History & Truth - Now Think On This by Steve Martin

History & Truth

Now Think On This

Steve Martin

“However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. (John 16:13, NKJV)

Some memories you will never forget, being reminded of them through photos, music, and conversations that are shared at gatherings, or broadcast through other media. They are passed down from generation to generation, retelling the stories that had impact on the lives involved.

History is made that way. Events happen; people want to remember them; they are written down or captured in motion. It is one way to be assured that one never forgets. It is a way to accurately describe what took place then, so another down the road cannot say otherwise.

History books are written to also pass truth from one generation to another. Through these writings, what took place decades or centuries ago are kept recorded lest anyone forget what happened, how it happened, and why it happened. By knowing our history, it hopefully will never be altered by any current pressure to change the facts.

Those who try to rewrite history attempt to break down walls that stand against their lies. If a generation does not know their true history, eventually the lies will prevail, and overcome the historical truth. The walls that stood for truth will fall.

As believers in the Lord Jesus, we are called upon to know the truth. First, truth as recorded in the Scriptures, and also truth of the Lord’s work in our nations. If we fail to stand against the attempt of our enemies to destroy truth, what results will be a nation or people so mixed up in their convictions that anything can, and will, develop. Nothing will be held as truth if we neglect to stand for the truth now.

Know your Bible. Know truth. Be strong in your convictions as you stand for what is right. Don’t let the enemy keep you from walking in that which you know is righteous and true.

Now think on this,

Steve Martin

Founder

Love For His People, Inc.

 P.S. I would be most grateful if you'd share this encouraging word with your family and friends. They might need it. You can easily use the social media icons below. Thanks! Steve

We are blessed when the ministry receives gifts to support the families that we do, primarily in Israel, India, Hungary and Pakistan and the hurting ones here in the USA. You also can share out of the abundance you have been given.

Love For His People, Inc. is a charitable, not-for-profit USA humanitarian organization started in 2010 to share the love of the Father in the nations.

If these messages minister to you, please consider sending a charitable gift of $5-$25 today, and maybe each month, to help us bless families we know in Israel, whom we consistently help through our humanitarian ministry. Your tax deductible contributions receive a receipt for each donation. Fed. ID #27-1633858.

Click here for safe ONLINE GIFT GIVING THROUGH OUR WEBSITE using major credit cards: Love For His People. If you don't have a PayPal account you can also use your credit card or bank account (where available). 

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Todah rabah! (Hebrew – Thank you very much.)

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Now Think On This - In the Year of our Lord 09.11.16 - #265 –“History & Truth” – Sunday 5:00 pm

All previous editions of Now Think On This can be found on this Blog, and on the website: Now Think On This

Again, I would be most grateful if you'd share this encouraging word with your family and friends. You can easily use the social media icons below. Thanks! Steve

Read the latest publication. Available now.

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Continuing with another book edition of my latest inspirational writings of Now Think of This, I hope you are encouraged in your daily faith, to be faithful, as our Lord Jesus is faithful in all His ways. 

Our main example and inspiration is the Lord Jesus Himself, Who was faithful to the end. Others that have followed since His time on earth have stood for the truth He spoke. We do well to keep our eyes stayed on Him, so we too can practice faithfulness in the days, which I believe are near the end as the Bible speaks of before His promised return.

My prayer is that these short messages will help build your faith, stand for truth, and continue to be a light in the darkness that seeks to cover the earth.

The Lord Jesus is coming back, as the Lion of Judah, the King of kings and the Lord of lords. All eyes will see Him in the clouds, riding His mighty stead, the One Who is Faithful and True.

Even so, come Lord Yeshua.

Shalom,

Steve Martin
Charlotte, NC

List Price: $5.95

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ISBN-13: 978-1537755656 (CreateSpace-Assigned)
ISBN-10: 153775565X
BISAC: Body, Mind & Spirit / Inspiration & Personal Growth

Available now on Amazon.com - Paperback: 5.95 Buy here.

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About The Author

Steve Martin served with three Christian ministries from 1987-2010, all having a national and international outreach focus. During that time he made 14 ministry trips to Israel, China, India, Trinidad and Tobago, and the United Kingdom. 

On his overseas journeys Steve enjoyed sharing written journal entries with family and friends back home, through Internet media. His light-hearted stories gave an up close and personal touch for those reading along. Many could imagine being there themselves.

His extensive collection of photos taken during these trips, of both local scenery and common people on the streets, has touched thousands through their varied images.

In 2010, Steve and Laurie began Love For His People, Inc, a 501©3 non-profit humanitarian aid ministry. This work touches the natural and spiritual lives of those around them with needed encouragement and strength. 

His regular messages Now Think On This are posted on the ministries Love For His People and Now Think of This blogs. They are also on Facebook and Twitter, featuring words of spiritual enrichment, along with selected photos.

Since 1994, Steve and his good wife Laurie have lived in the Charlotte, NC area, after having homes in Illinois, Michigan and Florida. Now married for more than 39 years, they enjoy their four adult children and spouses (Josh and Chelsie, Ben, Hannah and Jonathan, Christen and Andrew), along with our seven additional grandchildren – Daniel, Logan, Dylan Joy, Jensen, Payton, Jack and Levi Zachary.

While continuing to serve organizations with his accounting skills, he enjoys writing, photography and growing the ministry of Love For His People, Inc.

Available now on Amazon.com $5.95 Paperback - buy here.

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Also available from Steve Martin

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EZRA NEWS - A newsletter brought to you by Ezra UK Issue 4 - Hungary & Aliyah to Israel

Recent Olim Helped by Ezra

In July and August six people we have helped made their aliyah.  One family of 3 - parents Ildiko and Jozsef and Joszef Junior and three young people on their own - Luca, Benjamin and Mercedesz.  All of them have been touched by anti-semitism in some way.  Their brief stories are below.  Please pray that the LORD will protect and guide them as they settle into their new lives in their Land of Promise.

Eighteen year old Benjamin firmly believes that Israel is the land promised to the Jewish people.  He feels a strong connection to the land.  

Some of Benjamin’s relatives perished in the holocaust.  His great grandfather died on the train on the way to a death camp.  Benjamin’s grandmother lost her aunts and uncles during the holocaust.

Benjamin thinks that the political situation in Hungary is very frightening, especially with the rise of the Far Right.

Jozsef and Ildiko from Budapest are making aliyah with their son, Jozsef jnr.  They see the rise of the radical far right as a good reason to make aliyah.

Ildiko was often made fun of as a girl just because of being Jewish.  Her grandmother lost 3 of her sisters in Mauthausen concentration camp.  The grandmother survived the Budapest ghetto as did Ildiko’s father.

Mercedesz is 20 years old and also from Budapest. Just one week before she made aliyah she was in a Budapest pub having a leaving party.  When she left the pub with her friends they were verbally abused by a group of Hungarians.  It seems that the attackers overheard Mercedesz talking about Israel.  The Police were called and the group disappeared.

Mercedesz’s grandparents survived deportation to Auschwitz by escaping from the train they were travelling in.

Mercedesz is not very interested in politics but feels that Hungary is no longer a safe place to live.

Luca is 22 years old and also from Budapest.  Luca’s grandparents from her Father’s side both survived a Nazi work camp.  In 2014 Luca’s father was beaten up and verbally abused by neo-Nazis when he was on his way home from a Budapest synagogue.

Luca has no confidence in Hungarian politics at all. She said that the anti-Semitic Jobbik party hate Jews simply because they are Jews.

All these Olim were very grateful for the help they received from Ezra.

Note: Love For His People supports this ministry with monthly gifts to the Clint family in Budapest, Hungary. The Clints work to help Hungarians Jews make aliyah to Israel.

By God's Grace: Surviving 9/11 from the 81st Floor - CBN News Mark Martin

By God's Grace: Surviving 9/11 from the 81st Floor

09-10-2016

CBN News Mark Martin

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NEW YORK, N.Y. - September 11 is a time to remember the thousands of victims who died in the 2001 terrorist attacks. It's also a day to offer thanks for those who miraculously survived.

Jean and Dan Potter live a peaceful life in a quiet, suburban town in New York. It's a stark contrast to 15 years ago, when the couple was living in a Manhattan apartment just a few blocks from the World Trade Center.

Jean worked on the 81st floor of the first tower hit on the morning of 9/11.

Related

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Remembering 9/11: Bush's Chief Counsel Reflects on that Fateful Day

9/11 Survivor Gives Back to God

Scott Ross Revisits Ground Zero Five Years After 9/11

Where Was God on 9/11?

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Messages Amidst Chaos

"All of a sudden, this massive explosion rocked the building, and we literally swayed from side to side," Jean told CBN News. "And what first came to me is, 'This is not your time. We are with you. Your brother is with you.' I lost my brother in 1999."

Jean believes it was the voice of God -- loud and clear -- a message in the midst of chaos.

"You're thinking, 'Is this building going to fall? And I'm up 81 flights. How am I getting out of here?'" she explained.

Jean made it to the staircase as the floor became engulfed in flames.

"My heart was palpitating a mile a minute as I was going down the staircase," she recounted. "And what also came to me is, 'You and Dan will be blessed with a beautiful life. You will go north.'"

"And I saw like green trees. This is all while this is happening, and I'm in a very nervous state, but the messages were coming in," she said.

Jean believes God was reassuring her and prodding her to keep moving down the staircase.

Monumental Loss

"I would say in the 20s, we start seeing firemen, which gave us all a sense of relief," she continued about her trip down the flights of stairs. "One of whom was Vinny Giammona, who was my husband's lieutenant at Ladder 5, and I grabbed his arm."

"I said, 'Vinny be safe,' and I will never forget the look on his face that day," Jean recalled. "It would have been his 40th birthday, and he left behind a wife and four children, four little girls who are now grown. But I will never forget the look on his face."

Lt. Vinny Giammona was one of 343 New York firefighters who died that dark day. Jean's husband, Dan, a firefighter at the time, knew 60 of them.

When the terrorists struck, he was on Staten Island but quickly raced to Manhattan to make sure Jean was safe, not knowing that she made it out of the North Tower before it collapsed.

It wasn't until he was a block or two away that he realized the magnitude of the situation.

"There's different-sized body parts," Dan recalled. "There's big pieces, and there's small pieces, and it's all over the place."

Dan arrived at ground zero to help and had to take cover when the South Tower collapsed -- and later, the North Tower.

"It sounded like a freight train, maybe a hundred times more, and you just figure with that amount of noise, and you know it's coming down around you. It's just a matter of time," Dan told CBN News.

Debris and concrete pelted Dan, but he says God kept him alive, and "the big hit" never came. 

Praying for Help

Covered in ash, the battered firefighter refused to give up his search for his wife and went back to their apartment.

Dan pounded on the door, but no one answered. It was then he thought that he had lost Jean. The overwhelmed firefighter then left the building and sat on a nearby bench and prayed.

It was at that moment that an Associated Press photographer snapped a photo of him, a photo that would be seen around the world.

"I'm praying to Jesus, praying for clarity...  'What do You want me to do?  What should I do?'" Dan explained in reference to the photo.

Dan believes Jesus directed him to go back to the apartment. It was there the phone rang. 

His father was crying and called to check on Dan. He also told Dan where Jean was, and Dan was on his way.

"I saw her standing there, and she's all upset, and she looked at me kind of wide-eyed, 'What are you doing here?'  Like that," Dan said. 

"In he walks in his bunker gear, covered, and his eyes were blood red," Jean said. "There was just blood in his eyes, and I said, 'Where were you?'"

"He said, 'You don't want to know,' and we hugged. It was just unbelievable," she recalled. "We are so grateful for what Jesus has done in our life."

All Is Grace

Jean chronicles the couple's amazing story of survival in the book, By the Grace of God, A 9/11 Survivor's Story of Love, Hope, and Healing.

"He was with all of us that day, and I don't want people to think that we were so special because we were saved," Jean said. "I mean it wasn't our time, and He was with those who were passing over, and it's just a great privilege to speak about Him."

Life has been tough at times following 9/11. The Potters have dealt with post-traumatic stress disorder, and Dan had to retire as a firefighter because of the injuries he suffered on Sept. 11, 2001.

Yet, in spite of the attacks and the difficulties that have followed, the faith of Jean and Dan remains strong. They hope those who read and hear their story will also trust in God.

"God is a loving God," Jean shared. "If you turn over your pain to Him, He will pull you through it. He will heal your heart." 

"I trust Him implicitly, and I give Him my life with that...'Use me for Your glory, and whatever I can do for You,'" Dan said, praying at the same time.

After living in Pennsylvania for a season, Dan and Jean are back in New York, enjoying life in a small town.

"Once again, Jesus brought us to a new place of blessing," Jean wrote to CBN News. "We are finally home, and it feels wonderful."

Dan has done some emergency planning for residents there, and Jean is writing again.

She's writing about another example of the Lord's faithfulness during a time of tragedy. Jean's mother passed away in 2016. She survived surgery, but died 17 days later.

"(The Holy) Spirit guided me once again through the most awful, painful days of my life," she shared with CBN News. "At every turn, every moment I was guided with every decision. It was unbelievable."

Watch video here: Jean Potter

Another #NeverTrumper Announces a Change of Heart - BOB ESCHLIMAN CHARISMA NEWS

A former #NeverTrumper announced Friday she is supporting Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump in the November election. (Reuters photo)

Another #NeverTrumper Announces a Change of Heart

 9/9/2016 BOB ESCHLIMAN  CHARISMA NEWS

Political blogger Mary Ramirez, until a few weeks ago, had been an avowed #NeverTrumper, but in a new commentary, she explains why she not only changed her mind, but why she feels compelled to open up about it.

In May, she wrote:

I'm having a heart-and-gut-wrenching conscience battle with myself right now over what's least worst. I think Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton is an immense danger to this country. And, if his record and his campaign show us anything, presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump looks to be just as bad. Do I end this ridiculous cycle of voting for the lesser of two evils by writing in a candidate or not voting at all? Or, since I know exactly what kind of damage Clinton will cause, do I risk it on the slim, slim chance that I'm wrong about Trump?

Ramirez said she continued to struggle with the issue, saying she "just couldn't get there" to find a way to vote for Trump, until she read another opinion maker's piece. As she wrote Friday morning:

This went on for months. I even—for the first time in my recollection—was at odds with my father, with whom I rarely disagree. (Don't worry, it wasn't the Hatfields and the McCoys.)

He was convinced Trump was the lesser of two evils, and I couldn't get there. I just couldn't.

And then I heard Daniel Lapin paint a picture that I just couldn't get out of my head. You're on a ship that's going to sink. No questions about it—it's going down like a rock. You find two lifeboats; one has holes in it, and the other has a cover over it.

Now honestly, which one do you choose?

Ramirez said the illustration "put a kink" in her "train of rational thought" about her voting decision. With Clinton, she noted, Americans are faced with a "truly corrupt, utterly evil woman whose capacity for wrongdoing grows by the day."

She made her decision to vote for Trump, but she also decided to do so in silence. Then nationally syndicated radio host Mark Levin announced publicly he had come to the same conclusion—and suffered an immense backlash from other #NeverTrumpers—which led her to speak out, as well.

She wrote:

Suddenly, the decision I had previously decided to keep between me and the little circle I'd fill in at the voting both came to the surface—and it became clear that unless I was going to sit and nod my head as people slammed Levin (just so I wouldn't have to talk about my decision), I'd have to share that I had come to that conclusion a while ago, too.

She said she expects backlash from her decision like what other former #NeverTrumpers have incurred. But she had some advice for those who feel compelled to attack those they disagree with:

I'm just here to say we need to get a grip. We need to stop acting like 6-year-olds when it comes to dealing with someone whose decision we don't agree with—even if we disagree fundamentally and vehemently.

To once again borrow from my favorite Tim McGraw song, we've forgotten how to be humble and kind. Let me direct you to my good friend Jonathon Dunne (avidly Never Trump, by the way) who puts it so well: Stop dehumanzing the individual. Stop it.

I stand with Ted Cruz—vote your conscience. For me, that's a vote to stop Hillary. Make up your own minds, and don't let anyone bully you into anything different.

3 Reasons Why you should read Life in the Spirit. 1) Get to know the Holy Spirit. 2) Learn to enter God's presence 3) Hear God's voice clearly! Go deeper!

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Archaeologists Recreate Historic Second Temple of Jerusalem - CBN NEWS

Temple Mount (Flickr/creisor)

Archaeologists Recreate Historic Second Temple of Jerusalem

9/9/2016 CBN NEWS

Join us on our podcast each weekday for an interesting story, well told, from Charisma News. Listen at charismapodcastnetwork.com.

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Archaeologists from the Jerusalem-based Temple Mount Sifting Project believe they have reconstructed a unique architectural element from the Second Temple—floor tiles on which Jesus would have walked.

"This is the first time that we are able to restore one of the elements of the architecture of the Second Temple in Jerusalem," archaeologist Gaby Barkay told CBN News.  

"We were able to do all kinds of drawings and reconstructions of the buildings based on the written sources but we didn't have any physical remains from inside the Temple Mount," he said.

In 1999, tons of debris were illegally removed from under the Temple Mount to build an underground mosque, angering archaeologists and others because of the history that was being destroyed.

The Temple Mount Sifting Project began in 2004. For more than a decade, volunteers and staff from Israel and around the world have been examining debris from the Temple Mount and making historic discoveries.

"We have an opportunity now to present to the wider public and the media, the glory of these floors, which reflect the glory of these buildings of Herod upon the Temple Mount, some 2,000 years ago," Barkay said.

Frankie Snyder, a member of the team of researchers, is an expert in the study of ancient Herodian style flooring and a mathematician.

She succeeded in restoring the ornate tile patterns "using geometric principles, and through similarities found in tile design used by Herod at other sites," Snyder said.

"This type of flooring, called 'opus sectile,' Latin for 'cut work,' is very expensive and was considered to be far more prestigious than mosaic tiled floors," she explained.

So far, they've restored seven potential designs of the buildings of the Temple Mount. Approximately 600 colored stone floor tile segments have been uncovered, with more than 100 of them definitively dated to the Herodian Second Temple period.

This style of flooring is consistent with those found in Herod's palaces at Masada, Herodian, and Jericho among others, as well as in majestic palaces and villas in Italy, also attributed to the time of Herod.

The tile segments, mostly imported from Rome, Asia Minor, Tunisia and Egypt, were created from polished multicolored stones cut in a variety of geometric shapes.

"The tile segments were perfectly inlaid such that one could not even insert a sharp blade between them," Snyder said.

Barkay said for him this floor connects him to his ancestors, his people. But it also should hold major significance for Christians.

"This is the very floor upon which the coins were rolling when Jesus turned the tables of the money changers upside down! This is the very floor upon which those coins were rolling," he said. 

Reprinted with permission from CBN.com. Copyright The Christian Broadcasting Network, Inc., All rights reserved.

For the original article, visit cbnnews.com.

3 Reasons Why you should read Life in the Spirit. 1) Get to know the Holy Spirit. 2) Learn to enter God's presence 3) Hear God's voice clearly! Go deeper!

Has God called you to be a leader? Ministry Today magazine is the source that Christian leaders who want to serve with passion and purpose turn to. Subscribe now and receive a free leadership book.

This Violent, Gruesome Mel Gibson Movie Could Be the Next Faith-Based Hit - JIM DENISON CHARISMA NEWS

Director and actor Mel Gibson (L) and actor Andrew Garfield attend the photocall for the movie "Hacksaw Ridge" at the 73rd Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy. (REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi)

This Violent, Gruesome Mel Gibson Movie Could Be the Next Faith-Based Hit

 9/7/2016 JIM DENISON  CHARISMA NEWS

People are talking today about the new Apple iPhone, congressional debates over legislation to battle Zika, and Gretchen Carlson's $20 million settlement with Fox. But the news that most caught my eye this morning has to do with a movie that won't be in theaters for two more months.

Hacksaw Ridge is Mel Gibson's new film. It tells the true story of Desmond Doss, a World War II army medic who refused to bear arms but received the Medal of Honor after he saved dozens of his fellow soldiers. The movie was shown at the Venice International Film Festival last Saturday. According to USA Today, the audience gave Gibson a 10-minute standing ovation when the film ended.

It was my privilege to see Hacksaw Ridge at a private showing a few days ago, then participate in a discussion with Gibson. I don't remember ever being as moved by a movie as I was by his film. Looking back, I can identify three reasons for my response. 

Part of my reaction was the realism with which Gibson depicts the violence of the battle scenes. Hacksaw Ridge is a cliff-like formation on the island of Okinawa, Japan. It was the scene of a two-week struggle between U.S. and Japanese soldiers. Gibson told our group that he depicted the war violence with such realism in order to demonstrate the atrocities Doss faced and the courage he displayed.

A second reason for my visceral reaction is the fact that my father, a World War II veteran, fought with the Army in the South Pacific. He would not discuss what he experienced with our family. Like so many veterans, he could not put into words what he went through. I have visited several World War II museums and had a sense of what the Pacific theater was like, but the movie brought home my father's suffering in a way that moved me deeply. It made me realize again the immeasurable sacrifice so many continue to make in defending our nation and our freedoms around the world.

A third factor is the story of Desmond Doss himself. His commitment to his Christian faith and specifically to nonviolence resonated powerfully throughout the film. He risked his life in the most horrific circumstances imaginable to save his fellow soldiers and to serve his Lord. I agree with Greg Laurie: "This is the most positive portrayal of a Christian in a mainstream film that I have seen since Chariots of Fire."

I hope you'll see Hacksaw Ridge when it opens in theaters Nov. 4. As I have noted, the war violence it depicts is very realistic. But the story it tells is truly one for the ages.

During our group discussion, I asked Mel Gibson why he chose to make the film. He explained that Desmond Doss' heroic faith so moved him that he felt compelled to tell his story to the world. He noted that more than 80 percent of Americans identify as Christians, yet Hollywood very seldom presents our faith in a positive light.

Our culture deserves to see authentic Christianity. "How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?" (Rom. 10:14). Desmond Doss was willing to pay any price to follow Jesus. Now it's our turn.

Jim Denison, Ph.D., is founder of the Denison Forum on Truth and Culture, a non-sectarian "think tank" designed to engage contemporary issues with biblical truth. Join over 100,000 who read Dr. Denison's daily Cultural Commentary:denisonforum.org/subscribe . For more information on the Denison Forum, visitdenisonforum.org. To connect with Dr. Denison in social media, visittwitter.com/jimdenison or facebook.com/denisonforum.

3 Reasons Why you should read Life in the Spirit. 1) Get to know the Holy Spirit. 2) Learn to enter God's presence 3) Hear God's voice clearly! Go deeper!

Has God called you to be a leader? Ministry Today magazine is the source that Christian leaders who want to serve with passion and purpose turn to. Subscribe now and receive a free leadership book.

Why Americans Are Angry (Part 4) - Rick Joyner PROPHETIC PERSPECTIVES

Watch here: Why Americans Are Angry (Part 4) - Rick Joyner PROPHETIC PERSPECTIVES

Why Americans Are Angry Pt 4
Rick Joyner
Thursday, September 8, 2016

Rick continues sharing about why Americans are so angry.

Major Problems Announced At One Of The Largest Too Big To Fail Banks In The United States - Michael Snyder THE ECONOMIC COLLAPSE BLOG

Major Problems Announced At One Of The Largest Too Big To Fail Banks In The United States

Posted: 08 Sep 2016   Michael Snyder  THE ECONOMIC COLLAPSE BLOG

Do you remember when our politicians promised to do something about the “too big to fail” banks?  Well, they didn’t, and now the chickens are coming home to roost.  On Thursday, it was announced that one of those “too big to fail” banks, Wells Fargo, has been slapped with 185 million dollars in penalties.

It turns out that for years their employees had been opening millions of bank and credit card accounts for customers without even telling them.  The goal was to meet sales goals, and customers were hit by surprise fees that they never intended to pay.  Some employees actually created false email addresses and false PIN numbers to sign customers up for accounts.  It was fraud on a scale that is hard to imagine, and now Wells Fargo finds itself embroiled in a major crisis.

There are six banks in America that basically dwarf all of the other banks – JPMorgan Chase, Citibank, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs.  If a single one of those banks were to fail, it would be a catastrophe of unprecedented proportions for our financial system.  So we need these banks to be healthy and running well.  That is why what we just learned about Wells Fargo is so concerning…

Employees of Wells Fargo (WFC) boosted sales figures by covertly opening the accounts and funding them by transferring money from customers’ authorized accounts without permission, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and Los Angeles city officials said.
An analysis by the San Francisco-headquartered bank found that its employees opened more than two million deposit and credit card accounts that may not have been authorized by consumers, the officials said. Many of the transfers ran up fees or other charges for the customers, even as they helped employees make incentive goals.

Wells Fargo says that 5,300 employees have been fired as a result of this conduct, and they are promising to clean things up.

Hopefully they will keep their word.

It is interesting to note that the largest shareholder in Wells Fargo is Berkshire Hathaway, and Berkshire Hathaway is run by Warren Buffett.  There has been a lot of debate about whether or not this penalty on Wells Fargo was severe enough, and it will be very interesting to hear what he has to say about this in the coming days…

Wells Fargo is the most valuable bank in America, worth just north of $250 billion. Berkshire Hathaway (BRKA), the investment firm run legendary investor Warren Buffett, is the company’s biggest shareholder.
“One wonders whether a penalty of $100 million is enough,” said David Vladeck, a Georgetown University law professor and former director of the Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “It sounds like a big number, but for a bank the size of Wells Fargo, it isn’t really.”

After the last crisis, we were told that we would never be put in a position again where the health of a single “too big to fail” institution could threaten to bring down our entire financial system.

But our politicians didn’t fix the “too big to fail” problem.

Instead it has gotten much, much worse.

Back in 2007, the five largest banks held 35 percent of all bank assets.  Today, that number is up to 44 percent…

Since 1992, the total assets held by the five largest U.S. banks has increased by nearly fifteen times! Back then, the five largest banks held just 10 percent of the banking industry total. Today, JP Morgan alone holds over 12 percent of the industry total, a greater share than the five biggest banks put together in 1992.
Even in the midst of the global financial crisis, the largest U.S. banks managed to increase their hold on total bank industry assets. The assets held by the five largest banks in 2007 – $4.6 trillion – increased by more than 150 percent over the past 8 years. These five banks went from holding 35 percent of industry assets in 2007 to 44 percent today.

Meanwhile, nearly 2,000 smaller institutions have disappeared from our financial system since the beginning of the last crisis.

So the problem of “too big to fail” is now larger than ever.

Considering how reckless these big banks have been, it is inevitable that one or more of them will fail at some point.  When that takes place, it will make the collapse of Lehman Brothers look like a Sunday picnic.

And with each passing day, the rumblings of a new financial crisis grow louder.  For example, this week we learned that commercial bankruptcy filings in the United States in August were up a whopping 29 percent compared to the same period a year ago…

In August, US commercial bankruptcy filings jumped 29% from a year ago to 3,199, the 10th month in a row of year-over-year increases, the American Bankruptcy Institute, in partnership with Epiq Systems, reported today.
There’s money to be made. While stockholders and some creditors get raked over the coals, lawyers make a killing on fees. And some folks on the inside track, hedge funds, and private equity firms can make a killing picking up assets for cents on the dollar.

Companies are going bankrupt at a rate that we haven’t seen since the last financial crisis, but nobody seems concerned.

Back in 2007 and early 2008, Federal Reserve Chair Ben Bernanke, President Bush and a whole host of “experts” assured us that everything was going to be just fine and that a recession was not coming.

Today, Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen, Barack Obama and a whole host of “experts” are assuring us that everything is going to be just fine and that a recession is not coming.

I hope that they are right.

I really do.

But there is a reason why so many firms are filing for bankruptcy, and there is a reason why so many Americans are getting behind on their auto loans.

Our giant debt bubble is beginning to burst, and this is going to cause a tremendous amount of financial chaos.

Let us just hope that the “too big to fail” banks can handle the stress this time around.