When the angels appeared to the shepherds in the fields between Jerusalem and Bethlehem, the angel of the Lord spoke to the shepherds. It says in Luke 2, that the shepherds were deathly afraid. They had never seen an angel or a heavenly vision. The angel said to them, I bring you good tidings of great joy…in the city of David a savior is born, which is Christ the Lord…Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace and good will toward men. After the angels left and they closed their mouths for they were all flabbergasted. They said to each other, let us go and see this sight. This is the story of the birth of Jesus Christ. Have you ever thought about the cost of peace on earth? It is true that Jesus came to bring peace to mankind, but He also said that He brought a sword to set at variance a man with his father (Matthew 10:34-39). The peace that Jesus is talking about is peace with God, not peace on earth. And everyone can have this peace, if they chose it. It comes down to our choice in life. So, what is the cost of this peace that God brings? Not surprisingly, it is the same as the price that Jesus paid, His death. To enter into this peace of God, one must die to themselves. You cannot enter heaven without dying, both spiritually and physically. The spiritual death occurs on this earth and our physical death is the only way to enter into the other side of this world, which is God’s realm. So you see, the cost of the peace of God is death. Jesus is our example, that is why He paid the price for us to have the peace with God. Now, it is up to you what you choose to do. You can have the form of godliness and deny the power or you can have the peace of God, here and now and in the world to come.

I want to wish you all a Merry Christmas et Bonne Annee.

Crain Blanchard.

Joseph1637@juno.com

Joseph1637.com

It is never good to carry our emotions on our sleeve. To have our emotions exposed to world for everyone to see. We should be cool and calculating about everything. I was told this all my life. I should never get too emotional about any thing. But it’s too late for all of that. God made me emotional. I have the emotions of God. In Galatians 5:22-23, It says. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. These are the emotions of God. I get excited about being like God. It is because I am suppose to. In 1983, during the US Congressional declared Year of the Bible, a Gallup poll was taken in the US. The question was what was the most important 3 things in your life. You guess what the answer was. It was love, joy and peace. The first three emotions of God listed in Galatians 5:22. God has put in place our whole life. It has always been right in front of our face all of our lives. It ranges from life, to health, to prosperity, to wisdom and all the way to emotions. We are to become just like God in this life and in the world to come. We are never to use our emotions as a weapon. This is where they become dark and sinister. If we live with just love, joy and peace, we will do well in this life. Now how do we obtain those emotions? That is easy. We ask God to forgive us of sins and accept Jesus into our hearts. It will change your whole prospective about this life and the world to come. Be blessed in the Christmas season and hope that you have a prosperous New Year.

Crain Blanchard.

Joseph1637@juno.com

Joseph1637.com

It’s December 1st and it’s another year gone by. When I was 25, I didn’t think much about time. All I thought was I will live forever. It is true that I will live forever, but not in this world. My time is running out. I have prepared for that contingency. My life in the next world is assured by submitting and following Jesus Christ. But what upsets me is that my life on earth is just about over. I don’t know the time or place but it’s is coming. Time seems to be speeding up. This year has gone by so quickly. And what have I done to improve my life and the lives of others? From my prospective. it’s not enough. I want to do more than I am now. There is so much to accomplish before I pass on. That desire to accomplish more woke me up at 4am this morning. And I am writing this blog to affect the lives of as many people as I can. And hopefully, the effect is distinguishable. When I first started writing this blog, I asked the Lord if He would show me if I was reaching anyone. I wrote a blog that went viral. It traveled around the world and produced 15,000 comments in a month. Now that was changing people’s lives. They heard me and I was glad. It is time for more viral blogs to be written. I hope and pray that your life is one of joy and peace in this Christmas season.

Crain Blanchard.

Joseph1637@juno.com.

Joseph1637.com.

I was thinking about the many things that disconnect us. People are more disjointed than ever. All you have to do is to pick a subject and you will find examples. But what is sad, is that it’s the norm rather than the exception. In recent events, there is the Covid-19 epidemic. This one event, in world history, has separated all the people for fear of this disease. The panic amongst our leaders was real and effective. No one would go near each other for fear of catching the disease and/or dying. What it created is an atmosphere of fear and distrust. People are using the first thing that disconnected us, the cell phone, to talk to each other. We are social beings and need to communicate and fellowship with each other. Even though we think differently, there is a need in us to be with each other. And when that need is not met, we begin to have emotional and physical problems. There is in this country a rampant emotional problem, that rivals Covid-19, it is depression. Depression is caused by not having your emotional needs met. The saddest thing I have ever seen is a person that is lonely in the middle of a group of people. Being disconnected is not a by-product of the pandemic, it is the purpose of it. The whole exercise is about controlling the population and changing people’s attitudes. It is time to reconnect with our fellow man. To begin talking to each other and meeting that social need of communication, face to face. As the commercial says, try it, you will like it.

Crain Blanchard.

Joseph1537@juno.com

Joseph1637.com

For years now the struggle against authority has been raging. I can’t say that rebellion began in the 1960’s, but it came of age in America. I grew up in a conservative home. My parents tried to teach me self-constraint. It was like water on a duck’s back. It didn’t really take effect until my rebellion started to cost me. I will tell you the truth, it cost me a lot. I wouldn’t listen until I was almost 30 years old. That is because I was so close to death. I had burned down everything that was good and true in my life. I finally figured out that my parents weren’t as dumb as I thought they were. Each person has to come to that reality or they will lose their life, literally. Authority is portrayed as something useless. You don’t have to go far in America to see people who have lost the constraint of authority. All you have to look at the mess that was in Missouri and Maryland. Then you can look at people who believe in authority in South Carolina after the church shooting. In the 2015 there were 9 police officers killed in the line of duty in America. If you don’t recognize what this whole plan is I will tell you. It is a plan to discredit God Himself. Without God in charge, who will fix the problems of man? You can see for yourself the failed plans of our government to fix anything. Every great civilization has fallen because of the lack of God in their lives. Soon Christianity will be outlawed in America. What will happen is the fall of America. The church will have to go underground just like the 1st century Christians did. There was a Roman Centurion who went to Jesus to ask for help. His servant was sick. As the soldier approached Jesus, he began to ask for help. Jesus said I would go to his house. The soldier said, I am a man under authority. All I have to say is to do this or that and it is done. He ask Jesus just to speak the word and his servant would be healed. Jesus said, I haven’t found so great a faith in all of Israel. You can’t be in authority without being under authority.

Crain Blanchard
joseph1637@juno.com

joseph1637.com

I have been listening to music of my youth. I like ballads more than anything else. As I listened I remember my youth and wasted time I spent. I can see all the opportunities that I had. I am listening to Jim Croce’s “Time in a Bottle”. We all want our lives to count for something. We don’t want to be irrelevant. This is where our family comes into play. The support they give encourages us to go on. Sometimes you can get lost in the world. The saddest thing is to be lonely in midst of people. This is where we need to seek help to live the way we are suppose to. As I watch programs on TV that talk about getting needed help for depression, I think about how lonely they are. We were never made to be alone. We are social beings and need each other. Jesus walk around doing good so that people would not feel alone. God’s word always talks about how much that He loves us and wants to share His life with us. That hole in your heart can only be filled with Jesus. There is no other thing in this world that will satisfy your heart. We can block off the world and people from our lives, but we can never live alone.

Crain Blanchard.

Joseph1637@juno.com

Joseph1637.com

This is the song “Time in a Bottle” by Jim Croce.

What are your limits? How far will you go to achieve your goals? Do you know what you want to do with your life? Can you see yourself doing what you dream about? Have you achieved your goals yet? These are important questions in your life. And what you do with them will make the difference in reaching your goals or not. Do you ever think about your life and whether you are accomplishing anything? You can ask anyone if your dream is real and achievable. Most will say no. But there will be a few people that will encourage you to go on. Listen carefully to what is being said, then choose the right way to accomplish your dream. Everything depends on you and your choices. Do I dare to pursue my dreams, even if no one agrees with you? You cannot let your fears stop you. What will happen if you pursue your dream and it fails? Edison tried 2000 ways to make a light bulb, before he discovered the right way. Do you know what Edison said about his light bulb? He said, I found 2000 ways how not to make a light bulb. Edison invented the light bulb in 1879. In his home, that is a museum today, the light bulbs he invented 143 years ago are still burning bright. So, what are your limitations? Do your limitations make any sense? Then what is stopping you from your dreams?

Crain Blanchard.

Joseph1637@juno.com

Joseph1637.com

In the military, there is an expression. Soldiers that are causalities but can still walk around are called the walking wounded. I served in the military and have dealt with wounded soldiers. When my sons served in the military, my wife and I were in the Family Readiness Group. We helped soldiers and their families. The wounds that war creates are sometimes deep and hard to overcome. One of my sons suffers from survivor’s guilt. It shows itself in PTSD. It is hard sometimes just to live normally. But he is not the only person to suffer because of it. The family of wounded soldiers suffers along with their soldier. God never said that life would be easy. He said that it would be simple. There is nothing more devastating than a wounded heart. And sometimes it is a long process to overcome that wounded heart. You become vulnerable and try to protect yourself from everyone. There are trust issues. When I came to know the Lord, it took time for me to see what God was offering and to accept it. My life was in a death spiral. I needed help greater that anyone could offer. That is when God intervened. There are many walking wounded in this country and they never serve a day in the military. If you look around with your heart, you will see these people and have compassion. That is the only way to reach the walking wounded with compassion. Just as God had compassion on us, when He sent His son Jesus to die for our sins.

Crain Blanchard.

Joseph1637@juno.com

Joseph1637.com

We all live our lives thinking that we won’t die. It is because we are part mortal and part immortal. The mortal part is our body, our flesh. The immortal part is our spirit. Both parts were joined together at conception by God and they are separated at death. The mistake is made thinking that our flesh, body, is immortal. If you remember what a preacher says at a funeral, dust to dust, ashes to ashes. We are made of the dust of the earth and will return to that state when we die (Genesis 3:19). But our spirit is immortal and will return to God. Our spirit is our mind, will and intellect. It is who we are. Now when we die, the place we will go to is our choice, heaven or hell. We have to make that choice when we are alive. Because after we die, it is God’s choice. We don’t choose while we are alive, don’t expect to live in heaven. You see there is only 2 choices, heaven or hell. To go to heaven, we have to choose God while we are alive. Life or death is a reality for us. We are mortal and live for a certain time on earth. So, I ask you to choose God and live in this world and to be able to live in heaven.

Crain Blanchard.

Joseph1637@juno.com

Joseph1637.com

Time has been called many things, seconds, minutes, hours, days, months, years etc. And we know that time is linear. It only goes in one direction and when it is spent, it is over. We spend so much time trying to save time, only to find out it cost us more time. How many times have you said that your life has gone by in a blink of an eye. Did time accelerate and we did not notice? Or does our brain only perceive the present time? So, how can we stop the advancement of time in our lives? It is impossible to stop time. It will run until time runs out. Yes, there is an end to time, and I am not sure that I want to see that time. The time of the future is uncertain, and the time of the past is gone. We can not change the past, but the future time is ours to change. We have the ability to make changes in our lives, good or bad. The question is what will you do with the time you have left? I know from my life, that it takes courage to change the time we have left. Nobody’s life is perfect. There are flaws that seem to be built into us. It always seems so hard to change our lives. But the strangest thing about changing our lives is that we are the only one that can do it. Many people will try to change our lives, but we are the only one to make that choice. It called free will. It is a gift that God gave to us and is the only reason that God choose to give us a change at redemption. So, the question is what are you going to do with the remaining time in your life? Will you choose God or not?

Crain Blanchard

Joseph1637@juno.com

Joseph1637.com