From the Heart by B.Demaere

“I am writing to God’s chosen people who are living as foreigners in the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia.  God the Father knew you and chose you long ago, and his Spirit has made you holy.  As a result, you have obeyed him and have been cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ.  May God give you more and more grace and peace.” (1 Peter 1:1-2) “A peaceful heart. leads to a healthy body; jealousy is like cancer in the bones” (Proverbs 14:30) After the Apostle Peter introduces himself, he reminds these believers that they are foreigners where they live.   He does not necessarily remind them of this as a put-down, but as a state to be proud of.   You are foreigners suggest that you belong to someone else.   You have obtained the priceless position of “chosen people” belonging to God, being holy by his Holy Spirit. This valuable position has placed us as subject of obedience by our own volition and even better we have Jesus Christ...

This lately caught my attention as I was reading Ephesians 4:25   Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members of one another. (ESV)   It is the part where it says: “We are members of one another ”   I checked in the Amplified version to see if it said the same thing and here it is:   Therefore, rejecting all falsehood [whether lying, defrauding, telling half-truths, spreading rumors, any such as these], SPEAK THRUTH EACH ONE WITH HIS NEIGHBOR, for we are all parts of one another [and we are all parts of the body of Christ] [Zech 8:16 ] ( Ephesians 4:25)   That is exactly the way it is written in the Amplified version.   I conclude that the Bible stresses out very much that we are, whether we want or not, dependent on one another for survival. If one lies about the other, we are weakening the links in the chain which is Christ. We are working against Christ and not with him.   Li...

The Purpose of Suffering I used to complain a lot while suffering and then one day the Lord showed me that it didn’t reflect who he was and now I also realize that suffering or trials are used to teach and remind us what we learn in the Word and practice joy through the trials. The example of joy More than one church in the new testament suffered persecution.  But the church in Thessalonica was a church that still received the word with joy despite of everything that was happening to them.  The Apostle Paul visited them once and never returned.  Why?  Because Satan stopped him from going back (2:18) A couple of  verses catch my attention in the first chapter: So you received the message with joy from the Holy Spirit in spite of the severe suffering it brought you.   In this way, you imitated both us and the Lord. As a result, you have become example to all the believers in Greece-throughout both Macedonia and Achaia.   (1Thessalonians 1:6-7...

  Relationships As iron sharpens iron so one person sharpens another (Proverbs 27:17) Over the years in my relationships with people and more specifically in my marriage, I have learned that God’s design for relationships was to make us better people.  This does not have to be interpreted in a certain way or another.  It means simply means that at the start of any good relationship, individuals start as being dull in the matter of life and as time goes by, each are matured and sharpened in qualities that were weak to start with. The constant friction that should always encourage communication with time is enough to make us better tools for God’s service. Daily communication is meaningful. Sharpening of tools is necessary for growth.   Creativity is constantly needed in communication, and it takes two to grow from strength to strength. In the matter of marriage for example there should be a constant molecular movement of communication of feelings and wor...