Charlotte NC in March 2014 - birds, turtles, blooming trees, flowers, dogs and even a cat...

As I walked around the neighborhood and in the back yard, I took these photos with my Canon camera. We serve a very Creative God! His works are so wonderful and beautiful, to show His love for us and all His people.

Steve Martin, Love For His People

Charlotte, NC March 15, 2014

Cardinal Singing The Tune in North Carolina

North Carolina State Bird - the Cardinal

Cardinal singing his tune in the tree - March 15,2014 in Charlotte, NC. The cardinal is the state bird of NC.

Videos filmed and shared by Steve Martin - to give appreciation to and love for those we support, through Love For His People, Inc.

Bob Jones and the Rapture...

Bob Jones - 2011

Uploaded on Oct 31, 2011

This is from the Shepherds Rod 2012 at the Harvest Fest. The rapture, love of God, learning to love people - more important than building a church.

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Mystery Picture Solution: Sha'ar HaGai (Hebrew) Bab al-Wad (Arabic) -- Almost Every Visitor to Jerusalem Passes this Spot

Israel's History - a Picture a Day (Beta)

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Mystery Picture Solution: Sha'ar HaGai (Hebrew) Bab al-Wad (Arabic) -- Almost Every Visitor to Jerusalem Passes this Spot Posted: 14 Mar 2014  Original caption: "Entering the Judean Hills, Wady Ali, old route Jaffa to Jerusalem."  (Keystone-Mast Collection, California Museum of Photography at UCR ARTSblock, University of California, Riverside) Several readers immediately recognized this location as the entrance way to the gorge between Israel's coastal plain and the Judean hills leading to Jerusalem. Today, the location is called "Sha'ar HaGai" in Hebrew (Gate of the Valley). The name "Sha'ar HaGai" can be found in the Biblical book of Chronicles II (26:9) referring to the fortified towers and gates of Jerusalem built by King Uziyahu. The Arabs referred to the site as "Bab al-Wad," (Gate of the Valley); the valley was called "Wadi Ali."   The Library of Congress archives dates this  picture of the "entrance to the Judean Hills" as 1900 Throughout history, this natural gorge was the chokepoint for armies seeking to put Jerusalem under siege. In 1948-49, Arab armies laid siege to Jewish Jerusalem, and major battles took place from Latrun, near Sha'ar HaGai, all the way to the outskirts of Jerusalem. "Bab al-Wad" was a popular and mournful song memorializing the convoys which attempted to break through the siege during Israel's war of independence. According to blogger Daniel Ventura, the rocky path to Jerusalem was "paved" in the 1860s and formally dedicated for the visit of Austrian Kaiser Franz Josef in 1869.  The Turkish "Khan" -- wayside rest station (a precursor to a gas station) -- was built in 1873.  Reader Rose Feldman wrote, "Sha'ar HaGai was the way station where horses were changed on the way to Jerusalem at the beginning of the 20th century." Ventura quotes a 19th century writer, Binyamin Ze'ev HaLevy Sapir, Jerusalem editor of The Lebanon newspaper, who reported in 1869, "The way from Jaffa to Jerusalem is almost well-finished, and two horse-drawn wagons come and go every day.  The trip from Jaffa to Jerusalem takes 10 hours, and horses are switched at Bab al-Wad." The road today: The highway today.  Ruins of the Turkish Khan can still be seen alongside the road. (Google Earth)

The Lion's Den - Now Think On This by Steve Martin

The Lion's Den

Now Think On This

by Steve Martin

“Then the king arose at dawn, at the break of day, and went in haste to the lions' den. When he had come near the den to Daniel, he cried out with a troubled voice. The king spoke and said to Daniel, "Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you constantly serve, been able to deliver you from the lions?"

Then Daniel spoke to the king, "O king, live forever! "My God sent His angel and shut the lions' mouths and they have not harmed me, inasmuch as I was found innocent before Him; and also toward you, O king, I have committed no crime."

Then the king was very pleased and gave orders for Daniel to be taken up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den and no injury whatever was found on him, because he had trusted in his God.” (Daniel 6:19-24 NASU)

We are all quite familiar with the story of the Jewish young man Daniel, who was with those taken captive from Jerusalem by the Babylonians during the reign of King Nebuchadnezzar. Born in 623 BC, he was raised in Jerusalem before the captivity. During his teen years there in that foreign land, in what is now Iran and Iraq, he was educated in Chaldean thought. However, he never converted to Neo-Babylonian ways, but held to the true convictions in his godly heart.

A time came when the king ordered all of his subjects to obey his commandments of whom to worship. Daniel refused. He knew the Living God of his fathers, and was not going to bow down to any false gods. As a result, he was thrown into the lion’s den. We are told in Scripture that the Lord delivered him from the lions, uninjured, because he had trusted in his God.

Lions are ferocious beasts, who can consume a human body in a very short time, if given the opportunity, and it is time to eat.

Our enemy is portrayed as one who goes about as a lion, seeking to destroy whom he can. “Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8-9 NASU) Notice that he prowls like a lion, but he isn’t one. Only the Lion of Judah is the true One, with all power and authority.

You and I might not get to experience the lion’s den adventure, or be at the consumed end of the African lioness who has found her daily meal. But I know that you and I have experienced the prowling of the one who seeks to destroy and kill mankind. 

All around us, on the national and local news, we see and hear of those who have been devoured by the wanna-be lion. Drugs, alcohol, murder, sexual attacks, mistreatments of all imaginations. No doubt, we have experienced that false lion’s efforts in trying to destroy us in our faith and commitment to the Lion of Judah Himself.

Even in some job situations, there can be that boss continually riding us, beating down our spirit through accusations, ridicule, or lies spread about our beliefs. That can be just as painful and hurtful as having a leg bitten off by a real animal of prey. The spiritual ones can have lasting effects on our mind, will and emotions.

How do we guard against such actions? How do we keep from bowing down to the false gods, fearful of losing our life, possibly in the natural as well? The God of Daniel has shown us the way.

When confronted with the choice of choosing the present escape or the eternal reward, Daniel chose the One who would grant him life everlasting. He had prepared himself on a daily basis, so that when the lions gathered around him, ready to tear him apart, his eyes and heart were kept fixed on his Lord, Who would deliver him.

My encouragement today is that we too stand in the midst of our attackers, both in the natural and the spiritual, who seek to devour us. We can stand strong in our convictions, the truth we know, the way and the life, by being with the Lord daily. If you know Him in your daily walk, you will have that trust, hope and faith that He will bring you through all that the enemy of our soul, spirit and body throws at us.

Trials and tribulations come. Sometimes we wonder if we are going to make it through this one, this time. Knowing that our Deliverer Himself made it through the trial, the whipping, and the crucifixion, we can base our eternal hope on His promises, that He will be with us during ours too.

We are going to be in the lion’s den at some point, if not already. We will stand strong during the time if we have spent time with Him prior to that time.

My prayer is that you do. Know Him who is the One who delivers.

Steve Martin

Founder

Love For His People. Inc.

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.

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Now Think On This #129  “Lion’s Den” by Steve Martin 

Date: In the year of our Lord 2014 (03.15.14) Saturday at 5:30 am in Charlotte, NC).

All previous editions of Now Think On This can be found on this Blog, and on our newest website: Now Think On This

Alex Levin - Purim Paintings

Alex Levin of Tel Aviv, Israel has created beautiful paintings. Here are two selections, depicting the Purim Celebration. 

Grandfather and granddaughter walking to 

Purim celebration in Jerusalem

All dressed up for Purim, commemorating the Lord's deliverance 

from extermination during the time of 

Esther (Hadassah) and Mordecai 

in the Persian Empire days.

Al of Alex's painting can be seen/purchased here: Alex Levin website

God's Not Dead | Official Full Movie Trailer - OPENS MARCH 21, 2014

Willie and Korie Robertson

God's Not Dead | Official Full Movie Trailer 

OPENS March 21, 2014 from Pure Flix Entertainment! 

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The Cast:
Shane Harper, Kevin Sorbo & David A.R. White with special appearances by The Newsboys & Korie & Wilie Robertson.

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Joel Rosenberg - God's Love & Protection for the Jewish People

Joel Rosenberg

March 13, 2014

From ancient Persia to Hitler’s Germany to modern Iran, Purim reminds us of God’s love for & protection of the Jewish people from those who seek to “annihilate” them.

Israel and the Jewish people face many threats these days — from a nuclear Iran, from terrorist rocket fire out of Gaza, from Syrian chemical weapons, and from rising anti-Semitism and a global movement to isolate and delegitimize Israel, especially pernicious in Europe, to name just a few. 

Sometimes Jews wonder, “Why are we the Chosen People? How has that worked out well for us? The Pharoah chose us. Hitler chose us. Stalin chose us. The ayatollahs chose us. Choose someone else, Lord, please!” It’s a sad but understandable sentiment.

As we see current threats — and as we remember the horrors of the Holocaust and the Nazi regime’s determination to annihilate all the Jews of Europe — we need to remember that the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob has never forgotten or forsaken the people He sovereignly chosen. We have, all too often, forgotten Him. But He has never forgotten us.

Indeed, that is why His Word commanded us to celebrate Purim, which takes place this weekend.

Purim is the Jewish holiday that celebrates the remarkable story of how the God of Israel used two faithful believers — Esther and Mordechai — and a movement of prayer and fasting to rescue the Jewish people from an evil Persian regime determine to annihilate them.

Remember: the evil Persian leader Haman literally used the language of annihilation all those years ago. As we read in Esther 3:13, “Letters were sent by couriers to all the king’s provinces to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate all the Jews, both young and old, women and children, in one day….”

The Bible tells believers throughout the ages to celebrate this important holiday. This weekend, I will be teaching at a Baptist church in Tampa about the Jewish holiday of Purim, and why it is so important, and how from ancient Persia to Hitler’s Germany to modern Iran, Purim reminds us of God’s faithful love for and sovereign protection of the Jewish people from those who seek to destroy them.

Here are four ways you and your family can celebrate this year:

Learn – Jewish families around the world read the Book of Esther as a family to remember all the details of this amazing story, and Christians should, too. Study the story in its own historic context, to understand what was really happening, and the enormous faith and courage it took for Mordechai and Esther to do what they did. Then consider how the lessons in the historical account apply to Israel’s challenges today’s, and your own. 

To read the Book of Esther on-line, please click here.

Pray– We are to praise the God of Israel that He is the Redeemer of the Jewish people, and of all people. We should thank Him that He also saved so many Persian people who turned to the Living God at the end of the story (many people miss this part). And especially in these times, we should follow Mordechai and Esther’s example by praying and fasting for the redemption of the Jewish people amidst this current showdown with an evil Persian regime that wants to annihilate them, and praying for the Persian people to be saved as well. Who knows if God has chosen us for a time such as this?

Give — In the Biblical account, the Lord encourages us to give food and other gifts to the poor. We read in Esther 9:20-22, “Then Mordecai recorded these events, and he sent letters to all the Jews who were in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, both near and far, obliging them to celebrate the fourteenth day of the month Adar, and the fifteenth day of the same month, annually, because on those days the Jews rid themselves of their enemies, and it was a month which was turned for them from sorrow into gladness and from mourning into a holiday; that they should make them days of feasting and rejoicing and sending portions of food to one another and gifts to the poor.” Consider how you can give to the Jewish people today and be a blessing to Israel and her neighbors in the name of Jesus.

Go — If you’d like to invest to a ministry that is providing food and other gifts to the poor and needy in the Land of Israel, please go to The Joshua Fund’s website at www.joshuafund.net.

May the Lord bless you, and all of Israel, and all of the Persian people this Purim season.

PERMALINK

British PM Cameron announces upcoming trip to Auschwitz. “I want every child in Britain to learn about the Holocaust.”In Uncategorized on March 13, 2014 at 9:23 am


Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, right, and his British counterpart David Cameron attend a joint press conference in Jerusalem on Wednesday, March 12, 2014, following their meeting. (photo credit: AP)

British Prime Minister David Cameron, on his first state visit to Israel, spoke about his Jewish relatives and about how seriously he takes the history of the Holocaust.

He visited Yad Vashem on Wednesday, the Israeli Holocaust museum and research center.

During his address to the Knesset,Cameron also announced that he will be visiting the Auschwitz death camp in southern Poland later this year, and said, “I want every child in Britain to learn about the Holocaust and to understand just how vital it is to fight discrimination and prejudice in our world.”

Excerpts from an interesting address:

One of the most moving experiences I have had as Prime Minister came in January this year, when I held a reception in Downing Street for 50 Survivors of the Sho’ah. ‪I met some of the most inspiring people and heard some of the most incredible stories.‬‬

‪People like Harry Spiro who couldn’t understand why his mother pushed him out of her house and off to the factory, when she was actually saving his life.‬

‪Gena Turgel, who witnessed her brother being shot by the Nazis and lost another brother and two sisters before she was eventually liberated from Bergen-Belsen and went on to marry the British soldier who freed her.‬

‪And Ben Helfgott who endured 3 years in a ghetto, 2 labour camps and 3 concentration camps to make it to England where he was reunited with one of his sisters, the only other member of his family to survive. Ben went on to represent Britain as a weightlifter in 2 Olympics set up a society for Holocaust survivors and was honoured in Poland for his reconciliation work between Poles and Jews. And I am delighted that Ben has come with me here today.‬

‪All of the survivors have made such an incredible contribution to Britain.‬

‪And one of the things so many of them have done – and which never ceases to amaze me – is to go into our schools and share their testimony first hand.‬

‪It is hard to imagine the sheer strength of humanity it must take to do that.‬

‪‪And I am determined that long after they are gone and long after we are all gone their memory will be as strong and vibrant as it is today.‬‬

‪As a father, I will never forget last year visiting the Holocaust Memorial in Berlin with my young children and for the first time trying to explain to them quite what had happened.‬

‪I want every child in Britain to learn about the Holocaust and to understand just how vital it is to fight discrimination and prejudice in our world.‬

‪It is vital that we do all we can with our international partners to preserve the site at Auschwitz, which I will be visiting later this year.‬

‪But we need to do more.‬

‪That is why I have set up the Holocaust Commission in Britain. A number of the Commissioners are here with Ben and me today and as we visit Yad Vashem together later today, our pledge to Ben will be that Britain will never forget what he and his fellow survivors have taught us.‬

‪We will preserve the memory of that generation for every generation to come.‬

‪But remembering the past goes far beyond that horrific suffering of a generation.‬

‪It is about remembering the long and rightful search of a people for a nation. ‪And the right for the Jewish people to live a peaceful and prosperous life in Israel.

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>> Pre-order The Auschwitz Escape — releasing on March 18th — retailers providing steep discounts for pre-orders of hardcover, e-book and audio formats

About Joel

Joel C. Rosenberg (www.joelrosenberg.com) is the author of numerous New York Times best-selling novels and non-fiction books, with nearly 3 million copies sold. He is also the founder of The Joshua Fund (www.joshuafund.com).

His books include:

• The Last Jihad (2002)
• The Last Days (2003)
• The Ezekiel Option (2005)
• The Copper Scroll (2006)
• Epicenter: Why The Current Rumblings In The Middle East Will Change Your Future (2006, non-fiction)
• Dead Heat (2008)
• Inside The Revolution: How the Followers of Jihad, Jefferson & Jesus are Battling To Dominate the Middle East and Transform the World (2009, non-fiction)
• The Twelfth Imam (2010)
• The Tehran Initiative (2011)
• Implosion: Can America Recover From Its Economic and Spiritual Challenges In Time? (2012)
• Israel At War: Inside The Nuclear Showdown With Iran (2012, non-fiction e-book)
• Damascus Countdown (2013)
• The Auschwitz Escape (March 18, 2014 — forthcoming)

He is also the co-author with Dr. T.E. Koshy of The Invested Life: Making Disciples of All Nations One Person At A Time (2012).

He has also produced two documentary films, based on his two non-fiction books (Epicenter and Inside The Revolution).

The Ezekiel Option was named by the ECPA as the Gold Medallion winner of the “Best Novel of 2006.” Dead Heat reached #4 on the New York Times hardcover best-seller list.

Joel — whose mother is Gentile and whose father is from a Jewish background — previously worked as an aide to several U.S. and Israeli leaders, including Steve Forbes, former Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Natan Sharansky, and then-former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He also worked for The Heritage Foundation, Empower America, and Americans For Hope, Growth & Opportunity.

He has been interviewed on hundreds of radio and TV shows, including ABC’s “Nightline,” CNN, CNN Headline News, C-SPAN, Fox News, MSNBC, The History Channel, the Rush Limbaugh Show, the Sean Hannity Show and the Glenn Beck Show. He has spoken to audiences throughout the U.S. and Canada and all over the world, including Israel, Iraq, Turkey, Jordan, Egypt, Russia, Germany, France, Brussels, Italy, and the Philippines. He has addressed audiences at the White House, Pentagon and on Capitol Hill.

For more information about the conferences he organizes, please visitwww.epicenterconference.com. You can find his weblog athttp://flashtrafficblog.wordpress.com/. You can sign up for his “Flash Traffic” email updates at http://www.joelrosenberg.com/flashtraffic_form.asp. You can follow him on Twitter @joelcrosenberg.

Source: Joel C. Rosenberg's Blog

Patrick, Ireland and His Love For God

St. Patrick of Ireland

"If I have any worth, it is to live my life for God so as to teach these peoples, even though some of them still look down on me."
– St. Patrick

St. Patrick is Ireland's patron saint, known for spreading Christianity throughout the country as a missionary during the 5th century.

Born in England arguably in the late 4th century A.D., Patrick was captured by pirates as a child and brought to Ireland. During his enslavement, he was called to Christianity and escaped his captors after six years. He returned to Ireland as a missionary, and in his teachings, combined Irish pagan beliefs with Christian sacrament, devising the Celtic Cross. He is annually honored on March 17.

Early Life

St. Patrick, apostle of Ireland, was born in England circa 385. His father, Calphurnius, was a deacon from a Roman family of high social standing. His mother, Conchessa, was a close relative of the great patron St. Martin of Tours. Patrick's grandfather, Pontius, was also a member of the clergy. Surprisingly, Patrick himself was not raised with a strong emphasis on religion. Education was not particularly stressed during his childhood either. Later in life, this would become a source of embarrassment for Patrick, who in the early 440s, would write in his Confessio, "I blush and fear exceedingly to reveal my lack of education."

When Patrick was 16 years old, he was captured by Irish pirates. They brought him to Ireland where he was sold into slavery in Dalriada. There, his job was to tend sheep. Patrick's master, Milchu, was a high priest of Druidism, a Pagan sect that ruled religious influence over Ireland at the time.

Patrick came to view his enslavement as God's test of his faith. During his six years of captivity, he became deeply devoted to Christianity through constant prayer. In a vision, he saw the children of Pagan Ireland reaching out their hands to him. With this, he grew increasingly determined to free the Irish from Druidism by converting them to Christianity.

Missionary Work

Circa 408, the idea of escaping enslavement came to Patrick in a dream. In the dream, a voice promised him he would find his way home to England. Eager to see the dream materialize, St. Patrick convinced some sailors to let him board their ship. After three days of sailing, he and the crew abandoned the ship in France and wandered, lost, for 28 days—covering 200 miles of territory in the process. At last, St. Patrick was reunited with his family in England.

Now a free man, Patrick went to Auxerre, France where he studied and entered the priesthood under the guidance of the missionary St. Germain. As time passed, Patrick never lost sight of his vision: he was determined to convert Ireland to Christianity. C. 431, Pope St. Celestine I consecrated Patrick Bishop of the Irish, and sent him to Ireland to spread "The Good News," or Christian Gospel, to the Pagans there.

Upon his arrival in Ireland, Patrick was initially met with hostile resistance. But Patrick quickly managed to spread Christian teachings far and wide. Through preaching, writing and performing countless baptisms, he convinced Pagan Druids that they were worshiping idols under a belief system that kept them enslaved. By accepting Christianity, he told them, they would be elevated to "the people of the Lord and the sons of God."

Throughout his missionary work, Patrick continued to promote the conversion of Ireland to Christianity by electing Church officials, creating councils, founding monasteries and organizing Ireland into dioceses.

Patrick died circa 461 in Saul, Ireland. He is said to have been buried in Ulster, County Down, Ireland.

Though he was never formally canonized as a pope, Patrick is on the List of Saints, and was declared a Saint in Heaven by many Catholic churches. Patrick was also venerated in the Orthodox Catholic Church.

The Episcopal Church annually honors St. Patrick with the celebration of St. Patrick's Day on March 17, which falls during the Christian season of Lent. For more than 1,000 years, the Irish have observed St. Patrick's Day as a religious holiday. Traditionally, on St. Patrick's Day, Irish families would attend church in the morning and celebrate later—including eating a traditional meal of cabbage and Irish bacon.

QUICK FACTS

NAME: St. Patrick

OCCUPATION: Saint

BIRTH DATE: c. 385

PLACE OF BIRTH: England, United Kingdom

AKA: Saint Patrick

AKA: St. Patrick

VIDEOS see all videos

Saint Patrick - Warrior of God (2:23)

Saint Patrick - The Druid(2:24)

Saint Patrick - Sold Into Slavery (2:20)

Saint Patrick - Facing his Sins (3:24)

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Love For His People Editor's Note: I was raised a Roman Catholic, and attended St. Patrick's School, grades 2-8, in Cedar Falls, IA. With most of my teachers as nuns, we learned about Patrick and his love for the Lord. I appreciate his example of laying down his life so that others would know of Jesus Christ, our Savior.

And...it was fun playing football in 7th and 8th grades there. We were the Shamrocks! 
Steve Martin