Worthy Brief - 3/29/2018
Friend, get close for Passover!
1 Corinthians 5:7-8 Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
Thousands of people all over the world will celebrate Pesach (Passover) this weekend, commemorating the day the Angel of Death passed over the Israelite slaves in Egypt, sparing their firstborn because the blood of a lamb was applied on their doorposts. Many believers in Yeshua (Jesus) also recognize this as the day that Messiah was crucified, offering Himself as the perfect Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, which reconciled man to His Maker, and restored them to close relationship.
The word for sacrifice in Hebrew is "korban"; its root coming from the word "karov" which means closeness, or relative. So the word itself is an expression of what it produces; closeness...between man and God. Since the fall of mankind, sacrifice has been a way in which God expresses love for man and man expresses love for God, bringing the two closer in relationship.
Friend, Passover is a yearly reminder of the sacrifice of Messiah, provided for every person who desires to be close to God. He longs for intimate relationship with us. His Korban is our way of approach to be near to Him...as near as we choose to be. We who love Him might take the time this Passover season for offering spiritual sacrifices and drawing near to our Lord Yeshua. He opened the way as our "korban" because He loves it when we do.
Your family in the Lord with much agape love,
George, Baht Rivka, Elianna & Obadiah
Arad, Israel
Haley: US won't fund more than 25 percent of UN peacekeeping budget
The United States will no longer provide more than a quarter of the funding for the United Nations’s peacekeeping efforts, U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley told the organization Wednesday.
North and South Korea prepare for joint summit
Top-level officials from North and South Korea met near the border to prepare for an upcoming summit between the leaders of the two countries, the South confirmed on Thursday. The officials were discussing the details and possible dates for the inter-Korea talks.
European powers press for Iran sanctions to buttress nuclear deal
France, Britain and Germany sought on Wednesday to persuade their EU partners to back new sanctions on Iran to preserve a nuclear deal with Tehran that U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened to pull out of in May, diplomats said.
US military says senior al Qaeda leader killed in Libya strike
The U.S. military has confirmed that a senior leader of an al Qaeda branch in Africa was killed in a U.S. airstrike in Libya on Saturday.
Saudi Arabia must face U.S. lawsuits over Sept. 11 attacks
A U.S. judge on Wednesday rejected Saudi Arabia’s bid to dismiss lawsuits claiming that it helped plan the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and should pay billions of dollars in damages to victims.
Israel-Palestinian Conflict
Israel deploys 100 sharpshooters on Gaza border for Palestinian protests
The Israeli military has deployed more than 100 sharpshooters on the Gaza border ahead of a planned mass Palestinian demonstration near the frontier, Israel's top general said in an interview published on Wednesday.
Senior minister: US-Iran clash could prompt Hezbollah action vs. Israel
Jerusalem must prepare for the possibility that Iran will deploy Hezbollah against Israel in case there is a US-Iran military confrontation, Construction Minister Yoav Gallant said on Tuesday.
Christians flee PA oppression
Dr. Ephraim Herrera, an expert on Islamic studies, explained how Muslim oppression is causing Christians to leave the city of Bethlehem, where they were once the majority.
Inside the United States
Justice Department defends CLOUD Act, a controversial new data-storage law
Two Department of Justice officials defended the CLOUD Act, legislation buried in last week’s $1.3 trillion spending bill that could upend both the tech industry and a U.S. Supreme Court case.
Documents suggest possible coordination between CIA, FBI, Obama WH and Dem officials early in Trump-Russia probe: investigators
Newly uncovered text messages between FBI officials Peter Strzok and Lisa Page suggest a possible coordination between high-ranking officials at the Obama White House, CIA, FBI, Justice Department and former Senate Democratic leadership in the early stages of the investigation into alleged collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia, according to GOP congressional investigators on Wednesday.
U.S. watchdog to probe Republican claims of FBI surveillance abuses
The internal watchdog at the U.S. Justice Department said on Wednesday he is launching a review into allegations by Republican lawmakers that the FBI made serious missteps when it sought a warrant to monitor a former adviser to President Donald Trump’s 2016 election campaign.
Trump takes infrastructure plan on the road, touts jobs boost to pressure Democrats
President Trump is hyping the economic boost from a massive infrastructure program, applying pressure on Capitol Hill Democrats to get on board or risk missing out as they did on tax cuts that are increasingly popular with voters.
Christian News
Shocking 51% of US Christians Have Never Heard of the Great Commission
It's one of the most well-known passages in the Bible that commands followers of Jesus Christ to 'go and make disciples of all nations,' yet a new study shows a shocking number of American Christians have never heard of what is commonly known as 'the Great Commission.'