From the Heart by B.Demaere

Only think for one minute about how life is good…No longer do we have to offer sacrifices, because of what Jesus did for us, His obedience canceled the need for any sacrifices on our part.   Life is like that, it is either obedience or sacrifice.   What is it for you? King Saul had to learn this the hard way when he disobeyed God’s instructions about what to do with the spoil of the enemy.   He gave the lambs in sacrifice rather than obey God himself and that is when God told him: “Obedience is better than sacrifice” (1 Samuel 15:22).   So quit trying to please God by all your good works, it is not what he wants.   He wants you and Jesus understood this because it says in Hebrews 10:5-7… That is why, when Christ came into the world, he said to God, “You did not want animal sacrifices or sin offerings. But you have given me a body to offer You were not please with burn offerings or other offerings for sin. Then I said, ‘Look, I have come to do your will, O God--- As is w

As I was preparing this post , I shared with my spouse that we were only here in this temporary place for another year and a half.  Which offers the perfect platform for what I write in this post.  What will you do next? Someone may ask and as crazy as this may seem we can confidently answer.  We don’t know but the One who holds the world in his hands knows. You see, even though this may sound like a shaky deal it is not… it is as firm as a block of concrete in the ground.   On the contrary, what the world has to offer is fleeting like a house build in the sandy foundation. I base my assurance on the faith in the God who can move mountains.   My faith rests in Him.   That is where my rest comes from.   In trusting the unmoveable and unshakable God who is All Powerful.   The Israelites could have tapped in him, but they chose to worry and not believe. Because the Holy Spirit dwells in you can do better and believe.   Faith is the victory that overcomes the world. The fourth chapte

 I will be your God throughout your lifetime---until your hair is white with age.  I made you, and I will care for you.  I will carry you along and save you. I marked my Bible that day! It was on the eve of my 53rd Birthday.  On November 19, 2009. When God speaks words like that I like to record them.  To me, they are life and they are important.  They will give me hope through hard times.  God's promises always offer us rest for our soul.  Because we forget we have to record it. As some of you know, I have struggled through with my mental illness.  I believe because 'life' was spoken through in my spirit, this word carried me through the challenges I have been through.  Even without me making a conscious effort to remember that specific word.  I believe that every promise that God speaks to us personally through our time with him is a seed that is planted in our heart that day and from it flourishes life, hope and rest. If that promise had been just a word on paper, it wou

I love the Lord because he hears and answers my prayers.  Because he bends down and listens, I will pray as long as I have breath!  Death had its hands around my throat; the terrors of the grave overtook me.  I saw only trouble and sorrow.  Then I called on the name of the Lord: "Please, Lord save me!"  How kind the Lord is!  How good he is!  So merciful, this God of ours!  The Lord protects those of childlike faith;   I was facing death, and then he saved me.  Now I can rest again , for the Lord has been good to me.  He has saved me from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling.  And so I walk in the Lord's presence as I live here on earth.... This first part of Psalm 116 has a theme and the central focus is not 'death' but a childlike faith.  A childlike faith that is strong and unmovable when facing death.  God is stronger than death and so the person with childlike faith look in the face of the Father and trust him through anything.  It's hard no

I want you to know how much I have agonized for you and for the church at Laodicea, and for many other friends who have never known me personally.  My goal is that  they will be encouraged and knit together by strong ties of love.  I want them to have full confidence because they have complete understanding of God's secret plan, which is Christ himself.  In him lie hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. I am telling you this so that no one will be able to deceive you with persuasive arguments.  For though I am away from you, my heart is with you. And I am very happy because you are living as you should and because of your strong faith in Christ. The historic background of Paul's life is that he was probably born in 5 AD and became a believer at the age of about  28-30 years.  Here in 60 AD when he writes this letter he is around 60 years old and agonizing in prayer for people he had known only while living in Ephesus. My question is then, how much more stronger must

We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.  It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain. Well, I hope you had a great day yesterday and today. The foundation of the Word is faith.  Jesus is the Author and Finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12:2 NLT) "We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, on whom our faith depends from start to finish" (the KJV says the Author).  Faith can be translated or interpreted to be Hope which in the Epistle to the Hebrews is described as an anchor.  An anchor is what keeps a boat in the place you want it to be, steady even in the storm.(Hebrews 6:19) On that foundation of faith we built. There is a thread running through the Bible, it is red and it represent, blood.  The blood of Jesus that was shed for us.  That thread appears in the book of Joshua as Rahab puts it by her window (Joshua 2:17-21).  It's there as a sign of salvation to her family.  The family of a prostitute, a Gentile and a descendant of Jesus.  The way to

The apostles returned to Jesus from their ministry tour and told him all they had done and taught.  Then Jesus said, "Let's go off by ourselves to a quiet place and rest awhile."  He said this because there were so many people coming and going that Jesus and his disciples didn't even have time to eat. So they left by boat for a quiet place, where they could be alone. The word 'apostles' means messenger or called ones.  This is what the disciples of Jesus were.  They had been vey busy speaking and healing people and meeting their needs and that can become tiring in itself. So Jesus recognized immediately the need for rest for himself and for his disciples.  Even Jesus got tired while here on earth because he was in a physical body and our body get tired.   So it's important to recognize in ourselves the early stages of tiredness and leave a certain place for a change of scenery.  My wife and I just celebrated our 32nd Anniversary yesterday and we are also t