Because He loves us, He commands…..!

I was thinking about God’s commands today.

Did you know God commands us to follow His commands?

(If you love me keep my commandments. John 14:15)

 

He doesn’t suggest we forgive someone who wrongs us,

He commands us to forgive.

(Bear with each other and forgive one another if any

of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the

Lord forgave you. 

Colossians 3:13)

 

He doesn’t suggest we live pure lives, He commands us

to be pure.

(As obedient children do not conform to the evil desires

you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as He who

called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written:

‘Be holy, because I am holy.  1 Peter 1:14-16)

 

He doesn’t suggest us to praise Him, no, He commands us to

praise Him.

(The people whom I formed for Myself will declare My

praise.  Isaiah 43:21)

 

I could go on and on but you get the picture. There is so much

God has commanded us to do.

But that word, “command” isn’t a word we like too much.

It’s so abrupt, so definite so final!

When we hear the word command walls come up. A lot of people

have commanded us before and it wasn’t a pleasant experience.

So when we hear, God commands, the defenses are raised

instantaneously.

 

But I want to show you what God showed me about His commands.

When God commands, it’s not because He is drunk on power and

wants us to feel His awesomeness!

He doesn’t command for the sake of making life hard for us like

others have done.

He is God and not man.

When God commands, He has our well being in mind.

 

Let me show what I mean.

This is a command. When you see the sign you know exactly

what it means.

This is not a suggestion. They are commanding you to keep

out because they know the danger it will cause to you.

That sign was made with you in mind. It’s a way of protecting you.

And when you see it you don’t complain because you know it’s to

keep you safe.

 

When a parent commands their child not to talk to strangers

it’s not because they love making things hard for their child,

but it’s to protect them.

It’s out of love they command their child!

 

And that is how we need to look at God’s commands.

He has you and me in mind when He commands. It’s because

He loves us, that He commands us.

 

We need to stop fighting His commands.

 

I was fighting one this week. I had an argument with someone

and instead of forgiving them

I brought up reasons why I shouldn’t. I tried to justify myself but

that’s not what God commands.

He commands us to forgive as He has forgiven us. It’s not because

He enjoys seeing me in pain but

because He wants to see me grow and move to another level in my

walk with Him.

 

Are you obeying His commands?

Do you try to run away from the things He has commanded you?

We have an opportunity to do the right thing.

His commands are for our benefit.

He commands because He loves us deeply.

 

Bless you friends

 

Rolain

 

 

What He does when we wait…(Guest post)

Hi friends! This is a very special post. Today, I have asked my good

friend Meilisa from Living the Imposibilities blog to talk about waiting

on God.

I have spoken a lot on waiting and I like I always say,

“God makes us wait because He loves us”. Meilisa has

a revelation from God  about waiting  I believe you need to hear

as she has been waiting on God too….I am so glad I found Meilisa’s

blog. She is someone who loves the Lord and loves His word deeply.

Her love for God and His word bleeds profusely through her posts.

I strongly encourage you to visit her blog. I believe

you will be blessed as I have been blessed. With that said,

Let’s get moving…..Meilisa, take it away! 😀

 

Meilisa

Waiting. What’s the first thing popped out in your mind when you hear that word? Some of you may sigh as the eyes rolled and skip into the next topic. Some may hate that word. And some of you may have it as your full-time job. Who likes to wait? In this instant era, I bet no one’s gonna like to wait. Who’s gonna like to be hanging in an uncertain condition?

But do you know this kind of mundane activity has being mentioned in Bible? It even repeated for several times! We know that every little things mentioned in Bible is necessary. Have you ever think why the Bible emphasize the thing most people don’t like such as waiting?

Remember Grandpa Ab and Grandma Sarah? (Genesis 15,18) God has promised them to give them ascendant. But in order to get fulfilled the promise, they waited for years!

And what about Laz? (John 11) He was dying. His sisters were asking for Jesus to come heal him. His sisters waited for Jesus. They waited!

I had been through waiting season too. I was asking God for help. I was waiting for His miracle to let me pass the entrance test of my study. The standard was actually too high to be reached by me. I studied hard as well as I prayed hard. I was in doldrums and nothing to do with that but wait on God. I waited. I waited. I waited. And then the result came. I failed.

You might have your waiting season too. Or maybe you are now in it. You’re trapped in it. You couldn’t move forward nor backward, because waiting made you stuck on that point. And the paucity of waiting is that you don’t know what would there be on the edge of your waiting. But truly I would say, to wait is mentioned frequently in Bible which means it’s necessary.

Someone once ever said, “as we wait on God, God is working.” It might be true, but practically it’s not like that. Let’s think if it’s true, doesn’t it mean that God work slowly? For example, if you have waited God to give you a bacon for a year, then God need also a year to make a bacon. But what if you need to wait for 30 years for a healing? Do you think God is that slow to heal people? It’s absolutely not. God only need to say let there be, and there will be. God can work in the speed of single blink of eye. So what’s the matter now?

The matter is, God waits, too.

(Wait, did you just say, God waits?)

Let’s take a look at the grand lovely couple back, Abraham and Sarah. What did Abraham and Sarah wait for? A promised son. And as I’ve said that God waits, then what did God wait for? It’s Abraham’s oldness and Sarah’s barren.

Does it make sense?

(No.)

Let’s jump into the Lazarus’s epoch. What did Maria and Martha wait for? Healing from Jesus to their brother, Lazarus. And if it’s true that Jesus waits, what did Jesus wait for? It’s Lazarus’ death.

One more realistic example. I did wait on God to help me pass the admission test of my school. But at that time, what did God wait for? God waited for the sentence “not passed” printed.

It’s upside down much?

When I got revealed this truth, I was breathless in awe. To know that I and God wait on together, isn’t it beautiful? You and God wait together! But, why does it seem God wait for our failure?

No, He’s not waiting for your failure. He waits for the “your day”.

Imagine your beloved ones (could have been anyone) would have birthday in weeks. You prepared all the things needed to surprise them. You’ve bought the gifts. You’ve booked the venue. You’ve contacted their friends to come. You’ve prepared the candles, balloons, and flowers. You’ve learnt to cook their favorite dishes. Before the birthday, all things needed was ready. But, would you present it all to the birthday one once it ready? No. To make it perfect, you’ve waited for the exact date of the birthday. You would wait for the right hour on that day. Why? Because it’s just insane if you present it not on the birthday. Rather, it would not be special. And it same goes to God. He waits for “your day”.

Now, when is the “your day”? We could not know it exactly. But as we see Abraham and Sarah, “their day” was when Abraham get old and Sarah could no longer bear a child. And Lazarus’ day was when he already dead. “My day” was when I got informed the test was failed. But it’s the day that He had been waiting for! The day when you come to your limit. The day when surrounds you are the impossibilities. The day when all the doors seem closed. He waits for that! He waits for the moment when you see no way. And BAAM! He comes up!

What’s the point of God’s waiting actually? I’ve been thinking that it might be to show us that human are nothing and God is everything. It might be true. But that was not the main point. The point is that the “your day” would give maximum glory to God and you would experience the maximum joy in that glory (Bloom, 2013:124). It is true that God wants the best for you. Our God is not a so-so God. He is “most”, “best”, “maximum” The superlative predicate is His.

If I could ask, which newspaper would you go-get and buy, whose headline was “A Man from Bethany Has Being Healed by Jewish Carpenter” or whose headline was “A Dead Man Has Being Risen by Jewish Carpenter”? I guess you’ve got the point.

And let’s get back to the situation when you’ve prepared the surprise party for your birthday one. As you were preparing it, you’ve already imagined your beloved face when you surprise them, have you? Who’s excited about this? I bet you who have prepared the surprise would be more excited than the birthday one. And it same goes to God who’s more excited to surprise you than you who would get surprised. Doesn’t we worship the mighty God who owns the universe yet has a kind-loving heart?

All I want to encourage is that God is good. I know to wait is boring. Or you’ve been crying every night hoping your situation could be changed. Or you no more able to hold on. The anxiety attacked and adversary laughed at your failure. I would say it’s not easy, but you are handled by the most high’s pierced hands. If God instruct you to wait, take heart! He’s not punishing you. He’s blessing you instead. He’s not letting you waiting in vain. Abraham and Sarah’s waiting was not in vain. Maria and Martha’s either, they saw His brother coming from the death. My wait either, I am now officially registered as the student of the school I thought I would not be in it. And surely your wait either! No wait in God is in vain. Rather, He’s excited to surprise you more than you excite for His help. All things you are waiting for has neatly wrapped in colorful box with your name on it. He has marked “your day” on His calendar. He counts down the day! Don’t grow weary. He loves to work for those who wait for Him (Isa. 64:4). Don’t give up! You and God wait together. Don’t be fainted. For He has prepared the best for you. And it’s all well-done prepared.

I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in His word I hope…

My soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen for the morning…

O people, hope in the Lord!

For with the Lord there is steadfast love and with Him is plentiful redemption…

And He will redeem you from all your iniquities…

——————————————————-

 

How can I add to that…..! God is so amazing!

God is waiting! I really love that. He is waiting for your

appointed time. He is not waiting clueslessly. No, He is

waiting and He knows the exact day, time and how you will

receive what He has promised you.

 

As we end I would like to thank Meilisa for sharing what God showed

her. I hope you have been blessed by it.

Please remember to visit her blog……!

 

Meilisa’s bio: 

A dreamer ambivert saved by grace.

Right-brained performer, Left-brained thinker.

Deeply encountered by God mostly thru’ music and books.

Love any things new and any things colored in mint! 😀

 

 

 

Rolain

The desire of her heart……

I hope I find you all well. There is something on my heart

I would like to talk about. That something is the deep desires

God has put in our hearts. We all have desires, things we really

want.

I believe we all have desires from God. There are some very

specific things He has put into our hearts which He wants

to bring to pass in our lives. They are real and not a figment

of our imagination.

 

I know I have deep desires in my heart. I may not be able

to articulate them but they are real. I can feel them!

The thing though is as the years have passed, something has

happened, life! A lot of life has happened and life at times

made me doubt the desires God put in my heart.

To this day there are people who keep telling me to abandon

the desires God has put in my heart. “That doesn’t make

sense” they tell me.

“What’s wrong with you?”

“Why are you making things difficult for yourself”

 

Then there is dissapoinment. How much dissapoinment can a

person take? There have been desires that have not come

to pass. That has been confusing to say the least. Why

have a desire when it won’t come to pass??? It’s almost cruel.

 

But as time has passed I have grown in my relationship with God.

I understand He created me and I am unique.

I am not some object you can understand by

reading a manual! God designed me and He is the only

One who really knows me, He is the only One who really knows

the desires He has put in me and what I need to do is understand

He knows what He is doing. He will bring to pass the desires

He has put in my heart. If a desire has not come to pass, then

there is a reason. That goes for you too. You life is unique.

Your life is not a book someone reads and is done with in an hour!

Your desires are not one dimensional. There is so much more than

meets the eye.

It’s much more complex than that if you understand what I

mean!!

 

I want to show you a scripture that stood out for me that will

help paint a picture of what I am trying to say.

 

“And he said to Gehazi his servant, Call this Shunammite.

When he had called her she stood before him. “

2 Kings 4: 12

 

There was a woman who would feed Elisha everytime he passed

by her house. She and her husband made him  a small chamber

so he could rest as he travelled. Elisha wanted to return her

kindness so he called her to ask what he could do

for her.

 

“And he said to Gehazi, Say now to her, You have been most

painstakingly and reverently concerned for us; what is to be

done for you? Would you like to be spoken for to the king or

to the commander of the army? She answered, I dwell among

my own people [they are sufficent]. “

2 Kings 4:13

 

In other words, she was okay and needed

nothing. But Elisha was not satisfied with her answer. So

he probed deeper and found out she had no child.

 

“Later Elisha said, What then is to be done for her?

Gehazi answered, She has no child and her husband is old. “

2 Kings 4:14

 

I really believe the woman wanted a child but couldn’t have

one. I also believe Gehazi was the one who spoke more

frequently to the woman and the husband. He was not

saying she had no child as a mere observation but I believe

she had tried and couldn’t have. It was a deep desire she

had which didn’t seem to come to pass. She had buried

it so deep that when asked what she wanted, it didn’t even

register. It must of been painful discovering she couldn’t

have children. So she did what most us do, she buried it deep

never to be unearthed.

I could be way off with that theory but bear me a little longer

as I show you why I think that was so.

Look at her response when Elisha told her she would have a

child,

 

“Elisha said, At this season when the time comes round, you

shall embrace a son.

She said, No, my lord, you man of God, do not lie to your

handmaid. 

But the woman conceived and bore a son at that season the

following year, as Elisha had said to her. “

2 Kings 4:16

 

If she had no desire at all and never thought about having

a child then the word spoken by the man of God would of been

good news! Instead, she reacted differently. It was like she

was saying, “don’t awaken hope again! I believed once but it

didn’t happen so please don’t lie to me. Just leave it alone. I ‘am

okay as I am. I don’t want my heart to be broken again.”

 

God granted the woman her deepest desire. That desire

she had buried deep. That desire that caused her pain.

He brought that desire to pass. That really encouraged me.

He will bring to pass the desires He puts in us.

If it hasn’t come to pass, He has a reason.

Trust God with the desires He has given you. He can be

trusted!!!

Blessings to you all……

 

Rolain

When the doubts come……

 

“If you can do anything, do it. Have a heart and help us!”

Jesus said, “If? There are no ‘ifs’ among believers. Anything can happen.” Mark 9: 22

That is a very bold word from our Lord don’t you think? As bold as it may seem this is what I believe God is saying. The man had asked the disciples to heal his boy but they could not so when Jesus came down the mountain the man must of thought it impossible.

I have to admit and say there are things that I ask God without even thinking twice. I just know He will come through and then there are things that are harder to ask for. But from this whole passage we see this should not be so. We are to trust in God. Mark 11:22 says,

And Jesus replying, said to them, Have faith in God [constantly]. (Amplified)

When we come to God we must not come doubting. It must be in total trust. But the story continues and we see something very important.

No sooner were the words out of his mouth than the father cried, Then I believe. Help me with my doubts! Mark 9: 24

We want to believe and we do believe but doubts get in the way. What are we supposed to do? The man cried out to the Lord for help. We need help when it comes to our doubts. If you don’t struggle with doubts then bless you……But for those who struggle with it then look to God. There are no “ifs” in God’s vocabulary and there shouldn’t be in ours.

You may be in a place where you think “it’s too much, I can’t ask God for that” or “can He really give me what I have asked for” but know that there are no “ifs” when it comes to God. It’s either, ‘yes’ or ‘no’.

Nothing is too big for God. Bring your requests to Him in total faith and if you struggle with doubts then cry out to him for help. He will help. He wants to help us in our areas of weakness…..God bless

Rolain.

Why were the shepherds chosen???

And in that vicinity there were shepherds living [out under the open sky] in the field, watching [in shifts] over their flock by night. Matthew 2:8

Have you ever wondered why God chose the shepherds to proclaim the good news on that historical day? Wise men, I can understand.Wise men had been trained. These men were taught and taught by the best. They were wealthy and influential. So I can understand why they would be used but shepherds??? They were just commoners. They were not considered special people. I don’t think they were rich and influential. I could say they were ordinary men providing for their family and trying to make a living. But these are the men that were chosen. And as I read that I get excited because there is hope. That is one of the miracles of Christmas. It is not about how popular you are or the type of car you drive or the kind of house you live in. You are chosen because God in His grace chose you. Why He chose the shepherds we will never know but we know this, we have been chosen as well.

17 And when they saw it, they made known what had been told them concerning this Child,

18 And all who heard it were astounded and marveled at what the shepherds told them.

The shepherds went out and told people what had been told to them and people believed them. God will use anyone and that’s the truth. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. Christmas time marks the start of something new. You will never be the same because of what Christ did for you. When He was born everything changed never to be the same….Like the shepherds He can use you…..The question is, do you believe that????

Rolain