Worthy Brief - 1/28/2016
Friend, you're covered!
Ephesians 2:8-9 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.
Have you ever heard how a pearl is formed? It is truly fascinating. A foreign object, often a grain of sand, somehow makes it's way into the tightly sealed crack of an oyster. Instead of spitting out this irritating object, the oyster covers it with layer upon layer of a substance secreted from it's own body. After months or even years, a beautiful pearl is formed. The longer the pearl stays in the oyster, the more valuable it becomes.
What a picture of God's mercy toward us! The Lord doesn't spit us out when we come to Him! "We are accepted in the beloved!" God has every right to cast us out because of our sin but instead, He brings us into His body and covers over our sin with His beautiful covering!
When God found us we were nothing more than an irritation but by His grace He keeps us under His covering, so that we can be made into something value to His Kingdom! God is using our time now under His covering to conform us into His image!
Friend, let's cherish this time under God's covering and take this opportunity to grow more and more beautiful -- that we attract many for His Kingdom in these trying times!
Your family in the Lord with much agape love,
George, Baht Rivka, Elianna & Obadiah
Los Angeles, California
Editor's Note: We hope to see you on our travels across the United States. Check out our schedule online.
Editor's Note: If you missed us in the States, then you can watch a typical message being preached across the States online!
Around the World
Iran warns U.S. warship to leave waters near Strait of Hormuz
Iran's navy warned a U.S. warship on Wednesday to leave waters in the sea of Oman near an area where the Islamic Republic was performing military drills.
Sweden 'to expel up to 80,000 failed asylum-seekers'
The authorities in Sweden are making plans to expel as many as 80,000 failed asylum-seekers, the interior minister was quoted as saying.
Iran poised to make billions off country's vast mineral wealth
Iran is poised to become one of the richest countries in the world -- and its potential for profit goes far beyond oil.
North Korea preparing long-range missile launch, officials say
North Korea is prepared to launch a long-range missile at any time in the wake of its fourth nuclear test, officials in Seoul said.
Israel-Palestinian Conflict
'It's not clear if the Holocaust is a reality or not,' Iran's supreme leader says
Iran's supreme leader on Wednesday once again repeated provocative assertions about the Holocaust, defying the world on a day that it paused to remember the victims of the Nazi genocide in Europe.
Inside the United States
Hundreds of DHS badges, guns, cell phones lost or stolen since 2012
Hundreds of badges, credentials, cell phones and guns belonging to Department of Homeland Security employees have been lost or stolen in recent years -- raising serious security concerns about the potential damage these missing items could do in the wrong hands.
Court Weighs Practice of Christian Prayers at Meetings
A federal appeals court wrestled on Wednesday with whether local government leaders in North Carolina are violating the Constitution by holding exclusively Christian prayers at their meetings -- the first time a court at that level has addressed the issue since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in a town government's favor in a similar case in 2014.
Officials confirm at least 6 cases of Zika in US residents
At least six U.S. residents have tested positive for the Zika virus, with officials in New York, Arkansas and Virginia confirming cases in each state.a
Special Ops Commander Demands Pentagon Stop Exposing Operations
President Obama's nominee to head U.S. Central Command recently penned a memo to Defense Secretary Ash Carter demanding that the Pentagon stop discussing the operations of elite American troops.
Report: Ammon Bundy Asks Followers to Leave Oregon Refuge
The leader of a month-long armed occupation of a federal wildlife refuge in Oregon urged remaining protesters on Wednesday to leave the site and go home, a day after his arrest and the death of a supporter.
U.S. Politics
Pew: GOP Voters like Trump, See Him as Not Religious
Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump is seen as not as religious as other Republican candidates, but most Republicans think he could be a good president anyway, a new nationwide poll found on Wednesday.
Trump won't participate in Fox debate
Republican front-runner Donald Trump's campaign said Tuesday he will not participate in the upcoming GOP presidential debate in Des Moines.
Christian News
Wife of Saeed Abedini Files Domestic Relations Case
Nagmeh Abedini filed a domestic relations case against her husband Pastor Saeed Abedini on Tuesday, citing abuse as the reason for their broken marriage.
Falwell Decision to Back Trump Angers Evangelical Leaders
Evangelical leader Jerry Falwell, Jr. is officially endorsing Donald Trump for president and other Christian leaders are not happy with his decision.
Evangelical leaders divided over Republican field
The spirited fight for the evangelical vote is in full swing -- but faith leaders remain sharply divided over who to support ahead of Monday's Republican presidential caucuses in Iowa.