Football season in South Louisiana is as big as it gets. People support their teams come hell or high water. At a regular LSU game in Baton Rouge, there are at least 85,000 people in the stands. This doesn’t not count the people outside tailgating. Also, this weekend in Baton Rouge is the Hot Air Balloon Festival. They say the traffic is backed up for hours. Then there is the New Orleans Saints, a NFL team. When they are in town, most of the hotels are booked solid. My wife is a fanatical Saints fan. There is nothing better for her, than to go to a Saints game in the Superdome in New Orleans. Unfortunately, this year has been a losing season for most football teams in Louisiana. They say, it is a building season for them. But it doesn’t dampen the fans spirit. Like with the Saints, during the many losing seasons, fans would go to the game with a brown paper bags on the head. But they would go to the game anyway. If only, people would have that kind of enthusiasm for God and His kingdom. Where they would want to be in His presence. What a church that would be. Unfortunately, the only time that happens is when there is a major disaster. After 9/11, churches across America were filled for about 3-4 weeks. Then, well not so much. God deserves our passion, as much or more than any football team. He gave us everything, including football season.
Aliens
There is so much talk about aliens and foreigners in our countries. Not only are they talking about people from other countries, but the ones from outer space. America is a nation of immigrants. Everybody came to this country from another or their parents or grandparents or so on did. Except for the native Americans, everybody immigrated. Eleven generations ago, my family immigrated to this country in 1637. I was born in this country. So, I’m considered an American. But still I am an alien or foreigner to this country and this world. God set in motion everything when He created this world. He placed us on this particular planet to live. But this isn’t our home. We are just traveling through. We are citizens in another world. A world that exists side by side with this one. We can from that world and were born into this one. But this is temporary. It will eventually disappear when time runs out. We were placed here to prove that God is real and intervenes in the affairs of man. History is replete with how God changed man’s world over and over again. God showed man how to live and he refused to do so. Man got into trouble bigger than himself and God intervened. Then He sent His son, Jesus, and man killed him to prove that he was god. All God is doing is trying to get us home with Him. So you see, we are actually aliens in this world. Who would have thought? All I want is to go home to my Father.
Talking About
It seems that I am always talking about what man is doing on this earth. It is because man is always trying to burn this world down. I have never seen so many people try so hard to destroy everything that exist. Shall I delineate? Let us take the last 50 years. In the 1960’s, there was the counterrevolution, the Vietnam War and the Israeli war. The Israeli war went into the 1970’s. So did the Vietnam War. Then there was the plane hijackings. The bombing of embassy’s. Let’s see, oh yeh, Grenada, Panama, the Cubans in South America, Desert Storm, the Iraq war and of course the Afghanistan war. Let’s not forget the war in Syria. You may look at the world and think, why even try. They are all going to hell in hand basket. Well God sees it differently. In 1967, the Israeli’s took Jerusalem back. It was over 2000 years since the Jews owned Jerusalem. What did God do? He began to have revivals all over the world. The baptism of the Holy Spirit began to be prolific. Everyone who wanted could be baptized in the Holy Spirit. Missionaries went to every country. In the 1980’s, the United States had in 1983 the year of the Bible. Not since the times of Jesus, had a nation declared such a year. The GNP increased over a 100% in the United States. Churches began to fill up and enjoy peaceful times. When Elijah was running from Jezebel for his life. He said to God that there is no one serving God that they had all gone astray. God told Elijah that there were 7000 people in Israel that remained faithful to God. So even though you don’t see God working in your life or ours, don’t believe it. God is there before you even get there and He won’t leave until His job is done.
Can you ever go home again?
Everything changes every day. Nothing ever remains the same. You can remember what you think are better days. Sometimes they really are, but for the most part it is just lack of conflict. It is unfortunate that we grow physically and spiritually through conflict. It is all about how we learn to deal with our changing life. As a child, the conflict is mostly borne by our parents. They try to teach us how to deal with life, but not always. The first time that your parents see that you have grown up, is when you understand and bear the weight of our own life. It is a real epiphany for each of us. it doesn’t mean that we like it or not. It is just a part of life. Now flash forward 40 years and start to change your life. You would think that the heavens had crashed down on you. But sometimes it is necessary for you and your family. it doesn’t mean that it will be any easier, even if they understand. As you get older, your lifestyle becomes more sedentary. And movement become more difficult. Losing weight is almost a herculean task. But God says that a person who is 70 years old is just a child. People use to live for 100’s of years. Now if they can reach 60 years old, they are doing good. It all depends on the lifestyle of the person. But it is true that the older you get, the more you long for your home as a child. They is a real reason for that. The home that we are longing for isn’t on this earth. The place of no conflict isn’t your parent’s house. It is God’s house in heaven. And the answer to the question is yes. You can go home to heaven to be with our Father.
What does it take?
What does it take to do the will of God? How much does it cost? These are questions asked by most everyone concerning being a Christian. Before I came to the Lord, I had questions I wanted answered. There were so many conflicting stories out there. It’s funny, because most of the people I asked really didn’t know God. And in this case, ignorance isn’t bliss. I had a strong desire in my heart and it kept prodding me on. I had to know what it meant to be a Christian. I looked at the barely committed to the fanatical Christians. Then I looked at those who made a pretense of being Christian. I knew that I didn’t want to be half-hearted about anything. If I couldn’t give myself 100%, I wouldn’t do it. People would say how violent Christianity is. Just look at all the wars, over the last 1000 years that Christians have waged. But that isn’t Christianity. Christianity is a belief system. There are rules and regulations that you must follow to be called a Christian. The name Christian refers to gentiles. The Jews are called believers. This is a more appropriate name for the followers of God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. My concept of God came from the world and was skewed. The world doesn’t know God at all. When I decided to trust God, my opinion changed. It was like day and night. I saw a loving Father, who wants the best for His children. There is no parent that doesn’t set boundaries for their children to keep them safe. As a parent, I helped them to make the right decisions. As they grew older, I gave them leeway to make their own decisions. But I always left a door open for them to talk to me about problems, mistakes they made. God gave us a free will to choose our life. And He always has a door open to talk to Him. Do you know the name of that door? Jesus is that door.
God’s Providence 2
I have seen people pray and think that God didn’t answer them. I have never seen God not answer a just prayer. God may not tell you the answer but one will come. When I was younger, I had a roommate 1 summer. He kept asking God for answers and he said he hadn’t received any. That summer he was inspired to write 25 songs. He was a musician. Take a wild guess where the answers were to his prayers. This is the 3rd story about God’s providence. This story is from the 1970s and 1980s. This story is about a young black man born in poverty. He went to a public school and excelled in basketball. His mother was raising him alone. She prayed that the inner city wouldn’t take her son away. The city was going to move the family into the projects. She knew that her son would have no chance to survive. She went to mayor of her city and asked if she and her family could stay out of the projects. The mayor knew who the young man was and agreed. Not only did he agree, he help this young man to get into a private high school. The only problem was this young man’s education was poor. He had to build his vocabulary. He had to learn 5 new words every day for a year just to catch up. He did. In his junior year, he led his high school team to the state championship. In college, he did the same. He was drafted into the NBA in 1981. He was the #2 pick in the draft. He went on played in the NBA. And final ended up coaching. Of course I am talking about Isiah Thomas. Without his mother’s prayers and God providing for his family, you would have never known about him. God takes what you have and uses it to provide for you and your family. It doesn’t matter what we think, God is always there and working in our behalf. It is part of God’s inheritance for His children.
God’s Providence
There are 3 stories about God’s providence I want to tell. I don’t know if I can tell them all in one blog, but I’ll try. They are all true stories. My first story happened about happened about 2800 years ago. One of the preachers in the school of the Prophets suddenly died. He left a wife and 2 sons and vast amount of debt. The creditors weren’t going to take his house, they were going to take his sons as bondsmen. Literally they would be slaves unto the debt was paid. His widow went to the head of the school, who at that time was the prophet Elisha. She asked Elisha for God’s help in this situation. Elisha asked her what she had left in the house. She said all they had left was a pot of oil. It was about 1 or 2 gallons of oil. Elisha told her to go to her neighbors and borrow pots. As many as she could get into her house. Then he said, shut the door with your 2 sons and pour the oil into the pots. She did exactly as Elisha said. She filled all the pots she had. When there was no more pots the oil stopped flowing. Elisha said sell the oil and pay the debt and the rest you can live on. And so she did. God took what she had and used it to provide for her and her sons. My next story happened in the 1950’s. This was a very similar story. A young woman lost her husband. She had three young children at home. Her husband was the bread winner. She was a housewife. After the funeral was over and the family had gone home, she didn’t know what to do. She was praying, asking God for help. Every time that friend or family would come over to see about her, she would bake a pie for them to eat. She was a very good cook and her pies were delicious. Friends and family started asking her to bake pies for them. They paid her for the pies. At first it was just to help out financially. But the volume of sales of the pies began to increase. Until it became a business. God had answered her prayers. God took what she had and used it to provide for her and her family. I’ll tell the 3rd story next time.
The Uncertainty Principle
It is a theory in quantum mechanics that states if you observe anything, it will change the variables of the observed object. Thus changing the end results of the observed. It’s a theory that kind of loops in on itself. It is also about the uncertainty of people. There are so many variables that affect our lives. Some of these variables are simple and some difficult. It is certain that we are changing every day and every minute. We don’t know what the end result will be even if we observe the changing effect. A meteor about a foot width hit the earth and created Crater Lake. A grain of sand in space can hit an asteroid and move it out of it orbit. Let alone the Wall Street stock market falls and all hell breaks loose. Or our country loses industries because they are going to overseas locations. And 13 million people are out of work. There are 35% of the American population on welfare. 53% of Americans are working and paying taxes. The American population has declined in the past 60 years by 20%. There are 76 million people who are baby boomers. These are people born between 1946 and 1964. They will all reach retirement age in 14 years. This is the majority of American people in the US. This is the uncertainty principle. What will happen to America? When the majority of people working retire from working and paying taxes. Economic collapse comes to mind. The Federal Government is spending money like there is no tomorrow. Guess what if they continue there is no tomorrow. It is time for a revolution in this country and I am afraid it is going to be violent. I personally think that the uncertainty principle needs to be applied to all elected officials everywhere, local, state and national. What are you going to do to change this world today?
Cooking
My wife says I need to write about something uplifting. I can’t of anything more uplifting than eating, on a physical plane. When Adam and Eve had to leave the garden of Eden, they had to grow their own food to survive. In the garden, everything was provided for. Food grew on its own. All they had to do was pick it or pluck off a tree to eat. Now, we have to work or grow our own food. And then prepare it like we want. My mother would cook for my dad. He only liked meat and potatoes. As I was growing up, the same old food got very boring and I hate pimiento and cheese sandwiches. So, I began to watch cooking shows on TV. I began to try new recipes. Surprisingly, they came out well. So much so, that my mother, a school teacher, asked me to begin cooking the evening meal. At first, my dad objected to it. But if he didn’t know that I cooked the meal, he liked it. Finally, we told him that I was cooking and he accepted it. I have learned so much about cooking from those shows, that my wife, when we were first married, asked me to cook for us. Don’t say anything, but at her first try at cooking, she burnt water. Over the years, she has learned how to cook. There are certain dishes that she fixes, that the boys love. I am more into baking now. I love making cookies, pies, jams and jellies. Also, I like to make cheesecake. But think if we were still in the garden of Eden, how simple it would be to eat and live. So, God has made a way for us to go back. Not into the garden of Eden, but into heaven itself. And all we have to do is to ask Him and God will respond.
Husbands and Wives
The Word of God has a lot to say about husbands and wives. It was the first covenant that God made with man (husbands and wives). God said that a husband was to leave his family and be joined to his wife. God was using the husband-wife relationship to show what it is like between God and man. God knew the difficulties in forging a relationship between a man and a woman. They became the two halves of one person. Where each isn’t complete without the other. They aren’t two individuals anymore. They are one person in the marriage relationship. God asked, would you hurt yourself or take care of your own body? A husband and wife are one body. As a husband, I like to quote the scripture from Ephesians 5:22 “Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.” Then in the same breath He says, husbands love your wives as Christ loves the church. Then turns around and says, wives reverence your husbands. Then when children come along, it is a game changer. God has a lot to say on raising children. But that isn’t the point of this blog. The relationship between husband and wife is sacred before God. And He put a warning in there saying, let no man divide this asunder. In today’s world, where good is considered evil and evil is considered good, people are doing just that. God is against divorce and has a few choice words for those who do. He condemns it. There is nothing that God can’t do. Including, fixing a marriage. If the husband and wife will seek Him, God will heal any wounded heart. You must first come to yourself and understand the need. Then God can fix your broken heart.
Joseph1637/Crain Blanchard 