I went to a wedding. A young friend of mine married for the first time. She looked beautiful and the groom was handsome. Her mother fell off a ladder last Monday and broke her foot and took 7 stitches in her head. She said she was going to the wedding come hell or high water. She look good and her sons helped her to her place in church. They have 6 six kids, 4 girls and 2 boys. The wedding was lovely. It wasn’t over the top. The daughter used her money wisely and planned everything. Even the 86 year old grandmother looked good. Grandma was going to her granddaughter’s wedding to celebrate life. She got up and danced several times. She had to be assisted to the dance floor by 2 men. But she was going to dance at her granddaughter’s wedding. The mother with the broken foot hardly left the dance floor. The dad talked to everyone and danced with his wife and everyone that asked him. The food was good and party was fun. They all came to celebrate life itself. Everyone had a smile on their face. They didn’t throw rice when the couple left which is traditional. They blew bubbles. In all it was a really sweet time for the family and all the guest. This is about what God gives to us on this earth. Life is hard enough as it is, but God wants to enjoy and celebrate our lives. As it says in the bible: Ecclesiastes 8:15 “Then I commended mirth, because a man hath no better thing under the sun, than to eat, and to drink, and to be merry: for that shall abide with him of his labour the days of his life, which God giveth him under the sun.”
Monthly Archives: February 2018
Life after Death
I was in my doctor’s office this morning and we were talking about a dream she had years ago. She was in college and separated from her family. She was lonely and miss them. One night while she was sleeping she received a phone in the middle of the night. She was so tired and sleepy that when she answered the call it was hazy. When she woke the next morning she remembered that the call was from her grandmother who encouraged her. She checked her phone and had received a call during the night. The only problem was that her grandmother had been dead for several years. She mentioned it to me because she said that she was afraid of death. Most people are afraid. The reason is that they don’t know where they are going after death. My younger brother died of cancer about a 2 years ago. He wasn’t afraid because he knew where he was going. How he knew is because he knew Jesus. The bible says that man is held in bondage all of his life because of the fear of death. The bible also says for whom God set free is free indeed. Jesus descended into hell and took the keys of death and hell away from the devil. So that we could know where we are going which is the kingdom of heaven. You see God rules in heaven. Before my brother died, he asked me if there is much pain in death. I told him the pain is on this side of the world. When he died he closed eyes and woke up on the other side in heaven. So the answer to the question is there life after death is yes. For those going to heaven it will be blessed. And for those who didn’t choose God, there is only one place left. And that place is hell.
No Man is an Island
We are social beings. We were made to be with other people. Our lives work together and intertwine with other social beings. Then why do we feel alone? Why is it we have that awareness of being separated from everyone else? It is the most uncomfortable and unnerving feeling to have. Although it isn’t a spatial thing because there are so many people on this earth. You can’t go anywhere without bumping into someone. Or my favorite, to find trash on the ground in the most remote location you have ever been. People inhabit this earth. But what I am talking about is been in the middle of a party and feeling alone. There is a real reason why we have that feeling. If we didn’t have that feeling, we would never know that we a truly separated from our creator, God Himself, and need to join with Him. It is funny how that feeling crops up every now and again. Our need to be social or interact is a driving force in our lives. We need to have relationships to grow and function in this world. Loneliness can drive a person insane. So what do you do about this? I began to attend a new church years ago and no one payed any attention to me at all. It was distressing. The bible says if you want friends show yourself friendly. So what I did was to arrive early at the church and introduce myself to as many people as I could before church started. Soon people were greeting me everywhere. It was amazing. God’s word works and we don’t have to alone and separated. Because you see no man is an island.
In One Generation
During the 60’s, political activism was encourage for everyone to be involved in the shaping our country. Many pastors thought that this was a way to keep the influential power of the Church. It worked for a time because the general thought was that we are a Christian nation. Churches were involved in political campaigns. Many Christians won. More people were interested in programs more than the Gospels. It was and is a popular way to run a church. During the 70’s there were Holy Ghost revivals. People getting filled with the Spirit of God and dancing in the aisles. In the 80’s it was a time of teaching. People learning about the power of God and how to use it effectively. In the 90’s it was a time to work in the world to bring people into the church fold and help the needy. At the turn of the century the world faced disaster after disaster. Nothing was spared. Everyone was vulnerable to the disasters. And it hasn’t stopped 16 years later. It isn’t the first time this has happened. It happened in the 1st century with the new Christian church. Ephesus was the center of Christianity in the 1st century. Read Ephesians then read Revelations. In 40 years, Ephesus went from a powerful Christian church, to a church on the brink of failure. One Generation, 40 years of time, so where is the church today? And why won’t the church hear what the Holy Spirit is saying to us?
Needy Information
I want to talk about information that is needy for everyday life. There are many blogs that talk about all kinds of things for everyday life. I like to can fruits and make jellies. I found a blog about that. It is a fun blog but not life or death. My subject matter has always been life or death subjects. I have tried to make it as interesting as possible to keep people’s attention. I don’t want to become the boy who cried wolf so that no one will listen. But I have to speak the truth in love at all times. It is like a watchman on the wall of a city, if the he can’t trumpet a clear signal no one will know the truth. Then I become responsible for the blood of people who die because of it. Needy information is for the spiritual man. There are many connotations of that word spiritual. What I am talking about is your heart that is the image and likeness of God. We are eternal beings and will live forever. And it is up to you where you decide to live for the rest of your life. There are only two places that you can go to. They are heaven and hell. This isn’t the heaven and hell that man thinks of. It is the actual place that God designed. Heaven is the place where God resides. And hell is the place reserved for people who are separated from God and of course the devils. Heaven is a joyous place where we will live in peace and contentment. Hell is a place of torment and suffering. Each of these places are eternal. They will last forever. So we have to choose in this life where we are going in the next. Choose well because it will be forever. For the bible says narrow is the gate that leads to righteousness and few that find it.
Love, the Strongest Emotion
I can still hear that song by Tina Turner going through my head. The song is “What’s love got to do with it.” Despite what the song says, love has everything to do with everything. Love has made more people do silly things than anything else. We are talking off the wall things to win a love. It seems that there is no end to what a person will do to win over a love. And the opposite is just as true. There seems to be no end to what a person will do because of a broken heart. Love is the most powerful emotion there is. It doesn’t end because of a divorce or a breakup. It carries on even after the love interest dies. A friend of mine lost his wife of over 50 years. He was relatively healthy but die after six months without his wife. People say that love and hate are the opposite sides of the same coin. I think they are exactly the same. They are both born the same, but hate is just love with great pain. When a person falls in love, there is an indelible mark made on our hearts. It doesn’t go away. It will remain with us for the rest of our lives. And even on into the life after death. There are times that I don’t want to love people. Because I know that they will hurt me and I don’t want to pain. But I see people in need. There was a good friend who lost her husband. She was lost and didn’t know what to do. I began to be with her and love her for who she is. We never kissed and hugged each other. But I loved her with all my heart. Her life came back into focus. This is what she needed that steady rock of love. We didn’t marry each other. You will never know what your love can do for another person until you open your heart and try. Lives will change and people can be healed even if you are in great pain. Let love work in your life and the lives of people who are in need.
Perceiving is Believing
What you see is a reflection. What you hear is an echo. Scientist say that everything including molecules are in motion. So that everything isn’t solid. We perceive that a brick wall is solid. If we try to run through it you would get a nasty headache. Although there is truth to the statement. This world is temporary and in the end will roll up like a scroll and disappear. So, it is what you perceive is the truth or what you believe. In a gubernatorial election, I heard the incumbent say that the new governor had won the hearts of the people. That is a perception. I have seen this principle work over and over again. So many times the news media will target a candidate and try to destroy his acceptability by telling lies. I lived through Hurricane Katrina. Without a doubt, everything the media said about what was going on in New Orleans was an outright lie. They retracted their statements about a month later. By that time the damage was done. The presidential race is full of lies that the news media repeats and repeats until people believe what they are telling is the truth. Or they will push one candidate over another because it fits their beliefs. Because everything is in motion you can’t trust what your eyes see or what your ears hear. That old saying if it sounds too good to be true, it probably isn’t. So what do you do? Who can be trusted with the truth? And where can we find this person or persons who will speak the truth? There are moral absolutes in this world. People already know what they are. Because they are written in your heart and mind. And who wrote these truths in our heart and in our minds? You already know the answer to that question. It isn’t what any man has to say. It is only what God has to say on any given subject. Mine isn’t to reason why, mine is to do and die.
Guilt and Condemnation
That is a 1, 2 punch if I ever saw one. It has destroyed more people than wars itself. Those two attitudes have held people in bondage since the beginning of time. There isn’t one person on this earth that hasn’t done something wrong. With the act came guilt and condemnation. And the more the person did something wrong, the more they felt guilty and condemned. It is a trap conveniently set up by you know who our adversary, the devil. It is meant to make you think that you can never go to God with a problem to be solved. Whenever you feel guilt, anger, confusion or condemnation, it only comes from one source, the devil. They are his tools to try and defeat us in life. Did you know that the devil has to use our power to defeat us? He has no power on his own, so he has to use ours to become powerful in our lives. He is so powerless, he has to go to God to ask permission to do anything on earth. Why people worship this thing, has been is a mystery. Why does he have no power? It is very simple. When Jesus died and went to hell, He took from the devil the keys of death and hell away from him. This left the devil powerless. When God raised Jesus from the dead, He made Him King of kings and Lord of lords with all power in this world. When you are bothered by the devil call upon the name of Jesus. And He will answer you with power. There isn’t anything of value the devil has. It is all death and destruction. So call upon the Lord and He will answer and show you great and mighty thing which you haven’t seen before.
Giving and Receiving
It is so easy as a child because our parents saw to it that we had what we needed. In the beginning we couldn’t do for ourselves if we had to. So our parents had seen about our needs. But as we got older more was required from us. We were required to pick our clothes or toys. But in each stage of our lives responsibility for our wellbeing was transferred to us. Until the day we were required to take care of ourselves. When I was walking out of my high school graduation ceremony, I had a frown on my face. My mother tried to get me to smile, but I realized everything had changed in my world. Nothing was ever going to be the same again. I was going to be responsible for myself and had to make decisions for my life. I had been on the receiving end of everything for a long time. Now I had to move into the giving end and I didn’t know how I would fare. Now I had to give of my time, energy and effort to make my way in life. No longer was life going to be easily given to me. So I charged right ahead. Lowered my head and press in to acquire what I needed in life. I didn’t make all the right decisions at first. I made some bad ones and paid for it too. I wanted to be different from my parents. The university I attended was 5 blocks from my home. I lived 2 blocks from my parent’s house. A mistake I still regret. I began to learn what giving and receiving is all about. If you want to receive you have to give first. I didn’t always want to do that. I wanted what I wanted. But I had to learn. I was responsible for myself. I became selfish to a fault. But I had my eyes and my heart opened the day I met God. He showed me that the only way to really receive was to give first. When we see about other people first, then needs are met. This is how God setup the world to be able to work. My life and this world was always about giving and receiving.
Love verses Sacrifice
Today more people talk about love than ever before. There are commercials and any kind of advertisement that proclaims love. I saw stories on national news about love. And the local newspapers spotlight the oldest married couples they can find. It is very prevalent in our society. I am afraid most people are not talking about the real love, but what they mean is sex. Several years ago I was the night manager in a big box store. I was talking to one employee about marriage, when I realized that the all the overnight workers had gather to me. I told them that having sex with a person and then leaving to go to another is a divorce. You see the marriage contract is not the ceremony or signing the paperwork. The marriage contract is the act of sex. Once a couple has participated they are married. And when they go on to someone else, they are divorced. There are consequences because of this. Most people don’t even want to hear about this. But this isn’t what I am talking about. I am talking about the commitment to another person with you heart and feelings. That bond is as strong as anything in this world. And even if the people have separated the bond is still there. It is a strange thing how our hearts never let go. They will hold on forever. But still that isn’t what I am talking about. The bond of love we have for one another can be so strong that we would be willing to do anything to protect the person. Even die for them. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son that we should have eternal life. For no greater love has any man than that he would lay down his life for another. So the true test of love is if we are willing to sacrifice for another. So sacrifice is the sign of true love.
Joseph1637/Crain Blanchard 