Iranian diesel does not meet the EPA requirements of the United States due to its higher sulphur concentration. Furthermore, the diesel that may or may not reach the United States would most likely be shipped out of the Baltic terminal of Primorsk, which is over 2,000 km away from the Caspian Sea. Iranian diesel would most likely serve the needs of the Russian army right now since the refineries near Ukraine have been targeted repeatedly.
My story with God.
I mostly talk markets on here, but today I want to share the story of the day I knew there was only one true King.
I grew up in church. Had a great foundation of what a relationship with God was supposed to look like.
Church on sundays. Bible study. Summer camps. Singing. Giving. Serving. Volunteering. You know the typa fam.
I was "doing good" in the world I guess, but didn't really feel like I truly knew Jesus or had a relationship with Him.
Felt like i was kinda larping as a christian to be honest. But then in my late teens & early 20s, life was getting ugly and I needed someone. Something. There was a gaping hole in my life/heart.
Because of my upbringing, i knew God was the answer but i didn't understand how to find or build a relationship with Him. Just felt like prayers were going unanswered.
^ spoiler: they weren't. I just needed to be patient. Here's where my story changes.
In the midst of struggles/trials in my life, i went to church one sunday and for whatever reason i felt different this day. Just off. Cant really explain it but whatever.
But the message from the pastor that day was about "miracles in the marketplace"...meaning the power of the Lord isn't just contained to the church walls or some building. I thought that was a cool idea.
Miracles can happen anywhere. So, as I got in the car after that church service. I was praying out loud (which I rarely do) for God to perform a miracle in the real world, my world, before I arrived home from that drive.
I had one stop during the drive. At an Aldi grocery store. I went in and did my shopping. Nothing crazy. Normal stuff.
But as I was walking out, i was thinking "wouldn't it be cool if a homeless person walked up so I could give them some money or something". Kinda a dumb thought in hindsight haha but whatver.
But if I gave a homeless person money then I could chalk that up as the "miracle" (was my thinking lol), but as I was walking out to this huge open parking lot, there was no other cars within 50 feet of my car. No people anywhere in sight...and I mean I was looking hard.
Not a soul was around.
Literally nobody. so I get to my car, open the trunk, toss my two bags of groceries in in less than 10 seconds...and as I'm swinging my big toyota rav4 trunk closed...
I kid you not, this man appears out of thin air. He did not exist. I have chills writing this. He appeared out of no where. He didn't ask for anything. He just said "hello".
I stood there for a sec and said "hey man, you scared me" (because it made me jump). He replied, "do not be afraid, i was just wanted to see if you wanted to grab a pizza. this is a little embarrassing but im hungry"
There was a domino's in the same parking lot, so I said of course. It was pouring rain but we walked over. I got him a pizza. His name was John. He was a homeless veteran. Just fallen on some bad luck.
As we were waiting for the pizza, he was telling me his story, and he said earlier that day he was praying for a sign from God. For someone to be kind to him. To eat with him. Treat him like a human again.
We sat for hours. He's weeping in the Domino's saying God has answered his prayers, and he's going back to the homeless shelter to tell everyone everything. Meanwhile, he just changed my life forever.
A miracle in the marketplace. An answer prayer. A supernatural encounter. A relatinship with the one true King.
So, on this Sunday, remember that while this life can be blast. Making money is fun. Traveling is cool.
But it's all fleeting. One day, none of the money, the status, the followers, or the "things" we spent our lives chasing will matter.
I spent years thinking I needed some massive sign from God to know He was real...turns out, all I needed was a pizza with a stranger. My DM's are always open.
Happy Sunday everyone, let's have a week this week!