Worthy Brief - Christian Newsletter » Newsletters » 2016 » July » Worthy Brief - 7/6/2016

Worthy Brief - 7/6/2016

Friend, turn rock into living water!

1 Corinthians 10:4 and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ.


Exodus 17:-2-7 Therefore the people contended with Moses, and said, "Give us water, that we may drink." And Moses said to them, "Why do you contend with me? Why do you tempt the Lord?" And the people thirsted there for water, and the people complained against Moses, and said, "Why is it you have brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?" So Moses cried out to the Lord, saying, "What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me!" And the Lord said to Moses, "Go on before the people, and take with you some of the elders of Israel. Also take in your hand your rod with which you struck the river, and go. Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock in Horeb; and you shall strike the rock, and water will come out of it, that the people may drink." And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel. So he called the name of the place Massah and Meribah, because of the contention of the children of Israel, and because they tempted the Lord, saying, "Is the Lord among us or not?"

Psalm 11:4-5 The Lord is in His holy temple, The Lord's throne is in heaven; His eyes behold, His eyelids test the sons of men. The Lord tests the righteous, but the wicked and the one who loves violence His soul hates.

The children of Israel are facing yet another test, this one, even more severe than hunger– dehydration – which, unabated, quickly leads to a miserable death. Yet, now, every day they are also seeing the miracles of God, who is feeding them regularly with manna, and surrounding them by a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. Once again, they fail the test, even in the midst of their daily witness of miracles. So even though the test is more severe, the evidence for trust is that much greater.

Are some of us also asking this question, “Is the Lord among us or not?” "Is He seeing what's happening to me, or are His eyes shut to it?" ("His eyelids test the sons of men..") As a pastor, I'm often faced with this question – “Where is God?” Most often the good and true answer is, "He is testing you!" And I think of the testing the children of Israel faced in their wilderness wanderings. Over and over again, the Lord provided for their needs. This time Moses strikes the rock –and out pours living water!

Friend, don't allow your heart to become hardened in these days no matter how severe the test. As you endure His testing He will touch your heart once again so that His spring of living water may flow through you to this dying and desperate world. Yeshua (Jesus), the Rock of our salvation was struck for the sins of the world, and He promised those who trust Him that living water would flow from our inmost being. And God's eyes are never really shut. So the question, "Is the Lord among us or not?” will repeat Israel's sad mistake at Meribah.

Just realize and accept that you're being tested. You will please Him with your faith and His living water will flow from you.

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?

Today's Breaking News
Around the World
Kerry, Saudi minister discuss fight against Islamic State
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry held an impromptu meeting on Tuesday with Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir and talked about the need to defeat Islamic State a day after suicide bombers struck three Saudi cities, the U.S. State Department said.
Islamic State unleashes barrage of bloodshed amid string of battlefield defeats
Days after the Islamic State was flushed from the Iraqi city of Fallujah, arguably the group's highest-profile defeat in months, its fighters unleashed a barrage of bloodshed and carnage in a series of devastating terrorist attacks from Bangladesh to Baghdad that culminated in a massive suicide bombing in the Iraqi capital that left over 200 dead.

Israel-Palestinian Conflict
Two-state solution won't solve Mideast crisis, says Brookings expert
Shadi Hamid believes that the Middle East is suffering from some deep-seated issues, and solving the Israeli-Palestinian issue is not going to solve them all.

Inside the United States
Obama: 'Hillary Clinton MUST be the next president of the United States'
President Barack Obama finally got his long-awaited chance to hit the campaign trail for Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton on Tuesday, and he didn't waste the opportunity to make a case for his former State Department chief.
KKK wins 'Adopt-A-Highway' ruling in Georgia high court
A Ku Klux Klan group's legal battle to pick up highway trash continues after Georgia's highest court unanimously ruled in the group's favor on Tuesday.
US Government Approved 100% Of Wiretap Applications In 2015
A ten-year study of how state and federal law enforcement wiretaps suspects shows that the government is extremely efficient at the practice, and is only getting better.
FBI Rewrites Federal Law to Let Hillary Off the Hook
There is no way of getting around this: According to Director James Comey (disclosure: a former colleague and longtime friend of mine), Hillary Clinton checked every box required for a felony violation of Section 793(f) of the federal penal code (Title 18): With lawful access to highly classified information she acted with gross negligence in removing and causing it to be removed it from its proper place of custody, and she transmitted it and caused it to be transmitted to others not authorized to have it, in patent violation of her trust. Director Comey even conceded that former Secretary Clinton was 'extremely careless' and strongly suggested that her recklessness very likely led to communications (her own and those she corresponded with) being intercepted by foreign intelligence services.
FBI: 110 Emails Sent and Received on Clinton Server Contained Classified Information
FBI Director James Comey announced Tuesday that 110 emails from Hillary Clinton's private server contained classified information 'at the time they were sent or received.'
'Extremely careless,' but FBI advises no charges for Clinton's emails
The FBI recommended Tuesday that Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton should not face criminal charges over her use of a private email server as secretary of State, even though she and aides were 'extremely careless' in handling classified information.

U.S. Politics
Trump expected to announce running mate next week, reports say
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is expected to announce his running mate next week, a campaign insider reportedly said Tuesday.
Media Shreds Clinton in Wake of FBI Report on Email Scandal
FBI Director James Comey did not recommend charges against Hillary Clinton in the investigation into her private email server and mishandling of classified information as secretary of state, but his statement Tuesday was harsh nonetheless.
Trump unloads on FBI clearing Clinton: 'System rigged'
The system is rigged,' charged Donald Trump. The GOP presidential candidate wasted no time in blasting the FBI after its director announced his decision not to recommend the government file criminal charges against Democratic Party presidential candidate Hillary Clinton over her email scandal.

Christian News
'Europe Is Alive for Jesus': Revival Breaks Out in France
Amid the ongoing threat of Islamic terror and economic instability, thousands of people in France are giving their lives over to Christ.
Noah's ark of biblical proportions ready to open in Kentucky
A 510-foot-long, $100 million Noah's ark attraction built by Christians who say the biblical story really happened is ready to open in Kentucky this week.