Saturday, February 7, 2009

Catasrophe

When Israel won the 1967 war with the Arabs and not only defended their original land but took over other land as they pushed their attackers back from whence they came. This is also when they got control of Jerusalem from the Jordanians. This event is referred to in Palestine as "Nakba" which translates to "catasrophe".

It would now appear that the United Methodists may also believe that the creation of Israel was a catasrophe. "I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you", the bible tells us when referring to the Jews.

Read article here; http://www.onenewsnow.com/Church/Default.aspx?id=410322

I wonder if the declining membership in the methodist church has anything to do with how liberal they have become in their understanding of God's word?

Friday, February 6, 2009

Prophetic?

In the article I will link, the talk is about dividing Israel into a two state system or trying a one state system. The one-state system will probably never be accepted by Israel because it would mean that the Jews would lose the majority in a short period of time...and if you lose the majority in a democracy...the majority could soon elect Hamas into Israeli government. No good.

We know that countries who mess with God's Holy Land have a pretty short shelf life, as Jan Markell and other watchers have noted. So when you see the very last sentence of this article, it makes one wonder if it is, indeed, prophetic?

But the new U.S. administration seems engaged where the previous one was not.

Read the full article here; http://www.voanews.com/english/2009-02-06-voa37.cfm

Raped and Brainwashed

This is a sad story. According to the AP, young Arab women are purposefully raped and then sent to a woman "counselor". It turns out that the counselor is actually a woman who works for terrorists and she brainwashes the young women into believing that the only way they can escape the "shame" of being raped...is to strap bombs to themselves and then go blow up civilians...all for the glory of Allah.

Read the article here; http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hwK_CSpBxsNuVUEaDuOwmSSCiqGwD964CM800

And just yesterday I heard from a liberal friend who assured me that all people, everywhere in the world, truly just desire to live in peace, raise their children with a decent education and have some hope for a better tomorrow. Yeah...right. Sadly, these pie-in-the-sky liberals are simply blind to the evil that is at work on this planet. And sadder still...they may now have a majority on the positions of power that will enable them to cast this ignorant belief all over the globe.

Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done.

This is How it Works

During the Gaza operation, the UN came on all the TV's of the world and accused Israel of attacking a UN school. The news report would usually be accompanied by images of people in some country protesting on the streets expressing "outrage" at the visciousness of the "crime". And then a plea would be given for Israel to stop shelling these "innocent" people. And finally the perfunctory picture of the limp Arab girl being carried by six or more Arab men as they run through the street screaming. We've all seen that.

And the anti-semitic feelings grow.

And then three weeks later when the world's TV's are tuned to American Idol, the truth actually comes out;

The United Nations has retracted a claim that an Israeli strike which killed more than 40 people in northern Gaza city of Jabaliya last month hit a school run by a UN agency.

And that report is seen by virtually no one...because CNN and BBC, who were more than happy to report the UN's original claims...are now on to something else.

But the anti-semitic feelings remain.

Read the tiny report here; http://au.news.yahoo.com/a/-/world/5301175/un-retracts-claim-strike-hit-gaza-school/

Best Escuse

As the "investigations" continue of what actually happened during the Israeli operation in Gaza, there are some NGO's (Non-Governmental-Organizaitons) who are claiming that Israel commited war crimes, such as targeting civilians. And whenever someone from Amnesty International goes on TV and reports about all the dastardly deeds done by Israel...it seems to make the international news.

So how about Hamas? Do the NGO's look into reports of war crimes commited by them?...such as shooting Palestinian citizens in the back of the head with no trial, or throwing members of Fatah off of tall buildings, or shooting Palestinians in the legs if they refuse to let their homes be used by Hamas to launch missiles, or hiding munitions in schools? Do they look into all of those things so they can report them to international news? I guess not, and here's why;

Human rights groups argued Wednesday that a detailed probe into Hamas's firing of Kassam rockets at Israeli communities is not necessary, because it constitutes such a "blatant" war crime. By contrast, Israel's actions are more complex, and therefore do require such investigation, they said.

So to restate the above...organizations like Amnesty don't feel it's necessary to report or investigate Hamas because it's so obvious they are commiting war crimes that it requires no report!! But Amnesty DOES need to investigate Israel because Israel says it's NOT commiting war crimes, so Amnesty has to investigate Israel to see if that's true. I guess that's a great excuse to show dead and burned Arab children and just let the world assume that Israeli actions were the cause.

Can you see how this gives rise to anti-semitism?

Read the full JP article here; http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1233304687815&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Damascus a Heap of Ruins

One of the things we are watching for is a serious confrontation between Israel and Syria. Why?...because Isaiah 17 clearly says that Damascus will be a ruinous heap and a pasture for sheep. This has never happened, but the bible clearly says it will...and so it will.

So when a Major General from Israel says that they are on a collision course with Syria, we have to perk up a bit and see what is being said.

Read it here; http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1233304677134&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull#

One way I could see this coming about would be if Hezbollah in Lebanon, Syria, Iran and Hamas all started wars with Israel at the same time. If the huge missiles that Syria has, started raining down on Tel Aviv and the IDF was engaged on two other fronts and couldn't immediately stop them...it may be a possibility that Israel could use one of it's smaller nukes to instantly stop the barrage coming from Syria.

"In the evening, sudden terror! Before the morning, they are gone!" Isaiah 17:14

The Rift is Widening

As we have pointed out in the past, when the bible foretold in Genesis that the descendants of Ishmael will be "a wild donkey of a man; his hand will be against everyone and everyone's hand against him, and he will live in hostility toward all his brothers." (Genesis 16:12), it appears that the bible was right-on in this explantion of the Arab nations.

Since the Gaza incursion, we have seen the rift open between these Arab nations and it is continuing to widen. In the article below we can see him cast scorn at Hamas and lay the blame for Palestinian deaths at their feet.

"The resistance must take into account victories and losses. It is responsible for the people, who in turn should settle the score [with the resistance] over the gains it has achieved, but also the sacrifices, the pain and the destruction it has caused," he said.

Read full article here; http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1061472.html

Of course these statements will probably explode in the arab world and the religion-of-hate will probably call for blood to be spilled to atone for these comments...even if they are true.

Ever

In our continuing attempt to collect statements from around the world that make claims like "biggest ever" or "largest ever" or "worst ever"...I have a few more to add. This first one came from a financial site emailed to me.

BAD START - The S&P 500 lost 8.4% in January 2009, its worst total return performance in the first month of any calendar year ever. The stock index lost 6.0% in January 2008. The S&P 500 has suffered a total return loss in 11 of the last 15 months. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index of 500 widely held stocks that is generally considered representative of the US stock market (source: BTN Research).

The other one I heard on the national news yesterday. They were doing a report from Kentucky on the devastating ice storm that has wreaked havoc on that state and left thousands without heat, water or electricty. When they talked to the Governor, he said, "This is the worst natural disaster in Kentucky's recorded history."

So ask yourselves...is this just business as usual, or is there something larger that is going on?

Open Disobedience

I'm pretty sure that if God put something in the 10 Commandments...He feels pretty strongly about it. So when he tells us to stay away from other people's wives and husbands (adultery) we should probably listen. But hey?!...who want's to listen to God anymore?...that's not any fun! So in the spirit of the times in which we live, there is now a website dedicated to married people looking to "hook up" with other married people. And with no shame whatsoever, the site tried to buy advertising during the Super Bowl but the ad was only allowed to run on certain local stations who were enticed by the advertising revenue.

AshleyMadison.com CEO Noel Biderman said he started the service in 2001, after reading that 30 percent of the people signing up for singles dating services were actually married.

“I thought, wouldn’t it be better to be honest about your status?” he said. “About 3.3 million members and tens of millions of dollars later, I think I was right.”

Today, the Toronto-based company is focusing on Texas because Houston, Dallas and San Antonio represent its fastest-growing markets.

“We’ve had close to a quarter-million members join in the past few months,” Biderman said.


This is exactly how sin becomes ingrained and accepted in our culture. 20 years ago it would have been unbelievable that Channel 11 in the Twin Cities would run an ad featuring two gay men advertising a gay-chat-line as a way for gay men to hook up for sex. Now those ads are on every night...right along with the heterosexual-chat-lines which promise the callers fornication and lust...which are equally disobedient.

Read article here; http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/hotstories/6243271.html

It seems that with every move this society makes...we draw one step closer to inviting God's wrath.

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Deception is Coming!

Jesus tells us in Matthew 24:4, "Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am the Christ', and will deceive many."

We know that Jesus spoke these words to his disciples as they had asked him about the end of the age. Well it sure seems that those days are here...or really close.

Check out this blurb that appeared in the WSJ Market Watch as an announcement from Share International;

LOS ANGELES, Dec 12, 2008 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- For years the world has been filled with miracles of all kinds. In April 1995 Time magazine devoted an eight-page spread to its cover story on miracles and concluded: "People are hungry for signs."

Look now for the biggest miracle of all. In the very near future a large, bright star will appear in the sky visible to all throughout the world -- night and day.

Unbelievable? Fantasy? No, a simple fact. Around a week later, Maitreya, the World Teacher for all humanity, will begin his open emergence and -- though not yet using the name Maitreya -- will be interviewed on a major US television program.


Read the full article here...it's amazing; http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/Share-International-Reveals-Christmas-Miracle/story.aspx?guid=%7B9A9C5B6B-E962-411A-B219-B5A559182416%7D

From that article, you can visit the site of Share International. Once there you can read what they say is coming;

Many now expect the return of their awaited Teacher, whether they call him the Christ, Messiah, the fifth Buddha, Krishna, or the Imam Mahdi. Millions now know that the Teacher who fulfills all these expectations is already living among us.

Maitreya, the World Teacher, has not come alone, but with a group of wise Teachers who have long guided humanity from behind the scenes.

They are returning to the everyday world to help us solve our most critical global problems. Maitreya is not a religious leader, but an educator in the broadest sense.


Visit there site here to read for yourselves; http://www.share-international.org/

Now remember the words of 1 Timothy 4:1 "The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons."

Will your faith stand? Pray to God for wisdom and discernment. Pray the Lord's prayer, "Thy Kingdom come" and "Deliver us from evil". We have mumbled that prayer since we were little kids, but have we fervently prayed it?? Have we really understood the severity of what we are asking for everytime we pray it??

Dividing Holy Land

We all know that the bible cast's severe warnings on any country that messes with God's land. As the talk continues to heat up for "mideast peace", watch for more and more pressure to be put on Israel to give up land in exchange for peace.

I'm not sure why Israel would ever consider this plan again as it has been tried before and within days of giving up land, the Arabs declare "victory" over the "evil Zionists" and start launching missiles or planning the next suicide attack in an attempt to garnish even more "land for peace".

When Bush was president there was a frightening trend that started to pressure the Jews to divide their land. Now it appears that pressure may be building under Obama. Read full article here; http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=87860

If this article is true, Obama may be off to a great start with "The World"....but he is getting off to a very bad start in God's economy. In his first days in office he has signed laws making it easier to kill God's creation's using abortion, he has embraced the homosexual agenda (complete with a gay marching band at his innauguration), and now he may be getting set to meddle in God's land. It doesn't look good for this nation if our leadership keeps sticking their fingers in God's eye.

Monday, February 2, 2009

Soldier's Letter

The letter that I will post below, was written by an Israeli soldier and was left in a Palestinian home that he and other soldiers used during the Gaza skirmish.

Dear Citizen of Gaza,
by Yishai G (a reserve soldier)
I am the soldier who slept in your home.


Hello,
While the world watches the ruins in Gaza, you return to your home which remains standing. However, I am sure that it is clear to you that someone was in your home while you were away.


I am that someone.
I spent long hours imagining how you would react when you walked into your home. How you would feel when you understood that IDF soldiers had slept on your mattresses and used your blankets to keep warm.

I knew that it would make you angry and sad and that you would feel this violation of the most intimate areas of your life by those defined as your enemies, with stinging humiliation. I am convinced that you hate me with unbridled hatred, and you do not have even the tiniest desire to hear what I have to say. At the same time, it is important for me to say the following in the hope that there is even the minutest chance that you will hear me.

I spent many days in your home. You and your family's presence was felt in every corner. I saw your family portraits on the wall, and I thought of my family. I saw your wife's perfume bottles on the bureau, and I thought of my wife. I saw your children's toys and their English language schoolbooks. I saw your personal computer and how you set up the modem and wireless phone next to the screen, just as I do.

I wanted you to know that despite the immense disorder you found in your house that was created during a search for explosives and tunnels (which were indeed found in other homes), we did our best to treat your possessions with respect. When I moved the computer table, I disconnected the cables and lay them down neatly on the floor, as I would do with my own computer. I even covered the computer from dust with a piece of cloth. I tried to put back the clothes that fell when we moved the closet although not the same as you would have done, but at least in such a way that nothing would get lost.

I know that the devastation, the bullet holes in your walls and the destruction of those homes near you place my descriptions in a ridiculous light. Still, I need you to understand me, us, and hope that you will channel your anger and criticism to the right places.

I decided to write you this letter specifically because I stayed in your home.

I can surmise that you are intelligent and educated and there are those in your household that are university students. Your children learn English, and you are connected to the Internet. You are not ignorant; you know what is going on around you.

Therefore, I am sure you know that Qassam rockets were launched from your neighborhood into Israeli towns and cities.

How could you see these weekly launches and not think that one day we would say "enough"?! Did you ever consider that it is perhaps wrong to launch rockets at innocent civilians trying to lead a normal life, much like you? How long did you think we would sit back without reacting?

I can hear you saying "it's not me, it's Hamas". My intuition tells me you are not their most avid supporter. If you look closely at the sad reality in which your people live, and you do not try to deceive yourself or make excuses about "occupation", you must certainly reach the conclusion that the Hamas is your real enemy.

The reality is so simple, even a seven year old can understand: Israel withdrew from the Gaza strip, removing military bases and its citizens from Gush Katif. Nonetheless, we continued to provide you with electricity, water, and goods (and this I know very well as during my reserve duty I guarded the border crossings more than once, and witnessed hundreds of trucks full of goods entering a blockade-free Gaza every day).

Despite all this, for reasons that cannot be understood and with a lack of any rational logic, Hamas launched missiles on Israeli towns. For three years we clenched our teeth and restrained ourselves. In the end, we could not take it anymore and entered the Gaza strip, into your neighborhood, in order to remove those who want to kill us. A reality that is painful but very easy to explain.

As soon as you agree with me that Hamas is your enemy and because of them, your people are miserable, you will also understand that the change must come from within. I am acutely aware of the fact that what I say is easier to write than to do, but I do not see any other way. You, who are connected to the world and concerned about your children's education, must lead, together with your friends, a civil uprising against Hamas.

I swear to you, that if the citizens of Gaza were busy paving roads, building schools, opening factories and cultural institutions instead of dwelling in self pity, arms smuggling and nurturing a hatred to your Israeli neighbors, your homes would not be in ruins right now. If your leaders were not corrupt and motivated by hatred, your home would not have been harmed. If someone would have stood up and shouted that there is no point in launching missiles on innocent civilians, I would not have to stand in your kitchen as a soldier.

You don't have money, you tell me? You have more than you can imagine.

Even before Hamas took control of Gaza, during the time of Yasser Arafat, millions if not billions of dollars donated by the world community to the Palestinians was used for purchasing arms or taken directly to your leaders bank accounts. Gulf States, the emirates - your brothers, your flesh and blood, are some of the richest nations in the world. If there was even a small feeling of solidarity between Arab nations, if these nations had but the smallest interest in reconstructing the Palestinian people - your situation would be very different.

You must be familiar with Singapore. The land mass there is not much larger than the Gaza strip and it is considered to be the second most populated country in the world. Yet, Singapore is a successful, prospering, and well managed country. Why not the same for you?

My friend, I would like to call you by name, but I will not do so publicly. I want you to know that I am 100% at peace with what my country did, what my army did, and what I did. However, I feel your pain. I am sorry for the destruction you are finding in your neighborhood at this moment. On a personal level, I did what I could to minimize the damage to your home as much as possible.

In my opinion, we have a lot more in common than you might imagine. I am a civilian, not a soldier, and in my private life I have nothing to do with the military. However, I have an obligation to leave my home, put on a uniform, and protect my family every time we are attacked. I have no desire to be in your home wearing a uniform again and I would be more than happy to sit with you as a guest on your beautiful balcony, drinking sweet tea seasoned with the sage growing in your garden.

The only person who could make that dream a reality is you. Take responsibility for yourself, your family, your people, and start to take control of your destiny. How? I do not know. Maybe there is something to be learned from the Jewish people who rose up from the most destructive human tragedy of the 20th century, and instead of sinking into self-pity, built a flourishing and prospering country. It is possible, and it is in your hands.

I am ready to be there to provide a shoulder of support and help to you.But only you can move the wheels of history.

Regards,
Yishai

Who Are These Devils?

Now that the Gaza-Israel conflict is off the front page and the media is on to something else...the truth is starting to come out. And the truth is what we always suspected, mainly that Hamas was abusing it's own citzens in the war with Israel.

We know they set up rocket launchers in schools but we also now learn that they would shoot fellow Palestinians in the legs if they refused to allow their homes to be used as launch pads. So if Hamas showed up at their door, they were given a choice; 1) let us launch missiles from your rooftop which means that IDF will blow up your house, or 2) we will shoot you in the legs right now and you can drag yourself around Gaza for the rest of your days.

Obviously, Satan is alive and well in Hamas. But we are now finding out the Tony Blair, Jimmy Carter and others have been negotiating with the devil. Heaven help us if we turn our backs on Israel and strike a deal with the devil himself.

Read article here; http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1233304655613&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

Sunday, February 1, 2009

God Touched our god

It seems the world's best and brightest, meeting in Switzerland, have left the conference without any ideas on how to fix the global economic meltdown.

"No one seems to have a clear understanding of how big this crisis is and what we need to do to get out of it." he told AP. "My own view is that you really need to do a fundamental reexamination of the whole global system to see what went wrong, and nobody here is yet ready to ask these kinds of fundamental questions in Davos."

It appears that maybe the world's leaders are still in denial as to the severity of the crisis...and also may be denial of telling their constituents about the severe pain that is yet to come.

In the OT when Solomon was king, the Israelites became the wealthiest kingdom the world had ever seen. There was no end to the gold, food, horses and chariots that God bestowed on His people. But disobedience soon followed. Afterall, who needs God when you have all this great stuff? So when the people forgot who gave them all the great stuff....their blessings quickly disappeared. And Israel was split in two, and soon was overrun by it's enemies. God put his finger on their god of wealth. Is he doing that to the world today? As the world's leaders have all worshiped at the altar of wealth and technology, God is going to show us just how weak that god is. Our God is a jealous God and he wants us all to know that He is never changing and is soon coming back to settle all accounts.

Read the Switzerland article here; http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/01/AR2009020100539.html

Could U.S. go Bankrupt?

In discussions I have with people, I have been reminding some that many countries have "failed" throughout history...simply by mismanaging their money and getting caught in a "perfect storm". I further explain that this most certainly could (and eventually will) happen to the U.S. Sometimes the response I get from the listener is, "That could never happen in the U.S. We have too many checks, balances and safety nets put in place from lessons we learned from the Great Depression."

It's hard for me to understand how arrogant we have become and to wonder how it is that so many smart people can have so little knowledge of global history. Countries and governments come and go all the time....they always have and they always will AND THAT INCLUDES US.

"There's a rumor going around that states cannot go bankrupt," German Chancellor Angela Merkel said recently at a private bank event in Frankfurt. "This rumor is not true."

In Europe, some are starting to sound the alarm as Iceland has failed and many think some European states could be next.

"I wouldn't invest any more money in Great Britain," says American investor Jim Rogers. And economist Willem Buiter, a former consultant to the Bank of England, warns of the "risk that Great Britain will become a second Iceland."

In the same German article that these quotes came from is another that I hope our leaders are reading; Countries can go bankrupt if they allow their deficit spending to spin out of control and are no longer able to service their interest payments.

Read full article here; http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,604523,00.html

As the U.S. leaders debate another $800 Billion package to put on top of a $700 Billion package last year...I hope they remember one simple math concept; if you can't make the interest payments on your debt then you will be bankrupt. And as the U.S. tax revenues plummet the demand for social services is skyrocketing. That can only go on for so long.