What if you new that the collapse of the American dollar was inevitable? Would it alter the kind of life that you live today? Would your view of your economic future be affected, and what would you change in your life, if you would change anything at all?
Some very thought provoking questions. I don’t mean to scare anyone nor will you see me standing on the top of my roof crying out, “The dollar is falling… The dollar is falling!” I would however, like to give you some food for thought.
The Shrinking Dollar
In 1971, President Richard Nixon convinced the world to replace gold and silver money with paper money. Every time that happens there is tremendous economic volatility in the markets. Going all the way back to the Romans and the Greeks, whenever governments decide to replace gold and silver with their own paper money, things start to change.
This is why guys like Robert Kiyosaki, Peter Shiff, and others can predict the future. It’s not because they have some crystal ball that can see into the economic future. They just read the writing on the wall. It’s there for all to see. It’s just that some refuse to look.
Our government and Europe, is printing paper money like it’s going out of style. Well guess what? It is. You cannot just keep printing this paper that has no gold or silver backing to it, and think it will increase or hold any value to it at all. It will continue to fall in value until there is no more value to it. Then what will we do? What will you do?
That is why gold, silver, oil, real estate continues and will continue to go up in value because the cash that we print is trash. Exchanging your green paper money for commodities such as these is a very smart investment right now. If you continue to work and save all your money, putting it into a bank or 401k, you will lose in the long run.
Lets just take a look at silver. Gold is something that people buy and hold onto it. They horde it. Throw it it there safe deposit boxes and never look at it again. Silver is used very much in manufacturing. Cell phones, computers, electric lights, all use silver. The silver reserves are shrinking because of the manufacturing usage of silver. Right now, for every ounce of gold that I buy, I can buy 60 ounces of silver. I call that a bargain.
Where will the price of silver be in five, ten years from now? No one knows. Some think it could go into the thousands per ounce. But one thing we do know, gold and silver prices are continuing to rise, and the dollar is falling…the dollar is falling!
I was watching a movie the other day called, ” John Adams “. He was the sixth president of the United States. The movie took place about the time when he was not president but a congressman from the state of Massachusetts. Actually they were not states back then, they were called countries. They were countries governed by their own laws.
Dr. Marting Luther King Jr.
They were convening in Philadelphia worrying about what to do with the British starting to breath down their necks. John Adams was the one who took the bull by the horns and pushed the notion of declaring our independence from British rule.
It was interesting to see how the movie showed the other side. The more personable side of John Adams, his wife and family. It showed his wife as very much a part of his life and career. Many times offering her advice and thoughts about the cases that he was trying. He was an attorney.
The one thing that stood out the most to me was the tremendous sacrifice that, he and all these men that were involved in forming the foundation for the freedoms that we all enjoy today. They were giving not from a compulsion to an office or a position to rule over anyone. They gave their fortunes, their time, and some of them, even their lives, for the freedoms of all Americans.
So it is with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He was a minister. A very humble man who loved this country. He didn’t take. He gave. He gave for all the same reasons as John Adams and our fore fathers gave. He gave for the freedom and rights of all men. Not by the color of your skin, or religion, or gender, but by the quality and character of the heart. He gave the ultimate sacrifice, his own life on the alter of freedom. He belongs on the same plane as the freedom fighters our fore fathers were. All true American heroes.
I’m so tired of listening to the whining and moaning of people who only care about the quality of their own lives and of their rights. What belongs to me is all that will ever fog the lens of their selfish eyes.
And to those who come here with no other intention but to steal the resources that this great land has to offer. To murder, rob and destroy us of the very freedoms that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., John Adams, George Washington, and all of their company fought so hard for and gave to us. We must eradicate these evil people from off our shores.
As John F Kennedy said. ” …and so my fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.”
I would like to end this blog with a song that I thought was very appropriate.
Websters official definition for the word, missionary, is…..”a person sent by a church into an area to carry on evangelism or other activities”.
Gary and Siham Jasmund
There have been missionaries sent out by churches for thousands of years. There were missionaries that arrived in America way before the Pilgrims ever stepped foot on our soil.
The missionaries are always considered a very special people. They sell everything that they have. Leave their families and friends and go to a remote place that is far away.
Gary and Siham Jasmund are not any different. At least to us they aren’t. They are very dear friends of my wife and I, and they are missionaries to Ghana West Africa.
This process started years ago, when Gary and Siham would go on short missionary trips to Africa. They did various jobs and worked with different people, but what started to happen inside their hearts was a love for these people and the need that they had. Unaware to them, God started to perform heart surgery on Gary and Siham.
There was training and adjustments to the Ghana culture, and it has not been without it’s trials and bumps in the road. They sold all their belongings, business, and home and started walking on a path that God was clearing just for them.
They have been in Ghana West Africa for one year now and it has been a very difficult year, but God has clearly been with them. It has really been a year of them learning rather then them teaching anyone. Gary told me that a lot of people want to put them up on a platform that they don’t deserve to be on. ” We are just doing missionary work in Ghana West Africa, like all of you are doing missionary work right here where you live”, Gary said.
It has been one of the greatest blessings of my wife Lori, and my life, to know Gary and Siham Jasmund. They will probably will not like me saying all this about them, but I am going too.
God has given them both gifts that He wants now to use in Ghana West Africa. Gary has just such an easy and humble way that he presents himself, and the ability to talk to people. Siham has the ability to see inside a person’s heart and know if they are hurting or not.
They are back in the states for this Christmas holiday season and will be heading back to Africa in January. We are all very much going to miss them, but we are not very far. You see, they have a definite home in our hearts, and are always in our prayers. This is how God keeps us together and a part of the work that they are doing over in Africa, through our prayers and financial support.
If you would like to read more about Gary and Siham Jasmund, please visit their website at;http://www.jasmundoutreach.com
If God is leading you to give toward their financial support, click on the donate tab below. If you would like to ask them a question you can email or write to their address below. But one thing that you can do, and it’s free. Please keep them in your prayers!
Thank you and Merry Christmas.
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2764 N Green Valley Pkwy #214
Henderson, NV 89014-2120
The Christmas season is here again. My favorite time of year. The snow, the cold, the lights, the music, and……..the presents. Come on you know you like rushing down in the morning. The smell of the fresh coffee, the tree, and all those beautifully wrapped gifts under the tree. I always look and try to guess which one is mine. Of course I do this very indiscriminately. I can’t let on to people that I’m looking.
“It is more blessed to give then it is to receive.” We’ve all heard that before, and especially around Christmas time. It is so true. There is something that goes on deep in your heart when you give to someone else. Someone who has a special need that you can fill, and they don’t have the resources to ever pay you back. There is such a blessing, a warmness in your heart, that comes to you when we do that.
But what about receiving? Christmas giving and receiving? That’s another question. That is the hardest thing to do. Why? What is it that makes it so hard to reach out to a hand that says, I want to give to you, and you don’t owe me anything for it.? Why do we struggle when it comes to receiving? We hear things like, ” I have my pride”, ” I don’t take charity”.
Our economy has put a lot of people, who are good educated people, that are not on drugs or have a drinking, or gambling problem, out on the street. These people have never taken a dime from anyone and they are finding themselves in the soup kitchens, and sleeping in the homeless shelters. Receiving is hard.
There was a story about a lady who fell asleep while she was driving. The car spun off the road, crashed through the guardrail and hung onto the side of the cliff with one tire. Several motorists stopped and tied the rear bumper of the car to a tree so it wouldn’t go over the edge. Every little movement of the car, they could her the girl inside screaming. Finally the fire department came and pulled the car back onto the flat ground, but the one firemen said he could her the girl constantly telling them that she could do it herself. Now that might have been just the shock and trama of the whole scary ordeal that she was in, but isn’t that funny, that in that terrible state, all she could say is, “I can do it myself “. This women was thinking she could do it herself, and didn’t realize that all these people had to work together to save her life.
We always feel that we have to give something back or do something for every gift or good thing that comes our way. Why? What about Christmas charity? Christmas giving? Christmas help? Do you need Christmas help?
I am going to give you four reasons why I think it is so hard for us to do any receiving.
People have let us down in the past. (hard to trust anymore)
Ego or Pride. (this is why a man doesn’t ask for directions)
Emotional Insecurity (I ride the wave of giving to forget my own insecurity)
Past Incident (we feel unworthy to receive)
Can you imagine getting a Rolex watch for Christmas and reaching into your wallet and asking the person, “how much did you pay for that?’ “You shouldn’t have”. Then you reach into your wallet and say, “here, let me give you something. I know I can’t pay for it all, but let me give you something.” That would totally offend the giver, and be very rude and embarrassing.
These same things prevent us from receiving the greatest gift of all time. The gift of God’s forgivness and a new life.
You see having faith in God is not about doing, it’s about receiving. The difference between Christianity and any other religion is this. In religion, I work a list of all kinds of different things to do for God. He receives those works and I get all the credit. In Christianity, God does the work, He gives to me, I receive, and He gets all the credit. This is the truth about Christmas.
It’s hard for me to receive when I was raised to always believe that I don’t need anybody. I can stand on my own two feet and get the job done all by myself. God should be happy He has me on His team.
But we can’t do it on our own, just like that women who couldn’t keep her car from going over the side of that cliff and plunging to her death, she could not save herself. Sin and a stubborn will have kept me from living the kind of life that I really want to live. The kind of life that God wants me to live, no matter how hard I tried.
What I could not do, God did. That’s what we celebrate at Christmas in Christianity. Receiving the free gift that God paid for on that cross so many years ago. We celebrate the entrance of God into our world at Christmas. He came for one reason. To pay the penalty for your sin and mine. The penalty for sin is death. (Romans 6:23) The gift of God is free. (Ephesians 2:8-9), (Titus 3:4-5)
Now the way is open. I can come to God, receive His gift, and with Him, start to learn to live my life the way He intended it to be. Jesus said, ” I have come that they might have life and have it to the full.”
Now my friend all the obstacles have been removed. There is nothing standing in your way, except a stubborn, disobedient heart, and even that He will begin to heal once He comes into your life. Just ask Him. That’s why He came. Learn to receive. Reach out and take His hand. He has a gift for you.
Revelation 3:20; ” Listen! I am standing at the door and knocking! If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in and dine with him and he with Me.”
LAST WEEK, GOD OPENED A new window on what He and I can do together. I was in the middle of preparing for a class I’m teaching at church when God reminded me that He is life. As in, “I have come that they may have life” (Jn. 10:10) and “the God who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were” (Ro. 4:17).
Then He invited me to join Him in the business of bringing life. “In any situation where there is ‘death’,” He said, “You get to pray and ask me to bring life.”
Whoa. That’s a prayer focus that had never occurred to me. I’ve gotten so used to living with realities such as “Too good to be true” and “Going from bad to worse” that it doesn’t occur to me to notice where elements of death are at work in a situation—they’re like background noise.
But God’s invitation has nudged me to look at situations from a death-and-life viewpoint. Sometimes it’s obvious where life is needed, as when a friend is grappling with cancer. In other situations, I’ve had to look a little harder. I’ve sat in meetings and conversations wondering, “Is there an element of ‘death’ in what we’re talking about—maybe through an attitude, an emotion, a way of thinking, or a practice?” And I’ve sent up little prayers, “Father, would you bring life here?” or “What would you like to do here that would bring life?”
Looking around and realizing, “I get to ask God to bring life,” has been fun—mostly. You see, this prayer has had an unexpected consequence: It’s revealed I’m not always eager for God to answer it. How can that be?! I’ve tasted life and know how wonderful it is; why wouldn’t I want that touch on everything around me?
Truth is, I don’t. In one situation, I’ve gotten used to the dynamics; I can navigate them just fine. If that situation were brimming with life, I’d have to grapple with the change. In another situation, I’ve been chagrined to find myself thinking, Why bring life and let them off the hook? They made their bed; they can lie in it.
Oh me of small heart and small faith.
And, apparently, even smaller vision for what God might want to do.
And even smaller reverence for His sovereignty! All He’s invited me to do is ask for His life. I don’t remember Him asking me to determine when and how He should bring it.
So I ask for forgiveness for my small heart, and continue praying my new prayer, that the King of Life will bring His “Midas” touch to those around me.
