Many of you know me as an author, speaker and commentator on events and trends in the Epicenter. But there’s another side to my life, one that I’m very passionate about.

In 2006, my wife, Lynn, and I founded The Joshua Fund, a 501 (c) 3 non-profit ministry to educate and mobilize Christians to “bless Israel and her Arab neighbors in the name of Jesus.” Specifically, we help strengthen the Church in the Middle East so they can….

• preach the Word
• shepherd the flock
• proclaim the Good News
• care for the poor and needy
• comfort widows and orphans
• assist single mothers and their newborn children
• encourage pastors and their wives, and
• train future ministry leaders

From the perspective of our board and staff, The Joshua Fund (TJF) is like a spiritual venture capital fund. TJF comes alongside small but growing and promising congregations and ministries in Israel, the Palestinian Authority (West Bank and Gaza), and five neighboring Arab countries (Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt) to invest in them with encouragement, prayer, and financial resources, allowing them to plant more seeds of God’s Word and bear more eternal fruit.

From the perspective of donors, TJF is like a ministry mutual fund. Many Christians want to help proclaim the Gospel and grow the Church in the Epicenter, but few have the time to crisscross through the region getting to know hundreds of pastors and their ministries, assessing which ones are theologically on track and walking closely with the Lord and stewarding their resources wisely and bearing real fruit and truly in need of assistance. That makes it hard for individual Christians and even some Christian foundations to know where to invest and how much to invest.

That’s where The Joshua Fund comes in. Our team of experienced and faithful pastors and ministry leaders does careful, prayerful and continual vetting of ministries in Israel and the Arab world and makes recommendations to our senior leadership on where we should invest the precious funds that our donors entrust to us. 

In this way, TJF endeavors to act as a trusted resource, helping you maximize the immediate and eternal impact of your charitable giving. 

Whether you’re a regular donor, or someone just learning about The Joshua Fund, please read our “2019 Impact Report” to learn more about what we do and the fruit the Lord is bearing through your prayers and financial support.

Would you also make a generous, year-end donation to work of The Joshua Fund? You can give securely online by clicking here, and your gift is tax deductible.

On behalf of our board and staff, Lynn and I want to thank you so much for you gracious prayers and generous giving. We are deeply humbled and honored to be engaged in this exciting and eternal work together, and we look forward to working side by side together in 2020!

(It would be great if you would share this report with friends and family on social media so they also can get involved with The Joshua Fund, blessing Israel and her neighbors in the name of Jesus!)

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• Give your family a trip to Israel & Egypt — please join Lynn and me on The Joshua Fund’s “Prayer & Vision Trip” next October. Here are all the details and prices. Register today! 

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• Would you like to make a year-end, secure, tax deductible investment in The Joshua Fund (www.joshuafund.net)? Come help us educate and mobilize Christians to bless Israel and her neighbors in the name of Jesus, strengthen the Church in the Epicenter, preach the Gospel, teach the Word of God, care for the poor and needy in Israel (both Jews and Arabs) with food and other humanitarian relief, care for Holocaust survivors, and care for Syrian and Iraqi refugees and others. The Joshua Fund is a member in good standing of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability. Please click here to learn more. Thanks so much.

(Washington, D.C.) — This week, the leading website reviewing and covering all news related to mystery, spy and thriller novels — The Real Book Spy — published its list of the best of 2019. A few excerpts:

• What a year it’s been for action-packed, high-flying thrillers. Thankfully, 2020 is gearing up to be another special year for readers, but before we officially turn the page and focus on the new year, here’s one last look at the very best this year had to offer….
• The Persian Gamble by Joel C. Rosenberg: Known for writing plots that have a tendency to one day come true, Rosenberg’s right on the money again with this one. Not only is it ripped-from-the-headlines, but it’s also wildly entertaining and a ton of fun to read. 

I’m grateful to Ryan Steck, editor of the site — very honored to be included with best thriller writers in the business.

In addition, The Jerusalem Post just published a positive review. Excerpts:

• “The Persian Gamble is…riveting….fast-moving….entirely-plausible….constructed with very short and sharp chapters — 93 of them. As a result, the reader is kept on the alert, reluctant to leave the story, turning time and again to the next short chapter eager to follow one incident on to the next. The Persian Gamble is a thriller that falls within the category of ‘un-put-downable.’ It is highly recommended.”

For those who haven’t read it yet, or want to purchase it for Christmas gifts, The Persian Gamble is now available in paperback (as well as e-books and on audio). And The Jerusalem Assassin will be releasing on March 17th. (see below)

• To pre-order my next thriller for family and friends for Christmas, THE JERUSALEM ASSASSIN, please click here.
• To buy Christmas copies of THE PERSIAN GAMBLE in paperback for family and friends, please click here. 

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• Give your family a trip to Israel & Egypt for Christmas! Join Lynn and me on The Joshua Fund’s “Prayer & Vision Trip” next October. Here are all the details and prices. Register today! 

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• To read The Joshua Fund 2019 Donor Report online, please click here.
• Would you like to make a year-end, secure, tax deductible investment in The Joshua Fund (www.joshuafund.net)? Come help us educate and mobilize Christians to bless Israel and her neighbors in the name of Jesus, strengthen the Church in the Epicenter, preach the Gospel, teach the Word of God, care for the poor and needy in Israel (both Jews and Arabs) with food and other humanitarian relief, care for Holocaust survivors, and care for Syrian and Iraqi refugees and others. The Joshua Fund is a member in good standing of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability. Please click here to learn more. Thanks so much.

(Washington, D.C.) — A stunning, encouraging night in British politics.

•  Biggest defeat in the history of the British Labour Party
•  Biggest victory for conservatives since Thatcher
•  Resounding mandate for Johnson to finish Brexit
•  Expect a US-UK free trade deal in 2020
•  British Jews and Israeli leaders are breathing a huge sigh of relief

“Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his Conservative Party won a commanding majority in the British Parliament, a striking victory that redraws the lines in British politics and paves the way for the country’s exit from the European Union early next year,” reports the New York Times this morning.

“The Conservatives were projected to win 364 seats in the House of Commons, versus 203 for the Labour Party, according to the BBC, with almost all of Parliament’s seats decided,” the Times noted. “That would give the Conservatives about a 75-seat majority, their largest since that amassed by Margaret Thatcher in 1987.”

•  Read Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s victory speech
• Jeremy Corbyn will not lead his party into the next election (Jerusalem Post)
•  Netanyahu, Rivlin congratulate Johnson on reelection, say it will boost Israel’s ties with the UK (Times of Israel)
•  UK Jews and Israelis fete defeat of “anti-Semite” Corbyn (Times of Israel)
• After Corbyn loss, British Minister says UK Jews “shouldn’t have to live in fear again” (Times of Israel)
• UK general election 2019: EU prepares for Brexit hardball (BBC)

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• To pre-order my next thriller for family and friends for Christmas, THE JERUSALEM ASSASSIN, please click here.
• To buy Christmas copies of THE PERSIAN GAMBLE in paperback for family and friends, please click here. 

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• Give your family a trip to Israel & Egypt for Christmas! Join Lynn and me on The Joshua Fund’s “Prayer & Vision Trip” next October. Here are all the details and prices. Register today! 

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• To read The Joshua Fund 2019 Donor Report online, please click here.
• Would you like to make a year-end, secure, tax deductible investment in The Joshua Fund (www.joshuafund.net)? Come help us educate and mobilize Christians to bless Israel and her neighbors in the name of Jesus, strengthen the Church in the Epicenter, preach the Gospel, teach the Word of God, care for the poor and needy in Israel (both Jews and Arabs) with food and other humanitarian relief, care for Holocaust survivors, and care for Syrian and Iraqi refugees and others. The Joshua Fund is a member in good standing of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability. Please click here to learn more. Thanks so much.

Looking for a great gift, one sure to create memories that will last a lifetime?

This Christmas, give your family the gift of Israel and Egypt!

Lynn and I cordially invite you to join us and our board and staff for The Joshua Fund’s next “Prayer & Vision Tour,” taking place from October 13th through the 24th, 2020.

If you’ve never been to the Holy Land, it’s hard to describe what a profound spiritual effect such a journey can have on you and your family. You may have heard people say that God’s Word seemed to “come alive” in a new way when they walked where Jesus walked, from the shores of Galilee to the Mount of Olives and into the streets of Jerusalem. It’s true, and we would love to share it all with you.

Plus, for the first time ever, we hope to offer an optional “Egypt Extension” from October 24-27, 2020. Come explore the land of legendary Pharaohs. Visit the Pyramids. Take a dinner cruise on the Nile. See mummies and other ancient artifacts in Cairo’s famous Egyptian Museum. Learn the Biblical history and prophetic future of this remarkable country. And meet and pray for Egyptian Christians.

What better time to sharpen our spiritual eyesight than in the year 2020!

If you’ve been to Israel before, this trip will be a great opportunity to deepen your understanding of how powerfully the Lord is moving there. After all, this tour is like no other. You’ll have the opportunity to meet with and pray for local Israeli and Palestinian pastors and ministry leaders — both Jewish and Arab — on the frontlines of the faith, as well as participate in a practical ministry project to bless the poor and needy. I will also teach at key locations and answer your questions about the future of the Epicenter.

Nothing says “Merry Christmas” like coming as a family to the Land of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Joshua, Jesus and the Twelve. Please prayerfully consider joining us. Lynn I would so love to see you here in Israel and in Egypt in 2020!

To view the brochure, please click here.

To watch a video, learn more details, and to register, please click here.

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• Would you like to make a year-end, secure, tax deductible investment in The Joshua Fund (www.joshuafund.net)? This is the non-profit organization that my wife, Lynn, and I founded in 2006 to educate and mobilize Christians to bless Israel and her neighbors in the name of Jesus, to strengthen the Church in the Epicenter, to preach the Gospel and teach the Word of God, to care for the poor and needy in Israel (both Jews and Arabs) with food and other forms of humanitarian relief, care for Holocaust survivors, and care for Syrian and Iraqi refugees and others. The Joshua Fund is a member in good standing of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability. Please click here to learn more. Thanks so much.

(Washington, D.C.) — It’s Groundhog Day in Israel, again.

Remember the hilarious 1993 movie in which Bill Murray plays a local TV weatherman from Pittsburgh who keeps waking up in the same hotel and every day he’s required to cover the Groundhog Day festivities in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, and it’s a loop from which he can never seem to get out? 

Welcome to the election cycle in Israel. Except that it’s not quite so funny.

Here’s what we know at this hour: Israel is the only true democracy in the Middle East — we love elections so much we’ve had two rounds in 2019. That’s never happened before in Israeli history. Now we are going to a third round — on March 2. 

Here’s why:

• Benjamin “Bibi” Netanyahu — Israel’s longest serving Prime Minister — is losing his political hold on the country.
• Twice this year, Bibi has failed to secure enough seats for his Likud Party and his center-right allies to form a governing coalition.
• After Bibi failed the second time, Bibi’s main opposition party challenger — former IDF chief of staff Benny Gantz — was given the opportunity to form a governing coalition, after Bibi failed. However, Gantz failed, as well.
• Meanwhile, Israel’s Attorney General recently indicted Netanyahu in three separate cases involving alleged bribery, fraud and breach of trust. 
• Polls show that Israelis overwhelmingly want two things.
• First, they want Netanyahu to step down to focus on his legal troubles, not serve as PM will under indictment.
• Second, they want the two major parties — Likud and Gantz’s Blue & White party — to form a national unity government in which Gantz would serve as PM for two years and then rotate to the head of Likud being PM for two years.
• Bibi, as you can imagine, doesn’t want to step aside.
• But Gantz refuses to create a deal with Bibi while Bibi is under indictment.

Now, enter a new dynamic: Bibi suddenly has a serious new challenger within Likud.

• Gideon Sa’ar, one of Likud’s most popular and effective Members of Knesset who has served as Education Minister and the Interior Minister, has called for snap leadership primaries.
• But shrewdly, Sa’ar is not focusing on Bibi’s legal troubles.
• Rather, he is making the case to fellow Likudniks that Bibi needs to be replaced because he has lost two elections in a row, has failed to form a governing coalition two times in a row, and has no better prospects of winning an election and creating such a coalition via a third election.
• Indeed, Sa’ar is arguing that Likud could get shellacked in March, punished by voters for driving the nation to a third election.
• [Here’s an interesting new interview with Sa’ar — worth reading to become more familiar with him.]

It’s too early to say whether Likud party members are ready to say goodbye to Bibi. However, here are two last things you should know.

• First, it appears that Likud is going to have a leadership primary on December 26. Bibi’s allies are understandably trying to scuttle that. But if the primary does happen, we’ll know very soon whether Bibi will lead Likud going forward, or whether Sa’ar (or someone else) will emerge on top.
• Second, a new poll does, in fact, suggest that in the next election, public support for Likud may drop significantly, and support for Gantz’s party could surge. “According to Channel 13, if the election were held today, Blue & White…would win 37 seats, compared to 33 for the Likud.”  
• Watch for a rash of more polls to come out in the coming days. If evidence grows that the public is turning against Likud with Bibi’s at its helm, this could significantly influence voters in the Likud internal primary. 
• That said, Likudniks historically are very loyal. Bibi has been their guy for the last 10 years, and been one of the most popular officials in Likud for three decades, having also served as PM from 1996 to 1999. Bibi is also a very effective political infighter. He hasn’t stayed on top this long for no reason.

Bottom line: Please pray for Israel during this vulnerable, volatile season. We do not have an effective, functioning national government. We have a very experience Prime Minister who is suddenly under indictment and in real political trouble and thus at risk of becoming distracted. And we have very real and dangerous enemies angling to take advantage of the situation. May the Lord have mercy on us at this time.

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• To pre-order my next thriller for family and friends for Christmas, THE JERUSALEM ASSASSIN, please click here.
• To buy Christmas copies of THE PERSIAN GAMBLE in paperback for family and friends, please click here. 

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• Give your family a trip to Israel & Egypt for Christmas! Join Lynn and me on The Joshua Fund’s “Prayer & Vision Trip” next October. Here are all the details and prices. Register today! 

____________________

• To read The Joshua Fund 2019 Donor Report online, please click here.
• Would you like to make a year-end, secure, tax deductible investment in The Joshua Fund (www.joshuafund.net)? Come help us educate and mobilize Christians to bless Israel and her neighbors in the name of Jesus, strengthen the Church in the Epicenter, preach the Gospel, teach the Word of God, care for the poor and needy in Israel (both Jews and Arabs) with food and other humanitarian relief, care for Holocaust survivors, and care for Syrian and Iraqi refugees and others. The Joshua Fund is a member in good standing of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability. Please click here to learn more. Thanks so much.

(Washington, D.C.) — This week, The Jerusalem Post published an op-Ed by our 23-year old son, Jacob. It’s the first Jacob has ever written and while I am, admittedly, biased, it’s quite good. What’s more, the subject is both important and timely.  

The following are a few excerpts. To read the full column, please click here. I hope you’ll take the time to read the whole thing and to share it on social media. Thanks.

The term “cyborg” is not one you might expect to hear spoken in a meeting with the royalty of the world’s most powerful Muslim country, Saudi Arabia. But the leadership of Saudi Arabia is charting a course to a new future, and artificial intelligence is central to it.

The conversation took place while I was on a trip with my father, author Joel C. Rosenberg, who’d been invited by the kingdom to lead a delegation of American Evangelical Christian leaders to meet with top Saudi officials, Muslim clerics and Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman, commonly referred to as “MBS”….

Having read that Saudi Arabia had become the first country to grant citizenship to a robot (back in 2017), I asked the crown prince if he was concerned that artificial intelligence (AI) was a potential future threat. He answered by….

(photo credit: Faisal al Nasser, Reuters)

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• To pre-order my next thriller, THE JERUSALEM ASSASSIN, please click here.
• NOW AVAILABLE: To buy your own copy of THE PERSIAN GAMBLE — my latest political thriller about the U.S., Israel, the UAE and Saudi Arabia trying to thwart a plot by Iran to buy nuclear weapons from North Korea — in hardcover, e-book, large print, or audio formats, please click here. 

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• To read The Joshua Fund 2019 Donor Report online, please click here.
• Would you like to make a year-end, secure, tax deductible investment in The Joshua Fund (www.joshuafund.net)? Come help us educate and mobilize Christians to bless Israel and her neighbors in the name of Jesus, strengthen the Church in the Epicenter, preach the Gospel, teach the Word of God, care for the poor and needy in Israel (both Jews and Arabs) with food and other humanitarian relief, care for Holocaust survivors, and care for Syrian and Iraqi refugees and others. The Joshua Fund is a member in good standing of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability. Please click here to learn more. Thanks so much.

We give because God gave first. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believes in Him wouldn’t perish, but would have eternal life.”( John 3:16)

On this Giving Tuesday, we are giving thanks to God for you! More Jews and Arabs than ever in history are building friendships with followers of Jesus. Many see Christians as faithful friends and loving neighbors. Many Jews and Arabs are even becoming disciples of Jesus. Many, many more are becoming curious. They want to read the Bible and consider the claims of Jesus. And they have lots of questions.

Your faithful prayers and generous financial investments enable us to bless Israel and her neighbors in the name of Jesus. Together, we’re helping to strengthen and encourage the pastors and ministry leaders in Israel & the Arab world. Together, we’re helping local believers obey the Lord and make an enormous impact for the Kingdom of Christ in one of the world’s most complex and troubled regions.

This year’s Donor Report explains how your help is changing lives and growing the Church in the Epicenter. Please take some time to read through it and share it with others. And please take a moment today to make a financial investment in The Joshua Fund that will bear eternal fruit.

L Thanks so much, and may God bless you and your family!

• To read The Joshua Fund 2019 Donor Report online, please click here.

• Would you like to make a year-end, secure, tax deductible investment in The Joshua Fund (www.joshuafund.net)? Come help us educate and mobilize Christians to bless Israel and her neighbors in the name of Jesus, strengthen the Church in the Epicenter, preach the Gospel, teach the Word of God, care for the poor and needy in Israel (both Jews and Arabs) with food and other humanitarian relief, care for Holocaust survivors, and care for Syrian and Iraqi refugees and others. The Joshua Fund is a member in good standing of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability. Please click here to learn more. Thanks so much.

(Jerusalem, Israel) — Looking for great gifts now that Thanksgiving is over?

Give your friends and family the latest adventures of former Marine and U.S. Secret Service agent, Marcus Ryker.

High-speed, high-octane thrills without the high price.

My latest Ryker novel, The Persian Gamble, is now out paperback and sells for only $16.99. The next Ryker thriller, The Jerusalem Assassin, releases next Spring in hardcover for only $25. Wrap the first one and put it under the tree, and attach a card explaining the second one will arrive on their doorstep on March 17th! What could be better?

(If they don’t have The Kremlin Conspiracy — the first in the Ryker series — you can get that in paperback, too, for under $15.)

After all, nothing says “Happy Holidays” like explosions, assassinations, car chases, and Marcus Ryker trying to protect us from nuclear annihilation.

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• Would you like to make a year-end, secure, tax deductible investment in The Joshua Fund (www.joshuafund.net)? This is the non-profit organization that my wife, Lynn, and I founded in 2006 to educate and mobilize Christians to bless Israel and her neighbors in the name of Jesus, to strengthen the Church in the Epicenter, to preach the Gospel and teach the Word of God, to care for the poor and needy in Israel (both Jews and Arabs) with food and other humanitarian relief, care for Holocaust survivors, and care for Syrian and Iraqi refugees and others. The Joshua Fund is a member in good standing of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability. Please click here to learn more. Thanks so much.