Tag Archives: god

The Will of God.

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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

What do You see?

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In high school, my professor teased us saying that we had myopia, near sightedness, for not seeing or understanding what he was talking about. It’s Christmas time again and we are singing Christmas carols. Just like the angels sang to the shepherds watching the sheep in the fields around Jerusalem over 2000 years ago. I want to ask you a question, what did they see? Then when Gabriel announced Jesus and told the shepherds to go to Bethlehem, what did they see? When Mary, Joseph and Jesus stayed in Bethlehem and the Magi (Wise Men) came and found Jesus, what did they see? When John and Andrew heard John the Baptist point at Jesus and say, behold the Lamb of God that takes the sins of the world away, what did they see? When Jesus called Peter to ask if they had fish. Peter said that they didn’t have anything. Jesus said to throw their net over the side and it filled with fish. Then Peter jump over the side and swam to Jesus. When he did, what did he see?

When the Roman Centurion who had crucified Jesus and watch Him die, said truly this is the Son of God. What did he see? After Jesus rose from the dead, He appeared to the Apostles and spoke to Thomas, saying place your hand in My side and in My hand. What did he see?

Now it’s over 2000 years later and the world is rolling along. We look at this world and wonder how long before it all blows up in our face. You look and look, then I ask you, what do you see? The bible says that you must first believe, then you will see. And if you see the truth of God, what are you going to do about it?

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Crain Blanchard.

Joseph1637@juno.com

Joseph1637.com

Pearl Harbor Day – What does it take to go to war?

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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

There is Nothing New under the Sun!

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Almost 3000 years ago King Solomon lived. His reign was extraordinary. Solomon was and has been the richest man ever to live on earth. The Temple was clad in gold. His guards were dressed better than any king or queen. All of his gold was kept inside the walls of Jerusalem. The silver was dumped on the ground outside the walls. He control the known world. His rule stretched from China to Britain. Solomon is the only man to do this, because of God’s gift to him. God gave Solomon wisdom beyond any man including today. Kings and Queens would travel to Jerusalem just to hear him speak. He wrote the book of Proverbs in one day.

Yet with all this wisdom, He said, that with much wisdom comes great sorrow. Solomon could see what people were thinking about as they went about their daily lives. He could see their suffering and pain and understood why. The wisdom didn’t control him, but it began to weigh heavily on him. Reading what he wrote in the beginning of his reign and what he wrote in the end, you would say it isn’t the same man.

The book of Ecclesiastes was written before his death. It is a no nonsense approach to living. It is very matter of fact. There is hardly any emotion in the book at all. Solomon had become jaded of life. It is because he saw too much of the good and bad in life. The book is true none the less.

In the book of Ecclesiastes, Solomon said that there is nothing new under the sun. What had gone before shall be again. Thus the saying that history repeats itself. What Solomon saw in humanity is the sin nature of man. That nature that always wants to do evil in this world. It brought him much sorrow. Solomon saw that education, enough food and a stable government didn’t change anything. And people weren’t willing to listen to God and follow Him. There were some, because God has always had His people. But people looked to Solomon as their savior.

Solomon understood the truth. That man can’t live without God. As God spoke to Solomon in 2 Chronicles 7:14 “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.” What was true 3000 years ago and is true today. For you see, there is nothing new under the sun.

Crain Blanchard

Joseph1637@juno.com

Joseph1637.com

How do we learn?

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Most people would just say in school. Thinking about our formal education. But how much of the knowledge that you learned in school did you retain in life? For most people we have retain some of the knowledge, but how many people have retain that knowledge? The knowledge didn’t become real until they applied it to a practical application. When they took the knowledge and did something with it. How many people remembered the first time you applied your knowledge and it went wrong. You messed up something important. And the world came down on you. Then what happened? We had to face the truth of our reality. More experienced people had to step in the correct our mistaken. If we were blessed, we had someone who could guide us in the right path. Some didn’t. But in either case, you remembered how to apply the knowledge we learned. Even if it is years later, you still remember how to apply the knowledge in a workable way.

Knowledge + Experience = Wisdom. Wisdom = Discretion. This is the application of Proverbs. Solomon wrote the book of Proverbs in one day. He asked God for wisdom to rule Israel. God gave him the wisdom of the ages. He understood the workings of mankind. He saw how everything worked and fit together. No one could trick him. Kings and Queens of many nations travel to Jerusalem to see and understand the wisdom of God. Many people have tried to rule the whole, but only one man has ever ruled the world. That man was Solomon. Through the wisdom of God, Solomon conquered, made treaties with and received tribute from all the nations of the known world. He was the richest man to ever live. Solomon kept all the gold inside the walls of Jerusalem. He dumped the silver on the ground outside the city.

So Solomon past on the wisdom of the ages and taught Knowledge + Experience = Wisdom. Wisdom = Discretion.

Crain Blanchard.

Joseph1637@juno.com

Joseph1637.com

Though He slay me…

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Today I want to tell you a non-fictional story. The story is about a man who lived about 4000 years ago. The three great religions, Christianity, Judaism and Islam, all consider this man a prophet of God. We are talking about Job, whose book in the bible is considered to be the first book written. Job was a righteous man. He had a wife, seven sons and three daughters. Job lived in the land of Uz, which is north of Jordan, along the Syrian and Iraqi border. He was very rich. Job owned seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred pairs of oxen, five hundred donkey and a lot of servants. Job was a Patriarch or king in the middle east. He was the grandson of Esau, the brother of Jacob or Israel.

Because Job was a righteous man, God put a hedge about Job. Nothing or anyone couldn’t touch Job. The story goes that satan went to God and asked Him for permission to attack Job. God gave him permission to take everything but his life. Satan believed that if Job lost everything, he would curse God and died. The devil took his wife, his children, his servants and his livestock. The devil did all this and Job still praised God. The devil touched his body with a pox, which was very painful. Job’s three friends came to console him. They look at Job and lost hope. Then they told Job to just curse God and die. After all that happened to Job, he looked at them and said, Though He slain me, yet will I trust God.

Faith is not something that you can touch. But it is something that can move mountains. It is the hope of salvation from this world. God rewarded Job’s faith in Him. He restored to Job, a wife, children, servants and livestock. Job became a greater Patriarch in the end. Faith in God, Jesus, will get you from here to home, heaven, just like Job.

Crain Blanchard.

Joseph1637@juno.com

Joseph1637.com

There are Good and Bad Conseqences.

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Consequences, most people think about bad ones instead of good ones. There are both good and bad consequences. Sometimes making a bad choice turns into a good one. Those are few and far between. For the most part, we think that our decisions are the right ones. The bible says that man thinks he is right in his own eyes. Until everything goes south quickly. Then we are in fix it mode and try not to tell anyone about. Unless it is monumental and we can’t get out of it. I am not saying that everything we choose is bad. The good is mixed in there with the bad. Unfortunately there is more bad than good. And you know that this is true.

I am writing this because my mother in law died last Saturday. Her life, as far as I saw was that mixture of good and bad. I have plenty of good memories about her, but the bad memories have influenced her family far greater than the good ones. My wife would go to her aunt for advice and comfort, knowing that she could not or would not talk to her mother about whatever. My mother in law had progressive dementia the last few years of her life. My father in law is a decent man, but he also made good and bad choices. Everyone has. There is no getting out of them, unless God changes the circumstances. Both my father and mother in law are Christians. I have seen them live a life for Jesus. So I know where my mother in law is, in heaven. Her trials and tribulations are over. I am grieving for my mother in law. Not only for her absence, but for our family and the legacy that she left behind.

When we think that we are completely right, that is when we need to look at what we have done in this world. To see whether or not it was right. Or whether we need to change our ways. We need to stop and consider what our decisions have done to our family and in general the world around us. And if we judge rightly with the wisdom of God then we can be satisfied with the decisions we have made. God bless and keep you wherever you go.

Crain Blanchard.

Joseph1637@juno.com

Joseph1637.com

When Time runs out?

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What will you do when time runs out? Just like an hour glass, time will run out for everyone. We are given by God a certain about of time. We can do whatever with of lives until time runs out. Then what is going to happen to us? It is a very valid question that everyone must answer. No one can escape answering the question. People put off answering that question until they understand it’s all over for them. Then reality sets in as they see their lives clearly. What they did or did not do in their lives. It is an unsettling dilemma. People have to face that dilemma with uncertainty. Not knowing what is going to happen to them if they don’t settle the issue of their life.

How can we settle the issue or even know what is going to happen? Why do we know about or even be concerned with this issue? There is a hole in our being. To become whole we have to try to fill that hole with something. I have watched people fill that hole with money, power, sex, drugs or anything that they think will fill that hole. The only problem is that hole was designed by God to be filled with only one thing, God Himself.

It is said the people fear death because of this hole and are held in bondage to it. This is when people become slaves to money, power, sex, drugs or anything that they can fill that hole with.

So how do we break free from this bondage and fill that hole in our lives? There is a plan in place for us that is over 6000 years old. It was there at the beginning of time for every human being. God finished the work for us about 2000 years ago. This work was done for us because God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. His only begotten son is Jesus Christ. And all we have to do is to turn to Him and repent of our sins and believe in Him. This will fill that hole in your life and assure you of the life to come when time runs out.

Crain Blanchard.

Joseph1637@juno.com

Joseph1637.com

How Coincindences Work.

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This is how coincidences work through events happening without any of the same apparent causes. Let’s look at the life of Joseph, the eleventh of twelve sons of Israel, Jacob. Benjamin was Joseph’s younger brother. Jacob protected Benjamin, being the baby of the family. But he also favored Joseph, because he was first son of his favorite wife, Rachel. When Jacob blessed his children right before he died, he called Benjamin a ravenous wolf. Jacob didn’t do right by his other ten sons, who were the sons of Rachel’s sister Leah. When God chose Joseph to be the one who saved his family, God gave him a dream about how Joseph would do it. Jacob also gave Joseph a coat of many colors. Which showed the other brothers that he was the favorite son.

One day when Joseph was out in the field with his brothers, he told them about the dream God gave to him. His brothers had had enough and plotted to kill Joseph and blame it on a wolf. Reuben stopped them from killing Joseph and instead sold him into slavery to an Egyptian. Eventually Joseph was sold to Potiphar and then put into prison for thirteen years. By the hand of God, Joseph could interpret dreams. He interpreted a dream for a servant of Pharaoh, who was restored to service with Pharaoh.

God gave Pharaoh two separate dreams which no one could interpret. Finally, the servant that Joseph helped spoke up to Pharaoh about him interpreting dreams. They took Joseph out of prison, cleaned him up and presented him to Pharaoh. Pharaoh told him the two dreams and Joseph said they are one and the same from God. Joseph gave him the answer and Pharaoh made him Prime Minister of Egypt.

Eventually the famine that God showed Pharaoh came. Joseph had prepared Egypt against famine. They stored enough food to save not only Egypt but the rest of the known world. This made Egypt very rich and powerful. Famine came to Canaan and Jacob, Israel, had his sons to go to Egypt and buy food. They appeared before Joseph twice before telling them who he was. When he revealed himself to them he told them this:

Genesis 50:20 “But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.”

There are no coincidences with God. It may have seemed that the two events were unrelated, but God prepared a way to save as many people as possible through Joseph. God is still making a way for people not only to survive, but to live through His planning.

Crain Blanchard.

Joseph1637@juno.com

Joseph1637.com

Fear and Doubt.

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I don’t have to introduce you to fear and doubt. They are old and familiar friends that we were raised with. I wouldn’t call them friends, because they always got us into more trouble. As much as we don’t want them around, they were always there in times of trouble. When we couldn’t see a way out, they would stick close to us. Fear has been clinically proven to cause heart attacks. Doubt will stop us dead in our tracks from doing anything productive. Fear and doubt are the opposite of faith and hope.

I should say hope and faith. It is hope that we receive first. Hope that our lives can be changed into something better. Hope is the promise of the future. It is what leads to believing in ourselves and someone greater. Usually hope comes when we hit the wall running and fall down nearly dead. We come to ourselves hoping for an answer that will solve our problems. If we see that there is an answer that will resolve our pain and misery, we being to hope. Hope is a fleeting thing. It will not last forever. If we decide to accept the way out of our problems, then our hope will grow. Then when we see our problems being solved, we begin to believe and our hope becomes stronger. Then our hope becomes faith.

In the beginning, it is always hope and faith are sketchy. We are looking for proof that our lives will change. But once we have decided to follow the plan to change our lives, then we will see the proof we need to believe what God says it true. It doesn’t mean that our faith will not be tested. What it does mean is that our hope and faith can grow into what God wants for us. Anything that we receive without any adversity isn’t worth having. So hope and faith come by adversity, knowing that we have decided on the God’s plan to change our lives for the better.

Crain Blanchard.

Joseph1637@juno.com

Joseph1637.com