Let’s get our focus right….

Good day to you all!

I hope and pray I find you all well.

I was watching something on “America’s got talent” the other day.

It got me thinking about how many talent shows they are now.

Do I even dare begin to name them all??  I think not.

But that show got me thinking.

I don’t think it’s possible to count the amount of talented people

there are in the world.

We have an endless supply of talented people.

There is always someone better, faster, intelligent, richer, and

stronger. There is no shortage of talent in the world.

 

We celebrate talent. We reward talent in ways people can only

imagine. Becoming talented has become the main goal.

We are no longer satisfied to be number two, three or four.

We have to be first. We must be recognized.

We must have the shoes, the car, the house, and more.

We focus on the external and forget about the internal.

We abandon character, integrity, modesty and other inner

things all in the pursuit of talent.

We have lost what’s really important.

 

“So it was, when they came, that he looked at Eliab and said,

“Surely the Lord’s anointed is before Him!

But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at

his physical stature, because I have refused him.

For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the

outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

1 Samuel 16:6-7

 

God had rejected Eliab! Samuel missed it. He looked at everything

on the outside and thought, “this is the man the Lord has

chosen.”

But the word says, God refused him!

 

God wasn’t impressed with the muscles and how many men he

killed in battle. He wasn’t impressed with how intelligent

he was. Eliab probably didn’t have a relationship with God.

He probably had a proud heart.

I don’t think Eliab worked on his inner man much.

I don’t think things like character and integrity were important

to him.  And because he didn’t work on the inner man God rejected

him!

Let’s look at one more scripture,

 

“You are blessed when you get your inside world – your mind

and heart – put right.

Then you can see God in the world. “

Matthew 5:8

 

Let God come in and put your inside world right.

God wants your heart.

He wants you to be a man or woman of character.

It’s okay to have talent, but don’t make it the main thing.

Blessings to you….

 

Rolain

Why we need to endure in a broken world…..

This is crazy. There is so much bad happening in the world

at the moment. It’s enough to make you go crazy.

And it’s not just in one place, no. It’s everywhere. War, famine,

natural disasters, economic meltdown, and so on. You don’t

have to go far to know all the bad that’s happening in the world.

At times, the bad gets really overwhelming. It all feels so hopeless.

What is the answer in such perilous times and make no mistake

about it, we are in very perilous times. If you are not careful

your faith can get snuffed out by the bad that is happening around

you. I deliberately moderate the amount of news I ingest.

It’s guaranteed that if I spend a significant time watching the

news or reading it I will be left in a state of fear.

In times like these the prospect of heaven seems really

appealing.

 

“God will wipe away every tear from thier eyes; and death

shall be no more, neither shall there be anguish (sorrow and

mourning) nor grief nor pain any more, for the old conditions

and the former order of things have passed away. “

Revelation 21:4

 

I don’t know about you but I want that.

 

Things on earth can

be so diffcult so what is the answer?

Does God enjoy seeing us suffer?

Does He want us to have a hard life?

Does He have a plan in the midst of such tragedy?

 

I have to say, being born in Zimbabwe makes it a bit

easier to deal with what’s going on in the world. Our country

has gone through some incredible challenges which I have

talked about countless times. We have had to trust God

with everything we have got. The pressure we have

experienced has forged iron in us. The people who have

stayed and endured have come out stronger in faith.

 

God has a plan for keeping us in this broken world. In fact

I want you to see how imperative it is you endure all the

pain and hardships on this earth. Yes, we are just passing

through and yes we are not citizens of earth but we need

earth more than we think. Look at what James 1:2-4 says,

 

“Consider it wholly joyful, my brethren, whenever you are

enveloped in or encounter trials of any sort or fall into

various temptations.

But let endurance and steadastness and patience have full play

and do a thourough work, so that you may be [people]

perfectly  and fully developed [ with no defects], lacking in

nothing. “

 

 

Let me be clear, without the trials, and pain we encounter

on a daily basis we would not be fully developed. That’s what the

word is telling us. There would be no endurance, patience and

steadfastness built into us. We would be incomplete without hard

times and storms.

 

(let that sink it for a bit)

 

We need heaven but at this moment we need to endure on

earth for a bit longer! You may be fed up with the craziness

that is happening all around you but hold on, don’t give up!

God has a plan and He is in control.

 

So when something crazy happens to you or you hear of

bad things happening in the world don’t fret or panic. Like

James said, we need to count it all joy when those things come.

Instead of destroying us those things make us grow into the

people God created us to be.

Don’t run away from trials and storms.

Look to the Lord.

In a world so broken God wants us to step up, not back down.

 

Let me say it again, without pain, without trials, without storms,

without hard times we will not be complete. We need not pray

for those times but when they come our way our trust should

be found in the Lord…..

He is a good God who is directing our every step through the

most intense darkness the world has ever seen.

Will you shrink in fear when you hear or read of all the craziness

happening in the world or will you allow God to build patience,

endurance and steadfastness in you??

That is the question….

 

Bless you!

 

Rolain

 

 

 

Living a life of passion.

I want to be someone who is driven by passion. I don’t want to waste away in the dark because I have no convictions and no drive…….I want to be so passionate that it will be what wakes me up in the morning. So passionate that I will not want to be idle! So passionate that the thing I am passionate about consumes my entire being. So passionate that every fiber of my being is infected! So passionate that people get uncomfortable around me….

Jesus was a passionate person. He was driven by passion.
He was passionate about God. So passionate that he obeyed Him even to death! He didn’t have to die but He did. Yes He loved us but He loved God,  loved Him enough to die!!!
He was passionate about the church, so passionate that He sat down and made a cord of whips and drove people out of the temple…..!
He was passionate about people. He was so passionate that it didn’t matter who they were or what time they would come to Him. He always made time for people. His heart broke for people, He wept for people, He gave His life to save people!
I hope you are starting to see how passionate He was. He wants us to have that same passion! A passion that cannot be extinguished. A passion that impacts the world! Jesus impacted the world forever because He was passionate. The Pharisees tried to stop Him but their efforts were futile! A passionate person cannot be stopped. We live in a world that needs the light of Christ. But that light will shine through passionate people. People who are passionate for God! People who are willing for God to use them. People who are passionate about the things God is passionate about! Are you that person?

Rolain

Is there hope for the world?

Is there hope for the world? The world has really lost it’s way or maybe it’s always been like this but I never noticed. As I have asked this question there is another question that must be asked. Can we as Christians do anything to make a change? I read a scripture a few days ago that has made me think about this:

“And he said, Oh, let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak again only this once. Suppose ten [righteous people] shall be found there. And [the Lord] said, I will not destroy it for ten’s sake.

And the Lord went His way when He had finished speaking with Abraham, and Abraham returned to his place.” Genesis 18:32, 33

We all know the story. Abraham started at fifty people and kept on asking God if He would spare the city till he got to ten and yes, God would spare the city if there were at least ten righteous people. That brings me to my next point. I think God would preserve them not only because He was a just and fair God but because He knew that ten people would be enough to turn that city around! In fact, I don’t think God wanted to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah!!!!! I know it is a crazy thought but hear me out. I say that because of Ezekiel 33:11. It says,

Say to them, As I live, says the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn back, turn back from your evil ways, for why will you die, O house of Israel?

I know this verse was directed to Israel but it also revealed God’s heart concerning the wicked. Judgement will come for the wicked but before it does He gives them a chance to turn from their wicked ways!!!

Then another thought came to me. If ten people was enough for God to use, how much more can He do now? There are more than ten Christians in each city, town, community, state. As Christians we can make a difference if we ask for God’s help. This is a challenge for all of us. I know there are Christians doing big things for God and we salute them. This post is to honour them and encourage the rest to stand up and do their part and to let people know there is hope for the world. A lot of people will die without knowing God but we must each do our part to save as many……..We are the “ten” God has called. The world may think there is no hope but there is. They may think God has turned His back on them but He hasn’t. There is still hope…..! We are in the last few minutes of the game and every second counts. God in His love and mercy made it possible. The game is not over. There is still hope…….

Rolain