From the Heart by B.Demaere

  In God’s Strength Luke 4:1-15 During his 40 days fast, Jesus was tempted by the devil himself.  It is not something to take too lightly.  A short fast can be challenging for most people, never mind a 40 days’ fast.  For Jesus coming in his humanity and going through these temptations as a human being it must have been very challenging.  Like ourselves when faced with temptations his only weapon was the Word of God.  All the Scriptures he chose against his enemy were out of Deuteronomy.  When it came to Satan making the offer and suggesting that he turned the rocks into loaves of bread, it was real, and I am sure that the temptation to do so would have been strong enough to sent desires to his brain. This was a real battle for Jesus fighting a real desire.  Have you ever attempted a fast?   Mostly, what I see through this passage is that Jesus did it in the power of the Holy Spirit.   He didn’t do it in his own human strength.   He had to lay down self and operate in the power

  God First Questioning God: Why?        We can, of course question God to learn from Him.   Even if we ask him “Why…” he is never short of answers.  The answers are right there in his word where he also says in Hosea 4:6 “My people are destroyed from lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge.”        We, indeed, have rejected knowledge by not paying attention to it and by being indifferent to it or to Him. In times of revival, we must listen attentively to what God is saying to us.   What is a revival? It is a time of outpouring of the Holy Spirit of God calling back everyone from every country to come to know God more and more.   During that time the knowledge of God is revealed more deeply and the whole world is called to attention.         Do you want to be part of this? God has all the answers. To all our problems and more “Why should the living complain when punished for their sins”. (Lamentation 3:39 (NIV)  The answer is: We bring it on ourselves, but

  God with us…Forever   From the beginning of times   From the beginnings of beginnings, God was there fashioning and building what we see and feel what is all around us today.  In Psalm 90, we are told that before the mountains and that the world was born into existence.  He was there and he was God.  That same living God is with you today through whatever situation you find yourself in.  He is with you on Mondays and throughout the week.  Don’t miss him!  The Bible clearly shows that he is with his people when times are tough for them.  He cares immensely for each one of us more than we care for ourselves.  We cannot make excuses for leaving him.  People all around us may mess us up enormously, but it does not mean it is God’s fault.  We should not turn our back on him for that reason.  Today, too many things are blamed on others including God and it is not fair.  Whatever, you decide to do with others or with God don’t forget he still has the last word on your life.  He is t

  You were created.   In Psalm 139:13 it says: For you created my inmost being;   you knit me together in my mother’s womb. Verse 14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your works are wonderful, I know that full well.   But do we know that full well?   We have each been created with careful precision, even with our defects and imperfections to serve a purpose in this dark world that we may shine our light with God’s help.   Some, might think in their frail state…” What a cruel God you speak of?   But I say: “Your attitude might change all that.”   Look at me now, for a long time I was prisoner of my own failure and mental illness.   My mental illness had become a crutch of self pity.   My suicidal thought fed the habit.   I needed Love and I was ready to do whatever it took.   God is Love and I already had him, but I wanted more.   All I had to do was to read my Bible and be quiet before him.   “Be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:

  The “I am’s” of God All that you need If you know him as he is, you don’t need another miracle.   To know him should be your miracle.   All that he is, is with you. Because he is with you, it makes sense when he also says: “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5).   When you understand that truth, you will be alone.   When you trust him, all your needs are met. I am who I am (Exodus 3:14) God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM. Here is what you are to say to the Israelites: 'I AM has sent me to you.'" This was the original verse of the I AM's.   The first time that God was promising Moses that he would go with him to the Israelites. The name I AM packs a punch and suggest that all the names of God are included in it. It was under God's authority that Moses went to them.   The names of God and Jesus also show people that you come under his authority and not your own. In the New International Reader's Version, it says it this way: "

  65. You have done many good things for me, Lord, just as you promised.  66. I believe in your commands; now teach me good judgment and knowledge.  67. I used to wander off until you disciplined me; but now I closely follow your word.  68.You are good and do only good; teach me your principles.  69. Arrogant people have made up lies about me, but in truth I obey your commandments with all my heart.  70. Their hearts are dull and stupid, but I delight in your law.  71. The suffering you sent was good for me, for it taught me to pay attention to your principles.  72. Your law is more valuable to me than millions in gold and silver!  (Psalm 119:65-72) 1) Introduction In this portion of this psalm, we, see the balance of discipline and goodness from God. 2) For what is to come (v.65-66) Provision from God of wisdom and knowledge.  Expecting his discipline and his display of goodness.  We need the wisdom to see it coming.  We need the knowledge to understand the difference. 3) Good all the

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. He was 600 years old when the the flood came                                                                                                                   (Genesis 7:1,6)   I have a wild imagination.  I wrote over 500 poems and at one time I could have written one about anything.  I have lost the habit now.  I still like to write though.  I was thinking today that we all need an Ark perspective, a tri-dimensional view of the ark.  This one is from the people who didn't make it into the ark.  How sad it really is that so many people had to go.  Were they innocent?  Well no, they are the ones who broke God's heart.  They obviously knew very well what they were doing.  We are too quick at saying people are innocent.  Breaking God's heart is a very serious offense I had say.  When nations decide that they

  So then, since Christ suffered physical pain, you must arm yourselves with the same attitude he had, and be ready to suffer too.  For if you are willing to suffer for Christ , you have decided to stop sinning.  And you won't spend the rest of your life chasing after evil desires, but you will be anxious to do the will of God.  You have had enough in the past of the evil things that godless people enjoy---their immorality and lust, their feasting and drunkenness and wild parties, and their terrible worship of idols. I have really enjoyed this epistle written that the Apostle Peter wrote for us.  Even more so now,  he gives us in these preceding verses, I think the key to holy living.  The important words are underlined: no where he says that we will suffer as to scare us, but that we must be willing and ready to suffer.  Some of us suffer, but we are not willing or ready.  I mean here, insults from anyone we come in contact with.  When we are finally willing and ready it plunges

  God has given gifts to each of you from his great variety of spiritual gifts.  Manage them well so that God's generosity can flow through you.  Are you called to be a speaker?  Then speak as though God himself were speaking through you.  Are you called to help others?  Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies.  Then God will be given glory in everything through Jesus Christ.  All glory and power belong to him forever and ever.  Amen. All of us and each of us have at least one gift, but I think most of us have more than one gift because God is very generous.  Using those gifts is good for our well-being as well as each other and for his glory.  Shouldn't we as well be generous in using the gifts God has given us?  I think so! Our gifts are being used all the time, whether we are in the local church or not.  The Church is no longer limited to four walls.  Now the Church is truly global.  We operate differently over the borders and online.  We live in a totally d

  Christ also suffered when he died for our sins once for all time.  He never sinned, but he died for sinners that he might bring us safely home to God.  He suffered physical death, but he was raised to life in the Spirit.  So he went and preached to the spirits in prison---those who disobeyed God long ago when God waited patiently while Noah was building his boat.  Only eight people were saved from drowning in that terrible flood.  And this is a picture of baptism which now saves you by the power of Jesus Christ's resurrection.  Baptism is not the removal of dirt from your body; it is an appeal to God from a clean conscience. Now Christ has gone to heaven.  He is seated in the place of honor next to God, and all the angels and authorities and powers are bowing before him. If you guessed that the solution to the quiz was Psalm 112, you are absolutely right.  I made it more difficult by not including the 3 first words: "Praise the Lord" which would have give it away as a p

  So think clearly and exercise self-control.  Look forward to the   special blessings that will come to you at the return of Jesus Christ.    Obey God because you are his children.  Don't slip back into your old ways of doing evil; you didn't know any better then.  But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God---who chose you to be his children---is holy.  For he himself has said, You must be holy because I am holy." Simple as that, obey God! Why? Because you are his children.  What will give you the tenacity to never give up?  You are his son, you are his daughter.  You have a good example to follow.  Our Father!  He is holy. We are associated to that example in our daily lives.  People we meet hopefully see that example reflected in us.  It is in everything we do. Now, what keeps us motivated to do all that is the looking forward of what is coming ahead.  The return of our Lord Jesus Christ and all the blessings that come with this.  Just to see him will be

This salvation was something the prophets wanted to know more about.  They prophesied about this gracious salvation prepared for you, even though they had many questions as to what it all could mean.  They wondered what the Spirit of Christ within them was talking about when he told them in advance about Christ's suffering and his great glory afterward.  They wondered when and to whom all this would happen.  They were told that these things would not happen during their lifetime, but many years later, during yours.  And now this Good News has been announced by those who preached to you in the power of the Holy Spirit sent from heaven.  It is all so wonderful that even the angels are eagerly watching these things happen.   How exciting it is to see that this Apostle of Hope, Peter is the one who was used to launch the Church into Pentecost and now through his writings is the one to usher us into this salvation that is still to come.  The salvation of our souls. Evidently, in his wor

  These trials are only to test your faith, to show that it is strong and pure.  It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold---and your faith is far more precious to God than mere gold.  So if your faith remains strong after  being tried by fiery trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.    You love him even though you have never seen him.  Though you do not see him, you trust him; now you are happy with a glorious, inexpressible joy.  Your reward for trusting him will be the salvation of you souls. Trials Ahead : Now this sign comes up on the road, what do you do? Panic? Lose control of the vehicle? No, you look at it and decide who should be driving! Well Jesus, your turn to take the wheels.  You look at it with the right perspective.  He is bigger than any of those trials coming up.  You can no longer view trials through the eyes of fear, but the eyes of faith since it is your faith that is being tri

All honor to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, for it is by his  boundless mercy that God has given us the privilege of being born again.  Now we live with a wonderful expectation because Jesus Christ rose again from the dead.  For God has reserved a priceless inheritance for his children.  It is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay.  And God, in his mighty power, will protect you until you receive this salvation, because you are trusting him.  It will be revealed on the last day for all to see.  So be truly glad!  There is wonderful joy ahead, even though it is necessary for you to endure many trial for a while.  As I see Peter's epistle right now, I imagine myself as being on a road with this sign saying 'Wonderful Joy Ahead'.  This is basically what Peter I think and the Holy Spirit wants us to focus on.  Sometimes I see myself and others have gloomy faces as they carry their crosses.  The gloomy is over and Jesus Ch

  All praise to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.  He is the source of every mercy and the God who comforts us.  He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others.  When others are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.  You can be sure that the more we suffer for Christ, the more God will shower us with his comfort through Christ.  So when we are weighed down with troubles, it is for your benefit and salvation!  For when God comforts us, it is so that we, in turn, can be an encouragement to you.  Then you can patiently endure the same things we suffer.  We are confident that as you share in suffering, you will also share God's comfort. When Paul talked about sufferings he could have been talking about the suffering for Christ through persecutions or hardships through their own problems happening in the church at Corinth (chapter 2:5).  He was certainly very honest in his dealings with that church .  He also had to be de

  Very early the next morning, the king hurried out to the lions’ den. When he got there, he called out in anguish, “Daniel, servant of the living God! Was your God, whom you worship continually, able to rescue you from the lions?”  Daniel answered, “Long live the king!  My God sent his angel to shut the lions’ mouths so that they would not hurt me, for I have been found innocent in his sight. And I have not wronged you, Your Majesty.” The king was overjoyed and ordered that Daniel be lifted out from the den. Not a scratch was found on him because he had trusted in his God. Daniel thrown to the lions, his friends had been thrown in the furnace earlier but he missed that opportunity. Now he was thrown to the hungry lions and clearly God spared him just as much as he had saved his  friends from the fire. Just like that and almost overnight everything changed in that country. A change of leadership and a few jealous administrators and that was all that it took. Daniel was thrown to the li

  And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—-the kind he will accept.  When you think of what he has done for you, is that too much to ask?  Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a person by changing the way you think. Then you will know how good and pleasing and perfect his will really is. The Apostle Paul here puts the emphasis on self before speaking about the gifting given to each one to minister. He says, first of all, I plead with you, that means that what he is asking is not supposed to be overlooked.  It's important! It is not obviously the giving of 'living' bodies.  Of course, God wants 'living' bodies and not dead ones.  We know two things from scripture,  1) God is pleased by our faith: "God gave his approval to people in days of old because of their faith." (Hebrews 11:2)                              Verse 6: "So you s

  1. When the Israelites escaped from Egypt---when the family of Jacob left the foreign land--- 2. the land of Judah became God's sanctuary, and Israel became his kingdom, 3.The Red Sea saw them coming and hurried out of their way!  The water of the Jordan River turned away.   4. The mountains skipped like rams, the little hills like lambs!   5. What's wrong, Red Sea, that made you hurry out of their way?  What happened, Jordan River, that you turned away?   6. Why, mountains did you skip like rams?  Why, little hills, like lambs? 7. Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Israel.   8. He turned the rock into pools of water; yes, springs of water came from solid rock. Picture this with your imagination! You are walking and all of the sudden the sea at the front of you parts, the river stops running to let you through, the mountains leap out of the way and the hills skip like lambs. This is not you overdosing on something. You actually see it

Jesus said to the people who believed in him, "You are truly my disciples if you keep obeying my teachings.  And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." "But we are descendants of Abraham," they said. "We have never been slaves to anyone on earth.  What do you mean,  'set free'?" Jesus replied, "I assure  you that everyone who sins is a slave of sin.  A slave is not a permanent member of the family, but a son is part of the family forever.  So if the Son sets you free, you will indeed be free.  Yes, I realize that you are descendants of Abraham.  And yet some of you are trying to kill me because my message does not find a place in your hearts.  I am telling you what I saw when I was when I was with my Father.  But you are following the advice of your father." "Our father is Abraham," they declared. "No," Jesus replied,  "for if you were children of Abraham, you would follow his good example.&quo

 As he was speaking, the teachers of religious law and Pharisees brought a woman they had caught in the the act of adultery.  They put her in front of the crowd.                                                 "Teacher," they said to Jesus, 'this woman was caught in the very act of adultery.  The law of Moses says to stone her.  What do you say?'                                                                                      They were trying to trap him into saying something they could use against him, but Jesus stooped down and wrote in the dust with his finger.'                                                                                  They kept demanding and answer, so he stood up again and said, "All right, stone her.  But let those who have never sinned throw the first stones!"                                                                       Then he stooped down again and wrote in the dust.                   When the accusers heard t