No matter how hard things are, the Lord has a plan.

THOUGHT OF THE DAY

“Joshua spoke to the men who had spied out the land. Joshua said, ‘Go into the prostitute’s

house. Bring her out. And bring out all the people who are with her. Do this because of the

promise you made to her.

So the two men went into the house and brought out Rahab. They brought out her father,

mother, brothers and all those with her. They put all her family in a safe place outside the

camp of Israel.”

Joshua 6:22, 23

 

Rahab’s life was going one way before the spies came. She was a prostitute and as you might

of guessed, she was welcomed by some and rejected by others!

Her life must have been hard I can imagine.

But despite what people saw YAH saw something entirely different.

She had made so many mistakes with no way out but that was all about to change.

The Lord had a plan for her life and despite her past, her mistakes, bad decisions and people’s

opinions of her that plan was completed.

YAH turned her life around in a way no one could ever imagine.

 

The word today is simple;

YAH has a purpose for your life, full stop!

Don’t let your past hinder what YAH has planned for you.

Don’t let the opinions of others stop you from trusting the Lord for something amazing.

Don’t let your current situation deter you

Rahab was a prostitute. In the eyes of everyone around her she wasn’t much but not so in

the eyes of YAH. He saw something different.

The Lord sees you differently to what man sees.

It doesn’t matter if you not strong enough, smart enough, rich enough and so on,

the Lord has something amazing planned for you.

And that’s all I have to share today.

Bless you friends!

 

Rolain

 

 

 

 

She was a nobody but faith………

This is part of three of my series on Hebrews 11. Read part two here. As I start this post I would like to share a verse that got my attention,

[Prompted] by faith Rahab the prostitute was not destroyed along with those who refused to believe and obey, because she had received the spies in peace [without enmity]. Hebrews 11: 31

Rehab is a hero of the faith but I wonder if she sees the same thing?? If we spoke to her now would she say she is a hero proudly? A lot of people read her story and are inspired and it is good but let us look deeper into her life. She was a prostitute and that meant a few things:

– She slept with men for money. It didn’t matter if the man was married or a drunk, or abusive, as long as they had money she would sleep with them.

– She was looked down upon by society.

– It’s very possible she struggled with a low self esteem

– She was finding it hard to make ends meet and maybe that is why she became a prostitute.

– She lived in fear (it’s possible she was threatened by men she slept with)

– No one respected her.

– She may have broken a few families up. It’s possible wives found out their husbands slept with Rahab and left!

– She must have dealt with guilt and condemnation on a regular basis because of the things she had to do. .

– Did she try to commit suicide???

I would like to make something clear before we move on,

I look up to Rahab and in no way am I trying to tear down her reputation and what God had done for her. I am trying to paint a picture of what she probably went through to make you understand what God saved her from. Because despite all the bad she did and all the bad that happened to her, through faith she was saved. Her name is recorded among the Greats because she trusted God! Because of faith she saved her family and was found in Jesus’s lineage!! (Matthew 1:5)

We need faith and without it we can do nothing pleasing to God. Do I understand what faith is? Not really. What I do know is God did amazing things through the people who trusted Him. No matter what people labeled them, or where they grew up, they turned the world upside down!

This is what the word says about these great men and women of faith,

[Men] of whom the world was not worthy–roaming over the desolate places and the mountains, and [living] in caves and caverns and holes of the earth. (Hebrews 11:38 AMP)

Think about all Rahab could of gone through. How could God use her, one could think but in the end what matters is He did! No one is too far off for God to use!

You might feel like you are of no use and your life doesn’t count for something. You might think you have committed too much sin to ever do anything great or you may be plagued with guilt and condemnation but know God has a plan for you! He wants to do great things through you and that is why He wants you to trust Him. Only God can turn your life into something great but you have to have faith in Him!

Rahab did that. She stepped out in faith to God despite what she had done and what people thought and saved the spies. As she used her faith her life changed never to be the same ever. What an amazing testimony for her. I am going to look forward to meeting her and hearing her story! Her story is an example of what God can do with someone who has faith in Him!

Our faith in God can do things we never imagined ever. It can open doors only God can open. Have faith in Him.

Rolain

The Truth About Sin……

I have been in South Africa for the past two weeks now. I was in Durban to be precise, on a tour with my church choir and pastor’s wife. We had such an amazing time of ministry. God really showed up where ever we went to minister. One of my highlights going there was connecting with friends of mine who are in University in Durban. It was great catching up with them. As we were having fun,the issue of grace in context of sin came up. There were many solid arguments that came up and I left that day with a greater understanding of grace and how we should be more understanding with people. As Christians our model is Jesus.
Is there sin that is more abhorrent that the rest? In my country homosexuality is up there among the seven deadly sins.  What I am addressing is how we as Christians deal with people who are involved in the “unspeakable”sins. So having an affair is not so bad compared to homosexuality, someone would think.”How dare he come to church. He is gay and he should be stopped from coming to church”. “What nerve she has, coming to church when she is a prostitute. ” There are so many people who think they can judge certain people because their sins are among the “unspeakable.”

Jesus had to deal with the same mind set in His day.
Early in the morning (at dawn), He came back into the temple [court], and the people came to Him in crowds. He sat down and was teaching them, 
When the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery. They made her stand in the middle of the court and put the case before Him. 
Teacher, they said, This woman has been caught in the very act of adultery. 
Now Moses in the Law commanded us that such [women-offenders] shall be stoned to death. But what do you say [to do with her-what is your sentence]? John 8:2-5

Let us think about this for a moment. The Pharisees brought a woman who was caught in the very act of adultery and it was considered bad to the extent that the offender was to be stoned! Did the Pharisees sin, yes! But they didn’t see sin as sin and because of that they thought they had the right to judge the woman.
Let’s look at how Jesus dealt with the Pharisees.

However, when they persisted with their question, He raised Himself up and said, Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her. John 8:7

We know the rest of the story. One by one being convicted, each person left and Jesus himself did not condemn her. So what am I saying. We need to be more understanding and patient with all people. We can’t be patient with someone who has just had a divorce but then separate ourself from someone who has murdered. What we need to do is look into ourselves and ask ourselves, what do I find detestable? Once you answer that question put that sin in place of adultery in the story I shared. What if a homosexual was brought to Jesus that day? I believe He would of said the same thing to the Pharisees. What if a murderer was brought before Jesus, I still believe the answer would be the same. If we are going to make an impact in the world we need to extend grace to all people. We extend grace because Christ extended His grace to us. What if He just left us? We would be dead with no hope. It’s because of His love and grace that we have a hope and future.  As Christians we cannot spend our time judging people when we all sin.

This is the conclusion. Sin is sin. we have no right to judge someone else just because we think their sin is a lot more atrocious than our own sin. Yes, we confront sin. If someone is doing wrong tell them but don’t let  a person’s sin stop you from loving that person. Jesus told the adulterous woman to go and sin no more but before that, He gave her a chance. He did not condemn her. Are we condemning before even giving that person a chance? And that is my challenge to you.