Worthy Brief - 2/29/2016
Friend, get your second wind!
Luke 11:13 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?
A reader submitted a question, "How can I get my second wind?"
I believe a lesson can be learned after the disciples of Yeshua (Jesus) returned after a successful outreach. The Lord took them and set them apart in a desert place, away from the cares of this world -- and in this time of separation they were refreshed. [Mark 6:30-31] Oftentimes, a second wind can only come by setting time aside to seek it!
Early in the 1800's, Evangelist Charles Finney wrote about how God gave him mighty infillings of the Holy Spirit. He said, "[These infillings] went through me, as it seemed, body and soul. I immediately found myself endued with such power from on high that a few words dropped here and there to individuals were the means of their immediate conversion. My words seemed to fasten like barbed arrows in the souls of men. They cut like a sword. They broke the heart like a hammer. Multitudes can attest to this...Sometimes I would find myself in a great measure empty of this power. I would go and visit, and find that I made no saving impression. I would exhort and pray with the same results. I would they set apart a day for private fasting and prayer...after humbling myself and crying out for help, the power would return upon me with all its freshness. This has been the experience of my life."
Charles Finney set apart time to pray and fast for a "fresh anointing" from time to time!
In the late 1800's, evangelist D.L Moody stated, "I believe firmly that the moment our hearts are emptied of pride and selfishness and ambition and everything that is contrary to God's law, the Holy Spirit will fill every corner of our hearts. But if we are full of pride and conceit and ambition and the world, there is no room for the Spirit of God. We must be emptied before we can be filled."
Friend, do you want a second wind? Then let's get right with the Lord today. Let's set aside some time to get before Him and empty ourselves of the world's influences and our selfish ways that we might be filled with His power and anointing! Let's seek his face -- in doing so, we'll find our refreshment!
Your family in the Lord with much agape love,
George, Baht Rivka, Elianna & Obadiah
Benton, Arkansas
Editor's Note: We hope to see you on our travels across the United States. Check out our schedule online.
Editor's Note: Watch George's message: Which voice will you listen to in the last days?
Around the World
Russia using Syrian civil war as testing ground for new weapons
Russia has been using the Syrian civil war to test some of its new weapons, as the West accuses Russian President Vladimir Putin of indiscriminate aerial bombardments that have killed many civilians.
Iran said withdrawing all its fighting forces from Syria
Iran is withdrawing all of its 2,500-strong fighting force from Syria, Israeli television reported Sunday night.
Israel-Palestinian Conflict
Netanyahu: Syria truce must guarantee security for Israel
Two days into a shaky ceasefire in Syria, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that while Israel was glad about the prospect of an end to hostilities there, any long-term solution had to provide security for the Jewish state as well.
PA demands control over Iran cash handouts to terrorists
The Palestinian Authority on Sunday said direct financial assistance by Iran to the families of Palestinian terrorists and attackers killed in a five-month wave of violence would be unacceptable, and called for such funding to be directed through a PA.
Inside the United States
U.S. Has Record 10th Straight Year Without 3% Growth in GDP
The United States has now gone a record 10 straight years without 3 percent growth in real Gross Domestic Product, according to data released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis.
Ohio School Districts Suspend Student Bible Clubs Amid Complaints by Nation's Largest Atheist Group
Bible study clubs at two schools in Ohio have been suspended following a complaint made by a Wisconsin-based atheist group.
Dementia cure may be just five years away, says world expert
A cure for dementia could be found within five years, the leader of the global council on the disease has said.
U.S. Politics
Trump's dominance leaves GOP establishment banking on brokered convention
With a few big-name GOP regulars, from moderate New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie to conservative stalwart Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama, now endorsing the agile Donald Trump, the billionaire businessman continues to flummox his party's lumbering establishment.
In major blow to Ted Cruz, Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama endorses Donald Trump for GOP nomination
Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), whose hard-line conservative stances on immigration and trade have made him a favorite of the party's base, endorsed Donald Trump's White House bid during a joint appearance here in his home state Sunday.
Hillary's email account an open secret in Washington long before scandal broke
Hundreds of people -- from White House officials and titans of the mainstream media to senators, Supreme Court justices and many of her top colleagues at the State Department -- could have known about Hillary Clinton's secret email account, if only they'd cared to look closely enough.
State Department Turns Over 1,600 Newly-Discovered Clinton Documents to Benghazi Committee
The State Department turned over 1,600 pages of previously undisclosed documents related to Hillary Clinton and Libya to the House Benghazi committee on Friday, a month after it revealed the existence of the documents in an unrelated court case.
Christian News
Mexico: Utilities restored to evangelicals
Twenty-seven evangelical Protestant families in Chiapas state, Mexico, will finally have their access to water and electricity returned after local authorities had agreed two years ago to respect their minority religious freedoms in the village of Union Juarez, Trinitaria Municipality.
Persecution in India gets congressional response
A bipartisan congressional letter was sent last week to Prime Minister Modi requesting that he strongly condemn the persecution of India's religious minorities and to uphold the rule of law.
China pastor who resisted cross removals jailed for corruption
A Christian pastor in China who refused to remove a cross from his church's roof has been jailed for 14 years for corruption and inciting people to disturb social order, reports say.
Ohio Pastor Shot & Killed During Sunday Service
An Ohio pastor with deep roots in the Dayton community was shot and killed at his church, and police have taken his brother into custody for the slaying.