Worthy Brief - 8/22/2017
Friend, sharpen your ax!
Ecc 10:10 If the ax is dull, And one does not sharpen the edge, Then he must use more strength; But wisdom brings success.
When I was younger I used to take an ax and cut up firewood from the woods behind our house. The one thing I always did was sharpen my axe! A dull axe meant harder work chopping through fallen trees. The sharper the ax the less effort and energy required for the task. So I learned early on to sharpen my ax before venturing into the woods, and I saved myself a lot of time and energy. (Besides I was a small kid, growing up, so I needed all the help I could get! ;) )
I see a lesson here. How many of us are exerting so much energy for the Kingdom, but are working with dull axes? We need to sharpen our spiritual lives, get focused in prayer and spend deep time in the Word. Then, when we are "out in the woods", working for the Kingdom our effectiveness will be greatly multiplied because our axes are sharp!
Friend, don't get so busy that your ax becomes dull. Remember that your devotion to the Lord and His word will sharpen your spiritual life, especially before you start the day. Prioritize your devotional life and watch how your "edge" will cut through the problems, obstacles, and difficult situations, like a hot knife through butter!
Your family in the Lord with much agape love,
George, Baht Rivka, Elianna & Obadiah
Arad, Israel
New report details Iran's growing influence in Syria
Growing Israeli concern over Iran gaining an ever increasing foothold in Syria has been impossible to miss lately, as evidenced by the prime minister's statements along those lines. Mossad Director Yossi Cohen also alerted the government to the fact that Iran's influence in Syria in particular and the region in general is growing stronger by the day.
Promising to ‘win,’ Trump says US will keep fighting in Afghanistan
Declaring the US will win “in the end,” President Donald Trump vowed Monday night to keep American troops fighting in Afghanistan despite his earlier inclination to withdraw. But he insisted the US would not offer “a blank check” after 16 years of war, and he pointedly declined to say whether or when more troops might be sent.
Hacking May Have Caused USS John S. McCain’s Collision, Say Cyber Experts
Amid reports that the destroyer USS John S. McCain lost steering just before collision with an oil tanker, experts have speculated the possibility of hacking as the cause of the incident.
Modern eugenics: Down syndrome ‘eradication’ in Iceland
A disturbing report from CBS News last week revealed Iceland is systemically aborting babies with Down syndrome. While some have hailed the news as a cultural advancement, pro-lifers note the so-called progress has only moved the country toward genocide.
Israel-Palestinian Conflict
Supreme Islamic Council Denies Any Jewish Connection to Temple Mount
The Supreme Islamic Council in Jerusalem is denying any religious or historical connection of the Jewish People to the Temple Mount, now calling the entire compound the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
UN blacklist of companies doing business in settlements to be released by year's end
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Prince Zeid bin Ra’ad Zeid al-Hussein, plans to publish by the end of the year a blacklist of international companies doing business in Israeli settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, as well as Israeli communities in the Golan Heights, The Washington Post reported on Monday.
Following attack, Barcelona’s chief rabbi says his community is doomed, Time to Move to Israel
The Jewish community in Barcelona is 'doomed,' because authorities in Spain do not want to confront radical Islam, the chief rabbi of Barcelona warned on Friday, a day after the deadly car-ramming attack in the city.
Inside the United States
Paul Ryan: Tax reform 'far easier' to pass than healthcare
House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., said Monday that tax reform should be easier to pass than healthcare reform, which has no clear path forward after it failed in the Senate.
Pentagon orders temporary halt to US navy operations after second collision
The Pentagon has ordered a temporary halt to US navy operations around the world and a full safety review, after the second serious collision in two months involving its ships in the Pacific.
Over 160,000 Sign White House Petition Demanding Antifa Be Labeled a Terrorist Group
More than 160,000 people have signed a petition on the White House petition website calling for the federal government to officially designate the activist group Antifa as a terrorist organization.
Secret Service depletes funds to pay agents because of Trump's frequent travel, large family
The Secret Service can no longer pay hundreds of agents it needs to carry out an expanded protective mission – in large part due to the sheer size of President Trump's family and efforts necessary to secure their multiple residences up and down the East Coast.
Grads returning diplomas to protest Falwell’s Trump support
Some graduates of Liberty University say they’re returning their diplomas to the evangelical school to denounce President Jerry Falwell Jr.’s latest show of support for Donald Trump.
Rise of antifa after violence in Charlottesville alarms free-speech advocates
Even those who despise neo-Nazis are worried about the rise of the antifa, the masked protesters whose stock rose after they took on white supremacists at the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Christian News
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A Christian ministry is using Monday's eclipse to share the love of Christ with thousands.
Nepal Bill Criminalizes Religious Conversion
The Nepali parliament passed a Bill on 8 August criminalizing religious conversion and the ‘hurting of religious sentiment’. It is expected to become law once the approval of the president has been given.
New Bishop for Syrian Christians Brings Hope Following Genocide, Over 330,000 Deaths
Syriac Orthodox Christians in the northeastern city of Hasakeh celebrated on Saturday the inauguration of Archbishop Maurice Amseeh, giving the community a bishop for the first time in four years, since the last one left the country.