Does the Lord get amnesia??

“Then God remembered Rachel and answered her prayer. 

God made it possible for her to have children.” 

Genesis 30:22

 

Rachel couldn’t have children and in that time of history, women were looked down upon

if they couldn’t have children. It must have been hard for Rachel because Leah was bearing

children while she was unable.

But things didn’t stay that way for her because the day came when the Lord remembered her…

 

He hadn’t forgotten about Rachel. He hadn’t discarded her prayers or the desires of her heart.

He had them at the very front of His mind never to be forgotten. It’s not like the Lord gets amnesia

and totally forgets what you need. He loves you and knows exactly what you need so don’t lose heart.

 

The Lord has not forgotten you. He knows what’s in your heart and His desire is to bless you

beyond what you can ever imagine! He is listening to you and even though it may seem like

He is silent the day will come when He will speak up. The day will come when He remembers you.

Keep trusting, and keep praying.

Bless you, friends…

 

Rolain

 

 

 

Take a step, attempt, try……

I went to a camp recently with the kids that I teach. It was our first time going to this particular

camp site and the kids really enjoyed it. Compared to other camp sites this one had a lot more activities.

One of the activities we did was the climbing wall. It was really high and after the kids got their turn, I gave it

a shot and got half way up. My arms felt like lead and I had no power to pull myself up to the top.

I have to admit it was a bit intimidating before I did the climb.

The kids responses were varied. Some were afraid, some were hesitant, and some were happy.

 

Anyway, after the exercise the instructors got the kids together for a feedback session. After all the feedback,

the instructor said something that really stuck with me. He didn’t have a sheet that rated everyone

on how high they went and there was no prize giving ceremony for the people that made it to the top.

Instead, he congratulated everyone for attempting. In his eyes, attempting the course was winning.

The mere fact of putting on the harness and taking the first step up the course was the victory. It didn’t

matter to him who won.

 

That really struck me. There is so much emphasis today on being number one, and winning but could that

be a partial picture?

Is there a place for a first step, an attempt, pursuing, trying?

 

The journey we are on is long and hard. Yeshua is not looking for number one. His desire is for us to

finish the race. No matter how difficult things are take the step, attempt, try. If you fall, get back up and

try again. Just don’t stay in one place, don’t freeze, don’t give up. Rely on Him for strength.

 

Bless you

 

Rolain

 

When the woman put her trust in God…….

“Then Eli answered and said, “Go in peace, and the God of Israel

grant your petition which you have asked of Him.”

And she said, “let your maidservant find favor in your sight.”

So the woman went her way and ate, and her face was no longer

sad. “

1 Samuel 1:17, 18

 

This story is very close to my heart. Hannah’s story encourages

me every time I read it.

I want to touch on something that I noticed as I read her story

again.

 

How many of us can identify with Hannah? She was trusting God

for a child. In the meantime she was been ridiculed and verbally

abused by Peninnah. How hard that must of been.

 

Let’s look at another important point.

 

“This man went up from his city yearly to worship and sacrifice

to the Lord of hosts in Shiloh.”

1 Samuel 1:3

 

The bible doesn’t tell us the exact amount of years they went to

worship. All we know is that Hannah couldn’t have children.

But every year she went to worship and every year she had to deal

with the onslaught of words from Peninnah. That must of being so

hard to deal with.

 

But there is something I want you to see.

When Eli spoke to her she did something amazing. Let’s look

at the scripture,

 

“Then Eli answered and said, “Go in peace, and the God of Israel

grant your petition which you have asked of Him.”

And she said, Let your maidservant find favor in your sight.

So the woman went her way and ate, and her face was no longer 

sad. “

1 Samuel 1:17, 18

 

“She went her way and ate, and her face was no longer sad”

 

That act really spoke to me.

She believed the word. She had faith she had her answer and

changed her attitude and behavior!

 

I haven’t been doing that enough.

I should live with an attitude of faith.

If I am going to receive what God has promised me

there has to be a change of heart, there has to be a change of attitude,

and a change of behavior. I can’t have faith and walk around like nothing

is going to happen. I can’t have faith in God and live like God hasn’t

heard me. That was such a powerful revelation for me.

Hannah didn’t hesitate when she heard the word.

And look at what happened when she did that,

 

“Then they rose early in the morning and worshiped before the 

Lord, and returned and came to their house at Ramah. 

And Elkanah knew his wife, and the Lord remembered her.

So it came to pass in the process of time that Hannah conceived 

and bore a son, and called his name Samuel, saying, “

because I have asked for him from the Lord.”

1 Samuel 1:19, 20 (emphasis mine)

 

Not only did she change her attitude and behavior but she

worshiped the Lord with her husband!

Worship is so important in the life of a believer.

In her mind her prayer had been answered and that’s

why she worshiped the Lord!

I don’t know about you but that blows my mind.

What are you worshiping God for today?

If you have your answer worship!

If you don’t see your answer still worship!

We need to live a life of worship.

We don’t just worship when we get stuff,

we also worship Him because He is God!

 

What did their worship sound like?

I think they were worshiping the Lord for giving them a child.

They were worshiping Him because He heard their prayers.

That is amazing.

 

Even the words she spoke changed!

Her faith in God had an impact on what came out of her mouth.

Your faith should be spoken out, friends.

You can’t speak negatively and say you have faith.

You can’t speak negatively and see your breakthrough!

The way you speak must change if you have faith.

You should be worshiping the Lord for the great things He has done for you!

 

As I close I would like you to think about how you are speaking?

What is your attitude and behavior like?

Are you complaining, are you talking about how things

are not going to workout or are you speaking out what you believe?

 

And that is my challenge to you today friends…..

 

Bless you

 

Rolain

 

 

Who are you surrounding yourself with?

“Then the children of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about

six hundred thousand men on foot, besides children.

A mixed multitude went up with them also, and flocks and herds-a great

deal of livestock.”

Exodus 12:37, 38

 

When the Israelites left Egypt they left with a mixed multitude. The bible doesn’t

say much about the mixed multitude.

They could of been running away from the Egyptians.

Maybe as they saw all the miracles God performed they

thought they would see more miracles where they went.

Maybe some left because people were leaving.

 

Whatever the case Israel never left alone. At first you think nothing

of it but things aren’t what they seem.

 

“Now the mixed multitude who were among them yielded to intense craving;

so the children of Israel also wept again and said: “Who will give us meat to eat?

We remember the fish which we ate freely in Egypt, the cucumbers, the melons,

the leeks, the onions, and the garlic; but now our whole being is dried up;

there is nothing at all except this manna before our eyes!”

Numbers 11:4-6

 

My question to that is, who made the Israelites remember??

 

As I read these scriptures I couldn’t help but think of the people we allow

in our lives. We need to be very careful who we allow in our lives.

 

I know I can’t blame the mixed multitude for all the Israelites problems.

The Israelites were to blame for a lot of the bad that happened along the

way. But at the same time I can’t ignore the fact that the mixed multitude

were part of the problem!

 

Having the wrong people in your life could be disastrous.

You need to be very careful who you call friend.

Who are you walking with?

Do they have your best interests in mind?

Are they positive or negative people?

Do they challenge you to pursue the dreams God has put in

your heart no matter how impossible it seems or do they shoot

them down??

Are they always complaining, always whining, always speaking

about the bad?

 

This is a hard post to write but it must be written. If you are to grow

in the Lord, if you are to pursue the dreams God has put into your heart

you will need to look at the people you have surrounded yourself

with.

 

Make sure you have people who will push you to trust in the Lord.

Surround yourself with people who will encourage you

Surround yourself with people who will challenge you and be real with you.

Surround yourself with people who will remind you of God’s promises.

 

Don’t tolerate negativity in your life.

Be wise in choosing your friends.

 

God bless you friends

 

Rolain

Puzzles and life…..

For some of you that may not know, I work at my church’s

children’s ministry. I really love it there. It’s more than a job

to me. This is part of what I was created to do – working with

children.

So today I had to sort out a few puzzles in preparation for Sunday.

To be honest, I was a bit worried about the puzzles.

Let me just say it’s being a “while” since I played with

traditional puzzles.

I was worried I had forgotten to assemble a puzzle.

I would never hear the end of the story if I failed to assemble

the puzzles…haha

Start I did and rocky it was. Panic started to set in!

Before I got carried away I spotted the pictures on the side of the

box.

What a difference it made. Because of the pictures I

assembled all the pictures at once.

 

It was at that moment I realized how powerful a picture is!

 

Have you got a picture of where you want to go in life?

Are you holding up a picture of what you want your life to be

or are you on auto pilot at the moment, an anything goes attitude?

A picture makes all the difference!

 

And we are very fortunate because the Lord has pictures for us.

He has a plan and purpose for our lives (Jeremiah 29:11)

When you have a picture for your life you will not be easily

side tracked. You have purpose and are focused when you have

a picture.

 

And make sure the picture you have is one God gave you and

not what people have given you. People’s plans for you will always

fall short of what God has in store for you.

 

As I close I want to challenge you to seek the Lord for the

picture. He has amazing plans for your life so don’t go

through life without a picture in front of 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

 

 

It really starts with me…!

 

It feels like I haven’t written for ever but it’s been just over a

week. I attended a children’s ministry training and a few days

later I went for a Children’s ministry camp. It’s been kids,

kids, and more kids and I love it. Camp was amazing. I know the

kids had fun but I enjoyed it just as much as they did.

A scripture has been on my heart ever since I got back.

 

“Yet you ask, Why does He reject it? Because the Lord was witness

[to the covenant made at your marriage] between you and the

wife

of your youth, against whom you were faithless. Yet she is your

companion and the wife of your covenant [made by your marriage

vows].

And did not God make [you and your wife] one [flesh]? Did not

One make you and preserve your spirit alive? And why [did God

make you two] one? Because He sought a godly  offspring [from

your union]. Therefore take heed to yourselves, and let no one

deal treacherously and be faithless to his wife of his youth.

Malachi 2:14, 15

 

I love this passage of scripture. In this passage we see how God

loves marriage. He created it. But there is something else. From

this passage we learn one of the reasons God created marriage.

 

“And why [did God make you two] one?

Because He sought a godly offspring [from your union]. “

Malachi 2:15

 

One of the reasons God brings two people together in marriage

is because He is seeking a godly offspring from their union!

Let me take it a step further, He already knows your

child and the plan He has for him or her! When God joins

two people together He is not just thinking about the two

people but He is thinking far ahead. He is thinking about thier

children and their children after them and so on! God has a plan

for your children. He loves them and He is thinking about them.

 

So, young man, don’t rush when it comes to choosing the woman

God has for you. There is so much more than meets the eye. He

wants to bless you and He wants to bless your children and thier

children after them. Young women, wait on God’s timing!

He is faithful.

 

“Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God is one Lord [the only Lord].

And you shall love the Lord your God with all your [mind and]

heart and with your entire being and with all your might.

And these words which I am commanding you this day shall be

[first] in your [own] minds and hearts; [then]

 

You shall whet and sharpen them so as to make them penetrate,

and teach and impress them diligently upon the [minds and]

hearts of your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your

 house and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down and

when you rise up.

Deuteronomy 6:4-7

 

This verse ministered to me deeply. It starts with me, it starts with

you. God wants to work on you first so you will be able to teach your

kids. He wants His words to be lodged deep inside you first.

His words must first do thier work in you before they can impact

the next generation.

 

Young man, young woman, is the word first in your life?

Do you have a relationship with the Lord?

If yes, is it deep, is it growing?

Do you love the Lord?

Is He the most important thing in your life?

 

 

Like I said in the beginning, there is so much more to

marriage than meets the eye. Young man, God expects you

to lead your family but how will you lead if you have not

allowed the Lord to lead you?

 

The responsibility of teaching children the word of God lies

on the man. It’s your responsibility young man. It’s an

awesome responsibility and one not to be taken lightly.

Are you living your life in a way that will benefit your future

generation?

God sees generations when He looks at us. Let’s remember our

actions have a direct impact on the future generation!

 

Rolain

 

image credit: google images

When purpose is out of reach….

“And Bilhah became pregnant and bore Jacob a son.

And Rachel said, God has judged and vindicated me,

and has heard my plea and has given me a son; so she

named him Dan [judged].

And Bilhah, Rachel’s maid, conceived again and bore

Jacob a second son.

And Rachel said, with wrestling [in prayer to God]

I have struggled with my sister and I have prevailed;

so she named him [this second son Bilhah bore]

Naphtali [struggled].

Genesis 30:5-8

 

I am sad to say this but Rachel was wrong! God had not yet

answered Rachel’s prayer for a child! She may of thought

God was answering her prayer but He really hadn’t. God

would answer her prayer by giving her Joseph and

Benjamin. So what was happening here?

How did she get so lost concerning what God had promised

her?

 

First, there was Leah, she was giving Jacob sons, a lot of

sons…..haha

In her day that was a good thing. Everything was going

right for her in that respect and she needed it to go right

because her husband Jacob loved Rachel more but she

was unable to give him children.

 

It must of been hard for Rachel. She was being taunted

by her sister most probably. She was looked down by the

community for not being able to bear children and to make

it worse, her prayers to God didn’t seem like they were being

heard. So she did what a lot of us do, she settled. She settled

for whatever came! The deception was so bad

that she thought God was answering her prayer through her

maid. Jacob was having sex with Rachel’s maid who was

bearing children and Rachel thought, God was answering her

prayers!!

 

I don’t blame her at all. I understand totally! I remember a time

I prayed to God for something and I got something close to

what I was praying for and I settled. I told myself God answered

my prayer but I was wrong. I deceived myself. But that’s not even

the crazy thing about this whole situation,

 

I had settled a lot!!!!

 

It’s crazy to think but I have done that so many times but God

doesn’t want me to settle. He doesn’t want you to settle. An

answered prayer is not “almost getting it”, or “it’s close

to the thing I prayed for so it’s all good”.

So in Rachel’s case, an answered prayer was giving birth to

Joseph and Benjamin! Nothing less would do……

 

Where have you settled in life? God doesn’t give half – baked

answers to prayer.

Don’t compromise on your standards. Don’t compromise

when it comes to God’s promises. He is faithful friends.

It can be hard waiting for God to come through but He

will come through. He knows you have been waiting. Like

I said in one of my previous posts,

 

“Waiting is one of the processes God uses to bless us.”

“Because He loves us, He makes us wait”

 

If you are discouraged know this, God will come through

for you. He will give you a complete, more than you ever

imagined, beyond expectation kinda answer!

Trust Him to complete what He has promised in your

life. It’s not easy but hold on.

God’s plan for our lives

will always be too much for us, but it’s like that because

God wants us to come to Him. He wants us to trust Him

and He wants us to realise He is the only One who can bring

what He has promised to pass. When it gets hard don’t

settle, trust Him!

He has heard your cry and prayer…..

 

Rolain

 

photo credit: google images

 

 

The old man who was fully convinced……

 

THOUGHT OF THE DAY

“In hope against hope Abraham believed that he would

become a father of many nations, as he had been promised

[by God]: “So [numberless] SHALL YOUR DESCENDANTS

BE,”

Without becoming weak in faith he considered his own body,

now as good as dead [for producing children] since he was

about  a hundred years old, and [he considered] the deadness

of Sarah’s womb.

But he did not doubt or waver in unbelief concerning the

promise of God, but he grew strong and empowered by faith,

giving glory to God being fully convinced that God had the

power to do what He had promised.

Romans 4: 18-21

 

I have been really impacted by Abraham. There is so

much wisdom we can extract from his story of faith. I read

the above passage of scripture yesterday and it spoke to me

deeply.

As we all know God had an amazing plan for Abraham. He

took him outside and showed him something glorious,

something amazing! (read my last post which went into 

great detail about what God showed him)

But there was a problem, Abraham couldn’t have children

because he was old. His body was dead!

His wife Sarah was in the same boat. She was barren and way

past the age of child bearing. So yeah, that was a problem!

 

What spoke to me though was how Abraham considered all

these factors but still trusted God. He believed what God

promised would come to pass. He never wavered or doubted!

He didn’t allow his dead body and Sarah’s deadened womb to

dictate what he could and could not receive. He didn’t allow

those things to stop him from receiving what God had

promised him.

He considered his own dead body and considered Sarah’s

barren and deadened womb but didn’t allow that to hinder

his faith in God!

 

That blows my mind!

 

The word tells us, ‘He was fully convinced that God had 

the power to do what He had promised.’ !!!!

 

Just because our circumstances are difficult or seemingly

impossible doesn’t mean we should stop trusting in God.

We should be fully convinced that God will come through

for us. I don’t know how Abraham did it because I have

failed in my faith numerous times. There have been times

I doubted God. But I think the important thing is to get up

when we failed. That’s what I did. I got up again and again.

I repented and moved ahead in my faith.

 

The lesson is this: Wherever you are in life, trust God. Everything

may be working against you but God is true to His word.

Stop looking at what’s happening around you. Don’t let that

determine what you should trust God for.

Faith doesn’t wait for the circumstances around you to be

favourable to work. Instead, it just works despite what is

happening around you!

 

There is so much I believe God wants me to do and to be

honest I looked at what was in my hands. I got discouraged

because what was in my hands was very little. It was

insignificant. I wanted to try and think up a plan but I read

the passage of scripture I shared in the beginning and

realised God didn’t want me to look at what I had. He didn’t

want me to rely on my own strength and He most definitely

didn’t want me deciding what I could and couldn’t do based on

what I had or how much I got paid and so on. He wanted

me to trust Him!

 

As I end I would like to leave you with two questions?

 

Are you looking at what is in your hand as you trust God?

Are you allowing what is happening around you to determine

what you should trust God for?

 

Rolain

 

photo credit: google images

 

The true gift……

                                    photo credit: google images

 

I want to bring something back into order, something that

has been tarnished, and diminished in the world

today. The world may have forgotten but we must not forget.

We cannot forget. “What is he rambling on about”, you might be

asking??

 

What do you think is the best gift God can give you?

Salvation yes…!!!! But I am talking about what comes

after salvation.

The world has put value on possessions. Some think God’s

best comes in the form of money. But the word is very

clear about what God’s best gift is:

 

Don’t you see that children are God’s best gift?

The fruit of the womb his generous legacy? Psalms 127:3 (MSG)

 

We have been deceived as the body of Christ because we have put

other things first. We have desired other things which is not a

bad thing. Don’t get me wrong….God has so much in store for us.

But we must not lose sight of His greatest gift to us, children!

Parents need to teach their kids about family and legacy!

As single men and women we need to think about our legacy.

Our career is important but I feel we have put that ahead of

everything else. It’s not “cool” to think about family anymore!

God’s definition of the best gift is children but do we think like that?

As I write this it is cutting me as well. It’s a hard

thought. We have become so selfish. We only think about

ourselves and what WE can get. But God is thinking so

much grander…..

May we get a revelation today…….Amen!

 

Rolain