Worthy Brief - 4/29/2016
Friend, you've been freed to worship!
Colossians 3:23-24 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.
The Biblical feast of Pesach (Passover) has ended, as once again, those who celebrated recalled the deliverance of the Jewish people from the land of Egypt where they had served as slaves. The word for slaves in Hebrew is "avadim", which, interestingly, is also the same word for "servants."
Pesach recalls to us our own personal deliverance from the slavery of sin -- and the amazing joy and privilege of being free to be servants of the Living God who redeemed us. The same root letters which form the words for "slave" and "servant" also give us the word "avodah", the Hebrew word for "work", which is also a word that means "worship"!
Friend, to be a freed SLAVE of our God is to be a devoted SERVANT whose WORK is WORSHIP. So, "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving." [Colossians 3:23-24]
Your family in the Lord with much agape love,
George, Baht Rivka, Elianna & Obadiah
Negev Desert, Israel
Editor's Note: Watch George's message: Which voice will you listen to in the last days?
Around the World
Iran touts Israel invasion to recruit teenage boys to fight in Syria
Iran has begun to ask its teenage boys to volunteer to fight in Syria in a sign the hard-line Islamic regime’s military is suffering rising casualties in the five-year war and needs a morale boost, an opposition group says.
Syria's Ceasefire Has Been Blown To Pieces
Syria's ceasefire is an isn't. It has been blown to pieces by wave upon wave of airstrikes on civilian targets inside Aleppo, and exists in the minds only of foreign diplomats as a fantasy they need to hang onto with desperation.
Brain Damage in Zika Babies Is Far Worse Than Doctors Expected
Ana Gabriela do Prado Paschoal sat at a desk in a small medical exam room and began a familiar, heartbreaking ritual. Your baby's head is smaller than normal, Dr. Paschoal told the anxious mother, who had contracted the Zika virus while pregnant.
1,000 quakes recorded in two Kyushu prefectures in two weeks since initial jolt
More than 1,000 seismic events had been recorded as of Thursday in Kumamoto and Oita prefectures in the two weeks since a magnitude-6.5 earthquake struck central Kyushu, according to the Meteorological Agency.
Israel-Palestinian Conflict
Israel rejects French peace initiative
Jerusalem on Thursday responded to the looming French peace initiative, which is to involve an international effort forcing peace talks on Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA).
Hamas: 'There will be an explosion' unless Israel lifts Gaza blockade
Hamas threatened on Thursday that unless Israel lifts its blockade on the Gaza Strip, 'there will be an explosion,' Channel 2 reported.
Decrease in attacks - how did it happen? IDF Samaria Division Commanders speak
'The quiet isn't stable.' This is how Col. Shay Klapper, a battalion commander in the Samaria region describes the decrease in the number of terrorist attacks over the past few weeks. 'When the wave is renewed, it will be at a much higher pace will be raised a few notches. It won't return to be 13 year olds with knives,' he predicts.
Inside the United States
ICE releases 19,723 criminal illegals, 208 convicted of murder, 900 of sex crimes
The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency in 2015 decided not to deport but release 19,723 criminal illegal immigrants, including 208 convicted of murder, over 900 convicted of sex crimes and 12,307 of drunk driving, according to new government numbers.
U.S. Corporate Profits on Pace for Third Straight Decline
U.S. corporate profits, weighed down by the energy slump and slowing global growth, are set to decline for the third straight quarter in the longest slide in earnings since the financial crisis.
Illegal immigrant criminals released into U.S. despite thousands of vacant detention beds
Homeland Security is leaving thousands of detention beds empty even as it voluntarily releases thousands of murderers, kidnappers and other criminals, the chief of deportations admitted to Congress on Thursday as she faced families of those killed by freed illegal immigrant convicts.
Satanists Interrupt Pro-Life Protests Dressed as Babies
A group of Satanists interrupted pro-life protests outside of Planned Parenthood facilities in Michigan on Saturday, The Blaze reported.
U.S. Politics
Trump rallies 31,000 Californians over immigration reform
More than a dozen individuals took the stage with GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump at an event in Costa Mesa, Calif., Thursday night in an unusual opening to a rally.
Protesters take to streets after Trump rally in California
Scores of protesters took to the streets Thursday night outside a Donald Trump campaign event here, drawing out police officers in riot and tactical gear and on horseback who sought to disperse the crowd.
Hillary Clinton's foreign policy views spark anger, unease abroad
Donald Trump isn't the only presidential front-runner this election cycle whose foreign policy views are sparking anger and unease in the rest of the world.
Christian News
Atheists plan billboards against Ark museum
A small group of Kentucky, Ohio and Indiana atheists has launched a campaign to buy billboards mocking the message of the Answers in Genesis Ark Encounter museum and its July 7 opening.
Large Number of Pastors Don't Believe in the Rapture
End-times theology is wavering in the Christian church and a large number of Protestant pastors believe there is no rapture.
Worshipper Charged With Manslaughter in Deadly Church Shooting in Montgomery County
A Montgomery County man who opened fire on another worshipper in a packed church during Sunday service has been charged with manslaughter.