Who can know God? He is as vast as far as east is from the west. How can you get to know Him? Where do you begin? The Creator of our entire universe is so massive and all encompassing. Do you know why He created man and the earth? He didn’t need us to exist. God is all powerful and knowing. To even think that we are even significant in His life, is mind boggling. For academic sake, let’s say we can get to know Him. Then where do you even start? What is His name? who can even introduce us to God? Why would He want to know us? These are good questions that are answerable. He once told me, He didn’t need us. But He wanted us. God’s love for mankind know no boundary. God created the heavens and the earth as a home for us. then we can say we aren’t alone. And if we aren’t alone, then someone is watching over us. In the next few days, I will try to answer some of these questions. Hopefully, to your satisfaction.

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How many people believe that the man upstairs has a big stick and is willing to hit us if we do wrong? It is such a lie. Christians have found out the truth. Before I knew God, I always thought I was on my own. What I did was wrong my fault. And it is still true today. My faults will send me to hell. Then I gave up hope, before I accept the Lord, of a decent life. The scripture in Romans 8:28 says, all things work together for good, to them that love God and are called according to His purpose. Did you know that we are all called according to His purpose? But the other part of the scripture says that we must love or know God. Even, if you have gone as far away from God as you can, there is still hope of redemption. The Apostle Paul was a murderer. He, with God’s help, wrote most of the New Testament. If God can take Paul, clean him up and make him a leader in the church. God can do the same for you. The first thing is to turn to our Father and ask for forgiveness. Then follow Him home. The story of the Prodigal Son is everyone’s story.

Crainb52@juno.com   Crain Blanchard

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All my life I have struggle to be understood. I would go to great lengths to explain my plan and purpose in life. Many have gotten angry and refused to listen. One, it wasn’t what they wanted to hear. Secondly, they didn’t understand. There have been a few people who knew what I was saying. I gravitated to those people first. Because they were like-minded. But I had to reach more people. I don’t like to talk incisively. I say what I need to say, then stop. It didn’t work well for the general populace. So, I would lengthen my sentence to get my thoughts across. I have always believed you say what you mean and you mean what you say. When I came to the Lord, my words became more valuable. So, I would use them sparingly. I took communication in college to learn to speak effectively. I have over the years, developed my craft of writing. I have so much to say and so little time left. I want to just scream it out. But I have to do everything decently and in order. God isn’t the author of confusion or guilt or fear or anything that will destroy us. God is the author of love, joy and peace.

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You have heard the saying, it is the last straw. The whole saying is, it is the last straw that broke the camel’s back. No one want to get to that position. Where it is the final blow that crushes you. But so many people set themselves up for that crushing blow. So, how do you get out of it? Or even prevent that final blow? We are humans and flawed to a fault. And we try to live our life our way. It usually ends up in a disaster. Even if you win, you still have to go over someone and crush them. We have that drive in us. And we know we can win. When you come to the end of yourself and are sitting in your own rubble, there is hope. This hope isn’t in your strength or your making. For it is impossible for men to do anything. But it is possible, the hope, for God. And all we have to do is to turn to God and ask for forgiveness. Then follow after God. For the hope that we seek is in God.

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I went to visit friends in California. It was a 4-hour plane ride. Then they live 100 miles north of Los Angeles, that was a 2-hour drive. Then add the 2-hour trip to the airport. It took me 8 hours to travel from my home to theirs. I have friends all over the world. Yet in minutes, I can talk to or see them. My journey has taken me many places. I have seen some wonderful sites and some horrible ones. Yet I always look for the good, in people and places. I always have a smile on my face. I know that sometimes people look at me and wonder how sane I am. People are always fixing their face with surgery. Because there are permanent wrinkles or sags in their face. It only takes 2 muscles in your face to smile. It takes all 42 muscles in your face to frown. My secret is a scripture in Proverbs. Pro.17:22 “A merry heart doeth good like a medicine, but a broken spirit drieth the bones.” Smile at someone today. Make their day better. I’ll tell you a truth. It will make you feel better.
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Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, it is certain we came into this world with nothing. And it is certain that we will take nothing with us. So, why are you building a kingdom? Why are you trying to become a king in your own right? People build up their stuff early in life. It seems to be a race to get as much stuff, before anyone else does. And if you don’t have a lot of stuff, you’re not worth much. I have done genealogy for over 10 years. One thing that is prevalent, is trying to prove the ancestors were royalty. The only reason a person becomes a ruler or king of a country, is that God places them there. What you need to do is to burn down your kingdom. Turn it into ashes. Then you will be ready to become a real king. Kings are servants of the people they rule. The things worth having aren’t of this earth. They are intangible. What is worth all on this earth is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and temperance. And against such there is no law. Again, I say burn down your earthly kingdom and you will ready for God to make you a king. For in the end, we will turn into ashes. And you will not take anything from this earth with you, except you. If you aren’t ready to meet God, it is your own fault. There is no excuse before God. Everyone will explain to God why they did anything on this earth. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, it is certain we came into this world with nothing. And it is certain that we will take nothing our of it. Give it to God and let Him make you a king in His kingdom.

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No one wants to go through a trial or testing, especially if we must go through the fire. Sometimes we must go through the valley of death by ourselves. It takes courage and determination. One of my sons, who was in the Army National Guard, served during Hurricane Katrina. They were stationed at the Superdome in New Orleans. It was the first time he saw dead people floating in the rising water. He wished he hadn’t seen such things but went through it anyway. God doesn’t leave or forsake us. He is there with us all the time. But as Christians, we must go through the fire. It is to prove our resolve and the power of God. The life we lead isn’t always easy, but it is always simple. Why would God send us through the fire? Doesn’t He love and care for us? God doesn’t allow any temptation beyond our ability to withstand it. He is proving who we are and what we believe. You know, as well as I do, that the only way to prove what you say is true, is testing and trials. When the pressure comes, we will either stand or run for the hills. There isn’t one Christian who will not be tested. It is part of your life as a believer. As we walk through this journey, we will come through the fire. And on the other end, when we are finished with this life, we will go home to God.

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The week of 4^th of July, I was in California. I went to my friend’s church. What struck me right off, was that the whole church was on fire. What I mean by on fire, is that this church was sold out to God. They weren’t afraid of showing it to anyone. One young man on the worship team was bouncing over the stage as he sang. I saw the fire in him first. Then as I looked around, I saw it in the rest of the church. The fire of God is nothing new. Elijah, on Mount Tabor, called down the fire of God to consume his offering. Moses was drawn to God by the fire that didn’t consume the bush. God is called the all-consuming fire. The children of Israel worshipped God with an offering consumed by fire. Fire is part and parcel of God’s economy. The fire is from off the altar of God. God has a plan for the fire in our life. It is to be consumed by God. There is no other place to go, where you will find someone to love you unconditionally. Who is there in times of need. Who will clean us up and set us on our feet. And then love us until we catch fire. Just like California, the fire of God is spreading across this land and the world. God will always have a people, that will not bow their knee to baal. So, when you catch fire, let God’s will flow through you. Let God influence the people around. Then they will catch on fire and influence the world for God. God is an all-consuming fire.

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If you have ever been to Israel, you know that is made up of mountains. The only plain is the valley of Jezreel. In fact, that is where the battle of Armageddon will be fought. There is an ancient city on the top of a hill called Megiddo. God   chose this land for the Israelites, because they had to walk up and down the hills to get anywhere. This gave them a lot of exercise and kept them healthy. Also, God chose this land because it was hard to mount a war against Israel on the mountain. It was as they say a rocky road. It hasn’t change very much. Our journey through life is basically up and down and around the mountains. We are set on our feet by God and turn loose on this world. Do you remember when you first came to God? You were on fire and wanted to kill giants. Most people didn’t know what to do you. They should have stepped aside and let you go. I wanted to be Jack the giant killer. And guess what, I did. I didn’t let anyone stop me. Many Christians didn’t want to even fellowship with me. And I would find a few giant killlers and we would fellowship. What it was, I was on fire for God and the only ones who get near had to be on fire too. It is still the same. But we are coming to the end of time and Christians need to focus. The approaching darkness is surrounding us. You don’t want to wake in the middle of the night, when you can’t work, and regret your life. God loves everyone, but He doesn’t send people to hell. People have to chose to go to hell. And the most wonderful thing is that God loves everyone, even in hell. As they say, down here in the country, Pick your choose. Because it is forever.

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When I began with the Lord, I had no working knowledge of God or the bible. I wanted to find out what the bible had to say and who God is. So, I began by having a bible in my house, my car and at the office. I would read at stop lights. I was going to read the bible as a book to see where it was going. It took me 25 years to read it twice from cover to cover. God kept stopping me and teaching me about Himself. I use the KJV bible. I like the flowery wording. All along the way, I was learning about prayer. I carry on conversations with God about anything. God would come shopping with me. He would find deals for me and parking places in the front of the store. I would read about people who were God’s servants that talk to God all the time. I wanted this in my life. Then I realized that I had been doing this from the beginning. Jesus said that He would send a teacher and comforter, the Holy Spirit, into our lives. The Holy Spirit would teach us about God, because He is God. it was a step by step process. But everyone, included non-believers, hear God’s voice. In Jeremiah 31:33, God said that He would write His laws and commandment in our hearts. Do you remember when you were a child and you want to disobey your parents. There was a voice inside of you telling you not to do it. most people just dismissed it as your own conscience. Sorry folks, that was God talking to you. Over the years, the voice of God diminished, until you couldn’t hear it. You want to get your prayers answered and hear the voice of God again. Turn to God and ask Him to forgive you of your sins. Then accept His healing and follow after God. This is prayer.

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