Change - Now Think On This by Steve Martin

Change

Now Think On This

Steve Martin

"Moab has been at ease since his youth; he has also been undisturbed, like wine on its dregs,

and he has not been emptied from vessel to vessel, nor has he gone into exile. Therefore he retains his flavor, and his aroma has not changed.” (Jeremiah 48:11, NASU)

From what I can tell, it wasn’t a good thing that Moab, written about in this Scripture verse, didn’t change. In fact, it sounds like rather than being a pleasant smell his flavor became undesirable. Does that happen when we resist or refuse, to change?

With my limited understanding of winemaking, the winery has to make sure the wine process continues by pouring the liquid from one vessel to another. Otherwise, the sediment that settles at the bottom of the barrel taints the wine, affecting the outcome in flavor. Now that wouldn’t be good for the finished product. The pouring process is an essential part of the best that is yet to come at the end.

I have found it to be true also in the human spirit. This is one reason why change is so important in our life. When we settle in one place, content to let things be as they are, without ruffling the feathers, or making waves, our spirit becomes tainted with the sediments that have fallen to the bottom. Rather than being poured out into the next vessel, to have that be left behind, these particles work themselves back into our soul. If left as that, certain undesirables can be stirred up. Such things as bitterness, unforgiveness, and resentment work themselves up to the surface again, never being left behind as they should be through forgiveness and forgetting what should be left behind.

                               

I believe Paul understood this spiritual principle when he wrote, “Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:13-15, NASU) If we are to reach the best the Lord has in store for us we will be required to leave behind sediment that will ruin the flavor and aroma of our spiritual life. Change has to become a normal process in our daily walk.

Becoming settled in the ease of life will prevent us from walking in the faith we are called to walk out. Achieving more than just getting by, or becoming satisfied with being undisturbed, will prevent the Lord from providing the grace needed to become the best wine we have been called to become. Otherwise, we risk the action of being poured out on the ground, having lost the fullness of life.

Welcome change as it comes. Be prepared to say “Yes” when the Lord seeks more through you, with Him requesting a change from here to there, whether it be spiritual or in the natural. Expect change to open doors that must be opened in order to finish the call on your life. The next door, or vessel, is meant to take you “from glory to glory”.

“But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord. (2 Corinthians 3:18, NKJV)

Going from one place to another will always require change. And change is required to achieve the final finished product we are meant to become.

Shalom and ahava (peace and love in Hebrew).

Now think on this,

  

Steve Martin

Founder/President

Love For His People, Inc.

Please be sure to sign up for our newsletter. Use the "Sign Up" button on our website, or go here: Sign Me Up!

If these messages have ministered to you, please consider sending a charitable gift of $10-$50 today, and maybe each month, to help us bless families in Israel whom we consistently help monthly through our humanitarian work. Your tax-deductible contributions receive a receipt for each donation. Fed. ID #27-1633858.

  

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P.O. Box 414   

Pineville, NC 28134

Todah rabah! (Hebrew – Thank you very much.) 

Please share Now Think On This with your friends on Facebook, Google+, Twitter, Pinterest, Tumblr and LinkedIn.  We appreciate your help.

Now Think On This #338 - in the year of our Lord 12.26.17 – “Change”, Tuesday, 9:45 am

LoveMusic! - Chris Tomlin - What Child Is This? (Live/Lyrics And Chords) ft. All Sons and Daughters

What Child Is This? 

 Chris Tomlin featuring All Sons and Daughters

Dec. 16, 2017

Greetings LoveMusic! listeners!

'Tis the season! Enjoy the love of the Lord Jesus, Savior of the World.

Ahava and shalom,

Steve Martin

Love For His People

Charlotte, North Carolina USA

YouTube Published on Nov 27, 2015

Official Lyric/Chord video for “What Child Is This? (feat. All Sons & Daughters)" by Chris Tomlin
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Music video by Chris Tomlin performing What Child Is This?. (C) 2015 sixstepsrecords/Sparrow Records

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Jerusalem & Friends - Louie, the Arab. Now Think On This by Steve Martin

Jerusalem & Friends

-          Louie, the Arab

Now Think On This

Steve Martin

"The sons of Abraham were Isaac and Ishmael.” (1 Chronicles 1:28, NASU)

A short walk inside Jerusalem’s Old City Jaffa Gate takes you down the narrow street, lined on each side with Judaica, olive wood, clothing and spice shops. That’s where I first met Louie, or rather Louie met me. He was on the lookout for tourists whom he could draw into his brother’s gift shop. As was my custom, I was open to shopping.

This past year in 2017 Louie said he first got acquainted with me in 1994 and gave the exact date. Knowing he has a sharp mind, I figured he was right, but I sure didn’t remember. I do recall he offered me orange juice or Arab coffee, my choice, which was a customary way of getting one into their shops. Of course, always liking to receive that which is free, I obliged and followed him down the cobbled, slick stone walk a quick distance. His brother had an elaborate shop, filled with Jewish and Arab items of all sorts. Some were actually made in Israel. Most were Chinese imports.

Now after these many years, Louie has his own shop. He explained that the tourism numbers are very good, but those coming now are less apt to buy, making it tough for him to earn enough to pay the high rent. With his small shop along this busy section of the Old City’s Quarters, one of four (Christians, Jews, Muslims and Armenians, each having a quarter within the outside walls) many walk by but few buy. He continued explaining that when the Americans came in huge numbers, sales were good. Now more and more are coming from China, Southeast Asia, and South America, but they tend to purchase less goods. Hence Louie said he has to spend longer hours to attempt making the sales in order to meet his expenses.

Wanting to support him too, as I have regularly done with the Jewish shop owners on Ben Yehuda Street, less than an hour’s walk west out of Jaffa Gate, he picked out items on my list I had in my mind. Olive wood camels, menorahs and possibly a piece of jewelry for my good wife Laurie. He pulled several nice pieces from behind the glass doors covering the display cases. One beautiful menorah (7 branch candle piece) was one of the few left he had on hand, actually made in Israel. With the cheaper imports from China, competition is high, forcing even the locals to get out of the manufacturing business. I bought the silver-plated menorah because it had the “Made in Israel” label adhered to the base. Support blue and white!

Adding to my menorah purchase was a three-piece camel set, of course, made out of olive wood, hand carved in Israel. There is something about camels that amaze me. Beasts of burden to carry goods for the people.  

Then he pulled out of a special wooden drawer several pieces of fine shaped silver and Eilat Stone necklaces (green and blue color stone from south Israel). Among them was my final choice, having already almost exceeded my budget - a very beautiful necklace for Laurie. Though she isn’t much on jewelry, occasionally she does appreciate this type of gift, and so the Tree of Life piece was chosen.

It is always a joy for me to spend time with Louie, hearing of his daily life as an Arab in Jerusalem. Life can be hard at times he shares, but he appreciates what he has. Here he can have his own business and livelihood, knowing freedom is not found everywhere in the Middle East.

Next time you are in the Jaffa Gate area, look around for my friend Louie. He will be looking out for you, and is anxious to share his goods with you. At a good price!

Shalom and ahava (peace and love in Hebrew).

Now think on this,

Steve Martin

Founder/President

Love For His People, Inc.

Please be sure to sign up for our newsletter. Use the "Sign Up" button on our website, or go here: Sign Me Up!

If these messages have ministered to you, please consider sending a charitable gift of $10-$50 today, and maybe each month, to help us bless families in Israel whom we consistently help monthly through our humanitarian work. Your tax-deductible contributions receive a receipt for each donation. Fed. ID #27-1633858.

  

Secure, conveniently contributions can be done online now. Click here: DONATE (or use the DONATE buttons on the blog.)

Contribution checks can be sent to: 

Love For His People, Inc. 

P.O. Box 414   

Pineville, NC 28134

Todah rabah! (Hebrew – Thank you very much.) 

Please share Now Think On This with your friends on Facebook, Google+, Twitter, Pinterest, Tumblr and LinkedIn.  We appreciate your help.

Now Think On This #337 - in the year of our Lord 12.15.17 – “Jerusalem & Friends – Louie, the Arab”, Friday, 12:30 pm

Jerusalem & Friends - O Little Town of Bethlehem. Now Think On This by Steve Martin

Jerusalem & Friends

-          O Little Town of Bethlehem

Now Think On This

Steve Martin

"But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth to Me the One to be Ruler in Israel, whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting." (Micah 5:2, NKJV)

A short six miles south of Jerusalem in Israel is the town of Bethlehem, or Beit Lechem (House of Bread) as it is properly named in Hebrew. Once a small Jewish town centuries ago, it has now been deemed a town primarily for a majority population of Palestinian Muslims. I have been there several times – first in 1994, before Palestinian rule took over in 1995, and lastly in 2017. 

A lot had changed in those decades, and as a result, it isn’t what it once was. The vast majority of Jews and Christians have been forced to leave their once thriving homes in this part of Judea, as the now so-called “West Bank” territorial population rulers do not have the toleration level for others, which is found elsewhere in Israel under the full Jewish government. Let the truth be known.

There no more remain the family shops which once produced the popular olive wood figurines and the like for the vast amount of tourists who used to “flock here” from their international homes. Oh, they still come in numbers, but only under heavy security and other safety precautions that must be taken. After I drove my rented car through Beit Lechem in May, 2017, a Jerusalemite afterward told me that the auto insurance I had would not have covered any damage if it had gotten stoned within the city limits. (If I ever return there by car, I will keep that in mind.) 

The Church of the Nativity still stands over the most probable place where the Lord, Messiah Yeshua, chose to come as man in the flesh, to fulfill the first of a multitude of prophetic Scripture, long ago prophesied. This is where Jesus’ birth on earth took place. The Jewish prophet Micah had written of it centuries prior. Though it isn’t the same peaceful abode it was back then, when shepherds watched their flocks at night in the hills surrounding, nonetheless, it still remains as a witness to the world that the Savior has come.

In my last visit to Bethlehem, by myself in that rented auto, I took great liberty to mingle among those tourists from India, China, Korea, Europe and the Americas who walked within the large church structure, built over what is believed to be the exact location of Yeshua’s birth. When in your mind you peel away the man-made brick and mortar that covers the simple spot beneath the floors, you realize that in His first coming the Savior of the world came quietly and without fanfare. Those looking for Him would soon enough realize His desire to first come as the Lamb, before His soon coming return as the Lion.

For my Catholic friends, of which traditions I grew up with, the Mass taking place over the church marked spot, though spoken by the Orthodox priest in another language which I knew not, still carried love and respect for this historical site and the Person whom these call upon. I pray they know Him as their Lord and Savior, the Living God of Israel, and not as one from a story taught from religious traditions, stripped of His true Glory. (Photo by Steve Martin: May 2017 Church of the Nativity, Catholic  Mass being said over the believed location of Yeshua's birth.)

To me, it is not so much the exact time when the Savior came during the calendar year, but the fact that He has come. Believing in Jesus’ birth, His very real life on earth, sacrificial death upon the cross and manifested bodily resurrection, all in fulfillment of Torah and Scriptural written prophesy is what matters the most. Those who know Him as Lord will reign with Him once His glorious return back to Jerusalem occurs. I so look forward to that and rest my hopes upon Him.

“O come to us, abide with us, Our Lord Emmanuel.”

Shalom and ahava (peace and love in Hebrew).

Now think on this,

Steve Martin

Founder/President

Love For His People, Inc.

Please be sure to sign up for our newsletter. Use the "Sign Up" button on our website, or go here: Sign Me Up!

If these messages have ministered to you, please consider sending a charitable gift of $10-$50 today, and maybe each month, to help us bless families in Israel whom we consistently help monthly through our humanitarian work. Your tax-deductible contributions receive a receipt for each donation. Fed. ID #27-1633858.

  

Secure, conveniently contributions can be done online now. Click here: DONATE 

(or use the DONATE buttons on the blog.)

Contribution checks can be sent to: 

Love For His People, Inc. 

P.O. Box 414   

Pineville, NC 28134

Todah rabah! (Hebrew – Thank you very much.) 

Please share Now Think On This with your friends on Facebook, Google+, Twitter, Pinterest, Tumblr and LinkedIn.  We appreciate your help.

Now Think On This #336 - in the year of our Lord 12.10.17 – “Jerusalem & Friends – O Little Town of Bethlehem”, Sunday, 7:40 am