Your Worst Nightmare

Everyone has in their mind a worse case scenario. One that would evolve into what might be called 'your worst nightmare'. Such an event would be when everything seems to be rapidly going in the same, wrong direction. Then these occurrences swoosh coterminously, causing a perfect storm for your life.

One overcast morning, way back in the day when I was a commodities trader sitting in the ivory towers of the CME in Chicago, I considered a trade in the platinum market. I was studying the charts on what we would now call an antique computer. A another trader came over and observed the buy/sell action lighting up the screen. "Looks good to me,'" he said. So we got on the phone and called in the trade to New York to buy some contracts. But before he even got done with the call, we watched in horror as the bottom fell out of that market. It was our worse nightmare. The price of platinum was in a free-fall, and we were holding unenviable long positions to buy. After the carnage settled, we discovered that at the very same moment we put in the buy orders, the Ford Motor Company announced that they would no longer be using platinum in their catalytic converters. Demand for that precious metal evaporated in an instant. Bad timing, bad news, bad trade, and we quickly found ourselves in financial Armageddon.

There can be a multitude of things which could materialize and become your worst nightmare. For instance, one scenario might be having Hillary 'What difference does it make?' Clinton, in the White House in 2016. As the drama unfolds, we see she has selected her husband by convenience to be VP. But he never seems to be around. Nancy Pelosi is chosen to write egalitarian legislation for all Facebook users to have at least five-hundred friends. She is currently putting the finishing touches on the ten-thousand page bill to be read after it is passed. Hanger-on Joe Biden leverages himself into position as White House spokesman. Geithner is preparing the Clinton taxes, and Holder decides to study law. Well, you get the Instagram.

Perhaps another scenario that might be your worst nightmare is me. On the surface, what you get is just a poor country preacher. Yet, upon closer examination, you find that in one hand I am holding a trophy to the 2nd Amen-dment, heat, a weapon of choice. In the other hand, a Holy Bible. This supernatural, historically correct book, is an incredible force as described in Hebrews 4:12 (KJV) For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

What is up with the poor country preacher and the tools from his toolbox? Is he simply planning an excursion to the mountains of Pennsylvania, or is there something much more ghastly afoot? Actually, neither.

To the 2nd Amen-dment, the right to bear arms. We need to understand why the first Ten Amendments came to be. At the nascent stages of our country's birth there was great opposition from several colonies to the ratification of our Constitution. They were concerned about the Federal Government having too much power. Sound familiar? Thus, in order to provide another firewall of protection from the Federal Government, the Ten Amendments were added. These Ten Amendments became our Bill of Rights.

The Founding Father's put it all on the line for you and for me. They placed their lives and their fortunes in the destiny of the Supreme Being, towards an experiment in representative government. That experiment was bathed in the Judeo-Christian principles of the Bible. The Founding Father's did so, in order that they, and their offspring to follow, might live in freedom. Just like the Christian story, the tale of America emerges out of much, toil, blood, and sacrifice.

So today, I conceal-carry a gun to honor the vision, the faith, the sacrifice, and the victory of those brave souls who came before me, and left a path of freedom and righteousness for me to follow. I also carry a gun to be able to protect others, in the event of encountering  someone with nefarious intentions to cause harm to others. The right to bear arms is a right that did not come easily, and it is a right that I will not give up.

In the other hand I carry the very word of God. It is our guidebook for this life and the eternal life to come. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 17That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.

There is another reason that I carry the Holy Bible. Within it's binding it gives us the only way to avoid that which is truly our common worst nightmare. I submit to you, that your worst nightmare is to meet your date with death - to die, without being covered in the blood of Jesus.

One day, soon, God will judge sin in the world. Yet because He loves you so much, He provided a way for you to avoid due punishment altogether. That is what the gospel of John 3:16 means when it says, For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

To die in your sins would be your worst nightmare. But the Good News is you do not have to. You just need to make a choice to ask Jesus to be your Savior. The funny thing about death, it stalks everyone, and eventually gets it mark. We can run be we cannot hide from our earthily mortality, Botox or not. Please don't delay. Turn to Jesus, and He will turn to you. Jesus wants to have a relationship with you right now.

Russia, Rebirth, Repentance, and A Moment in Time

Girlie men in Russia? Over the last several years, Russian President Vladimir Putin has been photographed in a multitude of rugged actions shots. Apparently, Putin wants to convey to his countrymen that there ain’t no mountain high enough that he cannot scale. Yet, all of that manly notoriety came to a screeching halt recently, as President Putin and Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev were recently depicted in a painting wearing women’s undergarments. The fall-out from one man’s interpretation of leadership has been swift. The art museum, called The Museum of Power, no longer has any power.  It has been shut down. The artist is in hiding, and is facing a possible one – year jail term. Makes you kind of question why Edward Snowden would want to seek asylum in such a bastion of free speech. I hope it wasn’t an affinity for art. No doubt, Snowden is enjoying his accommodations at the Water Board Inn. If that doesn’t upset him maybe the winter months will. However, I must confess, the white birch forests in that vast and mysterious country are definitely worth a holiday there, as are the good people of Mother Russia.

Another, literally earth-shattering event happened in Russia back in February of this year.  That was when a blinding meteor streaked across the icy Russian sky and exploded over the Ural Mountains located in central Russia. Over 1000 people were injured as the blast sent shockwaves reeling through the Chelyabinsk region of Russia, which is slightly over 900 miles east of Moscow. The USA Today reported the massive power in that blast, “While NASA estimated the meteor was only about the size of a bus and weighed an estimated 7,000 tons, it exploded with the force of 20 atomic bombs.”¹ This was the most powerful meteor to strike humble earth since 1908. At that time, a meteor hit in the Siberian forest. Like I said, Russia is a vast country.
 

These are just a few of the cataclysmic events that have happened in our world as of late. We hear about them, we know about them, and we talk about them. They are reported on extensively – sometimes ad nauseam. Maybe I am guilty of that here.

Back in the mid-20th century there was an event which shook the destiny of time and history. To many, it is simply a footnote in history. But to the core of human events, this episode continues to reverberate in the annals of the spiritual world.

I am talking about what took place on 14 May, in the year of our Lord, 1948. In that epic moment of modern history, one of the most significant biblical prophecies of all was fulfilled. That was the day the scattered Jewish people were brought back together. It was when they became the nation of Israel again.

Before we unpack the impact of this occurrence, let us briefly look at biblical prophecy. Approximately 1/3 of the Bible is prophecy. There are two main topics of those prophecies. One of those is Jesus. There are nearly 330 biblical prophecies about Jesus, which were fulfilled in His thirty-three years among us on earth. That fact alone should make even the most rebellious skeptic look up, and take notice. The second main topic of biblical prophecy is Israel.

Here is a major prophecy on the re-gathering of Israel from the prophet Ezekiel 37:1-14; 21-23 (KJV)

37 The hand of the Lord was upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones, ² And caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold, there were very many in the open valley; and, lo, they were very dry. ³ And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord God, thou knowest. ⁴ Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. ⁵ Thus saith the Lord God unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live: ⁶ And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am the Lord.

⁷ So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone. ⁸ And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above: but there was no breath in them. ⁹ Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord God; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live. ¹⁰ So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army.

¹¹ Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts. ¹² Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. ¹³ And ye shall know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves, ¹⁴ And shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land: then shall ye know that I the Lord have spoken it, and performed it, saith the Lord.

²¹ And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land: ²² And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all. ²³ Neither shall they defile themselves any more with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions: but I will save them out of all their dwelling places, wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse them: so shall they be my people, and I will be their God.

Here is a segment of the declaration from Israel’s rebirth as a nation:

                          The Declaration Of The Establishment Of The State Of Israel

May 14, 1948

ERETZ-ISRAEL (the Land of Israel) was the birthplace of the Jewish people. Here their spiritual, religious and political identity was shaped. Here they first attained to statehood, created cultural values of national and universal significance and gave to the world the eternal Book of Books.

After being forcibly exiled from their land, the people kept faith with it throughout their Dispersion and never ceased to pray and hope for their return to it and for the restoration in it of their political freedom.

After being forcibly exiled from their land, the people kept faith with it throughout their Dispersion and never ceased to pray and hope for their return to it and for the restoration in it of their political freedom.

Impelled by this historic and traditional attachment, Jews strove in every successive generation to re-establish themselves in their ancient homeland. In recent decades they returned in their masses. Pioneers, ma'pilim (immigrants coming to Eretz-Israel in defiance of restrictive legislation) and defenders, they made deserts bloom, revived the Hebrew language, built villages and towns, and created a thriving community controlling its own economy and culture, loving peace but knowing how to defend itself, bringing the blessings of progress to all the country's inhabitants, and aspiring towards independent nationhood.

In the year 5657 (1897), at the summons of the spiritual father of the Jewish State, Theodore Herzl, the First Zionist Congress convened and proclaimed the right of the Jewish people to national rebirth in its own country…

The official language of Israel today, is biblical Hebrew. That means, for the first time in world history, a ‘dead language’ has been resurrected. The desert there is now alive. The contributions to the global community from the Israeli peoples since 1948, has been tremendous. For instance, count the number of Nobel Peace Prize winners they have had, and the reasons they were awarded the prize.

What still shall be fulfilled from the re-gathering prophecy is the spirit to be put in them. Look at Romans 11:26-27 ²⁶ And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: ²⁷ For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.

Israel has been re-gathered. It is now a nation again as foretold, a long time ago, in the Holy Bible. While this event does not dominate our current news, it is universe shattering because it is a major sign of the return of Jesus Christ. We read in His Olivet Discourse in Matthew 24:31 ³¹ And He shall send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

Are you ready for the return of Jesus? What if He were to come today, in this moment? Are you ready to meet Him? Jesus made it easy for us. He gave us a simple invitation in the gospel of Mark 1:14-15 ¹⁴ Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God,¹⁵ And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.

If you haven’t accepted this invitation I urge you to do so now. Consider that the Bible has never been wrong. So, when it says Jesus is coming back it’s gonna’ happen. Girlie men, or no Girlie men, it’s gonna’ happen. Are you ready?

¹www.usatoday/2013/02/15/russiameteorite/192199100.

Obama's War (Again)

Proverbs 27:20 Hell and destruction are never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied. (KJV)
Our Nobel Peace Prize winning president is gearing up for yet, another war. This time around, Syria is in the Oval Office crosshairs. There is no doubt about it, Assad, like the late Saddam Hussein, is a wicked monster who deserves eternal justice sooner than later. But rather than planning methodically by considering history, and building a coalition of nations with a strategic plan, we are riding the emotion train. We have been on this train wreck before with other presidential administrations. For example - one word - Iraq.

The Obama "redline" has been crossed. This would be the second time that this happened, but apparently those WMD deaths from that first event didn't amount to enough human toll. Now we have concrete evidence that chemical weapons have been used against a civilian population. Thus war ships from Britain and the United States are trolling the waters of the Mediterranean. (Thankfully, family members of mine who were just there are now home safely.) Bellicose rhetoric, jittery trigger fingers, and a nonexistent, and incoherent Middle East policy, are leading the charge. The result will be more deaths and another war that we cannot afford. Our enemies will be more emboldened against us and our greatest friend in the region, Israel, will be thrown under the bus as they bear the brunt of retaliation. It is quite amazing how we treat our friends isn't it?

So what of the concrete evidence? James R. Corsi is reporting that it is actually the Syrian rebels who have used the chemical weapons on the innocent civilians. No doubt they would be trying to discredit the Assad regime and pull the United Sates and others into the fray.

Assisting the rebels? Get rid of one monster and what do you have left? We get some help to these questions from Jesus as He was addressing some scribes and Pharisees in Matthew 12:43-45 When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none. Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when his is come, he findeth empty, swept, and garnished. Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation. This same principle applies to inhumane despots. We need to know who will take the throne. When the United Sates and our allies defeated Japan, General MacArthur had a plan for the new Japanese government.

Assisting the rebels? Why do we continue to aid false 'religious' fanatics who hunt down Christians and burn churches? We have given F-16's and borrowed money to them. So let's consider that investment. How many Christians dwell in Iraq today? What's it like to be a Christian in Egypt? How about Christian life in Libya? And the list goes on.

What to do. I agree with former UN Ambassador John Bolton that the problem is Iran. I would add to that equation Saudi Arabia. The Saudi's want Assad gone and so that's it - he is a marked man and a lost soul. Do you remember, where the bulk of 9-11 hijackers came from?

We need to plan methodically. This begins with the lessons of history. Back when Muammer Gaddafi was the Middle East Bad-Boy, president Reagan sent in a serious bombing raid into Libya. Muammer got the message so we didn't need boots on the ground. In fact, Gaddafi went on to assist the West in the 'former War on Terror'. Too bad for Muammer that the Saudi's wanted him gone also. Carefully planned, strategic strikes with brutal force can prevent boots on the ground. Strategy must include goals and exit plans. We just never seem to have any goals and exit strategy that can be communicated.

And then the most important factor of all - the God factor. In 2nd Chronicles chapters 13-16 in the Old Testament, we are reminded of poor King Asa of Judah. He had the example of his father King Abijah in trusting in God for direction before going into battle. The king also had the voice of prophets reminding him that God would not turn away from him if, he, King Asa would not turn from God and would trust in God. In the end, it was Asa not looking to God, and get this - turning to none other than Damascus for help. The result was he and his people were plagued with wars for the rest of his life. Psalm 127:1 Except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it: except the Lord keep the city, that watchman waketh but in vain. We need to seek out our Creator for guidance, or we are doomed from the get go. Human folly never ends well going all the way back to the Garden.

We are being led into another war by a president who has no real grasp of the political complexities of Isalm, the region, and the fate our very fragile economy. More importantly, he does not understand the true spiritual. Therefore, wars and the rumors of wars will continue. People will die horrible deaths. The stock market will go down, crude oil along with gold and silver will rise. And our standing as the leader of the free world will continue to decline. How tragic. How unnecessary.