Our responsibility today…..

THOUGHT OF THE DAY

“O Timothy, guard and keep the deposit entrusted [to you]!

Turn away from  the irreverant babble and godless chatter

with the vain and empty  and wordly phrases, and the

subtleties and the contradictions in what is falsely called

knowledge and spiritual illumination. “

1 Timothy 6:20

 

“Guard and keep the deposit entrusted to you”

 

God had deposited something precious into Timothy.

Timothy was commissioned to guard it and keep it safe!

Are you protecting the things God has deposited in you?

I believe He has deposited amazing things in each and every

of you. But that deposit is being attacked. The enemy wants

you to lose the deposit God has given you.

 

You have a responsibility friends to protect the things God has

deposited in you.

As part of guarding and keeping the deposit, Timothy had to

turn away from godless chatter. He had to watch the way he

spoke.

Are you speaking yourself out of your destiny? Are you talking

about all the things you can’t accomplish that God has called you

to do? Are you talking about what you don’t have?

Are you watching who you hang out with?

Are you watching the things you are watching and listening to?

The bottom line is this,

Guard and keep the deposit entrusted to you by God with

all vigilance!

 

Rolain

 

 

Staying pure in your singleness!

I have been reading a book called “Hero” written by Fred Stoeker. It has been a Godsend. It has really challenged me concerning my purity! This is not a review of the book. I want to encourage you to read it if you are single especially if you are a man! It is up there with books like “Boy meets girl”, and “I kissed dating goodbye” by Joshua Harris. (I am biased towards Joshua Harris because I am still to find a book on dating I have enjoyed as much as his books!)

But this is why I am writing this post, because I HAVE found a book that is as good as or even better than the books I have read! As I read “Hero” purity was and is on my mind. Do we really understand what purity is in the context of life and relationships??

The first thought that came to mind was singleness. What is God’s purpose for singleness? Why does He allow us to go through a season of singleness? Singleness is not a time of nothing! It is not the “trailer before the movie”! God has specific purposes and plans for us in our season of singleness! After reading “Hero” I am convinced one of those purposes is to understand what purity is and walk in that understanding!

After reading “Hero” I made a decision:

I will fight for my sexual purity with all that I have! I will not allow the enemy to take it away through his deception and lies! It is my responsibility as a man to take up my sword and fight for my purity! It’s a gift from God which honors Him and will bless my wife! I will not wait for someone else down the line in my family who is more disciplined and who loves God more to fight this fight because I am weak! It stops here….. I will fight for the future generations! I am the one God has called to fight this giant and strike down with His help of course!

Purity is more than abstaining from sex before you get married! Let me show you what I think it is now:

1. It is about watching what you watch! Stop watching those illicit movies! Pornography has to go! What are you watching?

I DICTATED a covenant (an agreement) to my eyes; how then could I look [lustfully] upon a girl? Job 31:1

Job had to make a covenant with his eyes so he could stay pure and we need to do the same! When it comes to purity we can’t play games! It’s a war against anything and everything that will threaten it.

 

2. For the weapons of our warfare are not physical [weapons of flesh and blood], but they are mighty before God for the overthrow and destruction of strongholds, [inasmuch as we] refute arguments and theories and reasoning’s and every proud and lofty thing that sets itself up against the [true] knowledge of God; and we lead every thought and purpose away captive into the obedience of Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One).  2 Corinthians 10:4-5

Being able to control your thoughts is what purity is all about. After reading “Hero” I realized I had mindsets and thoughts I had adopted from the media which were wrong and not biblical. They had to be torn down and that process is still happening! Bring thoughts that have exalted themselves against Christ.

 

3. I have addressed what you should do with your eyes and your mind. Purity means making a covenant with your eyes by watching what you watch. It is being careful what you think about. Every thought must be brought captive to the obedience of Christ. The next thing is watching what you say.

A man’s [moral] self shall be filled with the fruit of his mouth; and with the consequences of his words he must be satisfied [whether good or evil]. Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and they who indulge in it shall eat the fruit of it [for death or life] Proverbs 18:20-21

Put away from you false and dishonest speech, and willful and contrary talk put far from you. Proverbs 4:24

What’s the point if you have decided to watch what you watch and watch what enters your mind when you have a filthy mouth so to speak? It doesn’t add up. Life and death are in the power of the tongue so are you using it to give life or are you killing with that tongue of yours???? Being pure means being able to control how you speak, it means dispensing life with your words!

 

This is the final point:

Keep and guard your heart with all vigilance and above all that you guard, for out of it flows the springs of life. Proverbs 4:23

Guard your heart with all that you have! If your heart gets corrupted you will find yourself in a whole heap of trouble! How do you guard your heart?

You guard it by analyzing everything you allow. Everything should be tested. Don’t believe everything, don’t listen to everyone, measure everything according to the word of God! Is the heart pure?? I don’t know! But the one thing we can do is guard it.

 

It looks like there is a lot of work to do in the season of singleness!  It’s an important season of your life. Use the time you have wisely! You won’t be single forever. That is what I think purity is now and that is all thanks to “Hero” the book I read. As I read it purity began to become clear to me! It was then that it dawned on me we have a lot of work to do in our singleness! I hope you will get a copy of the book if you haven’t read it. With that said, please have a great weekend!

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

When You Are At Your End…..

O Lord, rebuke me not in Your wrath, neither chasten me in Your hot displeasure. 
For your arrows have sunk into me and stick fast, and Your hand has come down upon me and pressed me sorely. Psalm 38:1,2

For my iniquities have gone over my head [like waves of a flood]; as a heavy burden they weigh too much for me. Psalm 38:4

My heart throbs, my strength fails me; as for the light of my eyes, it also is gone from me. Psalm 38:10

My lovers and my friends stand aloof from my plague; and my neighbors and my near ones stand afar off. Psalm 38:11

They also that seek and demand my life lay snares for me, and they that seek and require my hurt speak crafty and mischievous things; they meditate treachery and deceit all the day long. Psalm 38:12

In these verses we see King David at his end. He is in A LOT of trouble! I can relate with him but not to that extreme! I have been in that place where I been at my end, not knowing what do next. At a loss at what the answer is. We all have been there. That is a part of life we cannot ignore. Troubles will come. But this is my question, when you are at your end what will you do? What will you do?
Will you just give up or keep on hanging on? This is King David’s response when he was at his end:

For in You, O Lord, do I hope; You will answer, O Lord my God. Psalm 38:15

King David had hope in God through the trouble that was happening. As he was at his end he looked to God. This was not the last time he would be at his end. There were several times where he thought he was finished but his hope was always in God. People were trying to kill him but his hope was in God!
His sins where to much for him but even in that, his hope was in God!
The people closest to him abandoned him but his hope was in God.

What situations are you facing? Hope in God. When you are at your end hope in God!
King David didn’t say, God might answer him. He said, “You will answer”!!!
We need to have that same confidence. You may be doubting if God will answer you just know, He will answer you!! We are nothing if we don’t have hope and faith in God.
Where would we be without our hope in God? What would we do without faith? Life is not worth living without hope and faith!!

When you are at your end hope in the Lord. When you are at your end, know the Lord will answer your prayers, He will pull you through!!! He will not leave you to die. He loves you too much…..

Rolain

Taking Responsibility For The Next Generation!!!

Give me now wisdom and knowledge to go out and come in before this people, for who can rule this Your people who are so great?
2 Chronicles 1:10

This was what King Solomon prayed to God when God asked him what he wanted. Instead of asking for wealth or long life or a whole host of other things, he asked God for wisdom to guide the nation of Israel!!!!
How did this young man who was about to lead so great a nation know what to ask for?

Today we have a lot of kids who are not growing up in the way of the Lord. We have kids who are passionate about everything but God. We have young people who will not raise their hands to God in praise! The things of God don’t seem to interest our kids but why? As mentor’s and parents we blame Facebook and other social networks, we blame television but the truth is, it’s our fault! We have not set a good example. We watch anything and everything but expect our kids to be pure in what they watch!
Our kids are not passionate because WE are not passionate. We read our bibles once a week and expect our kids to read their bibles daily. We eat trash but we teach our kids to eat right!!! Something is wrong with that picture.                               Even if you don’t have kids yet this applies to you. Are you on fire for God? Do you read your word? Are you a passionate person?
King David managed to transfer his vision to Solomon. Could you say that about your kids? Do they know what God has called them to do?  Do they know your vision? Look at what the next scripture says:

When I [Solomon] was a son with my father [David], tender and the only son in the sight of my mother [Bathsheba],
He taught me and said to me, Let your heart hold fast my words; keep my commandments and live.
Proverbs 3:3-27

Solomon asked for wisdom because his dad treasured it. His dad would sit down and talk to him about it.
As mentors, teachers, and parents we have the responsibility of leading the way. I wrote a post sometime ago entitled Our kids at War. They are at war and they are losing. They need more role models. They need someone to follow. But how can they follow us if we are not passionate about God and we are lukewarm???? It won’t work. Let us follow King David’s example and raise up our kids in the admonition of the Lord….

As we do that our kids will be stronger. They will be able to stand on our shoulders as we lead them.

Rolain

What Is The Fear Of God??

There has been a message I have been meditating on this whole week. When I heard it I was very challenged by it. The pastor on Sunday evening was speaking about the fear of the Lord. After his word I got a deeper understanding of the fear of the Lord and that is what I want to speak on. What is the fear of the Lord really? A lot of people understand what it is and a lot of people don’t. I really liked the pastor’s definition. He said the fear of the Lord is,
To love God so much that you wouldn’t want to do anything that would displease Him.

Let that sink it for a bit. That is what I been meditating on this week. Do I love God so much that I wouldn’t want to do anything that would displease Him? We need to walk in the fear of the Lord but how do we do it? Thanks for asking that important question because the answer is in the word….   🙂  The first key scripture is Proverbs 22:4 – The reward of humility and the reverent and worshipful fear of the Lord is riches and honor and life.

The other key scripture is in Psalm 34:11-13 which says:
Come, you children, listen to me; I will teach you to revere and worshipfully fear the Lord
What man is he who desires life and longs for many days, that he may see good?  
Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit  
Depart from evil and do good, inquire for, and crave peace and pursue (go after) it!

If you want long life and you want to see many good days you need to walk in the fear of the Lord and this is how you walk in the fear of the Lord.
You start off by watching what comes out of your mouth! That is what verse 13 teaches. If you fear God you need to watch what you speaking. Cursing people or gossiping about them is not fearing God. Speaking negatively over yourself and your situation is not fearing the Lord. We need to be more careful about how we speak to each other and ourselves.

The next thing we are taught is to be a peacemaker. A person who fears the Lord is someone who pursues peace at all costs. That person doesn’t wait for the other person to make things right, instead he or she make the first move! They pursue peace with everything within them. Do you pursue peace? Are you a peacemaker?
If we want God to hear our prayers we got to watch our words and pursue peace at all costs.

And that is what walking in fear of the Lord is. If we want long life and if we want to see many good days we got to love God so much that we wouldn’t want to do anything that would displease Him.

Rolain

Thoughts, Beliefs and Words….

I have been going to Bible School and I have been learning a lot but I am the kind of person who doesn’t like gathering information for the sake of it. I understand I am accountable for what I hear and I will be judged for what I do with what I have heard! There needs to be action that follows the revelation I get, and I have been getting a lot of it! So what I have planned to do is share some of the lessons I have learned at Bible School so I don’t forget. I also hope God will speak to you through these lessons. The first point that I got sounds so simple and it is but it is also so profound!

– We talk wrong because we think wrong! If you are thinking right you will have peace and joy and peace. Right thinking comes first.
This is how important right thinking is, If you think right you will believe right and speak right and if you think wrong you will believe wrong and speak wrong! It is that simple!!!!

So with that in mind, what are you thinking about? It has been estimated that we have about  50 000 thoughts a day! If we have so many thoughts a day are they positive or negative?
We need to train ourselves to think right because as we do we will believe right and then speak right!

Action point – This here is the time where I put action to the word. Feel free to take the challenge. Wisdom is not about what you know but about what you do with what you know.
We have been called to renew our mind with the Word of God. The guaranteed way of thinking right is to renew our mind in the word of God.

Will you join me in taking this action step? Let us get deeper into the word. Think about what you think about. Let us allow the word to renew our minds. In the next few days ask God to show you where you have been missing it in the way you think. Let us work on the way we think then when we are done we will move on to another principle.

God bless

An Integral Part of A Christian’s Life….

Why do we have quiet times with God? Why are those times important? I would like to share a few thoughts on this topic.
Quiet times are important for us as christians. Do we get it right all the time? No! But the fact remains that quiet times are an integral part of a christian.

A quiet time is a time where we get to spend time with God. It is a time where we get to speak to Him about all that has been going on in our lives. It is a time where we get to unload all our baggage to Him. It is a time where we are real with Him.
This is not the time to pretend because God knows who you really are and what is really happening in your life. Quiet time is a time where you can be transparent and open with God.
It is also a time where you allow God to speak to you. I struggle with this. Communication is two way. We need to allow God to speak to us. We need to take the time to be still in His presence, a discipline a lot of christians struggle with. Being still before God takes a lot of discipline. We need to train ourselves to be quiet.
A relationship would not last if one person did all the talking. A relationship is about talking and listening.

The men and women of old spent time with God and were never the same. Their lives were changed. So it needs to be with us. Spending time with God should change us if we let Him. We don’t spend time with God for the sake of just doing it but we spend time with God to be changed. We want to be more God- like in character and this is where it starts.

So what are your quiet times like? Are your times with God times of being real and open or do you just spend time because you just have to?
I want to experience more of God in my quiet times. Moses came down from the mountain with his face shining with the glory of God! I want that!
God yearns to spend time with us and this is the perfect time to do it. We may not get it right all the time but we need to be persistant.
One last thing that I need to mention about quiet times. This is not just a time to get prayers answered. It is a time to enjoy God’s presence. Over time I have realised that God just desires our presence. He wants us. We need to come to a place where we spend time with God with no strings attached.
If God never answered another prayer ever would you still spend time with Him?
Would you still desire to be with Him?
Would you still love Him?

That is where I will end. Quiet times are life for us!

Rolain.P