From the Heart by B.Demaere

Peace is a beautiful thing to have in this chaotic world where it is sometimes sought after through drugs and alcohol and other means.   To the born-again Christian it is a peace that is meaningful with a person called Jesus Christ as the author of it. He is the Prince of Peace.   This peace comes by the Holy Spirit in the daily life of the Christian, but Christians are not perfect and still do become angry at the injustices around them. Learning the way of peace comes from a lifelong commitment to God and is experienced by this abiding Presence. “But the fruit of the Spirit [the result of His presence within us] is love [unselfish concern for others],   joy [inner] peace , … (Galatians 5:22 Amplified) Please note also that all the characteristics of the Fruit of the Spirit are included in each other in perfect unity.   For example: Where is no love without patience and no patience without peace as well?     How can a person be patient if they have no peace?    How can one ha

Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud. Or rude It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, And it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice. But rejoice whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith. Is always hopeful, And endures through every circumstance. (1 Corinthians 13:4-7)   Here we have love in its purest form.   Love of God is part of the fruit of the Spirit, and it is a gift for us to share with people and with God. But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives : love , joy, peace… (Galatians 5:22) This kind of Love can only be produced by the Spirit of God in us, otherwise our hearts only produce vanity and pride and all kind of prejudices. The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked.   Who really knows how bad it is? (Jeremiah 17:9) That is why love that is not too far out of reach is available to us throug

  “But the fruit of the Spirit [the result of His presence within us] is love [unselfish concern for others],   joy [inner] peace “ (Galatians 5:22 Amplified)   Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, Yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory (1 Peter 1:8   KJV )   Because of my past with depression…Joy has evaded me many times.   Yet Joy is not even of this world, it belongs to Jesus.   Joy is not the feeling you experience at a party, but it is quieter than this. I believe joy is received when you live in the presence of God.   “ You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence.” (Psalm 16:11 NLT)   It is not necessarily something we have and hold in greed but something that comes from within and flows unto others.   We give it away.   I thought that the description of love prior joy was an ‘unselfish’ clue.   In this world that is geared to the love of self, joy must stand out in a pleasant

  “ But the fruit of the Spirit [the result of His presence within us ] is love [unselfish concern for others],   joy [inner] peace , patience [not the ability to wait, but how we act while waiting],” (Galatians 5:22) This time let us look at the outcome of God’s presence within us.   Whenever we see the fruit of the Spirit we see the evidence of God’s presence.   The fruit and the presence go hand in hand. This is an online quote from www.machammond.org : “If you are like most believers, you probably cringe when you hear the word “patience.   To most Christians, being patient means gritting your teeth and hanging on by your toenails in hopes things will eventually get better.   We think it means, hang on until the bitter end or until Jesus comes back, whatever comes first. If you have been reluctant to ask for patience, I’ve got news for you today.   That’s not what the Bible means when it talks about being patient.   Bible patience is something very different.   In f

  As I was being tested, patience was required, and I was waiting with much complaining.   Then my wife encouraged me to read the Fruit of the Spirit out of the Amplified version of the Bible.   So, I did and here it is: “But the fruit of the Spirit [the result of His presence within us] is love [unselfish concern for others],   joy [inner] peace , patience [not the ability to wait, but how we act while waiting],   kindness, goodness,   faithfulness,   gentleness,   self-control.   Against such things there is no law.” (Galatians 5:22-23) These verses not only apply to us as we go through our daily life but especially as we wait for the Lord’s return.   How we act while we wait for him does matter and it is very important.   We learn as we go through trials.   For a lot of people, the word “patience” is not welcome in their vocabulary, and I can tell by my own life I am not the only one who finds it difficult to act well while we wait.   We can all wait as this

Walking in the light involves honesty to God and our fellow brothers and sisters.   This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, That God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we are in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, We have fellowship with one another, And the blood of Jesus, his Son cleanses us from all sins. (1John 1:5-7)   Where there is Light there is harmony, if we live in the Light as God is the Light we will be pure like he is.   We stay in the Light through the forgiveness of our sins.   Confession to him is essential and we cannot hide anything from God.   If you are not confessing, you are wasting your time and fellowship with him and other believers.   A relationship will not be free from difficulties, but it must be free of sins and hidden issues in all levels.   It is called ‘open relationship’. Our words and actions

“Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, That it cannot save, or his ear dull, that It cannot hear; But your iniquities have made a   separation. Between you and your God, And your sins have hidden his face from you So that he does not hear.” (Isaiah 59:1-2) I find this hard to speak about…Are we fooling ourselves thinking that all is good in our walk with God and it is not really going well with him or with people.   I feel weak and uninspired to write but I do it anyway hoping that some fruits will be harvested in people’s lives.   Is there a wall between us and the Lord?   Have we really missed the mark?   Sin means ‘missing the mark’ but it does not stop there!   “If we confess our sins, he is faithful to forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 john 1:9)   By Jesus we can be forgiven.   The wall of separation has been broken the moment we accept him as Lord and Savior.   If you are a Christian fear not there is no condemnation for you (Romans 8:1)