"Then those who revered the Lord spoke with one another. The Lord took note of this and listened, and a book of remembrance was written before him of those who revered the Lord and hallowed his name. They shall be mine, says the Lord of hosts, my special possession on the day when I act, and I will spare them as parents spare their children who serve them. Then once more you shall see the difference between the righteous and the lawless, between the one who serves God and the one who does not serve."
Malachi 3:16-18
"And so Jesus gave us a new norm of greatness. If you want to be important— wonderful. If you want to be recognized— wonderful. If you want to be great— wonderful. But recognize that he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. And this morning, the thing that I like about it: by giving that definition of greatness, it means that everybody can be great, because everybody can serve."
Martin Luther King, The Drum Major Instinct, Ebenezer Baptist Church, February 4, 1968
"We poor tired sons of Adam need to be made young again. To become children to enter the kingdom. To have the mind and heart of a child is to be in touch with reality, unobstructed by the fantasies of the worldly 'wisdom.' They are ready to receive the truth in amazement at what is there. Children naturally have this wonder. As we get older we can live in a virtual world of illusion, of our own concepts and making, and false sense of security. Return, with an open mind and heart, to the Gospels."
John Saward
Everyone serves something, whether they realize it or not.
Most people serve themselves, through the love of some vain idol of the market, whether it be money, status, possessions, or power.
Those who can do so put themselves aside to serve the Lord, or some ideal greater than themselves, which becomes the focal point of their energy and their love.
The Dollar and the markets reacted strongly to a slight variation in the CPI inflation data this morning.
The Dollar rallied sharply.
Stocks slumped, in stages,
Gold and silver declined.
VIX rose.
The direction of the markets was extended. Today might have been a reversal of trends more than anything else. The CPI data was merely a trigger.
Let's see how we go on this week, and particular into the weekend.
The risk tails in the geopolitical sector are much fatter than the markets appear to allow.
Have a pleasant evening.
