From the Heart by B.Demaere

  The King of kings, Jesus Christ, the Messiah is coming back as sure as he came the first time.  Will the world be ready to receive him?  Will the Church be still believing?  He will come when he is least expected.   A New King is Coming   A new King is coming, When the trumpet will sound, When the angels will sing, And this world is still bound.   A new King is coming, He is not really new, But He came as a Jew, For this world, He will be a new King.   A new King is coming, To take up the saints, You are better not be chained, For he comes to take the living   By Bernard Demaere

Poetry Lovers: A New King is Coming

Poetry Lovers: A Cheerful Heart (Proverbs 17:22)

Poetry Lovers: Unity

Poetry Lovers: Space

For Poetry Lovers: Winter Without Leaves

For Poetry lovers

  And there were shepherds residing in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks by night.   Just then  an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.  But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid!... Amazingly what a difference a day can make.  Many Christmases ago as it is commonly believed in the Christian faith,  A king was to be born.  Right now, all would have been quiet.  The shepherds tending their sheep at night not expecting any immediate changes to take place like you grabbing your TV remote to watch another show before dropping in your seat.  It was a quiet evening at the end of a shift.  The shepherds looking after the sheep.  Suddenly, the night brighten and  awaken by the declaration of an angel about the king being born in a manger in Bethlehem with an accurate description of how they were to find the baby with his mother.  Furthermore, a host of angels would join that one in praise and glorif

Christmas Eve (Luke 2:8-10)

  For a child is born to us, A son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6 Christmas Prayer When I am on my knees, Be my Prince of Peace, Ward off the enemy!   When I tremble with fear, Be my Prince of Peace! For no one can be just as strong And mighty as you,   You have been all along… And forever you are true… You are my…Prince of Peace!   Insight on this Poem: I wrote this poem out of  Christmas blues.  Overall, I know that Jesus is my Prince of Peace when there is no peace within or without.  Furthermore, he is the One who stands out in this world as the emblem or the mark of Peace.  Where else can you honestly find that peace?  No where! Especially now, in this time of dismay and unrest everywhere, we all need an anchor,  he is .  Moreover, we all need a Rock to stand upon,  he is .  Indeed,  he is everything  we have hoped for in God.  As well, he meets our e

Be my Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6) : Peace is a priceless gift sought by many. Jesus is the Prince of Peace. He rules over it. He was that child born in a manger, but now coming back again soon.

Have You Been in My Shoes? (Proverbs 14:10)

The Glory of the Elderly (Leviticus 19:32)

  The crowd asked, "What should we do?" (Luke 3:10) Actually simple, yet so hard for the human nature to admit.  Our desperate need for help.  It is in itself a mystery.  Here we have a finite human being turning from God's helping hand.  Look at how available God is, ready anytime to give you whatever you need. Unfortunately, one of our biggest downfall as a society has been to run the show on our own.  God meant for us to only be stewards of what he has already given us to enjoy.  Accordingly, in simplicity of faith, we, as the manager of this world should simply bow our knees to God and ask this simple question:  "What should we do?" We are all equally so corrupted before our blameless and holy God.  Our Creator is not looking to us for answers about the political status of the world.  Our Judge, certainly, doesn't want us to point fingers at others who are already in the same boat that we are.  Indeed, he just wants us to ask questions and plenty of them

The Danger of Evolution (Galatians 6:7)

Let the Light shine (Matthew 5:14)

When will the Lockdown be over? (Proverbs 4:12) (2 Chronicles 7:14)

The Eleventh Hour Explained (Luke 21:20-28)

Mary, the Blessed and Willing Woman (Luke 1:38) (Luke 1:45)

For Goodness Sake….Wake up! (Mark 16:15-16)

The Right to Obey: A spiritual law (Exodus 34:10-11)

Christmas: An Opportunity for Joy (James 1:2) : Christmas and trouble have almost come together in one package every year.  It's almost like a cartoon character dropping off a bomb at my doorsteps and walking off to see it explode.

  Dear brothers and sisters, whenever trouble comes your way, let it be an opportunity for joy. (James 1:2) Christmas and trouble have almost come together in one package every year.  It's almost like a cartoon character dropping off a bomb at my doorsteps and walking off to see it explode.  Who might that be, I wonder? Christmas has obviously become an opportunity for joy for me.  This Christmas is no different as one of my family member is aging gravely.  I find it very painful to watch. Presently though, I find great comfort in the thought that even during that first Christmas there were also troubles.  For example, no room in the inn and long travel on a donkey while being pregnant.  Those were all opportunities for joy.  The greatest event of joy had been the proclamation of the angel to Mary (figuratively, on the mountain top) but now during the actual pregnancy she had to go through the valley of humiliations and loneliness. The beauty of the Christmas story ringing in the b

  Though you have not seen him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy.       (1 Peter 1:8 NIV) Don't you ever think that joy came easy for me.  Like I said before, I have a mental illness and Christmas was always a depressing time for me.  On top of all this, was the passing of my father around Christmas 2015. No joy, didn't come easy for me.  I am a fighter and I am motivated to fight for something as precious as joy.  If the Bible calls it unspeakable, then I am willing to fight for it and leave all the darkest memories behind. Strangely though, joy didn't come to me right away.  It came upon my Bible study on the Presence of God.  My eyes opened by God and hope came to me.  Hope was not it though, I had to learn to focus on love first.  Love is the greatest over faith and hope.  Without love you can have them but, you still are nothing.  Love is the cherry on top of the cake.  Joy comes as a resul

  By the way! Did you say JOY? I got this answer from the site "gotquestions.org":  "The joy of the Lord is the gladness of heart that comes from knowing God, abiding in Christ, and being filled with the Holy Spirit.  When Jesus was born, the angels announced "good tidings of great joy" (Luke 2:10) The definition of the Merriam dictionary is: The emotion evoked by well-being, success, or good fortune or by the prospect of possessing what one desire: DELIGHT The question, though, it is not whether we believe that we can have joy during this Christmas, but rather which joy to have? That's right! There are two joys we can choose to have: The temporary one (depends on us) or the one that depends on God. Have you ever worked at being joyful?  I have, it's awkward, I tell you! But in Psalm 16:11: David said "...in your presence there is full ness of joy" Jesus said: "These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your j

By the Way! Did you Say Joy? (Luke 2:10) (Psalm 16:11) (John 15:11)

  While you have the Light, believe in the Light (John 12:36) This year, before you cut that Christmas tree and put the different coloured lights.  I want you to consider this, the message of hope and the landmark it makes in your living room.  For a few weeks, that tree that was alive is now dead and rises up into your living room.  Obviously, it is made more beautiful than ever with all these lights and decorations adorning it.  Here is rises in all its glory to offer its presence and be the centerpiece in your home.  It transforms your home and all its conversations are turned to it. This wonderful landmark etched into every child's memory, young and old.  Such a wonderful reminder of another time in history of a tree of life growing from the beginning of time.  A tree of life that has always been there all along.  That tree of life threatened ones on the tree of Calvary and put  to death for a moment.  But now, risen in all his glory.  After all, this Christmas tree is a remind

The Christmas Tree: A Wonderful Landmark (John 12:36)

  So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the law and the Prophets.  (Matthew 7:12) Are you going to be alright this Christmas?  Christmas should normally be a time of joy and peace.  Let's not kid ourselves though, Christmastime can be a stressful financial time for most people.  A time of great loss related to death and funerals and, family troubles.  Peace on earth might be a far-reaching dream. For many years, having a mental illness was for me like carrying a burden.  Over the years people saw me as another person doing my work.  Now I see people in a different light.  I see them each as a person + burden(s), I try anyway.  This Christmas with Covid-19 and other things, people around you might have lost hope just like you.  Are you selfish?  They don't need someone selfish.  They need someone with hope.  Give them hope! This is why the true Christmas message should be proclaimed through our lives as we make a conscious effort to

Graceful Christmas (Matthew 7:12)

  1. Then the Lord gave these instructions to Moses: 2. "Tell the Israelites to march toward Pi-hahiroth between Migdol and the sea.  Camp there along the shore, opposite Baal-zephon.  3. Then Pharaoh will think , 'Those Israelites are confused.  They are trapped between the wilderness and the sea!'  4. And once again I will harden Pharaoh's heart , and he will chase after you.  I have planned this so I will receive great glory at the expense of Pharaoh and his armies.  After this, the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord!"  So the Israelites camped there as they were told. Unquestionably, this must have been one of the hardest challenges for the Israelites.  Another lesson on trust, caught between a rock and a hard place.  Except here, it was between the wilderness and the sea. Seemingly trapped with no place to go.  Ahead of it, God had it all planned, just like he has it always planned in our lives.  He knew what the Pharaoh would have thought or planned to

  Luke 19:5  When Jesus came by, he looked up at Zacchaeus and called him by name, "Zacchaeus!" he said, "Quick come down! For I must be a guest in your home today." This is the story (Luke 19:1-10), Zacchaeus heard that Jesus was coming into his neighborhood.  Since he was a short man, he figured that he had to climb a tree to be above the crowd.  Zacchaeus was also a wealthy, influential man because he was a Jew working as a tax collector for the Romans.  He also had overcharged   Obviously, this didn't give him a good reputation among his fellow Jewish friend.  He was what they called a sinner. According to common religious beliefs, Jesus shouldn't even have talked to him.  But he did out of love for him.  Jesus looked beyond Zacchaeus's fault as he does with you right now and approached him by name.  How personal is Jesus?  Jesus had just met him a few minutes ago but, in fact he knew him from the beginning like he does, you.  In today's world yo

When a House becomes a Home this Christmas (Luke 19:5) (Luke 19:9-10)

  (This was prophesied by the prophet Isaiah about 800 years before Jesus Christ was born) 6. A child is born to us, a son is given to us.  And the government will rest on his shoulders.  These will be his royal titles: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7.  His ever expanding peaceful government will never end.  He will rule forever with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David.  The passionate commitment of the Lord Almighty will guarantee this.    (Isaiah 9:6-7) As a child, I was expected to believe in this unseen Santa Claus and a donkey going down through a chimney.  I believed it until my parents told me otherwise and then I felt let down.  Don't you love the faith of the little children.  Just believing is God's expectation for all of us.  Believing in the unseen, such a faith to behold.  Why is it so hard now as adult to believe in miracles and the unseen.  Do you want to know the answer?  We have moved!  We have move

  29. Confused and disturbed, Mary tried to think what the angel could mean 38. Mary responded, "I am the Lord's servant, and willing to accept whatever he wants.  May everything you have said come true." And then the angel left. Although as humans we might think of ourselves as mighty powerful beings, we sometimes fall short in times of adversity.  It doesn't take very much to tick us off or throw us out of balance.  Frustration or confusion comes in quite easy.  It's even harder for us to admit our defeat which shows our weakness in a greater dimension. Nevertheless, as we look at this first Christmas episode unfold before us in the Bible.  We see human weakness in its entirety. First of all, Mary, Jesus's mother finds herself in a very vulnerable position not only as a single, virgin woman who became pregnant by the work of the Holy Spirit. Before this, she is confused and disturbed as she is visited by an angel in the announcement of the birth.  Another cu

  King Herod speaking: Matthew 2:8:  Then he told them, "Go to Bethlehem and search carefully for the  the child. And when you find him, come back and tell me so that I can go and worship, too!" Warning from God in a dream: Matthew 2:12  But when it was time to leave, they went home another way, because God had warned them in a dream not to return to Herod.  Warning to Joseph in a dream: Matthew 2:13  After the wise men were gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. "Get up and flee to Egypt with the child and his mother, because Herod is going to try to kill the child. " Herod did want to kill the Christ of Christmas: Matthew 2:16  Herod was furious when he learned that the wise men had outwitted him.  He sent soldiers to kill all the boys in and around Bethlehem who were two years old and under, because the wise men had told him the star first appeared to them two years earlier. Before I start this post, let me tell you why I believe the Bible to

Keeping Christ-Mas (Matthew 2:8,12-13,16)

  To Zechariah, John the Baptist' father: Luke 1:13  But the angel said: " Don't be afraid , Zechariah! For God has heard your prayer, and your wife, Elizabeth, will bear you a son!  And you are to name him John..." To Mary, Jesus's mother: Luke 1:28-31  Gabriel appeared to her and said, "Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you!"  Confused and disturbed, Mary tried to think what the angel could mean.  " Don't be frightened , Mary" the angel told her, "for God has decided to bless you!  You will become pregnant and have a son, and you are to name him Jesus. To the shepherds Luke 2:9-10 ...They were terribly frightened, but the angel reassured them.  " Don't be afraid ", he said, "I bring you good news of great joy for everyone! First of all, I chose to celebrate Christmas earlier.  After all it's a season of joy and celebration and yet for a lot of people it can mean loneliness and bad memories.  The first

  6. ...And if any of them have special skills, put them in charge of my livestock 17. So they gave their livestock to Joseph in exchange for food.  Soon all the horses, flocks, herds, and donkeys of Egypt were in Pharaoh's possession.  But at least they were able to purchase food for that year. (Genesis 47:6,17)   Pharaoh dreamed a dream.  Joseph through a chain of events was now in the land of Egypt.  Joseph interpreted it as meaning seven years of prosperity followed by seven years of famine.   Presently, the predicted seven years of famine had arrived which drew foreigners to Egypt for food.  With time, the Israelites who were the complete family of Jacob were through God's plan in Egypt.  They were shepherds.  Shepherds were a despised trade among the Egyptians.  Fortunately, for the Israelites not despised enough to be enable them to offer some service to the Pharaoh in exchange for his generosity.  Here was an opportunity to grow some business.  They just had been hired

Taking Opportunities (Genesis 47:6,17)

  5. If you need wisdom-- if you want to know what God wants you to do -- ask him, and he will gladly  tell you .  He will not resent your asking.   6. But when you ask him, be sure that you really expect him to answer , for a doubtful mind is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.  7. People like that should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.  They can't make up their minds.  They waver back and forth in everything they do. (James 1:5-7) Do you believe that wisdom is important?  I find that wisdom is like faith, I can't live without them.  Yesterday, I desperately needed wisdom to prepare that blog on faith.  When you ask, you have to expect an answer and it might not be according to your earthly wisdom.  It will be according to his wisdom.  We are so much into the letter of the law that we miss the Spirit of the law sometimes.  We might argue with God that faith is not like a plant because his word does not say that.  The Spirit of

  Dear brothers and sisters, whenever troubles come your way, let it be an opportunity for joy.  For when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow.  So let it grow, for when endurance is fully developed, you will be strong in character and ready for anything. (James 1:2-4) You need to understand the mechanism of faith and how it functions to accept the testing.  Faith is for me an agreement I have made with God for him to be in control of my fate.  Everything that involves my faith and myself is in His hands.  Whatever he does goes.  This reasoning saves me a lot of headaches.  When he tests my faith, it helps me to do the important thing: To obey by rejoicing through my trials.  I realize though that faith involves actions on my part, but that a different story.  For now, faith is trust. Now, let us all agree that none of us has arrived yet.  I am still learning with this.  But one thing I have found out is that faith is a seed and a plant that needs to be left alone

  These are the last words of David: David, the man to whom God gave such wonderful success. David, the man anointed by the God of Jacob. David, the sweet psalmist of Israel. (2 Samuel 23:1) First of all, it is virtually impossible to separate David from God in this verse.  There was such a unity between them and an harmony.  David knew that it was God that exalted him or made him successful.  He endured a lot of suffering that no one would know, except that it had been recorded in the Scriptures.  Suffering especially at the hand of Saul and other enemies.  Indeed, no one knows the suffering someone has endured in order to be successful, except God himself.  What do you consider successful?  Being a dad who has a high position with a company?  A husband whose wife spend her time with someone else?  Who and what is success?  Life is certainly more than earning money.  You don't need to be rich to be happy.  There are a lot of people out there who are rich and unhappy. Obviously, th

David, the successful man of God (2 Samuel 23:1 NLT)

  "And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for you to kick against the pricks. (Acts 9:5 KJV) Actually, kicking against the goads means to fight against those in authority.  It's not mentioned in this story, but in Paul's conversion story in Chapter 9 of the book of Acts.  Jesus has a rather unusual meeting with him.  In that bright meeting, Paul becomes blind.  In fact, he had been blind all his life as a religious fanatic, but this kind of blindness was extraordinary. Jesus spoke very loud and asked him: " And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for you to kick against the pricks. (Acts 9:5 KJV) Many in the history of mankind have tried to kill the Church or Israel or even the Bible.  Take for instance, the story of Joseph, young son of Jacob in Genesis 37-45.  He had a powerful dream and vision and his brothers wanted to destroy him but God came through

Kicking against the pricks (Acts 9:5)

  Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed...(Romans 4:18) Since I have a mental illness, it would be normal for me to advocate for mental health.  Unfortunately for me, I sometimes am passionate about it and take it to the other extreme of supreme importance.  Thus, my wife and I had an interesting discussion about suicide and Covid-19.  Yesterday, on my birthday of all day!  Romantic, n'est ce pas?  (This discussion took place because of the increased restrictions here in BC and Manitoba) Now in order to minimize hate, I would say this.  I might not have been rational in my reasoning, but it helped us work things out. Just in case you are wondering, I discovered that the rate of suicide was higher than the rate of death by Covid-19 cases. ( lifesitenews.com ) My wife's defense was that suicide is a choice and I agreed to a certain point.  Covid is not a choice!  I agreed! I said, 'up to a point' for this reason and it's this.  People who go through suicidal thou

Perseverance and Suicide (Romans 4:18)

  31. But because Leah was unloved, the Lord let her have a child, while Rachel was childless.  32. So Leah became pregnant and had a son.  She named him Reuben, for she said, "The Lord has noticed my misery, and now my husband will love me."  (Genesis 29:31-32) Have you been weary, lately?  Weariness is very common these days,  especially during this pandemic.  Visibly, a lot of us have become weary of all these restrictions and its endlessness, but take heart.  God is still in control. Apart from that, how are you doing?  How will you feel loved?  In your own words, what does love feel like?  Not all of us can become pregnant and men in particular can't relate to Leah.  I realize that! Nevertheless, my question to you is:  How will you ever know you are loved 'enough'.  After having born three children to Jacob, she was still  unsure of being loved.  Here we see God's great love toward the 'unloved', the 'depressed' in society.  Obviously, Go

Leah, the unloved wife (Genesis 29:31-32)

  36. "Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?"  37. Jesus replied, " 'You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.'  This is the first and greatest commandment. 39. A second is equally important: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' 40. All the other commandments and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments." (Matthew 22:36-40) Yes, although as believers we are no longer under the law, yet we obey the commandments based on the two first ones.  We obey them through obeying the Holy Spirit within us. It's like a bottle full to the rim.  The air can't come in and the same is when your life is full of God's Spirit.  Your life will be so full of him that nothing else can enter in.  This is what putting God first mean.  Temptations can't come in.  Neither does sin.  The bottle is full and won't be broken.   God wants to use a full bottle, bu

Putting God First (Matthew 22:36-40) (1 Samuel 17:38-39) (Psalm 37:24)

  Finally, the day came when the Lord said to Noah, "Go into the boat with all your family, for among all the people of the earth, I consider you alone to be righteous. (Genesis 7:1) Yesterday morning , our daughter had heard on the news that we would get 2 feet of snow (60 cm).  She texted us immediately.  My immediate response was, "Impossible, we never get 2 feet of snow here, it must be 2 inches (5 cm)".  I was in shock. Now, imagine the news that morning of the flood from Noah's radio station.  Surely, he had a radio station telling about the flood didn't he?  He must have told everyone he knew that a storm, a flood would cover the earth.  Just imagine what he said: " A flood is about to cover the earth and you will all be dead if you don't repent."  Their response would have been one of unbelief because evil had harden their hearts so much that they couldn't even repent. Now the Lord observed the extend of the people's wickedness, and

Cross-sing the Abyss (Romans 6:23); (John 14:6)

Freshen up the message of the Cross (Genesis 17:10-11); (1 Corinthians 2:2)

Relationship is the key (Genesis 12:2) Romans 4:13)

  18. But I solemnly swear to keep you safe in the boat, with your wife and your sons and their wives. 21. And remember, take enough food for your family and for all the animals. Firstly, in this instance God personally makes one promise regardless of Noah's ability to built the Ark.  He makes the promise that he will keep him safe. Secondly, he reminds him of one detail which is important.  It is the food for everyone and the animals.  As a former cook, I can't imagine the amount of food they would have needed for just about two hundred days at sea, not able to fish.  In addition, they had to take animals for the sacrifices.  The comforting thought with travelling is that there is always a lighter cargo at the end of the trip. Nevertheless, he takes care of every detail for a successful voyage.  Everything worked out for everyone's good.  As God promised he took care of Noah and everyone with him.  He could look back on this adventure and share it with next generations.  I

  "You won't die"!" the serpent hissed Likewise, it is in the beginning of every temptation.  Maybe you have heard it more often that you care to admit..."You won't die"!  Just try it one more time and each time, you die a bit more inside.   Of course, you can hear the deception in these words?  Prior to this verse, God had specifically ordered them not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 2:17).  But the name of the tree even sounded so good..."knowledge", we would have "knowledge?"  This is the very tree mankind still try to climb today.  'Indeed, by our knowledge we will win a place in heaven'.  'By our knowledge, we will conquer the seas and lands, we don't need God at all'.  'We know everything now'. Mankind claims pridefully! Mankind is dangerously living on the edge of Hell itself! Affirmatively, the wages of sin is death.   That's in the Bible too! (Romans 6:23) Furth

You won’t die (Genesis 3:4) (John 3:16)

  I remember the days of old; I meditate on all that you have done; I ponder the work of your hands. Today at 11:00 am Remembrance day will be celebrated in some parts of the world.  What do we actually remember? Actually, I remember the stories my mother (still alive) used to tell us ( me and my younger brothers) throughout our childhood.  It was real for her, she was four years old when WWII broke out  in Belgium where she lived.  I remember her telling us a fascinating story about her dad taken as prisoner by the German in Holland.  The only way, my grandfather could be freed was one day, when they interrogated him.  With the little Dutch that he knew, he had to pronounce one sentence just right in Dutch.  My grandfather did it and was set free.  Imagine the feeling!  To be free from death or prison, just because of one right word. However, there is a spiritual application to this story.  Right now, eternal damnation is your destiny because of your sins.  Through your nature passed

Exploring the Bible by B.Demaere: The Race (Galatians 6:9) (2 Timothy 4:7) :   So don't get tired of doing what is good.  Don't get discouraged and give up, for we will reap a harvest of blessing at the approp...

  So don't get tired of doing what is good.  Don't get discouraged and give up, for we will reap a harvest of blessing at the appropriate time. (Galatians 6:9) I have fought a good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful. (2 Timothy 4:7) April 15, 2012   56 years old This is the date and the age I was when I ran my first and only Sun run 10 km race in Vancouver, BC.  Those were the years, I was into running and constantly training.  My goal was to eventually run a marathon, but a half marathon would have been enough.  Then, we moved, the sight of a hill and my enthusiasm deflated down to just walks. Although, discouragement comes slowly it is common.  It creeps in on us and before we know it we are on our knees begging for strength.  Maybe though, that's where we should have been at the start of the race.  How often do we do the race in our own strength instead of God's? Indeed, we see a distraction during the race on the side of the road or we hav

Exploring the Bible by B.Demaere: Where is your First Love? (Matthew 13:18-23) :   The good soil represents the hearts of those who TRULY ACCEPT God's message and produce a huge harvest-thirty, sixty, or even a hundre...

  The good soil represents the hearts of those who TRULY ACCEPT God's message and produce a huge harvest-thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted.   (Matthew 13:23) In the first place, seeing this verse would you agree that your life like mine doesn't produce a huge harvest.  By looking in the previous verses we can identify which camp we belong to.  Firstly, we could belong to those who have been robbed by the Devil  (v.19).  Secondly, to the 'rocky bunch whose roots don't go deep (v20-21).  Thirdly, we have the 'thorny, messed up group.  There is overgrowth in that one.  Moreover, distractions in their lives smother the ground like thorns.  Meeting they have to go to, TV they have to watch to keep up with the latest news.  Lastly, there is the good soil people.  They are tuned in the Vine and grow in the Word.  They let the Master cultivate their ground. The rocks and the thorns have to be cleared out.  It takes time to do all that and th

Exploring the Bible by B.Demaere: Jesus is the Son of God (John 10:34-38) :   34. Jesus replied, "It is written in your own law that God said to certain leaders of the people, 'I say, you are gods!'  35....

  34. Jesus replied, "It is written in your own law that God said to certain leaders of the people, 'I say, you are gods!'  35.And you know that the Scriptures cannot be altered.  So if those people, who received God's message, were called 'god,'  36. why do you call it blasphemy when the Holy One who was sent into the world by the Father says, 'I am the Son of God'?  37. Don't believe me unless I carry out my Father's work.  38. But if I do his work, believe in what I have done, even if you don't believe in me.  Then you will realize that the Father is in me, and I am in the Father."                                                                                             (John 10:34-38) Clearly, Jesus referred to the practice of the Law.  The children of Israel presented different task and were in charge of major decisions.  Obviously, even in Psalm 82, God calls them gods.  In verse 6, "I say, 'You are gods and children of