"Creation" by Steve Martin

                  "Creation" by Steve Martin 

Every once in a while, we need to get away from our normal, daily routine and explore the Lord's creation. Only with two hour drive northwest of Charlotte, North Carolina, you can access the road known as the Blue Ridge Parkway, a 469-mile scenic highway stretching from North Carolina to Virginia. Built beginning in 1935, it offers beautiful flowers, waterfalls, lakes, lookout points, and hiking trails.

I had the opportunity to go on our annual day trip with my friend David Peterman to the western mountains of North Carolina. Stopping at lookout points, clear blue lakes, rhododendrons filling the mountainsides preparing to bloom - it was a magnificent journey on an early spring day.

Check it out sometime if you can! Or venture out in the land near you, and be refreshed with the Lord's creation.

Ahava and shalom,

Steve Martin

                     

#creation #BlueRidgeMountains #NorthCarolina #BlueRidgeParkway #waterfalls #scenichighway

Morning Has Broken

​

Cat Stevens sang his hit song, Morning Has Broken” in 1971. I was a sophomore at Columbus Catholic High School in Waterloo, Iowa. I loved the song as it spoke of our Lord’s creation.

Have a great morning. Thank the Lord!

Steve Martin, Love For His People in Charlotte, North Carolina

Morning has broken like the first morning
Blackbird has spoken like the first bird
Praise for the singing, praise for the morning
Praise for them springing fresh from the world

Sweet the rains new fall, sunlit from Heaven
Like the first dewfall on the first grass
Praise for the sweetness of the wet garden
Sprung in completeness where His feet pass

Mine is the sunlight, mine is the morning
Born of the one light, Eden saw play
Praise with elation, praise every morning
God's recreation of the new day

Morning has broken like the first morning
Blackbird has spoken like the first bird
Praise for the singing, praise for the morning
Praise for them springing fresh from the world

Source: Musixmatch

Songwriters: Cat Stevens / Eleanor Farjeon / Trad

Morning Has Broken lyrics © Oxford University Press, Cat Music Ltd., Mole End Music, Cat Music Limited, Word Music, Llc, Curb Word Music, Doerksen Music Inc

His Appointments

​

His Appointments

We all have our disappointments. And yet when I look back, I can see our Lord’s hand in them - protecting us, guarding us, keeping us from going down a path that we thought was for sure the way to go.

Even when we say to ourselves and others,  “I am positive this is the Lord’s will. How can it not be?” 

And then it didn’t go as expected.

I recall the Bible story of Joseph hearing that his engaged woman, Mary, was pregnant. And the child was not his. How greatly disappointed he must have felt? “Why Lord? YOU GAVE HER TO ME!”

How did that turn out for Joseph? For Mary?

We can’t, we don’t, always see the Lord’s hand in our lives. We just don’t have the capacity to carry it, to do it at the time, as He knows and does.

We just have to trust in the Lord’s hands. He said He loves us. Is He a liar?

Thank You, Lord, for the times I didn’t marry that one; I didn’t get on that plane; my event was canceled…and then tragedy occurred exactly where I just knew I was supposed to have been before Your hand stopped me.

We must also realize this life isn’t just about me. So many more are involved. I like the Jewish culture. It isn’t “me”, it is “us.” We need more of that.

His appointments carry us beyond the disappointments. When they come, keep looking for His open door. It is coming. I can promise you that, because He is ALWAYS Faithful.

“Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him, On those who wait for His faithfulness…” Psalm 33:18, NASB

Now, back to my blueberry bagel. It seems to have more this time. Yeah Lord!

Ahava and Shalom,

Steve Martin in Charlotte, North Carolina

Message #20 in the year of our Lord, April 6, 2026.

His resurrected life proves we can have freedom and walk in His love daily!

​

His resurrected life proves we can have freedom and walk in His love daily!

Jesus (Yeshua) Lives!

​

The Messiah has already come.

​

The Messiah, Yeshua HaMashiah, has already come. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came to redeem us to the Father. He suffered, died, and rose, fulfilling the Jewish prophecies for the coming Messiah's redemption.

We celebrate the hope, promises, and fullfilment of what more is yet to come.

Happy Resurrection Day!

Ahava and Shalom, 

Steve Martin, Love For His People

"Carry My Bags" by Steve Martin

 

Carry My Bags

Totally devastated. After 14 years of service in the ministry, in which I was called “part of the family”, in April 1999, I asked a very personal question to the founder of the ministry, “Can I go with you on your next international trip?” His answer came back without hesitation, “What would you do, carry my bags?” My heart sank.

I knew then that I was leaving this work. The Lord had another place for me. And He did, showing His faithfulness as He always does throughout this whole time.

Looking back on that time, when my heart’s desire was to travel, not just for the sake of traveling, but to do more than sit behind an administration and accounting desk, while taking the leaders to the airport and back 400 times over those years, I knew the Lord had more plans for me to accomplish. My heart was burning for something more.

In the summer of 2026, a trio of friends from Jerusalem, the co-founder of Christian Friends of Israel, Sharon Sanders, and two staff members, will be flying to the USA to hold meetings in Texas, California, Colorado, Montana, and more. I have been asked to accompany them on that journey, as a driver, the worship leader, and the book table manager. I am looking forward to it.

And I will be glad to carry their bags, as they are all older than my 71 years. Thank You, Lord.

And oh yes, speaking of international travel. Since that moment in 1999, when I left the ministry after giving my six-month notice, I have been to Israel 30 times, China, England, Ireland, Trinidad-Tobago, and more.

The Lord gives us the desires of our hearts. After all, He is the One who puts them there.

“Delight yourself in the Lord; And He will give you the desires of your heart.” Psalm 37:4, NASB

Carry on!

Ahava and Shalom,

Steve Martin, Love For His People

“Carry My Bags”, Message #19, 04.03.26

#carrymybags #SteveMartin #travel #luggagebags #faithful #desiresofyourheart