You are an original and that’s okay……

“We must live in the Holy Spirit and follow after Him. So may we never be arrogant,

or look down on another, for each of us is an original.

We must forsake all jealousy that diminishes the value of others.

Galatians 5:25, 26

 

“each of us is an original”

 

Is this not where the problem’s start, when we compare ourselves to others? Trying to be someone

else is just going to make things worse for you. Jealousy, arrogance, dis-contentedness, frustration and a

whole lot more stem from trying to be someone else.

The word is clear, you are an original!

Let’s look at another scripture;

 

“You formed my innermost being, shaping my delicate inside and my intricate outside, and wove them 

together in my mother’s womb. 

I thank You, God, for making me so mysteriously complex!”

Psalm 139:13, 14 (TPT)

 

We are handsome/beautiful not because we are made like another person but because we are unique.

There is no one on this planet like you and me and that’s a great thing. You are one of a kind.

You are made in the image of YAH!

 

But the world has created a standard of what beauty should be. It has created a picture of what

handsomeness should be and we have bought into it. Not only do we use that measure on others, but

we use it on ourselves. The standard has been reinforced for so long that we don’t know anything else.

We hate and destroy ourselves because of it.

 

I was that person I am describing. Through a series of unfortunate events (abuse, divorce of parents, stuttering)

I hated me. The enemy had done a great job of destroying any good picture I had of myself. There was not a

single trace of self-esteem I could hold on to. I was my own worst enemy. Like I said, I hated me and envied

other people. How I wanted to be someone else.

But when the Lord saved me He changed all that. He showed me I was unique and that was good.

It took a lot of years to get here but He did it. He changed the old picture with a new one. A better picture!

 

You are an original! Don’t let people dictate who you should be. Don’t let the media, your peers and

anyone else for that matter dictate your worthiness. If it’s not based on the word don’t give it any

credence. What YAH says about you should be your standard period!

 

When we live by his truth, then no one is a threat and there is no reason to change ourselves so we can

be like that actor, musician or whoever we are trying to be currently.

We can be confident in who YAH made us to be. And that’s how He wants us live.

 

 

ACT ON IT – Change the way you speak to yourself. Be your biggest fan. Exhort & encourage

yourself, speak YAH”s word over your life.

There is a way to speak to yourself when you mess up without diminishing your value. Find ways of doing

that.

Find two scriptures you can hold on to that talk about your value.

 

Bless you friends.

 

Rolain

 

 

When the enemy is stronger than…..

“When you go to war against your enemies, you might see horses and chariots. 

Their army might be bigger than yours. But don’t be afraid of them. The Lord your God

will be with you. He brought you out of Egypt.”

Deuteronomy 20:1

 

As I read this scripture I look at the battles I have faced and still face. There is no battle I have

thought was a breeze. Every battle has been intense, bigger than me.

There is no battle that has been small. The purpose of the enemy’s attack is to take me out.

He doesn’t attack just for kicks, no! His motivation is real, deadly.

How many times I have felt overwhelmed and powerless because of the trials and storms that have

come my way. The scary truth is that without YAH the enemy would have snuffed me out a long

time ago!

 

Israel were called by YAH to a land flowing with milk and honey. In the natural that was

mission impossible! They would not be able to possess the promise land because the nations

they would have to face were stronger and mightier than they were. To possess the promise

land they would have to face giants! Never mind the promise land, they had to leave Egypt first!

Like I said, mission impossible!

Let’s look at two scriptures,

 

“They told Moses,”We went to the land where you sent us. It is a land where much food grows! 

Here is some of its fruit. But the people who live there are strong. Their cities are walled and large.

We even saw some Anakites there. ” 

Numbers 13:27, 28

 

“Then Caleb told the people near Moses to be quiet. Caleb said, “We should go up and take the land

for ourselves. We can do it.

But the men who had gone with him said, “We can’t attack those people. They are stronger than we are.”

Numbers 13:30, 31

 

“We can’t attack those people. they are stronger than we are.” 

 

The spies were correct technically speaking. They were weaker than the people occupying the promise land.

They were never going to defeat them on their own. But that is why they needed the Lord. With

Him on their side they would defeat the stronger nations.

 

No matter how threatening the trials we face are, we need to know that YAH is with us and because

He is with us we will come out victorious. No matter how hard things get, we will be saved not because

we are strong enough but because YAH is the One who is strong enough.

 

As I end this post I want to leave you with one final thought.

The storms that come our way will always be bigger than us but we are not alone as we face them.

So maybe you feel overwhelmed because of the bills you have to pay and you feel like there is no

way out, know that there is a way out because YAH is with you.

Maybe your family broke up and your future is suddenly unclear, know that things will work out

for your good because the Lord is with you.

No matter the problem you are facing right now, know that the Lord of Hosts is fighting for you.

The devil will not win. He is a defeated foe and doesn’t stand a chance against the Lord of Lords!

Don’t be discouraged, put all of your hope in the Lord. He will help you in your most trying time.

Where you are weak He is strong!

Amen.

 

Rolain

 

 

In her rejection she met Jesus…….

 

What a week and weekend it’s been. My church’s annual Prayer

Conference has just ended and what a conference it was!

The word I heard was rich and truly life changing. With that said

I want to share one of the messages that resonated within me.

There were a few that stood out so I thought this was where I

should start from.

The speaker was a Hebrew scholar and he shared a story we all

know. He spoke about the woman Jesus met at the well, a story

we are all acquainted with I hope! (John 4)

The speaker cleared up some misconceptions about the Samaritan

women we have been taught.

After he spoke I went online to find out if what he said was true and

it was.

 

This post is inspired by the message I heard.

When I verified a lot of what he said I knew I had to write what he

revealed to us.

As I start I want to go over a few things we have been told about

the Samaritan woman at the well.

 

• She was an immoral woman as she was married five times and the man she was currently living with was not her husband!

 

“At this Jesus said to her, Go, call your husband and come

back here.

 The woman answered, I have no husband. Jesus said to her,

you have spoken truly in saying, I have no husband.

For you have had five husbands, and the man you are now

living with is not your husband.

In this you have spoken truly. “

John 4:16 – 18

 

• In Jesus time women would go to the well towards the evening but the Samaritan woman went to draw water at noon.     (John 4:6)

She was trying to avoid the other women and that seems to confirm

the story that she was immoral.

 

Now that I have stated the popular assumptions let’s get into

the truth.

 

Let’s start with the statement about the Samaritan woman being

immoral.

 

• In Jesus time women could not divorce their husbands! Yes you heard that right, they “could not” divorce their husbands.

The men were the only ones who could divorce their wives. There

is a lot of information on the internet backing that up if you have

time to search for it.

Read this!

 

• The penalty for adultery and so on in Jesus time was death so there was no way the Samaritan woman would be allowed to live if she really slept with five different men                       (read Leviticus 20:10)

 

The only way the Samaritan woman could have been married

five times was if she was divorced all those previous times!!!

 

When the speaker shared this, my heart broke for her.

This story was a story of rejection. The Samaritan woman had

been divorced five times.

She had been rejected five times.

 

If she wasn’t an adulterer why did she avoid the women by going

to draw water at the well at noon?

 

The speaker suggested she might have been barren which was

probably why she was avoiding the women and why she was

divorced so many times.

There was a chance she was ridiculed because of that. The word

doesn’t talk about the women being barren so I suggest you do your

own investigations to verify that.

 

So here we have a Samaritan women who had been divorced five

times and had been rejected by the women in the

community. She may have been barren which means she could

of felt rejected by God.

When she met Jesus, He knew her rejection. But instead of rejecting

her He spoke to her.

He didn’t reject her but spoke to her! He accepted her even though

she was a Samaritan.

 

“The Samaritan woman said to Him, How is it that You, being

a Jew, ask me, a Samaritan [and] a woman, for a drink?- For

the Jews have nothing to do with the Samaritans-“

John 4:9

 

 

I love this story because the Samaritan woman experienced

rejection but Jesus welcomed her. He didn’t reject her!

He wanted to save her and did just that.

 

We can take comfort in knowing He won’t reject us!

Man will reject us but not Jesus!

He loves us so much!

 

As I read the story of the Samaritan woman I can identify with her

rejection.

My life was ridded with rejection from friends, family and people I

looked up to.

That rejection damaged me growing up.

It was only by Yeshua’s grace that I was set free of rejection.

 

You might be feeling rejected today but know that Jesus loves

you and accepts you!

He has not rejected you!

Man WILL reject you but not Jesus. He loves you and wants to take

away the rejection you are living with.

Like the Samaritan woman Jesus loves you!

Be encouraged friends!

 

The true life story of the Samaritan woman is one of my favorite

stories now!!!  🙂

 

Bless you friends!

 

Rolain

 

photo credit: google images

 

She was a nobody but faith………

This is part of three of my series on Hebrews 11. Read part two here. As I start this post I would like to share a verse that got my attention,

[Prompted] by faith Rahab the prostitute was not destroyed along with those who refused to believe and obey, because she had received the spies in peace [without enmity]. Hebrews 11: 31

Rehab is a hero of the faith but I wonder if she sees the same thing?? If we spoke to her now would she say she is a hero proudly? A lot of people read her story and are inspired and it is good but let us look deeper into her life. She was a prostitute and that meant a few things:

– She slept with men for money. It didn’t matter if the man was married or a drunk, or abusive, as long as they had money she would sleep with them.

– She was looked down upon by society.

– It’s very possible she struggled with a low self esteem

– She was finding it hard to make ends meet and maybe that is why she became a prostitute.

– She lived in fear (it’s possible she was threatened by men she slept with)

– No one respected her.

– She may have broken a few families up. It’s possible wives found out their husbands slept with Rahab and left!

– She must have dealt with guilt and condemnation on a regular basis because of the things she had to do. .

– Did she try to commit suicide???

I would like to make something clear before we move on,

I look up to Rahab and in no way am I trying to tear down her reputation and what God had done for her. I am trying to paint a picture of what she probably went through to make you understand what God saved her from. Because despite all the bad she did and all the bad that happened to her, through faith she was saved. Her name is recorded among the Greats because she trusted God! Because of faith she saved her family and was found in Jesus’s lineage!! (Matthew 1:5)

We need faith and without it we can do nothing pleasing to God. Do I understand what faith is? Not really. What I do know is God did amazing things through the people who trusted Him. No matter what people labeled them, or where they grew up, they turned the world upside down!

This is what the word says about these great men and women of faith,

[Men] of whom the world was not worthy–roaming over the desolate places and the mountains, and [living] in caves and caverns and holes of the earth. (Hebrews 11:38 AMP)

Think about all Rahab could of gone through. How could God use her, one could think but in the end what matters is He did! No one is too far off for God to use!

You might feel like you are of no use and your life doesn’t count for something. You might think you have committed too much sin to ever do anything great or you may be plagued with guilt and condemnation but know God has a plan for you! He wants to do great things through you and that is why He wants you to trust Him. Only God can turn your life into something great but you have to have faith in Him!

Rahab did that. She stepped out in faith to God despite what she had done and what people thought and saved the spies. As she used her faith her life changed never to be the same ever. What an amazing testimony for her. I am going to look forward to meeting her and hearing her story! Her story is an example of what God can do with someone who has faith in Him!

Our faith in God can do things we never imagined ever. It can open doors only God can open. Have faith in Him.

Rolain

A word to the rejected, outcasts, and nobodies…..

At that time Jesus began to say, I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth [and I acknowledge openly and joyfully to your honour], that You have hidden these things from the wise and clever and learned, and revealed them to babies [to the childish, untaught, and unskilled].
Yes, Father, [I praise You that] such was Your gracious will and good pleasure.  Matt 11:25,26

We serve an amazing God. He really does great things. This is the will of God, to call the childish and the untaught and unskilled. Can you imagine if God chose us according to the world’s criteria?? A lot of us would be in some serious trouble!

For [simply] consider your own call, brethren; not many [of you were considered to be] wise according to human estimates and standards, not many influential and powerful, not many of high and noble birth.
[No] for God selected (deliberately chose) what in the world is foolish to put the wise to shame, and what the world calls weak to put the strong to shame. 1 Corinthians 1:26-29

You may be unpopular and made fun off but know God has a plan for you. You may think you are a nobody because of where you stay but know that God has a plan for you. People may think you are a complete loser because you can’t talk properly but God has a plan. Your teachers may have written you off but God hasn’t. This is the way He works. He takes the foolish things of the world and uses them to do great things. He uses them to confound the wisdom of the world. Listen to what Jesus says at the end of Matthew 11;26, Yes, Father, [I praise You that] such was Your gracious will and good pleasure. 

Looking at my life I see this truth so clearly. I was nothing and I was a nobody. I was made fun of at school because I stuttered. I wasn’t good at sports, I wasn’t good at academics and to top it of I was being abused at home. My dad was an alcoholic and abusive, please note, WAS. My parents had a divorce. So from the world’s perspective there was no hope of me doing anything of worth. I was written off but praise God, He didn’t. He had a plan for me all along. He took this nothing (me) and lifted me up and continues to lift me up higher. The amazing thing is He is doing that for you too because that is the way He works. You are not a nobody. You are special in the eyes of God.

Rolain