People love to get prophesy. They want direction in their lives. When someone prophesies over you, it is meant to encourage you. The thing about prophesy is that it is only a reminder of what God has spoken to your heart already. It is to encourage you to do the will of God. When someone receives the unction of God to speak to another, the prophesy is conditional. The condition is that you do the will of God. If you are not in the right place at the right time, the prophesy will not come pass.

There are prophesies about pending disasters. These aren’t personal direction in you life. Even though, it will effect your life. When God talks to us about his plan in life, He expects us to use faith to live our life on this earth. We can’t live our lives on prophesy. The Word of God gives us specific direction to live godly on this earth. The last word in any decision we make is the Word of God.

There are things that the Word of God doesn’t say. Like whether to turn left or to turn right. The Word of God says that fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. To obtain wisdom, we must understand the Word of God first, which is knowledge, reading and studying. Then we must experience the Word the God by doing it. Then comes wisdom. In others words, it is called discretion. Once we have discretion, then we will be able to know which way to turn. It is not getting the cart before the horse.

But back prophesy, there is nothing wrong with it. And as we obtain wisdom, we will know whether or not if the prophesy is true. You can’t live on prophesy. You can only live by the Word of God. Jesus is the Word of God. He wrote everything in the bible. Jesus said, no man comes to the Father but by Me. He also said, I am the bread of life. He that comes to Me will never hunger or thirst. God encourages us to prophesy, but we can’t live by prophesy. Everything has to depend on the Word of God. Then everything will be decent and in order.

Crain Blanchard.

Joseph1637@juno.com

Joseph1637.com

I am talking to believers now. There is nothing more important in my life than wanting to go Home. Home isn’t my place on earth. This is just a temporary place on my journey Home. The yearning to go home in my heart grows louder every day. There are some days that I can harder do or think of anything else. The first time I verbalized my desire to go home is when my wife and I brought our 3rd son, just 3 months old, to the hospital. It was there that we found out he had spinal meningitis. As I was walking into the hospital, I said to the Lord, I want to go home. His answer was direct. He said to me, I can’t wait until you get here. That was 40 years ago. God healed him on 3^rd day in the hospital.

God’s plan for our lives are laid out in front of us. Most people have no idea what those plans are until we stumble into them. When God tells us to turn left, don’t turn right. If He says to stop, He knows what He is talking about. If we will listen and obey, we will find out what God wants and how it going to unfold. Very rarely will God lay out the plan in detail before us. He is wanting us to use our faith to change the world. When we do God’s plan unfolds not only for us but for everyone around us. You see God is using us to affect the world in a positive way. I have seen instances where God called good people home early. There was a young man, age 35 in California, an evangelist, who did mighty works in the far east killed in a motorcycle accident. Another young man, 20 years old, who would have been a pastor or evangelist, killed in war.

The Apostle Paul said in Philippians 1:23-24 “For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better:Nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you.”

This is the real point of the story. We may want to go home early and miss the mess of this earth. But God has a plan for each of us. That plan sometimes means that we stay until our task is finished. Moses was 120 year old, when God called him home. This is what faith is for. We are to believe God and let Him decide how our lives will end. I talked about my younger brother who died of cancer. He knew the Lord. When his time came to go home, he was in his bed with his family around. He simply closed his eyes in peace and woke up in God’s arms.

Crain Blanchard.

Joseph1637@juno.com

Joseph1637.com

8 years ago my younger brother was dying of lung cancer. He discovered he had cancer in January and died in July. When I found out, I was at his side every evening. The cancer treatment was ruff on him. The cancer had caused his bones to weaken. Both of his femur bones, his legs, were broken. The doctors had to do surgery on his legs before they could start the chemo treatments. After the surgery, the doctors wanted him out of bed and walking. Everyday the nurses walked him through the cancer ward which was one whole floor of the hospital. What my brother saw was that most cancer patients were alone and had no flowers in their room. He looked at all the flowers in his room and told the nurses to bring his flowers to their rooms. Then he got his sons to start a memorial golf tournament to raise money to put flowers in the rooms of cancer patients. He did this while dying of cancer himself. It is called the Bill Blanchard Memorial Golf tournament and it is held every two years in Lafayette, La. The last tournament raised $10,000.

I was with Bill until he died. We had many a discussion about life and death. Also we discussed God and Jesus. But about a week before he died, he was at home. We were talking and he asked me if it hurts to die. I looked at him and began to explain what the word of God says about death. It is the most feared thing in this life. People are afraid of death because they don’t know Jesus. But to anyone that is a believer, there is no fear. But the bible does say that believers will close their eyes in peace, in death, and open them in the arms of God. I told brother that death is just a doorway to the other side of life. The pain is in this side of life because of our flesh. You see our flesh is made of the dust of the earth and is cursed by God himself. God cursed the earth in the garden of Eden when Adam and Eve sinned against God.

Bill was at home with his family around him, when he closed his eyes and opened them in heaven. Death is not something to fear. It is our way home. This life we have on earth is just temporary. Home is heaven. And when we cross over that barrier, we wont feel any more pain. We will feel the joy and love of God to the fullness. He has been gone for 8 years and I still miss him. And sometimes I wish I was already there, home.

Crain Blanchard.

Joseph1637@juno.com

Joseph1637.com

I have heard that from the moment you are born, we begin to die. I can understand that somewhat. Our skin continually is shedding the outer layer everyday. Our body rejects anything that doesn’t belong inside of us. But time and age always catches up to us no matter what we do. We look at people from around the world that have lived over a 100 years. But they are an anomaly. With medicines and better living, we have increased the average age lived to from 32 in the 1800s to 73 in the 2000s. But that doesn’t mean we aren’t going to die.

Life and death are two subjects that people seemed to be obsessed with. If it isn’t trying to live longer, it’s glorifying death so that we seem more important. The bible has different views on life and death. It says in Proverbs, life and death are in the power of the tongue. It also says that if you don’t bridle your tongue, you can’t control your life. It’s interesting that our tongue has a direct influence upon our life or death. And if you don’t think that is true, just look at people that you know that don’t control their tongues. In Ephesians, it says to obey you parents that you may live long on this earth. That is a direct correlation to the length of our lives.

It’s funny, interesting, how God seems to be interested in how long we live on the earth. And He delineates what will cut off our lives prematurely. And all of this decision making comes right back to what we do and say. So, we are in charge of our lives and have to make the right decisions to, 1, stay alive and 2, live a long life. Life and death are not only in the tongue, but also in what we do with our lives.

Crain Blanchard.

Joseph1637@juno.com

Joseph1637.com

The bible says that Jesus made everything including earth. After God set everything up and gave it to man, man rejected God. It was by God’s will that the earth and mankind be made to share with Him all that God has. God has continually tried to bring man back into the fold. God has not given up on mankind. But mankind has given up on God. Ever since Adam and Eve received the knowledge of good and evil, man has declared his godhood. He can do what ever he wants. The only problem with that is that absolute power corrupts absolutely. Then mankind does not have the power to correct his mistakes. In which they lead to death and destruction. That is why there is so much devastation in this world.

God has from the beginning intervened in the affairs of man. He has tried and with some success, helped man to create a stable world to live in. It is funny, interesting, that man knows and proclaims who the devil is. But is unwilling to confess the same for God. In 1982, a US Congressman, who was dying of cancer, tacked a bill on the wall of Congress for anyone to sign. This bill would proclaim that 1983 was the Year of the Bible in the US. It didn’t go through any committee or any debate. It was just up to the Congressmen and Senators to sign if they wanted it to become law. Well it passed and the President Reagan signed into law. It was the first time in 2000 years that any government had acknowledged God. The GNP for the US increased by 100% over the passed 20 years. People became wealthy by the will of God.

The bible is a written history of what God has said and done for mankind. In every case, those people who did the will of God have prospered. And those who did not, fail in their efforts. We ,with free will, have to decide if we are going to do the will of God. God did not make His will complicated. He made it simple for man to follow. But we have to decide what we are going to do. I would ask you and implore you to follow God. This is the only way that we will succeed in this life and in the world to come. Yes there is another world. It only has two place to go to. There are heaven, God’s home, and hell, the devil’s home. God does not send anyone to hell. Anyone who goes to hell has to choose to go there. Although God is sovereign with all power to do anything, we have to choose where we are going after death on this earth. God’s will is there for anyone to choose. And I highly recommend to follow God home to heaven.

Crain Blanchard.

Joseph1637@juno.com

Joseph1637.com

I served in the US Air Force during the Vietnam war. I went to basic training like everyone else. I went on to advanced training school. Then I was assigned to my post. I left home not knowing what to expect. Even when I was at my post, I still did not understand what it took to go to war. The basic training I received was just that. It was the basic knowledge of being in the military. Training for war was more of advanced than that. Also the knowledge of war or the understanding of that knowledge had to be experienced. I was stationed state-side for my tour in the Air Force. Three of my sons served in the Iraqi and Afghanistan war. Two came back with PTSD. They all understood what it took to go to war. They had experienced the trauma of war. It’s been 15 years since they served and are coping with the understanding of war.

War is not natural to man. It goes against everything that we are. It takes a little bit by bit of our heart each time anyone serves in the front lines. But it is a conscious decision on our part to go to war. It is not surprising that many people choose not to go to war. There are cost to war. The bible says that before a king goes to war, he sits down and counts the cost. To see if he is able to wage the war and win. If not he sues for peace. This comes from an understanding of war.

Jesus calls us to be good soldiers to put on the armor of God to fight the enemy. Many people when they first start with God are on fire and press against the enemy. I have watched them falter and stop their fight with the enemy. The cost became to high for them. They saw and understood the cost of war. Jesus fought the fight everyday. He did not stop just because the devil was pressing in on Him. People say He is God and can do that. Jesus proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that man can live righteously on this earth. He was a man was all the frailties. The bible says that Jesus learned obedience by things which He suffered. God’s call to man comes with many promises. These promises can be had if we stand up and press into God. It all depends on what you decide to do. Whether to go to war and follow Jesus or not. Yes it does cost us everything we have, our life. But once you have given your life, what else can the enemy take from you? He can’t take anything from you because God has promised.

I saluted all the men and women who have served their country with honor. Some paid the ultimate price. But all gave their lives to serve with duty and honor. God bless you all.

Crain Blanchard.

Joseph1637@juno.com

Joseph1637.com