What Is The Fear Of God??

There has been a message I have been meditating on this whole week. When I heard it I was very challenged by it. The pastor on Sunday evening was speaking about the fear of the Lord. After his word I got a deeper understanding of the fear of the Lord and that is what I want to speak on. What is the fear of the Lord really? A lot of people understand what it is and a lot of people don’t. I really liked the pastor’s definition. He said the fear of the Lord is,
To love God so much that you wouldn’t want to do anything that would displease Him.

Let that sink it for a bit. That is what I been meditating on this week. Do I love God so much that I wouldn’t want to do anything that would displease Him? We need to walk in the fear of the Lord but how do we do it? Thanks for asking that important question because the answer is in the word….   🙂  The first key scripture is Proverbs 22:4 – The reward of humility and the reverent and worshipful fear of the Lord is riches and honor and life.

The other key scripture is in Psalm 34:11-13 which says:
Come, you children, listen to me; I will teach you to revere and worshipfully fear the Lord
What man is he who desires life and longs for many days, that he may see good?  
Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit  
Depart from evil and do good, inquire for, and crave peace and pursue (go after) it!

If you want long life and you want to see many good days you need to walk in the fear of the Lord and this is how you walk in the fear of the Lord.
You start off by watching what comes out of your mouth! That is what verse 13 teaches. If you fear God you need to watch what you speaking. Cursing people or gossiping about them is not fearing God. Speaking negatively over yourself and your situation is not fearing the Lord. We need to be more careful about how we speak to each other and ourselves.

The next thing we are taught is to be a peacemaker. A person who fears the Lord is someone who pursues peace at all costs. That person doesn’t wait for the other person to make things right, instead he or she make the first move! They pursue peace with everything within them. Do you pursue peace? Are you a peacemaker?
If we want God to hear our prayers we got to watch our words and pursue peace at all costs.

And that is what walking in fear of the Lord is. If we want long life and if we want to see many good days we got to love God so much that we wouldn’t want to do anything that would displease Him.

Rolain

The Dungeon and Praise!

There is power when we praise God and there are benefits when we praise God. As I was reading my bible this morning I read the story of Paul and Silas. Because they cast a demon out of a girl they got beaten and where thrown in a dungeon without being given a trial!!! If you want to talk about injustice that is a perfect picture of injustice. It was not fair but it happened. (Acts 16)
We have things happen to us as well but how do you respond to them? Paul and Silas praised God in the midst of their pain. Were they discouraged, maybe?! But they made a decision to praise God. They were in a dungeon but they praised and thanked God. (Acts 16:25)
You may feel like you are in a dungeon but praise God. I don’t think Paul and Silas were praising and thanking God for the dungeon. We don’t thank God for the trouble we face but we praise Him in the midst of the trouble. There is a difference!

As they praised the Lord we read how the prison doors opened but that is not the amazing thing about the story. The amazing part was seeing the jailer give his life to Christ, him and his whole family!!
(Acts 16:28-34)
And that is the power of praise. Getting out was not the miracle. A family being saved was and who knows who else was touched. When we praise God it is not for ourselves. When we live a lifestyle of praising God, He will use us to bring people to His kingdom. I don’t know how that works but it does. It is a mystery….!
When we praise God it gets our attention off ourselves and gets us to focus outwardly. God has a bigger purpose for praise than just delivering us!!
God will teach us to praise Him in the dungeon so He can show Himself strong on our behalf but to also save others.

It is a mystery indeed. So let us praise God in the dungeon in faith that He will deliver us because He will. But also know as you praise Him a bigger purpose is being accomplished.

Psalm 69:30-32 says, 
I will praise the name of God with a song and will magnify Him with thanksgiving, 
And it will please the Lord better than an ox or a bullock that has horns and hoofs. 
The humble shall see it and be glad; you who seek God, inquiring for and requiring Him [as your first need], let your hearts revive and live!

Rolain.

What You Need To Build A Life.

What do we need in this life that will help us reach our full potential? Is it money, clothes, a new car, a new house, what is it? Proverbs 24:3, 4 helps us with that:

Through skilful and godly Wisdom is a house (a life, a home, a family) built, and by understanding it is established [on a sound and good foundation],
and by knowledge shall its chambers [of every area] be filled with all precious and pleasant riches.

I have shared this verse in one of my earlier posts. This is one of my favourite verses if you didn’t know. We need wisdom desperately if we are going to be established.
Young people, if you want to build a life you need wisdom. It is the principle thing. To build a home and a family you need wisdom. It is the principle thing! How desperate are you for wisdom?

We need to get hungry for the wisdom of God.

The chapter carries on by saying:
A wise man is strong and is better than a strong man and a man of knowledge increases and strengthens his power. Proverbs 24:5

Wisdom is the key to strength. Our strength is not enough to get us to the place God has planned for us but the wisdom of God will get us there.
With wisdom you can wage war. No war in your life will be won without the wisdom of God. Don’t fight if you don’t have wisdom. Get wisdom first then fight.

My son, eat honey, because it is good, and the drippings of the honeycomb are sweet to your taste.
So shall you know skilful and godly wisdom to be thus to your life; if you find it, then shall there be a future and a reward, and your hope and expectation shall not be cut off.  Proverbs 24:13, 14.

Your destiny and future are connected to the wisdom you acquire. If you have wisdom or as the word puts it, if you find wisdom then there shall be a future and a reward for you! Those lacking the desire to get wisdom will not be able to accomplish all God has for them. Do you want to accomplish God’s call on your life, then walk in wisdom!

I was so excited when God showed me this verse. I realize without wisdom I am lost. I cannot be effective if I don’t have the wisdom of God guiding me! WE cannot be effective without the wisdom of God. The last part of that verse says, your hope and expectation shall not be cut off!! With wisdom your hope is not misplaced. It is in the right place but without wisdom your hope will be cut off. How many times have we seen people who have pursued the wrong thing because they were naive? Wisdom brings clarity into what we are supposed to be putting our hope in. It will protect us from hoping for the wrong things.

Wow!!! I hope you are starting to see just how important wisdom is in your life. It is not the only important thing but it is ONE of the important things in life. Let us get hungry for wisdom. Let us get desperate for wisdom.

I understand I am limited in my own understanding and there are a lot of things I don’t see but with wisdom I can see them. God loves us so much that He tells us to simply ask Him for wisdom. (James 1:5, 6)

I ask God for wisdom in my relationship with Him. I need Him to show me what pleases Him. I need Him to also show me how to get deeper into Him.

I need wisdom in my relationships with people. I know I am stronger when my relationships are right and I also know I cannot be effective if my relationships are broken! How I need wisdom in this area….

I need wisdom in my business. I need His direction. I need His knowledge so I can do the right thing. I need His wisdom to bring honour to Him in the way I do business!

I need wisdom when I minister. I can’t and won’t minister without God’s help. The reason I do the things I do is because of God’s wisdom. He has opened so many doors for me, He has taught me so much, and He has shown me so much. How can I stop relying on his wisdom now?

I need wisdom in my life. God has given me a race to run and I need His wisdom to run it. I will have my own family one day but only wisdom will help me be the man I am supposed to be to them. Only wisdom will help me be the man I need to be now!!!!

As I end this post I would like to leave you with another verse that really challenges me to the core. It is Proverbs 1:7 and I am going to use the Message. It says;

 

Start with God – the first step in learning is bowing down to God;

Only fools thumb their noses at such wisdom and learning.

 

Rolain

The Danger of Comfort!!!

I love quotes a lot. One of my favorite quotes says,

“Ships in the harbor are safe, but that’s not what ships are built for”.

You will agree with me that this is a very popular quote. As I was thinking about it I decided to go and try and find stories of ships that were destroyed in the harbor. I couldn’t find even one story. I searched and searched with no luck. Seriously, I could not find anything. I didn’t find a headline that said, SHIP DESTROYED WHILE IN HARBOR! Nothing. Interestingly enough I found more than enough stories about ships that were destroyed out at sea. Then it hit me. We are scared to take risk at times. We prefer to be comfortable and we prefer to be safe but this is the thing, we are not made to live in the harbor. We are meant to be out there taking risks. We are meant to be stepping out like Peter in faith!!! It’s out at sea that we see God. Actually it’s where God meets us! It is out in the sea that we see the miraculous. Being in the harbor is safe and comfortable but there is no growth. Someone once said comfort breeds laziness and I think he is right. Out at sea is pain and sorrow, and fear of the unknown but better that than lazying around in the sun, thinking about what could of being and moaning over chances not taken because of fear!!!! Enough of saying, “I wish I could of” or “what would of happened if I” or “If only I”…….ENOUGH!!!!!!
You were NOT created to live in comfort and safety  but you were created to impact the world. You were created to grow and change the world around you. Amen……

Rolain

Finding Peace In The Storm.

I believe a storm is either coming your way or you in a storm right now or one has just passed!! The crazy thing about this situation is, storms are vital for growth. If you are to become all God has for you then you need storms, we ALL need storms! We don’t pray for storms to come but we pray that we will learn what we are supposed to learn and see what we are supposed to see and grow from it. With that said, how are we supposed to carry ourselves in a storm? Storms will always come but how do we deal with them? Your attitude determines everything when you are in a storm. So it is important what kind of attitude you have. It will determine if you are victorious or if you fail.
Proverbs 15:15 says,
All the days of the desponding and afflicted are made evil [by anxious thoughts and forebodings], but he who has a glad heart has a continual feast [regardless of circumstances].
The word foreboding is an interesting word because it implies a feeling of coming evil. Predicting evil in your life is not being realistic and it is not God’s way. In fact that is the type of attitude that will stop your breakthrough in the midst of the storm. Anxious thoughts and forebodings are short circuiting your growth! The right attitude is key when you are in a storm.
King David is a great example of what your attitude should be like in the midst of a storm. In Psalm 57 we are given a lot of insight into King David’s attitude. This psalm was written when King David was fleeing from Saul and he was hiding in a cave!! He was in a really bad place. King Saul was trying to kill him and he was hiding in a cave! Here are a few things that I see:

– The first thing to note is King David doesn’t ask for the death of his enemy. He doesn’t complain and grumble about why he is where he is. Instead he looks to God. This is what he says,
Be merciful and gracious to me, O God, for my soul takes refuge and shelter and confidence in You; yes, in the shadow of Your wings will I take refuge and be confident until calamities and destructive storms are passed. Psalms 57:1

Where are you focused during a storm? Are you panicking and fretting? God wants you to look to Him. He is the Lord over your storm. He is in control and I think King David knew that.

– The other thing to note is the way he spoke. In the midst of the storm, running away from Saul who was trying to kill him, hiding away in a dark cold cave he was speaking life over his situation!!! Speaking about God he says,
He will send from heaven and save me from the slanders and reproaches of him who would trample me down or swallow me up, and He will put him to shame.
Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]! God will send forth His mercy and loving-kindness and His truth and faithfulness. Psalms 57:3

What is coming out of your mouth during the storm? King David spoke the answer, He spoke God!! Are you speaking more death by complaining and whining or are you speaking God into your situation?? That is something to think about.

– The next point is so important. King David praised God. There is something powerful when we praise God. King David was a worshiper and we need to learn to praise God when we are in a storm. Praising God puts things in the right perspective. Praising God will help you focus on the right thing, God!

Be exalted, O God,above the heavens! Let Your glory be over all the earth!
Psalms 57:5

In the midst of the storms of life we need to worship God. As we do that we magnify God in our lives. Our troubles will seem smaller against a Great and Mighty God because they are! God is bigger than any problem we will ever face!!

– The last thing I would like to highlight is where his heart is at. King David had his heart fixed on God and that needs to be the same for us. In the midst of the storm King David’s heart was fixed on God. It was not focused on what was happening around him but on God!

My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is steadfast and confident! I will sing and make melody. Psalms 57:7

Is your heart fixed on God? Have you made  decision to focus on God? It so hard to focus on God when everything is going crazy around you. I know, I have been there. We need to make a decision to focus on God. Like I said, our attitude in the midst of a storm determines everything!

God wants us to grow and become more like Him. Will you embrace the storms of life or run away from them? It’s your decision….

Rolain

Dealing With Envy…..

I was preparing to teach at Kids Church this week and the topic we had to read on really spoke to me. It’s one of those things where you are reading for the sake of teaching but God begins to work on you because that is something that needs to be dealt with. As God was showing me things about myself I began to wonder how many people were going through the same thing hence the post. Envy is one of the ten commandments but one would think it’s not too serious, but it actually is. It is devastating to a person.  The first thing I would like to start with is the meaning of envy. What is envy? Very simply put it is wanting something someone else has. But I went deeper and searched other definitions of envy and one stood out to me. It said,

Envy is the painful or resentful awareness of an advantage enjoyed by another joined with a desire to possess the same advantage!!!

That hit me like a ton of bricks because God showed how I was doing that. I couldn’t believe it. The thing about envy is it can’t be spotted easily compared to stealing or murder or something like that. Envy is a heart issue. You can hide envy easy but God knows. So the lesson I learned is this:

– Envy can be hidden in our hearts                                                                                                                                                                                 – Even though no-one else may know we are envious, God knows.

Envy is hard to detect and because of that we need to be extra careful about what we harboring in our hearts. Envy is sin. You cannot have what somebody wants. I was envious about a situation and I wanted it to turn in my favor but that is a sin. I repented to God. The other thing that shocked me was how quietly it crept into my heart.  Envy will creep into your heart so stealthily. Do you have envy in your heart? If so, it needs to be dealt with. Ask God to show you if you have envy in your heart.

What is the answer to envy? Being content with what you have will help. It may be small or seem unfair but be content. This is something I am learning. I am being content knowing in due time God will bless me as well. It takes trust to be content. Be content with what God has given you at this time because He will bless you even more at the right time. Instead of envying someone else, be glad that person has those things. God will bless you when you bless someone else.

I am saying that by faith as well. It is not easy dealing with envy but it needs to be uprooted out of your heart. Just ask God to uproot it. That’s what I did. I am so glad that God does not leave us. He cares for us so much that when He sees something destroying us He will come in and help us get over it. That is the same for you. God will help you when you call on Him.

Rolain

 

What Is The Answer To Confusion and Shame???

 

I sought (inquired of) the Lord and required Him [of necessity and on the authority of His word], and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears. 
They looked to Him and were radiant; their faces shall never blush for shame or be confused. 
Psalms 34:4,5

This is an amazing passage of scripture. An amazing passage with an amazing promise. I was in a tough place before I read this scripture. I was confused and asking God for wisdom about a situation. I was fretting and freaking out!! I was really at a loss at what to do. I really needed His direction and then I read this scripture. The first part of the verse says God hears us and delivers us from all our fears! But that wasn’t what hit home to me. The last part hit home.

They looked to Him and were radiant; their faces shall never blush for shame or be confused.

As I look to God my face will be radiant!!! And that makes all the sense in the world. God is the only One that can make my face shine because He is the answer to everything in my life! It’s only when we turn to Him that we get what we need. Where do you turn to when you are confused? Where do you turn to when your world turns upside down? Turn to God!!
The verse carries on and says, their faces shall never blush for shame or be confused. 
As you turn to God, your confusion will be dealt with. You can’t be confused when you turn to God. He brings clarity in whatever you are going through. You won’t be put to shame when you look to God. He wants you to turn to Him. He wants US to turn to Him!!!
This is the verse that I am holding on to and meditating on. It brings me strength and encouragement and I hope it brings you the same. I am still seeking direction and clarity but I am much better off than when I first began because I am standing on that verse with everything within me. Instead of freaking out I am at peace. I know  God is in control and I know He is working behind the scenes and that is the difference I think. As we turn to God our faces shine because we know that God is in control. We may not have the answer yet but we are at peace knowing God is in control. And as we look to Him and trust Him He then brings clarity and direction in the difficult situations we face.  I know problems aren’t solved in a night but God is good and as I have turned to Him He is really helping me.
When you don’t know what to do turn to God.
When you are confused about a situation in your life turn to Him.
Your face will be radiant as you do and you will not be put to shame or be confused. That is God’s promise to you!!

I sought (inquired of) the Lord and required Him [of necessity and on the authority of His word], and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears. 
They looked to Him and were radiant; their faces shall never blush for shame or be confused. 
Psalms 34:4,5

Rolain

Thinking About The Next Generation…

I was in South Africa for the whole week last week. I had gone for another music tour. I really enjoyed being there. As I was on tour I had time to think and meditate on the important things. I got time to get deeper into God which was great and there were a few lessons I learned while on tour which I would like to share with you. I will only share one with you in this post.
I love King Hezekiah. He is one of my favourite characters in the Bible that is until I read 2 Kings 20. King Hezekiah was sick unto death but he begged God to heal him which He did. Hezekiah had visitors from Babylon who came to see him because they heard he was sick. ( 2 Kings 20:12)
He showed them everything in his kingdom which got him into trouble. This is what God said to him:

Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah. Hear the word of the Lord! 
Behold, the time is coming when all that is in your house, and that which your forefathers have stored up till this day, shall be carried to Babylon; nothing shall be left, says the Lord.
And some of your sons who shall be born to you shall be taken away, and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of Babylon’s king. 
Then said Hezekiah to Isaiah, The word of the Lord you have spoken is good. For he thought, Is it not good, if [all this evil is meant for the future and] peace and security shall be in my days?    2 Kings 20:16-19

We all have weaknesses and I am not expecting Hezekiah to be perfect. But think about this, Isaiah is giving him a horrific prophesy about his nation and his children and all he has to say is, “the word of the Lord you have spoken is good“!!!!
We are meant to learn from the men and women in the bible and there is an important lesson here. Please understand, everything you do now has a bearing on your future. What you do now will determine what your future will be like.
The things you do now will also determine your kids future!!
If you are 15 years old, know that your actions have a bearing on your kids in the future! Yes your actions determine what you will become but they also determine who your kids will become. We need to be think about the next generation. We need to have that mindset. Hezekiah’s children where destined for evil because of his actions but he didn’t care. How different would it have been if he fell on his knees and repented for what he did. Would he have saved his children’s lives and the lives of his people? I don’t know for sure but it is something to think about.
We need to fight for our kids in this time. We do that by the things we say and the things we give our time to and how we think. They need to be able to stand on our shoulders. We have got to stop thinking about ourselves. We have become so selfish as people thinking about how we are going to make it and what we are going to eat and so on and have totally forgot about the people around us. I don’t want to carry on being selfish. My family’s lives depend on it. I want my kids to come and do great things for God because I laid a good foundation in the relationships I have made and the things I have done. I don’t want them to start from square one because I was too busy thinking about myself and I don’t want to play a role in the destruction of their future!!!

As I end I would like to remind you that what you do now has a bearing on your family’s future. What you do now does matter. Let us have the next generation in mind. Ask yourself, what am I doing that will benefit the next generation?
Am I building a good foundation for the next generation to stand on?
Am I destroying the future of the next generation by my attitudes and the things that I do?

The next generation is depending on us.

Rolain.

How God Works On Our Behalf……

Where are you at in this season? Are you satisfied with where you are? Are you in a place where you don’t need anything? Or are you in a place where you need God to come through for you? Have you looked at your life and come to a realization that you need more of God? Are you in a place where if God doesn’t come through for you, you will go under? Does it seem like you just pray and pray with no answer? If you are in that place I would like to share something God revealed to me.

When God revealed this to me I was trusting God for some things. I would pray and pray but nothing would happen. It was a really puzzling time for me because I was not getting what I was trusting God for. Puzzling and frustrating until God showed me what I was doing wrong. Please get me, praying is important. You cannot be an effective Christian if you don’t pray. But what I am saying is, you can’t just stop at prayer. There must be more. In that frustrating season i was reading the story of the four lepers in the book of Kings. They were in a really bad situation. Look at what the word says,

It happened that four lepers were sitting just outside the city gate. They said to one another, what are we doing sitting here at death’s door? If we enter the famine-struck city we’ll die; if we stay here we’ll die. So let’s take our chances in the camp of Aram and throw ourselves on their mercy. If they receive us we’ll live, if they kill us we’ll die. We’ve got nothing to lose.   2 Kings 7:3,4

I don’t know about you but that is a really bad situation!! But God managed to help them and a whole nation because of a simple act. They got up from where they were and starting moving!! And that is what God showed me. It is not enough to pray or to even desire. There needs to be more and that more is moving, you doing something!! So I was praying and trusting God but only as I started moving and doing something did God come through. Doors began to open, things began to happen. It is important in our trusting that we step out and do something. without works faith is dead. And the action may be something small, calling a friend, going somewhere, writing that letter, but do something!

As the lepers got up from where there were and started moving God did something amazing and that applies to you. This way that we follow is one of grace and I am in no way advocating for a works based life. The pharisees thought works would save them but they didn’t. What I am saying is, there needs to be a balance. There comes a time when we need to get up and act and that is the way God works on our behalf. A lot of the times we think God works by Himself, alone, but He works through people. That is the way He has chosen to move.

This is not an easy word. I am trying to walk in this daily. At times I forget I need to act. Sometimes I am just plain lazy, at times scared but if we are going to see God move on our behalf we will need to step out. My prayer for you is that God will show you what you need to be doing in your life at this moment. Amen

Rolain.