Worthy Brief - 5/19/2017
Friend, revival is available to us today!
Hosea 10:12 Sow for yourselves righteousness; Reap in mercy; Break up your fallow ground, For it is time to seek the Lord, Till He comes and rains righteousness on you.
Revival is that sovereign work of God in which He visits His own people, restoring and releasing them into the fullness of His blessing. -- Robert Coleman
Over the years I've often gotten emails asking "Do you think revival will ever come to the United States?, When do you think it will come?" While re-reading Charles Finney's lectures on revival recently, I was reminded that a key aspect of world revival is revival within ourselves. Revival must begin within each of us ... and it's not just a one time event but an ongoing process of desiring to be closer to Him. Once, a lady asked Billy Sunday "Why do you keep having revival meetings?" And he quickly retorted, "Why do you always take a bath?"
Friend, revival is an ongoing transformation of our hearts to be constantly moved by the Spirit of God. We need to be daily breaking up our fallow ground, those places in our hearts which we've allowed to grow hard. How? We have to first ask the Lord to reveal those hard places, pray that He would forgive us and ask Him to heal all our rough edges that we might be soft before Him and sensitive to His leading. Only then will we be changed and be in a place where we can contribute to revival around us.
Your family in the Lord with much agape love,
George, Baht Rivka, Elianna & Obadiah
Arad, Israel
Around the World
Syria airstrike: US military bombs pro-Assad forces
A coalition airstrike in Syria on Thursday targeted pro-regime forces who were threatening a coalition base where advisers train anti-Islamic State fighters, the U.S.-led coalition command said.
Trump waives Iran nuclear sanctions - what next?
The US 'needs to formulate a new strategy very soon, though not in a panic,' former Israeli Atomic Energy Commission official and INSS expert Ephraim Asculai told The Jerusalem Post on Thursday after the Trump administration waived nuclear-deal sanctions against Iran a day earlier.
Thousands of U.S. forces may still be needed for post-ISIS Iraq
The U.S. may need to keep as many as 20,000 troops and other military personnel in Iraq, even after the Islamic State is driven out, to stabilize the country, the former head of the Pentagon's policy shop said Thursday.
Israel-Palestinian Conflict
Report: Jordanians claim leaked intel was theirs, not Israel's
Intelligence about ISIS allegedly leaked by US President Donald Trump to Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Ambassador Sergey Kislyak during an Oval Office meeting last Wednesday was sourced by Jordanian spies, not Israelis, Al Jazeera reported on Thursday morning.
Palestinians to ask Trump for economic stimulus package
In the lead-up to US President Donald Trump's visit to Israel and the West Bank next week, senior Palestinian Authority officials have presented a list of requests to the US government for economic projects that they say will help jumpstart their economy.
Inside the United States
U.S. military satellites in crisis as foreign weapons advance and proliferate
The U.S. military’s satellite communications are facing a crisis, threatened by a growing array of foreign weapons, including cyberattack capabilities, lasers, electronic jammers and anti-satellite weapons, according to a Pentagon study.
Judge: Lerner's tea party-targeting testimony can stay secret -- for now
Lois G. Lerner and Holly Paz, two key figures in the IRS' tea party-targeting, can keep testimony about their role in the targeting secret, at least for now, a federal judge ruled Thursday.
Why did Comey Stonewall Evidence Obama Spied on Trump?
Lost in all the hubbub and furor over President Trump's firing of James Comey is that the former FBI director never complied with key a request from the House Intelligence Committee.
Leaked Trump Memo Could Backfire Big-Time on Former FBI Director
The leak of the infamous Comey memo to the press might severely boomerang on the former FBI director, according to legal experts.
Virginia sheriff's office to remove Bible verse from cars
A Virginia sheriff's department is removing Bible verse decals that have adorned the backs of its patrol cars since March.
Net Neutrality Supporters Want to 'Ban Drudge'
Alt-left advocates for net neutrality, who say they want a 'free and open internet,' want to ban the Drudge Report.
Senate Democrats to propose a bill trying to halt Republican deregulation blitz
Democrats are striking back at the regulation-cutting blitz in the U.S. Congress and White House, as Republicans ratchet up attacks on rules they say hurt business and give bureaucrats too much power.
Russian election meddling probe now a criminal investigation
The Justice Department's look at Russian meddling in the presidential election has turned from a counterintelligence investigation into a criminal probe, leading senators said Thursday as they emerged from a secret briefing with Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein.
House May Need to Vote Again on GOP Obamacare Repeal Bill
House Republicans barely managed to pass their Obamacare repeal bill earlier this month, and they now face the possibility of having to vote again on their controversial health measure.
Christian News
Report: Attack on Indian Christians Occurs Every 40 Hours
A new report says that violent attacks on the Christian minority in India are increasing at an alarming rate, as the emboldened members of groups close to the governing Hindu nationalist party seek to create a 'Hindu nation.' There's an anti-Christian attack every 40 hours, the report highlights.
Eritrea Christians Arrested as Crackdown Continues
A number of Christians have been arrested in Eritrea in round-ups of members of unregistered denominations that occurred during the week of 8 May.
Church Building, Pastor's Home Burned Down in Tamil Nadu State, India, Sources Say
Hard-line Hindus in southern India, upset that members of their caste-based group have become Christians, burned down a church building and the pastor's home this month, sources said.
Christian Pastor in Bible Belt Admits Personally Worshiping Allah
A former church has been taken over and converted to a mosque in a rural North Carolina county, and a group of Christian pastors took part in the conversion ceremony in an effort to 'show mutual respect' for their Muslim neighbors.
Cuban Pastor and Wife Sentenced to Jail for Homeschooling Their Children; Advocates Demand Asylum
A Cuban evangelical pastor was sentenced to prison because he removed his kids from the state-run communist schools to homeschool them. Homeschooling advocates are calling upon the Trump administration to grant them asylum in the United States.