All posts by Rev Daniel W Blair

In 1998 He Reigns Christian Ministries was launched to equip the end time saint to stand firm in the last days. Rev. Daniel W. Blair is a retired Southern Baptist Minister, who has studied at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, served as Pastor of churches in both California and Kentucky, led many revivals, and preached internationally.
Articles

Are You Being Transformed In Christ?

Leave a comment

Many people in the world claim to know Christ, yet they speak very little about Him. Although they may claim to have fellowship with a local body of believers, they tend to know more about what’s going on in the world rather than what their church believes. They are experts in every topic from politics to the latest news stories, but they are at a loss about what Christ is doing in their lives. Unfortunately, most are not being transformed in Christ but are being transformed by the world through a great flood of information. This information coming at the speed of light promises to address your every problem from mental health to physical health. It promises to answer every question about the proper foods we should eat, the medications we should take, and the exercise programs we should do. It promises to answer every question concerning the ecosystem and our place in the cosmos. Today, I would like to look beyond just following the Christian crowd and the influx of information coming from the world to understanding the miracle of our transformation in Christ. We will explore what we should expect from being transformed in Christ. Transformation is a lifelong journey. There are clear signs that we are truly on the path to transformation that will excite you beyond belief. We will learn how important it is to allow the Holy Spirit to do His job of making us into a new creation (II Corinthians 5:17).

However, before we continue it’s essential that you have humbled yourself before the risen Christ believing that He died on the Cross to forgive you of all of your sins, past, present, and future. Through the public confession of your sins and your agreement to turn from your sins and not repeat them, then you are ready to follow Christ in His resurrection from the grave to a new life in Christ. This confession will open a new door that will be the most remarkable journey that you could ever imagine. The transformation journey can only begin after your public confession and the reception of the Holy Spirit. Without the confession and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, transformation is impossible. You may learn all the doctrines of your church and mimic all the outward behavior of others that appear more righteous than yourself, but that by itself will not bring forth true transformation in Christ. You could memorize the entire Bible and follow all of its commandments, but that too will not bring forth true transformation in Christ. It will only bring forth carnal Christianity, which will leave you on the path to eternal damnation, and eternally separated from God.

To experience transformation in Christ we must be filled with the Holy Spirit sent by God to all who make the confession to follow Christ alone and not the teachings from the world controlled by Satan and the powers of darkness. It is the Spirit’s job to lead us into all truth (John 16:13). It is His job to write the commandments of God upon our hearts (Hebrews 10:16). This is so beautifully accomplished, because every time we read the Bible or hear His anointed Words spoken, then the Spirit will write those Words on our hearts. Sometimes the Words seem new, beyond anything we have heard, bringing forth great excitement to follow Christ in His teachings. Other times the Words may seem difficult because they are so opposed to the teachings of the present world order, so the Words are also accompanied with conviction from the Holy Spirit. If you have never felt the conviction from the Holy Spirit, then you are either ignoring Him or not listening. Or the Spirit of God may not be residing in you, because you have not welcomed Him into your heart. Dear children, after our public confession, then we must welcome the Holy Spirit by giving Him full reign in our lives.

To give the Holy Spirit full reign in our lives is an obligation to listen and follow all of His nudges, prompts, and the still small voice spoken in our hearts. The Holy Spirit will never lead you to violate one of God’s commandments but to obey all of His instructions in the Bible. God has given us everything we need to become a new person in Christ through transformation. This is very important because we can no longer rely on the world or the works of fallen humanity to give us what we need. If we do, then it will be counterproductive to the transformation process. The Bible says, “According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue” (II Peter 1:3). Yes, the Bible says, “everything!” God does not need our help in the transformation process. What God needs is our obedience. The Holy Spirit will never draw on the information in the world. If we fail to believe that He has all the answers to our problems, then we will never be transformed in Christ. To give the Spirit full reign in our lives, we simply cannot ask our Holy Resident to step into the other room while we participate in a questionable activity or seek advice from the world.

Unfortunately, many Christians grieve the Holy Spirit every time they fail to listen and follow the Spirits leading. Every time they ignore His presence in their lives, then they have grieved the Holy Spirit. Every time they participate in a questionable activity or violate one of God’s beautiful commandments, then they grieve the Holy Spirit. To continually grieve the Holy Spirit will stop the transformation process and may even put you on the path leading to a horrible life where nothing seems to work out right. Every bad or miscalculated decision without the Spirit’s help will cause you great difficulties from financial hardship to even causing you physical and mental health problems. To grieve the Holy Spirit can lead to a very confusing life, from being led astray by every worldly teaching and perversion to the acceptance of psychological counseling and a life of psychotropic drug addiction. To grieve the Holy Spirit can even put you on the path of confronting the horrors of unchecked lawlessness and even an early death. We must not grieve the Holy Spirit if we want to experience the wonders of the transformation in Christ. Transformation in Christ is wonders upon wonders as we learn how to put off the old life and put on the new life in Christ (Ephesians 4:17-32.

As we learn, step by step, how to put off the old life, we begin to realize just how captivating sin was in our lives. Yes, it will be difficult in the beginning. However, as we listen and follow the Holy Spirit, He gives us great power to say no to all manner of sins and the devil who is instigating them. We don’t need to yell at the devil or perform some religious ritual, we simply say no, in the Name of Jesus Christ. The key to success is that the Spirit gives us the opposite of the evil by showing us how to put on the righteous life intended for us in Christ. With every successful step of putting off the old life and putting on the new life in Christ, we begin to experience transformation. We are now a new person in Christ (II Corinthians 5:17). The lies of Satan have convinced the modern church that they have been transformed simply by changing some of their outward behavior, however, they have failed to look at their heart within, so I greatly encourage you to read carefully my last article entitled, “Conquering the Evil From Within.” As we continue the transformation process, we soon discover all the little miracles that await us from the little miracles in our own lives to the amazing miracles that God chooses to do through us.

Seeing the hand of God working through us is the most amazing miracle that you will ever see this side of heaven. The Bible says, “But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord the Spirit” (2Co 3:18). What an amazing verse this is, that sheds light on the other verses in the Bible by tying them all together like a great tapestry, where the Bible interprets the Bible (See II Corinthians 3:18, 5:17, and II Peter 1:3). Only through the Holy Spirit and His process of transformation in us can we see the larger picture and understand the full counsel of God. As we come to the Gospel with an unveiled face, we reject all the transforming powers of the world, which allows the glory of the Lord to be reflected through us. The more we allow the glory of the Lord to be reflected through us, the more we are transformed into His image from one degree of glory to another. This is all wonderfully accomplished by the Spirit of the Lord. So, we must all ask ourselves a question, whose glory are we reflecting, the glory of the Lord (as we continually look upon His eternal truths), or are we reflecting the tarnished glory of the fallen world order?

Finally, the tarnished glory of the world is the influx of information seeking to transform the world into the image of the beast. This has been easily accomplished through their movies, videos, television, public education, and their social media platforms. They started in the fifties teaching morality in their movies and public education but very quickly they removed the moral authority of Jesus Christ. This in time allowed everyone’s opinions concerning morality to take precedence, which established their own authority. Step by step God has been removed from the public domain, which has allowed the powers of darkness to transform the world into the image of the beast, to reflect his tarnished glory. Now, all those who have been transformed by the world are now reflecting the tarnished glory of the Antichrist and his system already put into place to lead God’s children astray. Dear children, we must only allow God’s glory to shine through us, not the world’s transforming power, so that we can continue our transformation in Christ. Transformation in Christ opens the gates of heaven to experience an extraordinary connection with the Lord of glory. Transformation in Christ will allow us to participate in His amazingly powerful miracles performed through us to the glory of God. Transformation in Christ allows us to see His mighty hand working in our lives performing one little miracle after another. Now, imagine a world where every Christian is being transformed in Christ. It would turn the world upside down! Are you being transformed in Christ?

Cellphone Users

This website and its content is copyright of He Reigns Christian Ministries – © Rev. Daniel W. Blair 2023. All rights reserved.

Articles

Conquering the Evil From Within

Leave a comment

As we approach closer to the end, almost everyone is looking at the evil around them. Very few, unfortunately, look at the evil within themselves. There is no better time than the present to examine the evil lurking in each of us. Remember, that each of us will be judged by a most Holy and righteous God. I must say in the beginning this will not be a popular topic, for looking within can be the most humbling and humiliating experience of our lives. However, it is much better to do it now, rather than being totally exposed and humiliated at the throne of the Almighty. Now, you will have an opportunity to change. When the last trumpet is sounded or if you experience an untimely death, then it will be too late. So, if you are willing to take this journey from within let us proceed. The Holy Spirit will be our guide. He will take you to places that you could never have imagined. Hopefully, it will cause you to have many hours of self-reflection. My hope and prayers are that all who claim to be Christians will take this journey allowing the indwelling Spirit to bring deep conviction to their souls. Let’s begin.

The first stop in the journey is letting go of everything we think we know about ourselves. Depending on how old you are, you have already established certain standards for yourself. Although some of these little unpublished rules and regulations tend to change from time to time in a world of varying opinions, typically it’s easy to retain a certain level of pride for your accomplishments in fulfilling your goals. We all know that pride is a cardinal sin that’s rather blinding as it magnifies our self-esteem and tends to build barriers around ourselves from receiving any rebuke or admonishment from others about our seamless character. When we drop the barriers, then we allow the Holy Spirit to uncover every hidden flaw, digging deep within our hearts to lay a firm foundation. Won’t you allow the Spirit to convict you of every unseen sin? If we truly humble ourselves before God, asking Him to search our hearts and show us every unclean thing, then the Spirit will be happy to oblige (Psalm 139:23-24). We must, then, learn to let go by turning from every sin the moment it is discovered and exposed by the Spirit. If you are willing, it’s nearly impossible to read the Bible and not be convicted of some unseen sin. It is best to discover them now, rather than when it’s too late to do anything about it.

Our next stop on the journey is to carefully examine our every thought. Although these thoughts are hidden from others in the world, they are not hidden from God and the indwelling Spirit. Every thought is laid bare at the throne of Almighty God. God takes such a critical view of the thoughts of humanity that He destroyed the entire world with a flood because of their evil thoughts and vain imaginations (Genesis 6:5-7). I don’t want to shock your insensibility but every person on the planet has entertained an evil thought or vain imagination at one point in their lives. These thoughts often come without notice, either directly from the old sin nature or prompted by the powers of darkness, either way, they must be stopped and cast out immediately. It’s almost impossible to live in today’s world without encountering evil thoughts from every segment of society from lust-filled entertainment to massive greed-driven advertisement. This should cause us to be constantly on guard to immediately cast out the evil thoughts by replacing them with righteous and holy thoughts. Again the Holy Bible is our best resource to understand the nature of evil and the absolute beauty of righteousness in our thinking (Philippians 4:8).

Now, vain imagination is a much deeper topic that is capturing most of the minds of fallen humanity. Simply put fallen humanity is always looking for an escape from a world gone mad. This has been attempted from books to television and from an endless supply of videos to the growing number of social media platforms, but nothing has truly satisfied the demands of fallen humanity. For millions of years, humanity has found success in entertaining vain imaginations in the sanctuary of their own minds. They have successfully conjured up taking trips to distant lands and even to distant star systems. They have imagined interacting with different people or strange creatures all the while being the most important person. Imagining themselves with great wealth, superior strength, and otherworldly intelligence can occupy many hours locked away in the confines of their own minds creating their own adventures. This vain imagination is clearly a trap of the devil to keep us in bondage and away from following God’s will for our lives exclusively. As we take a deep look within, we must be honest with what we find bringing them before God in true repentance. Please remember, that God wants our entire self every moment of every day. To do anything less serves Satan, the god of this world. Cast out the vain imaginations and serve God with your every thought.

The mind is an amazing creation by the hand of God. Although Satan and the powers of darkness are behind the manmade creation of artificial intelligence, it will never be equal to what God has created. Although AGI will appear to come close and mimic the image of the beast in the Book of Revelation, it will never have the capacity to love one’s enemies and to serve others without ever expecting anything in return (Revelation 13:15). Although our minds were created in love to be love, since the fall it also can plan all manner of evil in the secret chambers of the mind. We may be found innocent in a court of law by saying, “Yes we thought it, but we never did it” but in the court of Almighty God, we would be found guilty as charged. Jesus Christ put His finger on it when He said, “But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart” (Matthew 25:28). So, whatever a mind thinks about doing is indeed a sin even though you did not follow through on the trespass. Look within! Have you ever thought about revenge, hurting others, stealing, lying, cheating, deceiving others, or committing a sexual act with others, all done in the cloister of your own mind? The list is not exhaustive where every sin begins in the mind. Cast out the thought immediately and if necessary, rebuke the powers of darkness.

Are you still with me? We are taking a journey within, now, before it’s too late. Our every sin will be exposed, and our hearts will be opened for all to see, so it’s best to deal with it now. Allow the indwelling Spirit to convict you of the sin by listening to Him (John 16:8, 13). If you have not heard the Spirit, then you have not been listening. You will need to stop listening to the world first, all of its lies and propaganda, then you will be able to hear the indwelling Spirit. Once we are convicted of the sin of thinking, which includes vain imaginations, then we must repent by casting out the thoughts and agreeing to never think about them again. You may need to repeat this many times for Satan does not give up easily especially when he discovers that you have a certain weakness. God will help you if you seek His help in prayer. Cry out to God now, not when it’s too late as you stand before the Judge. Every time you cast out the evil thoughts and vain imaginations confess them before the Lord, and you will receive the refreshing waters of forgiveness. I hope you see how important this is for our nation as well. If God destroyed the entire world because of their thoughts, then He can do the same with a nation. I am not suggesting “thought police” but we should spread the word that everyone needs to be mindful of what they are thinking about and cast out the evil thoughts and vain imaginations immediately. Dear children, please don’t wait, ask God to help you conquer the evil from within. Judgement is coming.

Cellphone Users

This website and its content is copyright of He Reigns Christian Ministries – © Rev. Daniel W. Blair 2023. All rights reserved.

Articles, Prophecy

Repent Now or be Destroyed! A Prophecy for America

Leave a comment

When the whole world turned away from trusting in God exclusively for their entire life, then a very dark cloud covered the planet. Allergies, environmental toxins, viruses, and pathogens are only the tip of the iceberg. The infighting, the corruption, and the rising crime rate are only symptoms of a much larger problem. What’s hanging over the world is much worse. Satan and the powers of darkness will increase their stranglehold on humanity by leading them to stumble into or embrace every manner of sin. We are like a runaway train with no way to stop it as the entire world races into the darkness and eventual annihilation. Most of America is on the precipice of sinning nearly every day because of the dark days in which we live. Does the prospect of sinning against God horrify you? The powers of darkness have already overshadowed this whole land bringing forth every detestable perversion. Abortion on demand has destroyed countless children before they can draw their first breath. The powers of darkness have reached into future generations by requiring all children to attend public schools knowing full well that they are like a blank piece of paper prone to receive everything they are taught as the gospel truth. Satan knows that this is the best place to indoctrinate our children with their latest previsions, leading them to turn away from their God and even their parents. Open our eyes to recognize the darkness overshadowing our world.

The Antichrist spirit has already stripped us of our God-given responsibility to raise up our children according to our traditional beliefs. Those in power have set the curriculum for our dear innocent children to learn, with little recourse allowed from their parents. The powers of darkness are leading fallen humanity to teach our precious children to question their biological gender, to examine their feelings to see if it is leading them to an opposite gender from their biological gender. This sick perversion is growing exponentially. Once converted to a different gender, then they proudly proclaim it to the world and their parents. The entire Western world including the news media is now forced to agree with their new gender designation or be punished. Furthermore, the spirit of Antichrist has led the entire world to put their undying trust in their therapists or professionals of psychology to heal their mounting mental illnesses and staggering emotional problems. This too is being taught in public schools where the slightest behavior problem is sending our children to the school counselor steeped in the doctrines of godless psychology. At an early age, our children are being taught to depend on the professionals of psychology instead of depending exclusively on God to answer all of their emotional and psychological problems. The mounting sins in the world are devasting so many lives, it is breaking our hearts. We must learn to repent.

The consequences of our sins are already coming. God is allowing us to sink ever deeper into our sins along with their inevitable consequences (Galatians 6:7). We have already witnessed the unimaginable lawlessness, where people are doing the unthinkable in broad daylight. We have seen people ruthlessly attacked for no reason, children abducted, and women carried off the streets of America to be raped. The consequences of our sins have also led to an epidemic of mental illnesses, drug addiction, and homelessness. We have already felt the increasing earthquakes bringing great devastation to the planet. We have already seen floods, tsunamis, and hurricanes destroying whole cities. We have already felt the heat of rising temperatures, massive forest fires, and the scorching sun leaving its mark on humanity. We have already felt the horror of unstoppable wars devastating whole towns and villages leaving thousands upon thousands dead or wounded. We have already witnessed global pandemics taking millions of lives and leaving thousands more with lifelong suffering. All this is only the beginning of the horrific consequences of our many sins against a Holy God. The consequences of our sins have led to the releasing of the plagues, and woes from the mighty hand of God with the hope that humanity would truly repent. What’s coming is even more terrifying. The only way this can be stopped is through worldwide repentance. This country and the world need to repent now or continue to suffer the consequences.

If we don’t repent now, then our worst nightmare will become a reality as America is completely destroyed with fire and brimstone along with all the other major cities in the world. We know that God can intensify any plague or woe to accomplish His goal very easily or He can bring forth Armageddon by letting go of unrepentant humanity to fulfill their darkest desires to launch a nuclear holocaust. Many citizens in Russia and other eastern countries are already preparing for the unthinkable. Psychologically they are accepting the inevitable, which would lead those in charge to fulfill their orders, without question, and initiate a nuclear strike. This will not be like the Hollywood movies where most will survive and build together a brave new world without hunger, crime, or wars. It will, prophetically speaking, end in total disaster destroying all of humanity. Only the faithful remnant will miss the final world war that devastates humanity by being caught up in the air to meet Jesus Christ. Until that time comes, we must be very busy leading as many as we can to true repentance. Dear children, we don’t have a lot of time for the time is growing very short. When you start leading people to repent you will find a lot of excuses and a lot of blaming. Until you can help them overcome their excuses and their blaming of other things, then they will never come to true repentance. We all need to repent while we still have time.

We have heard all the excuses. Perhaps one of the major excuses you will hear from unrepentant people is that they cannot change who they are because they have had a horrible upbringing or have experienced some horrible tragedy in their past life. I say this is an excuse because they refuse to believe that through repentance and belief in the Gospel that God has the power to make them into a new creation where old things will truly pass away. True repentance from the ways of the fallen world is believing that God can and will give them everything they need for life and godliness. God’s truth will deliver them from the bondage of the many lies that they must continue with their psychological counseling and drugs for their entire life or at least for a very long time. True repentance trusts in God for total and immediate deliverance from their old life that will pass away as they learn how to put off the old life and put on the new life in Christ. True repentance replaces the heart of stone with the heart of flesh. Also, people will blame other things that are causing all the plagues and woes instead of blaming the consequence of their own sins. Most blame global warming for nearly every disaster whereas only a few blame the natural changing patterns of the earth, but neither blame their sins. As long as fallen humanity blames the consequences of their sins on something else, then they will never see the need for true repentance. We must all repent now.

Once you work through all the excuses and the blaming of other things, then you are prepared to help them understand true repentance. Repentance is turning from their sins and agreeing to never do them again. True repentance is feeling remorse and deep sorrow, for our sins and humbly confessing them before God, seeking His forgiveness. The Bible says, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). This evil inclination to sin has been engrained or grafted into our old sin nature through a lifetime of living in a fallen world run by the powers of darkness and his demonic host. Step by step we must learn how to resist evil by casting out every evil thought and vain imagination immediately. Listen to the indwelling Spirit who will bring conviction to your hearts. It will also be necessary to guard our eyes and ears from seeing and hearing every evil in our day, which will cut out most movies, videos, books, music, and social media posts. Dear children, we must be strong because Satan has released an army of demons in these dark days to lead God’s children to entertain every passing evil thought or vain imagination. He knows that his time is short, so he is working relentlessly to destroy all of God’s children before they are raptured to heaven. The world must repent now or be destroyed. Nuclear war is coming resulting in Armageddon. This is a prophetic message for America and the whole world.

Please Join Me in Prayer

 Subject: “Create in Me a Clean Heart”

Good morning Heavenly Father. As we come humbly before you, Oh Lord, search our hearts to make sure there is no unclean thing. It’s so easy to allow our hearts to be polluted from the things all around us, from the things of the world. We have become experts in our outward behavior while ignoring our hearts. We have become experts at wearing different masks, one for each occasion; one for the family, one for the religious community, and perhaps even another for social media. Help all your beloved children to remove their fake masks and be who they truly are, especially on social media where so many are not behaving from the true character of their hearts. So, instead of becoming experts on our outward behavior and a wordsmith for polished words, let us spend more time guarding our hearts against being polluted from the world. We pray, Oh Lord that you will create in us clean hearts and renew a right spirit within us. Let our outward behavior be a true reflection of our hearts. Let us only fill our hearts with your love and righteousness. We pray this in the Holy Name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

“Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me” (Psalms 51:10).

Cellphone Users

This website and its content is copyright of He Reigns Christian Ministries – © Rev. Daniel W. Blair 2023. All rights reserved.

Articles

Blessed are the Peacemakers

Leave a comment

“Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God” (Matthew 15:9).

Blessed are the peacemakers who work for peace in a world ravaged by hate, division, and war. Today we will talk about true peace that can bring all parties to the table. True peace is much more than the cessation of hostilities. True peace reaches the soul and heart of humanity. It will open the vestiges of a new world governed by a sense of right and wrong. True peace will need to move beyond the limitations of the current world order that’s being controlled by the powers of darkness. True peace in the world will open up possibilities beyond our wildest imagination, although this world peace will never be realized by allowing the powers of darkness to influence all of our thinking and decision-making. We must return to the original model instituted for humanity; a model instituted in the beginning by the God of creation. There are many different models introduced to humanity over the last few hundred years that have allowed humanity to stray further from the truth about God’s created order of things. All the statutes and guidelines given to humanity have been slowly and methodically eradicated by the powers of darkness. We have gone so far as to remove the Ten Commandments from all the schools of public education in this country.

To find true peace in the world we must return to those original guidelines in the form of God’s beautiful commandments and not the flexible options based on public opinion. The further humanity strays from the truth, the more it will be influenced by public opinions concerning one’s behaviors and beliefs. This alone has created a great deal of confusion where most have a mixed bag of theology and varied opinions about life in general. Recently we have become aware of the great influence of the social media platforms. However, there is a much greater fear in the world today that humanity will be dangerously influenced by Artificial General Intelligence. Those in power are aggressively seeking help from its inventors on how to limit or control AGI’s influence on humanity. Unfortunately, they may never be able to put the Genie back in the bottle because humanity inherently seeks a consensus, which AGI promises. Humanity has not found this consensus among the world’s beliefs, on social media, the news media, the search engines, and even among the learned professors of higher learning. So, humanity will gravitate towards AGI and the powers of darkness, which will lead the world into greater division, increasing hatred, and massive world wars.

Only God can lead humanity back to a real lasting peace between mankind and their Father in Heaven. This is exactly what Jesus Christ did when He brought a peace plan to earth, over two thousand years ago, between humanity and the God of heaven. The Bible says, “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6). Jesus came to show the “way” back to a living, dynamic, and loving relationship with the God of creation through forgiveness and restoration. Jesus proclaimed the “truth,” which would overcome the lies of the devil, the old sin nature, and the powers of darkness. The truth removed racial and ethnic barriers by leading humanity to embrace the power of love by turning the other cheek and going the extra mile. The New Testament is replete with instructions on how to stop anger and hostility through non-retaliation. This would all be possible through a new “life,” which was transformative by putting off the old life and putting on the new life in Christ. This new life would prepare humanity to receive lasting peace throughout all eternity. The God of creation still has all the answers that mankind seeks for all of life (II Peter 1:3).

Therefore, the first step toward a lasting peace available now in this fallen world is trusting in God to give us everything we need for life and godliness. There was a fatal mistake when humanity stopped trusting in God for all of life and turned to a world of public opinion, which led them to the spirit of Antichrist. It has already led mankind to unimaginable suffering through an epidemic of mental illnesses and drug addiction. It has already opened Pandora’s Box to every form of perversion, unchecked lawlessness, and a growing number of suicides. Yes, fallen humanity is imploding from within as they drift further away from God’s truth and His offer of salvation. As hatred, division, and wars continue, we must not sit idle. It will not help to just hide among those who agree with us on social media. It will not help to be silent among the pagan. As believers in Christ, we have all been called to be peacemakers. Many have gone forth on the world stage as great peacemakers garnering everyone’s attention, but the wars continue. Many have legislated laws and established new agencies, but the hatred and divisions continue. We need godly peacemakers to demonstrate the only true path to peace on earth before it’s too late.

I will admit, becoming a peacemaker will be difficult in a world of division with multiple beliefs and contradictory opinions about life. It won’t be easy, but it’s not impossible. We must start by showing humanity how to make peace with God by obeying all of His beautiful commands and accepting the free gift of life by believing in the death and resurrection of His beloved Son, Jesus Christ. Until peace is obtained with God, then the pagan will suffer greatly from the consequences of humanity’s collective sins. Every plague and woe is sent from the righteous hand of God to drive fallen humanity to repentance. Our first task is to lead humanity to experience peace with the God of creation through repentance and by accepting His free gift of life by putting off the old life and putting on the new life in Christ. Oh, what joy it is to see a sinner repent and ask God to make them into a new creation. Happy are the peacemakers for truly they are the children of God. What joy it is to see them delivered from all their bondages and the confusion that has captured the world. Only peace with God will lead us to have true peace with one another.

The new life in Christ will give us a completely different perspective by allowing us to see others the way God sees them. We no longer see color, race, or ethnicity. We no longer see social standings, such as rich or poor, and being intelligent or simple. We no longer judge their character or their nationality. We see all people as either followers of Jesus Christ or as being unsaved. We learn to love every person. True love always recognizes the sin and the person’s captivity to the powers of darkness. True love will always seek their deliverance so they can experience the utter joy of a new life in Christ. To accept the sin or their perverse lifestyle is not love because it seals their fate to the powers of darkness and eternal punishment. True love helps us to see that both sides have deep-seated concerns in a conflict. In every fight, two sides must be considered to bring forth peace. In most conflict resolutions neither side truly understands how the other side feels. They may not even truly understand what they have done wrong. God’s peacemaker will help both sides to see their own individual faults and then lead them both to repentance. Christians should also work for peace even among nations at war. Blessed are the peacemakers for they are the children of God.

Ukrainian and Russian Conflict

In conclusion, I just want to say a word about the Ukrainian and Russian conflict. I am deeply saddened that the Western nations have such a militaristic view of this conflict. Have they reached out to Russia and tried to come to some common ground? Have they looked at the Russians living in the Ukrainian area of the Donbas who claim to recognize Russia as their Mother Land because of their historical, ethnic, and economic ties, then should that not be part of a peace plan? We should remember that Ukraine was a part of Russia for over one hundred years and some things are difficult to change in every area. Also, I truly understand the Ukrainian fears and their deep desire to join NATO to alleviate their fears of further Russian aggression. We must look at the concerns of both sides to bring forth a lasting peace. My question is where are the peacemakers from the West?  Must we rely on China and Africa? My heart breaks for the many beautiful lives that have been cut short on both sides. I implore this country along with other Western countries to step up to the plate and work for real peace that will bring Russia and her people back into fellowship with her brothers and sister in the West. Supplying more weapons and materials along with isolating Russia will not bring peace but only continue her aggression. It could also lead to Armageddon, a very real possibility. As peacemakers we are called the true children of God. Where are the peacemakers in this conflict?

Cellphone Users

This website and its content is copyright of He Reigns Christian Ministries – © Rev. Daniel W. Blair 2023. All rights reserved.

Articles

Building Face-to-Face Relationships

Leave a comment

As we draw closer to the end of all things, it is essential to build strong face-to-face relationships. Strong relationships will give us an opportunity to minister to others by assessing their real needs by moving past the pleasantries and the initial greetings. Strong relationships will allow them to observe God’s love flowing unhindered through us. We are ambassadors for Christ (II Corinthians 5:20). Unfortunately, social media has greatly limited our ability to build real relationships in the flesh. They have raised up an entire generation that no longer understands the responsibility and dynamics of building strong relationships with people they come face to face with, in the real world. As God’s children, we have a responsibility to build strong relationships through agape love. First, however, let’s look at the dynamics of building a strong relationship, then we will return to agape love. The dynamics are multifaceted that can only be learned through practice and allowing the Holy Spirit to guide us in both our conversation and actions (Romans 8:14). We can practice all we want, but without the Holy Spirit to guide us we will be highly ineffective. You may learn the art of selling yourself, but you will never arrive at what God desires in God-centered relationships. So, let’s look closely at the dynamics.

Every relationship must begin with seeking God’s direction and His help. It always starts with a little silent prayer, “God help me to build a God-centered relationship” with such and such person. We must enter every prospective relationship with sincerity. Smiling, pleasantries, words spoken, and our actions must be sincere with no hidden motives. Believe me, hidden motives and insincerity will be spotted ending any potential relationship before we ever get started. Whatever you do, do it with a sincere heart (II Corinthians 8:8). It always begins with sincere caring for the other person motivated by true agape or self-giving love. The next two dynamics are learning how to listen and how to make good eye contact. Listening is much more than just hearing words. Making eye contact is much more than just looking into their eyes. How a person talks and where they look with their eyes will tell you volumes about the person you are attempting to build a relationship with. How much we really care about building a relationship with someone will greatly help us to better observe their speech and eye movements. We must learn to interpret their body language. I hope you are beginning to see how difficult this would be on social media.

Now, for a word of caution, never judge the other person as you begin to discover things through close examination of their body language discovered in their words used and their eye movements (John 7:24). If they look down or away it could be a number of different things such as trust issues, lack of confidence, or attempting to explain a perceived personal injury. These should not negate our ability to connect if we demonstrate a sincere loving and caring attitude by listening intently before responding. On the other hand, their continued unwillingness to make eye contact may demonstrate their unwillingness to build a relationship at the moment, but that too should not diminish our kindness and willingness to depart amicably. If they have good eye contact, then chances are you have their undivided attention. So, be prepared to present yourself with clear and precise communication, getting to the point as quickly as possible, and being careful to allow them to speak by interjecting their comments and questions along the way (I Peter 3:15). In your communication, it is essential to smile when applicable and show deep-seated concern when necessary. Remember, it is essential to be sincere letting your facial expressions match your caring heart. Remember, we are not robots or artificial intelligence with canned speeches, who can only respond to prompts. We are living, breathing, human beings who know how to listen to both voices and body language.

Listening is perhaps one of the most important skills in building a relationship (James 1:19, Proverbs 18:13, ESV). When others are speaking this is not a time to be thinking about our response or what we plan on doing later. Listening is a full-time job that takes a great deal of concentration. It may even be necessary to decode or interpret their words. You may need to repeat back what they have said, without their heightened emotions and vulgarity, to ensure that you have heard them correctly. Speaking without listening first causes misunderstandings and arguments (Proverbs 18:2, 13, ESV). We must have a desire to truly hear what they are saying, or our response will have little meaning. Listening to what they are actually saying, along with their voice inflections, and their moments of pause, are very important to understand both their real needs and their felt needs. It may also be necessary to pause before answering so that you can think about what they said and present it before the Lord in a short, silent prayer. Also, remember that we have already hidden God’s word in our hearts through the Holy Spirit, not ever to be used as a blunt instrument, but only to be used in love and encouragement (Psalm 119:11, Ephesians 4:29). Also, remember everything we say back must fit the occasion or it does not need to be said (Proverbs 25:11).

We must allow God to speak through us by way of the indwelling Holy Spirit. I cannot over-emphasize this, for this alone will help us build strong relationships. Remember, God loves the entire world and seeks to love others through us, both in our conversations and in our actions (I John 4:7,12). When God reveals a need, then we must trust Him to provide. This can only happen if we get out of the way and allow God to do His work through us. His love must flow unhindered through us. If it’s an emotional or psychological problem, then God has the answers (II Peter 1:3). If it’s a physical need, then God can provide, either direct healing or teach them how to trust in His loving providence. If it’s a financial need, again God has the ability and resources to answer every need according to His divine will. Why should we limit God? If someone is struggling with demons or a Satanic attack, then God will always lead us to intervene according to His will. Again, all this needs practice only as God leads. He will not heal every person. He will not meet every financial need. He will not cast out every demon. Dear children, everything must be done according to God’s will to realize His great power on high. There is great amazement to realize His great power working through us to the glory of God.

There is also great amazement to recognize God’s abounding love flowing through us to others. True agape love recognizes the real need, not the felt need. This is very important because many want us to fulfill their felt needs while they hide their real needs. People’s greatest real need is learning how to overcome their old sin nature (Ephesians 4:17-32). Most with any kind of ethical upbringing struggle against it daily, some even hourly. Others struggle against the powers of darkness even if they cannot tell what it is that’s tearing their lives apart. Others just struggle against what they call bad luck or bad decisions. Unfortunately, none of these people recognize that they could be reaping the consequences of their own sins (Galatians 6:7-9). They have not learned how to put off the old life and put on the new life in Christ. Let me be very clear, it’s nearly impossible to help these people on social media. It’s nearly impossible to understand their true struggles just by reading their post on social media. We must confront them face-to-face to read their body language with a sincere and forgiving heart. We must allow God’s love to flow through us leading us to minister to them in the power of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8).

Finally, the proof of a strong relationship is your willingness to stop whatever you are doing for yourself and immediately tend to the needs of others no matter how less important you feel it is. Strong relationships are developed by making their needs more important than your own needs. In God-centered relationships, we always live to serve others (I Peter 4:10). Can you imagine a world where this was as natural as taking your next breath? There would be no crime, there would be no lawlessness, just pure self-giving love. Although this is exactly how the new heavens and new earth will be, God’s children should still strive for this now in our present relationships. As we come closer to the end, we must build strong face-to-face relationships with others so that we can help them to be ready when Christ comes in judgment to judge the world. The Bible says, “For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself’ (Galatians 5:13-14, ESV).” As we fast approach the end, let us imagine the whole world as our neighbors. Let us go forth building strong relationships to the glory of God. What’s coming on the horizon, we will all need strong God-centered relationships.

Cellphone Users

This website and its content is copyright of He Reigns Christian Ministries – © Rev. Daniel W. Blair 2023. All rights reserved.