From the Heart by B.Demaere

  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

  God is fully aware of what you either care or worry about.   He also wants you to let him know how you feel about it.   Are you angry about it or not?   He wants to know even though he knows.   He wants to know for your own sake.   You need to vocalize your feelings.   Prayer is super healthy for you mentally and physically.   I am not just saying that I have not been sick in a long time.   I don’t want to be. In Psalm 139:1-3 “You have searched me, Lord, and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; You perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; You are familiar with all my ways.”   Is it not great to know that God knows all this about us and still is merciful with us to allow us to worry about it all?   Would it not be easier to simply trust Him and “Cast all our cares upon Him for He cares for us” (1 Peter 5:7).   I know but I still do worry occasionally.   The older I become the more I realize how futile and wasteful it is

What if there was a period of decision for humanity?   Would not that be great?   Just picture this – Let’s say God has a plan for each one of us and in the end, he let each of us decide what we should do with it. That is what I think this following verse means…You all have been told what God’s plan of salvation is.   The bible says elsewhere that we don’t have any excuse.   Now this verse: He who is unrighteous-let him be unrighteous still, and he who is filthy-let him be filthy still, and he who is righteous-let him be declared righteous still, and he who is sanctified-let him be sanctified still: And lo, I come quickly, and my reward is with me, to render to each as his work shall be; (Revelation 22:11-12) In the context of these verses, we are required to leave the words of this prophecy alone and not add or take away from this. All through the Bible God has given the free will to choose the end of their story.   In other words, each one of us must choose the end of our

Wherever you are in this world, I hope you have had a good start.   I challenged myself about this year being for me an “I can do it” year based on the Bible. I Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Simple is it not? This is my personal challenge.   Not to do all kind of things but do those things for which Christ gives me strength. To be able to trust him to give me these things without fretting about them and for his strength to enable me to do them without fear. My prayer is for me and you to be able to do those things with his love which will represent not just actions but actions with love as an impact.   Our motivations will be very important this year.   I realize more and more as I grow older that my motives behind my actions matter more than the actions themselves.   I am persuaded that when someone cooks a meal the very love they produced in making the meal, can be tasted for many years after the meal has been digested by the people

  Well, the baby, we were waiting for has arrived.   We are proud Grandparents now and we are looking forward to the growing years of this new child.   This was pretty well the highlight of this Christmas season.   We have of course enjoyed the deeper meaning of this time. I have kept reading my French Bible, In Isaiah 59:9 I read in French about the reason God does not give us always what he has promised to us right away.   We seek for one thing, and he gives the opposite. Voila pourquoi Dieu met du temps a intervenir pour nous et repousse a plus tard ce qu’il a promis Nous esperons voir la Lumiere, Mais c’est partout l’obscurite. Nous attendions que le jour se leve, Mais nous marchons dans la nuit noire.   The same verse in the Common English Bible is:   Because of all this, justice is far from us, And righteousness beyond our reach. We expect light, and there is darkness; We await a gleam of light, but walk about in gloom.   Have you ever been in a situ