God is taking you somewhere…

It can be frustrating not knowing where your life is going. At times it feels like you going around in circles

and at times it can feel like you are wandering about aimlessly. Then there are days when it seems like

nothing is happening. But I want to tell you that in the midst of all those things, God is directing your

life. Even when you can’t make sense of the things happening in your life God is in total control.

There is nothing to be worried about. You don’t have to lose sleep wondering what next.

The Lord cares about every detail of your life. Everything about you and your life matters to Him.

 

Look at how God led Peter. The way God leads us is so amazing!

In Acts 9:32 we are introduced to a man names Aeneas who lived in Lydda. Aeneas was paralyzed

and had been bed ridden for eight years. Peter goes on to heal him and the whole town of Lydda

and Sharon turn to the Lord! (Acts 9:35)

That was really amazing but the Lord was not done directing Peter. In a nearby town called Joppa a woman

named Tabitha fell sick and died. The disciples heard Peter was in Lydda so they called for him.

When Peter arrived in Joppa he raised Tabitha from the dead which brought more people to the

Lord. (Acts 10:5). But the Lord was not finished with Peter. In a town called Caesarea there was a man

named Cornelius. He was a Gentile and until then the good news was only been proclaimed to the Jews.

Salvation was closed to the Gentiles until then. One day an angel of the Lord appeared to him and told

him to go to Joppa to call Peter.

 

“And now send men to Joppa and have them call for and invite here a certain Simon whose surname is 

Peter; He is lodging with Simon a tanner, whose house is by the seaside.” 

Acts 10:5, 6

 

The Lord knew exactly where Peter was. He knew his address. He knew who he was staying with.

Off course He knew, the Lord led him there!!

Because Peter was in the right place at the right time he was instrumental in the Gospel being preached

to the Gentile’s.

Because the Lord directed Peter’s steps he was able to be at the right place at the right time. On his

own Peter would never have been able to pull that off.

 

The Lord is directing our every step friends. Even if it doesn’t seem like it, He is.

It may feel scary but the way He leads us is amazing! Be expectant. Bring your frustrations to Him.

He really does have amazing things in store for you. It may seem like you are in the middle of nowhere

but the Lord is taking you somewhere. His hand is on you and He is directing your every step.

The way He leads us is so amazing!

Bless you friends!

 

That was not a coincidence, God was involved!

“Now Elisha had said to the woman whose son he had restored to life,

“Go away with your family and stay for a while wherever you can,

because the Lord has decreed a famine in the land that will last seven

years.

The woman proceeded to do as the man of God said. She and her family

went away and stayed in the land of the Philistines seven years.”

2 Kings 8:1, 2

 

God’s word is so amazing. I love it and the lessons it teaches.

Before I continue I want to ask you something,

Do you believe Yeshua is directing your every step?

Has He planned your every step?

 

I strongly believe He knows and has planned our every step.

Even in the difficult times, He is directing us and is very much

in control.

There is nothing that happens in our lives that throws Him off guard.

Totally nothing!

 

Let’s take a look at the woman’s story for a bit. The man of God told her

to move to another land with her family because a famine was coming

to her homeland. The famine would last for seven years!

Getting up and going is no easy thing. She had to sell everything she had.

She had to make a new life in a foreign land which wasn’t easy.

 

What a risk she took right! There were so many things that could have gone

wrong but God I believe was directing her every step. He knew exactly

what was happening with her and had planned what would happen to her

because of her obedience.

 

Look at what happened to her,

 

“At the end of the seven years she came back from the land of the Philistines

and went to appeal to the king for her house and land.

The king was talking to Gehazi, the servant of the man of God, and said ,

Tell me about all the great things Elisha has done.

 

Just as Gehazi was telling the king how Elisha had restored the dead to life,

the woman whose son Elisha had brought back to life came to appeal to the

king for her house and land.

Gehazi said, “This is the woman, my Lord the king, and this is her son whom

Elisha restored to life.”

2 Kings 8:3-5 (emphasis mine)

 

That was no coincidence! How did she go to the king at the exact time Gehazi was telling

him about how Elisha raised her son from death to life?? There is no way she could have

timed it perfectly.

The only way that happened was because of God!

That’s the way He works.

Like Ruth just happened to be gleaning in the field of Boaz (Ruth 2:2-4) so it happened for the woman.

She thought she was just going to plead to the king for her house and land and nothing more.

She didn’t have the faintest idea that Gehazi was talking about her.

She had no idea how her life was about t0 change……

 

“Then he assigned an official to her case and said to him, Give back everything that belonged

to her, including all the income from her land from the day she left the country until now.”

2 Kings 8:6

 

This post is about how a loving God directs our

every step in ways we cannot even begin to fathom!

He has planned our every step friends.

You may be between a rock and a hard place but know that God is with you.

Nothing that happens in  your life escapes Him.

He is well aware of all that is going on in your life.

Have faith that He is taking you somewhere.

It may seem like you are at a dead end but its not true.

God will make a way out for you.

There is so much more He has in store for you.

He is leading you to pleasant places.

He is leading you to places He has appointed for you from the beginning

of time.

So as you take that step know He is directing your every step!

Bless you friends

 

Rolain

 

 

 

 

 

Will you say “yes” to Him?

“Now there was in Damascus a disciple named Ananias. 

The Lord said to him in a vision, Ananias. And he answered,

Here am I, Lord. 

And the Lord said to him, Get up and go to the street called 

Straight and ask at the house of Judas for a man of Tarsus

named Saul, for behold, he is praying [there].”

Acts 9:10, 11

 

I hope we all know the story of Ananias. God spoke to him

to go to Paul. At that time Paul was causing great suffering

among God’s people. He was imprisoning them and killing

them.

So when God told Ananias to go to Saul it was not

surprising he had reservations about going to him.

 

“But Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard many people

tell about this man, especially how much evil and what 

great suffering he has brought on Your saints at Jerusalem;

Now he is here and has authority from the high priest to 

put in chains all who call upon Your name. “

Acts 9:13, 14

 

But read what God tells him,

 

“But the Lord said to Him, Go, for this man is a chosen

instrument of Mine to bear My name before the Gentiles

and kings and the descendants of Israel; “

Acts 9:15

 

But I love how Ananias responded to God,

 

“So Ananias left and went into the house. And he laid his 

hands on Saul and said, Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, 

Who appeared to you along the way by which you came here, 

has sent me that you may recover your sight and be filled

with the Holy Spirit. “

Acts 9:17

 

Ananias said yes to God! That’s all that mattered to him at the

end of the day.

 

I share that story to show you that God uses simple, ordinary,

obedient people to carry out His will!

You don’t have to be anyone grand, you just need to be obedient!

I don’t know about you but I want to be used more by God.

I don’t want fear to stop me.

Ananias may have been afraid but that didn’t stop him from

obeying God.

We are God’s hands and feet in this earth.

So the question is, are we obeying His voice or are we

expecting someone else to answer His call?

Do we think we are too insignificant to be used by Him?

That is a lie from the enemy.

God loves you and wants to use you in a mighty way.

He is not waiting for you to become a millionaire to use you,

He is not waiting for you to get your life “sorted” out before

He can use you.

 

Please understand something, without God’s grace and favor

on our lives we wouldn’t be able to do anything.

But we have been filled with His holy Spirit and that

means we can do anything no matter our past, no matter

our skin color, no matter what people label us as.

Remember Gideon

Remember Moses

Remember Peter

Remember Mary

Remember Rahab

 

These people were not qualified according to the world’s

standards.

They were nobodies but not to God.

He saw them differently.

He saw greatness in them.

He validated them and that was the most important thing!

 

The word today is simple, God needs you!

He wants to use you.

You are His hands and feet.

He is looking to and fro across the earth to see who will say “yes”

to Him!

Will you say “yes” to Him today??

Bless you friends….

 

Rolain

 

 

The man in chains……

Paul was one of the greatest apostles that ever lived. He was

a man who obeyed God 110%, no make that 150%, actually make

that 200%……I think you get the picture!  🙂  When I read the

life of Paul I am challenged by his obedience. Let’s look at the

things he accomplished because he was obedient.

 

He got to share the gospel with Felix who was Governor at

the time. He was a man who had lots of influence. 

Read Acts 24:10-26

 

Paul shared the gospel with King Agrippa and his wife

Bernice. God brought Paul before powerful men

and women to share the gospel.

Acts 25 and chapter 26

 

By the way he carried himself and his faith in God,

Paul was able to minister to the Roman soldiers

Read Acts 27:42, 43

 

Because of his obedience Paul ministered to a whole

tribe on the island of Malta.

Read Acts 28.

 

During imprisonment in Rome, Paul wrote a lot of

the books in the new testament. It is said he wrote,

Ephesians Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon.

After imprisonment it is said he wrote Hebrews,

Titus, 1 Timothy and 2 Timothy.

 

Now for the crux of the matter. I will share a scripture that I

believe is the key that opened the door to all the ministry he did:

 

After several days of visiting, a prophet from Judea by the name

of Agabus came down to see us. He went right up to Paul, took

his belt, and, in dramatic gesture, tied himself up, hands and feet.

He said, “This is what the Holy Spirit says: The Jews in Jerusalem

are going to tie up the man who owns this belt just like this and

hand him over to godless unbelievers.”

When everyone heard that, we and everyone there that day

begged Paul not to be stubborn and persist in going to

Jerusalem. But Paul wouldn’t budge:

Why all this hysteria? Why do you insist on making a scene

and making it even harder for me?

You’re looking at this backward. The issue is Jerusalem is not

what they do to me, whether arrest or murder, but what the

Master Jesus does through my obedience. Can’t you see that?

Acts 21:10-13

 

Wow right…..Paul had an understanding of obedience. He knew

being obedient allowed Jesus to work through him. And because

Paul was obedient, Jesus did a mighty work in him and through

him!

 

Let’s bring this principle home. God has a plan for each and

everyone of us but we can only walk in that plan when we are

obedient! That revelation hit me hard! I am in a situation where

I have a decision to make. I can either be obedient even though

it’s difficult and uncomfortable or disobey! But the word is very

clear, Jesus works through our obedience!

He has this amazing, uncomprehendible (if there is such a word)

plan for us. It’s just to big to fathom. I don’t think Paul knew all

that God had in store for Him but he simply obeyed, and

trusted! We need to do the same……

I want to live a life of obedience to God and I ask Him to

help me. I rebel a lot and I fight and push back but He wants

me to obey. He wants us to obey!

Will you learn a lesson from the man who lived a life of obedience?

Rolain

 

 

What do you believe about prayer?

How does God answer prayers? Is there a formula, a to-do list we have to follow? Well, a friend was speaking to me about prayer and this is what he had to say:

Throughout the Bible, God told His people to do something first before he answered their prayers. 

– God told Moses to strike the rock, and then water would come.

– The prophet told the widow to bake him a cake first. She believed God’s promise through the prophet and was kept alive through the famine.

– Before Jesus could raise Lazarus from the dead, He tested the their faith first, He told the mourners to first roll away the stone, then because of their obedience He brought Lazarus back to life. 

– Jesus told the blind man to go wash in the Pool of Siloam, then he would receive his sight.

– He told the ten lepers to go show themselves to the priests. When they showed their faith by obeying and heading in that direction, only then did God do the miracle. As they went, they were healed. 

 

I thought what he said was very interesting. You may not have an answer to prayer because He wants you to take the first step? As I read what he was sharing, things started popping up that I know God would want me to do first. Not that He is unable to perform a miracle because He is capable.

With that said, I don’t think God expects us to do everything. He wants to see our faith in Him in the first step we take! Do you trust Him, then step out? Have you prayed and not received an answer? Maybe you need to take the first step, in faith that He has heard you!

Rolain

Naked and barefoot…

THOUGHT OF THE DAY.

In the year the field commander, sent by king Sargon of Assyria, came to Ashdod and fought and took it, God told Isaiah Son of Amoz,’Go, take off your clothes and sandals, and Isaiah did it. going about naked and barefoot. 

Then God said, Just as my servant Isaiah has walked around town naked and barefooted for three years as a warning sign to Egypt and Ethiopia..Isaiah 20:1-3

This is one of the craziest stories I have read for sure!

Firstly, Isaiah is told to take off his clothes and sandals. We don’t read of any explanation being given by God. He simply tells Isaiah to take off his clothes.

The second craziest thing about this story is, Isaiah just obeys!!!! He never complained, dragged his feet, murmur, or sulk, he just obeyed! How amazing is that??

The third craziest thing about this story is Isaiah was naked for THREE YEARS!!!! Not three hours. But THREE YEARS……How crazy is that? Isaiah didn’t care what people would say. Was he uncomfortable?? I would like to think so, but what God wanted was Isaiah’s highest priority. Everything else came second to that….wow!

What an example of obedience we have. I was so challenged as I read this story. Am I obedient as Isaiah? Does my personal comfort affect my obedience to God? Will I obey God even if I don’t like it or if it feels uncomfortable? Will I be obedient to Him even if it means being ridiculed by people?

How obedient are you to God???

Rolain

 

Give God Something To Work With…

This is a continuation of a post I wrote entitled “Bringing obedience into perspective”
The issue of obedience keeps on surfacing so I would like to go deeper. In the post I mentioned I spoke about how God can work with our obedience. I shared from Acts 21:12 about how Paul was about to go to Rome and face imprisonment but I also showed you how he knew that even though it was going to be hard, he would rather be obedient because God could work through his obedience! He was not concerned about his life. He understood that through his obedience God could do mighty things. He understood that his obedience to God was the key.
That is what I was saying and more.
Lets move on.

Your obedience to God is so important. Jesus came to earth and was obedient till death. He could of just saved His life but instead He chose to be obedient even till death. He saw how by His obedience, the world would be saved! Through His obedience God could save the whole world. Being obedient is so important. God wants to do mighty works in the earth but He is looking for sons and daughters who will be obedient to Him no matter what. 
Do you understand that your obedience is exactly what God needs to do miracles.

I see our obedience like this, when we are obedient to God we are giving Him something to work with! Picture your obedience as play dough. The more you obey the more dough God gets so He can build, create and work on this earth and in your life!
Understand that your obedience to God is what allows Him to move in your life! We must desire to be obedient. That should be a goal.

My pastor gave an amazing revelation about obedience. When the Israelite s were in the desert God commanded them to collect Manna for the day and if they tried to keep any of it overnight it would rot, right. So why did the same Manna last two days on the Sabbath? Before the Sabbath they were told to collect enough for two days.
We learn that it was not about the Manna but it was about the Israelite s obedience to God. When they obeyed God the miraculous could happen no matter how impossible the situation seemed!

Obedience is a big thing for me. I want to be obedient to God even more no matter how hard it is.
Let us strive to be obedient to God. We are not forced to be obedient but it is a want to because we love God. That should be our attitude.

Rolain

 

Bringing Obedience into Perspective.

How do you react when God tells you to do something? Do you do it suddenly or does it take time for you to respond? Do you assess how it will benefit you or what you will lose if you do it? Do you try to make sense of what He told you to do? What goes through your mind?
In the past when God told me to do something I would assess the situation. I would wait for an opportune time at times and then at other times I would simply not do it because it didn’t make sense but yesterday I was saw another side of obedience through the apostle Paul.

Acts 21:12 is where I am going to speak from. The long and short of the story is this, the Apostle Paul is on his way to Jerusalem but on his way he stops at Phillip the Evangelist’s house. As he is there a prophet by the name of Agabus comes to the house and basically prophesies that Paul was going to be arrested and handed over to ungodly people. (Acts 21:12)
After that the people with Paul try to dissuade him from going. What hit me was Paul’s answer to them and I am going to read it from The Message bible.

“When we heard that, we and everyone there that day begged Paul not to be stubborn and persist in going to Jerusalem. But Paul wouldn’t budge; “Why all this hysteria? Why do you insist on making a scene and making it even harder for me? You’re looking at this backward. The issue in Jerusalem is not what they do to me, whether arrest or murder, but what the Master Jesus does through my obedience. Can’t you see that? Acts 21:12,13

Paul knew it was God’s plan for him to go to Jerusalem and that is why he was so stubborn and on top of that he was not looking at what was about to happen to him instead he was looking at what God would do through his obedience!!!! That was more important to him than the temporary discomfort and pain he was about to face!!
In other words, in Paul’s case the issue was not about what he was about to experience, instead it was about what God could do through his obedience!!

To be honest, until yesterday I had never seen obedience like that. The people in the room with Paul were trying to save his life. They had good intentions but their good intentions stopped them from seeing what God could do from Paul’s obedience.

How many times has God told us to do something and we don’t do it because we are focused on the pain, and the discomfort it will cause us?
Like I said in the beginning, I am in this boat as well. There are things God has told me to do that I have shrunk back from because I have looked at the discomfort it will cause me or the amount of work or the amount of obstacles I would have to face. I asked God to forgive me and after that to teach me how to be obedient. I hope you are beginning to see obedience in a new light.

How does all this relate to us in this time, you might be asking? Well, the first thing to note about obedience is, the issue is not about what people will say or what people will think and so on but what the Lord will do through our obedience! That is what God showed me yesterday.

Jesus did the same thing. He knew what He was going to go through yet He carried on. He knew the pain and isolation He would experience but He could also see what God could accomplish through His obedience! That took first place above what He felt. He never allowed His feelings and His discomfort and pain get in the way. Instead He focused on all that God would accomplish through His obedience!

As I was meditating on this principle I had a thought. Could God work in our lives if we are not obedient? Can He operate and do great things in our lives when we walk in disobedience? I don’t have an answer right now but what do you think? I guess I will end the post with this question. Can God work through a person who is disobedient? I would love to hear what your thoughts are on the topic and question…

Rolain

Is Your Faith Really Faith?

I have spoken about faith a lot. Without faith it is impossible to please God but I read something that made me ask the question, is my faith really faith? As I write this, my prayer is you will see faith in a new light.
It was whilst reading the book of James that I questioned if my faith was really faith. This passage of scripture is very popular. I have read it many times but this time round it was different. I was really challenged by what I read. This particular portion of scripture speaks about faith and works. In James 2:14 it says:

What is the use (profit), my brethren, for anyone to profess to have faith if he has no [good] works [to show for it]? Can [such] faith save [his soul]?

It then goes on to say in James 2:18:

But someone will say [to you then], You [say you] have faith, and I have [good] works. Now show me your [alleged] faith apart from any [good] works [if you can], and I by [good] works [of obedience] will show you my faith.

According to James who was inspired by the Holy Spirit, real faith works hand in hand with action. You cannot have one or the other. It is not just believing and doing nothing. He paints a picture of two people. It almost seems like a competition is taking place. It is “faith” which is faith without action vs “works” faith with works. And in this competition “faith” without action loses. He is saying our faith is not really faith until it is accompanied by action (works)! Believing is not enough because according to James 2:19 he says:

You believe that God is one; you do well. So do the demons believe and shudder [in terror and horror such as make a man’s hair stand on end and contract the surface of his skin]!

There are a lot of things we are trusting God for but we need to realise that sitting and waiting is NOT faith! In the things that we have faith for there is a part we have to play.
Please understand, I am not advocating we do things in our flesh and not trust in God. What I am saying is, in the things we are trusting God for there is a part for us to play. Let me give you an example.

Saul and Jonathan and the army of Israel were trapped by the Philistines but to make matters worse Saul and Jonathan were the only ones with swords (1 Samuel 13:22). Saul and Jonathan had “faith” in God. Saul’s “faith” led him to enquire of the Lord through the priest Ahijah (1 Samuel 14:18,19) while Jonathan’s “faith” led him to act. Jonathan’s “faith” led his nation to victory ( 1 Samuel 14:23).
I hope you see as Jonathan stepped out and did his part God STEPPED UP and did His part and that is how it is supposed to be, that is real faith! Our faith needs to be accompanied by works!

James 2:21 says:

Was not our forefather Abraham [shown to be] justified (made acceptable to God) by [his] works when he brought to the altar as an offering his [own] son Issac?
You see that [his] faith was cooperating with his works, and [his] faith was completed and reached its supreme expression [when he implemented it] by [good] works.

You may have faith that God will turn your life around but know you have a part to play. You may be trusting God to bring your destiny to pass but know you have a part to play. You need to act. If you don’t know your part ask God. He will show you what you need to do. You may trusting God for healing, also know you have a part to play. It might be changing your confession. (Some of us make things worse for ourselves by speaking death over ourselves.) It may be changing how you eat. I don’t know, but what I do know is you have a part to play. You may be in poverty and trusting God for financial breakthrough but you have a part to play. You may need to give more, maybe pay your tithes (which a lot of christians don’t do), it might be saving money….etc
Are you starting to see it? I really hope you can. God is faithful and will not abandon us. When we do our part which is a sign of our faith in Him, He will do His part which is the main part, which is the miracle part. I will end with James 2:26 which says:

For as the human body apart from the spirit is lifeless, so faith apart from [its] works of obedience is also dead.

Rolain.