Ever since the time of Adam and Eve, man has struggled with being separated from God. When God was separated from man by his sin, God provided for man to return. God made a covenant to allow man to return. Since that time, man has tried to find every reason to say that he doesn’t need God. At the tower of Babel, man going to shoot an arrow at God to say that He didn’t need God. God scrambled their languages and scattered them across the world. With Noah, God had him preach to mankind that a flood was coming and they needed to choose. It took Noah 100 years to build the ark. When God closed the door on the ark, people realized that God wasn’t joking. Did you know that Abraham knew his 10^th great grandfather Shem, Noah’s son? By this time God was going to choose a people to represent Him on earth. God made a covenant with Abraham. Even Abraham at first didn’t believe and trust God. Finally he came to place where we all have to arrive, trusting in God. God speaks of Abraham and says that he was justified by faith. Then came Moses, then David, Solomon, then Isaiah, Ezekiel, and all the other prophets. Yet God’s people still didn’t follow after God. Then God sent His son, Jesus, to fulfill the Covenant with Abraham and mankind. And the promise is made unto you to enter into the kingdom of God by believing and trusting in Jesus Christ.

1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

Romans 3:10 “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:11 There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.12 They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.”

1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

Crain Blanchard.

joseph1637@juno.com

Joseph1637.com

David understood the residual effect that singing praises to God has upon the person singing. The singing lifts up your heart and opens it to receive from God. It puts you it the right frame of mind to talk and receive from God. This is called supplication. The Word says that when we pray, we are to enter our prayer closet. The reason is that prayer is a personal and intimate communication between God and man. Revealing oneself to each other, from the heart of God to the heart of man. Prayer is worship, petitions, standing in the gap and giving of thanks to God for all things. Hope is what God gives to us and without it we couldn’t go on. Finding our way to heaven requires hope in our heart. We also use hope to accomplish God’s will. If we didn’t believe it could happen, we wouldn’t even try. Hope that God will do what we ask is an important part of prayer. Do you know how many people enter into God’s presence to pray? Very few, even though God wants everybody to enter in. muster the courage to enter into His presence, and stay there until God answers your prayer. You will never be the same. The Bible say, “Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.” Let me know what happens.

Crain Blanchard.

www.joseph1637@juno.com

Joseph1637.com

Jesus, in the Garden of Gethsemane, prayed until He sweat drops of blood. He interceded from His heart. He was willing to stand in the gap, to make up the hedge, until sin was conquered. He interceded with His prayers and His life and has become the Parakeet, Intercessor, before God for us. Throughout the ages God has been entreat for people’s sake. Whenever a man or woman of God has prayed and asked God to change circumstances for people who are trapped in their sin, God has. Supplication is asking God to do just that, change things. God intervenes in the affairs of men to accomplish His will on this earth. God doesn’t want anyone to be lost, but that all will come to Him. So He has saints praying for His will to come to this earth.

David knew God. He sought Him with his whole heart. For David there was no other place he could go to find help. If God didn’t help him, there was no help. So David sought God and cried out to Him. He knew that God would hear him. David knew that God was the watchman. No one can keep anything that God doesn’t protect. This includes peace. David wanted people everywhere to pray for the peace of Jerusalem. Then God will hear and keep Jerusalem in peace. David’s prayer is as real now as it was 3000 years ago. We must pray for the peace of Jerusalem. Let me know what happens?

Crain Blanchard.

www.joseph1637@juno.com

Joseph1637.com

God chose Saul to be king over Israel. Saul didn’t trust that God would take care of him. He didn’t believe or trust God’s word. Because of this, Saul did what he wanted. It not only cost him the kingdom, but it cost him his relationship with God. God rejected him as king and chose another whose heart was right. Saul was in agony. His heart condemn him, so he didn’t have access to God. In his pray, there was much pain. Solomon, when he prayed his prayer to dedicate the Temple, knew that God would hear him. In worship and an attitude of reverence, Solomon asked God to dwell in the Temple. He knew God would have mercy on anyone who turned their hearts to God and asked for forgiveness. God filled the entire Temple with His presence. Everyone had to run out of it. God fulfilled His part of the covenant, He had made with David and Solomon. Man has not always fulfilled his part of the covenant, but God has had mercy on us. Thank God. The Word of God says to worship God in spirit and truth. With our hearts turned to God praying as we ought. There are 3 kinds of prayer, praying expecting an answer, praying expecting an answer to come to you and praying expecting the answer to come to you and not stopping until it does. Praying expecting the answer to come to you and not stopping until it does is intercession. God will give anyone who will stand until the answer comes the answer, no matter what it is. Let me know what happens.

Crain Blanchard.

www.joseph1637@juno.com

Joseph1637.com

Jesus knew what man was like. When He came to earth, He understood how deceitful man was and came to help him change into what God intended man to be from the beginning. God understands how and what we think. There is nothing hid from Him. God also expects man to follow His rules. We can’t go to God in our own strength. There is a certain way that we must approach God. The Israelites were afraid to face God, because they knew they would die. It has not changed. If we face God, we will die, whether if it is to ourselves or physically, is up to us. Pray isn’t something to get us out of trouble. Pray is communication with God. It is the fellowship God planned from the beginning. How you approach God is up to you. But if your heart isn’t right, don’t expect that God will answer your prayer. God’s will is to love and fellowship with us. He will always love us, but not always fellowship with us. Just as man will beseech other man, God will beseech, earnestly request, us to follow Him (Revelation 22:17). The Bible says that we must believe that God is and is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him (Hebrews 11:6). The prophet Daniel, before he was in the lion’s den, understood that God was his only refuge, and it makes no difference what man can do to you. You stand with God and He will answer and deliver you. So Daniel prayed. Let me know how effective your prayer is?

Crain Blanchard.

www.joseph1637@juno.com

Joseph1637.com

When I began I would say all sorts of things. I’d speak in a deep voice or use my hands to express myself. I’d quote scripture because I thought God wanted to hear all that stuff. I laugh sometimes when I remember hearing preachers pray with a big blustery voice. As if God would be impressed with that. I found a secret that most people just pass by in the bible. Prayer is talking to God. I speak in English unless I am praying in the Spirit. I’ll talk about that later. If you speak French or German, use that language to speak to God. When I first seriously asked God to heal someone, all I said was Ok God do something. And guess what He did. You can talk to God about anything. It doesn’t have to be about something serious. I’d talk to God about going shopping with me. Or I’d ask Him what He wanted. Or how He feels today. Talking to God is getting to know Him. And that is what God has wanted all along. First you must believe that God is, and a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him. When you believe that He is there and listening, talk to Him and ask Him about anything. Do not be surprised if he answers you. Most people hear God perfectly. They are always surprised that that was the voice of God. If you a waiting for the megaphones to boom in your ears, sorry. God doesn’t use a big voice or stick. He sometimes uses lightning to get my attention. His voice is a still small voice that comes from the depths of your heart. It is peaceable, not confusing, and guilt free. When I started God used the scriptures to talk to me. So I wouldn’t be confused. Begin to pray and let God answer you. Let me know what you hear.

Crain Blanchard.

http://www.joseph1637@juno.com

Joseph1637.com

There are many kinds of prayer. God wrote about it from Genesis to Revelations. It depends on the circumstance as to what kind of prayer to use to speak to God. As Paul worked his way through Asia Minor, He left Timothy to be the first pastor of Ephesus. Paul wrote back to Timothy to encourage and teach him. Paul said “I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour;” So there are supplications, prayers, intercessions and giving of thanks to God. This is talking to God. Paul was trying to get Timothy to pray this way and teach the church to do the same. There are different types for different situations. I ask God about scriptures all the time. One day I was helping a friend move and I stopped to talk to God. I was sitting at the dining room table by myself. Their girls came in and asked what I was doing. I told them I had asked God a question and was waiting for the answer. The next question was you talk to God. I said yes and He answers. They looked at me like I came from Pluto. I told them that they hear from God also. I explained to them how and they began talking to God. Their lives turned around. God help them to accomplish what He had for them in life. Talking to God does make a big difference in anyone’s life. Begin to talk to God about anything. And watch what happens to you. Let me know what happens.

Crain Blanchard.

http://www.joseph1637@juno.com

joseph1637.com

We look at change as something different or difficult. Like most people, we really don’t care for change in our lives. I know people older than I am who think change is going to kill them. But the only thing that is constant in this world is change. We start as a baby and grow into adulthood. We learn as we grow what to do in this life. It is not by chance that soldiers are 18 to 35 years old. This is the apex of being able to change instantly. As we grow older, our ability to change is affected by our knowledge. I learned long ago that I am a student all my life. Which means that I learn as I grow. I have not reached the pinnacle of my knowledge. There are more things to learn and do in my life. God gave me an inquisitive mind. I learn and grow as I make the new knowledge part of my life. This is change. As the Bible says, there is nothing new under the sun. What was before shall be again. Which means that if we don’t learn from our mistakes, we are doomed to repeat them. Therefore there are so many wars. Change is inevitable. If you refuse to change, the world will leave you behind. Not every change is good. We have to pick and choose which one is for us. Ever since my days as a music director for a Christian radio station, I have liked and listen to Adult Contemporary Christian music. I like today’s Christian  music. The same music the young people listen to. I was saved in the middle of the birth of rock and roll. So, I was spared a lot of noise. God gives us a choice, to choose Him or not. This is change for the better. Learn and see what God has to offer. Embrace change with the knowledge of God.

Crain Blanchard.

Joseph1637@juno.com

Joseph1637.com

            In Romans 8:1-2, it says that because we are believers that we are free from the law of sin and death. I have heard many people say because of that the Old Testament is not relevant for today. The Old Testament is and will always be our school master. It taught us that we were separated from God and were dead in our sins. Now that we are forgiven by God through Jesus Christ, we have nothing to be concerned about the Old Testament. There is an exception. If we sin, we fall back under the law of sin and death. Do you know the penalty of the law for sin? The Bible says the penalty for sin is an eye for an eye, a tooth for tooth and a life for a life. If we sin, we fall back under the law. God said that the Word of God will not change under all things are fulfilled. That means the Word of God keep working in our lives under the end of the age. That is when Jesus returns to reign and rule over the earth. But the Bible says that we as children of God we have the opportunity to ask for forgiveness and God will do so. Just because we are believers does not mean that we are not subject to the law of sin and death. It says very plainly, when we were forgiven, we were set free from the law of sin and death. Being set free and falling under the law again because of sin, is two different things. That is why God says to sin not. But we as believers have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous.

Crain Blanchard.

Joseph1637@juno.com

Joseph1637.com

            And the whole multitude sought to touch him: for there went virtue out of him, and healed them all. Luke 6:19.

            Jesus went about doing good and healing all that ask. It is a particularly important part of being a believer. God set up ways for the Israelites to stay as clean as possible to keep diseases away. If you read the laws about cleanliness, you see that the old saying cleanliness is next to godliness is very scriptural. God has the Israelites to bath as often as possible. He had them to wash their clothes, their dishes and their houses often. With the Covid pandemic, the number one precautionary measure is to wash your hands and wear a mask. It is scriptural and it works. God knew that with all the diseases in the world, precaution is the best remedy. But diseases came into this world because of sin. And people are affected with diseases even thought they may not be sinners. In Jesus’ day, there were no physicians that could heal. When Jesus began to heal people, the word spread. People came from all over to be healed. Jesus didn’t turn away anyone. Have you noticed that if people know you have a relationship with God and He answers your prayers, they will come to you and ask for healing. This is because healing is the children’s bread. It is how God uses us to reach people. A scripture says, if you want healing, pray for others. As the healing virtue flows through you, you will be healed. So, it is time for us to pray for people. As the bible says consistently for people’s needs. It may seem overwhelming, but it is God that heals not us. So, pray for all that need help and God will show Himself mighty.

Crain Blanchard.

Joseph1637@juno.com

Joseph1637.com