Jesus had just finished ministering when He and the disciples crossed over the Sea of Galilee. They came to Capernaum. A leader in the town came and fell at Jesus’ feet. He asked Him to come to his house because his daughter was dying. Jesus said yes. On the way many people found out that Jesus was in town and came out to see Him. The crowd was so great that they pressed against Jesus. There in the crowd was a little women who had been sick for 12 years. No doctor was able to help her. She said to herself if I can only touch the hem of His garment. I will be made whole. She pressed through the crowd and finally touched the hem. Jesus immediately stopped and asked who had touched Him. The disciples almost laughed because of all the people. Jesus asked again. The little women shaking came to Jesus and fell at His feet. She explained what had happened. Jesus lifted her up and said, be of good cheer for thy faith has made you whole. Go in Peace. She believed and did what it took to reach God. Because of her faith, she received her healing. This is not a fairy tale, but actually how to touch God and receive your healing. Though you have the faith the size of a mustard seed, if you will say unto the mountain be thou removed and doubt not. It shall be done by your Father in heaven.
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There is a story in the bible about Moses going to Pharaoh after the plague of frogs came upon the Egyptians. God used frogs because it was one of Egyptian gods. The plague was great and there were frogs everywhere. Pharaoh asked Moses to pray and ask God to remove the frogs. Moses said ok, when do you want them gone? Pharaoh said something interesting. He said tomorrow. After everything that had happened and the destruction the frogs brought, he said tomorrow. When people come face to face with their sins, many times they will balk. Even though they know that it was the sin that got them into trouble in the first place. They will balk. Standing in the presence of God seeing your sins clearly isn’t something that feels good. You see everything. It is exposed by the light of God. God wants us to ask forgiveness so He can restore us to His kingdom. But isn’t it funny that man wants to run and hide from God. Just as Adam did in the Garden of Eden. The only way we can be set free is to face our sins in the presence of God. He will forgive and cleanse our hearts so we can live the good life He has promised. Think about it one more night with the frogs or not.
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Have you ever heard your name called throughout eternity? It is an eerie thing. I would turn to see who was calling me. So many times there was no one around or that knew my name. Who knew my name to call to me like that? I went to a beach one night to enjoy the silence. And I heard my name being called in the pounding of the surf. I began to reason in myself who could call my name like that. I came to a conclusion that there is only one person who could call like that. And I wondered why He would be calling me. I was no prize catch. I was no good even to myself. Why would anyone bother with me? What did they want? The answer was very simple. It was me. I knew it had to be God calling. When He called again, I said ok show me why you are calling me. And He did. He sent two men into my life to explain why God would be interested in me. It took a while for it to sink into my thick skull. But it did. When I first started I knew nothing. I had to read just to find out what was about. That was 37 years ago. And I still hear my name being called throughout eternity. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son, that anyone who would believe will have everlasting life. This promise was made to you forever.
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One of Napoleon’s generals won a battle because as he told his troops to march to the sounds of the guns. American General George Custer believed the same thing. He won many battles during the Civil War. It has been my battle cry since I began. I would never look for trouble, but when it showed up I faced it head on. I have been in so many battles that no one has ever seen or heard. The battles I fought weren’t bloody like D-Day, but saved as many lives as I could. I have faced enemies large and small. They have always done one thing for me to make me angry. As a wild boar would turn and rend the person, so did I did to the devil and his cohorts. I would run head long into the battle, because God promised me I would come out on the other side. And even if I didn’t I still would have stopped the devil’s plans. The devil isn’t all powerful. If the devil wants to do something he has to go to God and ask permission. The only way he can defeat us is if a person gives him permission. Our faith coupled with the Word of God is sharper than any two-edged sword dividing asunder soul and spirit. If you want to join the battle, you are going to have to train in the word of God. You start by trusting and believing God Himself and let Him led you into battle.
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Jesus had just finished preaching to a multitude. He told His disciples let us get into the boat and go to other side. We are talking about Sea of Galilee in Israel. These guys were rowing across. The Sea of Galilee is about 14 miles across. It would take a while to row across. Like most inland lakes, a storm arose. All these men are experienced fishermen. They have lived and worked in good or bad weather. But this storm was particularly bad. They all became afraid. Jesus on the other hand was sleeping on the rear of the boat. At first they didn’t wake Him up. But the storm got really bad. Finally they went to Jesus and woke Him. They started pleading their case about the storm. Jesus reacted differently than they expected. He rebuked them. He said what is wrong with you. Why are you afraid? Why don’t you have faith? Jesus rebuked the storm and said, Peace be still. They looked at Him and said who is this man that the storm obeys? Jesus said greater thing shall you do because I go to My Father. If that is true, then why are you afraid and why don’t you have faith?
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There is a lot being said about PTSD. What is being said is mostly about veterans of our wars. For the longest time it was called Shell Shocked. There are cases in the US Civil War of it. In WWII, it was called Battle Fatigue. At first no one wanted to even recognize that it existed. But when it became prevalent, people had to say that it did indeed exist. I have a friend who was a US Marine rifleman at Khe Sanh in Vietnam. He smokes cigarettes and walks everywhere he goes. He can’t hold job. He doesn’t like to be around crowds of people. But what he saw at Khe Sanh was horrendous. Most of his friends were blown to pieces. All the survivors were moved to Da Nang. Which also fell. He came home but his mind was still in Vietnam. This condition not only happens to soldiers, it also happens to people everywhere. The school shootings that have taken place over past few years. The bombing in Boston at the Marathon or the most recent was the shootings in South Carolina at the church. People thought they were safe in that church. Now they are not. The horror or fear that can come on a person because of such events can be overwhelming. Overwhelming to the point that a person can’t function at all. God says, in Jeremiah 33:3 “Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.” God will answer us if we pray and ask.
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Before I walked with the Lord, I was not a compassionate person. I believed if you caused it you payed the price. It’s a hard way of looking at things. It also doesn’t generate any love for any one. God began to show me people and their problems. I began to see their needs. I began to have compassion for people. God is moved by compassion. He sees a person in trouble, whether they caused it or not and does something about. People think that they will get out of the consequences of their actions, if God forgives them. Sometimes yes and sometimes no. When we do something it creates consequences that may last forever. I pray fervently that I don’t cause others to suffer my consequences. God is forgiving and will forgive sin if we confess it to Him. Because of God’s compassion for man, He has moved heaven and earth for us. When Jesus first began preaching in Israel, one of the things He did was healing people. People would come from miles away to ask Jesus to heal them. One day He was at Peter’s house and there hundreds of people trying to see Him. 4 men carrying a litter with a man who had palsy. They couldn’t get into the house. So they went on the roof and torn a hole in it to get the man to Jesus. Jesus was moved by their faith and compassion for the man. At first He said your sins are forgiven, then because of the Pharisees there. He said arise take up your pallet and go home. And he did. It makes no difference who you are or what you have done. Ask and you shall receive, seek and you shall find, knock and it shall be opened for you.
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Our actions put things into motion. We are action oriented people. We want to see things happen. Although sometimes it all goes sideways, we still want to get things done. Movie Star John Wayne’s famous saying is “Get er done”. Most of us have action figures to play with, the girls call them dolls. I played with the little green army men, also cowboys and Indians. It was always about moving forward. Trying to accomplish our goals. It hasn’t changed whether or not you are 10 or 65 years old. As I moved into God’s realm, I was always afraid of doing damage to another person through my actions. I would pray that God would correct any mistakes I made. He did just that. I am not perfect I am forgiven. As I move forward, I become skilled at the use of the Word of God. The things of God would work better in my life as I used them. But I was always concerned about that. As people would ask me questions about their lives, I shared with them God‘s word and how it would affect them. People would be amazed that it would work for them. Communicating with God was the key. I found out what God wanted for them and then prayed for it. God would make it happen and change their lives. We are talking about healing, finances, children and most anything that would affect their lives. The bible says faith without action is dead being alone.
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The bible says as a man believes so is he. To believe something you have to think about it first. I have just about stopped listening to TV commercials. The whole point is to change our minds and purchase their products. Most of the time we don’t even need it. Every person only has a few ways of collecting information. The first way is sight. The eyes are a gateway to ourselves. Everyone needs to guard what they see because it will change the way we think. When I was young, I use to watch horror movies. The ones I watched were grisly, but not demonic. Today it is no holds barred. Do you know why audio and visual are most effective? It incorporates the second way of imputing info, hearing. Did you know that the makers of the movie “The Exorcist” recorded the sound of killing pigs to make the soundtrack more gripping? What you hear is just as important as what you see. The third way is smell. When your mother fixes your favorite food, you know it. When you smell a dead cat, you know it. Our smell is directly related to our memories. The fourth way is touching. Do you remember the first time you touched a hot pot? And lastly tasting, do you remember the first time you ate candy? All of our senses created memories of information that we make judgements about everything. So as we think, we make judgements. As we make judgements we believe. As we believe so are we.

Crain Blanchard.
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I was at a friend’s house. This was when I first started walking with God. I was full of myself and thought I knew a lot. My friend went to get something to drink. She had a cat and it started rubbing itself against me. I like cats always have. As the cat was rubbing, I look at it and said, what a worthless piece of fur. God immediately responded and said, that cat has My life in it. I felt like a fool. I had ridiculed God. God made all of creation and put His life into all things. It was not to be taken lightly. Even though the cat doesn’t have a soul like us, it is important in God’s plan. How much more are we worth to God? In many books of the bible, God delineates what is to be done to a person who murders another person. If you don’t remember it is called an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth and a life for a life. God is very serious about preserving life on this earth. And if a life is to be taken, it is by His rules and His authority. God knew that man was corrupt and if not controlled he would go about killing other people. Sounds very familiar doesn’t it. The life of God is inside us all. We need to respect God and His rules in order that we may live a peaceable life on this earth.
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