The way to greatness……

How did THEY do it? The great men and women who went before us? How did they achieve greatness? One thing is for sure. None of those men and women became great in a day. It took time. Look at Israel, what a great example. Jacob was one man with a promise. He would become a mighty nation! Psalm 105: 11, 12 says,

Saying, unto you will I give the land of Canaan as your measured portion, possession, and inheritance. 

When they were but a few men in number, in fact, very few and were temporary residents and strangers in it. 

Don’t despise the day of small beginnings. We see from this short passage that God started with a few people. He started off small. It is doing the small things that great things are born. Without the small things you cannot be great. So you may have started writing but no one knows your name, please know there will  come a day when people will know your name, a day where your books will impact millions. Keep on writing. You may have started a company but it hasn’t picked up like you would want it too but know the day is coming when you will be so busy you will not know what to do with the clients that come to your place.

All great things start as small things. It is just the way it is. Don’t despise the “small” that you are doing now. It is to an end. God has a much bigger plan in store for you. It takes time for “small” to turn into great. You need to keep at it. keep pushing, keep trusting, keep declaring, keep on working. God knows what He is doing.                                                        I need to constantly remind myself of this truth. God is doing something and I must not despise the day of small beginnings. He is making me stronger, preparing me for the great and so it is with you. King David looked after his fathers sheep. But God was preparing him out there. He fought the lion and the bear out there. God was preparing him for the giant and more. He was preparing him to be a king as he was doing the “small”. Did he know what God was up to, I don’t know! People saw but didn’t understand. His own family didn’t see it. People don’t usually tend to see what God is doing but keep on with what He has shown you.

What you need to do, is see beyond the “small” as you do the “small”. Do you understand?? When you do the “small” see the end result. See the “small” in it’s completed state. If you are at school aspiring to be a doctor keep the picture of the doctor up. When things get hard at school, having the main picture in front of you will help you. It takes faith to see ahead. You can only see the big picture by faith! The “small”  you are doing now is the key. Don’t despise it.  The “small” is setting your foundation down and making it stronger. That is where greatness starts…..

Rolain

Is the issue really about faith…..???!!!

The apostles came up and said to the Master,”Give us more faith.”                             But the Master said, “You don’t need more faith. There is no ‘more’ or ‘less’ in faith. if you have a bare kernel of faith, say the size of a poppy seed, you could say to this sycamore tree, ‘Go jump in the lake’, and it would do it.  Luke 17:5,6

Faith as small as a poppy seed!!!!!!

This is a very interesting verse. I have been meditating on it for a few days. Why did the disciples ask Jesus for more faith? Maybe they saw all the miracles been done by Jesus and thought they couldn’t match up? Whatever the reason, they asked. I was very intrigued by Jesus answer. He didn’t tell them to read more of the word to get more faith, or pray harder. He told them they didn’t need more faith!

We know from the word that everyone is given a measure of faith:

For through the grace given to me I say to every one among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgement, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith. Romans 12:3

So what does Jesus mean in Luke 17:5,6??? This is what I think He means. He is saying that you have enough faith for whatever situation you are going through. The faith you have can raise people from the dead! Let me rephrase that. The faith we have been given can raise the dead, heal the sick, make a difference in this world. The faith we have is enough but why are we not seeing the results that Jesus had? Why are we still in debt or in sickness and all the other ‘bad’???? Why doesn’t the sick person we pray for get healed? Why does it seem at times like God, has ignored us?

It’s amazing to think that the faith we have is enough to get us out of the storms and trials we face. No matter how small your faith may seem, know that it is sufficient.  But the question still needs to be answered, why are the results not manifesting?

Doubt and fear are two of the main things that kill faith. They are not the only things but they are two of the main things. You cannot operate in faith when you are fearful or in doubt! You cannot operate in faith if you are speaking negatively over your storm, “I am broke”, “I am going to die of this sickness”, “I will never be rich”, “everything I do collapses”, “I am not good at anything”, “I will never get married”, “I will not be able to send my kids to school”………… You cannot operate in faith when you are talking like that. You cannot operate in faith if you don’t believe in God. Murmuring and complaining will kill your faith. This is just a small list of things that will kill your faith.

What do we need to do to experience the results Jesus experienced? What are we supposed to do if we are going to see that mountain move or the sycamore tree jump in the lake? We need to protect our faith. One way of doing that is by reading the word. The word of God will strengthen our faith. The word will strengthen your faith.

You have enough faith to face the storms that come your way. You have enough faith to accomplish what God has called you to do. No matter how small you think your faith is, you have the potential to change the world. No matter how small you think your faith is, know that you can get out of the storm. Your faith is enough………..

What an amazing thought!!!!

Rolain

Seeing God in the small things!

I would like to share with you something that happened to me two days ago. I lost my diary/journal two days ago. I turned my house upside down looking for it. When I didn’t find it I looked for it at work! I looked everywhere with no luck. The crazy thing is, I had used it on the day I lost it but couldn’t remember where I put it. I know what you thinking, it’s just a diary! It is just a diary but it’s important to me. I had borrowed a book from a friend and I was writing notes and thoughts on the book in my diary and that is why I was so desperate to find it. But after day one with no luck I gave up. I prayed a small prayer asking God to help me find it  and put it out of my mind but not completely. The next day was just as bad. I was trying to trace back my steps hoping to find it but  with no luck. It wasn’t an expensive diary. I actually got it for free at a conference but it was important to me. Then out of nowhere, one of my friends came to my house this morning and asked me if the diary she was holding belonged to me!!!!!! I was overjoyed to say the least!

This is my diary! 🙂

God had answered my prayer as small and insignificant as it seemed, He answered me. There is a lesson to take home in this. We always expect God in the big things, and miracles and so on and He does show up but do we expect Him in the small things? God cares about our EVERY need. No matter how small you think it is, God thinks it’s important. This is what I realized this morning. I should expect miracles and big things but at the same time I should look for God’s hand in the small and insignificant things in my life!!

God is so big that He can show up in the small things! When we focus on the big we can miss God. There needs to be a balance. God’s does big things and He works in the small things……

Rolain

The Power of Giving…….

There is power when we give. The thought of the day is taken from Proverbs 11:24 which says,

The world of the generous gets larger and larger; the world of the stingy gets smaller and smaller.  (Message)

Does your world seem small? Do you want it to be bigger? Then give! What a beautiful picture this verse creates. As we give our world becomes larger and larger. This was a revelation for me. I have not been consistent in my giving this year. At the start of the year I made a decision to give differently. I wanted to stretch myself every time I gave but I have been very inconsistent. When I read the scripture I just shared I got challenged. I saw giving in a new light. As I give my money, time, energy, resources, love, patience, attention and so on my world is growing larger and larger but as I withhold those things my world is getting smaller and smaller!!!

I don’t want my world to grow smaller instead it should be getting larger and larger!!! I declare it is growing larger and larger!!! Is yours? No wonder the word of God says, “I am more blessed when I give than when I receive”    Acts 20:35

The choice is yours. What is it going to be??

Rolain.

 

How Do I Make God Bigger In My Life?

I was so challenged by the Word my pastor preached during the evening service yesterday. He was speaking about magnifying God in our lives. There are a few things that stuck with me that I would like to share with you.

– We need to overcome small thinking when we come to God. Our mind will block us from seeing God as He really is. We need to eliminate any and every wrong thought that we have of God.

– I cannot have big faith if I have a small God! How big is your God? So many of us focus on how big the enemy is instead of focusing on how big God is. Yes we have problems but let us focus on God who is bigger than our problems! When we focus on God, He becomes bigger in our lives and the enemy gets smaller and smaller. But when we focus on the enemy, God becomes smaller.

– We have little faith because we have a small God. It is very hard to have big faith when your picture of God is small! But at the same time it is very hard to have small faith when you have a big God! And this is the thing, you will know you serve a big or small God by your actions and prayers. Someone who serves a small God is always complaining about the problems they are facing. They are always speaking about how hard things are and so on but people who serve a big God have this presence about them. They are unmovable in hard times as they quietly wait on God. They are confident, not in themselves but in God. They speak about how great God is. They are worshippers. They are thankful people. They focus on how they can help people in the midst of what they are going through. How big is your God?

So how do you make God big in your life? Psalm 69:30, 31 has the answer. It says:

I will praise the name of God with a song and will magnify Him with thanksgiving,
And it will please the Lord better than an ox or a bullock that has horns and hoofs.

We cannot make God any bigger than He is now. So this scripture is talking about how our praise and thanksgiving will make Him bigger in OUR lives. God is so big but the problem is that we don’t see it. When we praise and thank Him, He becomes bigger in our lives.
Another way to make God bigger in our lives is to read His Word. The more Word you read the bigger your picture of God becomes!
Another way to make God bigger in your life is through worship. When you praise and worship Him He becomes bigger in your life. And we need to do this everyday of the week not just on sundays or saturdays!

As i wrap up I would like you to think about something.
What would happen if you really served a Big God?! What would your life look like if you served a big God?

Rolain.P