Is Your Pool Muddied??

I was having my quiet time this time when I came across Proverbs 25:26 which says:

A good person who gives in to a bad person is a muddied spring, a polluted well.

My Pastor spoke about having a muddied pool a long time ago so when I read this scripture the word he spoke came to mind. It is a very important message for us as Christians if we are to make an impact on this earth…

We all have a spring which is supposed to be clean and pure. When our spring is clean and pure we are able to help other people. People can come to us and leave refreshed having drank from our spring!!! That is how its supposed to be.
So picture yourself being the spring in the picture below! I think people would like to come to that spring. People would get refreshed by being there. It’s serene and calm and peaceful! Are you that kind of person?

But what happens when your spring gets polluted? Can people still drink from your spring?? No….!
Proverbs 25:26 gives us a bit of insight into how we can pollute our fresh life giving springs.
Being corrupt is one way you can corrupt your spring. God expects us to fair and He expects us to carry out justice. Getting involved in illegal stuff will pollute your spring.
Not sticking to your word is another way of polluting your spring. Keep your word to people and to yourself.
Being sexually active before marriage will definitely mess your spring up.

Now imagine being the spring below. It is dirty and polluted and you are not going to refresh anyone! You are useful for nothing and you are actually doing more harm than good. I don’t see people wanting to hang around that kind of spring.

I mentioned a few things but the fact is, there are a whole bunch of things that will pollute our spring. It is impossible to not sin but what are you doing about the sin in your life? Are you dealing with it and allowing God to come and help? The importance of dealing with all this sin is to have a clean spring so you can help other people. People can not be refreshed by you if your spring is polluted…!

I am not saying we must be perfect but I am saying we need to do our best to have a clean spring.

Is your spring muddied and polluted and if it is what are you going to do about it? We truly need God’s help in this area, desperately!!!!!

A good person who gives in to a bad person is a muddied spring, a polluted well. Proverbs 25:26

Rolain

 

Are You Full or Hungry???

This is a new thing I am going to do. I will be jotting down thoughts that I have had for the day. There are thoughts that I know I should share but I don’t because I don’t have an avenue to do it, but that changes from today. Hope you enjoy them and I hope they inspire you!!!!!

 

The full man has no use for honey, but to the man in need of food every bitter thing is sweet.   Proverbs 27:7

 

Principle:  The word is showing us how important it is to live a life that is hungry. Hungry to grow, and hungry to learn. Once you get to a place that says, I have arrived you are in trouble! The full man will turn down even the best opportunities because he is “full”!!! Are you “full”?

 

When you are hungry you will begin to see things other people don’t normally see. When you are hungry you will do things that seem out of the ordinary to other people. When you are hungry nothing can stop you from reaching your goal…..

Which person do you want to be like, the man who is full or the hungry person? The decision is all yours…..!

Rolain

The Essence of God’s Dreams.

One of the main reasons for having this blog was to inspire people to pursue their God given dreams. We all have a dream given to us by God and we are all designed with a purpose. There is no one on earth born without a purpose, no one! We all have a mission to carry out from God but this is the thing, we have an enemy who doesn’t want us to fulfil all that God has for us. A pastor once said it like this, “the enemy is afraid of our assignment” because he knows how much of an impact we will have if we find out what our “assignment” is and carry it out! We all have an assignment from God, do you know what your assignment is?  Assignment, calling, dream, destiny call it what you want, do you know what it is?

I was reading a book on destiny the other day and there were a few very important points on the importance of God’s dreams that I would like to share with you. I hope these help you in identifying God’s plan for your life. The first thing that he said was,

– So here’s the not-so-small print that maybe you never read at the start of your journey: God’s dreams for you are ultimately not really about you. 
Oh don’t misunderstand. They’ll bring you some of the best days of your life; you will be fulfilled beyond any imaginable expectations. But God’s dreams take form only when they are about others, for the benefit of others. Loving them. Guiding them. Serving them. Influencing them. Filling their heads with dreams and hopes. There are no other type of God dreams.

Wow right!! God’s dreams are not about us but they are about people! His dreams for us are to be an impact in someone else’s life. There is no room for selfishness and pride in God’s dreams . And that is one way you can tell if the dream you have is from God, is it all about you getting what you want and you being comfortable or is it about people??!!

– God’s destiny for you will never be so trivial as building a kingdom for you to enhance your acclaim. Such is a kingdom of dust and lint.

I have already spoken about this in the last point. A person who has dreams of grandeur for himself and him alone is on the wrong path. But please don’t get me wrong here. It is OK to want a car a house, money and so on. Those desires are fine. The problem comes when those desires are the things that consume us. The problem is, when that is the only desire we have or they are more important than seeking God and touching people!!

– The dream He has prepared custom for you is explosively beautiful and alive. It’s about His glorious kingdom-a plan involving you from before there was time!

Do you believe that? The enemy has lied to us by telling us that God’s dreams for us are dull and boring! They are not. They are fun and exhilarating and fulfilling!!!

– This stunning dream always involves others. Others being freed, healed, convinced of who they really are, convinced that they can fly, convinced His dreams in them can come true.

– Think about it – God’s dreams for us reflect His heart. If we are not maturing in sync with His heart, how would we distinguish other-centered dreams from self-centered dreams?

– God wants to reveal Himself to us in authenticity. Because one of God’s dreams is that we influence others far more out of who we are than out of what we do. So above all else, your destiny requires that you be a maturing person.

I like it when the author says God’s dreams for us reflect God’s heart. And for me, that is why I think it’s important not to go through life aimlessly without a goal or direction because we are supposed to express God’s heart in the way He created us to do it. People get to see who God is when we walk in what He has called us to do! But to do that we also need to mature. We mature by taking responsibility for things in our lives. We mature by acting on the Word of God. Are you someone who is growing? Is your spiritual man growing stronger by the day or you are at the same place you were 5 years ago? Remember what he said, “God’s dreams for us require us to influence others far more out of who we are than out of what we do“.
I know you have the title Pastor, Bishop, Priest, and any other important title out there but God wants you to influence people out of who you are rather than your title!
What good is it calling yourself pastor but you have no self control and you are lazy? or what good is it being a fitness instructor but you eat like a pig and don’t exercise outside of the times you train people!! It does not work.

And that is the essence of God’s dreams. Let us pursue them with all that we have. If you don’t know the reason you were born ask God! He is eager to show you your purpose. He is a good God!!!!  🙂

Rolain

Relationships From A Friend’s Point of View……

 

Relationships!! When I say that I mean between a man and a woman. How do we carry ourselves around each other? As a man I see how we need help and grace! We are to honour God in the relationships we have, we are to put Him first as well. This post is directed more towards the men because as men we are called to lead. We are the ones who called to be the head. As men we can be so clueless at times hence this post. So if you are in a relationship and you don’t have a clue about what you supposed to be doing then this is the post for you. If you are not yet in one then this will help as well.

These are the thoughts of one of my best friends. She was kind enough to let me share it because I think it will give you an idea into how to treat a woman but more than that it will teach you how to honour the women God has placed in your lives.  It will teach you to treat her the way God wants you to treat her. We live in a world where relationships are painted as some small thing but it’s not. God created relationships.  We need strong relationships in our lives to grow and as men it’s our responsibility to lead the way. Women need us to be strong to lead. They need us to lead them deeper into God but to do that you as a man have to know! How can you be that man if you are clueless??? So let us move on.

*please note that this is not how all women think. This is how my friend thinks but she is a woman but not just any woman but a wise woman so I think there is a lot we can learn as men from what she has shared!!!
I am going to highlight a few things from what I have read and if I see a need to expound more on a point I will.

THOUGHTS OF A WOMAN ON RELATIONSHIPS

– In any interaction with a lady you BOTH need to decide, are we bringing each other closer to God or further away, and this also is true if she is just a friend, God needs to be at the centre.

This is so true. She is so right about that. If God is not at the centre of your relationship you are in trouble. God needs to be the focus of your relationship. He is not second or third or fourth! He is first!!
Men, it is our job to initiate where the relationship is going. It is our responsibility to lead the relationship towards God. Do not wait for the woman to start the conversation. You lead her! I read a quote the other day that said, “The greatest thing a man can do to a woman is to lead her closer to God than to himself.

– Games are for the court, field or the computer not a relationship and that goes for a friend too! You playing games and trying to get a reaction out of her leaves room for miscommunication, misinterpretation and it proves you are secure.

– A lady’s heart is a precious jewel and should be treated as such.

– Women are emotional, get over it and get used to it, it does not make them weak. Emotions are human. It’s HOW she deals with her emotions that is important.

– Study her, but she is not a test to be passed or failed. Never stop learning about her.

– (I really like this one 🙂 ) Be aware that a lady is always thinking 5 steps ahead of you in regards to this relationship whether purely friendship or something deeper, she is ALWAYS thinking and quite possibly taking what you say out of context, women look at details and will analyse them so you need to know that what you say IS IMPORTANT even if you are “joking”.

– The pace and direction of any relationship is dependent on the man. You are the leader, take responsibility for that. If she ends up going in the direction of a serious relationship do not blame her, you lead her that way!!!
(that is a hard one men)

– Your word means something…keep it and if you have not, man up and tell her!

– The best thing that you can do is be honest with her.

– You have no business  telling a lady how you feel about her if you are not prepared to act on those feelings.

I think I will stop there. I have given you a lot to think about. Relationships are so important. We need to guard the relationships we have. I hope your eyes have been opened but just beside been opened I hope you have been enlightened!!!
This is just a little of what I have been given but the bit I have shared should help you. Let us learn to honour God in the relatonships we have with each other!

Rolain.P

The Promise land in Danger!!!

I have been loving the book of Joshua these past couple of weeks. It has been a book in season for me.
I am going to talk about God’s plan for us. We all know (at least I hope) that God has an amazing destiny for us. God wants use us to touch the world. He wants us to be light in this darkness.
I was reading the book of Joshua and I saw something. It seemed insignificant at first but as I meditated on it more and more, the more serious it became.
In the book of Joshua we read about how the Israelite s got into the promise land and began taking what God promised them but when Joshua dies everything changes. The tribe of Judah is the first tribe were we see something strange happening. They have been taking their allotted land but then we read they couldn’t take a certain piece of land because the people in that place had iron chariots!!! (Joshua 1:18,19)
From there we read how one by one the other tribes fail to take the land God has given them and they resort for something way below what God planned for them! They lived with the people they were supposed to destroy and put them to forced labor!! Was that really God’s plan for them? This is what I am trying to get to in this post.
Israel for some reason didn’t take all God had for them. They settled for mediocrity. Were they tired of fighting, maybe? Were they in fear, maybe?
Did they lose heart because the people they were facing were just too strong, maybe? Was God ok with them not destroying the people they were supposed to destroy? No!!!  Look at what He says in Judges 2:1-2,

God’s angel went up from Gilgal to Bokim and said, “I brought you out of Egypt; I led you to the land that I promised to your fathers; and I said, I’ll never break my covenant with you – never! And you’re never to make a covenant with the people who live in this land. Tear down their altars! But you haven’t obeyed me! What’s this that you’re doing? 

They were supposed to destroy the nations. God knew they had iron chariots, He knew they were strong but He also knew He would help His people. My question and challenge to you is this, are you living out everything God called you to do or have you settled for second best because you are in fear. You saw what God wanted you to do but you thought you were not the right person. You thought He made a mistake or you got tired of fighting that you just settled for second best??

Personally I know there is so much God has called me to do but I am not pursuing all that God has for me. It doesn’t matter if the land God has for me has giants and iron chariots, God is with me. It’s the same for you. He is with you to destroy the giants and the iron chariots. The enemy will not give up without a fight!
Let us not settle for a mediocre life. Let us aim for the best God has for us. Don’t settle for second best. Stand up and trust God. I know  God will destroy all your enemies. Refuse second best, refuse, mediocrity! God’s plan for you is worth the fight. The story of the Israelite’s is not our story. Our story is one of victories and enemies being destroyed. Our story has a God end!!! Our story will tell of how we went conquering the enemy and how we lived a life of trust in God and how we accomplished all that God had for us!!!!!!   Amen.

Rolain

God is to blame for my problems?????

I don’t know anyone in this life who has never had a bad thing happen to them. We live in a broken world where bad things happen and we as children of God are not exempt from it. In this lifetime there will be suffering and pain but where we err a lot of the time is we blame God or a friend, or a system or the government, or the wife, husband and the list carries on instead of looking at ourselves first.
As children of God we need to know in our heart that God has only the best for us. His plan for us is good! God does not have any evil plans for you. His plan for you is not to be sick or poor or lonely!!! He has a good plan for you.
Let us take a look at Joshua because he had to learn that God’s plan for him was good. In Joshua 7 we read the story of Ai. This was a small city compared to Jericho. Joshua had just defeated Jericho and now they had to face Ai. It was so small that Joshua sent 3000 men to fight! Ai was supposed to be a walk in the park but it wasn’t. Instead they got defeated and to make it worse other surrounding cities would attack them and defeat them because of what Ai did!!! This was a problem and look at how Joshua responds.

Joshua said, “Oh, oh, oh…Master, God. Why did You insist on bringing this people across the Jordon? To make us victims of the Amorites? To wipe us out? Why didn’t we just settle down on the east side of the Jordon? Oh, Master, what can I say after this, after Israel has been run off by it’s enemies?
When the Canaanites and all the others living here get wind of this, they will gang up on us and make short work of us – and then how will You keep up Your reputation?
Joshua 7:7-9

Can you believe him? “Make us victims”, “wipe us out”, “gang up on us”….! These were the words used and a lot more. Joshua totally missed it here. From trusting in God, he went to fear! He forgot that God’s plan is always good. As much as I would like to sit here and criticize him I know I have prayed the same prayer and thought the same thoughts!! Have you? When things go wrong we look to other people to blame. It must be that person, we tell ourselves but we can’t keep on thinking like that. We need to trust the fact that GOD is GOOD. He will never do anything to harm us. He loves us.
The reason the Israelite s failed to defeat Ai wasn’t because God did something wrong, it wasn’t because He liked to confuse them, or it wasn’t because God liked seeing them fail!!!!
They were defeated because some one man sinned! Achan failed to listen to God and disobeyed Him.
When things go wrong who do we look to? Is the first instinct to look outside of ourselves?? That needs to change. God is not to blame for your problems. God is not unfair and cruel and evil. He is good. God is not the problem, you are! It’s you and me!! God wants the best for you but how often do we mess it up. Before you blame God look inside you. Start with yourself.

Is God to blame for the evil in the world and the pain and the suffering? No He is not. Let us trust in His goodness. He is good. Do you believe that???

Rolain

 

 

How to Overcome “Jericho”!

We all have insurmountable challenges in our lives. We face situations that threaten to drown us or take us out for good but what do we do in those threatening or seemingly hopeless situations?! The answer is found in the book of Joshua. A friend of mine shared this revelation with me years ago but as I read the story of Joshua this past week I was reminded of what it meant.
The Israelite s had just crossed the Jordon and were in the promise land about to carry out what God had called them to do but understand they had never seen walled cities before. They had never seen giants before and the first place they had to defeat had all of that!!!
Were they afraid, I think so. Did they have doubts, I think so. But look at what the word says in Joshua 5:13-15;

And then this, while Joshua was there near Jericho: He looked up and saw right in front of him a man standing, holding his drawn sword.
Joshua stepped up to him and said, “Whose side are you on – ours or our enemies?”
He said, Neither. I’m commander of God’s army. I’ve just arrived.” Joshua fell to the ground, and worshiped. He asked,
“What orders does my Master have for his servant?”
God’s army commander ordered Joshua, “Take your sandals off your feet. The place you are standing is holy.” Joshua did it.

Joshua approached Jericho but instead of looking at Jericho and its walls he looked up!!! He knew there was Someone bigger than “Jericho”! When he looked up, he saw God, he saw his deliverance! That’s what happens when you look up instead of your problem, your “Jericho”.
When you focus on your problem you become like the 10 spies who saw defeat. They saw no answer to their problem. All they saw were giants and walls and grasshoppers!!!!
By looking at Jericho they lost sight of how big God really was…
When we focus on the “Jericho” in our lives we lose sight of God and how big God really is. Instead you begin to focus on the details. I never finished school so I am not smart enough, I didn’t get brought up in a rich family, I never went to university, I am not tall enough, I am the wrong color, I am not rich enough, I am fat and so on and so on!
When you come to your “Jericho” learn to look up. Your deliverance comes from looking up at God who is bigger than anything we will ever face!!!
Watch and see how small your problems are against a big God!!!

So as I conclude this post I would really like you to think about where you are focused when you approach the “Jericho’s” in your life. It’s ok to see the facts and even admit there is a problem but don’t stop there. Yes, Jericho is a walled city and it has giants but God is our Deliverer, He is our Rock and Strong Tower!
He is our only Hope in the face of insurmountable challenges!

Rolain

 

Why You Waiting for Tomorrow??

There are a lot of songs that speak to me and that is one way God speaks to me. There is one song that is really ministering to me that I would like to share. I had a talk with my mentor or can I say he had a talk with me about my future and he was very open about where I needed to change and where I needed help. I thank God for him, because we all need those talks. If you don’t have anyone who can see the bad in you and love you enough to tell you then you are in trouble. You cannot have people who only tell you how fantastic and awesome you are and never confront you about the wrong that is in your life…….

Anyway after this talk I really got thinking and he was so right on so many levels and this is why this song ministers to me so much. God has so many amazing plans for us but we think it’s going to just happen. At the snap of our fingers we are going to have the car we want, or the wife we have always dreamed of or we are going to have the ministry we have always wanted and so on and so on but the truth is, it takes work. We need to have faith and we need to make the sacrifices needed to get us to where God has for us.

The song is called, “Waiting for Tomorrow” sung by Mandisa. I think there is a lot we could identify with in this song. A lot of us wait till “tomorrow” to get up and do something for God. We wait for tomorrow to start eating right, we wait for tomorrow to stop a particular habit, we wait for tomorrow because we are so busy today but the truth is today is the day, TODAY! Whatever you are waiting for know that today is the day to start. You may not have everything to start off with; I don’t have everything to start off with but today is the day. We cannot keep on putting life on hold. God is calling us to start TODAY!

I love the chorus. This is what it says:

Can’t spend my whole life wastin’
Everything I know I’ve been given
‘Cause you’ve made for so much more than
Sittin’ on the side lines
I don’t wanna look back and wonder
If good enough could’ve been better

Everyday’s a day to start over
So, why am I waiting for tomorrow

Do you know God has given you so much? After the talk with my mentor I looked at all that God had given me only to realize it was a lot. We have this thing where we look for the next seminar or the next business speaker to come so we can know “more” but what are we doing with the $1200  seminar we paid for 3 years ago???!!! That applies to me more than anyone else…..! We all have the potential and we are just sitting on it. I realized this as well, it is a sin to have so much from God and not do anything with it! We have a responsibility to use what God has given us. It’s almost like being given a car but all you ever do with it is walk out to the garage and admire it!!! What is the use? We got to stop sitting on the sidelines and we don’t want to look back and wonder what life would of being like if we had done this or that. Like I said, I speaking to me as well….

I love the last part of the chorus because she says, “everyday is a day to start over”! Today is the day to start over, not tomorrow, not next week but today! There is one other part of the song that is so important and that is the vamp. She says:

Oh, I’m makin this my moment now
To grab the hand that’s reachin down to save me You saved me
And I’m makin this my moment now
To grab the hand that’s reachin down to save me You saved me

This part is important because if we are to make this change we cannot do it alone. God is the only one that can help us. He is the one that gives us the strength to break laziness or unbelief and a whole host of other things that are holding us down. God wants to save you and he wants to save me and that is why He has sent people who care for us enough to speak to us about our life.  Don’t block them out. Be open to what they have to say. God is very interested about what happens in our lives. He cares about what we go through and He is eager for us to accomplish all that He has for us in this life but you need to ask Him for help. Cry out to Him.

When we do that our tomorrow will look brighter and more than that, we will accomplish all He has for us! God has a plan and a purpose for each and everyone of us and today is the day to make a decision to chase after it. Today is the day….Amen

 

 

Rolain