The UN and Human Rights - A Kangaroo Court - Maoz Israel

There's a great Messianic ministry called Maoz Israel that publishes a monthly newsletter I wanted to share with everyone. The May issue has a pretty good article that explains Israel's current situation and relationship with other countries in the world. We are seeing last-days Bible prophecy being fulfilled as all eyes are on Israel and they are pretty much alone in the world with not much support.

The UN and Human Rights - A Kangaroo Court

Maoz Israel's Website

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Pastor Mark Martin
Calvary Community Church

Treasures Hidden in the Darkness

In case you missed yesterday's GraceMail that deals with suffering and dark times, I'm going to re-publish it here on the blog.

"And I will give you treasures hidden in the darkness—secret riches. I will do this so you may know that I am the Lord, the God of Israel, the one who calls you by name" (Isaiah 45:3).

God gave this promise to Cyrus, a pagan king, affirming that He had ordained him to be His instrument to accomplish His will. The promise came true when He conquered the city of Babylon and all its riches.

A spiritual truth is mirrored by the historical event. There are treasures to be found in our darkest times. There are "treasures hidden in the darkness—secret riches."

In the dark times God gives us treasure.

He gives us the treasure of trust as we learn to submit to Him, even when we don’t know where the Lord is leading.

"You light a lamp for me. The Lord, my God, lights up my darkness" (Psalm 18:28).

We find the treasure of peace when we rest knowing that He is in control and working out His plan for our lives.

"And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:7, NASB).

We find the treasure of a much deeper fellowship with the Lord. David, in his dark time shares: "For he will conceal me there when troubles come; he will hide me in his sanctuary. He will place me out of reach on a high rock" (Psalm 27:5).

Hidden in the darkness is the treasure of God’s special comfort: "For the more we suffer for Christ, the more God will shower us with his comfort through Christ" (2 Corinthians 1:5).

In the dark times, there is the treasure of experiencing God’s strength: "But the salvation of the righteous is from the Lord; He is their strength in time of trouble" (Psalm 37:39, NASB).

"God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble" (Psalm 46:1, NASB).

God says that His purpose in giving you the treasures hidden in the darkness—secret treasures is so that "...you may know that I am the Lord, the God of Israel, the one who calls you by name."




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Pastor Mark Martin
Calvary Community Church

Voice of D.L. Moody from 1897

D.L. Moody is one of the heroes of the faith. He was a late 19th century American evangelist whose worldwide ministry saw a million people come to faith in Christ. He founded Moody Church, Moody Bible Institute, and Moody Publishers, among other Christian ministries that are still around today.

We found this rare recording of D.L Moody reading the Beatitudes from Matthew's gospel from 1897. The quality is poor because recording was in its infancy during that time. The audio recording also contains the singing of Ira Sankey, Moody's long-time music minister. Enjoy!

D.L Moody Audio Recording from 1897

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Pastor Mark Martin

Calvary Community Church

It's Your Choice - A message on predestination

If you didn't hear my teaching from this past weekend on predestination, election, God's foreknowledge, and Calvinism in general, be sure to check it out.

It's Your Choice

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Pastor Mark Martin
Calvary Community Church

Christian Persecution Rising

This is not good news.  Please read this report from today on the rise of Christian persecution, particularly in the Arab world.  We need to be praying for our brothers and sisters throughout the globe.

Christians persecuted at alarming rate in Iran, Arab world, US report says

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Pastor Mark Martin

Calvary Community Church

Worry - Should we worry about it?

Worry can really consume us sometimes, stealing our joy and challenging our faith. It can also make you physically sick. Let's look at a portion of Matthew 6 where Jesus talks about worry.

"So I tell you, don't worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food, drink, and clothes. Doesn't life consist of more than food and clothing? Look at the birds. They don't need to plant or harvest or put food in barns because your heavenly Father feeds them. And you are far more valuable to him than they are" (Matthew 6:25-26).

Jesus is saying that needless worry goes against the lessons of nature. If the natural world around us isn't worrying, neither should the children of God. Our loving Father in heaven is watching over us and this day and its needs are in His hands. Worry spends today by borrowing trouble. The interest rate is too high to pay.

Giving our cares and worries to God helps us to live a supernatural life.

"Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? Of course not" (Matthew 6:27).

When we torment ourselves over things that might happen or we allow ourselves to fixate on some dreaded thing, we're actually sabotaging our peace. Jesus is clearly saying that when we worry we add nothing to our lives, we actually lose something, something is subtracted—our peace.

Worry steals our peace by robbing us of the moment we're living in. God's plan is to give you peace for this minute. Worry demands a week or a month's worth of peace for a moment, and that will never be delivered. God's grace is always enough for right now and right now is where we're living. Jesus has promised, "I'll be with you… day after day after day, right up to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:20, MSG).

"And why worry about your clothes? Look at the lilies and how they grow. They don't work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. And if God cares so wonderfully for flowers that are here today and gone tomorrow, won't he more surely care for you? You have so little faith!" (Matthew 6:28-30).

What if your mirror could talk and it echoed what you say in front of it, what would it say? "How do I look?" "What am I going to wear?" "I look fat!" "Why isn't my hair curly?" "I wish my hair was straight!" "I wish I had some hair!"

If mirrors echoed what they hear us say, we might be more aware of how much energy we spend to project a physical image of ourselves, and how little time we spend dressing ourselves spiritually every day. If how you looked on the outside was directly proportional to how much time you spend with God each morning, how would you look right now?

Let's spend more time grooming the inside, and the results are sure to show on the outside.

Paul's words to the Colossian Christians seem especially appropriate: "It wasn't long ago that you were doing all that stuff and not knowing any better. But you know better now, so make sure it's all gone for good: bad temper, irritability, meanness, profanity, dirty talk. Don't lie to one another. You're done with that old life. It's like a filthy set of ill-fitting clothes you've stripped off and put in the fire. Now you're dressed in a new wardrobe. Every item of your new way of life is custom-made by the Creator, with his label on it. All the old fashions are now obsolete" (Colossians 3:7-10, MSG).

"So don't worry about having enough food or drink or clothing. Why be like the pagans who are so deeply concerned about these things? Your heavenly Father already knows all your needs..." (Matthew 6:31-32).

You're not on your own, you don't have to take care of yourself, you're not an orphan. You have a loving Father in Heaven who is going to take care of your needs. When we worry, we're living like we're on our own.

When you start to worry, STOP:

• Remember, you're part of the family, the Father's family, you're not on your own, God has promised to care for those who are living for Him.
• Ask yourself: "How big a deal is this in the light of eternity?" 
• Turn off the static. Worry is like listening to static all the time. It's annoying and exhausting. The best way to deal with it is not to try to fine tune the station and figure out all the reasons for your anxiety, but to turn it off! Worry would love to play over all the activities of your life, turn it off by trusting Jesus' words. 
• Cast it off by getting quiet with the Lord and writing everything down that is worrying you. Then take that piece of paper and throw it away. You're actually obeying God's Word which says for you to cast "…the whole of your care [all your anxieties, all your worries, all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares for you affectionately and cares about you watchfully" (1 Peter 5:7, AMP).

Now let's put this into practice.



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Pastor Mark Martin
Calvary Community Church


Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

What Will it Take to Make You a Believer?

If you missed my Easter message, you can watch it here where I go through several evidences for the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Check it out!

Easter Message
What Will it Take to Make You a Believer?