We have all done it. We have gossiped about someone, whether it was true or not. Most people don’t know the damage it does not only to the person being gossiped about, but to ourselves (2 Corinthians 12:20). It is breaking a trust that you gave to an individual or group. Do you know what breaking a trust really means? At this point you become untrustworthy. But you would say, it isn’t that big of a deal. It is a dynamic shifted in your universe (Ephesians 4:29-30). Your word is your bond (Matthew 5:33-37). It is who you are and you have become untrustworthy and a sinner. Gossip is also judging people. God says that with the same judgment you people with, you will be judged (Matthew 7:2). When we become Christians, we die to ourselves(2 Corinthians 5:17). And if we are dead to ourselves and alive to Jesus, no words can hurt us. God also says that we are defiled by one thing, what comes out of our mouth(Matthew 15:11). It is because out of our own mouths our heart speaks(Matthew 12:34). That is why gossip is sin to us. If there is something wrong in the church, God has set up a remedy(Matthew 18:15-17). We are to go to that person in love and speak to that person. If they will not hear you, then go to them with 2 or 3 witnesses. Let all things be confirmed by 2 or 3 witnesses. If they still will not hear you, take them to the church. Every child of God is precious in God’s sight. And when we come against another child of God, we come against God Himself. And you will not win.

Crain Blanchard.

Joseph1637@juno.com

Joseph1637.com

One morning, Jesus woke me up with a scripture. It was Matthew 10:35-39. This is where James and John came to Jesus and asked to sit on His right hand and the left hand. Jesus told them that they didn’t know what they were asking. Then Jesus asked them if they could be baptized into His baptism? James and John both said that they could be baptized into His baptism. Then Jesus turned to me and asked If I would be baptized into His baptism. I knew what He was asking me. Jesus’s baptism is death. I knew if I said yes, that at any given moment my life would be required. I also knew that if I didn’t accept this, I would miss God’s plan and blessings. I went back and forth trying to decide. It took me 3 days to decide. I decided that I wasn’t going to miss God’s plan for my life. That was about 40 years ago. But the sacrifice of my life was set from the foundations of world. Jesus is our example. He sacrificed His life for us. Paul said in Galatians 2:20, “I am crucified with Christ; nevertheless I live, yet not I but Christ who lives in me”. We are called to sacrifice ourselves in God’s cause. And yet today, if I am called upon by God, I will sacrifice myself for Jesus. It is for better to die to self and live to Jesus. This is the sacrifice that Jesus made for us.

Crain Blanchard.

Joseph1637@juno.com

Joseph1637.com

I was thinking about my younger brother, Bill. we buried him on July 17, 2015. Bill died of cancer. He discovered that he had cancer in February 2015 and died in July that year. It was an aggressive form of cancer. I stayed in his hospital room every night until he died. We talked about God all the time. When it got close to the time, he asked if it hurt to die. I told him what God had taught me. It is just like walking into the next room. You will close your eyes and open them up in heaven. The pain is on this side of life. Bill had accepted Jesus as Lord years before. I had the privilege to lead Bill and his wife to the Lord. When he found out he had cancer, he also found out that both of his legs were broken from the cancer. They did surgery on both legs at the same time. Each day the nurses get him out of bed to walk around the cancer ward. Bill had a room full of flowers and plants. As he walk the ward, he noticed that most people in each room had no visitors or flowers. He started a foundation to bring flowers into these rooms. His sons have a golf tournament each year to raise money for the foundation. Bill loved to play golf. At the funeral, I had a very hard time to talk to people. I was feeling like the odd man out. My older brother asked me if I could get a photo of his daughters. What I did was to get all of my brothers and nieces and nephews together and took a photo. I even got Bill’s grandson in the picture. I know I am never the odd man out with God. He loves me and I know that Bill is with Him now. But I still miss my brother. One day I will see him again.

Crain Blanchard.

Joseph1637@juno.com

Joseph1637.com

When we were children, we start off being able to talk or communicate with anyone. All we could do is make sounds and squeaks. Our parents learned what this sounds and squeaks meant. But as we grew our vocabulary grew as we heard and listen to people talk. My grandson is about 2 years old. He was at our house and not speaking words yet. We have a cat and he would chase the cat to pet it. Then one day he pointed at the cat and said, at. He had learned half a word and keep saying it as he pointed to other animals in the house. He hasn’t quite gotten the gist of the language, he is on his way. It is the same with God, when we start making sounds as a Christian, it’s just sounds and squeaks. When you were young and lived at home with you parents, if you were in a room full of people talking and your father called your name, you turn and looked at your dad. You did this because you heard your name above all the noise and recognized the voice. It is the same with God. He calls your name and you answer. This is the basis for prayer. It is hearing God’s voice and answering Him. Prayer is communication between God and you. Prayer comes from your heart. It is reaching out to our Father and speaking to Him. We see things all day long. And the things that are not right, we can ask God to change. He is always there to talk to us. When we stay in the presence of God, we can know that our prayers will be answered. But as God says we must pray according to His will. It is because we are praying that God’s will that is in heaven, will come to earth. And this is a successful prayer life.

Crain Blanchard.

Joseph1637@juno.com

Joseph1637.com

When people look at your life, what will they see? Will they see a life well spent? Or will they see a life wasted. There are so many excuses why we can’t do what is right. The longer you live the more you hear all the excuses. Man has the ability to succeed in his life. But what is unfortunate, is that for the most part the good part of our lives are thrown away for this reason or that. No one has ever said that your life will be easy or without struggle. We were made by our creator to learn through struggle. The best way to learn something is to make it difficult to obtain. Then what we obtain is worth more. Anything that is given to you isn’t worth much, no matter what it is. Life is funny that way. But the crux of the matter is not to let the difficulty defeat you. There isn’t anything that man can’t accomplish. Again, what is unfortunate, is that man believes that if he is successful, he is god. That is furthest from the truth. Man doesn’t have the power to change what is important. Man by himself, can’t raise the dead or prevent a disease from killing. Man can’t change his heart. We are limited by who we are. Our lives depend on the mercies of God. It is always interesting that when man gets in trouble, they instinctively turn to the one person who can help. I have had so many people come to me and ask for prayer. And I know that they don’t know God. But they know where to get help when life is overpowering. There is only one place to go if life has overpowered us. And that is to God and His Son, Jesus.

Crain Blanchard.

Joseph1637@juno.com

Joseph1637.com

This world is uncertain at best. As of late it has become scary, not knowing what will happen from day to day. Then you think what will I do or where will I go? No one owns me anything and nothing is guaranteed. So, where do you go? As a people, we have always been taught that we can do anything, with hard work and perseverance. But that isn’t always true. Failure is always in front of us no matter what we do. I came to this place 40 years ago. I didn’t know what to do. I was lost in my own world. I was lying on my bed, reading a magazine about the 12 million abandon children in Brazil. The next think I knew I was standing on my feet crying out to God about the children. At that point I knew that I needed God in my life. I began to pursue God. I wanted to know if He was really real and alive. And I wanted to know if God could help me. So, I kept my eyes and ears open to see and heard anything about God. People began to talk to me about God. One man gave me a book about Corrie Ten Boom, a Christian who lived through the holocaust. I went into business with 2 Christian men, who talked about Jesus every time we had a meeting. God directed my steps to the point I realize that He was real and alive. That was the day I asked for forgiveness and accepted Jesus into my heart. Then I knew where to go and what to do in my life.

Crain Blanchard.

Joseph1637@juno.com

Joseph1637.com

Prayer has been of subject of mind for a very long time . It is talking to God and having a conversation. As Jesus taught of disciples to pray he said to enter into God’s courts with praise. Praise will get you into the throne Room and get God’s attention. We must 1st believe that he is and a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. Jesus said of the be attitude seek ye 1st the Kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things shall be added on to you. When we enter into God’s throne Room he hears and listens to us. When he does God answers us. When we pray according to God’s will we have the answer we desire. There is another part to the prayer. We have to stand until that prayer manifest itself on this Earth. The standing board sometimes is tricky for people. Most people believe that God should answer prayers immediately. The longest prayer that I had answered from God was 22 years. The shortest prayer was in a blink of an eye. Anyone who believes God will answer their prayers. Then it is up to us to stand in faith believing that God has answered our prayers. Our faith is what moves mountains. Edit never depends on the size of the mountain. It always depends on our faith.

Crain Blanchard.

Joseph1637@juno.com

Joseph1637.com

“Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints” (Ephesians 6:18 KJV).

Prayer is being consciously aware of God and entering into His presence. The most effectual praying is done before the throne of God. In God’s presence, we know that God will hear us and answer our prayer. But it doesn’t mean that we have to leave the throne room. We can go about our daily life in the presence of God. In Colossians 4:2, it says continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving. Watching in the same is staying in an attitude of prayer. As we go about our daily life, God can direct us into His will. And the truth of the matter is that God wants us to share our daily life with Him.

When Nehemiah came back to Jerusalem from the Babylonian captivity, the temple wasn’t finished nor the walls of Jerusalem built again. Everyone had gotten busy about building their own lives, the cares of this world. Nehemiah called all the people of Judah, God’s people, together. He said that the temple and the walls had priority over everything. And everyone, including the princes of Judah, were going to work on building the temple and the walls. The enemies of Judah didn’t want the Israelites to rebuild Jerusalem and walls. Nehemiah had everyone to carry their shield and sword as they worked on the walls. One half of the people would stand watch as the other half worked on the walls. Then they would switch places.

Our watch is the same. We are put on our shield, faith, and our sword, the word of God as we stand watch over the kingdom. This is staying in an attitude of prayer.

(Colossians 4:1-6 KJV).(Ezekiel 3:17-19 KJV).(Isaiah 62:1-7 KJV).(Nehemiah 4:16-18 KJV).(1 Peter 4:7 KJV).(Romans 8:26-28 KJV).

Crain Blanchard.

Joseph1637@juno.com

joseph1637.com

Since the sin of Adam, God has required that man repent of his sin and turn to Him for forgiveness. Then God will forgive and heal our heart. After Adam, it did take long for sin to work on man, his children, Cain and Abel. Abel believed God and trusted Him. Cain didn’t believe and killed his brother Abel because of it. The devil is at work in man since the beginning of time. Man began to believe the devil that he didn’t need God for anything. When trouble began to over power man, sometimes man would call on God for help. But it wasn’t consist nor did man believe God. God calls to us to come home, but everything gets in the way. The cares of this world hang on us like bad fitting clothes. But God has always had His people. In every situation and every place, there are believers. People who will believe no matter what. And God uses these people to bring about His will on this earth. Just as Jesus walked on this earth going about doing good, so are the children of God. And just like the prophets of old, we are persecuted and killed for His name sake. But name of Jesus is above all names. He is the King of kings and the Lord of lords. And at the name of Jesus every knee will bow and every tongue shall confess that He is Lord.

“If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14).

Crain Blanchard.

Joseph1637@juno.com

Joseph1637.com

In Luke 24:13-32, It was the third day after Jesus was crucified. Peter and John had gone to the tomb. Peter didn’t believe, but John did. Two of the disciples were headed home to Emmaus. Jesus drew near and began to walk with them. He asked what they were talking about. They began to tell the story of Jesus’s crucifixion. But they didn’t believe that Jesus rose from the dead. Jesus didn’t reveal Himself to them. Jesus said, fools don’t you believe the Law and the Prophets? He began to expound on the scriptures starting with Moses about what Christ was going to do. When they reach their home, they wanted the stranger to come into their home and have a meal. When they sat down, Jesus broke the bread and bless the wine. Their eyes were opened and Jesus disappeared. They said to each other, didn’t our hearts burn within us as He expounded on the scriptures. When is the last time your heart burned within us at the presence of God? Do you believe what the scriptures say about Jesus Christ? And if you do believe, when is the last time you did anything about it? If you believe your heart should be burning. And if it does, you should be working in the kingdom of God. The two disciples ran back to Jerusalem to tell the other disciples that Jesus had truly risen from the grave. Believing isn’t sitting in a pew on Sunday. Believing is putting your faith into action. If you believe that Jesus is Lord, then your life should show it to the world.

Crain Blanchard.

Joseph1637@juno.com

Joseph1637.com