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Someone listening to our [http://keysofthekingdom.info/TSH-160709.mp3 broadcast from July of 2016] found fault with a statement I made about grain reserves. The program was actually about [[Audio2016#Tracking_the_Beast|Tracking the spirit of the Beast]] of the Book of Revelation.
Someone listening to our [http://keysofthekingdom.info/TSH-160709.mp3 broadcast from July of 2016] found fault with a statement I made about grain reserves. The program was actually about [[Audio2016#Tracking_the_Beast|Tracking the spirit of the Beast]] of the Book of Revelation.


About 15 minutes into the broadcast the critic thought I said "the silos are empty and we are out of grain". He wanted proof of this and of course I had none because that is not what I said.
About 15 minutes into the broadcast the critic thought I said "the silos are empty and we are out of grain". He wanted proof of this, and of course I had none because that is not what I said.


What I said was that ''we used to have years and years of grain supplies in this country'' referring to  strategic reserves of grain set aside for a time when there could be major consecutive crop failures in this country or world-wide. Part of that surplus grain was what was called the "strategic grain supply".
What I said was that ''we used to have years and years of grain supplies in this country'' referring to  strategic reserves of grain set aside for a time when there could be major consecutive crop failures in this country or world-wide. Part of that surplus grain was what was called the "strategic grain supply".
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He noted that "Today corn is being piled on the ground in huge mountains because there isn't enough storage space." It is very common to pile grain on the ground until it can be shipped to some place.
He noted that "Today corn is being piled on the ground in huge mountains because there isn't enough storage space." It is very common to pile grain on the ground until it can be shipped to some place.


I used to pile grain on the ground back in the 60's until it could be shipped to buyers but there was 6 to 7 years supply of grain in silos on the farm at the time. That meant you could have 7 years of crops failing and still have some wheat for annual consumption.
I used to pile grain on the ground back in the 60's until it could be shipped to buyers, but there was 6 to 7 years supply of grain in silos on the farm at the time. That meant you could have 7 years of crops failing and still have some wheat for annual consumption.


In crop year 2008/2009, a total of approximately 2.24 billion metric tons of grain were produced world-wide. That sounds like a lot of grain. But what does that mean?
In crop year 2008/2009, a total of approximately 2.24 billion metric tons of grain were produced world-wide. That sounds like a lot of grain. But what does that mean?


On-farm storage of wheat has dropped from 190 to 175 million bushels since 1996.<Ref>https://www.nass.usda.gov/Statistics_by_State/Kentucky/Publications/Annual_Statistical_Bulletin/B2007/p039.pdf</Ref> In America much of this loss of storage capacity is due to the fact that there is no real support for a grain reserve so people have turned [http://www.motherearthnews.com/diy/buildings/grain-bins-z10m0gri.aspx silos into vacation homes].
On-farm storage of wheat has dropped from 190 to 175 million bushels since 1996.<Ref>https://www.nass.usda.gov/Statistics_by_State/Kentucky/Publications/Annual_Statistical_Bulletin/B2007/p039.pdf</Ref> In America much of this loss of storage capacity is due to the fact that there is no real support for a grain reserve, so people have turned [http://www.motherearthnews.com/diy/buildings/grain-bins-z10m0gri.aspx silos into vacation homes].
Many silos are full but the private storage capacity has decreased in relationship to the increased demand. And in many countries the only new grain storage increase is government controlled.
Many silos are full, but the private storage capacity has decreased in relationship to the increased demand. And in many countries, the only new grain storage increase is government controlled.


Historically that has been a bad idea if the people want to remain free. Grain has played a greater role in the success and failure of major civilizations from Egypt to [[Rome]] and China and India. Our modern world is not immune to global famine. In fact we have never been more vulnerable.
Historically that has been a bad idea if the people want to remain free. Grain has played a greater role in the success and failure of major civilizations from Egypt to [[Rome]] and China and India. Our modern world is not immune to global famine. In fact, we have never been more vulnerable.


The unrelenting rise of power in [[Imperial Cult of Rome|imperial Rome]] was directly related to the price and availability of grain. Grain distribution by the public [[temples]] was used to dull the sense of independence in the people through the free [[Bread and circuses]] given away as public [[welfare]]. [[Rome]] the [[Republic]] had at one time relied upon [[Freewill offerings]] of the people to support these [[temples]] and their charitable distribution. However, they were supported by ''men who called themselves [[Benefactors]] but who [[Exercises authority|exercised authority]]''. These were the ''[[Fathers|conscripted fathers of the earth]]'' in [[Imperial Cult of Rome|imperial Rome]] that planted the [[Roots of the Welfare State]] which brought in the decay of that society until it was no longer ''great''.
The unrelenting rise of power in [[Imperial Cult of Rome|imperial Rome]] was directly related to the price and availability of grain. Grain distribution by the public [[temples]] was used to dull the sense of independence in the people through the free [[Bread and circuses]] given away as public [[welfare]]. [[Rome]] the [[Republic]] had at one time relied upon [[Freewill offerings]] of the people to support these [[temples]] and their charitable distribution. However, they were supported by ''men who called themselves [[Benefactors]] but who [[Exercises authority|exercised authority]]''. These were the ''[[Fathers|conscripted fathers of the earth]]'' in [[Imperial Cult of Rome|imperial Rome]] that planted the [[Roots of the Welfare State]] which brought in the decay of that society until it was no longer ''great''.
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The government's "strategic grain reserve" in America was proposed back in the 1930's by  Benjamin Graham. It was meant to moderate the boom and bust cycle of grain prices that often caused bankruptcy when grain prices dropped in surplus years.
The government's "strategic grain reserve" in America was proposed back in the 1930's by  Benjamin Graham. It was meant to moderate the boom and bust cycle of grain prices that often caused bankruptcy when grain prices dropped in surplus years.


President Franklin D. Roosevelt created a grain reserve that supposedly helped American farms during the Depression. In the 1970s the government redesigned the Farmer-Owned Grain Reserve by offering low-cost and even no-interest loans for stored grain and subsidized the storage costs. But global markets drained the need for the national system of an effective grain reserve over the following decades until the ''1996 Freedom to Farm Act'' abolished the national system of effective grain reserve.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt created a grain reserve that supposedly helped American farms during the Depression. In the 1970s, the government redesigned the Farmer-Owned Grain Reserve by offering low-cost and even no-interest loans for stored grain and subsidized the storage costs. But global markets drained the need for the national system of an effective grain reserve over the following decades, until the ''1996 Freedom to Farm Act'' abolished the national system of effective grain reserve.


The reserve which had once been a 6 or 7 years supply of grain for the whole country has dwindled and what was left became part of the Bill Emerson Humanitarian Trust under the authority of the secretary of Agriculture, which is seriously depleted.<Ref>Bill Emerson Humanitarian Trust is a food bank and global charity but according to [http://www.mit.edu/afs.new/sipb/contrib/wikileaks-crs/wikileaks-crs-reports/RS21234.pdf Wiki Leaks] only  approximately 1.1 million metric tons of wheat remain in the Trust.</Ref>  
The reserve which had once been a 6 or 7 years supply of grain for the whole country has dwindled, and what was left became part of the Bill Emerson Humanitarian Trust under the authority of the secretary of Agriculture, which is seriously depleted.<Ref>Bill Emerson Humanitarian Trust is a food bank and global charity, but according to [http://www.mit.edu/afs.new/sipb/contrib/wikileaks-crs/wikileaks-crs-reports/RS21234.pdf Wiki Leaks] only  approximately 1.1 million metric tons of wheat remain in the Trust.</Ref>  


* '''"The stores were gradually depleted until 2008, when the USDA decided to convert all of what was left into its dollar equivalent. And so the grain that once stabilized prices for farmers, bakers and American consumers ended up as a number on a spreadsheet in the Department of Agriculture."'''<Ref>''[http://articles.latimes.com/2012/sep/21/opinion/la-oe-kaufman-food-hunger-drought-20120921 How to fight a food crisis'' By Frederick Kaufman] September 21, 2012</Ref>
* '''"The stores were gradually depleted until 2008, when the USDA decided to convert all of what was left into its dollar equivalent. And so the grain that once stabilized prices for farmers, bakers and American consumers ended up as a number on a spreadsheet in the Department of Agriculture."'''<Ref>''[http://articles.latimes.com/2012/sep/21/opinion/la-oe-kaufman-food-hunger-drought-20120921 How to fight a food crisis'' By Frederick Kaufman] September 21, 2012</Ref>
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'''So what is the actual reserve today?'''
'''So what is the actual reserve today?'''


Estimates world-wide for Grains for 2015/2016 is 2453.35 Million Metric Tons with a total supply of  3030.58 Million Metric Tons and in the US those numbers would be 428.85 Million Metric Tons with a total supply of 505.47 Million Metric Tons.  Of that we will trade away at least 81.33 Million Metric Tons which is good for our trade deficit and only use about 348.73 Million Metric Tons. That leaves us with an ending stock of  75.42 Million Metric Tons. <Ref>http://www.usda.gov/oce/commodity/wasde/latest.pdf</Ref>  
Estimates world-wide for Grains for 2015/2016 is 2453.35 Million Metric Tons with a total supply of  3030.58 Million Metric Tons, and in the US those numbers would be 428.85 Million Metric Tons with a total supply of 505.47 Million Metric Tons.  Of that, we will trade away at least 81.33 Million Metric Tons, which is good for our trade deficit and only use about 348.73 Million Metric Tons. That leaves us with an ending stock of  75.42 Million Metric Tons. <Ref>http://www.usda.gov/oce/commodity/wasde/latest.pdf</Ref>  


If there was any kind of a crop failure prices would go through the roof and there would be food riots. No one would want to see that would they?
If there was any kind of a crop failure, prices would go through the roof, and there would be food riots. No one would want to see that, would they?


What if you had global weather change and crops begin to fail several years in a row. In the case of world-wide crop failure the people will be starving within months of a major interruption.
What if you had global weather change and crops begin to fail several years in a row. In the case of world-wide crop failure, the people will be starving within months of a major interruption.


If there was really global weather change on the horizon and the government loved the people or the people just loved each other there would be a massive push to grow, buy and store grain since very few food products can be stored for so long more economically than grain. But they are not doing that because people do not love one another and their governments are not governments of love but force.<Ref>Matthew 11:12  And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence <971>, and the violent take it by force.
If there was really global weather change on the horizon, and if the government loved the people, or if the people just loved each other, there would be a massive push to grow, buy and store grain, since very few food products can be stored for so long and more economically than grain. But they are not doing that, because people do not love one another and their governments are not governments of love but force.<Ref>Matthew 11:12  And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence <971>, and the violent take it by force.
: Luke 16:16  The law and the prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth <971> into it.  
: Luke 16:16  The law and the prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth <971> into it.  
: 971 βιάζω biazo bee-ad’-zo from 970; v 1) to use force, to apply force </Ref>
: 971 βιάζω biazo bee-ad’-zo from 970; v 1) to use force, to apply force </Ref>
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In a world of self-centered people there is little vision of man through the course of history. Our personal vanity keeps us from seeing the truth or hearing it when it is told to us. Over the last 4000 years there have been many instances of world-wide famine due to weather changes which had nothing to do with fossil fuels or carbon taxes.
In a world of self-centered people there is little vision of man through the course of history. Our personal vanity keeps us from seeing the truth or hearing it when it is told to us. Over the last 4000 years there have been many instances of world-wide famine due to weather changes which had nothing to do with fossil fuels or carbon taxes.


The Maunder Minimum, a "prolonged sunspot minimum" from 1645 through 1715, caused crop failures world-wide and a reduction in world population. There have been numerous "Little Ice Ages" over the last two millennia due to volcanic eruptions that also brought world-wide famine. In 1315, cold weather and torrential rains decimated crops across Europe which destabilized countries as millions of people starved. Volcanic eruptions in the years following 540 A.D. produced the coldest decade in more than 2300 years and caused world-wide famine and cannibalism from Europe to China.  
The Maunder Minimum, a "prolonged sunspot minimum" from 1645 through 1715, caused crop failures world-wide and a reduction in world population. There have been numerous "Little Ice Ages" over the last two millennia due to volcanic eruptions that also brought world-wide famine. In 1315, cold weather and torrential rains decimated crops across Europe, which destabilized countries as millions of people starved. Volcanic eruptions in the years following 540 A.D. produced the coldest decade in more than 2300 years and caused world-wide famine and cannibalism from Europe to China.  


This can all happen again. Our modern dependence on technology does not make us less vulnerable but more. And our reliance on central government to come to our aid makes us foolish from an historical point of view. Governments of strong centralized power do not draw to its offices men of love and compassion but men who seek power and control. Power corrupts and in hard times the people will not come first. In fact people who would take a [[Biting one another|bite out of their neighbor]] to obtain personal benefits in good times will literally devour their neighbor in hard times.
This can all happen again. Our modern dependence on technology does not make us less vulnerable, but more. And our reliance on central government to come to our aid makes us foolish from an historical point of view. Governments of strong centralized power do not draw to its offices men of love and compassion, but men who seek power and control. Power corrupts, and in hard times the people will not come first. In fact, people who would take a [[Biting one another|bite out of their neighbor]] to obtain personal benefits in good times will literally devour their neighbor in hard times.


Global grain reserves were still low in 2013 after droughts in the US.<Ref>http://www.circleofblue.org/2013/world/global-grain-reserves-are-low-legacy-of-u-s-drought/</Ref> While the crops have been good for the most part since then there has been no real attempt to go back to the strategic storage levels of the past which would be essential for the survival of mankind in the case of world wide famine.
Global grain reserves were still low in 2013 after droughts in the US.<Ref>http://www.circleofblue.org/2013/world/global-grain-reserves-are-low-legacy-of-u-s-drought/</Ref> While the crops have been good for the most part since then, there has been no real attempt to go back to the strategic storage levels of the past, which would be essential for the survival of mankind in the case of world wide famine.


In fact, even though the crops in America have been so good, Loan Deficiency Payments<Ref>These LDPs are a farm income support created by the Food Security Act of 1985. That act was not only inadequate with its "swampbuster" clause but it seemed more concerned with  "Determining Where Farm Products are located" rather than creating a real usable reserve.</Ref> are still starting in some places. Without any change in the people there remains a looming threat to their life.  
In fact, even though the crops in America have been so good, Loan Deficiency Payments<Ref>These LDPs are a farm income support created by the Food Security Act of 1985. That act was not only inadequate with its "swampbuster" clause, but it seemed more concerned with  "Determining Where Farm Products are located", rather than creating a real usable reserve.</Ref> are still starting in some places. Without any change in the people, there remains a looming threat to their life.  


I am not suggesting another giant government boondoggle program to create a reserve but in a ''government of, for and by the people'', they should be gathering to create their own private and community-sponsored reserves.
I am not suggesting another giant government boondoggle program to create a reserve. In a ''government of, for and by the people'', they should be gathering to create their own private and community-sponsored reserves.


There used to be hundreds of grain buyers in business out here in the west but that part of the grain economy is now controlled by a few large companies. The people have relinquished control in the public and private sector. This is where a living [[Network]] of people who actually care about one another and not just themselves will make a difference.
There used to be hundreds of grain buyers in business out here in the west, but that part of the grain economy is now controlled by a few large companies. The people have relinquished control in the public and private sector. This is where a living [[Network]] of people who actually care about one another, and not just themselves, will make a difference.


The modern debt economy requires that everyone sell what they produce as soon as possible to pay off loans since everyone, including the government, is operating on credit. The problems in modern society are compounded because they are merely symptoms of a deeper problem within the heart and minds of the people.  
The modern debt economy requires that everyone sell what they produce as soon as possible to pay off loans, since everyone, including the government, is operating on credit. The problems in modern society are compounded because they are merely symptoms of a deeper problem within the heart and minds of the people.  


When it was pointed out to our Facebook critic, who is a farmer, that we were talking about "reserves" not "yearly production" he missed the point and followed with more rants presenting prices, production, and nothing about the absence of present day strategic reserves.
When it was pointed out to our Facebook critic, who is a farmer, that we were talking about "reserves", not "yearly production", he missed the point and followed with more rants presenting prices, production, and nothing about the absence of present day strategic reserves.


: Yes, production is up.
: Yes, production is up.
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: But who should create and control those ''strategic reserves''?
: But who should create and control those ''strategic reserves''?


My mentioning of ''reserves'' was motivated out of concerns of all the people while his focus on prices and production is about himself. Yes the 1932 national average of 38 cents a bushel would be equivalent in 2016 dollars of $6.67 a bushel. Even the USDA computes the parity price for wheat in 2016 should be $18.30 per bushel but will probably only be $3.45.<Ref>http://smallgrains.org/2016/07/just-low-wheat-prices-take-look-back-1800s-1900s-youll-see-time-low/</Ref>
My mentioning of ''reserves'' was motivated out of concerns of all the people, while his focus on prices and production is about himself. Yes, the 1932 national average of 38 cents a bushel would be equivalent in 2016 dollars of $6.67 a bushel. Even the USDA computes the parity price for wheat in 2016 should be $18.30 per bushel, but it will probably only be $3.45.<Ref>http://smallgrains.org/2016/07/just-low-wheat-prices-take-look-back-1800s-1900s-youll-see-time-low/</Ref>


How could the farmer survive under such price levels?
How could the farmer survive under such price levels?


This is possible only because of the innovation of modern machinery which can produce crops more efficiently and his squeezing of credit.  
This is possible only because of the innovation of modern machinery, which can produce crops more efficiently, and these are used because of his squeezing of credit.  


In almost every private sector business people are working more and harder for less return. But then people want more for less. They want those "benefits and the habit of receiving them by way of a rule of force and violence" which  [[Polybius]] spoke. [[John the Baptist]] and Christ and His [[Corban]] was explained in the Gospel of the [[Kingdom of God]].
In almost every private sector, business people are working more and harder for less return. But then people want more for less. They want those "benefits and the habit of receiving them by way of a rule of force and violence" which  [[Polybius]] spoke. [[John the Baptist]] and Christ and His [[Corban]] was explained in the Gospel of the [[Kingdom of God]].


The plight of the farmer and cost of equipment is certainly squeezing out farmers around the world. But again all his comments are off the point I was making because he is more concerned about his own plight and difficulties than the whole truth we are trying to share.
The plight of the farmer and cost of equipment is certainly squeezing out farmers around the world. But again, all his comments are off the point I was making because he is more concerned about his own plight and difficulties than the whole truth we are trying to share.


== History repeats itself ==
== History repeats itself ==
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* '''God knows when, but you're doing it again. You better duck down the alleyway, looking for a new friend... You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows... Don't follow leaders... The pump don't work 'Cause the vandals took the handles.''' Bob Dylan's "Subterranean Homesick Blues"
* '''God knows when, but you're doing it again. You better duck down the alleyway, looking for a new friend... You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows... Don't follow leaders... The pump don't work 'Cause the vandals took the handles.''' Bob Dylan's "Subterranean Homesick Blues"


We have already explained many of these issues along with the insidious issue of inflation<Ref>[[Money can be anything]]</Ref> and debt<Ref>[[Debt Money]]</Ref> which comes from people focusing on their problems more than the difficulties of others. [[Rome]] removed the silver from their denarii and suffered skyrocketing inflation that brought about chaos, and tyrants, until it collapsed altogether.
We have already explained many of these issues, along with the insidious issue of inflation<Ref>[[Money can be anything]]</Ref> and debt<Ref>[[Debt Money]]</Ref>, which comes from people focusing on their problems more than the difficulties of others. [[Rome]] removed the silver from their denarii and suffered skyrocketing inflation that brought about chaos, and tyrants, until it collapsed altogether.


At the time of Christ a modius (a 30 pound sack) of wheat went from 6 denarii in price to more than 120,000 denarii in a little over a generation. People were economically devastated by the anti-God policy of their government and its violation of Biblical precepts.  
At the time of Christ a modius (a 30 pound sack) of wheat went from 6 denarii (about 6 dimes) in price to more than 120,000 denarii in a little over a generation due to the fact that [[Emperator|Emperors]] removed silver from the Roman denarii which made them diverse weights.<Ref>Deuteronomy 25:13  Thou shalt not have in thy bag divers weights, a great and a small.
: [[Proverbs 20]]:10  Divers weights, and divers measures, both of them are alike abomination to the LORD.
: Proverbs 20:23  Divers weights are an abomination unto the LORD; and a false balance is not good.</Ref> People were economically devastated by the anti-God policy of their government and its violation of Biblical precepts.  


With a waive of their hand the ruling elite established a lie as the truth. But that lie was established in the hearts and minds of the people because they were opened to the lie. That lie was the mother of all lies.
Romans were so dependent upon the [[Benefactors]] who exercised authority they could not govern themselves and were only fit for a king or ruler as [[Polybius]] foretold.


With a wave of their hand, the ruling elite established a lie as the truth. But that lie was established in the hearts and minds of the people, because they were opened to the lie. That lie was the mother of all lies.


== Solutions ==
== Solutions ==




To be made in the ''image of God'', to come in the name of Christ, is to come to serve and to lay down your life for others. That is why [[charity]] and caring about and for others is so essential for the seeking of the [[Kingdom of God]] and His righteousness. Once your neighbor and righteousness is as important as yourself and your personal comfort you view of the world and what is right will begin to change. In order to care about others as much as yourself you must [[forgive]] and leave judgment to God.
To be made in the ''image of God'' ... to come in the name of Christ ... is to come to serve and to lay down your life for others. That is why [[charity]] and caring about and for others is so essential for the seeking of the [[Kingdom of God]] and His righteousness. Once your neighbor and righteousness is as important as yourself and your personal comfort, your view of the world and what is right will begin to change. In order to care about others as much as yourself, you must [[forgive]] and leave judgment to God.


The solution is [[salvation]] and [[salvation]] the solution. To [[Repent]] is to think another way and to be a [[Doers|doer]] is to go that [[The Way|way]] in earnest.
The solution is [[salvation]] and [[salvation]] the solution. To [[Repent]] is to think another way, and to be a [[Doers|doer]] is to go that [[The Way|way]] in earnest.


In the final analyses it is the "anti-God" policy of the people which is bringing the nation down. People are so focused on their own difficulty, discomfort and burdens they cannot see the real danger that faces everyone. Therefore they cannot hear nor see the solution.
In the final analysis, it is the "anti-God" policy of the people which is bringing the nation down. People are so focused on their own difficulty, discomfort and burdens, they cannot see the real danger that faces everyone. Therefore they cannot hear nor see the solution.


: So what do we do?
: So what do we do?
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We should seek the [[Kingdom of God]] and His [[righteousness]].
We should seek the [[Kingdom of God]] and His [[righteousness]].


If we only think of our difficulties and our hardships we will not hear nor shall we see what is coming for us all. The watchman may warn us, but we must act not in our defense but in the defense of righteousness for others.
If we only think of our difficulties and our hardships, we will not hear nor shall we see what is coming for us all. The watchman may warn us, but we must act, not in our defense, but in the defense of righteousness for others.


We should come together in a living [[network]] of people who care about one another as much as we care about ourselves. We should not be [[dividing]] ourselves but we must be willing to see the whole truth and provide for it if we are to become free and remain free.
We should come together in a living [[network]] of people who care about one another as much as we care about ourselves. We should not be [[dividing]] ourselves, but we must be willing to see the whole truth and provide for it, if we are to become free and remain free.


{{Where}}
{{Where}}
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Don't "follow leaders" who want to control you and everyone else. Don't try to force a solution, be the solution. Follow Christ and learn about his [[network]] of righteousness. Care about others as you would want them to care about you. Get a ''handle'' on the real [[Christ]] and ''pump'' love and forgiveness back into the [[world]].
Don't "follow leaders" who want to control you and everyone else. Don't try to force a solution, be the solution. Follow Christ and learn about his [[network]] of righteousness. Care about others as you would want them to care about you. Get a ''handle'' on the real [[Christ]] and ''pump'' love and forgiveness back into the [[world]].
<mp3player width="300">http://www.hisholychurch.net/audio/160730staffoflife03fr.mp3</mp3player>
<html><audio controls src="http://www.hisholychurch.net/audio/160730staffoflife03fr.mp3"></audio></html>
[http://www.hisholychurch.org/kkvv/5thbatch/13-2-2lifeshare5-6.mp3 Download]
[http://www.hisholychurch.org/kkvv/5thbatch/13-2-2lifeshare5-6.mp3 Download]


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== Footnotes ==
== Footnotes ==
<references />
<references />
[[Category:Articles]]
[[Category:Definitions]]
[[Category:Words]]

Latest revision as of 08:15, 1 December 2023

Bread has been called the staff of life. The Eucharist of Christ and the Daily bread of society do not belong to the Slothful but the diligent. Early Christians, unlike Modern Christians, were a part of a network of charity which provided for one another according to the perfect law of liberty during the decline of the Roman empire.

Staff of life

The Staff of life[1] has always been a symbol of society's quest for freedom. Neither bread nor liberty is ever free. If to be forgiven you must forgive, then to be free you must strive to set your neighbor free.

Someone listening to our broadcast from July of 2016 found fault with a statement I made about grain reserves. The program was actually about Tracking the spirit of the Beast of the Book of Revelation.

About 15 minutes into the broadcast the critic thought I said "the silos are empty and we are out of grain". He wanted proof of this, and of course I had none because that is not what I said.

What I said was that we used to have years and years of grain supplies in this country referring to strategic reserves of grain set aside for a time when there could be major consecutive crop failures in this country or world-wide. Part of that surplus grain was what was called the "strategic grain supply".

He noted that "Today corn is being piled on the ground in huge mountains because there isn't enough storage space." It is very common to pile grain on the ground until it can be shipped to some place.

I used to pile grain on the ground back in the 60's until it could be shipped to buyers, but there was 6 to 7 years supply of grain in silos on the farm at the time. That meant you could have 7 years of crops failing and still have some wheat for annual consumption.

In crop year 2008/2009, a total of approximately 2.24 billion metric tons of grain were produced world-wide. That sounds like a lot of grain. But what does that mean?

On-farm storage of wheat has dropped from 190 to 175 million bushels since 1996.[2] In America much of this loss of storage capacity is due to the fact that there is no real support for a grain reserve, so people have turned silos into vacation homes. Many silos are full, but the private storage capacity has decreased in relationship to the increased demand. And in many countries, the only new grain storage increase is government controlled.

Historically that has been a bad idea if the people want to remain free. Grain has played a greater role in the success and failure of major civilizations from Egypt to Rome and China and India. Our modern world is not immune to global famine. In fact, we have never been more vulnerable.

The unrelenting rise of power in imperial Rome was directly related to the price and availability of grain. Grain distribution by the public temples was used to dull the sense of independence in the people through the free Bread and circuses given away as public welfare. Rome the Republic had at one time relied upon Freewill offerings of the people to support these temples and their charitable distribution. However, they were supported by men who called themselves Benefactors but who exercised authority. These were the conscripted fathers of the earth in imperial Rome that planted the Roots of the Welfare State which brought in the decay of that society until it was no longer great.

Polybius saw that the socialist path the Roman people took degenerated the people of that society into "perfect savages" until they found themselves fit for nothing but tyranny.

What is strategic grain reserve?

The individual who thought I said the silos were empty continued thinking that he was "very in tune with the amount of grains and to say the amount of grain reserves in the USA is 'burdensome' would be a huge understatement."

What is the truth and can we handle it?

The government's "strategic grain reserve" in America was proposed back in the 1930's by Benjamin Graham. It was meant to moderate the boom and bust cycle of grain prices that often caused bankruptcy when grain prices dropped in surplus years.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt created a grain reserve that supposedly helped American farms during the Depression. In the 1970s, the government redesigned the Farmer-Owned Grain Reserve by offering low-cost and even no-interest loans for stored grain and subsidized the storage costs. But global markets drained the need for the national system of an effective grain reserve over the following decades, until the 1996 Freedom to Farm Act abolished the national system of effective grain reserve.

The reserve which had once been a 6 or 7 years supply of grain for the whole country has dwindled, and what was left became part of the Bill Emerson Humanitarian Trust under the authority of the secretary of Agriculture, which is seriously depleted.[3]

  • "The stores were gradually depleted until 2008, when the USDA decided to convert all of what was left into its dollar equivalent. And so the grain that once stabilized prices for farmers, bakers and American consumers ended up as a number on a spreadsheet in the Department of Agriculture."[4]

So what is the actual reserve today?

Estimates world-wide for Grains for 2015/2016 is 2453.35 Million Metric Tons with a total supply of 3030.58 Million Metric Tons, and in the US those numbers would be 428.85 Million Metric Tons with a total supply of 505.47 Million Metric Tons. Of that, we will trade away at least 81.33 Million Metric Tons, which is good for our trade deficit and only use about 348.73 Million Metric Tons. That leaves us with an ending stock of 75.42 Million Metric Tons. [5]

If there was any kind of a crop failure, prices would go through the roof, and there would be food riots. No one would want to see that, would they?

What if you had global weather change and crops begin to fail several years in a row. In the case of world-wide crop failure, the people will be starving within months of a major interruption.

If there was really global weather change on the horizon, and if the government loved the people, or if the people just loved each other, there would be a massive push to grow, buy and store grain, since very few food products can be stored for so long and more economically than grain. But they are not doing that, because people do not love one another and their governments are not governments of love but force.[6]

Vision and Destiny

"And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God." Luke 4:4

In a world of self-centered people there is little vision of man through the course of history. Our personal vanity keeps us from seeing the truth or hearing it when it is told to us. Over the last 4000 years there have been many instances of world-wide famine due to weather changes which had nothing to do with fossil fuels or carbon taxes.

The Maunder Minimum, a "prolonged sunspot minimum" from 1645 through 1715, caused crop failures world-wide and a reduction in world population. There have been numerous "Little Ice Ages" over the last two millennia due to volcanic eruptions that also brought world-wide famine. In 1315, cold weather and torrential rains decimated crops across Europe, which destabilized countries as millions of people starved. Volcanic eruptions in the years following 540 A.D. produced the coldest decade in more than 2300 years and caused world-wide famine and cannibalism from Europe to China.

This can all happen again. Our modern dependence on technology does not make us less vulnerable, but more. And our reliance on central government to come to our aid makes us foolish from an historical point of view. Governments of strong centralized power do not draw to its offices men of love and compassion, but men who seek power and control. Power corrupts, and in hard times the people will not come first. In fact, people who would take a bite out of their neighbor to obtain personal benefits in good times will literally devour their neighbor in hard times.

Global grain reserves were still low in 2013 after droughts in the US.[7] While the crops have been good for the most part since then, there has been no real attempt to go back to the strategic storage levels of the past, which would be essential for the survival of mankind in the case of world wide famine.

In fact, even though the crops in America have been so good, Loan Deficiency Payments[8] are still starting in some places. Without any change in the people, there remains a looming threat to their life.

I am not suggesting another giant government boondoggle program to create a reserve. In a government of, for and by the people, they should be gathering to create their own private and community-sponsored reserves.

There used to be hundreds of grain buyers in business out here in the west, but that part of the grain economy is now controlled by a few large companies. The people have relinquished control in the public and private sector. This is where a living Network of people who actually care about one another, and not just themselves, will make a difference.

The modern debt economy requires that everyone sell what they produce as soon as possible to pay off loans, since everyone, including the government, is operating on credit. The problems in modern society are compounded because they are merely symptoms of a deeper problem within the heart and minds of the people.

When it was pointed out to our Facebook critic, who is a farmer, that we were talking about "reserves", not "yearly production", he missed the point and followed with more rants presenting prices, production, and nothing about the absence of present day strategic reserves.

Yes, production is up.
But, population is up, too.
While the need for strategic reserves has never been greater.
But who should create and control those strategic reserves?

My mentioning of reserves was motivated out of concerns of all the people, while his focus on prices and production is about himself. Yes, the 1932 national average of 38 cents a bushel would be equivalent in 2016 dollars of $6.67 a bushel. Even the USDA computes the parity price for wheat in 2016 should be $18.30 per bushel, but it will probably only be $3.45.[9]

How could the farmer survive under such price levels?

This is possible only because of the innovation of modern machinery, which can produce crops more efficiently, and these are used because of his squeezing of credit.

In almost every private sector, business people are working more and harder for less return. But then people want more for less. They want those "benefits and the habit of receiving them by way of a rule of force and violence" which Polybius spoke. John the Baptist and Christ and His Corban was explained in the Gospel of the Kingdom of God.

The plight of the farmer and cost of equipment is certainly squeezing out farmers around the world. But again, all his comments are off the point I was making because he is more concerned about his own plight and difficulties than the whole truth we are trying to share.

History repeats itself

  • God knows when, but you're doing it again. You better duck down the alleyway, looking for a new friend... You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows... Don't follow leaders... The pump don't work 'Cause the vandals took the handles. Bob Dylan's "Subterranean Homesick Blues"

We have already explained many of these issues, along with the insidious issue of inflation[10] and debt[11], which comes from people focusing on their problems more than the difficulties of others. Rome removed the silver from their denarii and suffered skyrocketing inflation that brought about chaos, and tyrants, until it collapsed altogether.

At the time of Christ a modius (a 30 pound sack) of wheat went from 6 denarii (about 6 dimes) in price to more than 120,000 denarii in a little over a generation due to the fact that Emperors removed silver from the Roman denarii which made them diverse weights.[12] People were economically devastated by the anti-God policy of their government and its violation of Biblical precepts.

Romans were so dependent upon the Benefactors who exercised authority they could not govern themselves and were only fit for a king or ruler as Polybius foretold.

With a wave of their hand, the ruling elite established a lie as the truth. But that lie was established in the hearts and minds of the people, because they were opened to the lie. That lie was the mother of all lies.

Solutions

To be made in the image of God ... to come in the name of Christ ... is to come to serve and to lay down your life for others. That is why charity and caring about and for others is so essential for the seeking of the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. Once your neighbor and righteousness is as important as yourself and your personal comfort, your view of the world and what is right will begin to change. In order to care about others as much as yourself, you must forgive and leave judgment to God.

The solution is salvation and salvation the solution. To Repent is to think another way, and to be a doer is to go that way in earnest.

In the final analysis, it is the "anti-God" policy of the people which is bringing the nation down. People are so focused on their own difficulty, discomfort and burdens, they cannot see the real danger that faces everyone. Therefore they cannot hear nor see the solution.

So what do we do?
What can we do?
What should we do as a people?

We should seek the Kingdom of God and His righteousness.

If we only think of our difficulties and our hardships, we will not hear nor shall we see what is coming for us all. The watchman may warn us, but we must act, not in our defense, but in the defense of righteousness for others.

We should come together in a living network of people who care about one another as much as we care about ourselves. We should not be dividing ourselves, but we must be willing to see the whole truth and provide for it, if we are to become free and remain free.

People followed Abraham, Moses, John the Baptist and Jesus. The altars of clay and stone was a way to create the social bonds of free people. The levites led the Israelites. And the early Church followed Christ and His Way, which was The Way, and advocated a Daily ministration that was dependent on Pure Religion through Fervent charity only. This was the Corban of Christ which was not like the system of Corban of the Pharisees nor of Rome or the systems of FDR and LBJ.
The church lost "the way" when it abandoned the practice of "pure Religion" while claiming to be the Church established by Christ. The people developed an appetite for the "wages of unrighteousness" from "public religion" in the days of Constantine. Those new Christians that often failed to fully repent degenerated the moral character of society with the masses of "instant christians".
That new religion of the emperor introduced a new faith with his apostate church replacing the doctrine of Jesus with the "doctrines of men", the Holy Spirit with emotion, the truth with the speaking of "great swelling words, having men's persons in admiration because of advantage."[13]
They had a form of godliness but denied the power thereof.

Where is your religion

  • Do you only gather for the comfort it gives you, or do you gather to benefit others?
  • Christ came to serve, not be served. Do you desire to be served, or are you coming in His name and according to His character to serve others?

If we desire His Grace but we only love those who love us, then there is no Grace because it is clear we do not really believe in Him.

If we do not Repent of our Covetous Practices and are not diligently gathering together in Free Assemblies of Love for all to provide for one another in Charity according to the Perfect law of liberty then we have nothing according to Paul. According to Luke 6:32 if we only love those who love us there is no "Grace". Christ also said if you do not Forgive neither will the Father forgive you.[14]

It is not enough to hate the deeds of the workers of iniquity, but we must return to Thy first love and thy first work. To break the yoke, we need to return to the ways of righteousness spoken of in Isaiah 58 which are the ways of Christ and the early Church. And His yoke is light for it is carried by our love of one another.

Abraham, Moses, John the Baptist and Christ all created Networks of charity to care for the true needy of society without force which is how they were able to help set people free. Do you gather with His Church to attend to the Weightier matters as Christ said?

  • Are you gathering in a Network of righteousness?
  • Do you come to love others or just be loved?

Early Christians found themselves in conflict with these systems of social welfare because they made the word of God to none effect. Christians had repented of their covetous nature when they received the Baptism of Christ. They heard and became Doers of the word not hearers only.

Remember Proverbs 12:24, "The hand of the diligent shall bear rule: but the Slothful shall be under Tribute."

We know that liberty under God is not for the covetous who are Biting one another but it is also not for the slothful. If we are not congregating together in free assemblies bound together in a broad network by faith, hope, and charity alone according to the perfect law of liberty then we are not truly seeking the Kingdom of God nor His righteousness.

Audio Broadcast

Don't "follow leaders" who want to control you and everyone else. Don't try to force a solution, be the solution. Follow Christ and learn about his network of righteousness. Care about others as you would want them to care about you. Get a handle on the real Christ and pump love and forgiveness back into the world. Download

Some Reserve Reports

U.S. Food Supply More Vulnerable Than Ever
After Government Sold Off Emergency Grain Reserves
http://www.collapse.news/2016-01-29-u-s-food-supply-more-vulnerable-than-ever-after-government-sold-off-emergency-grain-reserves.html


World Whatch Institute
Grain Harvest Sets Record, But Supplies Still Tight
http://www.worldwatch.org/node/5539


USA Today
Surplus U.S. food supplies dry up
http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/money/industries/food/2008-05-01-usda-food-supply_N.htm


International grain supplies are the tightest in three decades, and prices of ... The nation for years has maintained a strategic petroleum reserve as a form of ...

Striking with thy Staff
Wheat and War
http://www.hisholychurch.org/news/articles/wheat.php

No Bread in the Land
Your Daily Bread and
Your Faith Emergency Management Auxiliary!
http://www.hisholychurch.org/news/articles/nobread.php

Bread and circuses
... idiom for a superficial means of appeasement.

Daily bread

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Footnotes

  1. ↑ This expression, which uses staff in the sense of “a support,” was first recorded in 1638.
    "Familiar Quotations" by John Bartlett, under Matthew Henry (1662-1714), "Commentaries (1708-1710) states: "Here is bread, which strengthens man's heart, and therefore called the staff of life. Ib. Psalm 104."
    Bartlett refers to Isaiah 3:1: "For, behold, the Lord, the Lord of hosts, doth take away from Jerusalem and from Judah the stay and the staff, the whole stay of bread, and the whole stay of water."
    "The Layman's Bible Encyclopedia" by William C. Martin (The Southwest Co., Nashville, Tenn., 1964) has a subheading "Staff of life" under "Bread." . Ezekiel 4:16 "Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, behold, I will break the staff of bread in Jerusalem: and they eat bread by weight, and with care; and they shall drink water by measure, and with astonishment."
  2. ↑ https://www.nass.usda.gov/Statistics_by_State/Kentucky/Publications/Annual_Statistical_Bulletin/B2007/p039.pdf
  3. ↑ Bill Emerson Humanitarian Trust is a food bank and global charity, but according to Wiki Leaks only approximately 1.1 million metric tons of wheat remain in the Trust.
  4. ↑ How to fight a food crisis By Frederick Kaufman September 21, 2012
  5. ↑ http://www.usda.gov/oce/commodity/wasde/latest.pdf
  6. ↑ Matthew 11:12 And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence <971>, and the violent take it by force.
    Luke 16:16 The law and the prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth <971> into it.
    971 βιάζω biazo bee-ad’-zo from 970; v 1) to use force, to apply force
  7. ↑ http://www.circleofblue.org/2013/world/global-grain-reserves-are-low-legacy-of-u-s-drought/
  8. ↑ These LDPs are a farm income support created by the Food Security Act of 1985. That act was not only inadequate with its "swampbuster" clause, but it seemed more concerned with "Determining Where Farm Products are located", rather than creating a real usable reserve.
  9. ↑ http://smallgrains.org/2016/07/just-low-wheat-prices-take-look-back-1800s-1900s-youll-see-time-low/
  10. ↑ Money can be anything
  11. ↑ Debt Money
  12. ↑ Deuteronomy 25:13 Thou shalt not have in thy bag divers weights, a great and a small.
    Proverbs 20:10 Divers weights, and divers measures, both of them are alike abomination to the LORD.
    Proverbs 20:23 Divers weights are an abomination unto the LORD; and a false balance is not good.
  13. ↑ 5622 ὠφέλεια opheleia [o-fel’-i-ah] from a derivative of the base of 5624 profitable; n f; AV-profit 1, advantage 1; 2
    1) usefulness, advantage, profit
  14. ↑ Matthew 6:15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
    Mark 11:26 But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses.
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