He takes away shame….

“Later, Zechariah’s wife, Elizabeth, became pregnant. She did not go out of her house for five 

moths. Elizabeth said, “Look what the Lord has done for me! My people were ashamed of me, 

but now the Lord has taken away that shame.”

Luke 1:24, 25

 

I love this story for so many reasons. Elizabeth couldn’t have children and in her time people looked

down on her because of that. She didn’t decide to not have babies. She just couldn’t. It was out of her

control but I don’t think people understood that. They looked down on her because of it and that’s all

we need to know.

 

As I read this story it really spoke to me. As I look at my life there are a lot of things that haven’t

come to pass and sometimes it can be frustrating especially when it seems like the next person is

getting everything they prayed for and more. I have had to deal with people who thought there was

something wrong with me.  I have had to deal with the shame of unanswered prayers which is so

hard. Where do you even begin explaining why God hasn’t answered your prayers in a certain area??

There have even been times I thought God had forgotten about me because certain things had not

happened yet.

 

If you are in a similar situation as me then this story provides hope. Elizabeth was being ridiculed, and was

the talk of the town because she couldn’t have children but God did something amazing. He answered

her prayers and gave her a child. He took away her shame.

 

I believe God will take your shame, whatever it is. Just keep praying, keep trusting God. What you praying

and trusting God for will come to pass. Don’t lose heart. This is the thing, people will always talk. There

is nothing you can do about that but you can do something about your response. Don’t be discouraged

by other people’s words. God will fulfill what He promised no matter what the next person thinks. His

promises are never dependent on another persons opinions and ideas.

Maybe all your friends have gone to university but for one reason or the other you are still waiting to go,

God will answer your prayer.

You may still be single and the majority of your friends married. Just know that God knows exactly where

you are. Don’t panic or fret. He will answer your prayer.

Whatever it is, know that God will come through for you. He will take away your shame. Keep your eyes on Him!

Bless you friends.

 

Rolain

The Promise…..

“Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also

had been baptized, and [while He was still] praying, the [visible]

heaven was opened

And the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in bodily form like a dove,

and a voice came from heaven saying, You are My Son, My

beloved!

In You I am well pleased and find delight!”

Luke 3:21, 22

 

This is a very familiar passage of scripture we can all agree. Pretty

straight forward as well but there is something else I saw that I

would like to share.

Jesus was about to start His ministry. But before He started He

had to be baptized. Something powerful happened as He got

baptized. The Holy Spirit came upon Him.

As I read this scripture I couldn’t move on. There were some

things which stood out for me.

 

Jesus would not be able to accomplish His mission without the

Holy Spirit. He would not be able to do all the things He did

without the Holy Spirit. He wasn’t getting baptized because it

was a “nice” thing to do.

Without the baptisim of the Holy Spirit Jesus would be powerless

and He would fail His mission.

As I was getting these insights I couldn’t help wonder if I really

understood the role of the Holy Spirit in me.

 

“However, I am telling you nothing but the truth when I say it is

profitable (good, expedient, advantageous) for you that I go away.

Because if I do not go away, the Comforter (Counselor, Helper,

Advocate, Intecessor, Strengthener, Standby) will not come to you

[into close fellowship with you]; but if I go away, I will send Him

to you [to be in close fellowship with you].”

John 16:7

 

I have not fully understood the role of the Holy Spirit in my life.

I have taken Him for granted but I see now.

I was wrong!

 

But it makes sense right, all the sense in the world! It makes

sense how God uses the foolish, the broken, the weak, to do

great things.

I have issues, major issues, flaws, weaknesses……..

I don’t do the right thing a lot,

I think wrong,

I get afraid at times,

I struggle speaking to strangers about Christ,

I struggle with self esteem,

I am lazy,

I am selfish…..the list goes on and on

 

We are broken but God knows that and He has the answer….

 

Let’s look at one man who had major issues, Peter.

He was afraid, he doubted Jesus a lot, and he denied the Lord

three times. He had issues like we do but….

 

“But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and

adressed them: You jews and all you residents of Jerusalem,

let this be [explained] to you so that you will know and

understand;

listen closely to what I have to say.”

Acts 2:14

 

He was bold!

 

“And [Peter] solemnly and earnestly witnessed (testified) and 

admonished (exhorted) with much more continuous speaking and

warned (reproved, advised, encouraged) them, saying, Be saved

from this crooked (perverse, wicked, unjust) generation.

Therefore those who accepted and welcomed his message were

baptized, and there were added that day about 3000 souls.”

Acts 2:40, 41

 

He wasn’t afraid anymore. He spoke with power and authority,

something he didn’t have before.

 

“But Peter said, Silver and gold (money) I do not have; but what I

do have, that I give to you: in [the use of] the name of Jesus Christ

of Nazareth, walk!

Then he took hold of the man’s right hand with a firm grip and

raised him up. And at once his feet and ankle bones became strong

and steady, “

Acts 3:6, 7

 

I could give you more examples but you get the idea. There

was an amazing transformation in Peter’s life. He wasn’t perfect

but there was a change. He was spirit-filled!

He did amazing things for God because he had the Holy Spirit

living in him.

May we get a revelation of what it means to be spirit filled.

As I end I would like to share one more scripture:

 

“And if the Spirit of Him Who raised up Jesus from the dead

dwells in you, [then] He Who raised up Christ Jesus from the

dead will also restore to life your mortal (short-lived, perishable)

bodies through His Spirit Who dwells in you.

Romans 8:11

 

The same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead lives in me, lives

in you. I missed it somewhere but I see now.

I want to walk in the same power Jesus did? I need Him…

Without Him there is no power, no impact, no fruit!

What about you?

Will you seek Him, cry out to Him?

We all need Him if we are going to impact this world for Christ!

God bless you friends……

 

Rolain

 

photo credit: google images

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How He grows your faith…….

“When Jesus looked out and saw that a large crowd had arrived, He said 

to Philip, “Where can we buy bread to feed these people?”

He said this to stretch Philip’s faith. He already knew what He 

was going to do. John 6:5, 6

 

When Jesus and Philip looked out at the large crowd what did they see?

Philip saw an impossible situation! In his mind it was an impossible situation!

Jesus saw something different when He looked out at the crowd. He knew exactly what He was going to do. Philip on the other hand saw obstacles and barriers but Jesus wanted to stretch his faith.

I have been meditating on this verse for a couple of days now. It is such a powerful scripture…..

We are like Philip in many ways. There are situations in our lives where we look and think, “impossible”! How am I going to do this or do that? How, how , how……but Jesus already knows what He is going to do!

You may be freaking out because you can’t see a way out or a solution but Jesus sees, He has the solution!

But He won’t just come and sort it out, like Philip He is asking us the same question,

“Where can we buy bread to feed these people?”

He wants to stretch our faith. What was impossible in Philip’s mind was possible in Jesus’s mind! He didn’t see barriers, limitations, roadblocks or anything like that………

As long as there is faith, the impossible does not exist! Jesus wants to stretch our faith!  No matter what impossible situation you are facing please know that Jesus has the answer. He wants you to be able to face any situation and know He has the answer!!!! No matter how big, no matter how impossible, He want’s you to know He has the answer. Philip had faith in God but Jesus knew his faith in Him had to grow, it had to be stretched!! I am comforted to know that Jesus wants to stretch my faith! I want my faith to grow……There is so much bad happening around me that the only way to get out of it is to have strong faith in Him! Having strong faith will not erase the situation, instead it will help me walk through it with peace and confidence that He is in control!!! He is so good!

Rolain

 

 

Purity and dating….What really matters here???

 

I had a thought the other day about my blog. I have rarely written anything

about dating. I have written a few posts here and there but nothing really substantial

about this very important piece of my life. It’s what I pray about constantly and talk to

God about. It’s an area I struggle trusting God in. If there is one thing I have

realized when it comes to finding the one, it’s we as people have no control over who we are to be with.

What I mean is God is the one directing us and guiding us in our relationships. He is involved

In the choosing process, it’s not just us. If it was up to me only I would of being married by now,

I would of chosen someone and that would have been that. But that is not the case for me. God has

really used this area of my life to teach me to trust in Him wholeheartedly! That is what I believe and

that is what I have experienced. This won’t apply to everyone. We are all unique and God works

differently in all our lives.

 

What is your point you might be asking??? Please bear with me a little longer. I am getting there….

 

I had a great week last week. It was great because God spoke to me about grace. I have always

known what grace is but last week was different. I got a whole new perspective on grace. But with

that perspective certain areas of my life were highlighted. The area of dating and relationships

was one of the areas that were highlighted in my life.

Let me explain. I have always prided myself in the values I have been taught concerning dating.

 

–         I have never dated in my life ever!

–         I have never kissed anyone passionately (That honor will go to my wife)!

–         I signed a covenant of chastity even.

 

 

There are others but this post is not about what my values are and getting the praise but about

what God showed me. These are the things that made me proud and even conceited. Because of the

values I had I thought I could dictate who I wanted. God, I want this kind of woman and she must

be that and and and………

I am so ashamed writing this because I was seriously misguided. This is not how God works.

One of the things I prided myself in……
But what matters is God’s grace!

 

Last week He showed me how getting a wife was not because of all the things I had done,

and the high standards I had and the values I believed in but because of His grace!

It is because of His grace that I will find the One. It won’t be because of my intelligence and

how holy I appear to be and how together I try to be but it will be because of His grace!!!!

This is one area He will get the glory! He wants the glory in every aspect of our lives.

When I realized this I was dumbfounded. How could I have not seen this?

 

Please understand me here, keeping yourself pure and all those other decisions about purity

you have made or should make are important. But those things need to be done to glorify God.

I had that intension when I first started out but it changed some where. It became about me

some where down the line.I will meet the woman God has for me because of His grace. I won’t

have anything to add on and say to God “but it’s because I did this or that…..no!”

That is how amazing God’s grace is. His grace extends to every other area of our lives and not just in

our relationships.

 

Will you lean fully on His grace? Don’t rely on what you have done or what you can do and and and….

Rely on His grace!

 

Rolain

The enemy’s goal for you….

When Saul and his troops heard the Philistines challenge, they were terrified and lost all hope. 

1 Samuel 17:11

 

Each morning and evening for forty days, Goliath took his stand and made his speech. 

1 Samuel 17:16

 

As I read this during my quiet time God spoke to me. This is what the enemy does. His goal is to terrify us and make us lose hope. Without hope we are truly lost. When we are terrified we are crippled unable to stand and fight! God cannot work with people who are controlled with fear. He wants to break the fear off our lives. I am one of those people. One of those people who is fighting fear. I know God has not given me a spirit of fear but of power, love and a sound mind!

 

Look at what the enemy does once the Israelite army is terrified and have lost hope.

 

“Each morning and evening for forty days, Goliath took his stand and made his speech.”

 

The enemy is not content with terrifying you for a day. He wants you terrified as long as he can! He doesn’t want you to ever live with hope. He wants you to constantly live in fear, terrified! He is crazy…..! He will do all he can to discourage you, tear you down, destroy your dreams. He will do anything. Morning and evening for forty days! It’s crazy to think that would work but it did.

Look at the kind of effect it had.

 

“While they were talking together, the Philistine champion, Goliath of Gath, stepped out from the front lines of the Philistines, and gave his usual challenge. David heard him.

The Israelites to a man, fell back the moment they saw the giant – totally frightened.”

1 Samuel 17:23, 24

 

You would think the army would get tired of the same old challenge. But the fact is, they didn’t. We look at them and wonder how they could be so scared but the fear was real for them. Goliath was a giant! I would freak out if I saw a giant. Goliath was not only a giant but a trained one, ready for battle!

 

When I read the story everything made sense. There is something I am about to do but I have been attacked with fear. What if I fail, what if I heard God wrong, a lot of people are saying don’t do it but this is something I believe God wants me to do. These are the things I am constantly struggling with in my head. But I know the reason now. The enemy wants me to lose ALL hope! He wants me terrified, so terrified that I disobey God, so terrified, that I am not effective.

 

The armies of Israel dressed for battle everyday for 40 days only to cower away in fear. They were not fighting, just fearing and out of hope!

That is what the enemy wants for you. Has fear crippled you? Have you lost all hope in God because that is what happened?! They lost hope in God. The enemy succeeded.

We can’t let the enemy win. God has so much for us to do. He wants us to win. He wants us to hope in Him. He wants us to trust in Him.

 

Rolain

 

When we can’t see God’s plan for us……

When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.”

Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.”

Luke 5:4, 5

There is a something I have been declaring to God for the past couple of days which says, 

I can’t see Lord! But I make a decision to trust You. 

I have come to a place where there are a lot of things that don’t make sense.A lot of things that are happening that I don’t understand. I don’t have control over a lot of things, a lot! I can’t see the whole picture. But even in these circumstances I make a decision to trust God. Like Peter who had been fishing for the whole night and caught nothing. Jesus told him to cast his net and even though he didn’t understand, he obeyed God. He couldn’t see the end result but he just obeyed. That is how I feel.  

You may be unclear of the future, or unclear about other things that are happening in your life but God is in control. He can be trusted. He sees everything. He sees the beginning and the end. When things get confusing, when things are unclear, you can either fret and panic or wait on God. You can trust God. He has a plan for you and even though you may not see the whole picture trust in Him.

Let us be like Peter and just obey. Let us be like Peter and just trust! 

“Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because You say so, I will let down the nets.”

God bless

Rolain

No matter what happens, God is in control!

You have a calling….. You were brought to earth for a reason and that is the truth. What I have been thinking about are the journey’s of all the great men and women in the bible. I don’t believe the road God paved for them was easy. And this is the thing though, we read their stories and we know their ending but the actual people didn’t. For example, look at Joseph, Esther, and Rahab.

Joseph – We know his story but imagine what he went through. He was sold as a slave. What was going through his mind at that precise moment? Just before that his brothers threw him down a pit and were planning his death! Did he think his life would amount up to something? Did he feel like God had abandoned him? Did he lose hope? Did he ever feel like just giving up? I think he went through all these things but when we read his story we know the end. We know God would deliver him in a mighty way. We know he would become second to Pharaoh! We know he would save the world from a severe famine but did he? I don’t think he knew that when he was in the pit. But the fact is this, God was in control, even when things didn’t seem like that. He knew the end and that is what matters. Joseph may of felt abandoned because of the circumstances he found himself in but he wasn’t abandoned. God had not abandoned him! God was guiding him and making a way for him. God was preparing him for something big.

Esther – She was orphaned. She didn’t know who her parents were. She was abandoned and was being raised by her uncle, Mordecai. (Esther 2:7) And to top things off, she was a women. Not the greatest thing to be at that time in history. What did she struggle with? Did she even think she was called? Did she know God had an amazing plan for her? Did she struggle with identity and rejection? But as we read the story we know the end. We know she would be crowned the new queen and she would save an entire race! Did she know that in the beginning? I don’t think so but again, God was in control. She may off thought of herself as dirt but God had planned something so amazing for her. He loved her and God was with her. I wonder if she knew that in the beginning????

Rahab – She was a prostitute! I can only imagine what she went through before the spies visited her. She had to struggle with people mocking her. Did she struggle with abuse, physical and verbal? I most definitely think so. Did she struggle with self-esteem? People looked down on her? She was treated like trash. She wasn’t even a Christian!!! She was a prostitute for crying out loud. In her eyes and the eyes of everyone else around her, her life path was clear, there was no mistake of what she would amount to. She would amount to nothing!!! There was no hope for her. Did she believe that God had chosen her? Did she know something amazing was about to happen to her?? I don’t think so. But again, God was in control. He had a plan for her even if she couldn’t see it, even if everybody else around couldn’t see it. God had a plan and that made all the difference!

This is what I am trying to get to. God has a plan for your life. Even if like Rahab everyone says you are going nowhere, God has a plan for your life. Put your faith in God. His plan for your life is going to blow you away. Take comfort in the fact that, GOD has a plan for you. Your circumstances might be saying the complete opposite but God has a plan. Don’t give up. At times I don’t see. The circumstances around me get my focus off the bigger picture. But God has a plan even if it seems like He has abandoned me. Don’t believe the lies. God is in control. He created your beginning but He also created your end and it is wonderful!! It is grand and it is breathtaking!!! He knows how it’s going to end because He is the one who WROTE the end!!

Rolain.

The “Trust Issue”…..

In November I will be going for a tour to Malaysia. I am really looking forward to it but this is the thing, I haven’t finished raising my money. And then I found out I needed more cash for the trip. I have to admit that I panicked a bit. I started thinking about where I would get the other money and IF I would get it. That was just crazy. In the midst of all the anxiety a thought came to me. When things get crazy and beyond my control I panic why? As the month draws to an end there is always a worrying about the bills not been paid! The point is this, God has always come through for me countless times and yet I still worry again and again! One would think the lesson would have been learned but that is not the case! Every month and every season we worry about things that God has already come through for. Is it lunacy?

Is it a case of growing up as a Christian where I come to a realisation that God is my Provider and I don’t need to worry? Do I need to get to a level where I don’t panic no matter what comes my way because I have the understanding that God has already seen everything that I will ever face and also realise He had made a way for me a long time ago?

Do I need to come to a place where I realise that nothing ever shocks God, nothing!! Do I need to come to a realisation that God is never caught off-guard because He is TOTAL control of my life?!

God is the Almighty God. None can compare to Him. He gave His life so I could live. He loves me and watches over me. Since I serve so great a God instead of panicking I need to thank Him for coming through for whatever I have been facing! I should be solid and confident not in myself but in God that everything is ok…………..
Rolain.