The Word of God is quick, powerful, sharper than any twoedged sword, dividing asunder soul and spirit, and the joints and marrow and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Our heart is who we are. It is our mind, will and intellect. The Word of God is writing and spoken. But more than that it is Jesus. He is the Word of God. Since the beginning of time, Jesus is the one who spoke to man. He gave to man the written word of God. Jesus did this so man would have a reference to guide him in life. He did this because man refused to keep the knowledge of God in his mind and heart.

John 3:19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

The best example of this is Judas, when Jesus and the disciples were at supper in Bethany. When all the men sat for supper, Mary, Lazarus’ sister, came with a bottle of spikenard. It is a spice used to bury someone. She anointed Jesus’ head and feet. She washed His feet with her hair. Judas Iscariot objected. He said we should sell the spice and give the money to the poor. But what Judas wanted to do is sell the spice and keep the money. Judas was the treasurer for Jesus and the disciples. Jesus said to leave the woman alone. She will be remembered for all times for she anointed Jesus from her heart.

All throughout the scriptures, God has always looked upon the heart of man. God knows that what is in the heart, is who the man is. Man cannot hide from God what is in their heart. From the beginning, God told each person to teach their children about God. This was for each person to have the knowledge of God in their lives. All throughout time, God has instructed man about the knowledge of God.

God has always tried the hearts and minds of man. Either you are for God or against Him. There is no in-between. If you do not choose God, you are against Him. Jesus said it Himself. That man loves darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil. What God is looking for is a relationship with each person.

God is calling us to sacrifice ourselves just like Jesus. So that God can resurrect us to life. Yes, we must die to ourselves, so Jesus can live through us in this world.

This is the link to my book.

Crain Blanchard.

Joseph1637@juno.com

Joseph1637.com

I hope, I hope, I hope, then turn around 3 times and spit on the ground. Hope without faith is nothing. It will not accomplish anything. Hope with faith is believing in something. Many things are not worth believing in. Most things are temporary. They will not satisfy you. People believe they are right. But when they find out they are wrong, their world falls apart. People get disillusioned. Then comes hate, anger, and bitterness because they did not achieve their goals. Abraham Lincoln ran for public office 32 times. He only won one race for public office. That was the presidency of the United States. He never gave up and did not become discouraged. Thomas Edison tried 2000 ways to build a light bulb. He said I found 2000 ways how not to build a light bulb. Then I found the one way to build a light bulb.

Hope is where it all starts. Then come faith, believing that it will work. But the secret is not to become discouraged in the doing. What you do is to encourage yourself. Turn your hope into faith, believe that you can accomplish it. Then put it all into action. What you believe is what you are going to do. If you believe you cannot do it, you cannot. But if you believe your will, find a way to achieve your goals. Then you take hope and turn it into faith. Then you will achieve your goals.   

Crain Blanchard.

Joseph1637@juno.com

Joseph1637.com

Persistence is doing something consistently over a long period of time of time. My cat is persistent when she wants to be feed. She will not stop meowing until someone feeds her or we put her in her carryall. It can get quite annoying sometimes. Jesus used parables to teach people about kingdom principals. There is a parable about persistence called the unjust judge. In Luke 18, Jesus taught about having faith that persist. He said that there was a judge, who did not fear God or regard man. A women came to him to get a favorable judgement. At first the judge did not rule in her favor, but the woman persisted. She persisted so much that the judge ruled in her favor to be rid of her. Jesus said that this is how we are to use our faith toward God. We are to be persist in our believing. And God will answer our prayers. As the bible says that we first must believe that God is and a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him. Being persistent is what God wants us to be in the kingdom. Everything that we do in the kingdom rest upon us having faith and being persistent in that believing. So many people give up because they do not see the answer to their prayers immediately. The longest prayer I have ever prayed was 22 years. It was for the salvation and baptism of the Holy Ghost for my 4 sons. The shortest prayer was answered in a blink of an eye. Our faith must be persistent for God to bring about an answer from heaven.

This is the link to my book.

Crain Blanchard.

Joseph1637@juno.com

Joseph1637.com

Growing up I noticed something unusual. If I listen to a person talk, they will tell me who they are within 10 minutes. People would tell me intimate secrets without batting an eye. Why would people say all those things to me? Sometimes I did not want to hear all those things. But after I came to the Lord, I saw where all of this made sense. Still sometimes I do not want to hear all the things in a person’s life. Once people found out that I talk with God, they would come to me for prayer. Because Jesus is our counselor. Now a days, people do not even have to talk with me, and I see their hearts. Some people are so loud, that you can not hear anything else. Some people are so quiet, that I can not hear anything else. A person’s heart is who they are. When they walk up to you, if you listen with your heart, they will speak to you. You can not hide your heart. In Matthew 12, Jesus was talking to some pharisees about what they were saying. He told them to be careful what they say. Jesus said that we will be judged by the words that we speak. The reason is that out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. Jesus gave me a gift when I first started in the Lord. He said that my words will not fall to ground but will accomplish all that I say. I shut my mouth for a long time. My wife had to drag words out of me. Words are important and we should use them wisely. For out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.

This is the link to my book.

Crain Blanchard.

Joseph1637@juno.com

Joseph1637.com

What will you see when Jesus returns? There are so many pictures of Jesus that no one really knows what He looks like. People would tremble when they walked near Him and still do. When they would talk to Jesus, people would feel the love of God. The voice of God is love. Whenever He spoke, they said He spoke with authority. Jesus always played with the children. If anyone ask Jesus for healing, He always prayed and laid hands on them. He would not stop until all were prayed for. Jesus wept at the death of a friend. He had compassion on people. He never lost hope or faith that things will work out. What will you see when Jesus returns? The bible says that the only reason that we will see Jesus when He returns is because we will look just like Him. When we cook supper for a family who has lost a loved one, who do you see? When we take care of someone’s children so they can rest, who do you see? When we help our neighbor with food, who do you see? When you cry with someone or mourn with them, who do you see? When I came to the Lord, I wanted to see Him. I looked hard to see Jesus in this world. I began to see Jesus in the most unusual places. I saw Him in kind words spoken. I saw Him in tears shed. I saw Jesus in the compassion being shown to people. So, what will you see when Jesus returns?

This is the link to my book.

Crain Blanchard.

Joseph1637@juno.com

Joseph1637.com

There have been many movies, to varying degrees, about love. For most of them, what they really mean is lust stories. But a lust story does not have the same appeal as a love story. There are 3 distinct types of love I am talking about. The first is called Eros, which actually means lust. Then there is Philadelphia, which means brotherly love. Then there is Agape, which means the love of God. Eros or lust is to satisfy oneself or to be selfish. Philadelphia is to some extent to reach out to help another person, usually without too much effort. It still has a high degree of selfishness. When Jesus asked Peter if he loved Him, Peter responded with I love you like a brother. It was not until Jesus died on the cross, that Peter figured out he loved Jesus like God love’s us. The love of God is an all-consuming love. It compels us to go between who we are to the point of being in harm’s way to help another person. And does not matter if we know the person or not. There is a story of a soldier, a medic, in Vietnam, who crawled through the mud of a rice patty to rescue 20 men wounded and under fire. He was compelled to rescue those men. He himself was wounded several times. He received the Medal of Honor. The love of God does earn us a reward, but not on earth and it may cost us our lives. Jesus said the second greatest commandment is to love, as God loves, your neighbor.

John 15:12-14 ^“This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.”

This is the link to my book.

Crain Blanchard.

Joseph1637@juno.com

Joseph1637.com

My family has served in the military since coming to this country. We served out of duty and honor and necessity. Everyone knows what a battleground is. It is not a place of preparation. The battleground is the execution of commands to preserve the integrity of the unit and to defeat the enemy. Sometimes the fighting is hand to hand, but most times it is long distance. Two of my sons served in war and still feel the effects from it. Waging war is a conscious effect on our part. We have to commit ourselves to the battle. When we choose to serve Christ, we choose to enter into battle. We do not fight against flesh and blood, but we battle against spiritual darkness. Since our enemy is invisible, we cannot see them with our eyes. But we can see them with our heart. And therein is the battleground. Our heart is our mind, will and intellect. Our mind is influenced by our five senses. They influence our body. As pressure comes against our body and mind is directly affected. If too much pressure comes against our body and mind will do one of two things. Our mind will fight against the pressure or oppression. Or our mind will give in and we lose ground. Which in turn affects our heart. And whosoever we serve, we become their servants. Whether or not, it is good or evil. This is why God commands us to think on things that are true, honest, just, pure, lovely and are of good report. This is how God keeps our minds and hearts through Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:4-8).

This is the link to my book.

Crain Blanchard.

Joseph1637@juno.com

Joseph1637.com

Waiting, what an interesting and archaic idea. In this age of instant gratification, why do people need to wait. Do you remember those Christmas days where we went through every present in the first hour? And our parents tried to get us interested in a certain toy or object. We received the gifts freely. We did not have to work or toil for them. By the end of the day, our interest in the gifts subsided. In high school, I worked and earned my own money. With that money, I purchased things. The most expensive item was a record player. It cost me three weeks of work. Today if you spent your money on an object that took you three weeks to earn, you would take care of it. Sometimes we have to wait for things that we want or need. It is not always fun or easy, but it is necessary. So, what am I saying? The more time spent in acquiring a thing, will correspond in our devotion to this object. Sometimes, people spend some time on acquiring an object, that they are discouraged about every possessing the thing. Losing faith or hope is not an unusual thing. Depending on the opposition to acquiring the object, will determine if we keep the faith.

This principle of keeping the faith works both in the physical and spiritual world. We have to have faith to please God. We must believe that He is and a rewarded of them that diligently seek Him. God says when you have done everything, prayed and pursued God, stand, therefore I say stand and believe. This means waiting on God to answer us. Isaiah wrote about this very subject over 3000 years ago.

Isaiah 40:31 “But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”

This is the link to my book.

Crain Blanchard.

Joseph1637@juno.com

Joseph1637.com

Have you figured out what you are going to do this year? The month of January is almost gone. Do you have a one-year plan, let alone a five-year plan? Are your plans coherent and logical? Are they just fantasy? Having a good plan requires a logical plan with a good output. You must think about what you are doing to be able to enjoy the fruits of your labor. I listened in on a conversation with two of my sons about what they were wanting to do this year and the next. They thought about where they are and what the outcome could be. With all that has happened in the past two years, our lives have changed. Some lives have changed for the better and some for the worst. Some people are too afraid to even thing about it. The definition of insanity is do the same thing and expecting a different result. Changes do not have to be drastic. They can be small enough to be doable and large enough to effect change. Most people focus on exercise in the month of January. It normally lasts a few days. But if you purpose in your heart to do a little at a time, you will accomplish your goal. When I played sports in school, conditioning of my body was the first thing. Because if I was not in shape to play the sport, I would get hurt. I was always smaller than most of the guys and did not like to play football like my brothers and cousins. I played tennis and ran track. I was not great, but it was something I could do. So, figure out what you can do and begin the process. If you what change, do something for 30 days. Then it will become a habit and much easier to continue. So, figure out what you want to do and begin today.

This is the link to my book.

Crain Blanchard.

Joseph1637@juno.com

Joseph1637.com

We have all prayed the Lord’s prayer. It is a good prayer when we do not know what to pray. But have you ever look at the words of the prayer. There is one line in the prayer that says, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. God’s will is what constructed this world. God’s will is what put man on this earth. God’s will is what drove Adam and Eve out of the garden because of there sin. God’s will called Noah and his sons and brought the flood on earth. God’s will called Abraham to be His family. God’s will called David to be king of Israel. God’s will brought Jesus to this earth to die for our sins. God’s will resurrected Jesus from the dead and placed Him on high. And it is God’s will that calls us home.

Explain to me why we are not suppose to follow God’s will all the way home? God’s will is the only thing that keeps us in this world. God’s will is what heals you when you are sick. God’s will provides everything we need in this world. God’s will is the only thing that stopping the devil from destroying us. As a believer following God’s will is what we are suppose to be doing. It is our way home.

This is the link to my book.

Crain Blanchard.

Joseph1637@juno.com

Joseph1637.com