Worthy Brief - 8/30/2017
Friend, no matter how you feel -- you can always be a light!
John 1:9 That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.
D. L. Moody told the story of a man who was crossing the Atlantic by ship. He was terribly seasick and confined to his cabin. One night he heard the cry "Man overboard!" But he felt that there was nothing he could do to help. Then he said to himself, "I can at least put my lantern in the porthole." He struggled to his feet and hung the light so it would shine out into the darkness.
The next day he learned that the person who was rescued said, "I was going down in the dark night for the last time when someone put a light in a porthole. As it shone on my hand, a sailor in a lifeboat grabbed it and pulled me in."
All of us have weaknesses -- and times of weakness. The fact of the matter is, though, that weak or not, we need to muster up the strength to put our lights in our portholes for the sake of the dying and the lost among us. It's so tempting to sulk in our weaknesses, and stay in our cabins -- but God expects more of us. He has given us the strength to do all things -- even move mountains! There are so many people around us sinking in despair. God has chosen us to reach out and light up their lives!
Friend, let's do something extraordinary for the Lord today. Be bold, speak up, let's get beyond our weaknesses!
Your family in the Lord with much agape love,
George, Baht Rivka, Elianna & Obadiah
Arad, Israel
UN Security Council 'strongly condemns' NKorea missile test
The U.N. Security Council strongly condemned North Korea’s launch of a ballistic missile over Japan on Tuesday, reiterating demands that Pyongyang halt its ballistic missile and nuclear weapons programs.
Obama Admin Hid Intel on Iranian Militants in Syria to Push Nuclear Deal
The Obama administration likely hid information about Iran illicitly ferrying militants into Syria on commercial aircraft in order to promote the landmark nuclear deal and foster multi-billion dollar business deals with Tehran's state-controlled airline sector, according to lawmakers and other sources familiar with the matter.
South Asia monsoon floods leave hundreds dead and thousands of homes destroyed
More than 1,200 people have been killed and hundreds of thousands of homes destroyed in monsoon floods sweeping across South Asia.
President Trump is leaving 'all options on the table' after latest North Korea missile launch
President Trump on Tuesday said that 'all options are on the table' in dealing with North Korea after the country launched a missile that passed over Japanese airspace hours earlier.
Nearly 3-mile wide asteroid to pass close by Earth Sept. 1
A large rock will fly past Earth on Sept. 1, 2017, at a distance of 4.4 million miles (7 million kilometers). Asteroid 3122 Florence, named after modern nursing founder Florence Nightingale, is the largest object to make a close-encounter since NASA began tracking near-Earth objects (NEO) in the 1990s.
Israel-Palestinian Conflict
Israeli ministry drops opposition to adoption by same-sex couples
Israel’s Ministry of Welfare and Social Affairs has reversed its opposition to allowing same-sex couples to adopt in the country.
In Ramallah, Guterres embraces two-state solution
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, on his first visit to the Palestinian territories since taking office in January, embraced a two-state solution on Tuesday.
Netanyahu: 'No more uprooting of settlements in Israel'
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday vowed there would be 'no more uprooting of settlements in the Land of Israel' at an event marking the 50th anniversary of Jewish settlement in the West Bank.
Head of Military Intelligence: Hezbollah is tightening grip on Lebanon
The head of the IDF Intelligence Directorate, Maj.- Gen. Herzi Halevi, told UN head Antonio Guterres in Jerusalem this week that Hezbollah is tightening its hold on Lebanon, citing serious and prolonged violations of Security Council Resolution 1701 by the terrorist group.
Balad summer camp concludes with procession extolling 'martyrs'
A summer camp for Arab-Israeli youths organized by the Arab-Israeli Balad party held its concluding ceremony this week in the Dheisheh refugee camp near Bethlehem, with campers marching alongside the camp's children in a procession honoring the 'martyrs.'
Israeli MP prays at flashpoint Jerusalem holy site
Israeli lawmaker Yehuda Glick, shot in 2014 over his campaign for Jewish prayer an ultra-sensitive Jerusalem holy site, visited there on Tuesday during a one-day break in a government ban.
Inside the United States
With Congress in stalemate, states take lead in Planned Parenthood defunding
The effort to defund Planned Parenthood may be stalled at the federal level, but recent legal and legislative victories have given states more power than ever to cut off taxpayer funding to the nation’s largest abortion provider.
Haunted by Katrina's memory, Louisiana now faces Harvey
Twelve years to the day after Hurricane Katrina slammed into the Gulf Coast, another deadly storm forced the rescue of hundreds of people from floodwaters in southwestern Louisiana and prompted New Orleans to shut down its schools and other key institutions as a precaution.
Trump vows ‘100 percent’ support, rapid federal aid to Harvey victims ahead of Texas visit
President Trump vowed '100 percent' support Monday to the victims of the massive storm known as Harvey, while predicting he and Congress will be able to quickly approve emergency aid to help the region recover.
Christian News
Christian girl fostered in Muslim home can rejoin family, judge rules
A five-year-old girl who was placed in the foster care of two Muslim households has been reunited with her family after a court ruled she could live with her grandmother.
Clergy march for racial justice on anniversary of Martin Luther King's 'I Have a Dream' speech
LaAnthia Washington lost a tooth weeks ago and had a dental appointment Monday. But the Forestville, Md., sought healing instead at the Ministers March for Justice.