Unity…

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Paul wrote three letters to the Corinthian church about unity. He first explained that the division in the church had cost them the peace of unity. It took awhile for the Corinthian church to understand. Everybody has rights and no one should prevent anyone exerting their right to be right. Paul looked at this absurd idea and began speaking to the church about division. He began to explain why this idea was absurd and it took three letters to convince them of the truth.

“All things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but all things edify not. 1 Corinthians” 10:23.

Jesus never forced His ideas on anyone. He offered everyone a path that seemed to be difficult, but actually was simple. The unity that Jesus offers is a way to bring peace to this world. If there is no division or conflict, there is peace. Unity produces more that just peace. It produces a way the a person can grow as a human being.

All the attributes that you see in a child, honesty, trust, loyalty, the lack of fear and love are the attributes that God want us to have as adult. I know how the world can beat all these things out you. But God can restore your soul as it is supposed to be. Then you can exhibit your true nature to the church and the world.

“Give none offence, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God:Even as I please all men in all things, not seeking mine own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved. I Corinthians 10:32-33.

Crain Blanchard.

Joseph1637@juno.com

Joseph1637.com

Offenses…

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“But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea. Woe unto the world because of offences! for it must needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh!” Matthew 18:6-7.

You look at this world and see that the attitude toward life is me first and everyone else can get in line. Even in business it is buyer beware, which means you pay your money and you take your chances. I know that this attitude has been there from the beginning time. When I was in college, I enrolled in a business class that was teaching that very principle. It is not a new idea. It just has become prevalent.

When you offend someone, there are two different paths you can take. Actually, there are three. The first path is just walk away and say they made their choice. The second path is to ask for forgiveness. Seeing that you wronged someone and try to make it right. It does not always work. Some people will give a person one chance to do right and if they do not they are cut off. The third path is seeing ahead and making the decision not offend anyone. It is the hard path, but in the long run it the better path.

Jesus was talking to the disciples about offending someone. He made it very clear what offences cost. I know of a war that starting over taking a pig from someone. That third path calls for sacrifice. This is where you defer to another person not to start a war. Everybody has rights, but it is not always convenient or right to put your rights first. Deferring to another person takes self restraint. In this Me First generation, it seems almost archaic, but it is the right decision.

The disciples ask Jesus another question about offences in Matthew 18:21-22. “Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times?Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven”

Now the choice is up to you. What are you going to do? The truth is there to see. All it requires is to follow your heart. Choose wisely, for there is great reward or great consequence in your choice.

Crain Blanchard.

Joseph1637@juno.com

Joseph1637.com

Peace…

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Conflict is the opposite of peace. We all know about conflict or turmoil. The world is full of turmoil. All you have to do is listen to the evening news channel. That is one reason I don’t listen to it. I don’t want to get caught up in the turmoil of the day. It is like people feed off this conflict to feel alive. It is not healthy to live in conflict. Peace is the only thing that will prolong life. Look at farmers, there life is peaceful as compared to people who live in cities. The only conflicts they have are squirrels, rabbits or deer that eat their crops. There are sometimes extreme conflicts such as droughts or plagues. But they are not the norm.

Peace can be obtained but our attitudes of our heart. An attitude of peace is not surrender. Sometimes we have to strive for peace. And peace isn’t situational awareness. On our own, it’s hard to obtain peace. The cares of this world consume our lives with turmoil.

In the Old Testament, the Hebrews had a blood sacrifice system to worship God and receive forgiveness from God. The first sacrifice that the Hebrews had to perform were the peace offerings. They had to make peace with God before they could do anything else. Cows, rams and lamb were the basic offerings, but there was in that economy an offering for poor people. You would never guess what it was. It was two turtledoves. When Joseph and Mary went to the temple to present Jesus before the Lord, they offered two turtledoves as a peace offering.

Peace doesn’t come through our own efforts. Peace is given by God to those who become His children. Only God can bring peace. There is an Aaronic Blessing in

Numbers 6:24-26. And I repeat this blessing for you. “The Lord bless thee, and keep thee: The Lord make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee:The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.”

Crain Blanchard.

Joseph1637@juno.com

Joseph1637.com

A Choice – Free Will…

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Everything that we do in life is a choice. Even if we think that we don’t have a choice, we still do. Most choices are measured by difficulty. Some people don’t want to make waves and do what is expected. But that is a choice. On the other hand, some people don’t care how hard it is and pursue the difficult choice anyway. And some people decide not to do anything. Indecision is a choice also.

Inside everyone is a knowing of who you are and what you will become. It is intuitive in everyone. Now, we can just ignore what our heart is saying to us, but that is at your own risk. We are influenced by many things. Our parents have a large part of our decisions. Then our friends come next and finally the world around us. But that doesn’t excuse us of responsibility for our own action. Everything we do is a choice.

We have many emotions and they all come into play. The strongest emotion that we have is love. Love for ourselves and others decides many things in our lives. It is the one emotion that cause both joy and pain, sometimes at the same time. And it can cause us to make foolish decisions. Love can also bring us the greatest reward.

Despite every emotion and opinion from anyone, we have to make a choice in this world. We have to choose what we are going to be and what to say and do. And that choice is our own. It isn’t somebody else decision. We are always responsible for that choice. You can’t blame somebody else. It is all up to you to choose which way to go in life. Our choices are called free will.

Crain Blanchard.

Joseph1637@juno.com

Joseph1637.com

Do you think God grieves?

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All of our emotions come from God. There is nothing that we have that wasn’t giving to us by God. Of course free will came through a choice that we made. But emotionally, we have that same emotions that God has. So I ask you, does God suffer grief?

Grief is a powerful emotion. It can change the way we think and act toward people and God. When my mother died, I began to grieve. My grieving lasted almost 4 years. I carried it like a banner. I was consumed with grief. I could hardly function. I went through the motions everyday. I put on a halfhearted smile on my face that lied to most people. I said I was fine but could hardly find my way in life. It was one of the most devastating times in my life. If it hadn’t been for God’s intervention into my life, it would have been a death spiral for me. I am not saying that I don’t feel pain when I think of my mother, but grief doesn’t have a death grip on me.

I found three examples of God grieving over mankind. The first is when King Saul didn’t do what God sent him to do. God sent Saul and the Israelite army to utterly destroy the Amalekites. When Saul returned, the prophet Samuel was sent to talk to him. He said, Then came the word of the Lord unto Samuel, saying,It repenteth me that I have set up Saul to be king: (1 Samuel 15:10-11). God grieve that He had made Saul king over Israel. The second is when Jesus went to Lazarus grave. Jesus loved Martha, Mary and their brother, Lazarus. Lazarus had died and Jesus and the disciples went to the grave site. And the scriptures say that Jesus wept (John 11). The third example comes from Revelation. Revelation is about the destruction of earth and mankind. There are vial, trumpets and seals opened. Each one is more devastating than the last one. It says in Revelation 8:1, And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour. God grieved over the destruction of mankind.

So to answer my question, Does God grieve? The answer is yes. God grieves just like we do. We are the image and likeness of God.

Crain Blanchard.

Joseph1637@juno.com

Joseph1637.com

You can’t earn point with God…

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What is the difference between being good and living God’s way? Many people struggle with this question. They believe that if they are good enough they can earn they way into heaven. God set out a series of laws for Moses to show mankind what must do to earn heaven. God told them that if they break one law they break them all. God wanted to get mankind to understand that they can’t keep the law on their own. God was showing mankind that only way to solve their sin problem was through God’s mechanism. God set up a mechanism to solve they sin problem. It is called a blood sacrifice. For without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin (Hebrews 9:22). Even though God set up this sin mechanism, it wasn’t permanent. They had to repeat the blood sacrifices every year.

God’s sin mechanism required 2 things to be permanent. The first thing requirement is faith. You must first believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of them the diligently seek Him (Hebrews 11:6). There is a time and place where you must come to believe in God. Having faith is a conscience choice in our lives. This is where we choose to believe God exists and He is sovereign over this world. When you choose to trust and believe in God, this is where He accepts us into the kingdom.

The second mechanism in God’s plan is the blood sacrifice. God had to get a perfect sacrifice to satisfy the law. This perfect sacrifice had to be sinless. There couldn’t be any spots or blemishes on this sacrifice. And so God sent His son to be a man and live a sinless life. Right before Jesus was cruxified, He was in the temple for 3 days to be examined by the priests and religious leaders. They found that Jesus was blameless and could be sacrificed to save mankind. It’s funny how they, the religious leaders all agreed in God’s plan for mankind. Nor consider that it is expedient for us, that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not (John 11:50). And so Jesus was crucified and shed His blood to fulfill scripture and satisfy the Law.

God raised Jesus from the dead and made Him King of kings and Lord of all. So understand, that we can’t earn our way into heaven. But God has already put into place the way into heaven. It is by faith in God and Jesus and the blood sacrifice. All we have to do is to choose God’s plan and we can enter into His kingdom.

Crain Blanchard.

Joseph1637@juno.com

Joseph1637.com

Updates

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Where do I start. I am sorry that I haven’t written anything new in a while. Although there is over 2000 blogs stored in the website. As you well know I write about one topic consistently. I try to make my blog as interesting as possible. And I want it to be uplifting also. Since I was a child, my favorite stories have been about two people in particularly. Both lived long ago and now reside in heaven. Those two people are King David of Israel, who is an archetype of Christ and Jesus Christ, Himself.

King David lived 3000 years ago. He ruled Israel for 30 years. He was a righteous man, not a perfect one. The bible says that he had a heart after God. He played music that pleased God. David tried very hard to live the way God wanted him to. God gave him everything When sin came into David’s life, God wouldn’t let him build the temple in Jerusalem. That task fell to his son Solomon. Solomon became the greatest king in the history of Israel. Solomon was the only man to rule the earth partially. When Jesus returns He will reign and rule over the entire earth. David raised his son Solomon to believe and trust in God. Solomon didn’t raise his sons to believe and trust in God.

Jesus Christ lived on this earth over 2000 years ago. He came for one reason, Jesus was God’s sacrifice for man’s sin. Not much is know about his early years, but Jesus grow up in Nazareth and apprenticed in his father’s shop as a carpenter. But during those years Jesus attended a Yeshiva in Nazareth. He begin a Rabbi (Pharisee). And at the age of 30 began his ministry when He was baptized in the River Jordan by John the Baptist. Did you know that John the Baptist, son the High Priest Zechariah, was Jesus’ first cousin. Which actually made Jesus the last recorded Levitical priest and the first recorded priest after the order of Melchizedek in the bible.

I studied the word of God for fifty years and my knowledge of God is relative to how big God is. I learn everyday. The only time that I will know everything is when I enter heaven. The update that I am talking about is that Jesus is coming. Don’t give up hope. He will return and we will go home.

Crain Blanchard.

Joseph1637@juno.com

Joseph1637.com

Grief..

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There isn’t anyone that doesn’t suffer grief. It is universal in it’s pain. People sometimes suffer years with this pain. It is never the same with anyone. Some people can express their grief and let it go. Some can’t. Grief is a natural express that we all go through. In biblical times, there were people who were hired to express the grief of losing a loved one. Today it is much simpler. After a funeral, the family will gather to eat and fellowship with the bereaved family. It helps, but it doesn’t fill the loss of a loved one.

I have lost most of my family and now I am the oldest one. I have a younger brother and a few first cousins. It is as life was designed, that the older ones would go on. But it still leaves that hole in my life of all the loved ones that have gone on. The pain of grief isn’t as much as it was. That is healing as I live, but there still is a hole there.

I was listen to some music, when I ran across this piece. This piece of music was written in 1933 by a blind composer. He name was Joaquin Rodrigo. He wrote this piece of music after the death of his first born son. When I first heard it, I could feel the hurt in the music. It is very good and express his grief for his child. The name of the music is Concierto de Aranjuez, the Concerto of Orange Juice. I put a link to the music below. Listen and heard one man’s expression of grief.

Crain Blanchard.

Joseph1637@juno.com

Joseph1637.com

Writing Blogs…

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I have written over 1900 blogs. Some have had thousands of views and comments. As I look at the most successful blogs, they have been about fluff. I have talked about time, space, duty, honor, integrity and many other stories. But it seems that if I talk about what I believe in most, no one wants to read it. Stories about life are fine. They will get you from point A to point B. But they don’t solve the basic issue of life. And what is that all important issue of life? It is who you are and where do you belong.

I wandered in life for 30 years. Not realizing that I had solve the issue when I was 8 years old. I didn’t want to believe that the resolution was that simple. So I did my own thing for about 30 years. I ran into walls pivoted and ran into another wall. I kept seeing how dissatisfied I was with my life. I wanted success, but never being able to grasp it. The reason was simple. I was reaching for the wrong things in life. Instead of solving the problem, I was creating more.

A friend saw through me and invited me to join his Amway business. I did join seeing the opportunity. We would meet early in morning at his cafeteria for coffee and business. I would get their early and listen to my friend and other businessman discuss how they solve the issues of life. I listen for 3 months until I realized that I had made this decision and walked away. He showed how I could get back to place that I wanted to be. I am not a religious person. I don’t have dogma’s or doctrines that don’t make sense. What I do have is a relationship. That relationship has given me peace and courage to live my life correctly.

My people don’t want to hear the name of the person who saved my life from destruction. But I have a relationship with the one person who is able to keep me until I go home to heaven. And His name is Jesus.

Crain Blanchard.

Joseph1637@juno.com

Joseph1637.com

Having a Merry Christmas…

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For most of my life, I have worked in retail. I liked the work because I came in contact with people. All throughout the year I would see people shop for sporting goods or food. One year they decided that I would be a door greeter around the Christmas holidays. It was interesting to interact and watch people as the holidays got closer. First was Thanksgiving. People began to shop for food and decorations for Thanksgiving and Christmas. People smiled and greeted me warmly. There wasn’t a grumpy person among them. People would ask about Black Friday deals. I usually had flyers about the deals. Thanksgiving was about food, family and friends and also football. It was a happy time of year.

Then came Black Friday. I was there at the front of the store were everything was stacked up on pallets. One year when they opened the doors at 6am, people came in like a stampeded herd. Then they started throwing TV and other large boxed items at each other to get whatever they wanted. I jumped up on the register counter just to get out of the way. Today is different. You have to get a ticket to get an item or buy it online.

From Black Friday on the mood changed. People were not smiling any more. They came into the store grumbling. I greeted them with a smile and they mumbled under their breath. Only one time did they actually curse at me. But the smiles were gone. The mood had changed. Because you can literally go bankrupt buying gifts for every person in sight. We, our family, decided the we would pull names to buy a gift for the adults. Anyone could buy gifts for the children. This saved a lot of money. We also made pastries and pies for neighbors and other people.

Christmas is a special time of year. It is a time to think about family present and past. It can be a very lonely time if you aren’t surrounded by people who love and appreciate you. And of course, there is Santa Clause. He actually was a real person. Nicholas of Myra, Turkey. He would give food and clothes to poor people in his parish. He was Bishop Nicholas of Myra and Bari, Turkey. He lived in the 4th century. Saint Nicholas is a patron saint in the Roman Catholic and the Russian Orthodox churches. His example of caring for people is a goal we should have not only in this time of year, but whenever the need arises. You want to get out of the Christmas slump. Start giving to people who can’t return the favor. Help someone in need and watch what happens in your life.

I want to wish you and your family a very blessed and joyous Christmas and a prosperous New Year.

Crain Blanchard.

Joseph1637@juno.com

Joseph1637.com