The problem with being a virgin….!!!

It’s being a while since I have written about my

journey, my journey of singleness! It’s an important

season and we should give it the credit it deserves.

I am writing on singleness because there has been

something I have been wrestling with. I have been

wrestling with the significance of my virginity in the scope

of singleness.

 

For ages we have been told to wait, “don’t have sex

before marriage.” That is all good advise and that is not

the issue. The issue I have is when we are told we will get

God’s best if we keep ourselves!!! “You will get God’s best

if you don’t have sex and don’t date until you find the One.”

Before I carry on I want to make something very clear.

I have kept myself, I am a virgin, I haven’t dated yet and

years ago that was my pride and glory! I held that up

to everyone and even to God. I was going to get the best

because I was pure, I kept myself! But I was wrong.

The advise we have been getting is incomplete.

As the years go by I realize more and more

that the woman God has for me will not be given to me

because of what I have done, but because of His grace.

She will be a gift!

I don’t want to get anything based on my

performance because the truth of the matter is I would

not get anything! God looks at the

heart and my heart is sinful. I may not have slept around

but I have sinned incredibly in my heart!!

 

To be honest with you, I don’t deserve God’s best. I have let

Him down so much. How can I stand before Him holding

up MY version of purity (filthy rags) and with pride say,

“God give me your best”….!!!! It doesn’t work like that!

Don’t get caught up in law (I kept myself so I want this

kind of woman or this kind of man)

God is looking at your heart. He wants to give you the

best because He loves you not because you did this or

did that.

 

But if you have kept yourself please understand that I am

not attacking you. I want you to see that God will give you

the best because that is the kind of God He is.  Look at what the word says,

 

For God has not called us to impurity but to consecration

[to dedicate ourselves to the most thorough purity].

1 Thessalonians 4:7

 

The word says we should DEDICATE ourselves! That is

such a strong word. We dedicate ourselves to purity

because we want to honor God in our hearts of hearts!

We dedicate ourselves to purity because we love Him

with every fiber of our being.

When David committed sexual sin with Bathsheba he

ran to God. His heart was torn at what he had done.

But it was never about “I am a man after God’s heart”!

He saw himself as a man under God’s grace. He fought

to stay humble in his own eyes.

Don’t get caught up in the law side of things. We don’t

deserve anything from God to be honest. All the “good”

we have done is like filthy rags.

 

If God has someone out there for me it will be because He

loves me. And on my wedding day the focus won’t be on how

many years I kept myself, or how I never dated and so on but

the focus will be on God’s amazing grace and love.

It will be about how much God loved me a sinful man that He still

went ahead and gave me His best even though I didn’t deserve it!

It will be a day of praise

to Him. A day where people give Him the glory…….

I will have nothing else to stand on but His goodness

and grace and that is the way it should always be!

 

For those of you who think you have sinned so much that

you don’t deserve God’s best know this:

God loves you. He is a good God and He wants you to run

to Him. He knows what you have done but He wants to you

to trust Him. He has someone special for you.

Don’t believe the lie that there is no one for you. The lie

that says you have sinned too much.

The lie that says God can’t forgive you.

Just know, there is hope for you!

He has a plan for you.

 

God is so good. I think about all He does for me and

I thank Him. I have nothing to say. I am speechless.

I simply wait for His gifts and blessing that I didn’t

deserve or orchestrate. I do have a part to play but it

will not take away from ALL that God does for me.

Be encouraged in your season of singleness. God is

with you in it.

Have a great weekend everyone!

 

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

Understanding New Testament Worship…

We all have an idea of what worship is. Some people think that worship is a song, others think its going to church and list goes on and on. None of these ideas on worship are wrong. Worship is so big and diverse I don’t think there is a single word that can describe it fully.
I was at Bible school and the lecturer was speaking on worship. What he taught made sense. Worship must not be confined to just church. If we do then we miss out on the other important facets of worship. There are things that make up worship and that is what I am going to talk about in this post.
The first thing New Testament worship is about, is controlling our flesh which includes our our tongue and temper.
There is a problem if we go to church and “worship” but we are reckless with our words and our temper. It is a problem when you call yourself a worshiper but you cannot control your flesh!
Our worship to God needs to be redefined. It’s not enough to just worship God at church and think that’s enough.

Rom 12:1-3 says

12 I appeal to you therefore, brethren, and beg of you in view of [all] the mercies of God, to make a decisive dedication of your bodies [presenting all your members and faculties] as a living sacrifice, holy (devoted, consecrated) and well pleasing to God, which is your reasonable (rational, intelligent) service and spiritual worship.

² Do not be conformed to this world (this age), [fashioned after and adapted to its external, superficial customs], but be transformed (changed) by the [entire] renewal of your mind [by its new ideals and its new attitude], so that you may prove [for yourselves] what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God, even the thing which is good and acceptable and perfect [in His sight for you].

Part of New Testament worship is renewing your mind. You do that by getting the Word of God in you. You are worshiping God when your mind is being renewed with His word.

Another aspect of New Testament worship is being thankful. We are called to live a life of thanksgiving to God and its not once a week or once a month but daily! Are you a thankful person? A thankful person is a worshiper. If you “worship” at church but you are ungrateful then that is called a problem. That is not worship. Look at what 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 says:

¹⁶ Be happy [in your faith] and rejoice and be glad-hearted continually (always);

¹⁷ Be unceasing in prayer [praying perseveringly];

¹⁸ Thank [God] in everything [no matter what the circumstances may be, be thankful and give thanks], for this is the will of God for you [who are] in Christ Jesus [the Revealer and Mediator of that will].

We need to have a holistic view of worship. Its not just about the songs but its about what we think, what we say, how we treat people, if we are self controlled and so on! Its about whats in your heart. God is very interested about whats in your heart. True worship stems from the heart. When your heart is filled with God it is easier to be thankful. It is easy to control your temper. It is easy to stop focusing on yourself and focus on other people.

I have been meditating on this revelation for a bit now. As you know, I will not teach something for the sake of it. It must be something I am applying in my own life. This is high calling we called to.

As I end please understand that it is OK to worship in church but don’t stop there. Realize that worship at church is one aspect that makes up worship and there are a lot more things that complete it. Don’t focus on just one aspect but look at worship as a whole.

Rolain

Failure as a Teacher!

Everyone has failed at one time or the other. Failing is painful but it is necessary if we are to grow and mature. Everyone fails and that is a fact but why is failing key to growth? Why should we embrace failure and not run from it when it comes? I believe failure makes you stronger and it sets your bounce back power for other battles. Let me give you a real life example of what I mean.

When I was still trying to get my drivers license I was met with failure after failure. It was hard for me especially when friends of mine were just getting theirs just like that. One month turned to two months then four months then a year until it got to two years!! I cried, and shouted at God. I could not understand it. There came a time I even gave up! I didn’t want to hear about driving or cars or driving tests. After months of not trying I realized I had to try again. Eventually after a total of 28 attempts I got my license!!! It was one of my best days ever but I realized how I could of set a low level for myself by either giving up and making excuses or buying my license which I was advised to do and which was very easy to do and still is!  If I had done either of those two things I would of set my level for other challenges that would come my way. I would of given up or made excuses or even bribed my way out of a problem but instead when a problem came I found myself enduring and pushing and refusing to give up!!! Where did that come from? I believe it came from not giving up in previous battles. As i kept pushing I was getting stronger. It comes from seeing failure as a teacher and not an obstacle that can’t be overcome! God needed me to be stronger on the inside so He allowed failure to come.

Failure is a teacher, a hard teacher but one which will get you to where God wants you to be if you will react in the right way. Don’t be afraid to fail. You will need failure if you are to succeed! The two work hand in hand. Just because you have failed at something doesn’t mean you are a loser, it just means you have failed. Get up and try again. If you fail again get up and try yet again. Your failures don’t define you, trusting God and you taking a stand does!

Failures are not meant to destroy you but they are there to prepare you for the next storm, they are there to make you stronger.

God bless

Rolain