Global Financial Markets Plunged Into Chaos As Italy Overwhelmingly Votes ‘No’ - Michael Snyder THE ECONOMIC COLLAPSE BLOG

Global Financial Markets Plunged Into Chaos As Italy Overwhelmingly Votes ‘No’

Posted: 04 Dec 2016  Michael Snyder  THE ECONOMIC COLLAPSE BLOG

Italian voters have embraced the global trend of rejecting the established world order, but the “no” vote on Sunday has plunged global financial markets into a state of utter chaos.  The euro has already fallen to a 20 month low, Italian government bonds are poised for a tremendous crash, and futures markets are indicating that both U.S. and European stock markets will be way down when they open on Monday. 

It is being projected that Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi’s referendum on constitutional reforms will be defeated by about 20 percentage points when all the votes have been counted, and Renzi has already announced that he plans to resign as a result.  When new elections are held it looks like comedian Beppe Grillo’s Five-Star movement will come to power, and the European establishment is extremely alarmed at that prospect because Grillo wants to take Italy out of the eurozone.  In the long run Italy would be much better off without the euro, but in the short-term the only thing propping up Italy’s failing banking system is support from Europe.  Without that support, the 8th largest economy on the entire planet would already be in the midst of an unprecedented financial crisis.

I know that I said a lot in that first paragraph, but it is imperative that people understand how serious this crisis could quickly become.

This “no” vote virtually guarantees a major banking crisis for Italy, and many analysts fear that it could trigger a broader financial crisis all across the rest of the continent as well.
Just look at what has already happened.  All of the votes haven’t even been counted yet, and the euro is absolutely plummeting…

The euro dropped 1.3 percent to $1.0505, falling below its 1 1/2-year low of $1.0518 touched late last month, and testing its key support levels where the currency has managed to rebound in the past couple of years.
A break below its 2015 March low of $1.0457 would send the currency to its lowest level since early 2003, opening a way for a test of $1, or parity against the dollar, a scenario which many market players now see as a real possibility.

In early 2014, there were times when one euro was trading for almost $1.40.  For a very long time I have been warning that the euro was eventually heading for parity with the U.S. dollar, and now we are almost there.

Meanwhile, Italian government bonds are going to continue to crash following this election result.  This is going to make it even more difficult for the Italian government to borrow money, and that will only aggravate their ongoing financial troubles.

But the big problem in Italy is the banks.  At this moment there are eight banks in imminent danger of collapsing, and virtually all of the rest of them are in some stage of trouble.  The following comes from a Bloomberg article about the crisis that Italian banks are facing right at this moment…

They’re burdened with a mountain of bad loans. Their stocks have cratered. And they have to operate in an economy prone to recession and political upheaval.
Signs have been mounting for months that Italy’s weakest lenders, and in particular Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA, were sliding toward the precipice, threatening to reignite a broader crisis.

And we may get some news regarding the fate of Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena as early as Monday morning if what the Sydney Morning Herald is reporting is correct…

A last-gasp rescue for Monte dei Paschi di Siena, the world’s oldest surviving bank, has been thrown into doubt after reformist prime minister Matteo Renzi decisively lost a referendum on constitutional reform on Sunday.
MPS and advisers JPMorgan and Mediobanca will meet as early as Monday morning to decide whether to pull a plan to go ahead with a €5bn recapitalisation, the FT reports, citing people informed of the plan.
Senior bankers will decide whether to pursue their underwriting commitments or exercise their right to drop the transaction due to adverse market conditions, these people said. In the event the banks drop the capital plan, the Italian state is expected to nationalise the bank, say senior bankers.

If Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena fails, major banks all over Italy (and all over the rest of Europe) could start going down like dominoes.

So what were Italians voting on anyway?

Well, the truth is that the constitutional reforms that were proposed actually sound quite boring…

“The changes involve sharply reducing the size of one of the chambers of Parliament — the Senate — shifting its powers to the executive, and eliminating the Senate’s power to bring down government coalitions.
“The amendments also shift some powers now held by the regions to the central government, thereby reducing frequent and lengthy court battles between Rome and the regional governments.”

The reason why this vote was ultimately so important is because it became a referendum on Renzi’s administration.  The fact that he announced in advance that he would resign if it did not get approved gave a tremendous amount of fuel to the opposition.

So now Beppe Grillo’s Five-Star Movement stands poised to come to power, and that could be very bad news for those that are hoping to hold the common currency together.

The following is how NPR recently summarized the main goals of the Five-Star Movement…

“It calls for a government-guaranteed, universal income, abolishing Italy’s fiscal commitments to the European Union and a referendum on Italy’s membership in the Euro — a prospect that could unravel the entire single currency Eurozone.”

If Italy chooses to leave the euro, it will probably mean the end of the common currency, and the continued existence of the entire European Union would be called into question.

So this vote on Sunday was huge.  The Brexit had already done a tremendous amount of damage to the long-term prospects for the European Union, and now the crisis in Italy is sending political and financial shockwaves throughout the entire continent.

Over the next few weeks, keep a close eye on the euro and on Italian government bonds.
If they both continue to crash, that will be a sign that a major European financial crisis is now upon us.

And what happens in Europe definitely does not stay in Europe.

If Europe goes down, we are going to go down too.

At this point we still have almost a month left in 2016, but 2017 is already shaping up to be a very troubling year.  As always, let us hope for the best, but let us also keep preparing for the worst.

When Jesus Fixes His Eyes on You - JOE MCKEEVER CHARISMA MAGAZINE

What will you do when Jesus fixes His eyes on you? (YouTube)

When Jesus Fixes His Eyes on You

12/2/2016 JOE MCKEEVER  CHARISMA MAGAZINE

"His eyes were like a flame of fire" (Rev. 1:14b).

In a Harry Bosch detective story, best-selling author Michael Connelly tells of a murder victim who, while being hanged, had a bucket placed over his head. Connelly explains to the reader that killers who want to dehumanize their victims often hide their faces, perhaps blindfold them or in this case, cover their head with a bucket.

Rapists, says Connelly, will often blindfold their victims or place a pillow over their face. They cannot stand the pain of looking into the eyes of one whom they are destroying.

The eyes tell so much of what the soul experiences.

A reporter was interviewing a medic who had served during the Vietnam war. "How," he asked, "does a medic handle the constant suffering he has to deal with day after day?" The man answered, "Never look a dying man in the eyes."

Two small, mostly unnoticed insights from Scripture come to mind.

"And the men who were holding Jesus in custody were mocking Him, and beating Him, and they blindfolded Him ..." (Luke 22:63-64a, emphasis mine). Of the four Gospel writers, only Luke gives us this detail. Did they cover His eyes so they would not have to look at them? It would not surprise us if this were the case.

And then this one:

While our Lord was on trial, Peter hung close but when pressed, denied he even knew Jesus.

About an hour later another man firmly declared, "Certainly, this man also was with Him, for he is a Galilean." Peter said, "Man, I do not know what you are saying." Immediately, while he was yet speaking, the rooster crowed. The Lord turned and looked at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how He had told him, "Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times." And Peter went outside and wept bitterly (Luke 22:59-62).

All four Gospels record how Peter denied the Lord three times, all but John say he wept bitterly following this devastating breakdown, but only Luke tells us the trigger that started the tears flowing was Jesus' eyes fixed on Peter.

We can only imagine.

What must that have been like?

What did people think as His eyes took in the whole room and stopped when they lit on them? How did that feel?

Jesus' opponents dared Him to heal a man on the Sabbath. They brought into the synagogue a man with a withered hand, planted him right in front of the Lord, and they waited. And watched. "When He had looked around at them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts ..." Jesus proceeded to heal the man. (Mark 3:5)

Those eyes.

If the soul is in the eyes, as everyone says and as artists claim, then imagine the eyes of the greatest soul who ever lived, the very Son of God. What must those eyes have been like?

In the Revelation, John sees the great and the small standing before the Lord in judgment. "They said to the mountains and rocks, 'Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb'" (Rev. 6:16). Was that in order to avoid looking Him in the eye? Those who have fought against Him and resisted Him and persecuted His children will want to avoid those eyes, I'm confident.

But for believers, the eyes of the loving Savior are kind and gracious. "For the eyes of the Lord move about on all the earth to strengthen the heart that is completely toward Him" (2 Chron. 16:9).

"Lord, let your light, light of your face, shine on us.

That we may be saved; That we may have life

To find our way in the darkest night.

Let your light shine on us."

(lyrics to "Shine on Us" by Phillips, Craig and Dean") 

After five years as director of missions for the 100 Southern Baptist churches of metro New Orleans, Joe McKeever retired on June 1, 2009. These days, he has an office at the First Baptist Church of Kenner, where he's working on three books and trying to accept every speaking/preaching invitation that comes his way.

For the original article, visit joemckeever.com. 

Draw closer to God. Experience the presence of the Holy Spirit every month as you read Charisma magazine. Sign up now to get Charisma for as low as $1 per issue.

Get to know the Holy Spirit and how to interact with Him on a daily basis. Learn to enter God's presence and hear His voice clearly for yourself! Go deeper in your faith with Life in the Spirit and change your life and destiny. Are you ready to start your journey?

Putting the Holocaust Into Its Proper Context - OLIVIER MELNICK CHARISMA NEWS

The Nazi concentration camp at Auschwitz. (Wikimedia Commons )

Putting the Holocaust Into Its Proper Context

12/5/2016 OLIVIER MELNICK  CHARISMA NEWS

We live at a time when Jewish people are being accused of dwelling unnecessarily on the memory of the Holocaust. But at the same time, we are seeing swastikas being painted on doors, walls and even tombstones across the globe.

Mahmoud Abbas was unanimously reelected as leader of Fatah, and the West is supposed to get excited about the man they believe could make peace with Israel. Let us not forget he is a Holocaust denier who wrote his thesis in 1982 on that very topic under the title "The Connection between the Nazis and the Leaders of the Zionist Movement."

Populist parties are gaining tremendous ground in Europe as the desire to stop and control the migrant crisis becomes a priority. With them, they bring the deep rooted European racial antisemitism we thought was defunct.

Only a couple of years ago on the streets of Paris, I heard people marching and chanting, "Jews to the ovens." It seems a lot of people are either denying the Holocaust, wanting another one or worse, are clueless about the first one.

I don't think we speak too much of the Holocaust, but we don't think about it in its proper context.

Scholars, philosophers, theologians and historians have all grappled with the Holocaust, trying to come to terms with the immensity of its evil in strength and scope. Some within classical Jewish religious thought believe the Holocaust was God's retribution or payback for Israel's sins. In other words, it was God's desire to discipline Israel for her sins and, as such, was part of God's plan all along.

The common name for it is Mi-penei hata ' einu (Hebrew for "because of our sins we were punished.") It refers to divine punishment for the sins of Israel. It is true that the Tenach is replete with stories about the sins of Israel and their consequential discipline from God.

Holocaust survivor and Nobel Prize laureate, Elie Wiesel, wrote in 1962 of the religious Jewish reaction to the Holocaust in Commentary Magazine: "The feeling of guilt was, to begin with, essentially a religious feeling. If I am here, it is because God is punishing me; I have sinned, and I am expiating my sins. I have deserved this punishment that I am suffering."

Wiesel, along with many others, feel that while the punishment inflicted by the Holocaust might not be proportionate to the sins committed by Israel, the two are related. Incidentally, if one believes that—as the Bible teaches—the price for our sins is death (Ezek. 18:4), then the Holocaust could be justified. But why would God wait almost 2,000 years to punish Israel, and why inflict pain and suffering on generations that are so far removed from the previous ones?

Others see Israel as the Suffering Servant of Is. 52:13-53:12. They will assign the suffering of the Holocaust to all Israel (all Jewish people.) Although it is beyond the scope of this article to discuss the meaning of Isaiah 53, let's state that this controversial passage definitely speaks of suffering, humiliation and death in no uncertain terms. But it can also refer to a person and not Israel as a whole. If indeed it refers to a person in particular, Yeshua of Nazareth is the only one who would fit that description, especially since toward the end of the passage, after humiliation, suffering and death comes resurrection.

Some speak of Hester Panim ("hiding of the face,") also known as "the eclipse of God." Ps. 44:23-24 speaks of God hiding His face: "Awake; why do You sleep, O Lord? Arise; do not reject us forever. Why do You hide Your face, and forget our affliction and our oppression?"

Was God absent during the Holocaust? From the standpoint of protecting the victims from suffering and death, it would certainly appear to be true. Each and every one of the six million innocent victims—if they could speak—would most likely testify of God's absence or lack of involvement.

Yet, when we speak of the eclipse of God, we must recall what an eclipse is all about: a visual disappearance while the physical presence remains. In other words, God might have been eclipsed or might have been hiding His face during the Holocaust, but He was always there and always within reach. Not only was He there, but He felt the pain of the victims as Isaiah 63:9a tells us: "In all their affliction He was afflicted, and the angel of His presence saved them; In His love and in His mercy He redeemed them."

Many religious people, Jewish and Gentile, wound up in the camps. If God was silent, some of His people weren't. The eclipse of God was not because He didn't care, but possibly because for a time, He removed Himself from the affairs of men, leaving the fate of many in the hands of a few. At the very least, He allowed for the Jewish people not to be under His protection, as He had done repeatedly in the long history of the children of Israel.

Isaiah tells us God cared as He suffered affliction for His people. Additionally, God took no pleasure in the death of the many. Even assuming Israel was being punished by the Holocaust for being wicked—a case that cannot be made with absolute certainty—the prophet Ezekiel speaks of God when he writes, "Say to them: As I live, says the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked turn from his way and live" (Ezek. 33:11a).

The Holocaust prompted many Jews who survived the Holocaust to come to the conclusion that God is dead. Again Elie Wiesel, this time in his seminal work Night,depicts the agonizing hanging of a young boy:

"Where is God? Where is He?" someone behind me asked ... For more than half an hour [the child in the noose] stayed there, struggling between life and death, dying in slow agony under our eyes. And we had to look him full in the face. He was still alive when I passed in front of him. His tongue was still red, his eyes were not yet glazed. Behind me, I heard the same man asking: "Where is God now?" And I heard a voice within me answer him: "Where is He? Here He is—He is hanging here on this gallows."

But if God died during the Holocaust, why did it come to a halt in 1945? The Nazi war machine was well-oiled and extremely efficient. The liberation of the camps and the capitulation of Germany would militate towards God not being dead and, on the contrary, being instrumental in the end of World War II. This is also in line with His promise never to completely destroy Israel as found in Jeremiah (Jer. 31:35-37.)

I could continue to look at the Holocaust and wrestle further with causes for it. Regardless of how many approaches with come up with, we will most certainly come back to evil being at the core of the catastrophe.

This leads us to the problem of evil. The existence of evil in the world is a topic that is highly debated. Very few believe evil doesn't exist. The Holocaust and how low humanity could bring itself proved evil exists.

Hitler wasn't insane. Insanity would exonerate him of all responsibility for the so-called "Final Solution to the Jewish problem." But Hitler was pure evil. But even when we recognize that, the source of all evil must still be identified.

I don't believe we can properly do such a thing without building our case on a biblical foundation. Morality is based on the balance between good and evil, which is best brought forward by looking at what the Tenach says.

Good and evil cannot exist independently of one another, since one defines the other. Going back to the first book of the Tenach, Genesis, we find out that one of God's most special angels, Satan, rebelled against God and fell from grace. From that point on, he has been working very hard at hating what God loves and loving what God hates. That puts the Jewish people and Israel directly in his crosshairs.

Satan knows that through the Jewish people, more specifically through the tribe of Judah (Gen. 49:10), will come the Redeemer of mankind, the Messiah of Israel. His goal is to stop that from happening, because at some point in the future, Messiah will put an end to Satan's career, and he doesn't care for his retirement plan.

I am often asked if the birth of the modern state of Israel is a direct result of World War II and the Holocaust. I believe the answer is a resounding no. Rather, the Holocaust was an attempt by Satan to destroy the Jews right before they would start fulfilling one of God's most amazing prophecy about their return to their biblical land (Ezek. 36-38.)

There is no doubt in my mind that Satan was aware of the return of the Jews to Israel in the end times. He had to stop it, or at least try, thus the Holocaust. He used Pharaoh to try to stop Moses from being born, he used Herod to try to stop Yeshua from being born and he used Nazi Germany and Hitler to try to stop the Jews from moving back to Israel and fulfilling God's covenantal promises. Satan exploited the fact that the Jewish people weren't under God's protection and were more at the mercy of the nation to attempt their total eradication. He almost succeeded, but God is greater. Not only God is greater, but He is interested in every single soul that exists. God wants to draw them to Him, one soul at a time. 

So again, it is not that we speak too much of the Holocaust, but maybe that we speak of it in the wrong context. 

Olivier Melnick is the author of They Have Conspired Against You, a book on the rebirth of worldwide anti-Semitism and how to fight it, as well as the novel The Rabbi's Triad, an evangelistic thriller. He is also a guest commentator on WorldNetDaily, Times of Israel and other websites such as his blog site at newantisemitism.com. Olivier serves as a Regional Director in Washington state. He also serves on the Board of Directors of Chosen People France.

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.

Did you enjoy this blog? Click here to receive it by email.

The Lebanese Christian Billionaire Building Israel's Fleet - Israel Today

The Lebanese Christian Billionaire Building Israel's Fleet

Monday, December 05, 2016 |  Israel Today Staff

RELATED STORIES

• Hezbollah Threatens to Invade Israel, Destroy Jewish State
• Lebanese encroachment on Israeli waters could lead to war
• Israel furious after UK justifies Hezbollah terror

Topics:

Lebanon

Last week it was reported that Iran holds nearly 5 percent of shares in the German conglomerate supplying Israel’s submarines.

Perhaps more surprising is that the conglomerate in question, ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems, works hand-in-hand with Abu Dhabi MAR to provide naval surface vessels to various nations, including Israel.

Abu Dhabi MAR is partly owned and is fully managed by Iskandar Safa (pictured), a French-Lebanese billionaire from a Maronite Christian family in northern Lebanon.

Safa today spends most of his time in Paris and London, having been personally wounded during the bloody civil wars that ravaged his homeland. But his company, Privinvest, which owns 30 percent of Abu Dhabi MAR, still has offices in Beirut.

An expose published in Israel’s Yediot Ahronot suggested that Safa, who sees himself as a “citizen of the world,” has had ties to Israel for decades.

Years ago, an anonymous source told a French newspaper that Safa had “ties in all communities in the Middle East, including Israel and the Mossad.”

Former Mossad agent Uri Lubrani confirmed to Yediot that he met with Safa in the 1980s as part of efforts to secure the release Ron Arad, an Israel Air Force navigator downed and captured during the First Lebanon War.

Want more news from Israel?
Click Here to sign up for our FREE daily email updates

Pillar of Cloud Defends Israel's Border With Syria - Israel Today

Pillar of Cloud Defends Israel's Border With Syria

Monday, December 05, 2016 |  Israel Today Staff

RELATED STORIES

• Reports: Syrian refugees cheer Israeli air strikes
• EXCLUSIVE: Syrian Kurdish leader on looming US attack and its consequences
• Exclusive: Israelis infiltrate Syria to provide clandestine aid

Topics:

Syria

Amidst increasing ISIS activity on the Syrian side of the Golan Heights, Israeli soldiers stationed there reported that over the weekend a literal pillar of cloud descended on the border.

The bizarre storm completely engulfed the Syrian side of the border, but stopped just at the boundary and did not enter Israel.

A number of soldiers are seen in the following video capturing the phenomenon on their cellphones.

The video went viral on Facebook, where not a few Israelis labeled the storm as “divine intervention.”

“Huge miracle! Notice how God stopped this enormous storm exactly on the border,” wrote Yifat Romano. “Thank you, Father!”

Netanel Tanaami wondered, “What more do you need to believe?”

“The Creator of the world is protecting us,” proclaimed Nissim Nahoum.

Want more news from Israel?
Click Here to sign up for our FREE daily email updates

Despite Vast Islamic Persecution, Youth Birth 'Awakening' in Iran - JESSILYN JUSTICE CHARISMA NEWS

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks live on television after casting his ballot in the Iranian presidential election in Tehran.REUTERS/Caren Firouz/File Photo

Despite Vast Islamic Persecution, Youth Birth 'Awakening' in Iran

JESSILYN JUSTICE

Dec, 3, 2016 charisma news

Iranian youth have sparked an "awakening" among their countrymen, with hundreds being baptized recently. 

"The youth have become restless and have looked toward an alternative to the regime and Islam," CCM Ministries founder and CEO Mani Erfan tells Fox News. "The youth find Western culture and the Christian church very appealing.

"It's become a counter-culture. A counter-revolution to the [1979 Iranian] Revolution." 

ELAM Ministries estimates more than 200 Iranians and Afghans have been baptized since August.  

"News from Iran dominates our headlines, but behind the scenes God is building His church," according to the ELAM website. "Thirty years of Islamic revolution have made Iranians the most open Muslim people in the world to Christ. And it is only the gospel that can bring peace to Iranians and the whole Middle East." 

Shia Islam governs Iran, according to Open Doors USA, creating a devastating hostile environment for the country's 450,000 Christians.  

"Christianity is also considered a condemnable Western influence, an imminent threat to the Islamic identity of the Republic. Especially as their numbers are growing and, allegedly, even children of political and spiritual leaders are leaving Islam for Christianity," Open Doors reports. 

Jessilyn Justice is the assistant news editor for Charisma. Born and raised in a pastor's family in Alabama, she went to Lee University and the Washington Journalism Center. She's passionate about the church, jogging, news and cupcakes not necessarily in that order. Tell her what you think of this story on Twitter @jessilynjustice.

Biblical Pillar of Cloud Appears Over Golan, Proving Hand of God Protects Israel From ISIS [WATCH] - Abra Forman BREAKING ISRAEL NEWS

Biblical Pillar of Cloud Appears Over Golan, Proving Hand of God Protects Israel From ISIS [WATCH]

By Abra Forman December 4, 2016  BREAKING ISRAEL NEWS

“Thou Hashem art in the midst of this people; inasmuch as Thou Hashem art seen face to face, and Thy cloud standeth over them, and Thou goest before them, in a pillar of cloud by day, and in a pillar of fire by night.” Numbers 14:13 (The Israel Bible™)

A startling video which has been shared over 140,000 times on Facebook reveals without a doubt the hand of God protecting Israel against her enemies.

The video, posted on Thursday by Israel News Online, shows what appears to be an enormous pillar of cloud, dust and rain hovering over the dangerous border between Israel and Syria – in the very same area where ISIS militants had attacked IDF forces for the first time four days earlier.

Most incredibly, the mysterious cloud ended precisely at the border without entering Israel’s Golan Heights region, seeming to afflict the Syrian side while not harming Israel.

“This strange storm of what appears to be dust, cloud and rain did NOT cross the border fence into Israel. It sat like a barrier between ISIS and Israel,” the Facebook post read.

In the video, dozens of amazed IDF soldiers are shown photographing and taping the bizarre weather phenomenon with their phones.

WATCH HERE

Early Warning Signs You're About to Make a Terrible Decision - BECKY DVORAK CHARISMA NEWS

Get the answer to your challenging circumstance in this insight from James 1:5. (Jordan McQueen)

Early Warning Signs You're About to Make a Terrible Decision

12/3/2016 BECKY DVORAK  CHARISMA NEWS

Need to make a difficult decision? Do you feel as if you are backed into a corner and you just don't know what you should do? We've all been in this place one time or another, and although it's not pleasant, there is an answer.

James 1:5 encourages us with these words, "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all men liberally and without criticism, and it will be given to him." This word "wisdom", sophía, G4678 in Strong's Concordance, means either worldly or spiritual wisdom and skill in the management of affairs.

This is a bit of good news for those who are in a tough spot or feel as though they are pressed between a rock and a hard place. God desires to lead us in our decision-making process. We just need to remember to take the time to ask Him to show us the way. And He also gives to us His Holy Spirit as our guide. "But when the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth. For He will not speak on His own authority. But he will speak whatever He hears, and He will tell you things that are to come" (John 16:13). 

This Scripture clearly states the Holy Spirit will guide you. It doesn't say the Holy Spirit will push or force you into a decision but that He will show you the way. He does not use fear tactics but leads you into all truth, not just a bit of the truth concerning a matter but all truth pertaining to the situation. But the main point is that He does not push. He leads you, guides you, woos you and shepherds you into all truth.

For example, your doctor tells you if you do not take a certain medicine you won't get well, but the warning label on the medicine bottle clearly states this medicine will make you sick. Or worse yet, your doctor tells you the medicine or treatment you are taking is not working, but if you stop taking it, you will die. This is a difficult situation to find yourself in, and it demands that you make a quality decision, and fast.

Your doctor is giving it to you straight as he or she sees it. And in the natural realm, the diagnosis could be correct, but does it include the ultimate option of faith? Elohim, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are omniscient, all-knowing. They understand the problem, and they know how to heal it. God is also omnipotent, all-powerful and has the ability to make you whole again. Trust and allow the Holy Spirit to guide you into all truth concerning healing. Remember, God isn't moved by time but by faith. And He only needs one moment to reveal all the truth you need to heal.

Then there are other types of decisions that are not urgent, such as making a large purchase in which you need to borrow more money than you should or would like. What do you do? An old pastor of mine once told the congregation concerning these types of decisions, "If it can't wait two weeks, it probably is not of God." This is so true.

I remember when my husband and I were newly married and had a salesman come to our home trying to sell us cemetery plots. We politely listened to his sales pitch and told him that even though there was wisdom in what he shared, we couldn't make an immediate decision but needed time to think. The man was so upset he began shouting at us, thinking his nasty tone and meanness would insure him a quick sale. It did not. We activated the godly golden nugget of the two-week waiting period for matters like this, given to us by our pastor by the leading of the Holy Spirit.

Hasty decisions are usually ones you will regret, and they can cause serious family, relationship, financial and even health problems. While I was growing up, my grandma had a plaque hanging on her kitchen wall that said, "The hurrieder I go, the behinder I get." I often remind myself with those old words of wisdom.  I also take to heart what Moses says to the people in Numbers 9:8, "Stand still, and I will hear what the Lord will command concerning you." In other words, "Stop, drop to your knees, pray and find out what God has to say about the matter before calling out your decision."

If you feel any confusion in your heart concerning the matter, don't ignore it. This is probably a signal from God that something is not right. Take the time needed to pray through to His peace, because God is not the author of confusion. (See 1 Cor. 14:33.)

And again I reiterate: the Holy Spirit leads us. He does not force us into a decision as our enemy, Satan does. You will save yourself from a lot of heartache and negative consequences if you will learn to follow God's leading and not respond hastily to the enemy pushing you into a bad decision. 

Becky Dvorak is a prophetic healing evangelist and the author of DARE to Believe, Greater Than Magic and The Healing Creed. Visit her at authorbeckydvorak.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.