and expectation of the [dreadful] things coming on the world" (Luke 21:26, AMP). We're seeing a foretaste of this even now. We must invest time to cultivate the oil of intimacy so we can oil our shields as we enter escalating end-times warfare amid a Great Falling Away that will see many deceived.
Yesterday's manna is not going to cut it. We must live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God (Matt. 4:4). We must determine to press into fresh revelation, fresh understanding, fresh anointing—fresh manna. The key word is fresh. Stale manna is not going to sustain your faith in the coming season. Some in the body have been taught wrong doctrines and others are believing heresies. We must guard our hearts from these deceptions.
Watchman ministry will receive newfound respect in the coming hour as Christians find themselves blindsided by world events. Watchman and spiritual warriors will connect in new ways, working together in unity to push back the darkness trying to stop the manifestation of the glorious church. Prophets who have been hidden in the wilderness will emerge with fresh oil on their shields and fresh revelation in their hearts to declare the uncompromising word of the Lord by faith.
3 Reasons Why you should read Life in the Spirit. 1) Get to know the Holy Spirit. 2) Learn to enter God's presence 3) Hear God's voice clearly! Go deeper!
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