It’s about people not fame……!

“At evening, when the sun had set, they brought to Him all

who were sick and those who were demon-possessed.

And the whole city was gathered together at the door.

Then He healed many who were sick with various diseases,

and cast out many demons; and He did not allow the demons

to speak, because they knew Him. “

Mark 1:32-34

 

Talk about a successful ministry! Yeshua had the whole city

at His door. Miracles were taking place, people were being

touched, diseases were being cured, demons being cast out.

It’s the desire of many ministers that their ministry flourish

like what we read in this passage.

 

Let’s look at another scripture,

 

“Now in the morning having risen a long while before daylight,

He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He

prayed.

And Simon and those who were with Him searched for Him.

When they found Him, they said to Him, “Everyone is looking

for You.”

Mark 1:35-37

 

Yeshua was popular. He was the talk of the city. I can only imagine

what His followers were thinking!

 

“We made it to the big leagues”

“We are going to be so rich’

“What am I going to do with all the silver and gold?”

“I didn’t know signing autographs was so much fun”

‘This good news stuff works”

 

I imagine those are the kind of thoughts they were thinking.

 

It’s always nice to have a whole city at your door eager to listen

to you and it’s cool being the talk of the town;

but the story didn’t end there.

Let’s read on,

 

“But He said to them, “Let us go into the next towns, that I

may preach there also, because for this purpose I have come

forth.”

Mark 1;38

 

I can see the disciples expressions! I can see looks of shock

and  disbelief!

 

“The WHOLE town is looking for You and you want to leave”, they

must have thought!

 

I don’t even think they went back to say goodbye. Yeshua said,

“Let us go into the next towns,”

 

There is no mention of a farewell.

 

There is such an important lesson in this story.

The gospel is not a broad way show.

Following Yeshua will not bring us popularity, it will

bring persecution, ridicule, and hardships. (Acts 14:22)

Yeshua came to save  mankind! He didn’t come to be famous.

 

If you are in ministry so you can be recognized, then you have

missed the point completely.

If Yeshua came to be popular He would have stayed in that

city. But His calling far exceeded being popular.

He could of been a mega super star but that paled in comparison

to saving a soul. That was much more valuable than any distinction

man could ever give!

 

What is your motive for serving? Are you looking for the

applause, the recognition, for the accolades??

If you never get recognized for the work you do in the

ministry would you stop serving?

What’s more important to you as you serve,

getting applause or seeing a soul transform under the power

of God??

Yeshua didn’t come seeking fame and popularity.

He came to serve!

Let us follow His pattern and put people being transformed

and changed as the main thing.

Bless you friends!

 

Rolain

 

 

 

 

We are the church!!

“All this energy issues from Christ: God raised Him from death and set Him on a throne in

deep heaven, in charge of running the universe, everything from galaxies to governments,

no name and no power exempt from His rule. And not just for the time being, but forever. He

is in charge of it all, has the final word on everything. At the center of all this, Christ rules the

church. The church, you see, is not peripheral to the world; the world is peripheral to the church.

The church is Christ’s body, in which He speaks and acts, by which He fills everything with His presence.”

Ephesians 1:20-23

 

I love this passage of scripture. I love how it describes the role of the church in our lives,

 

“At the center of all this, Christ rules the church.

The church, you see, is not peripheral to the world;

the world is peripheral to the church.

The church is Christ’s body, in which He speaks and acts,

by which He fills everything with His presence. “

 

What a powerful passage of scripture about the church.

According to this scripture, the world is peripheral to the

church and not the other way round but it actually feels like

it’s the other way round. To a lot of people church has become

mundane, boring and irrelevant.

The church has become peripheral to the

world for a lot of Christians.

But that is not the way it’s supposed to be.

The church is meant to be the answer to a dying world.

But some where along the way, we have missed it.

 

I understand the church is not perfect. How can it be?

People make up a church! People are imperfect, people say the wrong

things, people judge, people make mistakes and on and on the list goes…..

But for some reason we have this idea that church is supposed to be this

perfect place! How wrong we are!

Church is messy, church is hard at times but what matters is the big picture.

When Christ comes back He is coming for His Bride (the church)

 

If you didn’t know, the church is not a building. The church are the people in the

building! We are the answer to a lost world. We are meant to show the people THE

way. The church needs to be a light in a dark place. We are meant to make an impact

in our community, city, and nation.

 

But that only happens when the church is the main thing. It happens when the world is peripheral

to the church in our lives and not the other way round.

 

Amen

 

Rolain

A new year…….

Hi friends!!!!

It’s good to be back! I hope the year has started well for you

and I hope you are expecting some big things to happen to you

and for you! I have been “AWOL” because our church goes on

a Daniel fast at the start of every year.

But this year my pastor challenged

us to stop social “media-ring” during the fast…..   🙂   So I

decided to stop posting on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter but

I realised if I was to stay off those social media sites I couldn’t

post anything on wordpress because my posts would appear on

those sites and I would be unable to respond for three weeks.

That is why I haven’t written anything until now.

 

I was glad I was still able to follow you guys though. I was

truly blessed by your posts…..

 

I am really excited about what God has in store for me this

year. In 2015 (December) I went to God with my 2016 calender

and told Him to fill it. I have plans for this year but I am still

limited in my thinking and that is why I asked Him to fill it.

He is great and mighty and not bound by what I am bound

by. He is not limited by what I am limited by and that is why

I am excited about this year. He is the One who is in control and

He is the One who is directing my steps.

I want to share a scripture that has really ministered to me

in this new year. I came across it as I read Brian Houston’s new

book Live, Love, Lead!

 

Dear, dear Corinthians, I can’t tell you how much I long for you

to enter this wide-open, spacious life. We didn’t fence you in.

The smallness you feel comes from within you. Your lives aren’t

small, but you’re living them in a small way. I’m speaking as

plainly as I can and with great affection.

Open up your lives. Live openly and expansively!

2 Corinthians 6: 11-13

 

I love this verse. There is a “wide-open, spacious life” 

God has planned for me…..for us!

And we can’t allow small thinking and small dreams to hinder

the wide-open, spacious life God has for us!

The truth is this, God has a wide-open, spacious life for you. Don’t

believe anyone who says otherwise. His intension is to bless your

life. It’s not because you did something right. It’s not because

of anything you have done. It’s all Him! It’s all Him friends!

It’s because He loves us that He blesses us.

 

My life is not small! God has so much more in store for me than

I have imagined for myself and the same is true for you!

He has more of Himself He wants to reveal.

There is so much He wants to teach.

Like I said, this is going to be a great year!

Have a great day friends…..

 

photo credit: google images

 

Rolain

 

 

 

 

Guest post – A voice crying through the darkness.

Good morning, afternoon and evening to everyone! Hope

you all had a great week. This is my second guest post. I

think you will enjoy what Matthew has to share. Please

visit his blog at, mbm1992.wordpress.com, because he has

a unique word from God, a word that will set a lot of people

free…..I really

believe that!

And since this is my second guest post I guess I should

open an invitation to anyone who would like to be a

guest on my blog. Feel free to email me if you want to

be a ……(I am looking for the right word….hmmm,)

Feel free to email me if you want to be a “guest-poster”!

Aha….that’s it, guest-poster!  🙂

My email is,    rolain.errol377@gmail.com

If you want to drop me an email to say hi, feel free to do so as

well…..!      😉

Sorry for going on a tangent there……without wasting anymore

of your time let me leave you to read what God has put on

Matthew’s heart…..

 

——————————————————————

We currently live in a country where transparency is shunned. The mass outlet of humanity exists within the confines of our masked communities. There’s nothing real in our society anymore. Trust is constantly hanging by the noose of betrayal. Truth is buried underneath a cemetery of lies. What’s honestly real anymore?

Look, I’m only twenty-two years old and I’m already fed up with the society we live in. I’ve been raised in a pastor’s home my entire life, darkened the door of a church every chance I could, and am now studying to be a pastor. For the past four years I have struggled heavily with bouts of depression and anxiety attacks. Would you like to know how often the church has been prepared to help me cope with such things? Not very often. Would you also like to know why I think that is?

It’s because no one wants to be real anymore.

I’m probably making some serious accusations here but am I wrong? Am I really that unjustified? No one knows how to deal with someone else’s problems. We live in an incredibly selfish society that promotes the needs of self over the needs of others.

Seven months ago I started a blog. At the time I hadn’t really grasped an idea of where I wanted to go I just knew that I wanted to write. As my struggle with depression intensified I realized that my suffering was opening a door to helping other people. It was at this time that “Confessions” was born. It’s a simple premise. I write with every ounce of honesty I have regardless of what needs to be said. All that I am trying to do is provide a shelter for the hurting to come and find hope. I’m confessing what’s inside so many of our heads. This world needs a change and the only way I see that happening is by being the change that I want to see.

If you happen upon my site you will find a community of people discussing some of the tougher topics in life. What does it mean to trust God when life is hopeless? What does it mean for the world to be more aware of Mental Health? Did you know that 40,000 people die from suicide each year? Did you know that 350,000,000 people worldwide suffer from depression? Ladies and gentleman, what we are experiencing is a silent epidemic. I fully believe that hope in God is the cure.

I’m fed up with the mental mandate in our society but that doesn’t mean I’m only going to whine about it. My life is committed to speaking for the voiceless. My heart is for giving hope to the hopeless. I am blessed to have been able to experience some sort of control over my depression but others hurt more than I can imagine. I won’t just stand by and let them hurt; I won’t stand by and let you hurt.

My heart is for you because Christ is for you. My heart is for you because this world is not. For as long as I am blessed with the chance to write my heart I will stand for those who don’t have the power to stand. While the world wants to hide behind a façade I’ll be screaming my Confessions – Matthew

Rolain

image credit:

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

The “Gifts” God gives us…..!

I don’t know where to start and I don’t know how to begin this post. All I can say is that the word “gift” has

taken a whole new meaning for me. A few months ago I found out my friend, was leaving the country for good! We were first friends, then he became my boss, then pastor, then mentor, then family!

My world turned upside down that day. I had people leave before and it was painful but this, this was a whole new level.

My pastor’s wife called me and sat me down as she told me the news. I was devastated and confused. Why God I asked?

This can’t be happening I thought. I had known my mentor’s family for over 10 years! I knew them when they

had their first son. They have four boys now and I love them to bits.  Anyway I remember going to God and

crying out to Him for answers to the question why. Nothing came. Instead revelation came……

 

God showed me how they were gifts from Him. I met my mentor when I had just met The Lord. I am a sinner

now but back then I was much worse. If there is a word worse than sinner I was it. I was truly lost. I had no

direction and no plan. I had crazy issues I was beginning to work out. I had just became a Christian and this new

life was still…..new! I was dealing with a lot of things. I had no confidence and I had no self esteem. When he

employed me a year after meeting him I stole money from him! It was that bad. I WAS that bad! But thank God he never fired me or called the police. He gave me a second chance…….

 

I didn’t trust anyone back then and when he tried to help me out I would think he had some evil intension! When he disciplined me at work I would take it personally. When he made a joke about me I would get extremely angry. My stuttering was so bad back then which didn’t really help things! So believe me when I say, things were bad back then, really bad!!!

But God used him and his wife to mold me into who God wanted me to be. They taught me so much. They stood by

me when I had family issues. They helped me out financially countless times. They sat down and taught me so much

about God and life. In one of the darkest times in my life they were there.

 

God showed me how that was not an accident.

He knew all the change that needed to happen in me. He saw all I was going through and because of that He sent them

into my life. They were gifts. We serve a God who is the giver of gifts but the mistake we make is thinking gifts come in the form of money only. That’s not true. God’s gifts are so much more than money. They are deeper than that. During that time I never thought of them as gifts. We had our good times together and we had hard and difficult times.

 

The fact of the matter is this. God sent me gifts in the form of my mentor and his family. I just didn’t know it at the time and I never gave them the honor they rightly deserved. I wish I never took them for granted. I wish I honored them more and thanked them more for all they had done for me. I can’t put into words all that they did for me. A lot of who I am is because of their input in my life.

They saw so much potential in me and stood by me patiently. They are my family. I am telling you all this because….

…….they left on Wednesday this week! It’s been a hard week I must admit. They had my back. But in the midst of the pain God showed me how He will bring other “gifts” into my life after all; those “gifts” came from Him. He is the giver of all gifts. My mentor and his family never willed or planned to do all they did for me. God was behind it all. My mentor never knew the kind of impact he would have in my life but God did because He planned it. God was behind it all……

Yes, I am sad and broken at them leaving but I am also at peace because God has some amazing “gifts” in store for me.

I pray I be a “gift” to someone else as well. Would God use me to be the kind of “gift” my mentor was to me……

 

Have you acknowledged the “gifts” God has put in your life? There is a reason He has placed them in your life.

Don’t take them for granted. Thank them for all they are doing for you. It is not easy for them. There is always a

sacrifice on their part. May we always appreciate the “gifts” God has given us, always!

 

 

* This post is dedicated to the Stewart family. *

The Stewart family!

 

Rolain.

Is Your Life Balanced?

There needs to be a balance in our lives. A lot of Christians like to get stuck in one truth and that’s all they ever see. Some of us get stuck in prosperity or giving, or faith forgetting the other important things that make up Christianity. We need to strike a balance in our walk. It is not one or the other thing but it is all those things that make us successful.

 At bible school the lecturer made a very interesting observation. He said a lot of Christians pray and pray but don’t praise. He then told a true story about a traveling pastor who was sick. Every where this pastor went he asked people to pray for him but nothing changed. His sickness remained. One day the pastor went before God and asked Him why he was still sick despite the countless prayers being offered for him. God showed him a vision of measuring scales. On one scale was praise and the other was prayer. The scale which was prayer was filled and it far outweighed praise. God then told him that the reason nothing was happening was because there was no praise in his life. The man began praising God everyday and within no time he was healed of his sickness completely!!! That is the power of prayer and praise. The two go hand in hand.

Let me show you this principle in action in scripture. In Acts 16:23-36 we read about Paul and Silas.

In verse 25 up to 26 it reads, “but about the middle of the night, Paul and Silas were making prayers and songs to God in the hearing of the prisoners;
And suddenly there was an earth-shock, so that the base of the prison was moved; and all the doors came open, and everyone’s chains came off.
Notice, they prayed first but only as they praised God did the deliverance come through. A lot of the time we have prayed and prayed but with no answer while God was waiting for us to praise Him! There is power in prayer, no doubt but there is also power in thanksgiving and praise.

For another example we are going to look at 2 Chronicles 20. In verse 2 we read how Jehoshaphat got some disturbing news about a great army coming towards him. In his fear, he prayed to God for help. But notice that he didn’t get his deliverance then. The Lord answered his prayer but he didn’t get his manifestation then.  The manifestation only came when he praised God! The enemy still advanced after he prayed but it is only when he praised that the deliverance came.

It is the same with us. We should pray, we NEED to pray but it should be coupled with praise! Is your life balanced? Is your scale balanced? This is for all of us. I know that my scale is not balanced. My praise and thanksgiving is very low but I want it to increase!

Praise is acting like we have the answer – David Divelbiss

I have been so challenged by this word, I hope you have too. Let us practice praying and praising. Our praise is an act of faith towards God. It is our praise to God that releases our faith! Prayer is powerful, praise is powerful but together you become unstoppable!

God bless

Rolain