Grow Soil & Build Immunity

I’ve encouraged people to invest in land because “they are not making any more of it.” Rory Feek’s interview with Joel Salatin is captivating. Joel Salatin grows soil. He is making more of it.

Hours after watching the interview it occurred to me Salatin’s words may be a revelation of spiritual importance. There seem to be Kingdom principles here. Foundational atmospheric, universal truth. Kingdom principles and laws not because they make church better or help us not to sin, but because there is life and life-giving ingredients that counteract wickedness—that which breaks people and things into pieces. Good soil grows, not breaks.

In what kind of soil do people grow? How is social soil grown? What soil produces the happiest people? What was Jesus talking about when he said, “Good soil”? The questions are many. We have come full circle from the story of “Salting the fields.” How do we repair the soil that has been “salted” by sin? Infused with corruption? We can throw money and energy at fixing our institutions and individuals, but unless the “soil” is rebuilt, those broken institutions will only replicate themselves.

Institutions are only means to desired ends. They are tools to produce and develop certain kinds of people. As always, the initial and ultimate question is—what kind of people are we trying to produce? What is the molecular structure and hard infrastructure of the soil that helps produce that person?

I invite you to view and contemplate the resources below. What principles and laws do you see? What will develop people who will produce 30, 60, 100 fold return?

I heard a prophecy today that pushed me. “…people who will rebuild the ancient landmarks the Founders set.” Isaiah 58 comes to mind and Psalm 25:6

Mark the milestones of your mercy and love, GOD; rebuild the ancient landmarks.

Rebuild the ancient landmarks!

This nation’s soil has been depleted, worn, weary. It needs to be restored to feed the spirits and dreams of all. The prophecy heard, Carole asked what the ancient landmarks of America would be. The Founders wrote them down in The Declaration of Independence, The Federalist Papers and in the Constitution. And we get to restore them. We can place them once again in the soil of America.

We have walked the hills of Gettysburg and felt the life of that soil. Abraham Lincoln finished that astonishing short speech with these words…

It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us — that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion — that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain — that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom — and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

We can declare into the atmosphere—the spiritual realm that manifests in the material—the landmarks that built this nation. We can say each active line out loud—by faith, declaring it to be a reality renewed. We can pray to Almighty God to loose these truths and energies into the citizens and three branches of government. Day by day. We will replenish the “soil” one landmark per day. If we say each “self-evident” truth out loud, we will be directed who to pray for generally and in specifics always with images of “the people.” We will learn how.

 Declaration of Independence.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that…

Day 1        All men (people) are created equal,

Day 2        That they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights,

Day 3        That among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.—

Day 4        That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among (people),

Day 5        Deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, —

Preamble to

The Constitution of the United States of America:

We the People of the United States, in Order to…

Day 6        Form a more perfect Union,

Day 7        Establish Justice,

Day 8        Insure domestic Tranquility,

Day 9        Provide for the common defense,

Day 10     Promote the general Welfare,

Day 11    Secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity

My practice is to verbalize the landmark. On day 7, I say “in order to establish justice…” I pray concerning the experiences of injustice to be changed and healed. I ask for forgiveness of my thoughts or actions that were unjust or reinforced an unjust culture. (I’m not taking responsibility for what I did not do.) I ask God to instill in each of us His idea and plan for justice. I ask Holy Spirit to bring to mind anyone I know who has suffered injustice and simply say their name to Jesus. Perhaps He will guide me to say more about that person.

Replenish, Restore, Rejuvenate the soil and Reignite the soul of America

Copyright 2020 D. Dean Benton–writer & wonderer

Email—dean@deanbenton.org

Website—https://deanbenton.org/     Benton Books, Blogs, Blurbs

Dean’s ebooks— https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/DDeanBenton

Dean’s blogs—https://bentonquesthouse.com/

“Other seeds fell into the good soil, and as they grew up and increased, they yielded a crop and produced thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold (Mark 4:8).

A waitress in Louisiana asked me where I was from—she could tell I was “not from around here”—I told her, Iowa. I thought she was going to cry as she said, “It has the blackest dirt. When I saw it, I thought it had been burned.”

I learned this weekend that there is a difference between dirt and soil. Dirt is what we sweep up from the corners of the garage or vacuum in the living room. Soil is alive! Under our feet in the field is an unseen community of interacting creatures like earthworms, and inanimate commodities like water and air. The healthier the soil, the better the quality of production whether flowers, radishes, grass or cows.

Joel Salatin is a farmer in Virginia who grows soil, moves his cattle herd every day and uses chickens and pigs to work a huge compost pit and nourish and preserve pastures. He grows soil! Growing soil grabbed my attention and imagination. After watching and contemplating the Montana Music Ranch based interview (Joel Salatin & Rory Feek), I was gripped by two phrases:

Good Soil & Immune System

We are stewards of both and benefit by paying attention to both.

RESOURCES:

The first link is for the interview. The second is a Washington Post article about Joel Salatin.  Mr. Salatin is featured in the Food. Inc movie/documentary.

Joel Salatin—Rory Feek  interview       https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfB2bC1zkc8

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/voraciously/wp/2020/03/26/famous-farmer-and-activist-joel-salatin-gets-blowback-for-declaring-i-want-coronavirus/

Food, Inc. Documentary–https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXIkrYbqRO0

© 2020 D. Dean Benton    writer & wonderer

See the blog that follows: Good Soil = 30, 60, 100 Increase-2.

To celebrate Independence Day—the 4^th of July, I have been reading 1776 by David McCullough again. That there was victory in the War of Independence is a God-thing. I’m also reading Andrew Jackson and The Miracle of New Orleans by Brian Kilmeade. America faced the British army outmanned 10:1. America didn’t have a much better army 30 years after the Revolution.

A story from the attack on Washington and the burning of the White House: It was led by British general Robert Ross and Sir George Cockburn.

“When the British arrived (at the president’s house), they found Mr. & Mrs. Madison’s dinner table still set, the aroma of cooking food still wafting from the recently abandoned kitchen. They drank the president’s wine and ate a generous meal before building bonfires in the rooms and retreating to the street to watch the mansion burn. …by morning it was a roofless, smoking ruin, and the light gray stone of the president’s house had been burned black.” (Page 66)

There are still burned black timbers in the basement from that fire. I tend to think that the revolutionaries in Lafayette park a few weeks ago (not protestors—anarchists and insurrectionists) intended to replay those scenes.

“The British made a point of sacking the offices of the Washington newspaper the National Intelligencer, building a bonfire to burn its type and presses. The Intelligencer was known for printing stories critical of Cockburn, and he was determined to teach its editor and readers a lesson. ‘Be sure all the c’s are destroyed,’ he is said to have told his men, ‘so that they can’t abuse my name anymore.’”

The authors say,

“In the end, it wasn’t the brave efforts of the American people that put out the fires or stopped the destruction. Only the arrival with miraculous timing, of a powerful storm prevented more of the city from being damaged by the flames. Rain poured down and strong winds blew, lifting British cannons off the ground, according to some reports. Others claimed that the storm formed a tornado, a rare phenomenon in Washington. Whatever the cause, the British were discouraged and the fires quenched thanks not to the work of men, but to an act of God.”  (68)

              God has not gone into retirement! He is not in a gated community for the infirm.

Carole and I watched the message linked below this evening. I have known about the preacher, Dutch Sheets, for a long time, but haven’t been a follower of his ministry. He seems to live in a different dimension than I do. His theology is not foreign to me. I would probably agree with most of what he says. I have not read his books, but some of my friends know his ministry well. I hardly took a breath during this message. He told stories that grabbed my heart and moved my spirit. I have checked out some of the stories and they have a historical base. One of which is about George Washington’s “Appeal to Heaven” flag. The first link below is a printed version of that story. The 2^nd link is the entire message.

I forward this message and stories for your encouragement and reminder we serve an Everlasting God.

©2020 D. Dean Benton

https://www.charismanews.com/opinion/48051-dutch-sheets-tells-story-behind-the-appeal-to-heaven-flag

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRlWju_Bhr8

A few days ago, I became uneasy with my clever, “Hunker Inn.” We need to stop hunkering down and hiding. Today international evangelist Mario Murillo said in his blog,

Quit wasting time staring at the door that has closed. God is opening a better one. God is not done with you—or with America.

It was said of England after World War I that the nation had lost an entire generation of leaders in the war. I wonder if history will say that about Western Civilization post 2020. Are we sacrificing the potential of students on the altar of PC and the call to put on a mask, isolate oneself, stay away from school and work—just hunker down!

A lady said, “We are living with the constant threat of the next catastrophe, disaster, unemployment and revolution.”  We cannot live defensively and at the same time, live abundantly. Ivanka Trump suggested if a person(s) is laid off or unemployed they should “try something different.” That of course—along with her plugging Goya—attracted critics. She said one of my favorite clichés differently—

“If you are riding a dead horse, for your own best interest dismount!”

Fear and anxiety that drives us into the bunker is destructive.  to a nation, our mental health and willingness to fight for and live out spiritual, emotional and citizen rights. Speaking of bunkers, I’m wondering when we must view the current attacks on government, civilization and Constitutional Rights and responsibilities as the English did in the World War II bombings. We do need strong leadership—as Churchill provided.

Victor Davis Hanson said recently,

“The swing voters, independents, and purple-staters are framing their 2020 choice in the stark terms of who will “make it all go away.” They want a magical end to the virus, the quarantines, the violence, the hate, and the division. And at this point, they want near-divine interventions to do all that and more.” (https://amgreatness.com/2020/07/12/trump-needs-to-scale-the-real-wall-of-2020/)

Nothing I recall is closer to the biblical portrait of the days before Anti-Christ appears. Someone who will make it all go away—near-divine interventions. No one is going to rescue us from COVID-19 or insurrection, revolution or personal craziness. “Take care of yourself,” has become my urgent benediction. “May the Lord bless you and keep you,” and don’t neglect to exercise, eat carefully, take time to think, breathe, relax and sit in your favorite place talking to Jesus.

My concern is that we are being lulled into passivity or surrender and compliance. Apostle Paul wrote to the Philippians:

“I want to report to you, friends, that my imprisonment here has had the opposite of its intended effect. Instead of being squelched, the Message has actually prospered. All the soldiers here, and everyone else, too, found out that I’m in jail because of this Messiah. That piqued their curiosity, and now they’ve learned all about Him. Not only that, but most of the followers of Jesus here have become far more sure of themselves in the faith than ever, speaking out fearlessly about God, and about the Messiah” (Philippians 1:14-15).

David and Karen Mains hosted radio’s Chapel of the Air. The Chapel went on the air in 1939 with David’s uncle John D. Jess as teacher and host until the middle-late 70s. In the early 1980s. David interviewed Dr. Francis Schaeffer. I don’t know of any thinking and searching evangelical who was not impacted by the thinkers Francis and Edith Schaeffer. That interview was rebroadcast recently. I listened to it this morning. It speaks to 2020.

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/interview-with-francis-schaeffer-before-we-go-podcast-45/id1483224036?i=1000477553959 

I have heard dozens of conspiracy theories and as many prophecies. I don’t know which ones are fabrications, which are from God and how we are to fit into His plans. I do know this is not the time to hunker down or hunker in.  I do know the commission is still, “Go, disciple nations.” That may mean “go out of your hunkering place and get on with the discipling.”

Praying and seeking to live America’s Vision, Mission, Brand.

Copyright 2020 D. Dean Benton