Living life in your own strength…..

“Moses told [the Lord’s] words to all the Israelites, and they

mourned greatly.

And they rose early in the morning and went up to the top of

the mountain, saying

Behold, we are here, and we intend to go up to the place which

the Lord has promised, for we have sinned.

But Moses said, why do you transgress the command of the Lord

[to turn back by way of the Red Sea], since it will not succeed?

Go not up, for the Lord is not among you, that you be not struck

down before your enemies. “

Numbers 14:39-45

 

The twelve spies had got back from scouting Canaan and

ten of the twelve brought back bad news. Joshua and Caleb

where full of confidence that God could bring them into the

promise land but the other ten thought otherwise. Anyway

after the news Israel in it’s entirety complained and grumbled.

Talk of going back to Egypt was going around and the people

were about to stone Joshua and Caleb when the Lord intervened!

 

They would not inherit the land God promised them because

of their lack of faith. Their children would be the ones who

would enter the promise land.

Anyway to cut a long story short, the people were very sorry

for how they reacted and decided to take up their weapons

and take the land God had given them. Moses told them it

was too late and they had to turn back but they thought it a

small feat to attack the Canaanites and Amalekites.  So off they

went without Moses and the ark of God (His presence) and

lost! (Numbers 14:44, 45)

 

The Israelites took for granted God’s presence with them.

They thought they could storm the Canaanites in their own

strength but they were dead wrong. It was because of God

they were able to destroy nations stronger than themselves!

 

This Sunday I was reminded who is really in control. Like

the Israelites I forgot who was really in control. I had become

proud. I forgot the reason I do all I do is because of His grace

and mercy on my life. There is no other reason behind it. I am

able to teach because He enables me to!

 

“My glory is great because of His aid”

 

That sums up everything.

The reason I write, the reason I am

able to teach, the reason I am where I am is because of Him.

It’s not because I am smart or because I “know” people!

It’s not because I grew up in the right neighborhood.

It’s not because I am eloquent and so on and so on….

 

I am able to do all that I do because of God. It’s all Him!

Without God I would lose. The enemy would win hands

down.

My enemies in the natural ARE stronger than me and I could be

extinguished if I was alone. But I am not alone!

The Lord is with me and He is the reason I win, He is the

reason I succeed. He is the reason I am still here.

 

We need God friends. I hope you realize just how much you

need Him in your life. He does so much and at times we can

take it for granted. We can think it’s because of our strength

but it’s not. He is the One who has carried us this far.

The Israelites thought their strength was enough but they

were so wrong! They needed God desperately if they were

ever going to enter the promise land.

As I close I want to encourage you to always seek His guidance.

He is the reason we win and He is the reason we are alive.

Don’t forget that friends!

Bless you

 

Rolain.

 

 

 

 

 

The best and sure way to know you are growing in your walk with God….

How much emphasis do you place on growth?

As a Christian there needs to be consistent growth in our lives.

When I talk about growth I am talking about it in the context of

our walk with God.

We need to be able to see growth clearly and not have to guess if it’s

happening. There are many ways to grow but let’s look at a

way that makes growth quantifiable.

 

“And this is how we may discern [daily by experience] that we 

are coming to know Him [to perceive, recognize, understand and 

become better acquainted with Him]: if we keep (bear in mind, 

observe, practice) His teachings (precepts, commandments).”

1 John 2:3-6

 

I urge you to continue reading up to verse six.

The easiest way to know you are growing in the Lord is

to look at how much Word you apply in your life. That is a

sure way of assessing your growth in the Lord.

I believe reading the Word of God is significant (Romans 10:17)

but we must not stop there. We must apply the word into our

lives. Let me ask you a question,

 

How much of the word are your applying into your life?

 

I was challenged by the message I am sharing with you now.

As I read 1 John 2:3 I realized I needed to step up.

As I see it, there is always room for improvement.

My desire is to grow deeper in my relationship with Christ

and that will happen when I take His amazing word and

apply it into my life. As I end I will share one more scripture

that challenges me every time I read it,

 

“These words I speak to you are not incidental additions to your

life, homeowner improvements to your standard of living.

They are foundational words, words to build a life on. 

If you work these words into your life, you are like a smart 

carpenter who builds his house on solid rock. Rain poured

down, the river flooded, a tornado hit – but nothing moved that

house. It was fixed to the rock. 

But if you just use my words in Bible studies and don’t work them 

into your life, you are like a stupid carpenter who built his house

on the sandy beach. When a storm rolled in and the waves came 

up, it collapsed like a house of cards.” 

Matthew 7:24-27

 

God bless you friends!

 

Rolain

He didn’t understand surrender…….!

 

 

What does it mean to really surrender? I am interested to know how God sees surrender. Let us look at a story of the young rich man who came to Jesus. His story will help us see surrender the way God sees it. As you know the rich young man came and asked Jesus what he should so to get eternal life (Matthew 19:16) We read in a later verse that the young man had kept all the things Jesus had suggested. We will pick up the story from there:

 

“The young man said, I’ve done all that. What’s left?

If you want to give it all you’ve got, Jesus replied, go sell your possessions; give everything to the poor. All your wealth will then be in heaven. Then come follow me.”

That was the last thing the young man expected to hear. And so, crestfallen, he walked away. He was holding on tight to a lot of things, and he couldn’t bear to let go. Matthew 19: 20

 

The young man had followed the commandments unwaveringly and to some extent he may have thought it was enough. But it wasn’t. He may of thought he could hold on to those other things because he was following the commandments. He thought tithing, going to church, praying, fasting, listening to Christian music, and reading the bible was enough, He thought that was sacrifice and it is but it was not enough. The word says,

That was the last thing the young man expected to hear. And so, crestfallen, he walked away. He was holding on tight to a lot of things, and he couldn’t bear to let go. Matthew 19:22

What are you holding on to tightly? The young man couldn’t BEAR to let things go! He held on really tight but real surrender is being able to let those things go. I read this scripture a few days ago and instantly things came up, things that I had been holding onto tightly. I brought those things to God and asked Him to help me let go, I want to really surrender. God wants everything! Partial surrender is not surrender at all. He wants our all……! Will you surrender….??

Rolain

Taking Responsibility For The Next Generation!!!

Give me now wisdom and knowledge to go out and come in before this people, for who can rule this Your people who are so great?
2 Chronicles 1:10

This was what King Solomon prayed to God when God asked him what he wanted. Instead of asking for wealth or long life or a whole host of other things, he asked God for wisdom to guide the nation of Israel!!!!
How did this young man who was about to lead so great a nation know what to ask for?

Today we have a lot of kids who are not growing up in the way of the Lord. We have kids who are passionate about everything but God. We have young people who will not raise their hands to God in praise! The things of God don’t seem to interest our kids but why? As mentor’s and parents we blame Facebook and other social networks, we blame television but the truth is, it’s our fault! We have not set a good example. We watch anything and everything but expect our kids to be pure in what they watch!
Our kids are not passionate because WE are not passionate. We read our bibles once a week and expect our kids to read their bibles daily. We eat trash but we teach our kids to eat right!!! Something is wrong with that picture.                               Even if you don’t have kids yet this applies to you. Are you on fire for God? Do you read your word? Are you a passionate person?
King David managed to transfer his vision to Solomon. Could you say that about your kids? Do they know what God has called them to do?  Do they know your vision? Look at what the next scripture says:

When I [Solomon] was a son with my father [David], tender and the only son in the sight of my mother [Bathsheba],
He taught me and said to me, Let your heart hold fast my words; keep my commandments and live.
Proverbs 3:3-27

Solomon asked for wisdom because his dad treasured it. His dad would sit down and talk to him about it.
As mentors, teachers, and parents we have the responsibility of leading the way. I wrote a post sometime ago entitled Our kids at War. They are at war and they are losing. They need more role models. They need someone to follow. But how can they follow us if we are not passionate about God and we are lukewarm???? It won’t work. Let us follow King David’s example and raise up our kids in the admonition of the Lord….

As we do that our kids will be stronger. They will be able to stand on our shoulders as we lead them.

Rolain