Worthy News
Israel signaled a major escalation in its war against Iran on Thursday as the Israeli Air Force struck the Parchin military complex near Tehran, part of what military leaders describe as the “next phase” of the campaign aimed at dismantling Iran’s military capabilities.
The U.S. economy unexpectedly lost 92,000 jobs in February, according to new data released Friday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, marking a sharp reversal from earlier forecasts that predicted modest job growth.
The United Arab Emirates is considering freezing billions of dollars in Iranian assets held within its financial system, a move that could severely restrict one of Tehran’s most important economic lifelines, according to a Wall Street Journal exclusive citing officials familiar with the discussions.
Congressional efforts to halt the U.S. military’s operations in Iran have now failed twice, with the U.S. House tanking a War Powers Resolution only a day after it was rejected in the Senate.
A Christian man in Malta who faced jail time for publicly stating he had left the gay lifestyle said he “praises God” after being acquitted following a three-year legal battle in a case that could have wider European ramifications.
Israel says its war against Iran is entering a more intense phase after the Israeli Air Force achieved broad air superiority and severely weakened the regime’s military infrastructure.
Concerns grew Thursday that the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran could affect the war in Ukraine, amid fears Washington may soon lack sufficient munitions to continue supporting Kyiv, including through its European allies.
The Trump administration has ended federal funding for gender-transition surgeries and cross-sex hormone treatments for transgender inmates in federal prisons, a policy shift officials say will save taxpayers nearly $2 million.
A widespread power outage plunged large portions of Cuba into darkness Wednesday, leaving millions without electricity across the island’s western and central regions, including the capital city of Havana.
Hundreds of Christians, including family members, have protested the killing of a young Christian agricultural worker by one or more Muslims in Pakistan’s eastern Punjab province and the alleged reluctance by authorities to properly investigate the case.
This is the code to run Worthy News with Pagination which allows for archive pages.
[worthy_plugins_news_stories detail_page_uri="/worthy-news/" excerpts=true limit=10 pager=true image=thumbnail image_position=left]Worthy Devotions
Elul is unlike any other month. As we mentioned yesterday, it is the 12th month on the civil calendar and the 6th on the prophetic calendar. This dual position gives Elul a unique character — it both closes a cycle and prepares for a new one. That is why the shofar sounds each day during Elul: it is a wake-up call, reminding us to reflect, repent, and return to the Lord before the great and awesome days of the Fall Feasts.
This begins a very special season on God’s calendar — the month of preparation before the Fall Feasts. The month of Elul is unique: it is the 12th month on the civil calendar and the 6th month on the prophetic/biblical calendar. Each day of Elul is marked by the blowing of the shofar, a trumpet call that awakens the soul. These daily blasts prepare our hearts for Yom Teruah (the Feast of Trumpets, Rosh Hashanah) and ultimately for Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement).
We have come to the final meditation in this journey through the Z’roah, the Arm of the LORD. From the Arm that redeemed Israel out of Egypt, to the Arm that pierced the dragon, to the Arm that is coming with reward — all of these revelations lead us here: the Arm that brings His people into rest.
Isaiah’s vision looks ahead — not only to the Arm of the LORD revealed in the Exodus or even in the cross, but to the day when that same Arm will come again in glory. This is not a picture of brute force but of purposeful arrival. The Z’roah — the Arm of the LORD — comes clothed with strength to establish His rule, and He does not come empty-handed. His reward is with Him, and His work is before Him. The promise is sure: He is coming, and He is rewarding.
Isaiah recalls the Exodus as the supreme display of God’s Z’roah, His Arm of glory. Though the people saw Moses raise his staff over the Red Sea, it was not Moses’ power that split the waters. Behind the prophet’s hand was the Arm of the LORD — majestic, glorious, and unstoppable. The sea parted not to honor Moses, but to exalt the Name of the God who sent him. The Red Sea became a stage for God to reveal His glory, so that His Name would echo through generations as the Deliverer of His people.
Jeremiah uttered these words when everything around him looked hopeless. Babylon’s armies surrounded Jerusalem, the city was on the brink of destruction, and yet God told Jeremiah to buy a field as a prophetic sign that restoration would come. The prophet responded in awe: the God who created the heavens and the earth by His outstretched arm (bizroa netuyah) is not bound by human circumstances. The same God who set galaxies in place and boundaries for the seas is the God who still moves to redeem His people. Truly, nothing is too hard for Him.
Isaiah’s words summon one of the most dramatic images of God’s saving power: the Z’roah — the Arm of the LORD — cutting Rahab in pieces and piercing the dragon.
Here, Rahab is not the woman of Jericho but a poetic name for Egypt (Psalm 87:4), often symbolizing arrogant nations and the dark spiritual powers behind them. In Hebrew poetry, Rahab also evokes the sea monster of chaos, a stand-in for the forces that oppose God’s order. To say the Arm “cut Rahab in pieces” is to recall how God shattered Egypt’s pride and broke the grip of the powers that enslaved His people.
Psalm 98 is a victory psalm — a call to lift up a “new song” because the Z’roah, the holy arm of the LORD, has brought decisive triumph. In Hebrew thought, the arm is the active extension of the will, the power that brings intention into reality. To call it “holy” is to declare that it is set apart, dedicated fully to God’s purpose, incapable of corruption. The psalmist celebrates that salvation is not a hidden act, but an open demonstration — God’s righteousness revealed before the eyes of the nations.
This is one of the most intimate revelations of the Z’roah in Scripture. God looks for a human intercessor but finds none. No man can bridge the gap. So His own Arm accomplishes the work. In Hebrew, v’tosha lo zeroa — “His arm saved for Him” — reveals that salvation originates from within God Himself, not from any outside help. Isaiah adds that His own righteousness sustained Him — it upheld His resolve to save — and His fury upheld Him, a holy passion that would not rest until justice was accomplished.
To “bare” the arm means to roll up the sleeve and reveal the full readiness for action. In Isaiah’s prophecy, this is a global unveiling — no longer hidden, the Z’roah is on display for all nations to witness. This speaks directly of Yeshua’s (Jesus’) public ministry and, ultimately, His crucifixion.
This is the code to run Worthy Devotions with Pagination which allows for archive pages.
[worthy_plugins_devotion_list detail_page_uri="/worthy-devotions/" excerpts=true limit=10 pager=true]