Worthy Brief - 6/24/2022
Friend, keep yoursefl from crashing!
Psalms 55:22 Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.
Over twenty years ago, not long after I came to faith in Messiah Yeshua (Jesus) the Lord began putting it in my heart to create a website where believers could be informed about world, national and Christian news -- so that they could more effectively pray. I could not have imagined what Worthy News has become. Back then, I knew nothing about designing websites. I started with a Pentium 1 ... a tiny hard drive by today's standards -- just a few gigs. Every few minutes the overload brought it to the point where it would crash. Incredibly frustrating! I finally figured out that in order to fix the problem, I had to dump all the unused programs and unnecessary information. Soon afterward it functioned again, and I learned something...
The responsibilities of life and ministry can become like that overloaded Pentium 1. Take me for example: whose family is growing and that needs, whose online ministry needs regular oversight, traveling all across the world, all in the context of the stress and pressures of life ... well, at one point the overload felt a bit like my original computer... on the verge of crashing!
What to do? Continue carrying more burdens than I can bear, processing more information than I need? No. I've had to retreat, and I needed to re-evaluate...what is the Lord giving me and what have I taken upon myself? And which burdens am I not casting upon Him?
Friend, allowing ourselves to nearly crash is not spiritual. There will be times when life's pressures seem unbearable, but we can be prepared for those times if we practice a regular discipline of evaluating our priorities in normal daily life, off-loading unnecessary tasks, and casting the important things onto the Lord, in prayer. If we do so, it may save us from "crashing" in the long run!! Don't crash ... take a long-deserved rest and enjoy your weekend, and rest in His finished work! Shabbat Shalom!
Your family in the Lord with much agape love,
George, Baht Rivka, Elianna & Obadiah
Baltimore, Maryland
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Italy experiences worst drought in 70 years
Italy is going through its worst drought since 1952, with record low levels of water in the vast Po river which crosses the country as a vital source of water for several regions, Euronews reports.
Mali: Jihadists murder over 100 civilians in weekend attacks
Islamic militants murdered 132 civilians in central Mali over the weekend, in attacks that exemplify the spread of jihadist violence from the north of the country to the center, the Associated Press reports.
Russian Official Who Carried Putin’s Nuclear Codes Found in ‘Pool of Blood’
A retired Russian security officer who was once tasked with carrying President Vladimir Putin's briefcase containing nuclear codes was found shot in his home on Monday, according to reports.
Ecuador’s Military Vows To Defend Nation Amid Deadly Food, Fuel Riots (Video)
Ecuador’s military has vowed to defend the country’s fragile democracy against a “grave threat” after 10 days of violent protests over price hikes for food, fuel, and other basics killed at least two people.
Dutch Farmers Protest State’s Pollution Plans In Massive Rallies (Worthy News In-Depth & Video)
The Netherlands is soul searching after one of its largest farmers' protests in recent history. Tens of thousands of farmers gathered in a village near the center of the Netherlands to rally against a government plan to curb nitrogen pollution that they say will kill the country's world-renowned agriculture sector.
Israel-Palestinian Conflict
Lebanon reportedly drops claims on Karish gas field
Lebanon's President Michel Aoun has met with US mediator Amos Hochstein, the special envoy of US President Joe Biden, and presented his country's position which includes a compromise. The proposal has been passed to Israel, sources close to the matter have told "Globes."
Knesset defeats two bills to apply sovereignty to West Bank settlements
The Knesset on Wednesday defeated two motions to apply sovereignty to West Bank settlements, brought forward by members of the opposition just hours after the parliament took its first initial vote to disperse.
Inside the United States
U.S. Supreme Court Lets Republicans Defend North Carolina Voter-ID Law
The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that Republican lawmakers in North Carolina can intervene in a lawsuit challenging a voter-ID law that they believed the state's Democratic attorney general was unlikely to defend strongly enough.
U.S. Supreme Court Against New York Gun Rule
The U.S. Supreme Court struck down a New York law requiring people to show a need for carrying a gun to get a license to have one in public. The justices said the requirement violates the Second Amendment right to “keep and bear arms.”
Six major cities on pace to pass historic 2021 violent crime totals halfway through 2022
Violent crimes are on the rise in six of America's major cities and set to outpace the already historic levels of 2021 violent crime.
FBI investigating recent spate of attacks on pro-life centers
The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is considering whether any of the recent fire bomb and vandalism attacks on pro-life crisis pregnancy centers and churches are violations of FACE, an Act which makes it a federal crime to use force, the threat of force, or physical obstruction to prevent individuals from obtaining or providing reproductive health care services, Christian Today reports.
Christian News
Christian massacres in Nigeria a top topic at global religious freedom summit
Protecting religious liberty around the world has become more challenging in the last year, advocates said this week ahead of Tuesday’s convening of the second International Religious Freedom Summit in Washington.
Worthy Watch
“Nothing Changes Today” NYC Mayor Eric Adams Promises to Ignore Supreme Court Ruling on Concealed Gun Laws
"Nothing changes today": New York City Mayor Eric Adams responds to Supreme Court decision to overturn New York concealed gun law, adding "we cannot allow New York to become the wild, wild west."
VP Harris Says Supreme Court’s 2nd Amendment Decision Defies the Constitution
Vice President Kamala Harris disagreed with the Supreme Court's decision that struck down a New York law requiring people to show a need for carrying a gun to get a license to have one in public. The justices said the requirement violates the Second Amendment right to “keep and bear arms.” However, Harris commenting on the decision stated, it "defies common sense and the Constitution."
Andrew Gillum, former Florida gubernatorial candidate, indicted on federal fraud charges
Former Florida Democratic Gubernatorial Candidate Andrew Gillum who narrowly lost the 2018 Florida governor’s race to Ron DeSantis, was indicted and arrested by federal authorities on Wednesday.
Saudi Arabia and Turkey Normalizing Relations
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan at the Presidential Palace in Ankara in an effort to normalize ties between Saudi Arabia and Turkey. Tensions between the two countries were fractured after the alleged assassination of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018. Khashoggi was last seen after he entered a Saudi consulate in Istanbul.
Protests Continued into the 10th Day in Ecuador
Over the past 10 days, demonstrations have continued across the country of Ecuador over rising prices for food, fuel, and basic goods. On Wednesday night, thousands of protesters marched through the streets of Ecuador's capital Quito.
Worthy Insights
Biden moves to remove Title IX rights for women in favor of gender identity protections
Biden's Department of Education under education secretary Miguel Cardona has released a proposal for changes to Title IX which includes erasing biological sex from issues of sex discrimination. The proposal would conflate protections for biological sex with gender identity, and see no differentiation between the two.
Canadian Pastor Says Health Officials Offered $150,000 to Push Vaccines
“We have a Christian school in our church, and I got this from public health, and it is a quite amazing thing. I’m not throwing my mail out anymore because we got asked to support vaccine confidence as a church with a non-profit, and the government was going to give us $50,000 for it,” “It was only $50,000. You could actually get another $100,000 for promoting vaccine (confidence) out of a non-profit.”
Canadian PM Trudeau on Plastics
Justin Trudeau's response when asked what he personally does to 'cut back on plastics.'
‘I See The Impact On Our Readiness’: Matt Gaetz Pushes To Reinstate Service Members Dismissed Over The COVID Vaccine
Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) plans to introduce an amendment Wednesday reinstating armed service members who were dismissed for refusing the COVID vaccine.
Study Predicts More Than a Quarter of US Abortion Clinics Will Close if Supreme Court Strikes Down ‘Roe’
A new study finds that more than a quarter of the 790 abortion facilities across the United States would close if the U.S. Supreme Court overturns the 1973 landmark Roe v. Wade decision, the case that legalized abortion nationwide.
Bill Gates Buys Massive Amount of Farmland in North Dakota, But the State AG Just Stepped in
Bill Gates has made himself the single largest private owner of farmland in the United States.