Worthy News
A federal judge in Minnesota has imposed new limits on how federal immigration agents may respond to protesters, a decision that comes as authorities investigate the disruption of a Christian worship service in St. Paul by anti-ICE agitators—an incident that has intensified concerns over public order, religious freedom, and the rule of law.
The lowest number of illegal border crossings were reported for the first quarter of a fiscal year in U.S. history in President Donald Trump’s first year in office.
U.S. senators have left town for a week-long recess, leaving themselves only five days to pass the six remaining federal government funding bills.
Israel’s government has issued an unusually blunt public objection to the Trump administration’s announcement of a U.S.-led executive body intended to oversee the next phase of Gaza’s postwar transition, exposing rare friction between Jerusalem and Washington as the ceasefire moves into its most contentious stage.
U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday openly called for new leadership in Iran, directly challenging Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei amid the bloodiest unrest the Islamic Republic has faced in decades. Trump’s remarks mark his sharpest escalation yet toward Tehran as mass protests and a brutal crackdown have left thousands of Iranians dead and tens of thousands arrested.
Iran’s Islamic rulers have jailed more Christians amid a brutal crackdown on nationwide protests that a network of Iranian doctors says has killed up to 18,000 people.
The European Union was considering Sunday to hit the United States with 93 billion euros ($108 billion) worth of tariffs or restrict American companies from the bloc’s market in response to U.S. President Donald J. Trump’s threats to allies opposed to his efforts to take over Greenland.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Russia is deliberately targeting Ukraine’s nuclear-linked energy system in an effort to freeze the country into submission by crippling its power grid, as millions endure another harsh winter amid relentless Russian strikes that have killed and injured civilians.
Unprecedented military and trade tensions flared Saturday between Europe and the United States after U.S. President Donald J. Trump vowed to impose new tariffs on European allies sending troops to Greenland, Denmark’s vast Arctic island.
Egypt and Sudan have welcomed an offer by U.S. President Donald J. Trump to resume American mediation efforts with Ethiopia to resolve a long-running dispute over Nile River waters, amid renewed tensions following the completion of Ethiopia’s massive hydroelectric dam.
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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.
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