From the Heart by B.Demaere

                                                    No More Distractions The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once receive it with joy.   But since they have no root, they last only a short time.   When trouble and persecution come because of the word, they quickly fall away. (Matthew 13:20-21) Basically, that is what the Parable of the Sower (Matthew 13: 1-9 and Matthew 13: 18-23) teaches:   No more distractions, no more love for the things of the world like riches and pleasures of all kinds.   Persecutions and pain could also be a distraction from the purpose of what the word wants to accomplish.   Life is full of distractions have you noticed?   But God wants to distill or filter through all these and bring the Word of God in our lives.   He has made an evaluation of my time with him and found my roots not to be as deep as they ought to be.   Especially my roots in the Word are quite shallow.   He is not finished with me yet and satisfa

  121. Don't leave me to the mercy of my enemies, for I have done what is just and right.  122. Please guarantee  a blessing for me.  Don't let those who are arrogant oppress me!  123. My eyes strain to see your deliverance, to see the truth of your promise fulfilled.  124. I am your servant; deal with me in unfailing love, and teach me your principles.  125. Give discernment to me, your servant; then I will understand your decrees.  126. Lord, it is time for you to act, for these evil people have broken your law.  127. Truly, I love your commands more than gold, even the finest gold.  128. Truly, each of your commandments is right.  This is why I hate every false way. (Psalm 119:121-128) 1) Vindicate me (v.121-122) Let my righteous life be enough to vindicate me from my enemies.  Guarantee me a blessing against the oppression of the arrogant people. 2) Deliverance promised (v.123-125 Let the promise of deliverance you made to me be fulfilled. His perspective of himself as a se

  17. Be good to your servant, that I may live and obey your word. 18. Open my eyes to see the wonderful truths in your law.  19. I am but a foreigner here on earth; I need the guidance of your commands.  Don't hide them from me!  20. I am overwhelmed continually with a desire for your laws.  21. You rebuke those cursed proud ones who wander from your commands. 22. Don't let them scorn and insult me, for I have obeyed your decrees. 23. Even princes sit and speak against me, but I will meditate on your principles.  24. Your decrees please me; they give me wise advice. (Psalm 119;17-24) 1) We live as foreigners (v.17-19) Clearly, David is asking, "send some backup , Lord!" More specifically, I need some encouragement, Yes, my eyes need to be open and I need guidance in this land which is not my own, the earth.  Obviously, there is nothing wrong in asking God for some encouragement or some goodness to come your way and that is exactly what he is doing.  It helps us obey

 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 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

Remain in me, and I will remain in you.  For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful apart from me. Over and over the Spirit of the Lord has been showing me the importance of remaining in Him.  The Holy Spirit is as equally God as the Son is. So why not submit to the Holy Spirit for a fruitful life.  For only in the Spirit is a fruitful life attained. The fruitful life is a lot more attainable than you realize.  You don't have to be uptight, you can relax and it's not at all a bunch of do's and don'ts's.  Under the leading of the Spirit it's amazing how much everything just goes so smooth. This morning, my wife paid me a compliment in a way as she was saying that yesterday she wanted eggs for breakfast and she got them without asking me and today she wanted avocado which we had and she got it too.  I told her jokingly, "So I am doing everything I am supposed to, everything is on schedule."  Everything go