Worthy Brief - 9/3/2020
Friend, whose side are you on?
Joshua 5:13-15 And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, a Man stood opposite him with His sword drawn in His hand. And Joshua went to Him and said to Him, "Are You for us or for our adversaries?" So He said, "No, but as Commander of the army of the Lord I have now come." And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped, and said to Him, "What does my Lord say to His servant?" Then the Commander of the Lord's army said to Joshua, "Take your sandal off your foot, for the place where you stand is holy." And Joshua did so.
Revelation 19:11-16 Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.
Joshua son of Nun had been commissioned by Moses to bring Israel into the Promised Land. He was a leader and a general. Having spied out the land and returned with the other 11 spies, he was fully aware of the impending battle and the ferocity of the enemy.There were giants in the land. Having miraculously crossed over the Jordan with all the people and 40,000 armed soldiers, Joshua sensed deeply his responsibility to protect and lead Israel to victory and the inheritance God had promised them.
At this significant moment, somewhere near Jericho, the first battlefield, Joshua "lifted his eyes", to behold a Man. Focused in a mindset of warfare, he asks the obvious question:-- "whose side are you on?" The Man's answer immediately brings Joshua to another plane of existence: "No, but as Commander of the army of the Lord I have now come." The young general is standing before the Eternal Captain, Commander of the Lord's Army-- and the ground he is standing on is Holy!
The book of Revelation describes a Man who "judges and makes war". He is called the "King of Kings, and the Lord of Lord's", and undoubtedly He is God's 5 star General. It is very likely that this is the very Man who identified Himself to Joshua as "Commander of the Lord's Army". We know his name. It is Yeshua (Jesus). Once again, the Lord Himself appears in human form at a critical moment in history, to someone He loves. Do we recognize a pattern emerging? Abraham on the plains of Mamre; Jacob wrestling near the Jordan; and now, Joshua, right before the battle of Jericho!
Friend, our natural tendency is always to ask "whose side is the Lord on?" How many wars have been fought by people who said, "God is on our side."? But the correct question is "Who is fighting on the Lord's side?" Who is truly standing for His interests and representing Him in the battle against the darkness? The flesh will always invoke the name of God to justify its own desires, political, military, or whatever they might be. But the Lord will only "show up" for His loved ones that are truly fighting with and for Him. So we must always ask ourselves if we are with Him. When we're sure that we are on His side, we can rest assured that He is on ours. Victory follows!
Your family in the Lord with much agape love,
George, Baht Rivka, Elianna & Obadiah
Baltimore, Maryland
Editor's Note: YouTube Special: Middle East Peace, Secret Meetings, Kushner, the Saudis, the city called Nome ... and your calling!
Editor's Note: YouTube Special: Civil War and the Demise of the Democratic Party? We are now at a Nivevah moment ... how will the nation respond -- is it as in the days of Jonah or Nahum?
Editor's Note: We will be in the PA, MD, VA and DC area for the entire month of September. Please contact george [a] worthyministries.com for more information.
U.S. Cutting $100 Million In Aid To Ethiopia Over Dam Dispute
The United States is cutting at least roughly $100 million in aid to impoverished Ethiopia due to its "lack of progress" in talks with Egypt and Sudan over a massive disputed dam project on the Nile River, officials confirmed.
Hungary Closing Borders Stirs EU Anger
Hungary’s fiercely anti-migration government has closed its borders to most foreigners, citing an increase in coronavirus cases, prompting an angry reaction from the European Union’s executive.
Hezbollah in hot water after Beirut explosion
There are no confirmed ties between Iran-backed Lebanese terror organization Hezbollah and the August 4 explosion in Beirut so far, but the group has found itself coming under fire in the wake of the disaster, the Jewish National Syndicate (JNS) reported Tuesday.
Pentagon sees China military on track for global superpower status
China is on track to double the size of its nuclear warhead stockpile while expanding foreign military bases capable of attacking the United States — worrying signs that Beijing is seeking global superpower status, the Pentagon warned in its annual survey of the Chinese military released Tuesday.
Two typhoons could make back-to-back runs at South Korea
After Tropical Storm Marco and Hurricane Laura made landfall in similar areas on the U.S. Gulf Coast last week, two typhoons in the Pacific might also hammer South Korea back to back.
Israel-Palestinian Conflict
Israel’s Ben Gurion airport to have COVID-19 screening lab
Israel’s Ministry of Transport announced Monday that a COVID-19 screening lab is to be opened at Ben Gurion airport, to test passengers flying in and out of the country, i24 News reports. The lab will be run by the Omega Institute for Modern Learning in collaboration with Rambam Medical Center and is expected to be functioning by mid-October.
Kushner says Trump and Netanyahu will discuss US sale of advanced fighter jets to UAE
US President Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner said Monday that the President and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will at some stage discuss the sale of American F-35 advanced fighter jets to the United Arab Emirates, the Jewish Press reports. The prospect of such a sale has caused speculation in some quarters about whether it would alter the very longstanding US-supported doctrine that, for security purposes, Israel must retain technological military superiority over all other Middle Eastern countries.
Qatar to Kushner: Two states needed to end Israeli-Palestinian conflict
Qatar's ruler Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani told White House adviser Jared Kushner on Wednesday that Doha supports a two-state solution, with East Jerusalem as the capital of a Palestinian state, to end the conflict with Israel, his cabinet said.
Inside the United States
Appeals court rules NSA phone data collection illegal; upholds convictions
A federal appeals court on Wednesday ruled it was illegal for the National Security Agency to collect data on Americans' phone calls, but upheld the terror convictions of four Somali immigrants who challenged the now-defunct intelligence program.
California faces potential record heatwave as wildfires burn 1.5M acres
Firefighters in California on Wednesday battled to contain wildfires burning in the northern part of the state ahead of an oncoming heatwave.
CBO warns Social Security, Medicare and Highway Trust Funds will be 'exhausted' within 10 years
The balances in three federal trust funds – Social Security, Medicare and the Highway Trust Fund – will be "exhausted within the next 10 years" without congressional action, the Congressional Budget Office warned Wednesday.
CBO: Deficit will hit $3.3 trillion this year, debt will exceed size of economy by 2021
The deficit is projected to hit a record $3.3 trillion this year, and the national debt will exceed the size of the U.S. economy by 2021, according to a Congressional Budget Office report published Wednesday.
Trump orders review to redirect federal funds from cities 'that permit anarchy'
President Trump signed a memo that initiates a process to defund large cities that permit "anarchy."
Federal agencies launch investigation into “left-wing” unrest in Democrat-run cities
President Donald Trump announced Monday that the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice are starting a joint investigation into what the president called “left-wing civil unrest” in “Democrat-run cities,” VOA News reports. Trump added that over 200 people have now been arrested by federal agencies, including 100 in Portland, Oregon alone.