Worthy Brief - 5/29/2023
Friend, be transformed!
Leviticus 23:15-17 And you shall count for yourselves from the day after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering: seven Sabbaths shall be completed. Count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath; then you shall offer a new grain offering to the Lord. You shall bring from your dwellings two wave loaves of two-tenths of an ephah. They shall be of fine flour; they shall be baked with leaven. They are the firstfruits to the Lord.
As the world celebrated the feast of Pentecost this past Sunday, it's important to understand its deeper implications for us as believers in Yeshua (Jesus). The Lord (YHVH) commanded the grain offering on Shavuot, (known as Pentecost among Christians), to be made of the finest flour, baked with yeast, that is, leaven. Leaven, in the Bible, is almost universally, a symbol for "sin", and in the OT is strictly forbidden on the altar of YHVH., yet here, in the Feast of Weeks, it is commanded as part of the offering. Just six weeks prior to this festival, Israel had spent a week eating unleavened bread, a clear picture of the connection between the Passover Lamb and the removal of sin from our lives. Now the grain offering for Shavuot contains yeast; two loaves with it. Why? A common interpretation of this for NT believers is that the loaves represent Jews and Gentiles, the two types of redeemed people, who, of course, still contain sin in our lives.
So the sequence of these two spring festivals can be seen to illustrate, on the one hand, our perfect deliverance from sin and death through the Passover Lamb (Yeshua); and subsequently, the reality of our true condition as "leavened loaves" offered to the Lord as "first-fruits". We know that having come to faith in Yeshua, cleansed by His shed blood, we stand righteous and perfect in Him; and yet, we constantly struggle with our Adamic nature. In this light, Shavuot begins to emerge as a festival marking and illustrating the opportunity and means for our transformation. The Lord's sending forth of His Holy Spirit at this time awakens and empowers us to change; to be inwardly transformed from the old creation into a new creation.
On the day of Pentecost, 2000 years ago, this transformation process was dynamically accelerated and made accessible to every believer. Baptized with the Holy Spirit of God, and with His fire, our sinful nature with all its impurities and "leaven" takes a back seat to the powerful indwelling of the Spirit of Messiah, so that as we continually pray, walk in obedience, and thus cooperate to be filled with His Spirit, we are sanctified and transformed into His likeness - "from glory to glory", and so become His effective witnesses. Praise God that He works with our issues-- and is transforming us into a bride without wrinkle or spot!
Friend, allow the Holy Spirit to burn away the impurity of your sinful nature; to purge out the dross, and deeply penetrate your life. The process can be "firey" and involve some painful sacrifices, but the result is purity and the holiness without which no one will see God. And remember that Yeshua is returning soon, greatly anticipating a bride who is prepared for His arrival!
Your family in the Lord with much agape love,
George, Baht Rivka, Obadiah and Elianna
(Dallas, Texas)
Turkey’s Erdogan Wins Tense Elections
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has won Sunday’s runoff elections in a significant setback to opposition parties who wanted to end his perceived authoritarian rule, official results showed.
Belarus Leader Hospitalized After Coup Talks, Nuclear Weapons Move (Worthy News In-Depth)
The authoritarian president of Belarus has been rushed to a hospital in Moscow after announcing that Russia started placing nuclear weapons on Belarusian soil, opposition sources say.
Putin’s Senior Aid Warns West Of Nuclear War Over Ukraine (Worthy News In-Depth)
A senior aid of Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned the West is underestimating the chance of nuclear war over Ukraine and said that country could “disappear.”
Kyiv: ‘Ukraine Counter-Offensive Imminent After Deadly Russian Strikes’ (Worthy News Radio)
Ukraine says it is ready to launch its long-expected counter-offensive against Russian forces. The announcement came after at least two people were killed and more than 30 injured in a Russian missile strike on a medical clinic in the eastern Ukrainian city of Dnipro.
Several Killed In Russian Attack On Ukraine Hospital
At least two people have been killed and 23 injured in a Russian missile strike on a medical clinic in the eastern Ukrainian city of Dnipro, the regional governor said Friday.
Sudan British Embassy Abandons Elderly Couple
An 85-year-old British citizen in Sudan was shot by snipers, and his wife then died of starvation after the British embassy in Sudan abandoned them, Britain’s BBC broadcaster reported Friday.
Israel-Palestinian Conflict
Israeli airstrikes said to hit targets in Syrian capital
Israeli fighter jets carried out strikes against targets in the Syrian capital Damascus just before midnight on Sunday, Syria’s state-run media reported.
Near the Western Wall, Jewish radicals shout at Christian Evangelicals to ‘go home’
Christian worshipers who prayed at an archeological park bordering the Western Wall on Sunday, were met by hundreds of Jewish protesters, including Jerusalem’s deputy mayor, shouting at them to leave.
Inside the United States
Biden and McCarthy reach a final deal to avoid US default and now must sell it to Congress
With days to spare before a potential first-ever government default, President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy reached final agreement Sunday on a deal to raise the nation’s debt ceiling and worked to ensure enough support in Congress to pass the measure in the coming week.
US Could Run Out Of Cash By June 5
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet L. Kellen said Friday that the United States could run out of money to pay its bills on time by June 5, which would be the nation’s first default in U.S. history.
Militia Leader Gets 18 Years Over Capitol Attack
Two members of the far-right Oath Keepers militia received lengthy prison sentences Thursday for their involvement in 2021 on the U.S. Capitol, which houses the Congress.