Why do you believe what you believe?

Whether we like to admit it or not, our beliefs play a very big role in how our lives turn out.

But as I thought on this a bit more I realized something very important, something that has

changed the way I look at beliefs.

 

We were not born with beliefs! 

 

That was an ah-ha moment for me. The light switched on!

We were not born with beliefs. We were not born with the idea of not being clever enough, or not rich enough,

not handsome or pretty enough and so on. We picked up those beliefs, we inherited them, we made a choice to

integrate them into our lives, the positive and the negative.

We don’t have to live with outdated beliefs about ourselves, life and the other things we deem as important.

The toxic beliefs we have picked up can be changed by YAH’s grace. You don’t have to live with toxic beliefs

any longer. There is an opportunity for change.

 

We didn’t know better and accepted and believed certain things but think about Gideon for a bit with me.

He had some toxic beliefs, outdated beliefs about himself.

 

“But Gideon answered, “Pardon me, Lord. How can I save Israel? My family group is the weakest in 

Manasseh. And I am the least important member in my family.” 

Judges 6:15

 

Someone told Gideon he was the least important. He accepted what people said about him and his

family at some point. He wasn’t born with those beliefs.

But thank YAH for His grace because He came and changed the negative beliefs Gideon had by using

him to deliver his people!

We need the Lord’s help friends. There are beliefs we have picked up that we don’t even know we have.

The Lord can shine the light and expose those beliefs.

Watch who you listen to. What are you accepting as truth about yourself?

Whose words are you accepting as truth for you?

These things all matter when it comes to adopting the right beliefs.

Blessings to you…..

 

Rolain

For His glory…..

“Now as Jesus passed by, He saw a man who was blind

from birth.

And His disciples asked Him, saying, Rabbi, who sinned,

this man or his parents, that he was born blind?

 

Jesus answered, Neither this man nor his parents sinned,

but that the works of God should be revealed in him.

John 9:1-3

 

Isn’t it interesting how the disciples immedaitely pointed

to sin as the reason for the man being in the situation he was

in. Even Job had the same problem. His friends thought sin

was behind all the misfortune that befell him but that was

not the truth. It wasn’t true for Job, for the blind man and

it’s not true for you!

 

Jesus answered, neither this man nor his parents sinned, but

that the works of God should be revealed in Him.

John 9:3

 

I had a thought, maybe you haven’t received your

breakthrough because God wants to reveal His glory

and greatness through your situation!

 

Please get me here, I am not saying we must cross out

ourselves out as the problem. We could be the problem

to a lot of the problems we are facing. But what I am trying

to say is that there are things that are happening or

not happening because God wants to reveal His goodness

and glory in HIS time!

When the blind man received his sight that was a testimony

of how great God is but it happened at the right time.

When Job got his life back God got the glory even though

it didn’t make sense in the beginning. He didn’t

understand why the things that were happening were

happening. But God knew!

 

The problem comes when we look at how other people

are living and we begin to compare our lives to theirs.

Your life is in God’s hands and He is directing it. He has

a plan for you and it will come to pass.

Always remember, He wants to reveal His goodness and

greatness through you.

 

Hannah was in the same situation. She was barren but

wanted children. She could have wondered why that was

so. Did she think God favored Peninnah over her? Maybe.

Whatever the case, she was not in a good place. But God had

a plan. He would reveal His wonderful acts through Hannah!

Peninnah could bear children but Hannah bore Samuel!

It was worth the wait…..

 

I have to constantly remind myself that God has a plan

for me. He has not forgotten about me. Even if it seems

like it. My friends have moved on with thier lives. They

have families of their own, and so on and here I still am

waiting on God. But I am not upset. He has a plan.

His goodness and greatness will be manifested through

me I believe. I may not understand why some things

are the way they are but I trust God does…..and that’s

all that matters!

 

Don’t be discouraged friends. He will come through for you.

He will be magnified though your life. People won’t help

but praise God because of the things that are happening

in your life. He is so good!

 

Rolain

 

 

Nine months later…….

When Uriah’s wife heard that her husband was dead, she grieved for her husband. When the time

of mourning was over, David sent someone to bring her to his house. She became his wife and bore him a son. 

But God was not at all pleased with what David had done, 

1 Samuel 12:26, 27

We all know what happened here. David slept with Bathsheba, Uriah’s wife but to cover it up he got Uriah

who was a faithful solider to him killed! Bathsheba may not have known what David did but the point is she became the king’s wife. She may not have had a say in any of this either. A king was free to do whatever he wanted in those days.

When I read this story a thought came to me. Between Uriah being killed to Bathsheba giving birth to a son was

at least nine months. I don’t know how long the time of mourning was but all we know is it was at least nine months

when all this took place. David was in sin for nine months! He knew taking someone’s wife was sin. He knew murder

was a sin. David loved God. He had an intimate relationship with Him but David was blinded in this season. This post is

not about how bad David was. We are all sinners. David sinned but so do we.

What I want to show you though is how as sinners sin can destroy us. During this ‘nine months’ we hear nothing.

There is no Psalm that we read during that period! We don’t hear of David’s exploits during that time. Nothing was recorded during that time. David was in sin and he didn’t even know it!

If that could happen to David, a man after God’s heart then surely it could happen to us. And please note, David

didn’t snap out of it by himself. He didn’t realize what he was doing by himself. God intervened!!!! If God did not intervene who knows how long it would of gone on for?

And this is what this post is about……God intervened!

God did not leave David in his sin. He saved him. By God’s grace David was disciplined and forgiven! That is good news for us indeed.

We will do crazy things and left to our own we will not win, BUT……But God does not leave us to ourselves. He is watching over us.

He has extended His grace and mercy to us! We serve a really great God! He sent His son to die for us!

I was so encouraged when I got that revelation. God is for me and no matter how crazy it gets God will help me. I hope it’s an encouragement to you as well.

Generous in love – God, give grace! 

Huge in mercy – wipe out my bad record.

Scrub away my guilt, 

soak out my sins in Your laundry.

I know how bad I’ve been; 

my sins staring me down. 

Psalm 51:1-3

 

But that is not the end of the story. God turned this dark and terrible situation for good.

David went and comforted his wife Bathsheba. And when he slept with her, they conceived a son. When the son was born they

named him Solomon. God had a special love for him and sent word by Nathan the prophet that God wanted him named Jedidiah (God’s beloved).

2 Samuel 12:24, 25

Solomon would not have been born if David and Bathsheba never met. I am not saying what David did was right. He sinned! What I am trying to say though is God turned a bad thing into something wonderful. And He will do the same thing for us. We may think our sin is too much and God cannot use us but that is not true. God has forgiven you and will turn what the enemy meant for death into life…..

He has amazing things for you despite what you have done. Sin does not define who you are anymore, God’s grace does. He is a truly amazing God!!!

Rolain

 

 

Do You Want To Make A Difference?

Everyone has an ambition to make their lives count. What a waste it would be to live a life that was meaningless! We are not put on this earth just to fill up space. Everyone has a reason for being here. That is the way God created us. What is your reason for being born? You may say you don’t believe you have a reason but you do. Everyone has a reason even if they don’t know it. James 4:10 gives us a little insight into how we can make our lives count.

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]. (Amplified)

This is an amazing scripture because it shows us, God is the only One who can make our lives significant! Did you hear me, God is the only One who can make your life significant! When we realise this truth, it becomes easier for us because we begin to see it’s not about how much we know, or the family we came from, or the place we lived in, or how much money we have and so on and so on……it’s really about God!!! We need to come to a place where God is at the centre and He is the main thing about us! We need to realise we cannot do it in our strength. Purpose is for everyone and not a selected few!!! Someone once said, God qualifies the called. He really does! You may not be the brightest person, or the richest, or the strongest but God can and will make your lives significant if you let Him!

Come close to God and He will come close to you. [Recognize that you are] sinners, get your soiled hands clean; [realize that you have been  disloyal] wavering individuals with divided interests, and purify your hearts [of your spiritual adultery].                                                                                                                  [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]. James 4:8,9

This is all part of the humbling process. God will exalt the humble but bring down the proud. He has created us to make a difference. Do you want to make your lives count, turn to God.

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.