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Genesis 43-50 records Joseph weeping eight times. I was struck by how dominant the theme of ‘weeping’ was in Joseph’s life. Obviously, he experienced more grief than most. But it’s worth considering each of the instances where Scripture records Joseph as weeping.

Despite the claims of popular culture, there are significant differences between men and women, and I’ve always felt that if we win our men, the girls will come too. But I’ve also wanted to address more of the specific issues pertaining to women in a separate book.

We see all over the world, especially in the West, people being given over to their sin. The sacrilegious and blasphemous display in the Paris Olympics is just one of millions of examples of this.

Sub-atomic elements, which are purely energy, make up the atoms that make up the ‘solid’ objects that we see with our eyes and touch with our hands. So, what we see is just energy in a visual form.

The Puritans themselves sought clear certainty as to God’s truth in its practical bearing, and believed that they had been given it. Their very quest sharpened both their moral sensibilities and their insight into the Bible. May God give us consciences to apply His truth and live by it.

Any believer who is even somewhat biblically literate and is aware of what is happening in the world today will know perfectly well that the Christian life is not a bed of roses, but a struggle. It is in fact a life of battle and warfare, with good and evil being fought out every single day.

There are times when God draws near in the here and now, coming in great power and as a holy refining fire, bringing hidden things to light while we are alive in this world.

If you spend time on social media, you will come across some of the many videos posted of animals being rescued, especially dogs, and even puppies. And that, of course, is a picture of what God does for us lost sinners – He rescues us and loves us, and makes us a part of His family.

We desperately need a revival of the fear of the Lord, a recovery of the awe of God, a restoration of reverence. It is a matter of life and death. May the Lord have mercy on His people, may He purify His bride, may He make something beautiful out of us, and may His name be glorified.

God is near to us and close to us. Unlike the teaching of deism, which states that God made the world but has basically left it to run on its own with no involvement from Him, the Bible teaches us that God is wholly present with and ever active in all that He has created.

Since God is God, how can He in any way become better or better off or enriched? How can He increase in any way as a result of us blessing Him?

Our hope is not in the person in the White House or the Lodge, but in the King of Kings. This hope allows us to live non-anxiously with the messiness and brokenness of this world and its politics, knowing that our home and our security are not in a temporal country.

I remember my parents visiting Israel from our home in England in 1960, and I went on my own, as a 19-year-old non-Christian, in 1971 to volunteer on a kibbutz. I am sure this background planted seeds of my love for Israel.

For the past ten years, the Australian Prayer Network (APN) has been holding Watchmen Schools of Intercession all over the nation, with over 16,000 people having attended the Foundation Level course.

A major issue Paul had to deal with was the “super-apostles”. These were leaders and teachers (often false teachers) who tended to put their personalities, their prestige, and their power forward as their credentials. Today, things are no different, with celebrity preachers.

Because repentance (Hebrew "teshuvah") is a great theme of the Old Testament, it is also a great theme of Judaism. It is a theme found throughout the New Testament as well. In fact, it has been said that “‘repent’ is the first word of the Gospel.”

Most people know the story of the ‘birds and the bees’, but very few know that the story of ‘the flowers and the bees’ is a far more fascinating story with a hidden secret.

Jews are turning to the hope of Israel, Jesus Christ. One ministry has received 1,230 Israeli orders for New Testaments in Hebrew since the October 7 attack.

We must be careful that we do not end up being an empire builder, a kingdom builder. We must be very careful, in other words, that in our effort to serve the Lord, we do not get proud, and do not think we are going to be the next best Christian thing since the apostle Paul.

We are living in times of great shaking, times of refining and purifying. How should we respond? In the words of the Gospel song, and in the spirit of Isaiah 6, we should say, “Take the coal, touch my lips, here I stand.” Let the cleansing begin with me. Judgment begins with God’s household.