Hope - Now Think On This by Steve Martin

Hope

Now Think On This

Steve Martin

  

^”Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but longing fulfilled is a tree of life.” Proverbs 13:12, Tree of Life (TLV)

As I sat across the table from Hope, I wondered if her middle name was Joy. Wouldn’t that have been nice! (I know a Joy by the way. I know Grace, Faith, and even Prudence. What names the Lord has given these lovely ladies!)

Hope was doing a short interview of me for the seasonal work at Samaritan’s Purse here in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Operation Christmas Child Shoebox season was fast approaching, and I wanted to be a part of the team again this go around. I had served here two previous years, and was looking forward to another time with Franklin Graham’s great program for worldwide kids. Blessed to be a blessing.

I had hope.

Some people don’t. They have lost hope in their dreams; their vision has vanished; they see things around them and wonder, “What happened? Why am I here when I thought it was supposed to be so much better?”

Those are real hurts and pains. I know. I have had them myself more times than I care to remember, or even write about. You believe something for so long, and then nothing. Nada. It ain’t happening. Or so you thought for so long.

But it is. It will happen. One thing we can count on in life is that the One who gives life, dreams, provides vision and leads us down a good path is the Lover of our soul. The One who gives is so capable because He is the same One who gave all. He gave His life for us.

This is one thing I do know. Jesus (Yeshua is His beloved Hebrew-given name) cannot lie when He speaks; He cannot hate when He loves; He cannot steal when He gives us His provision. He cannot because it is not in His eternal nature to do so. It is just not there.

What is there in His eternal being is real hope, real love, real encouragement, real joy, real passion for saving the people in the nations.

Without Jesus the people perish. One gunshot, one hurricane, one earthquake and it can be all over for those who have not called upon the Name of the Lord. He is our only hope.

My heart-felt prayer is that you have hope today. Let it be renewed, let it be abundant, let the Holy Spirit speak to your heart afresh and let you know there is light at the end of this tunnel you are in. For the Light has come, He is eternal, and where there is hope there is life to press on through whatever comes your way.

Hope in Jesus today. Be confident in what He has planned for you. He knows what it is and it is good.

Shalom and ahava (peace and love in Hebrew).

Now think on this,

  

Steve Martin

Founder/President

Love For His People, Inc.

P.S. Be sure to sign up for our newsletter. Use the "SignUp" 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-$25 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 - in the Year of our Lord 10.04.17 - #320 – “Hope” 7:00 am

Who Is This One? - The Holy Spirit - Now Think On This by Steve Martin

Who Is This One?
- The Holy Spirit

Now Think On This

Steve Martin

  

“Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 15:13, NKJV)

The Holy Trinity – God the Father (Abba), Jesus Christ the Son (Yeshua HaMashiach), and Holy Spirit (Ruach HaKodesh) – all reign on high together. They are the Three in One as the Eternal Godhead, each purposing together to fulfill the plans They laid out since before the foundations of the earth, before the beginning of time. Together they always were and always shall be.

Do you know the Holy Spirit? Has He been a vital part in your believing walk? He wants you to know Him, for He is the Comforter, the Helper, the One whom Yeshua (Jesus) sent after His ascension into heaven, as He promised He would come.

"These things I have spoken to you while being present with you.  But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.  

Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.  

You have heard Me say to you, 'I am going away and coming back to you.' If you loved Me, you would rejoice because I said, 'I am going to the Father,' for My Father is greater than I.” (John 14:25-28, NKJV)

For a long time Christians spoke of the Holy Spirit as the Holy Ghost, as translated in the King James version of the Bible. To me, that seemed to give Him an eerie, far-off image of one who was spooky and somewhat aloof. Our concept of this One, the third person of the Holy Trinity, was as an after thought. “And oh yes, the one who we don’t really know much about. Thus we will focus on God the Father and Jesus the Son.”

We need to understand that this One, Whom so desires to be very close to us, wanting us to be intimately familiar with Him, has been given to us for our daily walk. He has been sent from heaven to lead us, direct our steps, and comfort us along the path.

He is not some ghostly image flying about the sky doing weird things. He is God Himself, coming to us in all power and in full measure of the Father and the Son.

Often associated with the acts of the Holy Spirit are the resulting acts of those whom He has touched, often in a very emotional, sensational way. So what else would you expect when the God of the Universe comes and touches the lives of those who have sought God, who walk around on this earth? What else should we experience when the most powerful One chooses to reveal and manifest Himself to mankind, specifically you and I, and those who ask Him to do so?

What we see, feel and hear, as a result of His coming in those moments, in time and space, is demonstrated in our physical bodies because of the presence of the Eternal, Spiritual One responding to our need for Him in a very real way. If what we experience wasn’t supernatural, then He wouldn’t be Supernatural.

The world is seeking the supernatural. It is very obvious in our movies, books, websites, and media of all kinds as to what people are seeking after. They know there is spiritual activity going on around this planet. But what they seek needs to be the Creator, not the evil created one.

In my senior year of Columbus High School, a Catholic parochial school in 1973, in Waterloo, Iowa, the Holy Spirit came to me when a few of my classmates asked Him to come and fill me with His presence. I wanted more than what the natural life was giving me. Having seen His work in their lives, I certainly knew there was more for this one, and He delivered!

The baptism of the Holy Spirit isn’t something to write-off as for “only back then and never again.” When He comes and fills you with His very presence, in your spirit, soul, and body, there will be a reaction. There will be a manifestation. There we will a newness, freshness, most powerful demonstration of God that just inhabited you in your very being, down to the very core of your inner man. This is nothing to be feared or stay away from. He is meant to be Who He is, and will show Himself to you in a way you have never experienced before. That is Who He is.

The gifts that Holy Spirit gives us, very supernatural in power and energy, are most needed in our times, these end of days. They are not an option. We must confront the powers of darkness arrayed against the Body of Christ specifically, and mankind in general, with them. Speaking in tongues, the gift of healing and miracles, discernment of spirits, prophetic declarations...these are necessary weapons we need to use. The devil fights with his arsenal. Believers better be equipped and trained in the gifts that the God of the Universe has for us, through His Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit is very real. He is fully alive. He has chosen to be with those who have sought His gifts, His power, His promised fulfillment to be with us as we purpose to do the will of God the Father and Yeshua His Son. If ever there was a time when we needed the third Person of the Trinity it is definitely now.

Daily I need to pray, “Come Holy Spirit. Fill me with Your wisdom, Your understanding, Your clarity and knowledge of who I am, where I am to go, and how You want it done through my life, this day.” That has to be our desire and prayer if we are to fulfill the call on our lives to bring the saving Gospel of salvation to this terrified, dying and certainly lost world of people.

Come Holy Spirit! We need Your presence and power in our lives this day! Thank you that You are our Comforter and will be with us through it all!

Shalom and ahava (peace and love in Hebrew).

Now think on this,

Steve Martin

Founder/President

Love For His People, Inc.

P.S. I love this song by Francesca Battistelli: Holy Spirit

If these messages have ministered to you, please consider sending a charitable gift of $10-$25 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 through our website using the DONATE buttons on either side column of our 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 - in the Year of our Lord 09.10.17 - #314 – “Who Is This One? - HOLY SPIRIT” – Sunday 7:45 am

Hope - Now Think On This by Steve Martin

Hope

Now Think On This

Steve Martin

“We give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and the love which you have for all the saints; because of the hope laid up for you in heaven, of which you previously heard in the word of truth, the gospel which has come to you…(Colossians 1:3-6, NASU)

While growing up in the Midwest state of Iowa, and being raised a Roman Catholic, I enjoyed reading biographies of several martyrs. Given the name of Steve, and the surname of Martin, I would read of St. Stephen, the first martyr in Acts, and Saint Martin de Pores of Lima, Peru. There was also Saint Martin of Tours, a bishop in France, who is said to have become “one of the most familiar and recognizable Christian saints, sometimes venerated as a military saint. He was born in what is now Szombathely, Hungary, spent much of his childhood in Pavia, Italy, and lived most of his adult life in France. He is considered a spiritual bridge across Europe.” (Wikipedia)

Desiring to then become a missionary doctor (for if I would have chosen to be a missionary priest I couldn’t have gotten married!), I read many books on David Livingstone and his adventures and trials in Africa, “the Scottish Christian Congregationalist, pioneer medical missionary with the London Missionary Society, an explorer in Africa, and one of the most popular British heroes of the late-19th-century in the Victorian era.” (Wikipedia)

Inspiration came from men like Eric Liddell, the Scottish Christian whose story is depicted in the movie Chariots of Fire - the famous Olympian who observed the Lord’s Sabbath Day and would not run on that day, but went on and won the gold medal in a later event - who then took his solid rock convictions of trust and hope to the people of China, to share the Good News, the Gospel of Jesus.

Brother Sun, Sister Moon, the 1972 beautiful motion picture of the life of Saint Francis of Assisi, implanted the purpose of leaving the riches of this life behind, in order to pursue the One who has eternal treasures and homes stored up in heaven for us who believe.

These men of God inspired me, along with my teachers at St. Patrick Elementary School in Cedar Falls, Iowa, several of whom were nuns, wonderful women of God.

Given the hope they had in eternal life, and wanting to share that committed belief in the Savior Jesus Christ, they endured, whatever came their way, with the grace and encouragement of the Living God. They held strong when it was hope against hope, darkness against light, attacks of the enemies coming at them in their spirit, soul and body. They held on until the end.

Our hope can be founded on nothing less. The Solid Rock on which we stand, Who alone can and will enable us to stand, when all that surrounds us falls apart, has proven Himself over and over again as the Faithful One, the Guardian of Israel, the Eternal Son whose death, burial and resurrection gives us the historical foundation which cannot be shaken, when all else is being shaken.

“So don't turn a deaf ear to these gracious words. If those who ignored earthly warnings didn't get away with it, what will happen to us if we turn our backs on heavenly warnings? His voice that time shook the earth to its foundations; this time - he's told us this quite plainly - he'll also rock the heavens: "One last shaking, from top to bottom, stem to stern." The phrase "one last shaking" means a thorough housecleaning, getting rid of all the historical and religious junk so that the unshakable essentials stand clear and uncluttered.

Do you see what we've got? An unshakable kingdom! And do you see how thankful we must be? Not only thankful, but brimming with worship, deeply reverent before God. For God is not an indifferent bystander. He's actively cleaning house, torching all that needs to burn, and he won't quit until it's all cleansed. God himself is Fire!” (Hebrews 12:25-29, THE MESSAGE)

  

Hope in the Lord Jesus, Yeshua HaMashiach, will bring you through the shakings that have come, and those that have been prophesied in the Bible, which are yet to come. Put your trust in Him. Keep it there. And keep looking up when it seems that all else is going down.

Shalom and ahava (peace and love in Hebrew).

Now think on this,

Steve Martin

Founder/President

Love For His People, Inc.

If these messages have ministered to you, please consider sending a charitable gift of $10-$25 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 through our website using the DONATE buttons on either side column of our 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+ and Twitter. (And all other social media platforms!)

Now Think On This - in the Year of our Lord 09.04.17 - #312 – “Hope” – Monday, 8:30 am

No Doubt About It - Now Think On This by Steve Martin

No Doubt About It

Now Think On This

Steve Martin

“When we see that you're just as willing to endure the hard times as to enjoy the good times, we know you're going to make it, no doubt about it.” 2 Corinthians 1:7, THE MESSAGE)

Life comes with doubts, no doubt about it. We wonder if we are going to “make it”; if our kids will make it; if the world will be here tomorrow; if the nation will end up being what we had hoped and prayed it would be.

No doubt about it. This is life. And life is hard often.

Even ones who had walked right alongside Jesus, day in and day out for over three years, had doubts, after His horrible crucifixion and tomb burial.

“But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples were saying to him, "We have seen the Lord!" But he said to them, "Unless I see in His hands the imprint of the nails, and put my finger into the place of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe." (John 20:24-25, NASU)

Having doubts is common, and we should not beat ourselves over the head when we have them. Rather, as we are encouraged to do, we need to keep trusting anyway.

Trust that what Jesus (Yeshua) said was true.

“Don’t let yourselves be disturbed. Trust in God and trust in me. In my Father’s house are many places to live. If there weren’t, I would have told you; because I am going there to prepare a place for you. Since I am going and preparing a place for you, I will return to take you with me; so that where I am, you may be also. Furthermore, you know where I’m going; and you know the way there.” (John 14:1-4, CJB)

When you are anxious about your job – keeping trusting in Him.

When you doubt your marriage or whether you will even get married – keep trusting in Him.

When the rent or mortgage is due next week and your bank account has nothing – keep trusting in Him.

Many in life have nothing to fall back on. Those without hope cannot trust anything or anyone, for without Jesus there is no hope. Without the Solid Rock, which isn’t just a cliché, there is no solid rock.

But for those of us who do know Jesus, who know of His salvation, the miraculous times He came through for us, the hope within of life here and forevermore – we cannot doubt for long. We have the solid hope and assurance of today’s and tomorrow’s provision in spirit, soul and body.

Next time you have doubts – and there will be a next time, for the enemy continually bombards the Lord’s chosen ones – be reassured that your life is in His hands, He has not forsaken you, and what He has promised will come to pass.

Believers in Yeshua (Jesus) will always have a reason to believe – because our Lord and Savior has time and time again proven Himself Faithful on behalf of the nation of Israel, His worldwide Church, and all those who keep their eyes fixed on Him.

“…looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12:2, NKJV)

No doubt you will have doubts, but you will always have the eternal hope in Jesus. Keep strong in His Word.

Now think on this,

Steve Martin

Founder

Love For His People, Inc.

  

P.S. I would be most grateful if you'd share this encouraging word with your family and friends. They might need it. You can easily use the social media icons below. Thanks! Steve

We are blessed when the ministry receives gifts to support the families that we do, primarily in Israel, Hungary, India, Pakistan and the hurting ones here in the USA. You also can share out of the abundance you have been given.

Love For His People, Inc. is a charitable, not-for-profit USA humanitarian organization started in 2010 to share the love of the Father in the nations.

If these messages minister to you, please consider sending a charitable gift of $5-$25 today, and maybe each month, to help us bless families we know in Israel, whom we consistently help through our humanitarian ministry. Your tax deductible contributions receive a receipt for each donation. Fed. ID #27-1633858.

Click 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.)

Please share Now Think On This with your friends.

Email: loveforhispeople@gmail.com  

martinlighthouse@gmail.com

Facebook pages: Steve Martin and  Love For His People  

Twitter: martinlighthous, LovingHisPeople 

Blogs: Love For His People,   Now Think On This

Full website: Love For His People

YouTube: Love For His People Inc.

Now Think On This - In the Year of our Lord 01.01.17 - #271 –“No Doubt” – Sunday 1:00 pm

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

Again, I would be most grateful if you'd share this encouraging word with your family 

and friends. You can easily use the social media icons below. Thanks! Steve

H.O.P.E. - Now Think On This by Steve Martin

H.O.P.E.

Now Think On This

Steve Martin

“Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but desire fulfilled is a tree of life.” 

(Proverbs 13:12 NASU)

We all want hope. We all need hope. Something beyond ourselves that we can count on, to come about when all else seems beyond our reach, beyond our ability to make it happen.

For the die-hard Cub fans, their hope was fulfilled in 2016 after 108 years of waiting. For the political minded, having their candidate win gives them another year to anticipate a better government coming to their community, state or nation.

For others, just knowing they have food to eat for tomorrow will get them through another day. That hope is a reality even for many in America, the land of great abundance and provision.

As I sat to pray this morning, I thought of hope, and was grateful that the Lord Jesus has given me some, which I count on now, and for future times ahead. As the Scripture states, it is a tree of life, the knowing in your “knower” that He will come through in the end.

Quietly waiting to hear Him, this acronym came to mind:

H – HEAVEN

O – OPEN

P – PEOPLE

E – ENTER

HEAVEN - our eternal hope. For those who believe that after this life ends, and who have received Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we have a never-ending hope to be fulfilled. The Bible states that the dwelling of the King of kings and the Lord of lords will also be our home forever.

OPEN – having our prayers heard, which we cry out from the bottom of our heart to the Father above. An open heaven gives us confidence that we are on the right road, interceding for that which He has put in our hearts. His will to be done, according to His perfect plans and purposes.

PEOPLE – in all the nations. Everyone can experience the gift of salvation, the forgiveness of sins, the everlasting life found only in the only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, Yeshua HaMashiach.

ENTER – with thanksgiving and praise. What a joy that will be! Coming into the very presence of the Almighty God, being with those who have gone before us; receiving our eternal reward for living a faithful life here on earth. 

“Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter by the gates into the city.” Revelation 22:14-15, NASU)

We have hope in that which is imperishable, which is eternal, because of the One who paid the price, the One who has gone before us, and now awaits us with open arms. As the things of this earth fade away, keeping our eyes on Him, the Faithful One, will give us hope that will never fail.

“Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” (Hebrews 12:1-3, NASU)

Keep hoping. You can count on Him.

Now think on this,

Steve Martin

Founder

Love For His People, Inc. 

 P.S. I would be most grateful if you'd share this encouraging word with your family and friends. They might need it. You can easily use the social media icons below. Thanks! Steve

We are blessed when the ministry receives gifts to support the families that we do, primarily in Israel, Hungary, India, Pakistan and the hurting ones here in the USA. You also can share out of the abundance you have been given.

Love For His People, Inc. is a charitable, not-for-profit USA humanitarian organization started in 2010 to share the love of the Father in the nations.

If these messages minister to you, please consider sending a charitable gift of $5-$25 today, and maybe each month, to help us bless families we know in Israel, whom we consistently help through our humanitarian ministry. Your tax deductible contributions receive a receipt for each donation. Fed. ID #27-1633858.

Click 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.)

Please share Now Think On This with your friends.

Email: loveforhispeople@gmail.com  

martinlighthouse@gmail.com

Facebook pages: Steve Martin and  Love For His People  

Twitter: martinlighthous, LovingHisPeople 

Blogs: Love For His People,   Now Think On This

Full website: Love For His People

YouTube: Love For His People Inc.

Now Think On This - In the Year of our Lord 11.05.16 - #267 –“H.O.P.E.” – Saturday 8:45 am

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

Again, I would be most grateful if you'd share this encouraging word with your family and friends. You can easily use the social media icons below. Thanks! Steve