Love For His People: preparation

Showing posts with label preparation. Show all posts

Thursday, April 30, 2026

Preparing the Spiritual Atmosphere by Morris Ruddick

With spiritual maturity will come responsibility. With responsibility will come conflict. And yet, spiritual maturity and responsibility, more often will begin with conflict.

God’s original assignment for man was that of dominion. From the time of the Fall, through the ages, to the glimpse of the climax seen by John on Patmos, the trajectory for God’s people has been that of restoration. A trajectory historically accompanied by ample conflict.

It is the restoration of the beacon flowing ….with what it means to be a culture within a culture. It is the authority and anointing that accompanies maturity. It releases the power to embrace the responsibility.

And it requires the preparation to enable the Lord to do His part in taking the offensive ….in the strategic change of restoration in this age-old conflict. The process of this mandate was captured uniquely during a time of conflict with the words God imparted to Jeremiah:
“You are my battle-axe and weapon of war. Through you, I will break nations in pieces. Through you, I will destroy kingdoms and strongholds. And I will repay Babylon and Chaldea.” Jer 51:20, 24

This dramatic assignment conforms with those gleaned by Isaiah, Ezekiel and Daniel ….along with the prophetic highlights imparted to John by Jesus of the final conflict when God’s people make their final stand against the prince of darkness.

This execution of this dual-thrust of God and His people …..merging the authority and anointing of God’s people taking their stand …..with the unlimited power from on High, requires the preparation of the spiritual atmosphere.

When the Authority and Anointing Combine with Unity
This preparation was captured, as the leadership and generation-changed, with the Lord’s instructions to Joshua before taking the offensive in entering the promised land.

The time when Joshua replaced Moses was dramatic. With the extended judgment having passed, with the exception of Joshua and Caleb, it comprised a new and very eager generation. The words, engendering expectation and faith, that came from the Lord were strong and direct. It was time. The Lord was about to demonstrate His awesome power in fulfilling His promises. But there were conditions to be met by God’s people.

The people faced a time of getting ready, meaningfully preparing for a season beyond their expectations. Overshadowing the readiness task was its link to preparing the spiritual atmosphere.

Through consecration, they were about to become a part of change so powerful, it would impact everything in the path before them. THe words of Joshua that the Lord was about to do wonders among them, fails to fully capture the realities they were about to encounter. They had heard about the parting of the Red Sea. But this would be beyond anything they had ever experienced.

The cost began with their preparation …..the consecration. This preparation, together with God’s power, would lead into taking the actions that would electrify and change the spiritual atmosphere ….and release wonders.
“So consecrate yourselves, for the Lord will do wonders among you.” Joshua 3:5

Consecrate means to set apart; to be devoted irrevocably to God, to His Holy purposes. It entails ridding oneself ….which ranges from mind-sets to behaviors ….of anything contrary to one’s identity-in-God and the divine assignment at hand.

This dynamic of preparation is twofold. First it took place not just on an individual and tribal basis, but on a national basis. AND this generation of Israel was “all-in.”
“So they answered Joshua, saying, “All that you command us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go. Just as we heeded Moses in all things, so we will heed you. Only the LORD your God be with you, as He was with Moses. Whoever rebels against your command and does not heed your words, in all that you command him, shall be put to death. Only be strong and of good courage.” Joshua 1:16-18

Secondly, the preparation was short-lived. It was the spiritual re-boot needed to move forward in taking the action needed to align with the thrust intended by the Spirit of the Lord.

The Cost for God’s Purpose of Restoration
Understanding God’s age-old pattern of restoration helps in grasping the focus of the assignment for God’s people with priorities that come from on High, from age to age. It reflects the dynamic that has taken place from Moses to Joshua to David ….to the climax of the confrontations of evil in John’s Revelations.

The significance in the preparation in each of these head-on confrontations with evil …..is that they would begin with changing the spiritual atmosphere.

It is preparation that is not designed to take on a life of its own, but rather to prepare for action. Action that will not presume, but be accompanied by the evidence of “wonders” from on-High. The preparation is accompanied by the commitment needed …..to avoid the love of the world, the lust of the flesh and the pride of life.

Perhaps a glimmer of insight might be found in the circumstances faced by believers who reside in today’s Iran …whose lives have aligned with living according to the standard expressed in John of “the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony, loving their lives not unto death.”

Pretty severe? When it is recognized that the destination intended by the subtleties of darkness is death, it is not. Joshua outlined the practicalities:
“Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go. This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.” Joshua 1:7-8

The Stance that Releases God’s Wonders
“Being all-in” takes strength and courage to adhere to the standard, as well as the discipline needed to ensure it is maintained as the top-of-mind priority. It also entails the cost of one’s identity in the Lord being sufficient to becoming a specific target ….and the process admonished in John that goes with embracing the blood of the Lamb with the word of their testimony …that of loving not their lives unto death.

Maintaining such a stance engenders being released into a place under the shadow of His wings. AND with that, an authority that accompanies the assignment. As the dynamic manifests and takes root, it captures the attention of that “great cloud of witnesses” described in the Book of Hebrews.

Despite a world that views priorities and issues through the lens of geopolitics, the focus from on-High represents something far greater, yet far more subtle. That priority is the cause of freedom. Genuine freedom underscores the Jewish Torah message and the principles in governing and operating a God-centric society. Freedom bears significance in God’s “order,” a matter deemed worth fighting for, despite our misplaced loss of the significance of God’s order in the Hebrew word “shalom” or peace.

Recent Generation Examples of Atmosphere Change
Changing the spiritual atmosphere, as indicated by the admonition to consecrate, begins with the household of faith. But it doesn’t stop there. It gleans the instructions for moving into action. The only question then is what does that action, that culture-penetrating action from on-high look like in a twenty-first century world.

Perhaps we can gain insight from a review of what we would call “moves of God” that have taken place in the last generation. There has been one factor tied to each that has accompanied this reach for consecration. Likewise, in each instance there has been a correlation between these moves of God and a significant advancement of what God has been doing in modern-day Israel. These developments have been noted in previous posts for SIGN, yet are worthy of even closer examination.

The first took place in 1948 when, with amazing circumstances, against all odds in a time of war, this age-old process of restoration resulted in, once again within the Land promised to Abraham, of Israel becoming a nation. Just as amazingly, in that same year, in the US alone, 250 healing ministries began gaining attention ….with the restoration of the supernatural that was being demonstrated, having not been seen for some time even close to this level.

Then in another time of conflict in Israel, in 1967, Israel regained control of Jerusalem. Similarly, two key dynamics were underway within the Church. There was a massive move of God among Jews coming to the Lord ….yet uniquely maintaining their Jewish identities in a movement being labeled as the Messianic Jewish revival.

Simultaneously and accompanied by some overlap was the Jesus movement and restoration of the gifts of the Spirit within the Church that began being referred to as the Charismatic Renewal. Since that time, the Messianic Jewish congregations in the US have grown from a mere handful to over a thousand, with its spread manifesting internationally. In Israel, the call of Aliyah that began in those days has resulted in a third generation of an Israeli Messianic Jewish community, now being over 30,000.

The Subtle Catalyst for Birthing and Change
The thread that has accompanied each of these developments has been the groundswell of independent and coordinated prayer movements.

Today, many are now pointing to the October 7th conflict and the resulting war with Iran as being the flashpoint for this next step of restoration from on-High. Never has there been a time in this last generation when the call to prepare, to consecrate for what the Lord is about to do, been more critical.

Globally, a mosaic of Kingdom-initiatives are in the birthing stages. Globally, the prayer movements that accompanied the birth of Israel and then Israel regaining control of Jerusalem are gaining in unity. It represents a groundswell from nations from across sub-Haharan Afrika to nations across Asia ….each monitoring news developments regarding what God has been doing in the restoration of Israel.

The thrust of this ministry has long been in understanding the times, to know what to do. In paying heed to this focus, it is a time when those prepared, consecrated …..and gathering to pray …..would begin to recognize the authority they wield to change the spiritual atmosphere ….for what the Lord is about to do.

Gaining Clarity, Focus and Momentum
Likewise, it is a time to recognize and bypass the mounting, seductive distractions to gain clarity and unity in mobilizing the strategic prayer-initiatives being birthed globally.

These prayer-initiatives target the parallel move of God of restoration that the Lord is doing simultaneously in Israel and within the Church. The “next-step” of restoration from on-High from the steps the Lord has already orchestrated in 1948 and 1967 following the dramatic outcomes of the military conflicts that Israel underwent in those days.

In discerning these next steps, many have begun pointing to a massive move of Aliyah, the return of the Jews to their homeland, and I wouldn’t disagree. It will be a part. But there is more. Much more and we need to be focused, consecrated and mobilized.

While the events of 1948 and 1967 have manifested with a keen role played by the Church in the US, what is before us will also, but will shift globally to incorporate key roles played by the emergence of the persecuted and oppressed in the Church’s move of restoration.

So, as these days unfold, it is a time to be living consecrated lifestyles, to be giving keen heed to the regular practice of communion, to giving pause in praying for those who have spitefully used and been the persecutors. Doing so will release the clarity needed for the big-picture as this grand-strategy of mobilization conforms to what the Lord will be doing from on-High. It’s a time to bypass personal tripping points in order to penetrate and take authority over the shadows concealed by darkness. It’s a time to run, not walk in being connected, whether in going two-by-two or in gathering to pray with interactive, small prayer groups.

The Apostle Paul wrote the Ephesians about the correlation between spiritual maturity, this momentum and each one doing his part. As God spoke to Jeremiah of those things He would do through Jeremiah ….to break nations in pieces, destroy kingdoms and strongholds, with those wonders being established, there would come a time when He would sovereignly deal with Babylon and Chaldea, the age-old princes behind the world’s and darkness’ powers. It all begins with “so consecrate yourselves,” as we prepare the spiritual atmosphere for what He is about to do.

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Morris Ruddick has been a forerunner of the Joseph-calling and God’s economy message, being an international voice for the higher dimensions of spiritual game-changers and intercessors since the mid-90s. As founder of Global Initiatives Foundation, the Strategic Intercession Global Network [SIGN] and designer of the God’s Economy Entrepreneurial Equippers Program and the Jewish Business Secrets YouTube series, Mr. Ruddick’s messages equip leaders and economic community builders with strategy where God’s light is dim in diverse regions around the globe.

He is author of “The Joseph-Daniel Calling;” “Gods Economy, Israel and the Nations;” “The Heart of a King;” “Something More;” “Righteous Power in a Corrupt World;” “Leadership by Anointing;” and “Mantle of Fire,” which address the mobilization of business and governmental leaders with destinies to impact their communities. They are available in print and e-versions from www.Amazon.com, www.apple.com/ibooks and www.BarnesandNoble.com.

In keeping with this message on prayer-movements, I would like to recommend “Raise Up a Battle Cry” by Stephania Grani. It is a valuable resource of anointed prayers that will appeal to both the seasoned and those just getting acquainted with intercession. It is available at www.Amazon.com

Global Initiatives Foundation (www.strategic-initiatives.org) is a tax-exempt 501 (c) 3 non-profit whose efforts mobilize economic community builders imparting influence and the blessings of God. Checks on US banks should be made out to Global Initiatives and mailed to 3838 South Wabash Street, Denver CO 80237 or by credit card at https://strategic-initiatives.org/donate/

Wednesday, June 18, 2025

"Accelerating" - quote from Morris Ruddick. (Taken from: "Responding to the Season of Change" message)

"There has not been a time, since the late 1930s, when the change and such false narratives have been on such a grand-scale; and with the subtleties, has been more complex and intense. And it is accelerating.

Having returned from an assignment in Israel, it has been in recognizing that the challenge lies in recognizing and responding to the shifts and unexpecteds. More of the same harder represents a snare. Understanding the times is one thing, processing the quantum, accelerating change and emerging narratives is another. We’re facing the basis for strategies that shape nations, economies and seasons. Yet, there is nothing new under the sun."

Morris Ruddick, Denver, CO June 2025

Shabbat evening - Israel May 2025

Shabbat meal (L-R) Morris Ruddick, Larry Herzekow, Bess Herzekow

Men at Shabbat gathering in Har Adar, Israel May 2025

For Morris Ruddick's full article, click here: "Responding to the Season Change"

Thursday, September 22, 2022

You Need To Be Ready – Steve Martin, Love For His People Ministry

People Get Ready

“Much later, the other virgins, the silly ones, showed up and knocked on the door, saying, ‘Master, we’re here. Let us in.’ “He answered, ‘Do I know you? I don’t think I know you.’ “So stay alert. You have no idea when he might arrive.” Matthew 25:11-13, THE MESSAGE

Years ago, on Aug. 16, 2017, in fact, I wrote a message in my Now Think On This series, entitled, “Another Chicken Little”. I reprinted it again at the end of this message if you care to read it. It spoke of these times we are living in. Most of you can recall the story of the little chicken running around and crying out, “The sky is falling. The sky is falling.” No one paid attention to him. Until it was too late. (You can see the original story here Chicken Little (*Henny Penny, 1823) and the 1943 film that was made about Nazi Germany. See here: Chicken Little)

Another childhood story, an Aesop Fairy tale written in 1867, meant for even grownups, was written entitled, “The Boy Who Cried Wolf“. It has similar connotations as the original Chicken Little. Both stories were meant to be warnings, which a few, if any, heeded. In the end, they themselves found out it was too late to act as they could have and should have.

As I wrote in my message earlier, few people are acting on the word that has gone forth repeatedly in our day, to prepare. It seems they have “heard it all before” and say, as they have repeatedly said, “It will not happen in my time.” And yet it is. And as expected, they are not prepared.

Yeshua (Jesus) told the parable (story) of the ten virgins, who all were told to be ready before the bridegroom came. Five were wise and believed it when they were told to be ready and acted appropriately. The other five were not prepared and did nothing. They thought unwisely to themselves that the day wouldn’t really come, or when it did, that they could still do what was necessary to protect themselves, provide as necessary, and participate with those who had been prepared.

As Yeshua told it to those who would listen, “The Kingdom of Heaven at that time will be like ten bridesmaids who took their lamps and went out to meet the groom. Five of them were foolish and five were sensible. The foolish ones took lamps with them but no oil, whereas the others took flasks of oil with their lamps.

Now the bridegroom was late, so they all went to sleep. It was the middle of the night when the cry rang out, ‘The bridegroom is here! Go out to meet him!’ The girls all woke up and prepared their lamps for lighting. The foolish ones said to the sensible ones, ‘Give us some of your oil, because our lamps are going out.’

‘No,’ they replied, ‘there may not be enough for both you and us. Go to the oil dealers and buy some for yourselves.’ But as they were going off to buy, the bridegroom came. Those who were ready went with him to the wedding feast, and the door was shut. Later, the other bridesmaids came. ‘Sir! Sir!’ they cried, ‘Let us in!’ But he answered, ‘Indeed! I tell you, I don’t know you!’ So stay alert, because you know neither the day nor the hour.” Matthew 25:1-13, Complete Jewish Bible

Even as many wise ones are crying out, “Wolf, wolf!” in our days, just as many, if not more, will be saying, “All is well. All is well.”

As for me and my house, I know whom we are listening to. Being prepared is not something you do after the time you should have done it. It is not a lack of faith. It is discerning the times, heeding the Lord’s Word that He spoke centuries ago, and now knowing that we are in those times.

Get out of bed. Open your eyes. Do it now before you no longer can.

“People get ready, for the train is coming…” Guys like Bob Dylan and Rod Stewart (not my favorites but the Lord will use anyone who is willing!) sang of such. Listen here: People Get Ready

Get ready. These are those times. Don’t put off for tomorrow what needs to be done today.

Ahava and shalom, Steve Martin

Love For His PeopleFounder

Message #111 in this series – in the year of our Lord 09.22.2022 – “People Get Ready”, Thursday, 7:22 am in Charlotte, North Carolina

And from over five years ago…on Aug. 16, 2017…

Another Chicken Little? Now Think On This, Steve Martin

“There will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth dismay among nations, in perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the waves…” (Luke 21:25, NAS)

Back in the day, and maybe even today, there was a cute children’s story we learned as little kids. You may remember it. Chicken Little (*Henny Penny, 1823).  If my memory banks serve me right, Chicken Little went around saying the sky was falling. Wherever he went, he told people, “The sky is falling.” He was wanting them to be ready, but when it didn’t fall, he became the laughing stock.

All around us in these days, particularly in Christian circles, there are many declaring that the sky is falling, and we better be prepared for the times we are living in. Some laugh and call them crazy; others would fault them for being over spiritual, for after all, these aren’t the only times “the sky has been falling.”

You know, I for one believe them. I am taking heed to the ones who are saying to look up, to get ready, for these are the times when the signs in the heavens are telling us the sky is falling. Maybe not literally, but maybe so. Men of integrity and prophetic insight, such as Jim Bakker, Jonathan Cahn, Jesus, Mark Biltz, Perry Stone, and Michael Snyder, to name a few, aren’t to be scoffed at. The Lord has given them a word of warning, and we are the foolish ones if we think they are nuts.

Again, I for one am eating those words they speak forth. Based on their past history in prophetic understanding, I suggest you might too. (That is why I regularly post their messages on our Love For His People website.) Personally, I get the weird look from the other’s eye when I tell people I have food stored up in my closet. (After all, North Carolina has had hurricanes before.)

“You lack faith if you do that,” was one comment many people will profess. Oh really? Did Noah lack faith when he was told by Someone not seen to build a big, big boat in the middle of a dry, dry desert, for a worldwide flooding rain storm that he didn’t even know would really come? But he did. And it did. 120 years later – after he was first told.

It took him between 55-75 years to actually accomplish the immense task, trusting and obeying all along the way. (You have to keep doing it, from start to finish!) But he did obey in faith, and thus he was ready.

Did Joseph lack faith when the Lord God of the Hebrews (Israel) told him how to prepare for the coming seven years? Where did Jesus keep His bank account, other than in Judas’s back pocket, whom He knew would do what he would actually do with the money.

Yeshua wasn’t putting His trust in that back pocket, nor did He have a 401(k) to live off when He retired. “We must save for the rainy day?” Where in the Bible does it say to do that? Not in my Bible – the Complete Jewish Bible, New American Standard, New King James, The Tree of Life, and others I read and quote from daily. That is truly a European/American financial concept, because people quit believing in the Lord of All, Jehovah Jireh as their provider, and thus had (have) to trust in their money.

What happens when the money is not there the day you are going to need it? Then whose god are you going to trust in? Wall Street’s, or the friendly banker supposedly holding your cash in their vaults? It won’t be there anymore when you really want it.  Ever try getting a few thousand in cash out of your bank account today, if you have that much? The majority of people don’t even have a few hundred to draw on.

The worldwide financial system is making it more difficult every day to handle your own money. They really don’t want you to have it, as they make their wealth off of you. This I know, for the bank tells me so. I work in accounting/finance.

Chicken Little may have a good point if the story was to be rewritten today. The sky may not be literally falling, but the sun, the moon, the stars – put in place at the very beginning of creation, literally, by the Creator Himself, are there for a purpose other than just light. God the Father, and His Only Son Jesus Christ, gave them to us, to speak to us, so that we would not be unaware of the times and the seasons.

“Then God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night, and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years; 15and let them be for lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth”; and it was so. 16God made the two great lights, the greater light to govern the day, and the lesser light to govern the night; He made the stars also. 17God placed them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, 18and to govern the day and the night, and to separate the light from the darkness; and God saw that it was good.19There was evening and there was morning, a fourth day.” Genesis 1:14-19

“He himself existed before anything else did, and he holds all things together.” Colossians 1:17

“Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am.” John 8:58

“I will display wonders in the sky and on the earth, blood, fire and columns of smoke.” Joel 2:30.

Today may not be the day the Lord Jesus returns in glory and power, as the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, but it might be. It certainly is closer today than when He left the first time, promising to return. Among all the prophets of the Jews (who through the Holy Spirit, Ruach HaKodesh) gave us the full Bible, Yeshua was among the chief prophets.  Yeshua (Jesus) said He would be crucified, die, and would rise on the third day. It happened. He did. Just as He said it would.

And that which He prophesied about the End of Days, the times which I firmly believe began moving forward in the fast lane, is ticking majorly on. That historically and spiritually eternal timepiece started the fast track in 1948 when the Jews got their Promised Land back and Israel became a nation again. The fig tree burst forth and is growing rapidly. Have you considered the reality of Israel lately, and the ingathering of the Jewish people?

I highly suggest you do. You have the choice to believe or not what the Lord is clearly displaying in the heavens. How you act upon it is your choice.

Shalom and ahava (peace and love in Hebrew).

Now think on this, Steve Martin, Founder, Love For His People Ministry

SILENCE IS NOT GOLDEN by Steve Martin (published August 21, 2022)

There was a song popular in 1967 entitled, “Silence Is Golden” by The Tremeloes. They were a British band sharing their songs there and in the USA.

But that was then. This is now. We are not to be silent when our voices and courage are to be loud and strong.

As believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, we are called to speak His Word, share His love, do that which He has commissioned and ordained us to do. That means speaking up.

SILENCE IS NOT GOLDEN are messages to inspire and encourage you to speak, write, go, and do that which the Lord has put in your heart to do. We must do it now, or it will be too late.It is our moment to shine. It is our time, given to us by the Lord Jesus Christ, to take His love, His life, to a needing and dying world. His sacrifice on the cross, His death, His resurrection, had brought Him to this earth to save the nations. Not one. Not two. But all. And He has called us to let the world know.

Do not be silent, for silence is not golden.

Through the Jewish people, whom He chose to express His eternal love, He has shown that He is able to deliver what He has promised and will fulfill all that He has yet to finish. Just look at Israel and the return of the Jews after centuries. It is all in the prophetic Scriptures.

This book is to encourage you to speak up, stand up, be the one whom the Lord has called, appointed, and anointed you to be.

As it was in a popular commercial years ago, before the “wokeness” and “cancel culture” overwhelmed the people with its godless agenda, the USA Armed Services had the statement, “Be all you can be.”My word to you is, “Be all He has called you to be!”With this, I hope you read the inspired words the Holy Spirit has given me, and for those not quite into “reading” – enjoy the many photos and images I include!

Steve MartinCharlotte, North Carolina USA

To purchase on Amazon: SILENCE IS NOT GOLDEN – Paperback $9.95 Hardback $12.95 E-book $2.99

Steve Martin

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.

Contents List

Thursday, April 30, 2026

Preparing the Spiritual Atmosphere by Morris Ruddick

Preparing the Spiritual Atmosphere by Morris Ruddick

Wednesday, June 18, 2025

"Accelerating" - quote from Morris Ruddick. (Taken from: "Responding to the Season of Change" message)

Thursday, September 22, 2022

You Need To Be Ready – Steve Martin, Love For His People Ministry

Steve Martin