From the Heart by B.Demaere

  It was all Decided   For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.  In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will.  (Ephesians 1:4-5) As I read Ephesians 1:4, 5, the famous verse about ‘predestination’ I cannot help but think about the history of my immigration trip to Canada from Europe. A trip that had carefully been planned by my parents as they dreamed it over and again.   To me this trip was like a predestination that started by a desire which I believe originated with God.   God had given my parents soon after I was born the dream to one day make it to Canada as a family.   Originally, predestination starts with a desire in God’s heart and end with our decision to live for him.   That is the only interpretation I can give right now about predestination.   A decision made by God ahead of time since creation to have us become his children.   It is a mind-boggi

In the eighth month of the second years of Darius, the word of the Lord came to the prophet Zechariah son of Berekiah, the son of Iddo: The Lord was very angry with your ancestors.   Therefore, tell the people:   This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘Return to me,’ Declares the Lord Almighty, And I will return to you’ says the Lord Almighty.   Do not be like your ancestors to whom the earlier prophets proclaimed: This is what the Lord Almighty says: Turn from your evil ways and your evil practices.’ But they would not listen or pay attention to me, declares the Lord. Where are your ancestors now? And the prophets, do they live forever? But did not my words and my decrees, which I commanded my servants the prophets, overtake your ancestors? Then they repented and said, ‘The Lord Almighty has done to us what our ways and practices deserve, just as he determined to do.’” (Zechariah 1:1-6)   This is truly a beautiful passage in the Bible.   We see the heart of

                                                    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

  Opinions are just Opinions As I share with you my heart, I like to share my God.   It opens me to be honest with you and sometimes I may be seen by some of you as being opiniated but am I? I want to share the Bible and because of this I might share what I find in it as best as I can interpret it even if it does not agree with present society.   Yes, the Bible does not always agree with my opinions.   Opinions are only valid if they agree with the Truth of the Bible.   If opinions are lies, would you not agree that they need to be discarded. In Matthew 12:9-13 Going on from that place, he went into their synagogue, and a man with the shriveled hand was there.   Looking for a reason to bring charges against Jesus, they asked him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?” He said to them, “If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it out?   How much more valuable is a person than a sheep!   Therefore, it is lawful to d

  None is Diminished We all go through hard times, even John the Baptist, the cousin of the Lord Jesus ended up in prison and probably wondered why it was happening to him. Nevertheless, as this passage shows neither Jesus nor John had diminished in each other’s estimation.   The situation John found himself in didn’t affect his identity.   Jesus still thought of him to be greater than a prophet and Jesus encouraged John to look at Jesus in the same way because the Kingdom was growing because of Jesus, he was the Messiah. When John who was in prison heard about the deeds of the Messiah, he sent his disciples to ask him. “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?” Jesus replied, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see.   The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor.   Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.          

  Does Jesus Care even for you? That is a good question.   Does Jesus care even for you?   Let us face it, in a world with a population of over 8 Billion people where is his mind? It may not even be believable, but his mind is on you.   He cares for you.   In Matthew 9:36-38, “When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, Because they were harassed and helpless, like Sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out Workers into his harvest field.”   I wonder how many over the years have interpreted these verses as a plea for the Lord to send “missionaries” into the world rather than a look into the heart of Jesus for the needs of the world, your need for mental comfort.   He saw the crowds as a discouraged people in need of a Shepherd.   He told his disciples to pray for workers to meet the needs of the discouraged world and if you think the world is

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, So that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit (Romans 15:13) It has come to my attention that as a New Testament believer there needs to be more celebration happening in my life.   Although, there is a difference between partying and celebrating.   Partying can get out of control, but with celebration it must be done with order.   We seem to know how to celebrate different holidays.   I had just like to give it a different spin.   Life and hope must be celebrated during the holidays or any day of the year.   Whether we are believers or not, life and hope can always be celebrated because whether you like it or not you have both by the simple fact you are here alive and healthy.   God is so merciful to all of us because if he was not this whole world, we are on would not survive very long.   I am so fortunate to have his Mercy in my life.   Because of it, troubles come in my life, and they