A Lesson From Job About Praise.

So you think you got problems, consider some of the men and women of faith in the bible. One man I would like to look at was Job. He had it bad, really bad! He didn’t lose everything in a long period of time. He lost everything almost simutanteously! He lost his family and his livestock. Nothing was left. Can you imagine losing everything?
Losing your earthly possessions I can imagine but what about your kids? Job had ten kids. Seven boys and three girls and he lost them all in one moment!

Instead of freaking out, he worships???!!! I don’t know about you but I don’t think I would of reacted the way he did. I seriously doubt if I would of worshipped at that time. I probably would of blamed God and done something stupid. But the word says this about Job:

Then Job arose and rent his robe and shaved his head and fell down upon the ground and worshipped
And said, Naked (without possessions) came I [into this world] from my mother’s womb, and naked (without possessions) shall I depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; blessed (praised and magnified in worship) be the name of the Lord!
In all this Job sinned not nor charged God foolishly.
Job 1:20-22

Job mourned for his loss but he worshipped. And also get this, Job never praised God for what happened. He didn’t say, thank you for taking my children and thank you for taking my sheep, No!
He worshipped in the midst of the trouble he was in. A lot of us make the mistake of thanking God for the trouble we face instead of praising Him IN the trouble we face!

And that is the lesson we can learn from Job about praise.
In the midst of all the craziness that happens in your life will you praise God? We need to be people that do that. Praise is so powerful. It helps us get the focus off ourselves and onto God. I want to be like Job. He was a man who knew the power of praise. Do you?

Rolain.P

Warning! Warning! Not For The Faint-Hearted!

I was so challenged by a scripture which my Pastor shared. It is in Matthew 11:12 which says:

And from the days of John the Baptist until the present time, the kingdom of heaven has endured violent assault, and violent men seize it by force [as a precious prize-a share in the heavenly kingdom is sought with most ardent zeal and intense exertion].

This gospel that we preach and live out is not for the faint hearted. This gospel is one of violence. What I mean is that men and women had to obtain the prize with a fight. They had fought for their lives to obtain the prize. Some gave their lives for the prize.
Hebrews 11:33-38 hits the nail on the head when it says:

Who by [the help of] faith subdued kingdoms, administered justice, obtained promised blessings, closed the mouths of lions,
Extinguished the power of raging fire, escaped the devouring of the sword, out of frailty and weakness won strength and became stalwart, even mighty and resistless in battle, routing alien hosts.
[Some] women recieved again their dead by a resurrection. Others were tortured to death with clubs, refusing to accept release [offered on the terms of denying their faith], so that they might be resurrected to a better life.
Others had to suffer the trial of mocking and scourging and even chains and imprisionment.
They were stoned to death; they were lured with tempting offers [to renounce their faith]; they were sawn asunder; they were slaughtered by the sword; [while they were alive] they had to go about wrapped in the skins of sheep and goats, utterly destitute, oppressed, cruelly treated –
[Men] of whom the world was not worthy – roaming over desolate places and the mountains, and [living] in caves and caverns and holes of the earth.

This gospel is one that cannot be obtained by weakness. We need to be forceful. We need to be violent in a good way.
Listen again to what the last part of Matthew 11:12 says:

A share in the heavenly kingdom is sought with most ardent zeal and intense excertion].

Where is your zeal at in regard to the gospel? Are you giving it your all in your relationship with God? Could your passion for God be described as intense? This is for me as well. I am so challenged to not only give 100% but 200% to God. The men and women of the bible who turned the world upside down were fired up for God. Their passion for God was intense. They gave it their all and more!

Let us follow their example. To obtain the prize which is the kingdom we need to increase our passion and zeal. Let us ask God for help as we make a decision. He is willing to help.

Rolain.P

Warning! Warning! Not For The Faint-Hearted!

I was so challenged by a scripture which my Pastor shared. It is in Matthew 11:12 which says:

And from the days of John the Baptist until the present time, the kingdom of heaven has endured violent assault, and violent men seize it by force [as a precious prize-a share in the heavenly kingdom is sought with most ardent zeal and intense exertion].

This gospel that we preach and live out is not for the faint hearted. This gospel is one of violence. What I mean is that men and women had to obtain the prize with a fight. They had fought for their lives to obtain the prize. Some gave their lives for the prize.
Hebrews 11:33-38 hits the nail on the head when it says:

Who by [the help of] faith subdued kingdoms, administered justice, obtained promised blessings, closed the mouths of lions,
Extinguished the power of raging fire, escaped the devouring of the sword, out of frailty and weakness won strength and became stalwart, even mighty and resistless in battle, routing alien hosts.
[Some] women recieved again their dead by a resurrection. Others were tortured to death with clubs, refusing to accept release [offered on the terms of denying their faith], so that they might be resurrected to a better life.
Others had to suffer the trial of mocking and scourging and even chains and imprisionment.
They were stoned to death; they were lured with tempting offers [to renounce their faith]; they were sawn asunder; they were slaughtered by the sword; [while they were alive] they had to go about wrapped in the skins of sheep and goats, utterly destitute, oppressed, cruelly treated –
[Men] of whom the world was not worthy – roaming over desolate places and the mountains, and [living] in caves and caverns and holes of the earth.

This gospel is one that cannot be obtained by weakness. We need to be forceful. We need to be violent in a good way.
Listen again to what the last part of Matthew 11:12 says:

A share in the heavenly kingdom is sought with most ardent zeal and intense excertion].

Where is your zeal at in regard to the gospel? Are you giving it your all in your relationship with God? Could your passion for God be described as intense? This is for me as well. I am so challenged to not only give 100% but 200% to God. The men and women of the bible who turned the world upside down were fired up for God. Their passion for God was intense. They gave it their all and more!

Let us follow their example. To obtain the prize which is the kingdom we need to increase our passion and zeal. Let us ask God for help as we make a decision. He is willing to help.

Rolain.P

What Is Wisdom Really?

How would you describe wisdom? I have heard so many definitions. Is wisdom just about acquiring information?
The Word of God is very clear on what wisdom really is. And I would like to help bring light in this area. Understand that wisdom is not the same as knowledge. Having knowledge is about information. We can read up on a certain topic and get knowledge about that topic but that is not wisdom. Wisdom goes a bit further because it focuses on application. What are you doing with the knowledge you have? It’s not enough just to have it. I can know a thousand ways to make money but if I don’t use the methods I am not being wise.
I am speaking about wisdom and what it really is. Let’s go to scripture.

In Matthew 11:7-19 where Jesus is speaking about John the Baptist. I am going to focus on the end of His speech in verse 19 where He says something so profound on wisdom. He says:

Yet wisdom is justified and vindicated by what she does (her deeds) and by her children.

People will know you have wisdom by your actions. The word says wisdom is JUSTIFIED and VINDICATED by what she does. Your actions speak a whole heap. You may say you know this or have done this course but your actions will vindicate and justify you.
Wisdom is also justified and vindicated by her children. Children speak of fruit. What fruit is being produced in your life? Let me give you an example, someone can say they know what love is, but if that person hates everyone then he really doesn’t know what love is. His fruit is not consistent with what he is saying. He is not wise and even though he says he has wisdom in the area of love his actions say something else.
What is wsdom really?
So in a nutshell, wisdom is saying something and your actions following what you say. Even to the point where you bear the right fruit.
Are you walking in wisdom? Do your actions and the fruit you produce reflect the wisdom you have?

Rolain.P

What Is Wisdom Really?

How would you describe wisdom? I have heard so many definitions. Is wisdom just about acquiring information?
The Word of God is very clear on what wisdom really is. And I would like to help bring light in this area. Understand that wisdom is not the same as knowledge. Having knowledge is about information. We can read up on a certain topic and get knowledge about that topic but that is not wisdom. Wisdom goes a bit further because it focuses on application. What are you doing with the knowledge you have? It’s not enough just to have it. I can know a thousand ways to make money but if I don’t use the methods I am not being wise.
I am speaking about wisdom and what it really is. Let’s go to scripture.

In Matthew 11:7-19 where Jesus is speaking about John the Baptist. I am going to focus on the end of His speech in verse 19 where He says something so profound on wisdom. He says:

Yet wisdom is justified and vindicated by what she does (her deeds) and by her children.

People will know you have wisdom by your actions. The word says wisdom is JUSTIFIED and VINDICATED by what she does. Your actions speak a whole heap. You may say you know this or have done this course but your actions will vindicate and justify you.
Wisdom is also justified and vindicated by her children. Children speak of fruit. What fruit is being produced in your life? Let me give you an example, someone can say they know what love is, but if that person hates everyone then he really doesn’t know what love is. His fruit is not consistent with what he is saying. He is not wise and even though he says he has wisdom in the area of love his actions say something else.
What is wsdom really?
So in a nutshell, wisdom is saying something and your actions following what you say. Even to the point where you bear the right fruit.
Are you walking in wisdom? Do your actions and the fruit you produce reflect the wisdom you have?

Rolain.P

The Sad Truth About The “Bride” – Part 2

I have been talking about the church and how it needs to be a place where people come to get a touch from God and it should not be a place people find boring. and so on and so on.
I was saying that as people who serve we have a responsibility to craft services that God can move in
We can’t blame God for the mediocrity and lack of awe in our church services. He has not changed. He is always ready to pour out His supernatural, anointing power, but too often we have not done our part.
We are called to carefully craft services that are packed with potential for God to do his mighty work. It is a cooperative effort-and many of us are not holding up our end of the deal.
You have a part to play in the service. This is a partnership. It is God working with and through you.

But where is your passion? Are you passionate about the ‘Bride’? How concerned are you when you fail to see your church reach their full potential?
Is your passion for the ‘Bride of Christ’ increasing or waning over time?
These questions will inspire you to measure your zeal factor, and to care most about what God cares about-the establishment of His kingdom here on earth.
As I end this post I want to end with an example from the Word of God. We have an excellent example in Jesus Christ.

In John 2:14-17 it says: There He found in the temple [enclosure] those who were selling oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers sitting there [also at their stands].
And having made a lash (a whip) of cords, He drove them all out of the temple [enclosure]-both the sheep and the oxen- spilling and scattering the brokers money and upsetting and tossing around their trays (their stands).
Then to those who sold the doves He said, Take these things away (out of here)! Make not My Father’s house a house of merchandise (a marketplace, a sales shop)!
And His disciples remembered that it is written [in the Holy Scriptures], Zeal (the fervor of love) for Your house will eat Me up. [I will be consumed with jealousy for the honour of Your house].
Jesus was passionate about what took place in God’s house. Where does our passion measure in comparison to Jesus? He sat down and made a whip or lash! That took time. What was going through His mind as He was making the whip? Jesus was passionate, so passionate that He sat down and made a whip. I can see Him fuming as He was making the whip. I can see Him seething through His teeth and muttering to Himself in anger at what was happening!
How far we are from this picture. But we can get there. Let us fall in love with the ‘Bride of Christ’ again. Don’t hold back. God wants us to be passionate about His church. He wants us to be devoted to it. Will you look at what your attitude is and be willing to change where change is needed?

Rolain.P

The Sad Truth About The “Bride”!

I had an amazing church service today. God really showed up in our services. I serve in my church in our visual arts department which consists of dance, flags, banners, ballet and drama. I am directly involved in banners and flags and I love it. I also teach young people at kids church. I love that as well.
I was reading a book called “An Hour On Sunday” by Nancy Beach. This is an amazing book especially if you are serving in a department. If you serve at church you need to know that your role is important. It doesn’t matter what you do, just know your role is critical. It is not just something we do, No! It is an opportunity to bring someone to Christ. The book addresses how we should be people who serve with passion. Where is your passion when it comes to the ‘Bride’?

Before I go further into passion let me tell you the sad truth of the ‘Bride’. For many people the hour at church is a time when attenders minds tend to wander aimlessly and their hearts go untouched! This should not be so. An hour on Sunday should be a time of wonder, a time of transformation, and perhaps a time of awe!
But most people would describe their experience at church as tolerable at best. These same words are used quite frequently when church is talked about: boring, irrelevant, mediocre, hypocritical, academic, stuffy.
A few people expect to be moved or encouraged or transformed in significant ways because of the hour on sunday.
And that is so true. We have a responsibility as people who serve to allow God to move powerfully in this time on Sunday.

Our God longs to use the gathering time in communities of faith for some of His greatest work in human hearts!
Is that the way you view the hour at church?

I will pick up on this important topic in part two. In the part two we will look at the zeal we should have for the church and we will look at how the hour on Sunday is a cooperative effort. It is God working through you. But more about that in the next post. See you then.

to be continued………

Rolain.P

This Is The God We Serve!!!

God is so great and amazing and we ought not to forget that. We need to have things that constantly remind us of this truth. I was reading the Word of God this morning and I came across another amazing passage. It talks about God’s great faithfulness and mercy. Be encouraged as you read it.
I wrote about the Israelites in one of my previous posts and I will continue in this one because this passage of scripture writes about them. We can learn a lot about God from their story. We can also take encouragement from them. So let us continue.

They refused to obey, nor were they mindful of your wonders and miracles which You did among them; but they stiffened their necks and in their rebellion appointed a captain, that they might return to their bondage [in Egypt]. But You are a God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful,slow to anger, and of great steadfast love; and You did not forsake them.
Nehemiah 9:17
– We know this story too well. It is when the spies are sent out to spy out Jericho. When they get back to camp the ten spies tell the other Israelites they don’t stand a chance against the giants in the land. Joshua and Caleb are the only two spies who tell the people that they can conquer the land. Anyway the people believe the ten spies and decide to go back to Egypt. Please understand that they were at the door of the promise land. All they had to do now was step in. But they didn’t. They failed in their faith to God. But even in the midst of all this God did not forsake them. This is the God we serve!
He is ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great steadfast love toward us. He will not forsake us.
God will not forsake you. He cares for you. You may think God has had it with you but He is with you. You may think He has had enough of you because of your sins but He will not forsake you.

Let us look at another verse.
Even when they had made for themselves a molten calf and said, This is your god, who brought you out of Egypt, and had committed great and contemptible blasphemies,
You in Your great mercy forsook them not in the wilderness; the pillar of the cloud departed not from them by day to lead in the way, nor the pillar of fire by night to light the way they should go.
Nehemiah 9:18,19

Are there things in your life that are gods? There is only one God and He created the universe. He is Jehovah, the God Almighty. I was shown how I made a certain thing in my life a god. It was a hard reality for me. I realised it had to stop. I had to stop exalting this other thing above God. It has been hard but I keep looking to God for help. But as I was on this journey I thought God had abandoned me. I was so wrong. God is with me and He will never forsake me. God never forsook the Israelites when they made the golden calf. Instead, He kept directing them. He protected them as they travelled. When they realised the error of what they were doing and came to Him, He forgave them. And it is the same for you. God will not forsake you. Confess your sin. It doesn’t help to hide your sin. He is gracious and merciful towards you.

I will stop here but there are many more stories about His mercy and graciousness. Remember, He will not forsake you.
This is the Great God we serve!!!

Rolain.P

More To Life Than Me.

Do you know we are called to a life that is much bigger than ourselves? We are not just called to live for ourselves. As you are right now, what are you living for? Is there a higher purpose that you have dedicated your life to?
There comes a time when God calls us to come together with other people to build something that will last for generations. It is not wrong to make sure you are building your own life. I just want you to see the big picture. There is more God has planned for you beyond just you and your family.

In the book of Nehemiah we see how the Jewish people came together under Nehemiah in a united purpose to build something much bigger than themselves.
Nehemiah 2:17,18 says: Then I said to them, You see the bad situation we are in-how Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates are burned with fire. Come, let us build up the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer be a disgrace.
Then I told them of the hand of my God which was upon me for good, and also the words that the king had spoken to me. And they said, Let us rise up and build! So they strengthened their hands for the good work.

Do you have a purpose that is much bigger than yourself which is not just about you but about building God’s kingdom? There is more to life than just making sure you are fine! My Pastor’s wife has this thing she says and has been saying for years which is so true. She says, “we are involved in something much bigger than ourselves”.
In Nehemiah chapter three we see a clear picture of this. A whole bunch of people came together to repair the broken down wall.

After him Baruch son of Zabbai (Zaccai), earnestly repaired another portion [toward the hill] from the angular turning of the wall to the door of the house of Eliashib the high priest.
After him Meremoth son of Uriah, the son of Hakkoz, repaired from the door of Eliashib’s house to the end of his house.
After him the priests, the men of the plain, repaired.
After them Benjamin and Hasshub repaired opposite their house. After them repaired Azariah son of Maaseiah, the son of Ananiah beside his own house. Nehemiah 3:20-23

Everyone had a part to play. Some didn’t have to go far. They just stepped out of their house and repaired the wall next to them. But the point is this: they did their part. Nehemiah didn’t call one family to build the whole wall. God is not calling you to do all the work but He is calling you to do your part. Your part in the big picture is very important.

As I end remember, you are part of something much bigger than yourself. Get involved.

Rolain.P

Making Our Lives Count.

Why do bad things happen? This is an age old question.
One of my good friends was robbed last week. They took everything and they beat him badly. He had to be taken to hospital. Another man in my church went missing and after a few days was found murdered in his car. We live in a broken world. All these things got me thinking about this precious gift that God has given us called life. Life is precious and something that should not be taken for granted. I also got to think, did the man accomplish all that he was meant to accomplish? What were his last thoughts? It is hard when a life is snuffed out. I read a quote a few days earlier which hit me but more so now because of what happened.

It says, “When it comes time to die, make sure that all you have to do is die”. Jim Elliot

We need to think about what we are doing in the scope of eternity. Is what we are doing making a difference for eternity? If we were told we would die today would we be in regret over the things still to be done?
I want my life to count. I want to die knowing I have done all God has called me to do. What about you?
We live in a broken world but God has made us to be the light in it. Will you rise and be a light? God needs you to step up. He needs US to step up into what He has for us. Amen.

Rolain.P