Immediately by Steve Martin

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"IMMEDIATELY by Steve Martin

How do you respond to the Lord when you know He is wanting you to do something? Is it immediately?

How did Paul and his team react? Let’s find out.

Acts 16:9-10, Tree of Life Version, "9 Now a vision appeared to Paul in the night. A man from Macedonia was standing and pleading with him, saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us!” 10 As soon as he had seen the vision, immediately we tried to go to Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to proclaim the Good News to them.“

In the Gospel of Mark, using the New American Standard Version, the word “immediately” is often used describing the response to doing what is asked to be done.

How often do we act in this manner? Are we not to “pray about it, fast, ask three people for counsel, wait until we get another word…?”

That is what we normally do. And when all that has been done, the Holy Spirit has left, seeking one who will do as asked.

I for one consider myself wise. I have learned to know the voice of the Lord, and though I do all those things listed above when I have heard Him speak, I know when I am to “go” and when I am to “wait, take it slow, get more direction” before jumping off the deep end.

But it is more adventurous to do what He asks one to do immediately. And you won’t miss the plane when it comes at the right time.

Ahava and Shalom,

Steve Martin

#immediately #obedience #faith #Jesus #obey #Bible

A closed door? Wait for the open one.

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I was actually surprised at my deep reaction when the finality of it hit me.

My 14 years with an uptown Charlotte company, where I started as a “temp” in 2012, then became full time, and then repeated (4 in fact) returns to cover as they tried finding good help…was over.

When my wonderful wife Laurie and I spent three months as volunteers with Christian Friends of Israel in Jerusalem Oct. 16, 2015 - Jan. 12, 2026, I had told Charlotte Center City Partners that this was it with them. I cleaned my desk and left.

But to my surprise they called me back two weeks after my return home to Charlotte, and said they needed my help. In fact, the new CFO had saved and put back my photos on my former desk walls. Surprised indeed!

But all good things come to an end, so we are told, and the door has finally closed. They seem to have finally found good help.

Coupled with the closing this month of another place I had done accounting with for five years as a contractor, doors certainly have closed.

But as my good friend Mordecai had prophesied to me a month ago in home group, “Doors will be closing. But new ones will be opening.” (I call him the “Open Door” prophet.)

When, not if, you experience your closing of doors, know that our Faithful Lord has your back.

And be faithful where you are at until then. He wants to promote you.

“His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter the joy of your master.’ Matthew 25:31, NASB

Ahava and shalom,

Steve Martin

#ClosedDoor #wait #Opendoor #messagebySteveMartin #faith #Jesus #courage #ChristianFriendsofIsrael #Jerusalem #CCCP #CharlotteCenterCityPartners #Mordecai,\ #faithfulOne #faithfulservant

Anchor of My Soul - Steve Martin

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As I drove home on Sunday after a luncheon with friends, the song by Michael W. Smith came on the radio. “You Won’t Let Go”, speaking of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Adonai.

It was such an encouragement to know, deep in my soul, that the One Who came to earth, died for us, and rose from the dead, has restored the fellowship we can have with God the Father, Jesus the Only Son, and Holy Spirit.

Giving our life to the Godhead is the best thing anyone can do. Saying to them, “Take me, I am yours” opens the door for them to fulfill the plans and purposes they have for each of us.

The anchor of my soul holds strong. After 71 years of following the Lord, my faith is held by their mighty strong promises and faithfulness.

I trust yours does too.

Ahava and Shalom,

Steve Martin

#anchorofmysoul #SteveMartin #Adonai #encouragement #faith #promises #HolySpirit #Jesus #GodtheFather

“Dependence” - message by Steve Martin

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Dependence

Waking up this morning was almost as if I was in a fog. You have had that before after a night where dreams are somewhat weird. It must have been the ups and downs of the weekend, with many things going on and you try to wrap your head around it all.

With the world seemingly out of joint with the many hotspots, wars and rumors of more, and then on the other hand the sports world’s unexpected twists and turns, if you watch those games on TV. 

Governments not getting things in order as they should; people demonstrating against “kings” as they are clearly showing ignorance to the facts after being paid off by anti-Americans. 

You can be a bit out-of-joint trying to take it all in.

If I didn’t have my quiet time with the Lord, to start each day reading His word, a devotional, and then prayer, all these activities trying to wear me out would have its long term goal - the inability to see the world from His perspective.

In 1 Thessalonians 5:23 it reads, “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

 

Take the time needed each day to rest in the Lord, seek His face for His guidance, and know that He knows all that is going on. We look forward to His soon return as we depend on Him to fulfill His promises.

 

Ahava and Shalom,

 

Steve Martin

#dependence #SteveMartin #morninplacetobe #peace #Jesus #Yeshua #guidance #Bible #prayer

A bit of canvas. Photos by Steve Martin

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A bit of canvas artwork in my home ministry office.

Steve Martin

#canvasphotos #SteveMartin #homeoffice #Israel #Jesus

"Suddenlies" by Steve Martin

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A beautiful horse in South Carolina. Photo by Steve Martin, March 2026)

Suddenlies

You wait. You wait. You wait. 

And then suddenly! The time has come. And you get the “Now is the time” word from the Holy Spirit.

We all have waited for events to come, people to respond, the answer to a concern we have prayed for. For a long time.

Trusting in the Lord’s timing is what brings us His shalom, His peace, as we, “normal humans” anxiously wait at times for that time.

“Until the time that his word came to pass, The word of the Lord tested him.” Psalm 105:18, NASB

Sometimes we get ahead of the Lord. Remember how King Saul didn’t wait for the prophet Samuel? It later cost him the throne.

Not every time will be this serious, but waiting for His perfect timing is always the way to go. Stay off the horse until the Lord says, “Go!” And then move on it.

I like suddenlies. I feel the presence and joy of the Lord then too. It is like the little kid waiting at the door to get outside, and then Mom gives him the “now” word.

Be expectant. Your suddenly, well certainly, will come. Suddenly.

Ahava and shalom,

Steve Martin

Message #16 in the year of the Lord 03.25.26

#Suddenly #suddenlies #time #horses #HolySpirit #Jesus #Yeshua

Go where they are…

Steve Martin with grandson Daniel Martin. Daytona 500, February 2023

Tom Bach, Steve Martin, Charlotte Motor Speedway October 2025

Hendricks Motor Sports Museum in Concord, North Carolina near Charltote Motor Speedway

Go Where They Are

There was a time when I was really into NASCAR. Now some people would say how “ungodly” that is. Mixing with all those “sinners.”

And yet it blessed me when I heard the Lord say to me, “Enjoy the time when you go. Just take Me with you.”

I thought, “Wow!” And then I realized Jesus (Yeshua) has the heart for those who walk a “different beat” and that is where He went.

Sure, He went to the synagogues, to the religious people, but He walked among the sinners, the ones who really knew they needed a savior, and He showed Himself to them - that He was the One.

We need to understand that the lost need saving. They no longer come to our big, beautiful buildings, but they do go to other big stadiums. 

I no longer feel out of place you g to where the people are and enjoying a race now and then. Opportunities do arise to share His love and compassion.

Off to the races then! And Yeshua loves coming with me.

Ahava and shalom,

Steve Martin

Then it happened that as Jesus was reclining at the table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were dining with Jesus and His disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to His disciples, “Why is your Teacher eating with the tax collectors and sinners?” 

But when Jesus heard this, He said, “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick. But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire compassion, and not sacrifice,’ for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” Matthew 9:10-17, NASB

Message #14 2026, March 22, 2026

#NASCAR #Jesus #Yeshua #racetrack #races #sinners #Daytona500,

Disappointments

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We all have disappointments. Schedules get changed. Trips having spent months working on get cancelled. People leave as friends and we are left with a big hole in our life.

It’s not easy to just put on a “happy face”. So what do we do?

There are times when we will grieve, knowing that whatever caused the disappointment may come again or it may take awhile to recover from it. I believe that is a normal process, to draw us closer, not away from, the Lord Jesus.

When I was seriously praying about leaving a ministry that I had labored with for 14 years, the Lord instructed me to take a trip to Jerusalem. In fact, to the holy place of the Western Wall in the Old City where the Jews pray. 

After all the details had been worked out, I made it there. As I stood waiting at the Wall (Kotel in Hebrew), I placed my hands and forehead against it, grateful that I had heard and obeyed.

And the “flood waters” of emotion poured over me, as the Lord spoke softly, “Your years of service have not been in vain.” His heart of love was what I needed to heal the pain and make the decision I needed in this situation.

Draw near to the Lord with your disappointments. He will bring healing and renewed hope.

The Lord promises in James 4:9, “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you" (NKJV).

Ahava and shalom,

Steve Martin

#disappointments #healing #hope #waiting #GodtheFather #Jesus

Keep On Keeping On

KEEP ON KEEPING ON

In days gone by, when the computer monitor was the big one with the large tube, barely fitting on your home desktop, I had taped on the side, printed on a 81/2” x 11” paper, this verse, “And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.“ Galatians 6:9, NKJV

It was a daily reminder to keep on keeping on.

The same old same old, the daily grind, can wear us out. We need encouragement. We need renewed strength. We need grace to start each day and see through to the end.

Whatever makes you wonder, “When will a break come?” remember that our Lord is the One able to cheer us, giving us the ability to complete the race set before us to the finish line.

“Therefore, since we also have such a great cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let’s rid ourselves of every obstacle and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let’s run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking only at Jesus, the originator and perfecter of the 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.“ Hebrews 12:1-2, NASB

Lord, bring us each renewed strength so we can keep on keeping on.

Ahava and shalom,

Steve Martin

#Keepon #keepingon #SteveMartin#loseheart#encouragement #Jesus 

Anticipation

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Psalm 37:4states: "Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart" (NKJV)

This was the first Scripture verse I ever memorized, going back a few decades (ok, it has been 5 decades now.) When I read the Bible, after giving myself to believing in Jesus as my Lord and Savior, the Word of God meant more than just being the big white book on our family TV room endtable. (The one we bought from the door-to-door salesman back in the 1960s.)

Being raised a Roman Catholic, and going to Catholic schools from 1962-1973, walking with the Lord was not personal. Just something we did as part of growing up - hearing the Sunday sermonette of 15 minutes weekly, and going on with being a kid and then a teenager in those years.

But new life really meant new life. Having a true relationship with Jesus (Yeshua) changed the meaning of life, the purpose, and ongoing times of discovering His plans for the world, the country, and yes, me.

Anticipation was now becoming a way of life, knowing that as I gave myself to “delighting in Him”, wanting to please Him, He would give me the desires of my heart. After all, He is the One Who gives us those good desires.

That is the promise for you, too, every day. Anticipate the promises and watch them be fulfilled.

Ahava and Shalom,

Steve Martin

P.S. The restaurant was out of blueberry bagels yesterday. I had to settle for raisins and cinnamon. My next “go to.”

#Psalm374 #Scripture #anticipation #Catholicschool #Bible #relationships #Jesus #bagel #coffee