From the Heart by B.Demaere

  King Herod speaking: Matthew 2:8:  Then he told them, "Go to Bethlehem and search carefully for the  the child. And when you find him, come back and tell me so that I can go and worship, too!" Warning from God in a dream: Matthew 2:12  But when it was time to leave, they went home another way, because God had warned them in a dream not to return to Herod.  Warning to Joseph in a dream: Matthew 2:13  After the wise men were gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. "Get up and flee to Egypt with the child and his mother, because Herod is going to try to kill the child. " Herod did want to kill the Christ of Christmas: Matthew 2:16  Herod was furious when he learned that the wise men had outwitted him.  He sent soldiers to kill all the boys in and around Bethlehem who were two years old and under, because the wise men had told him the star first appeared to them two years earlier. Before I start this post, let me tell you why I believe the Bible to

Keeping Christ-Mas (Matthew 2:8,12-13,16)

  To Zechariah, John the Baptist' father: Luke 1:13  But the angel said: " Don't be afraid , Zechariah! For God has heard your prayer, and your wife, Elizabeth, will bear you a son!  And you are to name him John..." To Mary, Jesus's mother: Luke 1:28-31  Gabriel appeared to her and said, "Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you!"  Confused and disturbed, Mary tried to think what the angel could mean.  " Don't be frightened , Mary" the angel told her, "for God has decided to bless you!  You will become pregnant and have a son, and you are to name him Jesus. To the shepherds Luke 2:9-10 ...They were terribly frightened, but the angel reassured them.  " Don't be afraid ", he said, "I bring you good news of great joy for everyone! First of all, I chose to celebrate Christmas earlier.  After all it's a season of joy and celebration and yet for a lot of people it can mean loneliness and bad memories.  The first

  6. ...And if any of them have special skills, put them in charge of my livestock 17. So they gave their livestock to Joseph in exchange for food.  Soon all the horses, flocks, herds, and donkeys of Egypt were in Pharaoh's possession.  But at least they were able to purchase food for that year. (Genesis 47:6,17)   Pharaoh dreamed a dream.  Joseph through a chain of events was now in the land of Egypt.  Joseph interpreted it as meaning seven years of prosperity followed by seven years of famine.   Presently, the predicted seven years of famine had arrived which drew foreigners to Egypt for food.  With time, the Israelites who were the complete family of Jacob were through God's plan in Egypt.  They were shepherds.  Shepherds were a despised trade among the Egyptians.  Fortunately, for the Israelites not despised enough to be enable them to offer some service to the Pharaoh in exchange for his generosity.  Here was an opportunity to grow some business.  They just had been hired

Taking Opportunities (Genesis 47:6,17)

  5. If you need wisdom-- if you want to know what God wants you to do -- ask him, and he will gladly  tell you .  He will not resent your asking.   6. But when you ask him, be sure that you really expect him to answer , for a doubtful mind is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.  7. People like that should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.  They can't make up their minds.  They waver back and forth in everything they do. (James 1:5-7) Do you believe that wisdom is important?  I find that wisdom is like faith, I can't live without them.  Yesterday, I desperately needed wisdom to prepare that blog on faith.  When you ask, you have to expect an answer and it might not be according to your earthly wisdom.  It will be according to his wisdom.  We are so much into the letter of the law that we miss the Spirit of the law sometimes.  We might argue with God that faith is not like a plant because his word does not say that.  The Spirit of

  Dear brothers and sisters, whenever troubles come your way, let it be an opportunity for joy.  For when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow.  So let it grow, for when endurance is fully developed, you will be strong in character and ready for anything. (James 1:2-4) You need to understand the mechanism of faith and how it functions to accept the testing.  Faith is for me an agreement I have made with God for him to be in control of my fate.  Everything that involves my faith and myself is in His hands.  Whatever he does goes.  This reasoning saves me a lot of headaches.  When he tests my faith, it helps me to do the important thing: To obey by rejoicing through my trials.  I realize though that faith involves actions on my part, but that a different story.  For now, faith is trust. Now, let us all agree that none of us has arrived yet.  I am still learning with this.  But one thing I have found out is that faith is a seed and a plant that needs to be left alone