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

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Becoming that man…..

 

Being a male is a matter of birth but being a man

is a matter of choice

 

I love this quote because it is so true…..but I am

not here to discuss the quote. I am here to discuss

something more, something that has been stirred

in my heart this past weekend.

Our church had its annual conference which was

so powerful. It started on Wednesday evening and

ended on Sunday. The messages were all so relevant

and powerful but the men’s meeting we had on Saturday

stood out the most. I love our men’s meetings because

there is something powerful that happens when men

get together to worship the Lord!

 

My pastor was speaking about becoming THAT man in today’s

crazy world. He said as men we are on the road to becoming

THAT man. That got me thinking……..

 

I am committed to becoming THAT man!

But what does that really mean?

 

Becoming that man means making God first in my life.

I am not the man! God is the THE Man. He died for me

And He is the One who is directing my life.

 

Becoming that man means making a stand for purity!

We live in a sex-saturated world and as men the battle

is everywhere. There is no sitting on the fence for this

battle. A line has to be drawn, a decision must be made.

Will you get swept away in this sex-saturated world or

will you make a stand for purity?

 

I dictated a covenant (an agreement) to my eyes;

how then could I look [lustfully] upon a girl?

Job 31:1

 

Becoming that man means living by the word of God.

The word must be our guide. We can’t rely on our own

strength. As men we feel the need to show our strength but

we need to realize God wants us to trust Him. Our strength

doesn’t count for much in God’s eyes. Look to God and not

yourself.

 

How shall a young man cleanse his way? By taking

heed and keeping watch [on himself] according

to your word [conforming his life to it].

Psalm 119:9

 

This is the thing men, the world doesn’t want men

to take their place. It doesn’t want us to walk in

what God has called us to. The world is distorting

the image of man. We have a lot of males but not

a lot of men! Don’t believe the lie…….

 

Men are not better than women, God just made us

different. It’s not about who is better, faster, cleverer….

God made man and woman in HIS image!

That means we are an expression of God, man and

woman!

I think we can all agree that God is strong and powerful.

There is nothing weak about God, so if we are an expression

of God why do we see women as weak and treat them like

they are insignificant????

God is all powerful. He doesn’t have one strong side (man)

then one weak side (woman)…but there are men who think

that by the way they treat women!

It makes me mad when men think they are better than women

just because they are men!!!

But God made women to express a part of Himself so please help me

understand why you think He would make them weak and useless

when He isn’t any of these things????

That kind of thinking has to stop.

(I don’t know where that came from because I didn’t plan

on talking about that)…..

 

Without a man leading a home, a family is lost!

The enemy is destroying our kid’s right under our noses.

We leave our kids in front of the TV and think that’s

parenting but that is wrong! We need to take responsibility

men. We must protect our family…..

We need to protect the women in our lives.

Would Eve have eaten the fruit if Adam had protected her

from the enemy??? She had to face the enemy alone and

deal with him alone! But things would have been different

if Adam stood up for her and protected her…..

Young man, you are called to protect. Don’t play with women’s

emotions. You should be protecting them!

The women you are playing with are precious in the eyes of the

Lord. He loves them and has a unique call on their lives….

Why do you think the enemy is working overtime to destroy

her?

 

As I end I hope I have challenged you to become THAT man!

A lot of people are waiting for us to walk into our calling

as men! The enemy will not win. I refuse……!

 

As a man I make a decision to be THAT man…..!

Will you be THAT man too?

 

Rolain

Is Christmas still relevant today?

I love Christmas!

But I have a question.

What does Christmas really mean?

(Deep in thought……)

Christmas is about Santa Claus

It’s about giving and spending time with family. It’s about food (lots of it) haha

It’s also about the birth of Christ! For Christians this is the main purpose of Christmas.

It’s that time of the year we celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior.

But as I reflect on Christmas a few things come to mind:

The 2014 Isla Vista killings – where a man shot and killed six people and injured thirteen others before committing suicide! I can only imagine what the families are going through!

The disappearance of Malaysian Airlines earlier this year which resulted in the loss of hundreds of lives! Hundreds of families will spend Christmas alone!

The death and loss caused by ISIS. There are people still fleeing for their lives. There are people still losing loved ones. There are lots of people living in fear because of ISIS.

The kidnapping of 200 girls by the Boko Haram.

Women and girls who have been trafficked and haven’t been rescued!

The list goes on and on!

As I thought on this I thought to myself,

Surely Christmas is more than gifts, food, Santa Claus, and family? Those things are important but what does Christmas offer to the person who has lost everything?

Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. (‭Luke‬ ‭2‬:‭10-11‬ NKJV)

We were lost doomed to die but Jesus came and changed that. He reversed our death sentence to one of life! When I think of Christmas, I think of the hope it brings!  A hope that the world desperately needs. A hope WE desperately need!!

Christmas offers hope for everyone! No matter how bad things are, no matter how hopeless they seem, there is hope! Don’t be discouraged, don’t lose heart. You have been given a second chance!

Christmas is a beacon of hope to all that need hope!

Bad things have happened and are still happening but the birth of Jesus Christ is the answer to the pain and the terror that has happened.

When you think of the birth of Jesus Christ, His death and what He accomplished should come to mind! You cannot separate those two powerful, world changing events!

He came to give us life, peace, joy, a reason to live again, hope and a whole lot more!

If you are in pain, if you are alone, if your future looks hopeless know this:

There is hope for you……

You have a second, third, fourth chance!

God cares for you and looks after you.

Christmas represents HOPE for everyone!

Merry Christmas to you all.

Rolain

A prayer about destiny and direction.

THOUGHT OF THE DAY.

My sad life’s dilapidated, a falling – down barn; 

build me up again by Your word.

Barricade the road that goes Nowhere;

grace me with Your clear revelation.

I choose the true road to Somwhere,

I post Your road signs at every curve and corner.

I grasp and cling to whatever You tell me;

Proverbs 119:28  (The Message)

This proverb is my prayer. It’s my cry to God. I pray it will

give you hope as you read it and personalise it!

“Barricade the road that goes Nowhere”!

“I choose the true road to Somwhere”!

God has a “Somwhere” for each and every one of us.

It may seem like nothing is happening in your life,

it may seem like things are falling apart but,

GOD has a “Somewhere” for you!

Have a great day!

Rolain.

Praise Him…..How??

I was reading my bible yesterday when I came across the most amazing scripture. God has created us to praise Him and I am sure you all have read a book or have been taught how to. I am qute confident you have the understanding on how to. But what I want to do is just add to that knowledge you have and how I am going to do that is copy what I wrote in my journal yesterday when I read the scripture.I truly believe it’s a significant scripture.

Hallelujah! 

You who serve God, praise God! 

Just to speak His name is praise! 

Just to remember God is a blessing – 

now and tomorrow and always.

Psalm 113: 1-3 (Message)

We were created to praise God. (Isaiah 43:21)

“Just to speak His name is praise”

(When I read this scripture yesterday I realised the power of His name. Just to SPEAK His name is praise! Whatever situation you facing you merely have to speak His name! What a wonderful and powerful thought!!!! Just to speak His name is praise.If you are confused, just speak His name. It doesn’t take 2 seconds to do but is so powerful. Speak His name constantly)!

– I need to speak His name as often as I can……

“Just to remember God is a blessing – now and tomorrow and always.”

– Remember Him and what He has done as much as I can. It is a blessing to me and it is blessing Him!

That is what I wrote in my journal yesterday. Let us praise the Lord. To speak His name is praise and to remember God is a blessing not just now, but tomorrow and ALWAYS…wow!     Amen.

Rolain

The truth about sin…..

What does God see when He looks at us? Does He see our sin, faults and failures? The answer to that question is found in the post you

are reading. It’s just one of the ways God sees us.  Let’s look at the scripture below,

That they might set their hope in God and not forget the works of God, but might keep His commandments
And might not be as their fathers – a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation that set not their hearts aright

nor prepared their hearts to know God, and whose spirits were not steadfast and faithful to God.
Psalm 78:7, 8

They kept not the covenant of God and refused to walk according to His law
And forgot His works and His wonders that He had shown them.
Psalm 78:10, 11

Yet they still went on to sin against Him by provoking and rebelling against the Most High in the wilderness (in the land of drought).
And they tempted God in their hearts by asking for food according to their [selfish] desire and appetite.
Psalm 78:17, 18

But scarce had they stilled their craving, and while their meat was yet in their mouths,
The wrath of God came upon them and slew the strongest and sturdiest of them and smote down Israel’s chosen youth.
In spite of all this, they sinned still more, for they believed not in (relied not on and adhered not to Him for) His wondrous works.
Psalm 78:30-32

I will stop there but I think you get the picture. As you keep on reading the post I want you to think of yourselves in the Israelites shoes.

In actual fact we are very much like them. They consistently sinned against God and as you know, a whole generation except for

Joshua and Caleb never made it into the promise land! Psalm 78 gives us a very long description of how the Israelites disobeyed God.

It was sin after sin. It didn’t stop.

So in the midst of all the craziness how did He see His people? Did it change because of all their sin? Let us take a look at another

portion of scripture that will help us answer this question.

Then Balaam spoke his message-oracle:
Balak led me here from Aram, the king of Moab all the way from the eastern mountains.
“Go, curse Jacob for me; go, damn Israel.”
How can I curse whom God has not cursed? How can I damn whom God has not damned? Numbers 23:14

Then Balaam spoke his message-oracle:

On your feet, Balak. Listen, listen carefully son of Zippor; God is not man, one given to lies, 

and not a son of man changing His mind. 

Does He speak and not do what He says? Does He promise and not come through?

I was brought here to bless; and now he’s blessed – how can I change that? 

He has no bone to pick with Jacob, He sees nothing wrong with Israel. Numbers 23:17-24

Wait a minute! This all happened in the desert. This was during the time Israel were sinning blatantly.

They didn’t listen to God, they rejected Him, they asked for meat, they complained, grumbled, murmured

and a whole lot of other things and yet God speaking through Balaam said, “He has no bone to pick with Jacob,

He sees nothing wrong with Israel.”

This is the thing I want you to see about this story. No matter how much Israel sinned God never changed His view of them.

It didn’t change what He promised them. Yes, they were punished and yes they had to suffer the consequences of their sins

but God still loved them. He still had a plan for them. He still extended grace to them. He protected them from the plans of the enemy.

Balaam was called to curse them but couldn’t!

What does that mean for us? Could it be that God sees us the same way as He saw the Israelites?

Could it be, we have placed too much emphasis on our sin?

Could it be that God sees nothing wrong with us?

Could it be that sin is the least most important thing about us?

I will let you draw your own assumptions from the scriptures I have just shared. I believe there is hope. God will never abandon us.

He loves us and cares for us. He sees us as spotless and blameless. We are His children who He has extended His amazing grace to.

God bless.

Rolain