Do You Have The Full Picture?

Do you really understand the potential you have stored up in you?

Do you understand the amazing things that God has in store for you?

Because God created us He is the only One who has the full picture I believe. He is the one who sees everything and He knows what we are going to accomplish. So our job is to stop defining ourselves by the things we can’t see yet.

You didn’t create you so you need to be very careful with how you speak to yourself about what you can do and about the things that are in store for you. And you also need to be careful of the information that comes your way from other people. Because people will always have something to say about what you can and can’t do.

I think of Gideon who instead of agreeing with what the angel of the Lord told him he gave excuses as to why he was not qualified to do God’s work. And he got those opinions or ideas from the people around him. He grew up in an environment where he was constantly being told he was the least.

Jesus had this same problem. There were people very close to him who didn’t believe in him.

“You can’t become famous if you hide like this! If you can do such wonderful things, show yourself to the world! For even his brothers didn’t believe in him.”

John 7:4 NLT

If Jesus had people that didn’t believe in him what more of you and me?

So remember that you don’t have all the pieces of the puzzle and it’s okay. Press into the Lord. Spend time with him and he will reveal what He has called you to do.

Trust Him with your life.

Bless you friends.

Rolain

God has a name for you.

“And they journeyed from Bethel and had but a little way to go to Ephrath [Bethlehem]

when Rachel suffered the pangs of childbirth and had hard labor. 

When she was in hard labor, the midwife said to her, Do not be afraid; you shall have this son

also. And as her soul was departing, for she died, she called his name Ben-oni [son of my sorrow]; 

but his father called him Benjamin [son of the right hand]. 

Genesis 35:16-18

 

As Rachel was dying she called her son Ben-oni and rightly so in her mind because she was about

to die. Because of the pain she was experiencing she named him but Jacob gave him another name.

A name of blessing which spoke of God’s plan and purpose for his life.

 

The temptation is great to listen to the names people call us because we think they “know” us.

We allow the words of man to define us because we think they really do know us. Either because

they have been friends for a really long time or because they are family but the truth of the matter

is that God is the only One who really knows us. We need to look to Him to tell us who we are and

not man.

 

I am not saying we should stop listening to the encouraging words of friends, family, mentors, teachers

and the other people in our lives but what I am saying is that we need to be very careful we don’t stop

with what they tell us we can be or do.

 

Rachel is a picture of man who makes decisions about us and speak based on what they see.

Jacob is a picture of God and what He sees. Even when it’s not clear to us or anyone else, God knows

the plans He has for us.

He knows all the great things we will do and that’s what He speaks over us.

 

“Jabez was honorable above his brothers; but his mother named him Jabez [sorrow maker], saying, 

Because I bore him in pain. 

Jabez cried to the God of Israel, saying, Oh, that You would bless me and enlarge my border, and 

that Your hand might be with me, and You would keep me from evil so it might not hurt me! 

And God granted his request.”

1 Chronicles 4:9, 10

 

Jabez was given a name by man but he prayed for God to bless him. He was tired of being called

Sorrow-Maker. He knew God had something better for him so he prayed and God granted

his request! I love that so much. You don’t have to live by what man says you can or can’t do.

Just because man thinks you can’t doesn’t mean that’s true. What matters is what God thinks and

says about you!

 

For a long time I lived by other people’s scripts. I was okay with living in the box they made for me. But

when I gave my life to Christ things changed radically. The Lord opened my eyes to what He had in store

for me. He showed me a glimpse of what He had in store which was so much higher and greater than

what man said I could do. Bit by bit the chains began to be broken off.

Don’t let man define what you can do. Let God’s word be what directs you and drives you.

Don’t be limited by all the perceptions and images man has put on you.

 

God has an amazing plan for your life.

Let go of the words that have been spoken over you that have limited you and live

by who God says you are.

 

Bless you friends

 

Rolain

The Lord gave him a picture…..

“Then God led Abram outside. God said, “Look at the sky. There are so many stars

you cannot count them. And your descendants will be too many to count.”

Abram believed the Lord. And the Lord accepted Abram’s faith and that faith made

him right with God.

  

Genesis 15:5, 6

The Lord led Abram outside and gave him a picture of his life and that’s the way it’s supposed to be.

But as I look back at my life I see how I allowed people to give me a picture. The enemy was in the mix

as well and did everything in his power to enforce the picture he had given me

because I didn’t know better. It took years to break the negative picture I had been

given and thanks to God the healing is still ongoing.

The Lord has a picture for you too. The picture is amazing and glorious but there is so much opposition

from the enemy. he doesn’t want you to walk in the plan God has for your life because that’s what the picture

is about. It’s about where God wants to take you. It’s about what He has in store for you.

But the enemy uses fear, abuse, manipulation and a whole lot of other things to blind you to God’s picture.

Don’t accept the enemy’s pictures. They are all lies.

his pictures get you depressed, fearful, anxious, greedy, and weak.

his pictures are all void of goodness, peace, love, fulfillment, faith, joy and every other good thing

God is.

Reject them at every turn. But you need help. You need the Lord’s help.

The good news is this, the picture you have now can be changed. That’s what happened to me.

My picture was really bad but the Lord came and changed it. He replaced the dark, hopeless,

fearful picture and replaced it with His life-giving, fresh, new, energizing picture!

And that’s what He does for us as His children.

As I end I will leave you with a scripture that sums up what I have been talking about,

“Call to Me and I will answer you and show you great and mighty things, fenced in and hidden, 

which you do not know (do not distinguish and recognize, have knowledge of and understand).”

Jeremiah 33:3

Blessings to you, friends

Rolain

God is looking for confidence……He will act!

I have been wrestling with something I read recently. I have been thinking about how I use my faith

daily. Faith is not just for looking into the future but it’s for this moment, for this season I am in right now,

for the situation I am facing today.

Faith was never meant to be a badge we wear. Faith is alive and active.

When you have faith there is a boldness, a surety even when there isn’t anything tangible to hold on to,

even when things are dark. Let me share a story with you that will shed light on what I mean.

 

I was reading Jonathan’s story and was deeply challenged by his faith. There was a time he, his dad and

army were trapped by the Philistines. To make the situation worse he and his dad were the only ones

who had swords! (read 1 Samuel 13:19-22)

So picture this, Jonathan and his dad with a small army of about 6000 men (1 Samuel 13:2) with only

two swords among them facing a countless army!

 

“and the Philistines gathered to fight with Israel, 30000 chariots and 6000 horsemen and troops like sand

on the seashore in multitude.”

1 Samuel 13:5

 

Jonathan and the army with him were outnumbered and out-weaponed! (I hope that’s a thing! 🙂  )

But instead of shrinking back in the moment he used his faith. Like I said, we are not supposed to wear

our faith like a badge, and it’s not to be used only when trusting YAH for the future, it’s meant to be

used today in the situation we are facing now. That’s what Jonathan did, he trusted in the Lord and made

a move.

 

“And Jonathan said to his young armor-bearer, Come, and let us go over to the garrison of these

uncircumcised; it may be that the Lord will work for us. For there is nothing to prevent the Lord from

saving by many or by few.”

1 Samuel 14:6

 

What confidence! He didn’t even hesitate. That’s the confidence I want to live in. Jonathan trusted Yeshua

and saved himself and the army with him which was impossible by the way.

The enemy he faced was “supposed” to win because they more in number and ridiculously out-gunned

him but that was not the case.

 

And that is what I was wrestling with. I believe know Yeshua wants me to have that kind of confidence.

He wants me to use my faith in the situations I am facing right now.

He wants me to advance boldly in faith, not timidly. The calling He has called me to demands I do that!

 

What about you? Are you advancing boldly, assured Yeshua will come through for you, assured He has

heard your prayer and will act. In the place you are in right now, trust Him and expect Him to move.

There is every reason to be confident in Him. He will not let us down friends.

 

So as I end I want to highlight the two main points I was trying to get across:

• Have faith
• Be confident in your faith

 

Bless you friends…..

 

Rolain

When will the Lord answer us?

Is this the day?

Is this the day the door opens?

Is this the day my prayers are answered?

Is this the day I get my breakthrough?

 

The truth is I don’t know the day but that’s not the point. The point is to be expectant.

The point is to put your hope in the Lord. Today could be the day but if it’s not keep trusting,

Keep declaring, Keep doing, fully confident the day is coming.

The question is no longer, “will the day come” but “when is the day”.

 

The enemy will try to deceive you into believing the day won’t come. He will try to make you believe

the sickness is permanent, the lack is permanent, the broken relationship is permanent, the addiction

is permanent, the list goes on and on but he is wrong.

Your answer to prayer will come, it might be already here, the sickness will leave, you are healed,

what the enemy stole will be restored, poverty will be broken off your life…..I think you get the

picture.

 

Mephiboseth was a cripple and didn’t have much going for him. As a baby his nurse fled with him but

in her haste she dropped him and he became a cripple. He didn’t have a say in the

matter. (2 Samuel 4:4) Talk about an unfortunate circumstance.

But when all was lost something pretty amazing happened.

 

“The king said, Is there not still someone of the house of Saul to whom I may show the [unfailing, unsought, 

unlimited] mercy and kindness of God?”

2 Samuel 9:3

 

There is nothing Mephibosheth did differently to get the kings attention. No one went to the king and

appealed on his behalf, no. He was a nobody in one instant and in the next he was eating at the

king’s table! And that is why we must live a life of expectancy and faith.

I don’t think Mephibosheth had any idea his life would change so drastically. But as sons and

daughters of the King we can be expectant. A life without hope is death. What David did

for Mephibosheth is a picture of the Father’s heart I believe. We don’t deserve His goodness, grace

and mercy but He has given it anyway.

Like Mephibosheth the Lord can do the same thing and more. We need to be expectant always.

 

 

Expect YAH to move in your life today.

Expect an answer to your prayers.

Expect healing, expect deliverance, expect breakthrough.

The Lord is faithful. He won’t let us down.

Have a great weekend friends……

 

Rolain

 

 

 

What do we do when we don’t see God’s entire plan for our lives??

“And behold, the word of the Lord came to him, saying, “This one shall not be your heir,

but one who will come from your body shall be your heir.”

Then He brought him outside and said, “Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if

you are able to number them. “ And He said to him, “So shall your descendants be.”

And he believed in the Lord, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.”

Genesis 15: 4-6

 

Happy New Year friends!! I hope you have had a blessed holiday. I am really excited for all YAH has

in store in the new year.

Without further delay let’s jump into the word today.

For a long time I have believed that YAH has an incredible plan for my life. I am not about to settle for

where I am in this season of my life.

And you shouldn’t settle too. Trust Him with your life and watch Him do wonders with it.

 

“YAH has a great plan for your life”

 

I have heard those words many times and I am guessing you have too but my question to you is, have

you fully grasped their meaning? I thought I had an idea but I was wrong.

Let’s take a look at Abraham,

YAH took him outside and told him to count the stars if he was able to.

“So shall your descendants be” YAH told him.

But did Abraham understand what that meant? Did he fully grasp what YAH was telling him?

 

What blows my mind is the fact that YAH spoke to Abraham about having descendants as countless as the

stars but at that time Abraham and Sarah couldn’t have children! (Genesis 11:30)

How crazy was that? It would have made sense for YAH to speak to a couple who could bear children, but no,

instead He spoke to a couple that COULDN’T have children!

He is the God who does the impossible! Why do you think He did that? He wanted to show how powerful

He was.

You may look at your life and think He can’t do the impossible but that’s just not true.

 

Something else that blows my mind about Abraham is that even though he and Sarah finally had a child they

would never be able to have descendants as countless as the stars without YAH’s help. I don’t even think they

knew what the Lord meant by that. They probably had an idea that YAH’s promise would transcended

their lives but I am not sure if they knew to what extent.

We are still benefiting from the promise YAH made to Abraham all that time ago!!!

There is was nothing Abraham could do in his strength to make sure he would have descendants as countless

as the stars, absolutely nothing!

Trusting YAH was the only way to ensure the promise would come to pass.

Every aspect of YAH’s plan for Abraham needed Him. Without YAH the plan would not work.

But there is something very crucial we need to understand about this whole thing, even though Abraham may

not have understood the full extent of what YAH was telling him the word tells us;

 

“And he believed in the LORD, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.”

Genesis 15:6

 

Abraham didn’t need to have the whole picture; all he needed was to believe the Lord.

 

You may think nothing can happen for you but things can and will happen. You need to believe in the

Lord like Abraham did.

We cannot stop believing in the Lord. He has a plan for our lives and even though we may not see

the full picture we must believe!

 

He has a purpose for your life and He wants to show you what it is. If you have no clue

then pray, ask Him to reveal it to you. He is not trying to hide it from you.

And if you do know the plan know that it’s not the entire picture. There is so much more, more than

you could ever imagine or make up. Trust Him to direct you step by step.

 

“Then He brought him outside and said, Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to

number them.”

 

As I close remember it’s your faith that is the key. It’s not your strength or willpower but your faith

in the Lord. How much do you trust Him? He will bring everything He has planned for to pass.

Every promise He has given you, He will fulfill……

 

  “And the Lord visited Sarah as He said, and the Lord did for Sarah as He had spoken.”

Genesis 21:1

 

Bless you friends.

 

Rolain

The war I didn’t see coming…….

“Whom have I in heaven but You?

And besides You, I desire nothing on earth.”

Psalm 73:25

 

“My soul thirsts for God, for the living God; When 

shall I come and appear before God?”

Psalm 42:2

 

These scriptures paint a picture of my love for God. I really

need more of Him everyday. I am nothing without Him.

Where could I go and what could I do without Him???

He really is the love of my life!

 

But I am in a war right now and the results of the war will have

a huge impact on my relationship with God.

The fight caught me unawares. For some time I supplied the

enemy with the arsenal he needed to have an edge on me.

Can you imagine that?!!!

I was totally blindsided by the enemy.

 

You see, the war I am engaged in is not happening on a plain

that is easily recognizable.

The war I am engaged in is happening right at my doorstep, as a

matter of fact it’s happening closer than that. This war of epic

proportions is happening right in my home!

 

How could I miss it? How did I not recognize the enemy’s tactic?

A face to face confrontation wouldn’t have done the trick. I would

have quickly dismissed him. Instead he came slyly into my

home through television, social media, and so on. I used to spend

so much time with Yeshua in the past. When I would get home

I would make sure I spent my time in prayer, and word.

Yes I would do other things but they were not the “main” things.

Spending time with God was on the top of the list.

 

But one day that pattern changed.

I would get home and put on the television.

If there was nothing to watch I would go online.

There was even a time I would forgo church functions to watch

sport!

The war is real friends.

 

When God by His grace opened my eyes to what I was doing

I realized I had to cut things out of my life. The first thing to go was

the television. I had to look to God for help. I couldn’t do it alone.

But that didn’t go without a fight!

What the heck!!

 

I am slowly gaining the ground I lost in the beginning. The fight

has been brutal but I will keep fighting because my relationship

with God depends on it. He is the love of my life.

He is the One I desire above all else and I am not alone in this.

He is right by my side helping me!

I want to fall deeper in love with Him and nothing must stand in

the way of that.

 

Friends, as hard as that was to write the goal is to help you see

how far the enemy is willing to take the battle. Your battle will

be different from mine but you must know that the enemy will

take the battle to your home!

if you are single this post is for you especially, the time you have

now is so important. It is in this time you get deeper with God.

Don’t make the mistake I made by allowing distractions to take

away the precious time I had kept aside for God.

And if you are strong in this area then please pray for me.

I need all the help I can get!

Bless you!

 

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

 

Is The Picture Of Your Life This Clear?

In one of my previous posts I spoke about having a clear picture of your future. I explained that you need a clear picture because as human beings we are designed to gravitate towards the strongest picture in our minds.
With that in mind I would like to show you something that illustrates what I am saying so perfectly.
A few days ago I received an interesting email about how computers as we know them are coming to an end. They were speaking about a new age of computers like we have never imagined especially here in Africa where we are still lagging behind. After I watched the presentation I was in a state of shock at the vividness I seen.
Before I carry on, lets watch the clip and you will see what I am talking about……

Did you see that??? Look at how clear their picture is! It is so vivid. The picture has so much detail it feels like it’s a reality! You can taste it and smell it. Nothing has been left unturned from the colors to the kind of people using the computers to the architecture, to the clothes, to the emotions………
How did you feel when you watched it?

This is how our future should look like. We need to be able to smell and taste it. Can you see yourself enjoying yourself in whatever you are supposed to be doing? What does the environment look like where you stay? Where do you stay? What type of friends do you hang out with? What type of car do you drive and so on and so on!?

The point is this. You gravitate towards the strongest picture in your mind. Your job, my job is getting the picture God has for us crystal clear! It is possible.

Rolain.P

More To Life Than Me.

Do you know we are called to a life that is much bigger than ourselves? We are not just called to live for ourselves. As you are right now, what are you living for? Is there a higher purpose that you have dedicated your life to?
There comes a time when God calls us to come together with other people to build something that will last for generations. It is not wrong to make sure you are building your own life. I just want you to see the big picture. There is more God has planned for you beyond just you and your family.

In the book of Nehemiah we see how the Jewish people came together under Nehemiah in a united purpose to build something much bigger than themselves.
Nehemiah 2:17,18 says: Then I said to them, You see the bad situation we are in-how Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates are burned with fire. Come, let us build up the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer be a disgrace.
Then I told them of the hand of my God which was upon me for good, and also the words that the king had spoken to me. And they said, Let us rise up and build! So they strengthened their hands for the good work.

Do you have a purpose that is much bigger than yourself which is not just about you but about building God’s kingdom? There is more to life than just making sure you are fine! My Pastor’s wife has this thing she says and has been saying for years which is so true. She says, “we are involved in something much bigger than ourselves”.
In Nehemiah chapter three we see a clear picture of this. A whole bunch of people came together to repair the broken down wall.

After him Baruch son of Zabbai (Zaccai), earnestly repaired another portion [toward the hill] from the angular turning of the wall to the door of the house of Eliashib the high priest.
After him Meremoth son of Uriah, the son of Hakkoz, repaired from the door of Eliashib’s house to the end of his house.
After him the priests, the men of the plain, repaired.
After them Benjamin and Hasshub repaired opposite their house. After them repaired Azariah son of Maaseiah, the son of Ananiah beside his own house. Nehemiah 3:20-23

Everyone had a part to play. Some didn’t have to go far. They just stepped out of their house and repaired the wall next to them. But the point is this: they did their part. Nehemiah didn’t call one family to build the whole wall. God is not calling you to do all the work but He is calling you to do your part. Your part in the big picture is very important.

As I end remember, you are part of something much bigger than yourself. Get involved.

Rolain.P