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Worthy Brief - 1/6/2022

Friend, remember that you're on the winning side!

1 John 5:4 For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world--our faith.

As we are entering some of the most turbulent times in history, we've been receiving an unbelievable amount of email expressing concern about the future. But I want to tell you a little something -- the future is VICTORY!

It's not defeat or loss. If you think about it, all the great leaders of the Bible shone in the hardest of times. When the giant Goliath stood against the army of Israel, David didn't sit around with his brothers complaining about how big Goliath was. Though David was a dwarf next to this evil giant, he was still convinced he was going to be victorious because God was on his side!

When the apostles saw Yeshua die, they must have felt utterly defeated -- then, suddenly, there he was, out from the grave, gloriously alive before them -- and from then on they walked in His victory! They didn't sit around complaining about Roman persecution, the Sanhedrin, or the Pharisees. They didn't get wrapped up in how evil the world was becoming; instead, they pressed forward in the worst of times and in those dark days they shone like the stars in the midnight sky.

Friend, in the face of everything that's happening around us, let's be sure we're not developing a defeatist attitude. We are called children of the King, a royal priesthood, and a holy nation. Despite how bad things may be getting -- don't forget we're on the winning team! We can stand against this evil and overcome it... with good!

Your family in the Lord with much agape love,

George, Baht Rivka, Elianna & Obadiah
Phoenix, Arizona

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Around the World
Kazakhstan President Fires Security Chief As Deadly Protests Spread
Kazakhstan's president declared a state of emergency and asked for regional military support as protests sparked by rising fuel prices turned deadly in the oil-producing Central Asian nation.
North Korea reveals it tested hypersonic missile that travels ‘five times faster than speed of sound’
North Korea has fired a hypersonic ballistic missile that successfully hit a target - its second test in a matter of months.
Syrian and Iraqi bases housing U.S. troops attacked on anniversary of Soleimani strike; none killed
Bases housing U.S. forces across Iraq and Syria were attacked Wednesday as part of a series of assaults that began Monday on the two-year anniversary of the American airstrike that killed Iranian general Qassim Soleimani. No Americans were killed in the Wednesday strikes, according to reports.

Israel-Palestinian Conflict
Senate might approve Iron Dome’s replenishment next month
As the US Senate returns to session, one major issue on top of the agenda for the pro-Israel community is the emergency funding for the Iron Dome missile-defense system.
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Israel recorded the highest number of new daily Coronavirus (COVID-19) cases since the outbreak two years ago with 11,978 new cases, as the Omicron variant is rapidly spreading.

Inside the United States
US Supreme Court to hear oral arguments on company vaccine mandates on January 7
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A large row house fire in the U.S. city of Philadelphia has killed 13 people, including seven children, prompting the mayor to call for prayers.
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An advisory panel for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Wednesday recommended for children as young as 12 to receive the Pfizer COVID-19 booster vaccine.

Christian News
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Nigeria: Fulani burn believer to death, wound four others; “the silence is deafening”
Warning this would be the “first attack of the New Year,” Fulani militants in Nigeria’s Plateau state burned a Christian to death and wounded four others in a brutal assault on New Year’s Eve, International Christian Concern (ICC) reports. Fulani terrorists have murdered many thousands of Christians with apparent impunity; the government has consistently downplayed what local and international rights groups have described as an impending genocide.
Turkey: Churches vandalized as life becomes more difficult for Christians
As life for Christians in Turkey becomes increasingly difficult under the rule of Islamic nationalist President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, three churches in Istanbul’s Kadıköy district were vandalized on New Year’s Day, International Chrisitan Concern (ICC) reports.