He changed His environment…..


The Lord wants to do some incredible things in you and through you and because of that you need

to pay attention to what you are exposing yourself to consistently. You need to take a long hard look at the

people you call your friends and ask yourself if they are encouraging you in your faith or are killing

your faith. You need to take a long hard look at all that you digest (social media, music, media) and ask

yourself if it’s strengthening your faith or killing it.

How is it at home? Have you created an environment for Yeshua to speak to you easily or are there

just too many distractions? (I am dealing with this right now)

All this matters. Like I said in the beginning, the Lord has incredible things in store for you.

Let’s look at a story in the bible that will bring home what I am talking about.

 

In Mark chapter 5 a man named Jairus meets Yeshua. His daughter is near death and has come to

the Him for help. The Lord agrees to go with Jairus and we pick up the story when Yeshua

arrives at the house.

 

“And when He had gone in, He said to them, Why do you make an uproar and weep? The little

girl is not dead but is sleeping. 

And they laughed and jeered at Him. But He put them all out, and taking the child’s father and mother

and those who were with Him, He went in where the little girl was lying.”

Mark 5:39, 40

 

The Lord was about to perform a miracle but in order to do that He had to put out the people

who were laughing and jeering at Him. He had to change the environment. It would be impossible for

Him to do what needed to be done if the people stayed.

 

And that is why the parents stayed. They may have had their doubts but their little faith was enough.

All the Lord needs is a little faith. But doubt, and fear are a different story.

In the very next chapter we look at how the Lord could not do any miracles except heal a few people here

and there because the majority of people didn’t trust Him, doubted Him.

 

“But Jesus said to them, A prophet is not without honor (deference, reverence) except in his [own]

country and among [his] relatives and in his [own] house. 

And He was not able to do even one work of power there, except that He laid His hands on a few 

sickly people [and] cured them.” 

Mark 6:4,5 (emphasis mine)

 

If there is no faith it makes it hard for the Lord to move, very hard!

 

But to my main point, the Lord had to change His environment by putting out the negative crowd.

If the Lord did that how much more do we need to? We need to take a long hard look at every aspect

that makes up our environment that I mentioned earlier and start making some decisions.

If we are to walk in all the amazing things the Lord has for us we need to cut off the things that

are weighing us down, the things that keep us in fear, the things that make us doubt YAH, the things

that contradict the word the Lord gave us about your lives. When I talk about things I am also talking

about people. We have some really toxic relationships and think it’s okay but it’s not. Those toxic

relationships are doing you major harm.

We need to ask for the Lord’s help and wisdom. This can only be done successfully with Him.

On that final thought enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Bless you friends

 

Rolain

 

 

It could of been me…….


I had a busy day yesterday. The school holiday is about to

start which means camps! I went to visit a camp site yesterday

and was quite pumped after viewing it. Our kids will love it there.

 

But on the way back to work I saw two things……firstly I saw

a mountain bike in the middle of the road! I tell you the truth.

It was in the middle of the road upright and no rider in sight.

What made it weird was the road we were on was deserted.

So to see this bike in upright position in the middle of the

road was something!!!

I thought of taking a picture but the idea came too late.  😦

It was funny and weird, not something you see everyday!

 

The other thing I saw were kids in school uniform. On our way

to see the camp site we saw kids in uniform but didn’t

take any notice of them but on our way back the driver told

us that these were the same kids we passed as we came. These kids

had to walk about 15 kilometers back home and that means they

had to make the same journey to school.

Everyday they walk an average of 30km!

 

Instantly, I thanked God for all He had given me. And I thank

Him on a daily basis for His goodness. That got me thinking

though. Why do we have what we have? There are so many

people all over the world who struggle to get a meal a day,

who can’t get basic education, who live on the streets, who don’t

have any clothes and the list goes on.

 

As I see it,

I could of been born homeless but I wasn’t.

I could of been the child with no family but I have one!

I could of been the one scraping the bins for something,

just something to eat that would take me through the next

day!

I could of been the one freezing with no clothes, having

nothing to keep me warm through the night,

It could of been me…..

 

This is what I concluded:

 

God gave me all that I have so I could be a blessing!

He gave me all that I have so I could make a difference in

someone’s life.

I am humbled by all that He has given me and I realize I am

to use it for the advancement of His kingdom. He didn’t give

me all that I have so I could lavish it all on myself.

This is not about condemning those who have but I want

you to realize God has more planned for you that extends

beyond you.

His plan for your life is rarely about you alone, it’s about other

people, touching others. He wants us to spread the love of

Christ to others.

When you think about God’s plan for your life understand

that God wants you to touch others.

It may be as simple as giving a blanket to someone who needs

it,

buying some food for that person on the streets,

giving money to the beggar,

befriending the unpopular kid in school,

telling someone about Christ,

and the list goes on.

 

Be thankful for what you have. Don’t take it for granted!

This is a hard message! It was not easy writing it. I look

at my life and realize I should be doing more. The story of

the ten talents come to mind. I want to be faithful with the

talents God has given me.

The things I have been through, the experiences I have had,

the testimony I have is part of God’s plan to touch people.

God is so good…..

Rolain

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The true face of grace……


Grace is wild. 

I didn’t understand what that statement meant when I first read it. I asked my friend
who had posted it and got some idea but only now am I beginning to understand what
it really means…….Grace is wild indeed!

As I sit here writing this post I realise I am where I am because of God’s grace. It is
because of God’s grace that I am here.

My life in its entirety is a testament of God’s grace!
Forget intelligence, wit, resourcefulness and so on…..

My life is a testimony of God’s grace and nothing else!

The reason I am alive is because of God’s grace

The reason I have hope and a destiny is soley because of His grace
Looking at my life it doesn’t make sense why I am here doing
the things I am doing. With the kind of past I had I should be
poor, lost, abandoned, without hope, purposeless and so much more….
but His grace brought me here…..

I may not have reached my destination but it’s because of His grace
I am even traveling!!!
Do we really understand how amazing His grace is..???

Because of His grace I am doing things in normal situations I am

not supposed to be doing. Some of those things are:

 

I teach kids every Sunday but when I started I stuttered badly!

God enables me every time I teach. I don’t stutter now! That is grace!

I love writing but I never pursued it at school. I have never went to

writing school.

 

I have lived in a country that has had one of the worst economies in

the world. The country came to a stand still, we ran out of food and

our dollar crashed and yet I am still here……!

 

Because of abuse I had NO self esteem, nothing whatsoever!

I avoided crowds and hated speaking in front of people. I hated

myself but here I am today knowing who I am and helping others

discover who they are in God. I don’t know about you but that

is grace! The person I am today is because of God’s grace!

 

God’s grace is not to be taken lightly. It’s His grace that carries us

everyday!

We have a chance at life and we have favor because of His grace!

We can face giants because His grace is on us.

We can walk through the valley because it’s His grace that leads us

out of it.

 

I have come to the conclusion that the enemy has no concept of grace.

He doesn’t understand it. If he did he would stop fighting. He would

stop trying to fight against God’s people because he would know his

efforts are useless because God’s grace is with us and protects us! He

may not understand but we do…..

If grace has got me this far what more my future?! I can look with confidence at my future because I know His grace is with me. Grace opens doors that I can’t open in my own strength.

Grace enables me to face giants

Grace gives me permission to ask the impossible.

When we are humble we begin to understand grace more fully!

Pride hides the true face of grace!

My desire and prayer is that you will begin to see more of God’s

grace in your life. His grace is truly amazing!
Amen

Rolain

The man in the sack…..!


THOUGHT OF THE DAY.

image

I had just got back into town and was waiting for someone to pick me up to take me home. It was still early in the morning and it was cold when I heard a noise next to me. I looked down and this is what I saw.

A man sleeping in a sack!

A man sleeping in a sack!

I was feeling cold so just imagine what he felt. And this was his home……

 

His home.....

His home…..

There were other people sleeping in the box. I saw this and realized how much God has given me. When I think about my life I think about all the things not in place yet. Things still to be accomplished, problems to be solved and so on but seeing that man made me realize I need to live a thankful life. I have a LOT to be thankful for….Things not going my way should never be an excuse to not be thankful.

Can we be thankful for all He has done and all He is doing?

Remember, no matter what is happening in your life right now, you ALWAYS have a reason to be thankful!

Rolain

Why we have been blessed……


Everything that we have – right thinking and right living, a clean slate and a fresh start –  comes from God by way of Jesus Christ.                              1 Corinthians 1: 30, 31 (Message)

I love this scripture. Everything we have is from God. We have so much to thank Him for. As I was thinking about this scripture another thought came into my head. Why?
Why has He given me right thinking?
Why has He given me right living?
Why has He cleaned my slate?
And why has He given me a fresh start?
Yes, it’s to bless me. God has blessed me and He keeps on blessing me. And yes, it’s because He loves me. No one can deny that. But something I went through made me look at this scripture very differently.
We had a busy day at work and being the designated driver I had to take the staff home. I thought it would be easy so I agreed. We cleaned up and locked everything up and with one of my best friends off we went to drop the staff off at home, at their doorstep. We left work at 10 pm and finished at 2 am! We were lost for a full hour. How did you get lost you might be thinking??? Some of the workers live in a place where there are no roads, we nearly got stuck with the car. No street lights, no nothing! We were truly driving by faith and thank God we saw someone walking around at that time of night whom we asked for directions. They helped a bit. We got to the workers home and it was literally a mud hut. There were no neighbourhoods, no lights, nothing. Just pitch darkness!  This was their home. This is were they lived. This was their life.
Where am I going with this? I am getting there. God has given me so much. It might not be a million dollars or an MTV crib but it’s still precious. He has given me knowledge, He has given me the ability to see in a way other people cannot, why? And this is what I am getting at. God has given me all that He has given me so I can be a blessing! My destiny, your destiny is not about you but it’s about other people, helping other people.
What is your story? He has given you a fresh start so you can minister to someone else. There are people waiting for you, waiting to hear what you have to say, waiting for you to show them the way. God has given you everything so He can bless you and so you can be a blessing to someone else! It may not be much but that’s how God works. He uses the little we have to do great things through us. God bless.
Rolain

What You Need To Build A Life.


What do we need in this life that will help us reach our full potential? Is it money, clothes, a new car, a new house, what is it? Proverbs 24:3, 4 helps us with that:

Through skilful and godly Wisdom is a house (a life, a home, a family) built, and by understanding it is established [on a sound and good foundation],
and by knowledge shall its chambers [of every area] be filled with all precious and pleasant riches.

I have shared this verse in one of my earlier posts. This is one of my favourite verses if you didn’t know. We need wisdom desperately if we are going to be established.
Young people, if you want to build a life you need wisdom. It is the principle thing. To build a home and a family you need wisdom. It is the principle thing! How desperate are you for wisdom?

We need to get hungry for the wisdom of God.

The chapter carries on by saying:
A wise man is strong and is better than a strong man and a man of knowledge increases and strengthens his power. Proverbs 24:5

Wisdom is the key to strength. Our strength is not enough to get us to the place God has planned for us but the wisdom of God will get us there.
With wisdom you can wage war. No war in your life will be won without the wisdom of God. Don’t fight if you don’t have wisdom. Get wisdom first then fight.

My son, eat honey, because it is good, and the drippings of the honeycomb are sweet to your taste.
So shall you know skilful and godly wisdom to be thus to your life; if you find it, then shall there be a future and a reward, and your hope and expectation shall not be cut off.
  Proverbs 24:13, 14.

Your destiny and future are connected to the wisdom you acquire. If you have wisdom or as the word puts it, if you find wisdom then there shall be a future and a reward for you! Those lacking the desire to get wisdom will not be able to accomplish all God has for them. Do you want to accomplish God’s call on your life, then walk in wisdom!

I was so excited when God showed me this verse. I realize without wisdom I am lost. I cannot be effective if I don’t have the wisdom of God guiding me! WE cannot be effective without the wisdom of God. The last part of that verse says, your hope and expectation shall not be cut off!! With wisdom your hope is not misplaced. It is in the right place but without wisdom your hope will be cut off. How many times have we seen people who have pursued the wrong thing because they were naive? Wisdom brings clarity into what we are supposed to be putting our hope in. It will protect us from hoping for the wrong things.

Wow!!! I hope you are starting to see just how important wisdom is in your life. It is not the only important thing but it is ONE of the important things in life. Let us get hungry for wisdom. Let us get desperate for wisdom.

I understand I am limited in my own understanding and there are a lot of things I don’t see but with wisdom I can see them. God loves us so much that He tells us to simply ask Him for wisdom. (James 1:5, 6)

I ask God for wisdom in my relationship with Him. I need Him to show me what pleases Him. I need Him to also show me how to get deeper into Him.

I need wisdom in my relationships with people. I know I am stronger when my relationships are right and I also know I cannot be effective if my relationships are broken! How I need wisdom in this area….

I need wisdom in my business. I need His direction. I need His knowledge so I can do the right thing. I need His wisdom to bring honour to Him in the way I do business!

I need wisdom when I minister. I can’t and won’t minister without God’s help. The reason I do the things I do is because of God’s wisdom. He has opened so many doors for me, He has taught me so much, and He has shown me so much. How can I stop relying on his wisdom now?

I need wisdom in my life. God has given me a race to run and I need His wisdom to run it. I will have my own family one day but only wisdom will help me be the man I am supposed to be to them. Only wisdom will help me be the man I need to be now!!!!

As I end this post I would like to leave you with another verse that really challenges me to the core. It is Proverbs 1:7 and I am going to use the Message. It says;

 

Start with God – the first step in learning is bowing down to God;

Only fools thumb their noses at such wisdom and learning.

 

Rolain