From the Heart by B.Demaere

  2:13/ For the Lord's sake, accept all authority---the king as head of the state,  2:14/and the officials he has appointed.  For the king has sent them to punish all who do wrong and to honor those who do right. 2:18/ You who are slaves must accept the authority of your masters.  Do whatever they tell you---not only if they are kind and reasonable, but even if they are harsh. 2:19/ For God is pleased with you when, for the sake of your conscience, you patiently endure unfair treatment. 3:1/ In the same way, you wives must accept the authority of your husbands, even those who refuse to accept the Good News. Your godly lives will speak to them better than any words.  They will be won over. 3:2/by watching your pure, godly behavior. 3:7 In the same way, you husbands must give honor to your wives. Treat he with understanding as you live together.  She may be weaker than you are, but she is your equal partner in God's gift of new life.  If you don't treat her as you should your

Promises to Keep Devotional by B.Demaere: The Mighty Cornerstone (1 Peter 2:4-8) :   Come to Christ, who is the living cornerstone of God's temple.  He was rejected by the people, but he is precious to God who chose him...

  Come to Christ, who is the living cornerstone of God's temple.  He was rejected by the people, but he is precious to God who chose him.  And now God is building you, as living stones, into his spiritual temple.  What's more, you are God's holy priest, who offer the spiritual sacrifices that please him because of Jesus Christ.  As the Scriptures express it, "I am placing a stone in Jerusalem, a chosen cornerstone, and anyone who believes in him will never be disappointed." Yes, he is very precious to you who believe.  But for those who reject him, "The stone that was rejected by the builders has now become the cornerstone." And the Scriptures also say, "He is the stone that makes people stumble, The rock that will make them fall." They stumble because they do not listen to God's word or obey it, and so they meet the fate that has been planned for them. This is an interesting passage because the cornerstone he is speaking about is no other

  So get rid of all malicious behavior and deceit.  Don't just pretend to be good!  Be done with hypocrisy and jealousy and backstabbing.  You must crave pure spiritual milk so that you can grow into the fullness of salvation.  Cry out for this nourishment as a baby cries for milk, now that you have had a taste of the Lord's kindness. Malicious behavior is an action to want to do harm to someone, so relax if it is at the level of your thoughts and desires deal with it and repent, because it could become an action.  We must not just pretend to be good.  We must be done with hypocrisy and jealousy.  Those are heavy words, Peter.  Hypocrisy, this is not just good for Sunday people, but all those who try to look good the rest of the week and swear in their car at other drivers while driving.  No, but this is certainly for church people too.  Take it seriously folks! This is the Word of God.  So much anger behind closed doors, Christians swearing or smoking, harming their own bodies

Promises to Keep Devotional by B.Demaere: Stay Focused! (1 Peter 1:14-16) :   So think clearly and exercise self-control.  Look forward to the   special blessings that will come to you at the return of Jesus Christ. ...

  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