Servias Ministries Blog

Wealth brings with it a great challenge.  The ego especially feeds on greed whereas greed is the root of all evil.  Hoarding is the ugly sister to greed.  When people find their value of identity in possessions the outworking is to get more and more.  What you have is never enough.  Consider all of the offsite storage buildings in the U.S.  Many are full of possessions that are slowly deteriorating.  Don’t get me wrong, the size of your house, car, or bank account does not mean that you are greedy.  Each of us has a ministry that requires different assets to fulfill.  We all don’t need to be driving a Smartcar to show we are not being led by greed.  We are also to be good stewards over what we have been given.  Lack of stewardship isn’t a good testimony to those who are watching your walk while you are “talking your talk”.  In Luke 18:22 Jesus said:

So when Jesus heard these things, He said to him, "You still lack one thing. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me."

What an unpopular thing to say in America, the wealthiest country on earth.  This affluent society has elevated itself to the point where it no longer needs GOD in the center of its society.  The children no longer recite The Lord’s Prayer in school.  Since this happened, the discipline problems in schools have risen exponentially.  Those children, now adults, are no longer restrained in their behavior.  Corporate greed is at an astronomical high.  The loyalty to the employee is all but gone.  Defined benefit plans designed to reward long term service by employees have been disemboweled by corporate greed.  Politicians bought off by lobbyists have thrown the average man and woman under the bus.  The moral fiber of this country is in dire straits but not for long.

This year I expect an awakening of men and women who are called to be the “elect”.   I expect this awakening to bring forth a new paradigm of business thinking.  Many in the past have given lip service to serving mankind.  As this awakening materializes into a Kingdom structure. men and women will be given the opportunity to be a part of this new paradigm.  No longer will greed and self interest dictate the direction of an organization.  Kingdom principles resulting from the revelation of Love will be the guiding force.  Serving mankind will be the burning desire in the bellies of the people who are called to participate in Kingdom companies.  Accumulated wealth will be mobilized as men and women see that their calling is being summoned by the Most High God.  Dysfunction of the masses will no longer be exploited by those who have been in power by exploitation.

As the Body of Christ is fitly joined together, each part will truly supply the other parts… really!

In 1978, the total debt in the U.S. was $719 Billion.  Today it is $56 Trillion. This is a 77X increase.  How much more debt can we handle?  Hyperinflation is moving closer and it will be a time of great change.  We must muster up the courage to face change.  Having faith in Our Heavenly Father will see us through any upheaval before us.  If we think outside the box.  We can soar to new heights just as Jetman in the video below:

In these days of leverage, any interruption in the flow of cash can be disastrous.  Often, your bank’s signature card will include a statement whereby they have 30 days to respond to a cash withdrawal request.  Though they rarely exercise this stipulation, it does exist.  What would happen if you could not get to your cash for thirty days?  Selah!

MF Global claims the JP Morgan Chase slowed down their cash which helped move them into bankruptcy.  See http://finance.yahoo.com/news/mf-global-jpmorgan-again-center-002846254.html 

The strong get stronger, the weak fall by the wayside.  Be careful with your assets.

From the Securities Investor Protection Corporation website, http://www.sipc.org/pdf/HSPY_English_2011.pdf :

“Terms of SIPC help. Customers of a failed brokerage firm get back all securities (such as stocks and bonds) that already are registered in their name or are in the process of being registered.”

Securities registered in the “Street Name” of the brokerage do not appeared to be covered.  Beware!  Do not delay or fail to insure your stocks are placed in your name.  If a large scale financial event were to happen, the reserve funds of the SIPC could be depleted and you would be at risk of notable losses.

The MF Global disaster emphasized the need for investors to go to any means to protect their wealth.  Stockbrokerage firms do not want to facilitate any move to the issuance of physical stock certificates.  When you buy stocks, the stockbroker generally puts the stock in their “street name” rather than yours.  This makes it easy for them and is not designed to be for your best interest unless you are a trader and hold the stock for a short period of time.  If you are planning to hold your stocks for an extended period of time, you may want to consider Direct Registration.

I recently contacted my local Scottrade office and told them I wanted to transfer most of my stocks in the account to Direct Registration.  This is a service of the Stock  Transfer Company that handles the issuance of stock  for the publicly traded company.  I completed the paperwork for each stock I wanted transferred and all but one were moved to a newly established DRS account where I am the stockholder of record, not the stockbroker’s “street name”.  Now that I am recognized by the Stock Transfer Agent, I could have them issue paper certificates if I desire.  This action removes the inherent risk of some unexpected event occurring with the stockbrokerage firm that could put your assets held with them at risk.  It is amazing what we must do to protect ourselves these days!

By the way, a smaller Canadian-based transfer agent was evidently not set up to handle Direct Registration so that particular stock is still sitting in my brokerage account.  The rest transferred without issue and I have received the confirmations in the mail.

War with Iran may now be imminent.  China is extremely dependent of Iran for oil.  The price of oil could hit $200 if the markets get spooked and the U.S. would make sure that the Chinese oil imports continue, even if from Saudi Arabia.  I expect this war to be mainly accomplished through the air and the sea as well as cyber-war and economic sanctions.   When the sanctions hit the Iranian Central Bank, the Iranian currency dropped by 30% in the last few weeks thus bringing on hyperinflation.  Gold could hit $2,100 and silver above $50 as investors make a flight of safety.  You know when the Secretary of Defense along with the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs make the Sunday morning news magazine circuit, the plan has been set in motion.

Wealth destruction is alive and well.  Financial repression is keeping the interest rates at near zero.  This helps the big banks make money at the expense of savers.  At the same time inflation continues its upward march.  $2.29 for a soda?  This isn’t New York City!  It wasn’t that long ago that the soda was 99 cents.  $3 gasoline has become passively accepted among the masses and it is no longer being reported by the media as being exceptional.  Prices are creeping up with a subtle nickel here or a dime there.

Gold’s next major hurdle will be in the $2,100 range this year.  It is truly the canary in the coal mine in relation to inflation and the devaluation of currencies around the world.  Silver should make a move as well but with much greater volatility on both the upside and downside.  Those who study these markets are convinced there is considerable manipulation of daily prices.  The Chicago Mercantile Exchange raised the margin requirements of silver forcing many to abandon their futures positions.  The net result: lower silver prices.

The Federal Reserve will continue to protect the banking system i.e., large banks.  Community banks are on their own.  Some notable executives who have taken undeserved bonuses while the taxpayers bailed out their institutions may get prosecuted this year in time for the November elections.  Afterwards, I expect the prosecution rate to drop back down to zero.

It seems as though the U.S. wants to pick a fight with Iran.  If this happens, oil prices could hit $200 in anticipation of the Straits of Hormuz being closed down.  This in turn would seal a further extension to the current recession.  Libya and Nigeria are also targets for oil disruption.  Islamic extremists want to control the global economy and oil production is a key to economic development of the western world.

In Shadowstats.com’s latest bulletin, the following highlights are included:

Seasonal-Adjustment Problems Spiked Jobs Growth, Seasonal-Adjustment Revisions Artificially Lowered Unemployment Rates
> -  December Jobs Reading Remained Well Below Pre-2007 and Pre-2001 Recession Levels
> – December Unemployment: 8.5% (U.3), 15.2% (U.6), 22.4% (SGS)
> – Money Supply M3 Annual Growth Tops 3.0% for First Time in 28 Months

These numbers are contrary to NBC’s Nightly News reporting of the economic state of improvement.  The numbers of the mainstream media (MSM) are designed to convince us to spend.  In the natural, things look ominous.  However, I have some good news.

As I was seeking Our Heavenly Father, HE told me to replace one of our old servers was a new server in my IT business.  I could have upgraded the old server for a nominal cost but instead HE compelled me to purchase a new server with 400 times the raw speed of the old.  Clearly, HE is optimistic about 2012.  Of course, HE created this universe and is not caught off guard with all of the doom and gloom predictions.  Yes, we may endure some pain in whatever transition is to occur but I don’t think HE would have me expand the processing power because HE has an investment in IBM.

I am sensing that this new server will have a direct focus on Kingdom business.  Many of us have been doing Kingdom business in a rather isolated fashion in times past.  There has been a vacuum of unity that has kept the current system intact.  Now is the time for the Kingdom to develop into a cohesive organism.

Globalization of Power has not been subject to the Rule of Law.  This is an unregulated arena and desperately needs the rule of Divine Law.  Man’s methodology is for the powerful countries to come together and decide how all countries are to operate.  The weak countries have to abide by the strong countries’ wishes.  That scenario would change with a Kingdom perspective.

We are interconnected  as never before.  Because of the Internet, information moves at near instantaneous speed.  We all have a common destiny.  This destiny must be met by Love.  Soon, I will be sharing about the Gideon Project, the end of contention brought forth by a collective commitment to unity in business.  As the Kingdom moves forward, a transfer of wealth will occur and solutions to the strife and contention will materialize.  Wealth will move away from the entitled and move toward the Kingdom.  Stay tuned!

The Currency Wars are in full swing and no country wants a strong currency.

Central Banks’ Money Printing causing deficits to grow to an unsustainable level.

Financial Repression pushes the interest rate well below the inflation rate thus extracting purchasing power away from the saver.

Market Intervention keeps the average investor from normal investing practices that would assure an adequate retirement income or wealth accumulation.

What am I to do?  It seems that the world could fall apart at any time.  The goal is to be the “last man standing”.  Moving to the essential area of the market with your money may be the safer place to be.  Gold & silver are insurance positions against catastrophic events.  Dividend paying stocks in energy, food, utilities, and other essentials with a long track record are another source of investment.  A strong track record of dividends usually indicates strength within a company.

There is no sure way to invest in a fragile global economy.  The only sure thing to do is to continue developing your relationship with Our Heavenly Father for HE knows where to focus your resources.  2012 assures us that hope, faith, and Love will be required like never before.  Man’s complex systems will ultimately collapse and your reliance on those systems will put you at risk as well.  Your trust in methodologies that worked over the last forty years will be challenged soon.  We have come to believe that technology would fix anything rather than the wisdom, understanding, knowledge, and skill from Above.  We will see that fallacy exposed soon.

Kingdoms in the Arab world  have been crumbling.  I believe they are the precursor to the fall of other kingdoms.  Our peace will come from Above as we place our focus inward rather than the outward.  Forgiveness will move us toward the fullness of Love.  Ask Our Heavenly Father to show you who you need to forgive and who you have need of forgiveness.  It is time to wipe the slate clean.  Bitterness must be removed at its root in order for you to attract the resources needed for your calling.  Your calling is necessary for the economic system that will ultimately replace the current greed-based system.  The new Love-based system will bring forth technologies that serve mankind rather than extract the life out of the population.  No longer will we settle for the exploitation through fear-based methods.  Love will prevail!

There is so much noise occurring in the financial markets that one must step back and look at the fundamentals.  First let’s look at the historical performance of both metals:

Gold % Gain/Loss

Silver % Gain/Loss

It is clear the silver has greater volatility attached to it, especially with an 81.9% move in 2010.  At this writing, I expect to see a drop similar to 2008.  Those that have the ability to manipulate the price will attempt to remove anyone who is “long” silver in a leveraged position.  This situation determines how strong your conviction.  This is why I have not been an advocate of leverage.  Even though I don’t own a lot of silver compared to many, none of it is leveraged thus the downward swings in price don’t phase me.  If anything, it allows me to buy a few extra coins for the future.

I expect gold to move between 1,500 and 2,100 for 2012 unless the Iran conflict heats up or the European crisis reveals worse financial losses than previously reported.  If that happens, $3,500 is in sight.  I expect the volatility of silver to continue as it always has and see 24 to 50 as the potential range.  The paper market does not reflect the physical market for there are notable delays in shipments of silver purchases.  The physical demand is not reflected in the current price, a classic sign of manipulation of the paper market.

Those with government and financial backing and are primary dealers in the gold and silver market are clearly “painting” sell signals in these markets from a technical perspective.  Traders who rely heavily on technical indicators will be removed from their long positions as their computers flash sell signals.  As usual, manipulation occurs just prior to critical review dates such as the year end.

I will continue to scrape up cash to buy silver ounces and gold & silver stocks.  I believe that this is a late Christmas present.  I will not leverage up to buy however.  I will only buy stocks with strong cash positions and substantial reserves in the ground.  I will pay close attention to those stocks paying dividends, an indicator of excess cash.

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