God has a name for you.

“And they journeyed from Bethel and had but a little way to go to Ephrath [Bethlehem]

when Rachel suffered the pangs of childbirth and had hard labor. 

When she was in hard labor, the midwife said to her, Do not be afraid; you shall have this son

also. And as her soul was departing, for she died, she called his name Ben-oni [son of my sorrow]; 

but his father called him Benjamin [son of the right hand]. 

Genesis 35:16-18

 

As Rachel was dying she called her son Ben-oni and rightly so in her mind because she was about

to die. Because of the pain she was experiencing she named him but Jacob gave him another name.

A name of blessing which spoke of God’s plan and purpose for his life.

 

The temptation is great to listen to the names people call us because we think they “know” us.

We allow the words of man to define us because we think they really do know us. Either because

they have been friends for a really long time or because they are family but the truth of the matter

is that God is the only One who really knows us. We need to look to Him to tell us who we are and

not man.

 

I am not saying we should stop listening to the encouraging words of friends, family, mentors, teachers

and the other people in our lives but what I am saying is that we need to be very careful we don’t stop

with what they tell us we can be or do.

 

Rachel is a picture of man who makes decisions about us and speak based on what they see.

Jacob is a picture of God and what He sees. Even when it’s not clear to us or anyone else, God knows

the plans He has for us.

He knows all the great things we will do and that’s what He speaks over us.

 

“Jabez was honorable above his brothers; but his mother named him Jabez [sorrow maker], saying, 

Because I bore him in pain. 

Jabez cried to the God of Israel, saying, Oh, that You would bless me and enlarge my border, and 

that Your hand might be with me, and You would keep me from evil so it might not hurt me! 

And God granted his request.”

1 Chronicles 4:9, 10

 

Jabez was given a name by man but he prayed for God to bless him. He was tired of being called

Sorrow-Maker. He knew God had something better for him so he prayed and God granted

his request! I love that so much. You don’t have to live by what man says you can or can’t do.

Just because man thinks you can’t doesn’t mean that’s true. What matters is what God thinks and

says about you!

 

For a long time I lived by other people’s scripts. I was okay with living in the box they made for me. But

when I gave my life to Christ things changed radically. The Lord opened my eyes to what He had in store

for me. He showed me a glimpse of what He had in store which was so much higher and greater than

what man said I could do. Bit by bit the chains began to be broken off.

Don’t let man define what you can do. Let God’s word be what directs you and drives you.

Don’t be limited by all the perceptions and images man has put on you.

 

God has an amazing plan for your life.

Let go of the words that have been spoken over you that have limited you and live

by who God says you are.

 

Bless you friends

 

Rolain

When courage is lost.

“[Those aboard] mount up to the heavens, they go down again to the deeps; 

their courage melts away because of their plight. 

They reel to and fro and stagger like a drunken man and are at their wits end [all their 

wisdom has come to nothing]. 

Then they cry to the Lord in their trouble, and He brings them out of their distresses.”

Psalm 107:23-30

 

“Their courage melts away because of their plight” 

 

I can understand that. Life throws things that have the potential to melt away your

courage. It can throw things that render you hopeless and weak.

Situations that leave you clueless and powerless.

But what I want to look at and discus is how you deal with those situations. There will always

be giants stronger than us. We will always be faced with hard things that we don’t have answers to.

But knowing how to deal with those situations will make all the difference.

 

Psalm 107:23 paints a vivid picture for us. There were sailors out at sea and a storm

arose. The sailors knew a lot about the sea and you would expect that knowledge would help them,

but it didn’t. Their wisdom came to nothing. With all their experience and knowledge there was

nothing they could do. They didn’t have answers.

All hope they had of being saved was crushed. Their courage was lost.

But things turned around because of one thing and one thing alone, God. Their situation turned around

not because they were skilled, not because they were sailors and had tons of experience, and not because

of their strength.

When they cried out to God in their trouble He heard and saved them. The bible says it this way,

 

“Then they cry to the Lord in their trouble, and He brings them out of their distresses.”

 

When you are at your wits end, when your courage is lost because of the enormity of the

storm cry out to God. He doesn’t expect you to deal with the storm by yourself. He expects you to call Him.

He expects you to trust Him in the fiercest of storms.

 

When the sailors cried out to God, He delivered them from their distress.

What are you going through today? What trouble are you facing?

Has your courage gone because of your plight? Is your hope lost?

Don’t lose heart in the storm.

God is with you and He will carry you through.

 

Bless you friends

 

Rolain

How will we see breakthrough in our lives today?

THOUGHT OF THE DAY.

“And Simon (Peter) answered, Master, we toiled all night [exhaustingly]

and caught nothing [in our nets]. But on the ground of Your word, I will

lower the nets [again].

 

And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish;

and as their nets were [at the point of] breaking,

They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and take hold

with them. And they came and filled both boats,

so that they began to sink.”

Luke 4:5-7

 

Peter and his team had spent the whole night toiling trying to catch fish but caught

nothing.

With all their experience, resources and strength they came up empty!

 

Is that not a perfect picture of what happens when we rely on our own strength

instead of relying on the strength of YAH??

We need to understand that in our own strength we will fail, period!

No amount of money, no amount of experience, no amount of strength will ever

be enough.

 

But look at what happens when Peter listened to Yeshua;

 

“And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish;”

 

They caught an incredible amount of fish. The number was so great

that they had to call their partners to help them.

But the number was still so great that both boats began to sink!

 

We need to stop relying on ourselves and look to YAH.

It is when we respond to Him and obey Him that things begin to

happen.

Impossible things begin to happen as well when we look to

Him instead of looking to ourselves.

 

We have a choice today, we can either “toil all night in our strength”

but come up empty or we can obey what Yeshua has told us and see

breakthrough in the situation we are in at the moment?

The choice is yours!

 

Bless you friends.

 

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

Does that make sense???

THOUGHT OF THE DAY

Lean on, trust in, and be confident in the Lord

with all your heart and mind and do not rely

on your own insight or understanding.

Proverbs 3:5

 

If you are going to walk in everything God has

for you there is something you need to do.

You will need to throw what you know out of the

window!!!

The word says, we must trust in the Lord with

ALL of our heart and mind….that’s clear.

Then it says, “and do not rely on your own

insight and understanding“…not so clear???

Let me share another scripture with you:

 

“Men, I can see that our voyage is going to

be disastrous and bring great loss to ship and

cargo, and to our own lives also.”

But the centurion, instead of listening to what

Paul said, followed the advise of the pilot and

of the owner of the ship. Acts 27:10, 11

 

It’s very clear why the centurion listened to

the pilot and the owner of the ship. The pilot

who I am guessing is the captain had sailed

these seas numerous times. He had years

and years of experience. Wasn’t that

enough? Let me rephrase that, it should

have been enough! But it wasn’t!!

There is a time when experience and insight

play their part but we must be must know

when that time is.

Our own understanding gets in the way of

what God wants to do at times. A lot of the

time our own insight and understanding

excludes God from the equation!

The centurion was not about to listen to a

man who knew nothing about the sea. Paul

was not a sailor so why listen to him???

 

God’s word a lot of the time doesn’t make sense

and calls us to believe in the impossible!

Your destiny doesn’t make sense.

God’s blessing in your life does not make sense.

You are not supposed to be standing but you are

because of God.

Trust in Him with all of your heart and mind.

 

Be not wise in your own eyes; reverently fear

and worship the Lord and turn [entirely] away

from evil. Proverbs 3:7

 

There it is again. Don’t rely on your own wisdom!

 

As you walk the road God has called you to don’t

lean on your own understanding and insight but trust

in Him with all of your heart and mind!

A truly difficult word to live by…….

Rolain

 

 

Remember God today!

And when, in time to come, your son asks you, what does this

mean?

You shall say to him, by strength of hand the Lord brought us out

from Egypt, from the house of bondage and bondmen.

Exodus 13:14

 

And it shall be as a reminder upon your hand or as frontlets

between your eyes, for by a strong hand the Lord brought

us out of Egypt.

Exodus 13:16

 

Out of all the miracles God performed this is the most talked about.

God has constantly reminded His people to remember what He did

at the Red Sea.

God delivered His people in a mighty way!

His people were called to remember what He did and He told them

to tell their kids. It is clear God didn’t want His people to forget.

The Red Sea moment was a reference point for the Israelite’s!

When they lost hope they would remember what God did for their

ancestors at the Red Sea, and in Egypt! We too are His people and

He is calling us to not forget!

How important is it to remember?

To answer that I would like to share something a friend shared

with me a few days ago,

 

“God is the God of the impossible.

Reasoning your way out of an impossible situation

is not as effective as reminding your way out of it! – Unknown

 

That stopped me cold in my tracks. How many times I have

tried to reason myself out of a situation. The more effective

way is to remember our way out of it!

That brings me so much peace right now because as I began

to think on it some more I realized God wants us to remember

the great things He has done for us. I believe

we all have our “Red Sea moments” that we can look back to for

strength! Don’t forget those times the Lord came through for

you! Those are the things He wants you to remember. He

performed those miracles so you could remember them when

your faith was been attacked!

As I think back on my life I see the small and the big things

God did for me and I know those are the “Red Sea moments”

God wants me to always remember!

When I am in doubt, when my faith is weak that is when I

need to remember!

 

Fight to remember! Write down what God did for you. Tell

people what God did for you!

When the storms come remember what you wrote. God’s

miracles in your life are not just for you but for your kids.

They are to be a testimony for generations to come!

How great it would be if your great great great kids could

talk about how God came through for you! How amazing it

would be if they used God’s miracles in your life as a reference

point for their own lives!

 

Last year is long gone but we are still here because God is with us!

He kept us with care! His hand is on us and we must make sure

we don’t forget!

Fight to remember the miracles, fight to remember the goodness

of God in your life. He is so good!

Rolain

How the wars in your life are won!

THOUGHT OF THE DAY.

 

We all have wars to fight. We cannot run away from battles. They are a part of life but how are we to deal with them?

How do we become victorious? We find the answer in the book of Samuel.

 

David strengthened himself with trust in his God. He ordered Abiathar the priest, son of Ahimelech, Bring me

the Ephod so I can consult God. Abiathar brought it to David. 

Then David prayed to God, Shall I go after these raiders? Can I catch them? 

The answer came, go after them! Yes, you’ll catch them! Yes, you’ll make the rescue! 

1 Samuel 30: 6-8

 

When the Philistines got word that David had been made king over all Israel, they came on the hunt for him.

David heard of it and went down to the stronghold. When the Philistines arrived, they deployed their forces in Rephaim Valley. 

Then David prayed to God: “Shall I go up and fight the Philistines? Will you help me beat them? 

Go up, “God replied. Count on me. I’ll help you beat them.”

2 Samuel 5:17-20

 

Later there was a repeat performance. The Philistines came up again and deployed their troops in the Rephaim

Valley. David again prayed to God.

This time God said, don’t attack them head-on. Instead, circle around behind them and ambush them from the grove

of sacred trees. When you hear the sound of shuffling in the trees, get ready to move out. It’s a signal that God is going

ahead of you to smash the Philistine camp.

2 Samuel 5:22– 24

 

Time and time again we see this pattern throughout scripture. Whoever it was, they always sought The Lord first.

As we face the battles that come our way we need to realize we can come to God. He is our Defender and He will fight for us.

The mistake we make is we think we can do it on our own. But it’s not true!!!! We are not strong enough, and smart enough. We need

Gods help. He is the One who will deliver us. I have tried at times fight on my own only to fail. David as great as he was,

and as great as an army he commanded always sought The Lord first. He didn’t rely on his own strength and on the strength of his mighty men.

 

Who are you relying on when you go to war?

Is it the weapons you possess or the connections you have or the family you come from or the riches you possess?

The experience you have, the intellect you possess????

That means nothing if you don’t seek The Lord. You will fail if you go out alone!!!

Rely on The Lord when you go to war! Rely on God when you face the giants in your life!

 

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

Great news for God’s people…..

THOUGHT OF THE DAY.

Know this and don’t ever forget it; It’s not because of any good that you’ve done that God is giving you this good land to own. Anything but! Your stubborn as mules. Keep in mind and don’t ever forget how angry you made God, your God, in the wilderness. Deuteronomy  9:6, 7

These were the words spoken to the Israelites by God. And even though they were directed to the Israelites that reminder is for us as well.

There is nothing we can brag about. We have nothing to show that will prove it was because of our own efforts. God has blessed us not because we were the brightest and smartest. He didn’t chose us because we grew up in the right neighborhood. It wasn’t because we had a lot of money. It wasn’t because we were so talented.
There is nothing, absolutely nothing that we can give credit to for where we are and what we have. It is all God! Yes, He uses people but He is the One behind it all…

That’s good news for us because it is not by our works. We don’t have to try and work at it. We don’t have to rely on our knowledge. We don’t need to compete for God’s attention by proving we are better than the next person. We don’t have to sit down and think up ways to stay in God’s “good books”. It was purely grace which means anyone can experience that same favor and grace!!

Let me say this, everything good that is happening in your life and has happened is not because of what you have done but it’s because of God!!! You may think you are inadequate, or unqualified, but that is everyone’s story. No one is and will be ever be adequate enough, and qualified enough in the eyes of God. We are all sinners. We all have fallen short. And because of that everyone has a chance. You have a chance to do great things, I have a chance! That is how good He is. Amen

Rolain

Get Rid of That Mask!!!!

-How are you doing today John?
I went to the doctor today and found out I have Aids and to make things worse I lost my job. Please pray for me because I have come to the end of my rope. I have been contemplating suicide!

How you today Susan?
– I am fine.
Are you sure? I heard you lost your Dad.
– It’s nothing really I am doing great.
Are you sure you OK?
– For sure. I am OK.

How many of us have conversations are open like John? The second example is where most people are at. We don’t know how to be transparent. We have masted the ancient language of Christianese!!!
We may be going through hell but we have learned to hide our feelings. I am guilty of this as well. How many times I have said I am doing fine when something is clearly wrong!! But this is the thing, to grow and mature in the Lord we need to learn to take off the various masks we have. We need to stop hiding behind the masks and start being real. I am reading a book about the danger of mask wearing. I would like to share a few things that have really challenged me. As Christians we need to model transparency. We need to be real.  The world needs people who are real and not people who are wearing masks. Lets get going.

I am going to start with types of mask we wear. I thought this list was very interesting and identified a few I had been wearing.

Types of Masks.
– I’m better than most
– I’m very together
– I don’t really care
– I am self sufficient
– I’m very important
– I’m competent enough to be loved
– I’m competent enough not to need love
– I have the answers
– I’m independent
– I am cool

* As you can see, there are a lot of masks to chose from. Which mask could you identify with? I saw three masks that I constantly wear but I realise they need to go.
This is the high cost of wearing a mask.

-It is very expensive to wear a mask. For one thing, no-one – not even those I love – ever gets to see my face. There are moments when the real me bleeds through, but mostly I just confuse them. Worse yet, I never experience the love of others because when I wear a mask, only my mask receives love! I sense I’m still not loved and self-diagnose that maybe my mask wasn’t good or tight enough. So I delve even more desperately into mask wearing, convinced maybe the next one will present what you want and prove I’m worthy to receive your love. And if that’s not painful enough, get this. I cannot give love from behind a mask, at least not love from the real me. Mask wearing thwarts our maturing, the very path into the dreams God intended for us.

* That was a lot to take in but I really believe you needed that. We put on masks to hide the real person inside. We think that people will reject the real us so we hide. We become shallow and we don’t mature. As children of God we are called to be transparent. It is very hard to wear a mask when you are open. Let me share something else….

– Sadly, cruelly, our masks deceive us into believing that we can hide our true selves. Not so. In time, others can usually see what we’re trying to hide. No matter how beautifully formed, our masks eventually present us as tragic figures….because masks always crack or distort or buckle or unravel or wear through or lose shape.

*Let me help you with something. Get it in your head that you are not perfect. You are human and you have flaws. When this truth sinks in, you will have no reason to hide. You won’t have a reason to wear a mask. The book goes on to say:

– People wear masks for all sorts of reasons. Some of us opt for a mask because we fear we might not be accepted or, worse, that we may be viewed as unworthy of acceptance because we have already proven ourselves unacceptable. Perhaps we wear a mask because we fear that others won’t protect us and might leave us feeling naked and alone. Or we fear that others will protect us, but our protection will come at the price of their control. An example of this is,
Bruce feels threatened when a person in a key relationship doubts his motives or trustworthiness. He instinctively withdraws from that person by putting on an “I don’t really care” mask. Bill dons an “I’m not hurt” mask when he feels insecure and fears being abandoned. John puts on the “I am self-sufficient” mask any time he fears someone’s pity.
You see, mask-wearing is often even more pronounced in Christians.  Ouch! All mask-wearing is a product of pretending something to be true in our lives that our experience denies.

* I am going to stop there. There is so much more I can share but it will be too long and besides, I think you got the jist of what I am speaking about. Let us take off those masks. They are hindering our growth. God has called us to be transparent and real. Will you make a decision to be real? It will take time but it’s worth it

Rolain.