Monday, December 30, 2013

Leadership Through Love - Steve Martin (New Book in 2014)

 

Every person serving with a ministry, church, business or in the home has gifts from the Lord to use in that service. If we understand what our gifts are, we can best contribute in the needed work.

I dedicate this book to each of you who are giving yourself in love for His purposes. In this you will find fulfillment and joy, as you serve your fellow man. This indeed pleases our Lord. 

Steve Martin
Founder/President
Love For His People, Inc.



A Few Endorsements


Wow! What a great practical book for administration. I have watched Steve oversee several ministries. I know of no better administrator than my friend, Steve Martin. I highly recommend that you read this book.

Dr. Peter Wyns, President, Christians for Messiah Ministries and Pastor of Antioch International Church. Grandson of Derek Prince.

In a rough and tumble world marred by the superficial and the phony, where nothing can be counted on, Steve Martin maps out a straight-line path for Christian organizations. In reality, it's a book on how to steward the factors that too often get side-tracked when navigating a significant call of God. 

It's a down-to-earth manual of wisdom needed to enable Christian organizations to keep their eye on the big picture, while building a firm foundation to enable it to happen. Steve writes from the stance of one who has served in key administrative roles in a number of key ministries. Every ministry head and administrator will profit from this straight forward operating wisdom.

Morris Ruddick
Entrepreneur, Author, Minister, Consultant and Business Coach



Steve - I read your excellent book! I want to share this: I've known Steve now for several years. He's a man of faith and a man of action! Both are desired in true men of God. Steve is a manager - management is something he knows and can help you with. His future may be in ever-expanding ways, but he can help you manage. Read this book intently - honor the Lord by letting it wash over you and help you become the Manager that God intends you to be. And Steve, thanks for the book - thanks for your honesty and openness! Amen and blessing!”

Robbie Phillips, Founder, Present Word Ministries, Columbia, SC



Every now and then you have the privilege to get to know someone whose character and life radiate honesty, sincerity, loyalty and Christian love. Steve Martin is that type of person. I first met Steve at a Messianic conference in Charlotte, NC, in 2007. One of the things I quickly noticed about Steve was how "approachable" he was. 

Even though he was the US Director of an international ministry, he still had time to talk with people at the conference and demonstrated a genuine interest in helping to bring about a network of Believers, as well as area groups and churches, for the purpose of serving the Lord more effectively. As the years have passed I've come to realize just how deep Steve's roots of love and service for the Lord are.

It has been exciting to walk with Steve as he's "stepped out of the boat" and moved ahead with the vision the Lord gave him for LOVE FOR HIS PEOPLE - a ministry that helps connect Believers around the world with the people of Israel. He is a husband, father and grandfather. 

Steve, and his wife Laurie, serve as leaders of the Ahava Love Band, a group of singers and musicians who provide praise and worship at area assemblies. Whether you call him Messianic, a part of the "one new man", or a "Jewish Rooter", if there's anyone who knows how to demonstrate "Leadership Through Love", it's Steve Martin.

Curtis Loftin, Founder, Beit Yeshua Lincolnton, NC


Just finished reading Steve Martin’s new book, “Leadership Through Love” - Steve’s heart of goodness and faithfulness to His God shines on every page. Of great importance is the practical hands-on wisdom that comes from actually leading through love, giving integrity to the words that are written. Steve’s sense of humor always kind of sneaks up on me, and I found myself chuckling so many times at his stories and honest, from-the-heart insights! 

 It is the mandate of all of us who follow the One called Faithful and True to complete the work that our Father has given us, and Steve’s book will shine the light on how to do just that, whether you are an administrator or leader in the secular marketplace or in volunteer or paid ministry positions. Loving leadership – a high calling – Steve’s done it, and it shows in this book!

Cathy Hargett, Founder/Director, Highway to Zion Ministries


Reading Steve Martin’s new book ‘Leadership through Love’ led me to a tear and a quick repentance. How often we can overlook the journey for the objective - what we do as opposed to who we are. Steve uses his life testimony to shine light on the importance of loving relationship in the workplace. It is good to be reminded of that, in spite of our great visions. The higher we climb in the Kingdom the greater the responsibility and the more numerous the people we need to serve and love. I thoroughly recommend this book to all in business and ministry. Thank you Steve for reminding me to love the people I work with.

Martin Powell, Kingdom Talents, Owner

I had the pleasure of working on an almost daily basis with Steve Martin for many years while he served several Christian ministries. While Steve had the control of whether we worked together, he always made me feel we were working as a team with a common reward in serving God. He enjoyed my family as I did his. He is intelligent, thoughtful, patient to the extent he could be, a good listener, open to new ideas, joyful and passionate about serving the Lord. The projects may be over long ago but not the bond we hold to this day.

George Payne Write Hand Publishing Andalusia, Alabama


Thanks for the opportunity to read and review this book. I enjoyed it and thought it had some really great insights. I wish I had this back in my "corporate" days. You are a good writer too. In a world filled with an ever increasing list of ‘how to’ books, Steve Martin has provided one which clearly sets itself apart from the rest. He presents a concise look at the art/science of management and leadership based not on academia but on real life experiences founded on God’s Word and powered by the Holy Spirit. 

Based on his vast personal experiences in leadership, reinforced by insights received from others, Steve provides truly practical instruction in how to lead and manage an effective organization whether it consists of one or one thousand people. If you are a manager, leader, or hope to one day become one, this book is a must read.

Dr. Richard E. Tompkins, President, Explore Truth Ministries. SC


My third book is coming in February 2014. 
Hope you get it! 
Steve Martin

ISRAEL'S CHRISTIAN Awakening - WALL STREET JOURNAL

Wall Street Journal

Israel's Christian 

Awakening

A Controversial New Movement Wants to 

Cooperate More Closely With the Jewish State

By 

Dec. 27, 2013 

As Christmas neared, an 85-foot-high tree presided over the 
little square in front of the Greek Orthodox Church of the 
Annunciation in Nazareth. Kindergarten children with Santa Claus 
hats entered the church and listened to their teacher explain in 
Arabic the Greek inscriptions on the walls, while a group of 
Russian pilgrims knelt on their knees and whispered in prayer. 
In Nazareth's old city, merchants sold the usual array of 
Christmas wares.

This year, however, the familiar rhythms of Christmas season 
in the Holy Land have been disturbed by a new development: 
the rise of an independent voice for Israel's Christian community, 
which is increasingly trying to assert its separate identity. For 
decades, Arab Christians were considered part of Israel's 
sizable Palestinian minority, which comprises both Muslims 
and Christians and makes up about a fifth of the country's 
citizens, according to the Israeli government.

But now, an informal grass-roots movement, prompted in 
part by the persecution of Christians elsewhere in the region 
since the Arab Spring, wants to cooperate more closely with 
Israeli Jewish society—which could mean a historic change in 
attitude toward the Jewish state. 

"Israel is my country, and I 
want to defend it," says Henry Zaher, an 18-year-old 
Christian from the village of Reineh who was visiting Nazareth. 
"The Jewish state is good for us."



LOOKING UP: Celebrating Christmas in Nazareth, 
December 2012 Reuters

The Christian share of Israel's population has decreased 
over the years—from 2.5% in 1950 to 1.6% today, according 
to Israel's Central Bureau of Statistics—because of migration 
and a low birthrate. Of Israel's 8 million citizens, about 
130,000 are Arabic-speaking Christians (mostly Greek 
Catholic and Greek Orthodox), and 1.3 million are 
Arab Muslims.

In some ways, Christians in Israel more closely resemble 
their Jewish neighbors than their Muslim ones, says 
Amnon Ramon, a lecturer at the Hebrew University of 
Jerusalem and a specialist on Christians in Israel at the 
Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies. In a recent book, 
he reports that Israeli Christians' median age is 30, 
compared with 31 for Israeli Jews and only 19 for 
Israeli Muslims. 

Israeli Christian women marry later than 
Israeli Muslims, have significantly fewer children and participate 
more in the workforce. Unemployment is lower among 
Israeli Christians than among Muslims, and life expectancy 
is higher. Perhaps most strikingly, Israeli Christians actually 
surpass Israeli Jews in educational achievement.

As a minority within a minority, Christians in Israel have 
historically been in a bind. Fear of being considered 
traitors often drove them to proclaim their full support 
for the Palestinian cause. Muslim Israeli leaders say that 
all Palestinians are siblings and deny any Christian-Muslim 
rift. But in mixed Muslim-Christian cities such as Nazareth, 
many Christians say they feel outnumbered and insecure.

"There is a lot of fear among Christians from Muslim reprisals,
" says Dr. Ramon. "In the presence of a Muslim student in one 
of my classes, a Christian student will never say the same things
 he would say were the Muslim student not there."

"Many Christians think like me, but they keep silent," says 
the Rev. Gabriel Naddaf, who backs greater Christian 
integration into the Jewish state. "They are simply too afraid." 

In his home in Nazareth, overlooking the fertile hills of the 
Galilee, the 40-year-old former spokesman of the Greek Orthodox 
Patriarchate in Jerusalem is tall and charismatic, dressed in a 
spotless black cassock. "Israel is my country," he says. "We 
enjoy the Israeli democracy and have to respect it and fight for it."

That is the idea behind the new Forum for Drafting the 
Christian Community, which aims to increase the number of 
Christians joining the Israel Defense Forces. 

It is an extremely 
delicate issue: Israeli Arabs are generally exempt from military duty, 
because the state doesn't expect them to fight their brethren among 
the Palestinians or in neighboring Arab countries. Israeli Palestinians, 
who usually don't want to enlist, say they often face discrimination
 in employment and other areas because they don't serve.

"We were dragged into a conflict that wasn't ours," says 
Father Naddaf. "Israel takes care of us, and if not Israel, 
who will defend us? We love this country, and we see the 
army as a first step in becoming more integrated with the state."

According to Shadi Khaloul, a forum spokesperson, the total 
number of Christians serving in the Israeli military has more than 
quadrupled since 2012, from 35 to nearly 150. This may seem a 
drop in the ocean, but it was enough to enrage many Palestinian 
Israelis. Father Naddaf says that his car's tires were punctured 
and that he received death threats, worrying him enough that he 
got bodyguards. 

Hanin Zoabi, an Arab-Muslim member of the 
Israeli parliament, wrote Father Naddaf a public letter calling him 
a collaborator and accusing him of putting young Christians 
"in danger." "Arab Palestinians, regardless of their religion, should 
not join the Israeli army," Ms. Zoabi told me. "We are a national 
group, not a religious one. Any attempt to enlist Christians is part 
of a strategy of divide-and-rule."

Many Arab Christians don't see it that way. "We are not mercenaries," 
says Mr. Khaloul, who served as a captain in an IDF paratrooper 
brigade. "We want to defend this country together with the Jews. 
We see what is happening these days to Christians around us—
in Iraq, Syria and Egypt."

Since the Arab revolutions began in Tunisia in 2011, many 
Christians in the region have felt isolated and jittery. Coptic 
churches have been attacked in Egypt, and at least 26 Iraqis 
leaving a Catholic church in Baghdad on Christmas Day were
 killed by a car bomb. Islamists continue to threaten to enforce 
Shariah law wherever they gain control.

The Christian awakening in Israel goes beyond joining the IDF. 
Some Israeli Christian leaders now demand that their history and 
heritage be taught in state schools. "Children in Arab schools in 
Israel learn only Arab-Muslim history," says a report prepared 
by Mr. Khaloul and submitted to Israel's Ministry of Education, 
"and this causes the obliteration of Christian identity."

Some Israeli Christians even recently established a new 
political party, headed by Bishara Shlayan, a stocky, blue-eyed 
former captain in the Israeli navy who told me that he once beat 
up an Irish sailor in Londonderry who called him an "[expletive] 
Jew." 

The new party is puckishly called B'nai Brith ("Children of 
the Covenant"), and Shlayan says it will have Jewish as well as 
Christian members. Nazareth's mayor, Ramez Jaraisy, recently 
told the Times of Israel that Shlayan was a "collaborator" with 
the Israeli authorities.

"The current Arab political establishment only brought us hate and 
rifts," says Mr. Shlayan. "The Arab-Muslim parties didn't take care 
of us. We are not brothers with the Muslims; brothers take care of 
each other." 

Mr. Shlayan, who advocates better education, housing 
and employment for Israeli Christians, says he also dreams of turning 
Nazareth into an even busier tourist spot by erecting the world's 
biggest statue of Jesus.

Should this Christian awakening succeed, it would be yet another
 notable shift in the balance of power among religious groups 
in the Middle East.

—Mr. Schwartz is a former staff writer and senior editor 
for the Israeli newspaper Haaretz.

A Sick Development Coming Out of Europe, ‘disgusting’ Nazi-like salute

Breaking News - 590x148
Screen Shot 2013-12-29 at 1.25.17 PM


Click here to watch: France deplores soccer player’s
 ‘disgusting’ Nazi-like salute


The French sports minister accused top French soccer
player Nicolas Anelka of anti-Semitism and “disgusting”
behavior on Saturday night, hours after Anelka made
what is regarded as a neo-Nazi-style, anti-Semitic
salute to celebrate scoring a goal in the English Premier
League.

The “quenelle” signal is rapidly spreading
among anti-Semites in Europe and is being used by
individuals to fly under the radar of strict anti-hate
speech laws in parts of the continent.

The signal, extending one’s right hand toward the ground while
the left hand grasps the shoulder, was devised by Dieudonné
M’bala M’bala, a controversial French comedian who has been
 condemned in court several times for anti-Semitic remarks.
“Anelka’s gesture is a shocking, disgusting provocation.
There’s no place for anti-Semitism and incitement to hatred
on the soccer field,” said the French sports minister, Valerie
Fourneyron, in a tweet.

Over the past two months, the “quenelle” trend has gained
popularity, prompting hundreds of Europeans to post pictures
of themselves online performing the heil-like salute. Many of
the images were taken at sensitive sites such as in the
Auschwitz concentration camp, the Anne Frank House and
even the Western Wall.

Dr. Moshe Kantor, president of the European Jewish Congress,
said it was “sickening that such a well-known footballer would
make such an abusive and hateful gesture in front of tens of
thousands of spectators.”

“This salute is merely a lesser-known Nazi salute and we
expect the same kind of punishment to be handed down by
the authorities as if Anelka had made the infamous outstretched
arm salute.

“This salute was created by a well-known extreme
anti-Semite who has displayed his hatred of Jews, mocked
the Holocaust and Jewish suffering.” Use of the “quenelle” is
“gaining more and more momentum, is very pervasive on the
internet and social networks, and is increasingly becoming a
symbol of the Nazi regime, and does not look like a passing
phenomenon,” Yaakov Hagouel, the Head of the World Zionist
Organization’s Department for Combating Antisemitism, told
Hebrew website Ynet earlier this month.

WATCH HERE
***



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Israeli Experts Challenge Double Standards on 'Occupation' - Israel Today

Israeli Experts Challenge Double Standards on 'Occupation'

Sunday, December 29, 2013 |  Israel Today Staff  
Two leading experts on international law, a former Israeli ambassador and a Jewish-American professor, are taking the European Union to task over the double standard it applies to the so-called Israeli “occupation.”
Professor Eugene Kontorovich of Northwestern University and former Israeli Ambassador to Canada Alan Baker have demanded to know why the EU recently signed a new fishing agreement with Morocco that included the waters of the Western Sahara, a territory that Morocco illegally occupies.
In remarks to The Times of Israel, both men noted that the EU’s approach to the fishing agreement is hypocritical just months after it published guidelines forbidding business dealings with Jewish businesses operating out of territories claimed by the Palestinians.
Baker and Kontorovich sent a letter to EU Foreign Policy chief Catherine Ashton insisting on clarification, but instead received a response stating that her office views the two occupations as being different. No explanation was provided.
The two experts noted that Western Sahara is not the only example of this double standard. For instance, the EU continues to do business with Turks living in Cyprus, even though Turkey’s occupation of the northern portion of the island nation is not recognized by the international community.
The full Times of Israel article is worth a read. Click here to do so.
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Saturday, December 28, 2013

Know God


"Pressing On With Encouragement for the Long Haul” - Ahava Love Letter (Steve Martin)

                 

               "Pressing On – Encouragement for the Long Haul”


“My times are in Your hands…” (Psalm 31:15 NAS)


Dear family of friends,

As I sat in my prayer chair that Saturday morn, having already read the Lord’s Word which I keep beside me on the lamp stand, and now accompanied with a fresh cup of java my good wife had brought me, I pondered on what the new year would bring. Weariness had taken a bit of a toll on my body, my mind and even my spirit. I looked forward to the road ahead, but as many of us do, we wonder what is on that road. Is it good? Will we make it? Will our faith be strong enough? And so I asked Him for more strength and hope.

In a brief message I had written to one of my five sisters that week, who was anxious about an upcoming job situation, I encouraged her to daily pray His words, one of many given to us in His Book of Promises. He simply says for us to believe, “My times are in Your hands.” 

I found myself praying that same prayer again – for her, others on my prayer list, and for myself. As Derek Prince once said about receiving Scripture, it is like taking daily medicine. Here is an excerpt from a devotional he wrote.


Daily Devotional by Derek Prince.

God’s Medicine Bottle

Proverbs 4:20–22
“My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings. Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart. For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh.” KJV

For many years I have known those three verses from the fourth chapter of Proverbs as “God’s medicine bottle.” God declares that if we will rightly receive His words and His sayings, they will be life to us and health to all our flesh. The marginal translation for the word that is translated “health” is “medicine.” That’s why I say it’s “God’s medicine bottle.”

And God says His medicine will provide us with health in all our flesh. In every area of our physical body it will provide health, but remember, the directions are on the bottle. The medicine only works if you take it according to the directions. There are four directions.

First, attend to God’s word.
Second, incline or bow down your ear and listen to His sayings.
Third, let them not depart from your eyes, keep them before your eyes continually.
And fourth, let them settle and abide in the midst of your heart.

If you take the Word of God according to those fourfold directions, you will find, as I did many years ago, that God’s medicine bottle produces just the results that He claims. It brings life and health to all our flesh. I found that after a year on end in a hospital when doctors couldn’t heal me, God’s medicine did the job.

Whitaker House Publishers, 1996


Personally I can’t comprehend how people who do not know the Lord God of Israel, Yeshua (Jesus), make it through their day to day life. It astounds me how many keep trusting in their own abilities or someone else’s, which will ultimately fail, when they too could be having an ongoing faith in their Creator, and Knower of the road ahead for them. I am so thankful we can know His will, walk in His ways, and gain daily encouragement through His Holy Spirit.

For the long haul, for the marathon we run, we must keep pressing on in our faith and hope in Him. Our Good Lord will see us through. He will provide daily strength for the journey, to the end of time. His reward will be great.

Keep your eyes fixed on Him, the Author and Finisher of our faith. Keep pressing on to the mark He has set before us. His promises are sure. We can count on Him. Thank you Lord.

Ahava to my family of friends,

Steve Martin
Founder, Love For His People


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 bless the known families in Israel, whom we consistently help through our humanitarian ministry. 

Your tax deductible contributions receive a receipt for each donation.

Go here for safe ONLINE GIFT GIVING THROUGH  OUR WEBSITE using major credit cards: Love For His People

If you don't have a PayPal account you can also use your credit card or bank account (where available). 

Contribution checks can be sent to: 
Love For His People, Inc.  P.O. Box414   Pineville, NC 28134
Todah rabah! (Hebrew – Thank you very much.)

I hope you read my first 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.

Email: loveforhispeople@gmail.com  

martinlighthouse@gmail.com

Facebook pages: Steve Martin and  Love For His People  
  
Twitter: martinlighthous, LovingHisPeople and ahavaloveletter 

           Ahava Love Letters
           
  Full website: Love For His People


Ahava Love Letter #96   “Pressing On”   Steve Martin 
Date: In the year of our Lord 2013 (12.28.13 Saturday at 8:00 am in Charlotte, NC).


All previous editions of Ahava Love Letter can be found on this Blog, and our newest website: Ahava Love Letters