"Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age: and he made him a coat of many colours." Genesis 37:3 " And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son,in whom I am well pleased." Matthew 3:17 " Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not." 1 John 3:1

Another interesting correlation is how Joseph was the object of his father’s (Jacob) love, just as (Jesus) was loved of our Heavenly Father. This preference Jacob had for Joseph was unequivocal, and it was also pretty controversial among his brothers. Competition among siblings seemed to infect the family just as it can in many of our own families. But the beauty of Joseph's place in his father's heart emerges when we realize that, as a type of (Jesus), Joseph powerfully illustrates the love our Heavenly Father has for all of us, equally and intensely, so there's no need or cause for competition among us. Now Jacob's love for Joseph was connected with his love for Rachel and the long wait for a son by his beloved wife. Joseph didn't have to do anything to earn Jacob's love. It was not based on his performance, even though it turned out that his character was pretty sterling. Likewise, our Father's love for us is totally based in His love for Jesus, not on our performance. Our HIGHS do not exalt us, and our LOWS do not depress us in the sight of the Father. Our acceptance is not dependent on us, but rather on Him who sits on the throne, Who never changes! Brothers & Sisters, rejoice, for your are accepted in the “beloved!” You may say to yourself, “There’s nothing good here!” But remember that God the Father is seeing His Son when He looks at you. Your struggle against temptation and sin only proves that you have been lovingly adopted into His family, fully identified with His beloved Son. Realizing this is a source of tremendous freedom, prompting deep gratitude and a growing desire for relationship with God.

"And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come."Matthew 24:14

This "walk" also engages us in a war. "Edom" represents the earthly man, the man of flesh, an enemy against whom we struggle daily, facing many battles and obstacles as we prepare ourselves and our brethren in holy living for our expected Bridegroom's arrival. Walking in His Footsteps means living a life of expectant preparation, and calling others to this walk as we preach the gospel of the coming Kingdom to all the nations. Brothers & Sisters, let us follow faithfully in His footsteps, fighting in the spirit, the battle with "Edom", our sinful nature, and winning souls through holy living and sharing the gospel of salvation at every opportunity

"He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still."Psalms 107:29

The wind and the waves are in the hands of my loving Father. Why should I be afraid?" Brothers & Sisters, are you in a tempest with waves roaring around you? Or is there a sword pointed directly at your breast? Why should you be afraid. Your Father is right there with you. He loves you and is so happy when you simply trust Him and refuse to be overwhelmed with fear; no matter what's happening now, or may happen soon. You may not understand, but you can stand on His character and the eternal relationship He has with you.

"The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep."John 10:10-11 ; " And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away."1 Peter 5:4

Joseph, the son of Jacob grew up caring for flocks, a shepherd boy,(Genesis 37:2). While we might have a romantic view of an easy pastoral life among sheep and goats, the main responsibility of a shepherd was to protect the flock against hungry predators (wolves, lions, etc.) looking for an easy meal, actually quite a dangerous job. The shepherd loved his sheep; and Joseph was a good shepherd. The "Suffering Servant" Messiah was illustrated in the life of Joseph. Jesus came as a good shepherd to protect His flock against the enemy whose sole purpose is to steal, kill and destroy. Our shepherd Messiah was ready to give His life to protect us. And He is still watching over us – He gave His lifeblood to protect us because He loves us and we are incalculably precious to Him, each one. Brothers & Sisters, do you know how precious and loved you are? How the Son of God exposed Himself to the ultimate danger because of His incalculable love for you? How He protects you from unseen danger every day of your life? We can rest in His protective love, no matter what happens, especially because where we're going, there will never be danger again. You're in the hands of the Good Shepherd!

"Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world. But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you."1 Peter 5:8-10

The Jewish leaders of His time rejected Jesus when He first came. He didn't meet their expectations. They were expecting a Messiah who would bring relief from the Romans, restore the Kingdom of David, and usher in an era of tranquility throughout the world. It is probable that their intense jealousy of Jesus blinded them to the numerous passages in the Tenach (OT) which describe Messiah as a suffering servant, since they were certainly aware of those passages. The Scriptures present two pictures of Messiah, leaving bible interpreters with a dilemma to explain. Zechariah 9:9 portrays him riding a donkey into Jerusalem, lowly and humble; Daniel 7:13 refers to the Messiah as coming on the clouds of heaven. Some of the rabbis concluded there must be two Messiahs – Mashiach ben Yosef – the Suffering Servant, and Mashiach ben David – the conquering king, bringing judgment to the wicked, restoring the Temple and the Kingdom to Israel. The truth is, one Messiah, two advents. When Jesus failed to fulfill the Jewish expectation of restoring the Kingdom of David, he was dismissed as Messiah. Their own lack of humility, their jealously and self centered pride caused them to miss what should have been obvious from the scriptures, that Messiah had to come first to identify with us, and then through suffering and death, break the power of sin, before he could restore the Davidic Kingdom. Is it possible for our expectations to be likewise colored or even contaminated by sin? We ought not to avoid the question. If our hearts are set in a self centered expectation of victory that fails to apprehend the suffering to which WE too are called, we can make the same mistake the rabbis made, and end up rejecting the true Messiah. While it's true that our ultimate victory is assured, we can never forget that the journey to that victory is a narrow path fraught with all the dangers of real warfare, with deadly enemies. Brothers & Sister, check your expectations...what are they based upon? Are there selfish or carnal motives in your expectations of God? If Jesus said following him would be a narrow path with a cross on your back, then don't presume your victories until they have passed through the purifying fires of suffering. This is simply true fellowship with Him, and leads to the greatest glorious joys and triumphs.

"And wisdom and knowledge shall be the stability of thy times, and strength of salvation: the fear of the LORD is his treasure."Isaiah 33:6

Have you ever felt uneasy, unsettled or unstable? Or maybe a better question is -- who hasn't? How do we overcome these feelings? "Now, I saw that the most important thing I had to do was to give myself to the reading of the Word of God, and to meditation on it, that thus my heart might be comforted, encouraged, warned, reproved, instructed…by breakfast time, with rare exceptions, I am in a peaceful if not happy state of heart." The word faith in Hebrew is "emunah" (em-oo-nah). But interestingly, the word stability in the verse above is the Hebrew word, 'emunah"! Faith and stability are linked one to another. How do we become more stable and settled despite the circumstances surrounding our lives? By gaining faith! "Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God." Brothers & Sisters, when we search for wisdom and knowledge in His word, we become more stable in our walk -- and in our lives! Let’s aim to spend more time in the Word and gain more stability in our lives. Find the secret of stability!

"Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed."Psalms 37:3

The word "verily", in this verse, is the Hebrew word “emunah” (em-oo-nah). It also means "faith" or "faithfully". When we trust in the Lord, and our trust is demonstrated by doing good, He declares that He will faithfully feed us. How will we be fed? The Hebrew word for "fed is" “roeh” (ro-eh), which also means "shepherd". Yes, the good shepherd feeds his flock who trust Him, by leading them to green pastures, and He does it faithfully. Messiah Yeshua (Jesus) is our Chief Shepherd. We know His voice, trust him, and follow His direction, so we don't go hungry. Brothers & Sisters, we're continuing to trust in the Lord and do good; to dwell in the Land and be fed. But our deepest hunger is for the Shepherd Himself... to be nearer to Him. He feeds us, in every way. Yet His deepest longing is that we dwell with and in Him, as He said, "Abide in Me and I in you". Not only does our life depend on Him, Who is faithful, but the greater relationship He offers and desires is to be our friend, and even our Protector. Be fed and more!

"But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."1 Corinthians 15:57

The enemy of our souls, Satan, knows his time is short and he is unleashing unprecedented war against the saints throughout the world. But we too must resolve to stand and resolutely face our enemy to claim the victory we already have in the Lord! Brothers & Sisters, each of us is suffering trials and tribulations today. Will we allow them to defeat us? The victory really is already ours -- our faith is to walk in it! Greater is He that is in us, than he that is in the world! Never surrender!

"For He put on righteousness as a breastplate, And a helmet of salvation on His head; He put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, And was clad with zeal as a cloak. So shall they fear The name of the Lord from the west, And His glory from the rising of the sun; When the enemy comes in like a flood, The Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against him." Isaiah 59:17,19 ; The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light."Romans 13:12

Meanwhile, we believers – we've been at war since we came to faith! "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." Thus Paul instructed us in Ephesians. We fight against the kingdom of Satan. We fight with spiritual weapons; prayer, the Word of God, faith in His truth and His power– these are not carnal weapons but spiritual. We are seated in the heavenlies with Him [Ephesians 1:20], and in His authority we make our stand. The enemy's weapons are temptations, fiery darts of doubt and disbelief, discouragement, weariness, earthly pleasures. Thus the enemy distracts us from, and disarms us in the battle position. But what soldier goes to war without taking the equipment necessary for war? A soldier on the battlefield without his weapons is useless and helpless, and in great danger. So it is in the spiritual realm. We need to actively take up our spiritual armor and weapons to fight the enemy. And we have this promise -- when the enemy comes in -- like a flood the Spirit of the Lord shall raise up a standard against Him! Are you ready to make your stand in this day? Brothers & Sisters, now, today, war is a very real threat in the physical realm – but it's already been here for millennia in the spiritual realm. So by all means necessary take up the armor of God today – stand with Him in faith and win your battle, one day at a time -- win the battle over your thoughts and your actions. "The LORD of Hosts" is with you, to strengthen, equip, and overcome; and His victory is assured!

"There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His. Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience."Hebrews 4:9-11

In some countries,the Sabbath is an extraordinary day. People spend much effort to get everything perfectly prepared for this special season that lasts from sundown on Friday until sundown on Saturday. You'd know that Friday morning is the time that everyone is rushing around doing errands before everything closes. Everyone is doing last minute shopping, cleaning, cooking and preparing for sundown, when all will be closed, the streets will be empty, the shops will be shut down and there is nothing to do for the next 24 hours but rest. There is a Shabbat for the people of God and we must be diligent to enter into it. We do not labor to be justified, for our justification is only in Jesus and in Him all the work for our salvation has already been accomplished. But it does take some labor to enter in. We must spend time preparing ourselves in worship and prayer and meditation on His word! But praise God! He has given us the ability to enter into His Shabbat rest, peace, joy and all the fullness of His blessings every day of the week if we will only prepare ourselves to receive it! Brothers & Sisters, let's prepare to enter into His perfect peace today. Shabbat Shalom!

"That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust."Matthew 5:45

The Lord quotes this scripture in Matthew. It contains an important principle which believers sometimes tend to overlook. Many believe and even teach that if you're blessed, your life will be filled with material prosperity, and that if you are undergoing extreme trial, it must be because you have sinned or that you lack faith. The Lord says that the sun rises and the rain falls on both the righteous and the unrighteous alike. A life of good circumstances does not mean that God is with us. And likewise, a life of trial and suffering does not mean that God is not with us! If we base our lives on our circumstances, we are no different than people without God. What makes us different is that we have something far greater than our circumstances! We have a relationship with the Living God! Brithers & Sisters you have Him, who is greater than you circumstances. There's nothing wrong with rejoicing in the good times but we need to rejoice in the bad as well! We have a greater treasure and a more amazing victory when our lives our centered upon Him.

"Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the LORD, till he come and rain righteousness upon you."Hosea 10:12

"Break up your fallow ground." "Fallow" means "hard". A hard heart cannot love; and often cannot even receive it. A hard heart will block relationship with God and with others. Whatever the cause; anger, woundedness, bitterness, unforgiveness, the result will be a superficiality in relationship, an inability to empathize, and a corruption of your motivations. You will become manipulative, deceitful, proud, and unresponsive. God's message, His word to you will be difficult to hear and you will resist it. Like a layer of rock under shallow soil, where the rain cannot penetrate, love and truth will fail to penetrate your heart and affect your actions. Thus, a hard heart is deadly, because sin is petrified there, and the wages of sin is death. How do you break up fallow ground? How do you change a hardened heart? You start with your will. You make a choice. You decide. Your decision is to soften, in spite of the way you feel, the things you remember, or have chosen to forget. Your decision is called "repentance", a changing of the mind, a turning of the will, in the opposite direction. The power of the will to repent is astounding because it opens the door for God to heal and transform your heart; to rain His love upon you and remove bitterness, unforgiveness, anger, and hatred or any other sin that is hardening your heart. Do you want to love? Do you want to be loved? But your heart is hard? Try repentance. Test God's power and will to heal and change you. But you must be willing to mourn. " Blessed are them that mourn." Repentance will open you to the rain of tears so that the pain and bitterness can pour out of you. But you will be amazed at what happens with your relationships. Love will enter and remain in your life; God's love and love with others too. Brothers & Sisters try repentance, millions have tried it; repentance works. Make it a lifestyle, and you will live and walk in love.

"For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish,yet the inward man is renewed day by day." 2 Corinthians 4:16

There is a process going on in us believers. Since the day the Holy Spirit came to dwell in us He has been at work with perfect wisdom and supernatural power to renew and transform our character, to some extent, our personality, and even our physical body. Our outward man, this mortal body with it's natural weakness and sinful ways was doomed to death and is "wasting away" even now. Yet a new life dwells within this clay jar, and that life is constantly at work having a profound effect on the body which contains it. The Holy Spirit is working renewal, the manifestation of God in and with us. Real estate developers do something similar. They buy a piece of property that is terribly run down, seemingly useless, without much value to the naked eye...and reform it completely, from the inside out. With great skill and vision, they know what to keep, what to get rid of, what part of the property needs renovation, refurbishing, or complete rebuilding. So it is with God and us. He knows everything that comprises our life from the moment of conception; our gifts, abilities, strengths, weaknesses, wounds, and all the characteristics of our personalities. And He wants to completely renovate us according to the vision He has for our lives, which is much greater than we can imagine. He has purchased the "property" of our lives, with His blood, and His Holy Spirit is powerfully and skillfully at work developing the Lord's "real estate"! Brothers & Sisters don't faint, you're being renewed! Your life is in good hands. Your Developer knows exactly what He's doing with you. You might be a little tired or discouraged, run down, or even wrecked in some places, but soon, you will sense, once again that He is building, renovating, and renewing you in the best possible way...for eternity.

"Salt is good: but if the salt have lost his saltness, wherewith will ye season it? Have salt in yourselves, and have peace one with another"Mark 9:50 .

Who ever said that salt is bad for you? Here are some things you may or may not know about this wonderful mineral! Salt is essential for muscle movement, including that of the heart. It's necessary for the digestive tract to function properly --crucial for the transmission of messages by the nerve cells, and regulated osmotic pressure and the movement of fluid to and from the cell. Salt is found in blood, sweat, and tears. Hotter climates increase the need for salt consumption. Chronic deprivation of salt causes loss of weight, loss of appetite, nausea, muscular cramps and even stunts growth. In the food industry, it is used in flavoring and seasoning, pickling, canning, preserving, baking, dairying, curing meat and fish, and processing flour and other foods. Salt is a binder, a texturizer, and a fermentation control agent. Other useful applications include de-icing highways, oil well drilling, and fertilizing! We are to be the salt of the earth. As you can see, we have a tough act to follow! But we need to be the salt that the world so desperately needs! Brothers & Sisters could you pass the salt please?, let's examine ourselves today and see if we're flavoring the world the way we should!

"And there was a famine in the land, beside the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went unto Abimelech king of the Philistines unto Gerar. And the LORD appeared unto him, and said, Go not down into Egypt; dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of:"Genesis 26:1-2

In the days of Isaac, there was famine in the land of Israel. It appeared then, that the right thing to do was to go to Egypt where there was plenty. But the Lord instructed Issac not to go, and instead cling to the promise that He made with His father, Abraham. It was probably hard for Issac to trust that God was truly speaking to him, but he did it. He obeyed the Word of God and stayed put where God told him. And what happened because of his obedience in the midst of a famine? He was blessed a hundredfold! (Genesis 26:10) Brothers & Sisters be quick to obey, let's prepare ourselves to obey the Lord, even if it's difficult! There are blessings to be received -- but it all begins with obedience!

"But the Helper [Paraclete], the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you."John 14:26

The Lord gave us His promise to send us a helper -- the Holy Spirit. The word for "helper" in Greek is "paraclete". This word has more meaning then simply "helper" -- it was also an ancient term used in warfare. When Greek warriors went onto the battle field, they went out in pairs, so when the enemy attacked they could stand back-to-back, covering each other's blind side. The battle partner in Greek was called a "paraclete" -- he was there to watch your back! The Holy Spirit is more than our helper and comforter – He's our battle partner who covers our blind side and protects our well being. Brothers & Sisters your blind side is covered!, you're not in this fight alone. The Lord has given you a 'paraclete' to go along with you. Don't grieve Him – listen carefully – let Him lead as you fight the good fight of faith, and don't worry about your blind side -- He's got your back!

"Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God."Acts 14:22

"Courage is a special kind of knowledge, the knowledge of how to fear what ought to be feared and how not to fear what ought not to be feared. From this knowledge comes an inner strength that inspires us to push on in the face of great difficulty. What can seem impossible is often possible with courage." Brothers & Sisters, find courage in the face of opposition! while the words above carry a certain worldly wisdom to inspire courage, we also can have courage which comes from a special kind of knowledge...the knowledge that we have a God who loves and supports and protects us and carries us through, even the most trying times and circumstances. So let’s not become fearful in these days – but instead become bold as a lion, to accomplish the good works He prepared for us from the foundation of the world. Let’s walk with courage in these days in the knowledge that our God is with us, and with Him we will accomplish great things that seem impossible, because we know that He turns impossibilities into realities!

"To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified."Isaiah 61:3

The night of 28 July begins , the ninth day of the fifth month of the Hebrew calendar year. Some of you may know that a lot of bad things have happened to the Jewish people on this date, the first of which was when the spies returned with an evil report of Canaan, the Promised Land, recounted in Numbers 13 and 14. Both the first and the second Temple were destroyed on this exact date, hundreds of years apart. The Crusades began on this day in 1095. The Jews were expelled out of England on this day in 1290, and again were expelled from Spain and Portugal on This day in 1492. And there are many more examples of this infamous day in Jewish history! The number "nine" is sometimes associated with "judgment" or "fruit" in scripture. Not taking this too far, yet we may still see repeated expressions of the Lord's judgment through this recurring historical pattern. Moses warned, especially in Deuteronomy, of the terrible things which would happen to the Jewish people throughout history were they to abandon the Lord, worship false gods, and forsake His covenants. And He often used idolatrous nations who hated or were jealous of Israel, to bring judgment upon their disobedience, though they often went way too far and angered the Lord bringing His judgment against them as well. But God's judgments are almost always tempered with His mercy and grace, for one constant purpose -- and that is to bring people back to Himself! We see this in our own lives and in the history of nations throughout the world. But as the saying goes, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it". And we have a powerful example of this Day. Israel's idolatry brought God's judgment upon her. And as the Jewish people around the world are fasting in preparation for the observance of this "day of judgment", we may remind ourselves of our own past failures which we don't want to repeat! Brothers & Sisters,will we learn from history? ,will we remember and learn from these past failures? We are not doomed to a fate of failure. If repentance is sincere and deep, we can avoid the judgments and consequences of past sins, and learn from history. If we seek the Lord to expose the roots of failure in our lives, and pray with faith for healing and deep repentance, trusting Him for the power to overcome the sinful nature...we really can avoid a pattern of judgment. Let's spend the time with Him now... so we don't need to return to Him through the terrible shame and sorrow of "THIS DAY."