VIX Indicator

There is fear indicator that the stock market uses.  It's called the VIX.  When it is low it means that investors aren't really worried about anything.  And right now it is very low.

Since we know that people as a whole are really not very bright...this can be concerning.

Think about it.  When the tech stock boom was going in the late 1990's everyone thought the dot.com stocks were going to go up forever.  When those broke apart everyone then believed that real estate was going to go up forever.  People are like the lemmings of the Arctic Circle that all run off a cliff to their deaths every so often.  They always do it in a large stampede.

So when people don't think there is anything that can go wrong...it usually means that things are about to go dreadfully wrong.

The VIX (Chicago Options: ^VIX) or fear gauge is at the lowest level since July 2007. Not only are investors complacent about any possible risk, but the financial media is too complacent to write about investors lack of fear.

Lack of publicity of a bearish indictor usually increases the potency of its message. Does this mean the stock rally is about over?

This doesn't mean stocks can't go any higher, but just as a sore throat often leads to a cold, an ultra-low VIX reading can easily lead to a pronounced sell off.

Here;  http://finance.yahoo.com/news/vix-near-5-low-jinx-163201735.html

I mean, think about it....did Greece's problems just magically disappear over the past few weeks just because the U.S. stock market went up?  Are 45,000,000 U.S. citizens on food stamps suddenly forgotten about just because the stock market had a rally?  Are broken families led by huge divorce rates all going to heal because the DOW is up?  Is a war between Israel and Iran not a concern to anyone just becase the S & P 500 has been trending up?  Did the $50 trillion shortfall in Social Security and Medicare all go by the wayside in the past few weeks?

The list just goes on and on.

But just like the ostrich that puts its head in the sand believes that if he can't see it...it simply doesn't exist....it seems like the financial media has just recently stuck its head in the sand.

"Clear sailing as far as the eye can see!"....is usually a sign that a serious storm is weeks or months away.

Is the DOW the god of this country?...or is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob the Creator of the Universe?  Or can we have both?

I think not.

Heat Records Shattered

There is a town in Minnesota up on the Canadian border called International Falls.  For the past 140 years the highest temperature ever recorded on March 17 was 55 degrees.

Today it got to 77 degrees...so the record was broken by 22 degrees.

All the weatherman could say was, "Crazy!"

So I have to admit that it has been really nice to have all this warm weather.  Who needs to go to Arizona for winter vacation?

But I also have to wonder what the heck is going on?  There have been thousands of heat records broken all over the country.

Of course the farmers here are getting very concerned.  We had really no snow in most of the state and the last significant rain we had was on July 25.

Of course it could start raining and put us all back to normal...but it does make us reflect on Christ's words...."There will be famine."

Mufti Calls for Destruction of All Churches

 People...people...Islam is a religion of peace!  There's just a few bad apples...but let's not let it spoil the cider of this wonderful Abrahamic faith.  Come on now...let's just close our eyes and sing....Kum ba Yah my lord...Kum ba yah....join hands now!

According to several Arabic news sources, last Monday, Sheikh Abdul Aziz bin Abdullah, the Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia, declared that it is "necessary to destroy all the churches of the region."

The Grand Mufti made his assertion in response to a question posed by a delegation from Kuwait: a Kuwaiti parliament member recently called for the "removal" of churches (he later "clarified" by saying he merely meant that no churches should be built in Kuwait), and the delegation wanted to confirm Sharia's position on churches.

Accordingly, the Grand Mufti "stressed that Kuwait was a part of the Arabian Peninsula, and therefore it is necessary to destroy all churches in it."

As with many grand muftis before him, the Sheikh based his proclamation on the famous tradition, or hadith, wherein the prophet of Islam declared on his deathbed that "There are not to be two religions in the [Arabian] Peninsula," which has always been interpreted to mean that only Islam can be practiced in the region.

While the facts of this account speak for themselves, consider further:
Sheikh Abdul Aziz bin Abdullah is not just some random Muslim hating on churches. He is the Grand Mufti of the nation that brought Islam to the world. Moreover, he is the President of the Supreme Council of Ulema [Islamic scholars] and Chairman of the Standing Committee for Scientific Research and Issuing of Fatwas. Accordingly, when it comes to what Islam teaches, his words are immensely authoritative.

Here;  http://www.meforum.org/3191/saudi-church-destruction

Seriously, I wonder what Islam would have to do to convince the folks who insist on keeping their head in the sand...nuke Israel??  I wonder if that would even change their tone?

I doubt it.  The deception is running so deep and so strong that I doubt there is anything Islam could say or do that would change their minds.  I'm guessing they would probably mutter under their breath, "well, they pretty much deserved it."

Hat tip to Tom F.

Global Weirding Continues

Here in Minnesota we continue to bask in 75 degree weather...which is weird enough. 

Yesterday Michigan had a tornado...and yes, that is "rare'...

This storm formed in a Severe Thunderstorm Watch, but no one expected tornadoes to form out of it today. With less than 2% tornado chances across the entire country, this tornado being in Michigan and during March is a rare catch for any storm chaser.

Experts are saying the overall shear was not conductive for tornadoes, but their may be a reason as to why this formed.
"Overall the severe thunderstorm watch was fine for the event," said TheWeatherSpace.com Senior Meteorologist Kevin Martin. "I see nothing wrong with them not having a tornado watch up for this event. The atmosphere did not support tornado dynamics until just before the tornado dropped. Intersecting boundaries are what caused this supercell to produce and more will produce in Eastern Michigan."

Here;  http://www.theweatherspace.com/news/TWS-31512-dexter-michigan-tornado-march.html

I wonder if one possible other reason is that God is getting ready to do something REALLY big...and he wants us all to wake up and pay attention.

If you don't wake up, then I will come upon you like a thief.

PS...Just heard the weather man say that it has been 80 degrees for 3 days in a row in Chicago...and that has NEVER before happened in March.

Democrats Pressure Obama to Approve Gay Marriage

The gay marriage approvals seem to be flooding in on us.  There have been a few more states that have approved it in the past few weeks and now is being discussed by many others.

What the liberals really want now is for their hero, Obama, to come out and say that he now approves.

WASHINGTON – More Americans are embracing gay marriage, adding to calls from Democrats for President Barack Obama -- who has said he is not sure where he stands -- to publicly express his support before the November elections.

Obama opposes gay marriage, but for nearly the last 18 months has said his views are "evolving." Now he is under pressure to make support for gay marriage part of his party's election platform when he formally accepts the Democratic nomination in September.

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, chairman of the Democratic National Convention, said last week that a gay-marriage plank should be part of the platform, echoing recent comments from House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). Gay-rights activists say they have been making the case to the White House that polls show Obama has little to lose politically if he endorses gay marriage.

AND NOW HE IS A VERY SCARY STATISTIC:

Forty-nine percent of Americans now say they approve of gay marriage, up from 40 percent shortly after Obama took office in 2009.

Here;  http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/03/12/democrats-pressure-obama-to-endorse-gay-marriage/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+foxnews%2Fpolitics+%28Internal+-+Politics+-+Text%29&utm_content=Google+Reader

49% now approve??  If those 49% are vocal and active, I'm guessing that is a big enough number to make the gay agenda flood the entire USA.  And of course if we see an increase from 40% to 49% over the course of just a few years....what happens if we give it a few more years?...Could we soon be at 70%-80% approval??

Of course we know what is going to happen to those of us who continue to claim that gay sex is perverse....we will become the small minority.  If that day comes, will we continue to speak things which please God or will we be more concerned about speaking to please men? 

What happens if they threaten our churches with the loss of the tax-free status if they refuse to marry gays or if they are caught reading Romans 1:27?  Will we be silenced if they take our church building?

"Awww Dennis...that ain't never gonna happen...this is America!  There is only roses, ice cream and apple pie in our glorious future as far as the eye can see!  Did you see the stock market is back up?"

I hope you are right...but I'm saying that the Word of God says you are wrong.

Israel Ambassador Keeps Door Open to Iran Strike

Lots of talk this past week on striking Iran.  And today we can add another headline right off the front page of Google News.

(CBS News) Israel's ambassador to the United States reiterated the possibility of his country striking Iran over its nuclear program, saying on "CBS This Morning" Thursday that the nation "has not just the right but the duty and the ability to defend itself."

Ambassador Michael Oren dismissed comments made by Israel's former spy chief in an interview broadcast on CBS' "60 Minutes" Sunday in opposition to Israel launching a pre-emptive strike on Iran's nuclear program. Israel and the United States have accused Iran of trying to use the program to develop nuclear weapons, which Iran has denied.

"Listen, at the end of the day, the person who has the make the decisions are the democratically elected leaders of Israel as in the United States," Oren told Charlie Rose.

President Obama wants to use economic sanctions and diplomacy to pressure Iran, a strategy which Oren said Israel agreed with but wouldn't say for how long.

"America, big country, has a big window, looks out that window and sees the Middle East far away; Israel, a small country with a very small window, we look out that window and we see Iran in our backyard," said Oren. "Prime Minister Netanyahu said the other day that we're not talking about years but we're not talking about days and weeks either."

Here; http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-250_162-57397940/israel-ambassador-keeps-door-open-to-iran-strike/

As we have said in the past, Obama is concerned about his re-election...Israel is concerned about its existence. 

Of course Israel is going to have a drastically different world view on an Iranian nuke than America is.  America is already planning on "containing" Iran when it gets a nuke...just like what they are doing with North Korea.  Israel has clearly said that Iran having a nuke is unacceptable. 

Events on the ground can change in a hurry, but as of now it sure seems like a military showdown is coming.

"There will be wars and rumors of wars."

Christians; Quit Wearing Crosses to Work

This case of Christians being told that they can't wear crosses while at work is currently playing out in Britain...but you can see how the same case could be coming to America sooner than we know.

In a highly significant move, ministers will fight a case at the European Court of Human Rights in which two British women will seek to establish their right to display the cross.

It is the first time that the Government has been forced to state whether it backs the right of Christians to wear the symbol at work.

A document seen by The Sunday Telegraph discloses that ministers will argue that because it is not a “requirement” of the Christian faith, employers can ban the wearing of the cross and sack workers who insist on doing so.

The Government’s position received an angry response last night from prominent figures including Lord Carey, the former Archbishop of Canterbury.

He accused ministers and the courts of “dictating” to Christians and said it was another example of Christianity becoming sidelined in official life.

Here;  http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/9136191/Christians-have-no-right-to-wear-cross-at-work-says-Government.html

What?  No cross necklace?  No cross earings?  No cross on your belt?

Hmmm.... I wonder if they will tell the Muslims that they can't wear the hajib or burqua anymore...or that they can't pray on the ground facing east during coffee break?

Naww....that would probably upset the Muslims too much...and we can't do that because angry Muslims are kind of scary and can be kind of disruptive.

U.S. Warns Iran, Quit or Be Attacked

It's an election year and now Obama seems to have sent a message to Iran via the Russians, "Quit cooking a nuclear weapon or you will be attacked before the end of the year."

I wonder if this tough talk has anything to do with the fact that Obama needs the Jewish vote to win 4 more years?

The United States asked Russia to send Iran a message that the upcoming round of nuclear talks is its last chance to avoid a military confrontation this year, Russian newspaper Kommersant reported Wednesday according to a diplomatic source.

The unusually stark warning by the US was passed on by Secretary of State Hilary Clinton to her Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov, after the two met in New York on Monday, the diplomatic source told the Russian newspaper.

The source said pressure from Jerusalem on Washington was forcing the latter to support a military option within the year in order to stop Tehran from developing a nuclear bomb.

"The invasion will happen before the year's end," the source told Kommersant. "The Israelis are, in effect, blackmailing Obama: either he supports the war, or he risks losing the support [of the Jewish lobby]" the year of US presidential elections.

Here;  http://www.jpost.com/IranianThreat/News/Article.aspx?id=261804

We always figured that 2012 was going to be a really interesting year.  Lighting up Iran will no doubt add to the interesting events that have already happened.

Rick Warren's Folly

Man-o-man!  More Rick Warren talk!  Let's review...first off an article comes out and says Rick Warren believes that Muslims and Christians worship the same God.  Then Rick Warren comes out and says that it isn't true and that he DOESN'T believe that but was misquoted.  We posted Rick's clarification yesterday.

Now today, we have a Rick Warren watcher who says, "Not so fast cowboy!"

See, trouble is back in 2007, Mr. Warren was one of several other Christian leaders who endorsed a document called, A Common Word Between Us and You at the Yale Divinity School, which says within the first few lines that “many Christians have been guilty of sinning against our Muslim neighbors. Before we ‘shake your hand’ in responding to your letter, we ask forgiveness of the All-Merciful One and of the Muslim community around the world.”

The title, All-Merciful One is what most Muslims call the Islamic god, Allah. Although Christians know that Jehovah is also all merciful, we don’t refer to Him the same way. As much as Mr. Warren desires to distance himself from this controversy, this isn’t the first time this issue has come up. Let’s look back at the shocking prayer he gave at President Obama’s inauguration. He ended his invocation by stating that he was “praying to the one who changed my life, Yeshua, Isa, Jesus, Jesus (Hispanic pronunciation) who taught…”

Whoa, back up there cowboy…”Isa”??? Who the heck is Isa? Oh, he must have meant the Islamic pronunciation of the historical Jesus. But now I’m confused…he denies ever implying that the Son of God we Christians worship, Jesus Christ, is the same as the Muslim’s Isa. And he couldn’t have been talking about the Christian Arab’s Jesus because they pronounce His name, Yasu. So if that’s the case, who was he praying to at the inauguration??

Here; http://raptureready.com/soap/wasson23.html

Of course Donna is right on this...Isa IS NOT JESUS.  So who are you praying to if you open up a prayer with your Muslim neighbor and say, "Dear God, Allah, Merciful One, Isa, Jesus,...we thank you for this food...."

Hat tip to Jared F.

Gaza is Iran

We know that rockets have been flying out of Gaza into Israel.  We know that Israel has been responding by doing air strikes against Hamas militants in Gaza.  What we do not know is how far this violence may escalate.

So where do the Gazan's get their rockets?  Where do they get the money to buy them?

Iran is the primary actor responsible for escalations in the Gaza Strip, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said Wednesday. "Gaza is Iran," the prime minister told a special Knesset session in which he was obligated to speak.

Connecting the recent round of violence in Gaza and the Iranian nuclear threat, Netanyahu said he is not prepared to accept a situation in which the country, which backs terrorist groups, becomes a nuclear power.

The prime minister went on to lay blame for Iran's influence in the Strip on the 2005 Gaza Disengagement Plan and those politicians who supported it. "You inserted Iran into Gaza," he told members of Knesset.

In general, and regarding the Iranian threat in particular, Netanyahu praised Israel's alliance with the United States but said Israel's ability and right to defend itself was even more important .

During his recent trip to Washington, during which he met with US President Barack Obama, Netanyahu paraphrased former prime minister Menachem Begin to explain why he emphasized and reiterated Israel's right to defend itself.

"Israel has never put its fate in the hands of others and that is my primary responsibility as prime minister," he said.

Here; http://www.jpost.com/DiplomacyAndPolitics/Article.aspx?id=261860

So let's reflect on these statements a little bit....if the leader of Israel just said that Gaza is Iran...and he has said they will attack Iran BEFORE they would allow her to have nuclear weapons....and Gaza has become a proxy of Iran....and Gaza is mentioned as a player in the Psalm 83 war...and Israel may soon go into Gaza...which would send a message to Iran....and Iran is a player in the Ezekiel 38 coalition....

It just makes us wonder if we are on the very edge of seeing the events of Psalm 83 play out?

Of course the stock market went up yesterday and the morning news was all a flutter with banks passing stress tests, jobs being added, auto makers gathering record profits, the Fed giving guarded positive comments, etc...  This also makes us wonder if Americans will start to forget about earthquakes, famines, floods, droughts, wars, Israel being isolated, coalitions building between Iran, Turkey and Russia...as they start believing that a rising U.S. economy makes all the other signs disappear?

It's almost as if the more signs that God sends to wake us up....the more people become immune to them and fall into a deeper sleep.

"If you don't wake up I will come upon you like a thief."

Rick Warren Clarifies

A few weeks ago we did a post on Rick Warren and some things that he reportedly said.  We didn't write the article, but we did a link to it.

Today a reader sent me these comments from Rick Warren where I think he does a great job clarifying some things that the reporter said, but that Rick Warren says he never said.

QUESTION: A recent newspaper article claimed you believe Christians and Muslims worship the same God, that you are “in partnership” with a mosque, and that you both agreed to “not evangelize each other.” You immediately posted a brief refutation online. Can you expand on that?

WARREN: Sure. All three of those statements are flat out wrong. Those statements were made by a reporter, not by me. I did not say them . . . I do not believe them . . . I completely disagree with them . . . and no one even talked to me about that article! So let me address each one individually: First, as I’ve already said, Christians have a fundamentally different view of God than Muslims. We worship Jesus as God. Muslims don’t. Our God is Jesus, not Allah. Colossians 2:9 says “For in Christ dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.” Second, while we urge our members to build friendships with everyone in our community, including Muslims and other faiths, (“Love your neighbor as yourself”), our church has never had any partnership with a mosque. Friendship and partnership are two very different levels of commitment. Some of our members have hosted a Bible study with Muslim friends, which I applaud, but I’ve never been to it, and a Bible study certainly isn’t any kind of partnership or merger! It’s just crazy that a simple Bible study where people explore scripture with non-Christians would be reported as a partnership and others would interpret that as a plan for a new compromised religion. Just crazy! Third, as both an Evangelical and as an evangelist, anyone who knows me and my 40 year track record of ministry knows that I would never agree to “not evangelizing” anyone! I am commanded by my Savior to share the Good News with all people everywhere, all the time, in every way possible! Anyone who’s heard me teach knows that my heart beats for bringing others to Jesus.

Here;  http://saddleback.com/blogs/newsandviews/news--views-030212/

I am VERY happy to see that Warren does not believe that Muslims worship the same God.  You can read the rest for yourself.

Hat tip to Julie E.

Syria Calls On World to Stop Israel

This next headline has to come from the "Unbelievable" file.

Syria has been butchering and raping about 8000 of it's own people in an attempt for Assad to remain in power...but they took time out of their busy day of rape and murder to condemn Israel for using violence to stop the rocket attacks coming out of Gaza.

No, I'm not kidding.

Syria’s foreign ministry condemned Israel for its military offensive against the Gaza Strip, calling for urgent international intervention against Israel.

In a statement issued Tuesday, the ministry lambasted Israel’s “vicious aggression” against Gaza, demanding that Israel remove its blockade of the strip. Syria is facing mounting international pressure over the past few days for its violent crackdown on civil protests across the country, culminating in an apparent massacre of women and children in Homs Monday.

The statement criticized “suspicious Arab initiatives” against Syria, which, it claimed, served to deflect international attention from Israel’s actions in Gaza. Saudi Arabia and Qatar are leading an Arab coalition, mostly of Gulf states, in support of bolder international action against Syria.

“Gaza, which is drowning in its blood for days, knows for certain that Damascus will continue to support it despite the Arab preoccupation with the conspiracy against Syria,” read the statement, published by the Syrian News Agency SANA.

Here; http://www.timesofisrael.com/syrian-chutzpah-assad-government-condemns-israel-for-gaza-attack/

We also need to remember that Syria needs to continue pointing fingers at Israel...because we are pretty sure that if Assad feels himself start to fall from power and KNOWS he may be facing a war crimes tribunal....he will attempt to destroy Israel during his fall.  In his brain he will believe that the Arab world will always remember him with fondness....being the man who destroyed Israel.

Of course the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob has a different story line in place for Syria.

Ashdod Under Attack 'Like Never Before"

This rockets continue coming from Gaza and falling in Israel.  Ashdod is a city in Southern Israel that is getting hit like never before.

Over the past three days, Gaza terrorists have launched over 150 attacks on southern Israel. The city of Ashdod has been targeted more often than it was even at the height of the Cast Lead campaign, residents say.

As the situation in southern Israel escalated and dozens of rockets were fired from Gaza, Arutz Sheva visited the city of Ashdod, one of many cities in the area hit by a barrage of rockets.

The citizens expressed their frustration at the ongoing situation and called on the government to do more for them.

“It’s been a very difficult week,” said Ronen Fahima, the of a sushi bar in Ashdod. The bar, which is usually busy, has been nearly empty during the escalation.

“It’s been a week in which people are suffering from anxiety in Ashdod and barely leave their homes,” said Fahima. “Our business has been hurt pretty badly. I hope that the government will compensate us for all the aggravation and what has been caused to our business.”

Here;  http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/153659

So could this be the start of something big?  Could this be the start of Psalm 83?  Could Jesus be returning for us any day now?  Are you excited by the thought of Jesus coming for us....or does it scare you to imagine everything we know passing away?  Do you have friends and family that you have never shared the Gospel with?  Have you been living a secret life of sin that you should rid yourself of?  Have you been enemies with your brother and never attempted to reconcile?  Have you cheated your partner and been living with the lie? 

It's time to clean up...it's time to prepare ourselves, like a bride prepares for the coming of her groom even though she doesn't know the exact hour that he is coming.

Pretty exciting times.  Just imagine, Jesus put us on the earth to witness these amazing times.  What a blessing!  Just imagine if we are the generation that never sees death...but goes right from life and into the clouds and receive our glorified bodies in the air!!  How flippin' cool would that be??

And finally, lest I get too excited about Jesus coming....please remember to pray for Israel.  Pray for Netanyahu and all the leaders.  Pray for the Jews.

Christians For Pot

In yet another sign of how far our society has crumbled, the discussion is being had in the Christian community about whether the Bible has anything to say that would restrict using marijuana to get high.

Pat Robertson of the 700 Club has come out to say that the pot should be decriminalized and treated by the government the same way they treat alcohol.  He isn't saying that people should use it...the same way that he is not advocating using alcohol.

There is actually a group called CHRISTIANS FOR CANNABIS that claims a passage in Genesis says that God ordained using pot to get high.

Robertson, the outspoken Christian evangelist and host of “The 700 Club,” made national headlines this week when he told The New York Times that pot should be decriminalized and treated like alcohol because the government’s war on drugs has failed miserably and is costing taxpayers billions of dollars.

“I’ve never used marijuana and I don’t intend to, but it’s just one of those things that I think: this war on drugs just hasn’t succeeded,” he told the newspaper.

Scholars disagree on whether the Bible lays down the law on use of mind-altering drugs such as marijuana, also known as cannabis.

Some pro-pot Christians refer to Genesis 1:29 and interpret it to mean God does not frown on ingesting plants such as marijuana:

And God said, Behold, I have given you every plant bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, which has seed in its fruit; to you it shall be for food.

Here;  http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/03/09/10624653-pat-robertson-is-for-legalizing-marijuana-what-would-jesus-do

If you go to the article you will (thankfully) see that they also quote Corinthians that tells us that drunkards will not inherit the kingdom of God.  Also what comes to mind is "Love the Lord your God with all you soul, all your mind and all your strength."...and folks who are high on drugs do not have control of your mind.

Also, if you talk to people that have wasted their minds on drugs you will discover that many report demonic activity with their drug use.  Of course we know that when you lose control of your mind...Satan is prowling around like a hungry lion waiting to jump in.