Everybody remembers the story of Jonah and the whale. Most people don’t talk about why God sent Jonah to Nineveh. This was the capital of the Assyrians. They had raided into Israel and had killed whoever they saw, men, women and children. God wanted to give the Ninevites the opportunity to repent of the sins. Otherwise God was going to destroy Nineveh. Jonah said let them all die. Then Jonah ran from God. Boarded a ship bound for wherever. There arose a storm until they all believe they would die. They asked everybody what they could do to stop this. Jonah said God was angry with him. They needed to throw him overboard. Finally they did. The Whale swallowed Jonah. He was in the belly of the whale for three days and nights. Until Jonah repented. He went to Nineveh. He preached repentance and 100,000 people repented of their sins. Jonah became angry with God. He wanted revenge, but God wanted life. What do you see in this story? Do you understand what it is all about? It is the story of our life. It is what God will do to bring us to repentance. God doesn’t want revenge. He is willing to send someone to you to help you. Hear what God is saying to you. Just as it was in the days of Jonah, God sent Jesus into hell for three days and nights for us.

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After a forest fire in the 1950’s, forest fire fighters found a bear cub up in a tree. The cub survived the fire barely. He had climbed in the tree to escape the fire. It was badly burned but survived. The little bear recovered from his wounds and eventually ended up in the National Zoo in Washington D.C. They named the bear Smokey. The US Forest Service took the bear as mascot. They began an advertisement campaign to prevent forest fires. And in all the commercials Smokey the bear would say, only you can prevent forest fires. Because of the large amount of fires recently in the western US, they have revived the Smokey the bear commercials. This time he says, only you can prevent wildfires. Yet I know people that start fires daily just by what they say. The unfortunate thing about that is that they can’t take it back. A person asked how they could take back what they said. The answer was take a small box of feathers to a mountain top and release them in the wind. Then go and get all the feathers back in the box. It is impossible. And the damage can stay for years.

Jas 1:26 (KJV) If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man’s religion is vain.

Jas 3:5-6 (KJV) Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.

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When Jesus came to earth as a man, he knew that God had a plan for his life. Jesus lived a normal life in Israel. He became a Pharisee, Rabbi. Jesus taught the people as well as his disciples how to live and what to expect from God. This was nothing new, he just explained the Law to everyone. Jesus knew that he was going to die for our sins. He trusted God to bring to pass his will on earth. God raised Jesus from the dead to make him King of Kings and Lord of Lords. But Jesus’ job wasn’t through. There were final instructions for the disciples. Jesus told the disciple that when He ascended into heaven God was going to send the Holy Spirit to live inside of us. We would become kings and priest, prophets to God. He told them to wait for the Holy Spirit. So in the upper room, 120 disciples waited and prayed. The Holy Spirit came down and filled each person in that room. There was so much noise that people outside came to see what was going on. There were at less 3000 people gathered. They heard something they never heard before. The disciples were speaking in tongues, in a heavenly language. They also heard these disciples speak all the different languages of the world. For they were baptized in the Holy Spirit, just as God had promised on the Day of Pentecost.

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I am not talking about the religious denomination. I am talking about the movement of God. The first reference to it in the bible was about King Saul chasing David. Saul was so close to catching David, God had to intervene. The Holy Spirit came upon Saul. He was filled with the Holy Spirit and began to prophesy and speak in other tongues. His men asked if Saul was one of the prophets. It stopped Saul long enough for David to escape. So, the prophets of God were, first, filled with the Holy Spirit. Second, their lives changed and everyone saw it. Third, the prophets of God prophesied and spoke in other tongues. Not everyone was able to receive this, because the Holy Spirit was only given to everyone after Jesus died and rose again. When Jesus rose into heaven on the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came down and filled everyone in the upper room. All the people in Israel that saw and heard this and knew what had happened. They knew because there hadn’t been a prophet in Israel for 400 years. The people perceived that these ordinary people had received from the Spirit of God. It is said that over 3000 people believed on Jesus that day. Pentecostalism, the baptism of the Holy Spirit, speaking in other tongues, is the power of God in our lives. This is the power to accomplish God’s will on this earth. Just like on the day of Pentecost, it is for every believer who ask for it.

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Years ago I worked in Real Estate. I sold property but mostly did Appraisals. There was a friend of my younger brother who wanted to buy a piece of property to build a house. I found a nice piece in the country on a lake. It was a very nice piece of land. He had been in the US Army and was going to use the VA to build his home. The VA turned him down because I made a mistake. The property was a gated community. It had a locked gate at the entrance. He had spent his life saving on the property. He wouldn’t speak to me. One Sunday morning I was on my way to church and the Lord spoke to me. He said go to this man and asked for forgiveness. He wouldn’t hear of forgiveness and cursed me. I had done what the Lord had said. I prayer that the situation would be corrected. God helped him sell the property for more money. The bible says if you are bringing a gift to God and remember that your brother has ought against you. Leave the gift and go to your brother and be reconciled. We are responsible for our actions. If they caused our brother to stumble it is our job to fix it as best we can. God will do the rest.

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There is a John Steinbeck short story called “Flight”. A young man kills a man and flees for his life. They chased him to the top of a hill. There he knew he had to face the truth. He stood up and the police shot him dead. The tragic story is about taking courage even though it may kill you. We are placed on this earth to prove the truth that we are the image and likeness of God. We walk in this world trying to figure out what is the best way to live our lives. Not everyone succeeds. The only way we can possibly live this life is by taking courage. Our parents tried to teach us how to live the right way. They wanted the best for us. When I was a teenager, I thought my parents were brain dead. As I got older, I saw the wisdom of my parents. My dad died 31 years ago. For the longest time after his death, I heard my father’s voice. Whenever I had a problem, I could hear inside me my father’s voice giving me wisdom. As I discovered my father wasn’t as stupid as I thought. That wisdom always gave me courage to face whatever I needed to. And I would take courage and face life as I am supposed to.

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What kind of condition is humanity in? The Information Revolution is upon us all. There was the Stone Age, the Bronze Age, the Iron Age, the Dark Ages, the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, the Reformation, the Industrial Age and now we have the Age of Information. The strangest thing is that we still have poor people, starving people, war-torn countries and people who only care about money. The human condition hasn’t changed in 6000 years. Why you ask? The things of life have gotten better, better food production, better medicines, better construction and better materials. Oh yes, let us not forget cars, planes and trains. It is very simple. The reason why it hasn’t changed in 6000 years is because man is still in charge of it. God had been trying to get man to accept His way of life for his betterment. God knows what man needs and wants. He can decide what is best for us. If we allow Him to change our lives, things will get better. As the bible says, man thinking himself to be wise, became fools.

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Andre Boutte, French and Indian War, 1763.

Francois Boutte, Louisiana Militia, American Revolution, 1775.

Calvin and Luther Blanchard, Massachusetts Minute-Men, 1775.

Thomas Blanchard, North Carolina Militia, 1776.

Thomas Newton, Commissioner, US Navy, 1776.

Thomas O. Blanchard, War of 1812.

Francois Boutte, War of 1812, Battle of New Orleans, 1814.

Albert G. Blanchard, Maj. General, 9^th Louisiana, 1861.

Calvin and Ebenezer Carson, 16 Alabama Cavalry, 1861

Carey Edward Blanchard, 17^th Texas Brigade, 1864.

William P. Blanchard, 71^st Inf., 1941.

Neal Blanchard, Doctor, US Army, 1941.

Dyer Blanchard, US Navy, 1941.

Hal McGown, Lt. General US Army, Korea and Vietnam, 1948.

Felix Castille, 1^st Marines, Korea, 1951.

Charles Blanchard, US Air Force, Vietnam.

My older brother was a Physician’s Assistant in US Army during the Vietnam War. I served in the US Air Force during the Vietnam War. Three of my sons and two of my nephews serve in the military in Iraq and Afghanistan. Since my grandfather came to this country in 1637, our family has defended it. My family are patriots. There are a lot of people who have served our country and I am thankful for it. We are blessed by God with a good land to live in. And it is worth defending our country, no matter how bad it seems to be. I just want to thank the men and women who have served our country in the military. It is right to honor them. Have a blessed and safe Memorial Day.

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When I came to the Lord, I literally stopped talking. Before I knew God my tongue was the worst part of me. I could easily carve people to pieces with my tongue. It was sharp and poisonous. People didn’t want to be around me. As the Bible says in

James 3:6 “And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.” (KJV)

The fires of hell came out of my mouth and burnt anyone around me. So when I received God into my heart, I was changed and couldn’t speak with the fires of hell. I just stopped talking. I would speak to people but with great caution. When I got married, my wife had to pull anything out of me. I didn’t speak. It’s not that I didn’t have something to say. But I wanted it to be just right. My wife likes to talk. She go on about anything. She gets phone calls that last a couple of hours. I still guard my mouth and speak judiciously. The bible says that anyone who bridles their tongue controls themselves. I don’t want to run off at the mouth ever again. I will have to account for all of my words when I stand before God.

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How would you like an occupying army to live in your country? Having to pay for the occupation itself with your own money. The Romans had conquered Israel. They had to contend with the Roman soldiers. Jesus went about the country preaching, teaching and healing people. A Centurion came up to Jesus. He had a servant that was sick. The Centurion asked Jesus to heal his servant. Jesus said he would go to his house and pray for the servant. Then the Centurion said something that Jesus marveled at. He said I am not worthy that you should enter my home. I am a soldier under authority. I say to this man come and he comes. I say to that man go and he goes. All I need is for you to speak the word and my servant will be healed. Jesus said not in all Israel have I found so great a faith. He said your servant is healed. God is looking for faith in this world. Faith to believe that He is and is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him. All it takes is faith the size of a mustard seed to produce results. Believe and trust Him with your life and watch how you will bloom.

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