gillesC  2008

In talking with many of you this week the subject of the cold and the winter and sickness has been a topic that has come  up. At this time of year the elements begin to take a toll on us. At the same time we are hearing the national economy is going into a recession. The stock market has been moving wildly up and down this week and other key financial indicators are trending down. It is clear the United States economy is erratic. Many are saying we are already into a recession.

It has made me think that this time of year often brings about a “spiritual recession”. The days are short and often dark and gloomy. It is cold. We get sick, miss church and activities are cancelled. We end up missing some of the key ingredients of a healthy spiritual life–most essential especially at this time of year.

Keep your prayers vigilant and active. Make the time to pray and keep the contact with God open. Focus on others more than on yourself. And when you need to talk to God about yourself be bold and direct. God already knows you hurt and have need–so go boldly to that throne of grace.

Do not neglect the fellowship of the brethren. Hebrews 10:25  tells us not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together, “exhorting one another and so much the more as you see the Day approaching”.  Sometimes there is no substitute for a good old-fashioned talk with another human of like mind in the faith. That is why a good cup of coffee after church and a conversation can help us close out the week in proper fashion and prepare for the week ahead.

Satan know Good’s people are particularly vulnerable at this time of year. That is why he placed his main holiday at the darkest time. The world becomes focused on falsehood and the resulting let down creates a spiritual chill that rubs off on the elect. We are not immune to the spiritual struggle going on in this world. It is a battle we must engage each day with a full awareness of the consequences.

We are living in the time that Paul describes where we can “see the Day approaching”. If you have not read the lead article in the current Good News magazine then do so. Melvin Rhodes does a very good job laying out where this generation is in the plan of God. When we grasp this truth and realize the time is short then perhaps we can understand the spiritual pressure placed upon all of us. It is vital that we all do our part to remain alert and vigilant on the walls of faith.

Debbie and I pray for all of you. Pray for one another.

Take care,

Darris McNeely

Stratfor says that cash from overseas will come flooding into the US stock market looking for safe havens in the wake of the global panic that hit overseas on Monday.

That presumes there is confidence in the US economy. The Federal Reserve today cut interest rates the biggest one day cut since October 1984 when rates came down 175 basis points. The Fed is doing a lot very quickly to try and get on top of the deteriorating financial crisis. Here is part of the the Fed statement:

“The Federal Open Market Committee took this action in view of a weakening of the economic outlook and increasing downside risks to growth.

While strains in short-term funding markets have eased somewhat, broader financial market conditions have continued to deteriorate and credit has tightened further for some businesses and households.“Moreover, incoming information indicates a deepening of the housing contraction as well as some softening in labour markets.”

Clearly the Fed see dangerous rapids ahead and is trying to take steps to turn things around. It should be an interesting week in the markets.

Blogged with Flock

Stocks across Europe and Asia fell sharply on Monday amid fears of a continuing slide in the American economy. Financial managers are looking for safe havens for investments. The fear is a slumping American economy will pull the rest of the world down with it.

It has been the biggest one day plunge since 9/11. Here is a report from the Financial Times.

Tumbling Asian shares led European stock markets into their biggest one-day fall since 9stock watching.jpg: /11 as the prospect of a US recession and further fall-out from credit market turmoil prompted near panic among investors, who rushed to the safety of government bonds.About €339bn ($490bn) was wiped off the market value of Europe’s FTSE Eurofirst 300 index and £76bn ($148bn) from the FTSE 100 index in London, which suffered its biggest points slide since it was formed in 1983.

Fear of a US recession is a part of the picture. Credit Suisse says, “What we are seeing now has the hallmarks of both a financial shock and the beginning of a [US] recession, or at least of growth grinding to a halt.”

Everyone is watching what will happen tomorrow when Wall Street reopens after the Martin Luther King holiday. It is expected that stocks will decline through the week. No one sees a bottom at this time.

Expectations for President Bush’s Middle East trip are not high, at least in Isael where he will meet with Israeli and Palestinian leaders. Tomorrow he meets with Mahmoud Abbas in the Palestinian city of Ramallah.

Repeated in welcoming ceremonies was Bush’s 2002 statement, “My vision is of two states living side by side in peace and security.” If a settlement is to come, whether this year or later, it will have to be along these lines. Palestinians make up twenty percent of Israel’s present population.Were a solution to the Palestinian issue be rolled into Israel proper it would only be a matter of time before Palestinians became a dominant majority. This will not be acceptable to Israel.

It is likely that Bush’s legacy in the Middle East will be defined more by Iraq and Afghanistan rather than a settlement between Israel and Palestine.

President Bush leaves tomorrow for a week long tour of six countries in the Middle East. He will also visit the Palestinian territories in an effort to move along the peace talks that started last November in Annapolis, Maryland.

Despite many major issues dividing the Isrealis from the Palestinians Bush is confident and optimistic a peace settlement can be reached by the end of this year. “I believe the time is ripe,” he said of an Israeli-Palestinian deal in an interview with an Israeli newspaper before leaving for the trip. “There will be a comprehensive peace signed by the end of this year.”

This is a noble goal but not likely to happen. This is not a pessimistic appraisal rather a realistic one. Real peace will not come to the Middle East this year despite the best and noble efforts of anyone. Right now the costs are too high for peace to occur and none of the parties are willing or able to give the concessions that would allow a real and lasting peace to be created.

The divide between the Israeli’s and Arabs are deep and long. There is the language and culture barrier. There is the divide of religion, perhaps the deepest of all. The animosity built up just in the past sixty years are enough to take centuries of effort to heal.

Max Boot writes at Opinion Journal about this issue and uses the example of the strife between Scotland and England as a lesson in conflict. What began in 1296 when England’s King Edward I tried to take the empty throne of Scotland took more than 450 years to resolve. And this among people with a common tongue and culture!

As Boot points out the significant successes at pacification have been when massive armed intervention have occurred. He states as the only present realistic option of ending the conflict the presence of massive military force from an outside power. However he concludes, “…that’s unlikely to happen in the Holy Land”.

Bible prophecy shows us that massive military force from an outside power will eventually intervene in the Middle East to bring “peace” to the region. Daniel 11 shows a power called the “King of the North” invading through North Africa into the holy land itself and Jerusalem in particular. It will come after a series of conflicts reach a critical point and a power called the “King of the South” provokes the intervention of this european based power.

All this will be done in the name of peace, no doubt to protect the global economy from serious disruption. It will trigger a larger conflict when powers from the east begin to move westward to protect their vital interests. The end game will be the gathering of forces in  the battle of the great day of God Almighty, (Revelation 16:14).  We give the details of this in our booklet, The Middle East in Prophecy.

We will watch President Bush make his pilgrimage through this turbulent region this week and make appropriate comments. It promises to be an interesting trip. We’ll watch and learn.

Last Sunday Melvin Rhodes and I held a World News and Prophecy seminar in Louisville Kentucky. 212 people attended the all day session. We have several seminars scheduled in the coming months. Our next will be in St. Louis, Missouri on January 26, 2008.

We will have video tapes of the sessions here on our site in a few days.

The titles of the presentations are below.

Full Circle
Presented by Melvin Rhodes

The rise and decline of the English speaking powers parallels their devotion to the Bible as the Word of God. The rise to greatness began with the Protestant Reformation. Our national decline has followed the turning away from God’s Word.

How Will the US Lose its Preeminence?
Presented by Melvin Rhodes

Prior to World War II, the British were the preeminent nation on earth. After 1945 America assumed that role. The Bible shows one more superpower will take center stage. How will the US lose its preeminence to this new superpower?

The New War of Religions
Presented by Darris McNeely

Religious strife continues to dominate our world. God and religion are not dead, despite all the rumors. The front lines of religion crisscross our globe telling us that religion will play a major role in the 21st century. How will that impact your life?

America’s Pride of Power
Presented by Darris McNeely

Today America stands as the dominant economic and military power in the world. How long will this continue? Will America go the way of the British Empire? A critical scripture points to a dramatic change ahead for America and the world.