Obedience. I Had To Choose. - Now Think On This by Steve Martin

Obedience. I Had To Choose.

Now Think On This

Steve Martin

“Now it shall be, if you diligently obey the Lord your God, being careful to do all His commandments which I command you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth.” (Deuteronomy 28:1, NASU)

Back in 1984, the founder and owner of the Canon USA dealership I served with for seven years (1980-1987) in Lansing, Michigan had just sold a copier/printer. Nothing unusual about that. He was a great salesman, and was using very effectively the talents he had been given.

Along with his dear wife, who had become a real friend after she hired me to be the Office Manager, together they had taken over the small Midwest business from his father-in-law a few years earlier. Both had seen the company’s growth shoot up, working hard to achieve the American dream. Going from 15 employees to 50 on staff during those years I was with them, new machines, a new building, and increased prosperity were had by many. These were exciting times to be in the office machine business.

On the day he brought me documentation to invoice those who bought a made-in-Japan Canon printer, with their office located in Kalamazoo, I briefly scanned it, and stopped. From the knowledge I had, this was a medical clinic that did abortions. I did not want to be part of it.

From the start of my employment, coming from what the co-owner first called a “cult” when I spoke of the church (Shiloh Fellowship in East Lansing, Michigan, same town as the Michigan State Spartans), in my interview five years earlier, I had proclaimed myself as a Bible-believing, active Christian. Standing on principles and beliefs that I had walked in thus far my first 30 years on earth, I had to make a decision. Would I be part of this, go along with the task my job required, or would I say something?

At first I did not respond to him, but asked the Lord what I was to do. The next day I went to the owner and said, “I cannot be part of this sale, even if my job requires it, for my conscious does not allow me. You will have to get someone else to do it.” He looked at me, thanked me for being honest, and walked the paperwork into another administration office room to complete the billing.

As for me, I had to obey my Lord Jesus. Follow Him, and you will see the land of the living.

I repeat the verse quoted above, as it was one of the foundational Scriptures that I had learned to stand on.

“Now it shall be, if you diligently obey the Lord your God, being careful to do all His commandments which I command you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth.” (Deuteronomy 28:1, NASU)

When I left this wonderful Michigan company, after exactly seven years to the day on Monday, August 1, 1987, to move my family to Fort Lauderdale (being hired by David Selby to serve with Derek Prince Ministries), it was one of the hardest decisions I had ever done in my life. The co-owners had offered me the only Vice-President position I knew of in the company at that time, prior to my leaving, to persuade me to stay. But I was going on, in my call, and in obedience to the Lord.

My love for the two owners and the staff, many whom I had personally hired from the church, had grown tremendously. On that last day, I remember sitting in the co-owner’s office, crying with deep sobs because I felt I had not been a strong enough witness to the people there, leading them to the Lord I knew and loved. Her comment back to me was something like this, “Steve, you don’t know what an impact you had here, but your life was a testimony and a witness. Thank you.”

My obedience to follow the call of the Lord for full-time Christian ministry work was the strong compass guiding my heart. Sometimes He will ask you to do things you don’t fully comprehend, but looking back later, you will understand the why and how of it all.

To this day, over 30 years later after my departure, these friends and I still occasionally send Christmas cards to each other. My cards are sent to beautiful California, where they have relocated after retirement.

In Deuteronomy 28:1-14, NASU, the Lord God of Israel says to the people, through Moses (Moshe),

“1. Now it shall be, if you diligently obey the Lord your God, being careful to do all His commandments which I command you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth.

2 "All these blessings will come upon you and overtake you if you obey the Lord your God:

3 "Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the country.

4 "Blessed shall be the offspring of your body and the produce of your ground and the offspring of your beasts, the increase of your herd and the young of your flock.

5 "Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl.

6 "Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out.

7 "The Lord shall cause your enemies who rise up against you to be defeated before you; they will come out against you one way and will flee before you seven ways.

8 "The Lord will command the blessing upon you in your barns and in all that you put your hand to, and He will bless you in the land which the Lord your God gives you.

9 " The Lord will establish you as a holy people to Himself, as He swore to you, if you keep the commandments of the Lord your God and walk in His ways.

10 "So all the peoples of the earth will see that you are called by the name of the Lord, and they will be afraid of you.

11 " The Lord will make you abound in prosperity, in the offspring of your body and in the offspring of your beast and in the produce of your ground, in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers to give you.

12 "The Lord will open for you His good storehouse, the heavens, to give rain to your land in its season and to bless all the work of your hand; and you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow.

13 " The Lord will make you the head and not the tail, and you only will be above, and you will not be underneath, if you listen to the commandments of the Lord your God, which I charge you today, to observe them carefully, 14 and do not turn aside from any of the words which I command you today, to the right or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them.”

Obedience will get you farther than sacrifice. King Saul found that out when the Prophet Samuel confronted him, described in the Torah writings found in 1 Samuel 15:22-23.

 “Then Samuel said, “Do you think all God wants are sacrifices — empty rituals just for show? He wants you to listen to him! Plain listening is the thing, not staging a lavish religious production. Not doing what God tells you is far worse than fooling around in the occult. Getting self-important around God is far worse than making deals with your dead ancestors. Because you said No to God's command, he says No to your kingship.” (THE MESSAGE Bible)

Calling ourselves Christians will bring us before situations where we must take a stand. Today, stand up for what you believe in. Stand with conviction, honesty and truth. You may be surprised at the long-term end results.

Most important of all, standing in obedience to the One who saved you, called you, and now sends you into the world around you, to share His goodness, life and light, is top priority.

Obeying Yeshua (Jesus) will require much from each of us. But Who else, and what else, are we to live for, if not for the Creator of all?

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 for those living in Israel, Pakistan, Northern Ireland and India, 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 $10-$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 06.13.17 - #293 – “Obedience” – Tuesday, 4:44 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

Special Needs. Special Love. Now Think On This by Steve Martin

Special Needs. Special Love.

Now Think On This

Steve Martin

“As He passed by, He saw a man blind from birth. And His disciples asked Him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he would be born blind?" Jesus answered, "It was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents; but it was so that the works of God might be displayed in him.” John 9:1-3, NASU)

Every once in a while the Lord chooses to demonstrate His Father’s heart, His very precious love, in a very special way. Though some would consider this a mistake, and others might look upon it as being imperfect, He reveals a further, deeper, godly love. We too must have this in our hearts.

A special needs kid actually shows us the special love of God.

Maybe like me, when your child was birthed (those who have children), one of the first things you wanted to see is if they had ten fingers and ten toes. Before our modern medical devices such as sonograms, we didn’t even know if an unborn child was a male or female. So the natural thing was to look. I remember doing just that, to make sure each one was “perfect”, with no defects or being odd in any way. At least as I then understood things.

It has always been a part of human culture to make these judgments, even at the moment of birth, whether someone was good or bad. We would then act accordingly. In far too many cases, if the child had a defect, or abnormality, they were considered not worthy of life. Some ungodly cultures even destroy life if not to their standards. Even in the “modern world”, these times we now live in, knowing ahead of time as we do the growth and development of the unborn, abortion is considered a viable option, the “human” thing to do, if an abnormality or unwanted condition is present. We want to apply our so called wise wisdom - “Save the suffering, for the child and the parents or caretaker.”

How far we have fallen from the heart of God.

Even in other matters about us - if an object has a small blemish, we toss it out. If there is some peculiar look about it, and it doesn’t fit the generally accepted mold, our far too often response is to typically reject, remove or replace. We tend to not want anything out of the ordinary around us.

When Jesus was asked who sinned, his parents or the one born blind, He responded, as written above, “It was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents; but it was so that the works of God might be displayed in him.” (John 9:3)

Our thinking would be, “Why would the Lord have allowed this in the first place? Doesn’t He make all things good?” Of course the Lord does. And He also demonstrates His love in ways we don’t fully understand.

I am now believing that what we for so long considered “good”, having no spot or wrinkle, isn’t quite the way He has seen it, in His wisdom and understanding. The Perfect Lamb, Jesus our Messiah, Yeshua HaMashiach was the only one without spot or wrinkle. All the rest of us have them. And yet, the Lord demonstrates continually His perfect love for us, and His creation, very simply and quite profoundly, in the very acts He daily shows, with His perfect love for all things. And people.

Special needs kids, as we have now labeled them, actually show us the perfect love of God. Given the fact that He Himself has blessed us with them, by showing His love for what has been called for too long “imperfect”, clearly reveals a deeper aspect of the love our Lord has for His creation.

My respect for those who have special needs kids is immense. I can appreciate the extra care, time and outpouring of love it takes in raising a child with abilities not present in some areas of their life. I also understand those special demonstrations of the Father’s love that He has given to them. As for their parents and family members, I believe He gives extra grace for the care needed.

Love for His people, which come in all shapes, sizes and sectors of life, must go beyond that for only the “lovely and the whole” as we would consider them. His love for all creation takes special love, which He will give to us, for them, as we abide in Him.

Now think on this, in the love of Jesus,

Steve Martin

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 bless the families that we do in Israel, 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 New Year of our Lord 01.10.15 - #231 –“Special Needs. Special Love” – Sunday at 7:30apm

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

LOVE FOR HIS PEOPLE FEATURED BOOK

Paperback $5.99

Kindle $1.99

Buy here: Arms of Love by Steve Martin

In 2010 the Lord God of Israel, my Savior Jesus Christ (Yeshua HaMashiach), led me to start the ministry we call Love For His People. Its primary purpose is to share the love of the Lord with the nation of Israel, Jews around the world, and the people in all the nations as we can. For that end, through social media, writing and distributing books, and in person ministry, we are seeing the love of Jesus spread. We are grateful that He has given us much love in order to do just that.

We often hear the word “love” spoken out loud, and written about, in many ways. It has contrasting meanings to the wide range of people that exist, as it is expressed in different methods through people. When it has all been said and done, there is an eternal love that will stand the test of fire. Because the biblical expression of love, laying down one’s life for his friends, has eternal value, this love from God the Father to His creation is the type that I most seek after and try to share. 

In these short chapters of Arms of Love, which is also the title of a song Laurie and I sang while leading various church worship meetings, and as the lead singers in our Ahava Love Band, I share some aspects of how I believe the Bible speaks of love. For you who are about to read this, my prayer is that your heart will be enlarged with His, and you too will become one, even more, to give love for His people, both Jew and Gentile, both saved and unsaved. 

I hope that as you read these chapters, you will become more inspired to spend time with the Lord, experience His heart of love, and share it with our fellow man. The world needs to know the love of God. 

Steve Martin 

Charlotte, NC 

Jan. 2016

What Love Are You Talking About? - Now Think On This by Steve Martin

What Love Are You Talking About?

- Now Think On This

by Steve Martin

Susie didn’t know what love was. Growing up in a family of five, with dad having left them all when she was three, provided nothing but rejection and hearts without hope. She didn’t have the fancy clothes and trending shoes that others wore. The kids in school would tease her because of her freckles and curly hair. She just didn’t fit in.

Her mom tried the best she could to put food on the table. Working a double shift at Rudy’s a few miles away, serving Columbian coffee to the early risers in the morning and the local draft beer to office personnel after hours, left little time to give Susie a desperately needed hug, nor a spoken, simple, “I love you.” So Susie’s heart longed for someone, or something, to fill that growing void.

By the time she turned 17, Susie had already tried what others had. With nothing to keep her pointed in the right direction, that midnight hour with Mark left her with a life within, but no other about. He too followed the way of the world and took the next train to Chicago, leaving her standing to face the day alone. The woman at the PP told her she had the right to subtract the “tissue that will pull your life down”, but something, she didn’t know from where, told Susie not to proceed. Maybe that other voice she now remembered was right. Life had begun, and this one would be different.

Love hadn’t been what Susie wanted it to be. She had dreamed dreams like every other precious princess had, hoping this too would fill the void, or that experience would ease the longing. "Someday her prince would come" would play in her head. 

Her pained heart still beat though, while longing to have someone tell her it would just be OK. If she had to go it alone, well, she would go it alone. Somehow she and the other beating heart would make it.

I could continue writing and say that this common story ended quite well. I could tell you that Susie found the love she had been looking for; that a righteous prince had come and provided for her and her child with everything good. But that didn’t happen.

You see, the Lord had tried to share His love with Susie through another, one who too had gone through the same story. He had appointed that person to speak life into her heart, and give her the hug she needed, to help her find the way. But they didn’t; instead seeking their own comfort and pleasure rather than sharing His love with others. And so Susie and her child were no more.

The moral of the story you ask?

“How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: "How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, Who bring glad tidings of good things!" (Romans 10:14-15, NKJV)

You who are reading this now have been given the love that Susie and others need to know. You have been blessed with the gifts from the One Who loves, to share in your world. You have the hug to give, the words to speak, the knowledge and experience you have known, because He first loved you. His love is in your life.

Please go and share what you have. The world needs to know what love you have talked about.

Now think on this,

Steve Martin

Founder

Love For His People. Inc.

P.S. The above story about Susie is a story, but it is far too often a reality.

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 #190 “What Love Are You Taking About” by Steve Martin 

Date: In the year of our Lord 2015 (10.17.15) Saturday at 6:37 am in Charlotte, NC

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

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