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

 

 

The Tuesday that changed everything……..

I have not written in a while. Not because I had nothing to write about, but because I was involved in a car accident! To be honest I didn’t want to write, I guess it was shock! It is not easy writing about the accident but after a week I know God has been challenging me to write about what happened!

 

Last Tuesday……

I was on my way to do shopping when a man ran out on the road unexpectedly! Thank God it was raining because it made me drive slowly! Anyway this guy ran out on the road and before I knew it he was in front of me. I tried to avoid him by turning sharply away from him but I was not successful. I hit him with the side of my bumper which sent him falling to the other lane.

But another car going much faster bumped him and sent him flying in the air. He landed on his head. I was not alone in the car so we jumped out of the car and ran to the man. We called the ambulance a few minutes after that. When they finally arrived they tried to revive him but it was too late, he had lost too much blood. He was declared dead…….

I can’t begin to describe to you the feelings and emotions that I went through. I was in shock! I couldn’t believe he had died! I just stood there in the rain looking at the corpse! I saw life leave him…….

 

God’s goodness……

During this traumatic time a few things happened which I can only describe as God’s amazing love. A friend who I had not seen for at least 5 years saw my car and stopped to help!! I had seen him earlier in the day which was amazing in its self but a few hours later in another part of town he stopped to help me! That was God indeed.

In a few minutes of him leaving another close friend of mine who heard the news arrived! As a guy I was putting on a strong front for the people that were at the scene but when my friend came he understood. He saw through the front I had made. I broke down when he came. We embraced and he kept on telling me, “It wasn’t my fault”! Once again I can’t tell you what that did for me! God knew what I needed. It wasn’t something I could put into words but He knew. When I stopped crying my friend left. But those few minutes he spared were so crucial that day! Sometime after that another friend came. He was driving when he seen me. He turned his car around and came and asked if I needed anything. There was nothing he could do at that precise moment so he left but as I left the scene of the accident with the police he returned with a hot cup of coffee! I had been in the rain the whole time and I was freezing but I never noticed it until he handed me the cup of coffee….!!  God is so good.

 

Lessons learned…..

Things have changed since that day. My relationship with God has gone deeper. It’s crazy to think but a few weeks before the accident I would have days where I would get nothing from the word, just dryness! Nothing would jump out at me but after the accident, it was like I was reading a different bible. The bible I was reading was alive. Every day had something new and something for me, something I could hold on to. My prayer times where different. In actual fact they still are. Something has changed. It’s like the blinders have been taken off. I see God more clearly! When I read my word I see Him, when I listen to music (worship music) I hear Him, I see Him in people when they come to encourage me, and pray for me, when I spend time with Him I feel Him!

Whatever pain or tragedy you are going through know that God has a plan in the midst of the pain! He wants you to run to Him. And as you run to Him, He will comfort and deliver you. He will not leave you to go through the pain alone! He will be with you every step of the way! His hand will be on you……That’s a promise!

 

Today……..

I am still waiting on the police. They are still working on the case and I am waiting for them to come to a decision. They can press charges or let it go. I am believing for the latter! I would really appreciate your prayers in this time!

I am much better than last week. I realize I will never forget what happened that day and I need to make a decision how I go from here. I can live in guilt and blame myself and I can live in fear of driving and so on or I can trust God!

Rolain

The disturbing dialogue…..and purity!

Going about my day I came across two guys talking. The conversation they had was quite disturbing and I couldn’t believe they were talking about it so casually. One of the guys was talking about his girlfriend. He was telling his friend how “hot” various parts of her body were. He went on to tell him about the tattoos she had and where they were on her body! Like I said, it was quite disturbing. To make it worse these boys were on the way from school which meant they were teens!

That got me thinking about purity. Was does it mean to be pure? As a young person what does it mean to keep yourself for the person God has for you? I don’t think not having sex before marriage is what makes you pure. There is much more….

Being pure means watching how you speak. That young boy was disrespecting his girlfriend by the way he spoke about her. If you are waiting for God’s one for you then watching how you speak is something you have to watch out. Instead of speaking in a obscene way pray for her. Speak the word. Build her up with your words. Respect her with your words. If you haven’t met her yet that doesn’t mean you have to wait. Start learning to be pure in the way you speak to the people around you. Let it be natural by the time you meet her. Speak life to your friends. Encourage them and build them up with your words.

Being pure means watching how you think. Those guys were not being pure. What are you thinking about? As a young person you need to learn how to control your thoughts. It doesn’t start when you get married. It starts now!! Change the way you think. Being pure is about being strict about what you watch because you know it will affect what you think about. There are a lot of things that can contaminate you if you are not careful.

Young men, what I have written falls heavier on you. I want you to make the connection between keeping yourself for your wife to be and thinking pure thoughts and speaking life. They are intertwined, connected! They all form together to create purity in its purest form! You can’t abstain from sex but have no control over your mouth! Or you cannot abstain from sex but always thinking about the naked women you saw on the internet! See how crazy that is. When you meet your wife you want to be completely whole, not partially whole! That is my goal and desire and I will fight for that.

We cannot allow the enemy to steal our purity. If you didn’t know that is what the enemy is doing. Bit by bit he is destroying our purity. He is doing everything he can to corrupt us. If it’s not through movies it’s through the music we listen to, if it’s not music then it’s the news we watch and the news we ready daily that puts us in a state of fear! We have all been affected but thank God for His grace because when we fall and fail He is there to pick us up! It’s hard writing this because I see how easily I fall, I see how I get deceived. I am all for purity and I am in this fight but the enemy has won a lot…….A lot of times I feel helpless and weak, like I don’t stand a chance and in a way I don’t if I am relying on my flesh. But even in the face of those kind of circumstances I will get up and dust myself off and fight.

The picture that comes to mind when I think about this fight we fight is one of Zeus and Atom, characters from the movie Real Steel. Atom is the under dog and doesn’t stand a chance against the reigning champion the mighty Zeus! During the fight Atom takes a lot of hits. Atom gets knocked to the floor constantly. But every time he gets knocked out he manages to some how get up. No matter how bad he has been beaten and thrown around he still gets up!!! And then something amazing happens, Atom begins to fight back. The champion that never got challenged, that never broke a sweat begins to get beaten. As the fight ends Zeus gets knocked to the floor which is something that has never been seen. We are Atom, we have a chance because God lives in us. He is the one that gives us the strength to stand again and again. He is the reason we don’t stay down after unrelenting attack! He is the reason we can face the fierce giants who threaten to destroy us!

Zeus and Atom!

The conclusion, purity is something worth fighting for. Don’t give up. No matter how much the enemy has stolen, you still have a chance because it is because of God you have a chance! We can face the onslaught of the enemy knowing God is with us. The enemy will  not win. We will protect this precious gift God has given to us to the death! The enemy will not steal our purity. He may be stronger, we may get knocked down but we WILL win, we WILL stand up again because God is with us! That is amazing…….!

Rolain

I despised being a man…..!

 

I have been in Kenya for almost a week. I went on a music tour with my church which was amazing. I got back last night. So I will share some of my experiences and things God showed me while in Kenya. But this post is not about how my trip went but it’s about the things I learned concerning being a man. Here is what I learned……

– Every time we go on tour the men HAVE to carry the ladies suitcases. We have to offload their bags and carry them to their rooms. I thought our leaders were being unreasonable at first. They had no idea how heavy those suitcases were. The women never packed light and in my mind I thought they should have to suffer for the way they packed their suitcases. “Let me carry their own suitcases so they learn to pack lighter” was my other thought!  mean right?!!!    hahaha

– As men there is always an expectation to lead. In prayer men should lead, in devotionals we need to be the first ones to take the responsibility to share. This was a hard lesson because there were times I didn’t feel like leading. I didn’t want to be the one who carried such a weight…..

– As men we were told to protect the women. Our job was to protect the women on tour. Protect them by not singling them out. Treat them all the same. There should be no favoritism. Treat them like sisters is what we were told. Don’t play with their feelings by leading them on.

I despised all these things and more but this time around as I was loading all the ladies luggage onto our shuttle with a few other men I realized something. I am glad for all those lessons I was taught by my leaders. They taught us how to lead the women in our lives in love, they taught us how to be real men. They showed us the value of being a man. I am glad I was made the way I was, a man! We have a a mandate from God. We were made the head for a reason. I don’t mind carrying the ladies luggage now!! I welcome it…haha. But this is not only about carrying luggage…..it’s about embracing the things that make me a man. God created us men to be strong, to lead, to be the head.

God has a special calling on the men! If there was a time when men were desperately needed to take their place it is now! The world needs men of God. Men who trust in God. Men who know who they are in Christ. Men who take care of their families, love their wives, guide their children in the way of The Lord. May we be the men God has called us to be!

Rolain

The disception of the media…..

Did any of you watch the Grammies? I didn’t but I heard so much, especially Katy Perry’s performance. So I decided to see what it was all about and I was shocked. How could they show such a performance on prime time television??? On top of that there was a mass gay wedding ceremony which happened during a performance by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis. As if that was not enough Jay-Z’s and Beyoncé’s performance was said to be way to explicit for children. I watched a bit of Katy Perry’s performance and heard about the other two. I couldn’t believe it. Let us rewind a couple of years. A lot of the stuff the media is exposing us to now would be unheard of back in the day. What was R-rated then would probably be PG13 or something like that nowadays. Our minds have been numbed by the media. Their strategy, show something horrifying, not too excessive but enough to do it’s damage. Our minds have been seared by the media. We are constantly bombarded by violence, same sex marriages, divorce, sex before marriage, and so on, surely there must be an effect. Katy Perry’s performance was satanic and should never have been aired but this is the world we live in. We are being exposed to all kinds of junk and our minds are being seared. I want to show you some of the responses I read about Katy Perry’s performance.

– Um, did we just witness actual witchcraft during Katy Perry’s Grammy performance?

– I’m like 99% sure Katy Perry just summoned satan during her performance.

– Now all the little girls that look up to Katy Perry will worship satan.

I will stop there……There were so many tweets about the performance but what got me was the lack of shock. The statements were said as a mere statement of fact and nothing more. No outrage, disgust, hate or anything like that. If there was there wasn’t much of it. My case is this, our minds are being seared and becoming more susceptible to what the media is showing us. We need to make a stand about what we watch and what we listen to. Our kids, your kids are being attacked and not in the way you think. You think leaving your kids watching television is good but it’s not. It is destroying them on the inside……! I just would like to appeal to you to make a stand about what you watch and listen to for you and your family…. The media is working hard and smart to change the way we think. This must stop. We can’t change what the media air but we can make a decision about what we watch and listen to. Our lives and families lives depend on it.

Rolain.

Thinking About The Next Generation…

I was in South Africa for the whole week last week. I had gone for another music tour. I really enjoyed being there. As I was on tour I had time to think and meditate on the important things. I got time to get deeper into God which was great and there were a few lessons I learned while on tour which I would like to share with you. I will only share one with you in this post.
I love King Hezekiah. He is one of my favourite characters in the Bible that is until I read 2 Kings 20. King Hezekiah was sick unto death but he begged God to heal him which He did. Hezekiah had visitors from Babylon who came to see him because they heard he was sick. ( 2 Kings 20:12)
He showed them everything in his kingdom which got him into trouble. This is what God said to him:

Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah. Hear the word of the Lord! 
Behold, the time is coming when all that is in your house, and that which your forefathers have stored up till this day, shall be carried to Babylon; nothing shall be left, says the Lord.
And some of your sons who shall be born to you shall be taken away, and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of Babylon’s king. 
Then said Hezekiah to Isaiah, The word of the Lord you have spoken is good. For he thought, Is it not good, if [all this evil is meant for the future and] peace and security shall be in my days?    2 Kings 20:16-19

We all have weaknesses and I am not expecting Hezekiah to be perfect. But think about this, Isaiah is giving him a horrific prophesy about his nation and his children and all he has to say is, “the word of the Lord you have spoken is good“!!!!
We are meant to learn from the men and women in the bible and there is an important lesson here. Please understand, everything you do now has a bearing on your future. What you do now will determine what your future will be like.
The things you do now will also determine your kids future!!
If you are 15 years old, know that your actions have a bearing on your kids in the future! Yes your actions determine what you will become but they also determine who your kids will become. We need to be think about the next generation. We need to have that mindset. Hezekiah’s children where destined for evil because of his actions but he didn’t care. How different would it have been if he fell on his knees and repented for what he did. Would he have saved his children’s lives and the lives of his people? I don’t know for sure but it is something to think about.
We need to fight for our kids in this time. We do that by the things we say and the things we give our time to and how we think. They need to be able to stand on our shoulders. We have got to stop thinking about ourselves. We have become so selfish as people thinking about how we are going to make it and what we are going to eat and so on and have totally forgot about the people around us. I don’t want to carry on being selfish. My family’s lives depend on it. I want my kids to come and do great things for God because I laid a good foundation in the relationships I have made and the things I have done. I don’t want them to start from square one because I was too busy thinking about myself and I don’t want to play a role in the destruction of their future!!!

As I end I would like to remind you that what you do now has a bearing on your family’s future. What you do now does matter. Let us have the next generation in mind. Ask yourself, what am I doing that will benefit the next generation?
Am I building a good foundation for the next generation to stand on?
Am I destroying the future of the next generation by my attitudes and the things that I do?

The next generation is depending on us.

Rolain.

Why You Waiting for Tomorrow??

There are a lot of songs that speak to me and that is one way God speaks to me. There is one song that is really ministering to me that I would like to share. I had a talk with my mentor or can I say he had a talk with me about my future and he was very open about where I needed to change and where I needed help. I thank God for him, because we all need those talks. If you don’t have anyone who can see the bad in you and love you enough to tell you then you are in trouble. You cannot have people who only tell you how fantastic and awesome you are and never confront you about the wrong that is in your life…….

Anyway after this talk I really got thinking and he was so right on so many levels and this is why this song ministers to me so much. God has so many amazing plans for us but we think it’s going to just happen. At the snap of our fingers we are going to have the car we want, or the wife we have always dreamed of or we are going to have the ministry we have always wanted and so on and so on but the truth is, it takes work. We need to have faith and we need to make the sacrifices needed to get us to where God has for us.

The song is called, “Waiting for Tomorrow” sung by Mandisa. I think there is a lot we could identify with in this song. A lot of us wait till “tomorrow” to get up and do something for God. We wait for tomorrow to start eating right, we wait for tomorrow to stop a particular habit, we wait for tomorrow because we are so busy today but the truth is today is the day, TODAY! Whatever you are waiting for know that today is the day to start. You may not have everything to start off with; I don’t have everything to start off with but today is the day. We cannot keep on putting life on hold. God is calling us to start TODAY!

I love the chorus. This is what it says:

Can’t spend my whole life wastin’
Everything I know I’ve been given
‘Cause you’ve made for so much more than
Sittin’ on the side lines
I don’t wanna look back and wonder
If good enough could’ve been better

Everyday’s a day to start over
So, why am I waiting for tomorrow

Do you know God has given you so much? After the talk with my mentor I looked at all that God had given me only to realize it was a lot. We have this thing where we look for the next seminar or the next business speaker to come so we can know “more” but what are we doing with the $1200  seminar we paid for 3 years ago???!!! That applies to me more than anyone else…..! We all have the potential and we are just sitting on it. I realized this as well, it is a sin to have so much from God and not do anything with it! We have a responsibility to use what God has given us. It’s almost like being given a car but all you ever do with it is walk out to the garage and admire it!!! What is the use? We got to stop sitting on the sidelines and we don’t want to look back and wonder what life would of being like if we had done this or that. Like I said, I speaking to me as well….

I love the last part of the chorus because she says, “everyday is a day to start over”! Today is the day to start over, not tomorrow, not next week but today! There is one other part of the song that is so important and that is the vamp. She says:

Oh, I’m makin this my moment now
To grab the hand that’s reachin down to save me You saved me
And I’m makin this my moment now
To grab the hand that’s reachin down to save me You saved me

This part is important because if we are to make this change we cannot do it alone. God is the only one that can help us. He is the one that gives us the strength to break laziness or unbelief and a whole host of other things that are holding us down. God wants to save you and he wants to save me and that is why He has sent people who care for us enough to speak to us about our life.  Don’t block them out. Be open to what they have to say. God is very interested about what happens in our lives. He cares about what we go through and He is eager for us to accomplish all that He has for us in this life but you need to ask Him for help. Cry out to Him.

When we do that our tomorrow will look brighter and more than that, we will accomplish all He has for us! God has a plan and a purpose for each and everyone of us and today is the day to make a decision to chase after it. Today is the day….Amen

 

 

Rolain

Miracle in South Africa….

I have been on tour in South Africa. It has been an amazing experience especially since this is my first time in South Africa. My pastor’s wife released an album called “Yahweh” and that is why we were on tour. Here is the title track. I hope you enjoy it…….

 

South has been amazing but that was not the case when I first heard I was going. I was filled with fear because of all the stories I heard. We were in Johannesburg which is ranked number 10 of the most dangerous cities in the world! I was really filled with fear about going but God dealt with me in that area. When I got there we were not robbed or held at gun point or anything crazy. It was actually safe! Please understand, I am not saying that it’s the safest place in the world but what I am saying is that you need to have your eyes wide open and I am also saying God will protect no matter where you go if you trust in Him!

The next thing that was on my mind was what God had for me in South Africa. I believe that when I travel there is something God wants to speak to me about and something He wants me to see that I can’t see at home! So I went with that mindset and God indeed showed me things that I never saw when I was at home and He spoke to me about things that I was struggling with at home. So in other words I heard Him so much clearly!
Now for the main thing. I was in  South Africa for four days. I arrived in South on Friday and left on Monday. Our performance was scheduled for Sunday but on Saturday during practice I sprained my foot! It started swelling badly in the evening and I was limping. I was worried about it but then I remembered what I learned at Bible School. It was not an accident that the Pastor taught this but he spoke about your spirit being able to sustain your physical body. He taught that our spirit can be so strong that it can sustain our physical bodies!

Proverbs 18:14 says,
The strong spirit of a man sustains him in bodily pain or trouble, but a weak and broken spirit who can raise up and bear?

So when I realised my ankle was sprained that verse jumped out of my spirit and I started declaring my healing! There was no way I would have a sprained ankle when I travelled so far to minister. On top of that I asked for prayer and the pastor in charge of the team prayed for my ankle.                                                                 The next day we ministered I danced like I was supposed and gave it 110% and I waved those flags like I was a mad man!!! My ankle was completely healed, praise the Lord!!! God is good indeed. That was my miracle on tour. There are a few things I learned from that.

– The spirit man can be so strong that it can sustain the physical man.

– There is power in the laying on of hands and

– God is still the God of miracles…..!

And that ends my testimony.

Rolain.P

Does Your Attitude Stink? Part 1.

What is your attitude like? Do people like your attitude? Do YOU like your attitude? My mentor taught me an interesting way to look at attitudes and I would like to share it with you.
Your attitude in life is important. It will determine how far you go. There is a saying which goes like, your attitude determines your altitude. I agree with that. Let me describe how my mentor described attitude to me.

I want you to think of attitude in aeronautical terms. They talk about the attitude of a plane depending on where the wings are leaning towards. And that is what an attitude is. It is the direction in which you lean in a situation. If you lean towards it you are said to have a good attitude and if you are leaning away from it you are said to have a bad attitude.
So let me give you an example of of what I mean. I love classical music. I think it is amazing. I listen to it as much as I can. If I had a choice between classical music and jazz music I would choose classical. Can you see that I am leaning towards classical music and that is considered a good attitude. I don’t have a good attitude about jazz because I am leaning away from it. And that is what an attitude is.

Now please understand, attitudes are neither good or bad until you set a goal. I can lean away from jazz but it doesn’t matter because I don’t have a goal. Before the goal my attitude towards jazz is just that, an attitude. It is neither good or bad. On the other hand, what if I had a goal to study jazz music, my attitude towards it would then be considered bad. I would have to review it and change it. Leaning away from jazz would not work now because I have a goal. Do you see that. In part two I will conclude on attitudes.

Rolain.P