Is It Worth The Wait?

What a day it has been. One of our pastors got married at church today. It was a really big event. He was so happy. He had been waiting for this day a really long time. They were all happy! This just got me thinking.
Is it really worth it to wait for the one God has for me?
Is it worth the wait to abstain from sex before marriage?
Is it worth the wait to not play with someone elses feelings just for the sake it?
Is it worth the wait as I have made a decision to not kiss any girl before my wedding day?
Is it worth the wait as I fight the passions and desires that war within me?
Is it worth the wait as I decide to live a life of chastity?

After what I seen today, it is worth the wait. God is delighted when we wait on Him. The bride was crying as the groom read his vows. The groom was in another world and he did not need to use words to express it. I couldn’t help but see God’s goodness, and mercy, and love and favour as all of this was taking place. I could easily imagine Him jumping for joy because two people decided to trust in Him and do it the right way!

As I end I would like to say that the enemy has tried to destroy the institution of family for a long time. Has he won? It is up to us to make sure he doesn’t win. As we go about marriage the right way we gain ground. If you are dating, do it in a way that honours God. Men, only get into a relationship if you are serious about marrying her. It does not honour God when you play with someone elses feelings. If you don’t want to marry her then don’t lead her on.

Is it worth the wait? The answer is a big resounding YES!!!

Rolain.

Is Hope Dangerous?

I have been thinking about hope. I have hope in a lot of things. I am hoping God is going to come through for a lot of things in my life. But I have also seen that hope cannot stay there. Hope cannot just stay as hope. We cannot just only hope for things. Here are a few things people hope for:
– Better health
– To get more money
– To get married
– To live long
– To travel and so on and so on

We need to move from “hope” to making it happen. In the things that you are hoping for, are you playing your part? There needs to be a balance.
Let me say this about hope. Hopes and dreams are expectations we have. These things are not tangible. So planning and working towards something that you are hoping for is the balance. And this I believe is where hope is dangerous. A lot of people hope for things but don’t ever do anything. I may hope for more money but the reality is, I need to work hard.

Please understand me on this. I am not saying we should be self-reliant. The fact is, we are not capable on our own. We need God. We have been given this amazing ability to hope and we should keep on hoping and dreaming but understand that God has a part for you to play. Are you playing your part in the things you hoping for? But to play your part you have to have the wisdom to know which is which. What is God’s part and what is your part?

The conclusion is this, have hope and have dreams but do your part. God has a part for you to play but at the same time know which part is yours. Don’t be caught trying to do God’s part.

Rolain.

Don’t Count The Fish!!!

I was at home reading another book called, CHRISTIANITY IN THE CROSSHAIRS by Bill Wilson when something he said hit me. The chapter I read was entitled, “Don’t count the fish”. I think you will find his insights very profound.

The key portion of scripture he uses is in John 21:3-17.
This story takes place after Jesus has been killed. After His death the disciples go back to fishing. In verse 3 we see that they caught nothing. Absolutely nothing! But Jesus comes to them when they reach land and tells them to go try again but this time to cast the net on the right side of the boat. When they obey the Lord they catch a huge load of fish to their surprise. Ok, now that I have brought you up to speed I am going to stop here and let Bill Wilson take over!

– The Bible states that 153 fish were caught. Now ask yourself: How did they know that there were 153 fish? I think it’s obvious. Somebody counted them! Someone counted the fish, and I have a feeling it was Peter. He was always the one doing impetuous things. Without a doubt this was probably a record catch.

– After they had finished their fried fish on that Galilean shore, they all leaned back and just savored the moment. In that moment of contemplation, Jesus broke the silence by asking Peter, “Do you love Me more than these? I’m sure that you’ve heard countless numbers of sermons preached on this subject.
However, I want you to catch this. If you had been fishing all night and caught nothing, then suddenly you were on the shore with ONE catch of 153 fish (probably your record catch), what would your mind be contemplating? It would be on the 153 fish wouldn’t it? You would be overwhelmed and obsessed with the miracle of the catch.

– Jesus asked Peter if he loved Him more than he loved “these”. What were “these”? Jesus was not talking about the other disciples, the world, or anything else. He was pointing to the fish!
Peter, do you love Me more than these 153 fish? Do you love Me more than what I just did for you?
Many of us really like what God can do for us, and it is a challenge not to miss the Giver in the midst of recieving the gifts.

– While Jesus is sitting right there in front of him, there’s Peter,
“136, 137, 138, 139.”
“Hey! Peter!”
“140…”
“Hey! Hey, Peter!”
“146, 147.”
“Hey!”
It is easy to get caught up in the WORK OF THE LORD and totally forget the LORD OF THE WORK.

Hi, I am back. I hope you were challenged by what you just read.
We need to get to a point where we love God for God and not because of the things He has done. I have fallen in this trap so many times.
The fact is this, He has done great things in our lives and He doesn’t want us to follow him because of the miracles but because He is God and He loves us! Let us stop counting the fish and focus instead on the Lord of the miracle!!!

Rolain.

What Does Humility Mean In A Person’s Life?

In the past few days I have been learning about humility. God has been speaking to me through His word and other people about humility. In one of my most recent posts I shared the fact that to be great you need to be humble. I have seen how important a role humility plays in the life of a christian.
The verse I used in that post was James 4:10 which says:

Humble yourselves [feeling very insignificant] in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you [He will lift you up and make your lives significant].

But this past week I believe God has been speaking to me about what humility means in a life of a person. The first thing I have seen is, humility is the hallmark of a christian, well it should be a hallmark! The great men and women of the bible and even nowadays are and where humble. They knew who was really in control!
And that is the essence of humility. Humility is coming to a realisation that you are not in control but instead realising God is. It is coming to a place where you know that everything you have and everything you have accomplished is because of God. Yes you had a part to play but it was God who was in control. We need to learn to be humble.
The funny thing about humility is, once you think you have it you actually don’t!

I was reading a post a few days ago and I was struck by a comment the blogger said. They said,
“I still believe the most humble man on earth still thinks too highly of himself for God.”

And that is the truth. We are proud people who need the grace of God.
1Peter 5:6 says:

For God sets Himself against the proud (the insolent, overbearing, the disdainful, the presumptuous, the boastful) – [and He opposes, frustrates, and defeats them], but gives grace (favour, blessing) to the humble.

My goal for this post is to make you analyse yourself. Are you humble, really?

Another scripture to take note of is Proverbs 18:12 and it says:

Haughtiness comes before disaster, but humility before honour.

One more important thing to note is, humility is not being a doormat. It is not letting people walk all over you. It is not tearing yourself down and allowing people to disrespect you.
God does not tear you down. God loves you. So why do we tear ourselves down? I have seen people unable to recieve a compliment. You are not been proud if you recieve a compliment. You are fearfully and wonderfully made! I used to think it was wrong but I was taught there was nothing wrong with accepting a compliment. When someone compliments you accept it but in yourself give God the glory!

Humility. I want to be a humble person. I want people to see it. Can people describe you as being humble?
In your own life is God the main focus or is it the things that you do? Is it God you always elevate or yourself?

As I end I want to read an excerpt of a book I was reading that captures humility perfectly. The book is called God’s Secret Agent by Sammy Tippit.

“You know,” the old man continued,” many people come to my country and want to make a big fire for God. I don’t want to make a big fire for God. I want to be consumed by God’s fire until I am ashes. And when I am ashes, then I will see His glory. Do you understand me?
I thought he was asking me if I understood his German. I told him I did.
No, no,” he said,” do you understand what I am telling you?
When I am so much nothing that God is everything, then I will see His glory.

George Whitefield, the great evangelist of the 1700s, once said,” Let the name of George Whitefield rot in hell, but let the name of Jesus Christ be glorified forever.”

I hope you have been challenged. Humility is one of the hallmarks of a christian. Do you have the same attitude as the men I just quoted? Let us ask God for His grace to be humble.

Rolain.

How Do We Make Our Lives Count?

We all in one way or the other want to make our lives count. We want our lives to be significant but how is the question. Today we have a plethora of information on the subject. So I am going to add to that information. The question is, how do we make our lives count?

James 4:10 says:

Humble yourselves [feeling very insignificant] in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you [He will lift you up and make your lives significant].

So that is the short of the matter but let us go back to verse 8 if we are to get the full picture.
We want our lives to count. We don’t want to be another statistic. But to do that we are to draw close to God. As we draw close to Him the word says He will draw close to us. We are to recognise we are sinners who have been disloyal to Him with divided interests and we are to purify ourselves of the spiritual adultery that we have committed against Him!
In verse 9 it says:

[As you draw near to God] be deeply penitent and grieve, even weep [over your disloyalty]. Let your laughter be turned to grief and your mirth to dejection and heartfelt shame [for your sins].

This is all part of humbling ourselves which needs to be taken seriously. As we humble ourselves we see God as He really is. We see Him in His full power. We also see how we cannot accomplish anything of worth without Him! In our humble state we are able to let God be God and have His way.
And that is the long of the matter!!

Humble yourselves [feeling very insignificant] in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you [He will lift you up and make your lives significant]. James 4:10
(Amplified)

Rolain.

Is Your Faith Really Faith?

I have spoken about faith a lot. Without faith it is impossible to please God but I read something that made me ask the question, is my faith really faith? As I write this, my prayer is you will see faith in a new light.
It was whilst reading the book of James that I questioned if my faith was really faith. This passage of scripture is very popular. I have read it many times but this time round it was different. I was really challenged by what I read. This particular portion of scripture speaks about faith and works. In James 2:14 it says:

What is the use (profit), my brethren, for anyone to profess to have faith if he has no [good] works [to show for it]? Can [such] faith save [his soul]?

It then goes on to say in James 2:18:

But someone will say [to you then], You [say you] have faith, and I have [good] works. Now show me your [alleged] faith apart from any [good] works [if you can], and I by [good] works [of obedience] will show you my faith.

According to James who was inspired by the Holy Spirit, real faith works hand in hand with action. You cannot have one or the other. It is not just believing and doing nothing. He paints a picture of two people. It almost seems like a competition is taking place. It is “faith” which is faith without action vs “works” faith with works. And in this competition “faith” without action loses. He is saying our faith is not really faith until it is accompanied by action (works)! Believing is not enough because according to James 2:19 he says:

You believe that God is one; you do well. So do the demons believe and shudder [in terror and horror such as make a man’s hair stand on end and contract the surface of his skin]!

There are a lot of things we are trusting God for but we need to realise that sitting and waiting is NOT faith! In the things that we have faith for there is a part we have to play.
Please understand, I am not advocating we do things in our flesh and not trust in God. What I am saying is, in the things we are trusting God for there is a part for us to play. Let me give you an example.

Saul and Jonathan and the army of Israel were trapped by the Philistines but to make matters worse Saul and Jonathan were the only ones with swords (1 Samuel 13:22). Saul and Jonathan had “faith” in God. Saul’s “faith” led him to enquire of the Lord through the priest Ahijah (1 Samuel 14:18,19) while Jonathan’s “faith” led him to act. Jonathan’s “faith” led his nation to victory ( 1 Samuel 14:23).
I hope you see as Jonathan stepped out and did his part God STEPPED UP and did His part and that is how it is supposed to be, that is real faith! Our faith needs to be accompanied by works!

James 2:21 says:

Was not our forefather Abraham [shown to be] justified (made acceptable to God) by [his] works when he brought to the altar as an offering his [own] son Issac?
You see that [his] faith was cooperating with his works, and [his] faith was completed and reached its supreme expression [when he implemented it] by [good] works.

You may have faith that God will turn your life around but know you have a part to play. You may be trusting God to bring your destiny to pass but know you have a part to play. You need to act. If you don’t know your part ask God. He will show you what you need to do. You may trusting God for healing, also know you have a part to play. It might be changing your confession. (Some of us make things worse for ourselves by speaking death over ourselves.) It may be changing how you eat. I don’t know, but what I do know is you have a part to play. You may be in poverty and trusting God for financial breakthrough but you have a part to play. You may need to give more, maybe pay your tithes (which a lot of christians don’t do), it might be saving money….etc
Are you starting to see it? I really hope you can. God is faithful and will not abandon us. When we do our part which is a sign of our faith in Him, He will do His part which is the main part, which is the miracle part. I will end with James 2:26 which says:

For as the human body apart from the spirit is lifeless, so faith apart from [its] works of obedience is also dead.

Rolain.

Words & Hands…..

I love the book of Proverbs. It has some really practical but powerful advise. I would like to share a bit of what I got from the chapter I was reading.
Proverbs 12:14 says:

From the fruit of his words a man shall be satisfied with good, and the work of a man’s hands shall come back to him [as a harvest].

Here we have two principles that if applied will get you far in your life. The first part of the verse speaks about words. By YOUR words you will be satisfied with good! How are you speaking? Could you say you are been satisfied with good things? If not check what is coming out of your mouth!!

The next thing talks about what we do with our hands. Know that, whatever work you do will come back to you. What kind of work are you busy doing? Does it add to you and people around you or does it take away? Let us invest our time in doing things that will make an impact for good in the lives of other people and ourselves.

Rolain.

Are You Really Praising God?

As christians, do we really understand praise? Praise is more than a song that we sing on sunday, so much more! How would you rate yourself in the area of praise? Do you regard yourself as someone who understands praise and really praises God? In this post my goal is to challenge the preconcieved ideas of praise that we have. So let’s get going.
Psalms 67:3 is the where I am teaching from. It says:

Let the peoples praise You [turn away from their idols] and give thanks to You, O God; let all the peoples praise and give thanks to You.

Psalm 67:5 says the same thing.
In this verse the definition of praise is turning away from idols! So in other words, if you turn away from idols you are praising God! On the other hand, if you are serving idols you are not praising God!
That is just one aspect of praise we are looking at. So I will ask the question again. Are we really praising God? Praise should be a lifestyle and not a once a week thing! True praise permeates every aspect of our lives. True praise changes us!
As christians we are called to praise God and give thanks to Him. The last part of that verse says,

“Let all the peoples praise and give thanks to You”.

Let ALL the people praise and give thanks! Let us as the body of Christ turn away from idols that we have allowed in our lives. It is so easy to serve idols nowadays. It is not just the people who bow down to physical objects that are wrong but it’s people who in their hearts have not made God the center of everything! It’s people who refuse to allow God into that one area that they been holding on for so long!
This is a constant fight for me. I know there are areas that I have not surrendered to God. I know this is not pleasing to God. He is looking for true worshippers. I want to really praise God. I have made a decision to make a stand against idolatry in my life!!
Will you take a stand against idolatry like I have done? Will you allow God in? Beecause in God’s eyes that is true praise!

Rolain.P

Are You Fulfilling Your God-Given Purpose?

One of my passions is helping people find what God has called them to do and I have been blessed to be around people who have the same desires. And because of that I am constantly being exposed to purpose which is really amazing for me. I am constantly being challenged on purpose. I see people walking in their God-given purpose and I get inspired. I would like to see you walk into your purpose if you are not already and prospering in it if you are.
I was preparing for a lesson I was meant to teach to some young people when I came across a section on purpose that really shook me. I had never seen purpose that way before. So I would like to share what I read.

Why was the vacuum cleaner created? Why does it exsist?
It was created to clean carpets right? Everyone knows that.
But get this, the purpose for the vacuum cleaner exsisted way before it was ever made!
Let me say that again – the purpose for the vacuum cleaner exsisted way before it was ever made!!
The need for clean carpets exsisted before it was ever made.
So when the vacuum is being used it is fulfilling it’s purpose. It is doing what is was created to do.

What about you? Like the vacuum God created you with a purpose. God wants and needs you to fulfill that purpose but will you do it? It is your call.

What if I switched off the vacuum cleaner? How would that affect the purpose of the vacuum cleaner? It wouldn’t change much. The need for a clean carpet would still exsist!
Even though the vacuum cleaner has the potential to fulfill it’s purpose it can’t because it’s off.
Are you doing the same thing with your purpose? Are you turned off where you are or are you on? The purpose you were created to solve will always be there until you decide to rise and fulfill it.
It is your choice.

Don’t stay off but be on for God. You have a purpose to fulfill on this earth. It is time to rise and take your place. Amen!

Rolain.P

What Is Truth?

What I am about to share with you is a revelation I got from my quiet time. There are “truths” that we live by but do you know there is a higher “truth” you can live by?
Let us start in Mark 4:38-41.
Jesus and the disciples are at sea and they encounter a storm of hurricane proportions! The boat is sinking and the disciples skill and knowledge of the sea have come to nothing. They cannot save themselves so they wake Jesus up who was sleeping.
What I want you to see in this passage of scripture is that there were two truths the disciples were faced with. One truth was, the boat was sinking. Their lives were in danger! The word says:

And a furious storm of wind [of hurricane proportions] arose, and the waves kept beating into the boat, so that it was already becoming filled. Mark 4:37

The other truth was, Jesus was with them and He could save them and that is why they woke Him up.
And it is the same for us. We have “truths” that are real like the boat sinking, it could not be denied but then we serve the Creator of the Universe! We serve the King of Kings. You can live by that TRUTH or the other “truth”.
We find another example of this in the next chapter of Mark. It is the story about the woman with the issue of blood. To read her story go to Mark 5:25-34.
She had lived with a “truth” for so long. She had suffered with a flow of blood for twelve years and there was nothing doctors could do for her. She had spent all she had and on top of that she was getting worse! But she heard about Jesus and all the things He had done. She chose to believe Jesus who is the “TRUTH” we need. And when she chose to believe the “TRUTH” she was healed! The word says:

For she kept saying, If I only touch His garments, I shall be restored to health.
And immediately her flow of blood was dried up at the source, and [suddenly] she felt in her body that she was healed of her [distressing] ailment. Mark 5:28,29.

What I am speaking about is not easy. It needs faith and can only be done by faith. When I saw this I saw things in my life I didn’t want to keep accepting. I have just accepted things for so long but not anymore. Jesus is the “TRUTH” I need to believe. His arms are open and He wants me to trust in Him. Will you trust in Him? Will you step out of the boat in faith? As the disciples and the woman believed the “TRUTH” the other “truth” had lost its power. You have real “truths” that are happening in your life right now but please know that there is another “TRUTH” you can live by. He is The Truth and no other “truth” is higher than Him. All other “truths” have to bow down to Him. You don’t have to keep on living in poverty or in sickness or alone or without hope!

Will you join me as I apply this principle? I said at the start of the post that I just got this revelation. It is new to me but I will apply it because I trust God’s word. I have presented a principle from the word and it is up to you to believe it. Let us do this together. Let us choose the right “truth”!

Rolain.P