The true gift……

                                    photo credit: google images

 

I want to bring something back into order, something that

has been tarnished, and diminished in the world

today. The world may have forgotten but we must not forget.

We cannot forget. “What is he rambling on about”, you might be

asking??

 

What do you think is the best gift God can give you?

Salvation yes…!!!! But I am talking about what comes

after salvation.

The world has put value on possessions. Some think God’s

best comes in the form of money. But the word is very

clear about what God’s best gift is:

 

Don’t you see that children are God’s best gift?

The fruit of the womb his generous legacy? Psalms 127:3 (MSG)

 

We have been deceived as the body of Christ because we have put

other things first. We have desired other things which is not a

bad thing. Don’t get me wrong….God has so much in store for us.

But we must not lose sight of His greatest gift to us, children!

Parents need to teach their kids about family and legacy!

As single men and women we need to think about our legacy.

Our career is important but I feel we have put that ahead of

everything else. It’s not “cool” to think about family anymore!

God’s definition of the best gift is children but do we think like that?

As I write this it is cutting me as well. It’s a hard

thought. We have become so selfish. We only think about

ourselves and what WE can get. But God is thinking so

much grander…..

May we get a revelation today…….Amen!

 

Rolain

Use your faith…….

THOUGHT OF THE DAY

One of my pastors wrote something so powerful that I would like to

share. It spoke to me and I pray it speaks to you too…..

 

Do you believe that God is able to deliver you from your situation?

It’s not what God can do for you, it’s what you can believe.

1 John 5:4 – This is the victory that overcomes the world, even 

our faith. 

The people who will enjoy the blessings of God in 2015 will

be the ones who use their faith. 

Your faith determines your blessing. 

Read Matthew 9:28, 29

According to YOUR FAITH let it be to you. 

 

I thought this was a word in season! The issue is not God’s ability.

He is well and able to deliver you from whatever situation you

are in. The issue is your faith! There is a lot to digest here.

I will end with this question,

Do you believe God is able to deliver you from your situation?

Rolain

What praise is…..

THOUGHT OF THE DAY

I got up this morning and did my daily reading of the word and a word jumped out at me. It’s a word that has blessed me so many times. But this morning, I was blessed by it even more. Here is what I read:

Hallelujah!

You who serve God, praise God!

Just to speak His name is praise!

Just to remember God is a blessing –

now and tomorrow and always.

From east to west, from dawn to dusk, keep lifting all your praises to God!

Psalm 113:1-3 (The Message)

 

Wow right!!!! This verse does something for me every time I read it.

We serve a really really really big God. He deserves all our praise and worship.

So…….if you serve God, praise God! He has done great things for you. (Oh, and that is not a suggestion, it’s a command. God commands us, not to make life hard for us but because He knows there is a blessing when we do it).

Just to speak His name is praise – what power He has!!! Where just to speak His name something happens!!!  Jesus!

Just to remember God is a blessing – now and tomorrow and always – Get rid of those things that hinder you from remembering Him daily. Not just daily but constantly through the day. IT IS A BLESSING TO REMEMBER GOD!

And lastly, lift up your praise from dawn to dusk! He has done great things and is doing great things. Doing that magnifies God in your life. He gets bigger the more you praise Him. This is your challenge and my challenge. Let us give Him the praises He deserves.  Amen

Rolain

 

The things God is behind……

Easter is over but at the same time it’s not! How can we go on from here as normal? There are things that must change. yes there is reflection, but that reflection must translate into something meaningful. There has been so much revelation I have got from Easter. I will hold it in my heart and make sure that revelation is acted upon. Today is a new day. Today, the day after Easter marks a new way of living, a new way of thinking and a new way of doing things. There is victory and there is hope! Will it be hard? Yes! But I can’t live my life the way I lived it before Easter….I just can’t! There is too much that I have been shown. I am accountable for the revelation I have been given.

Don’t let Easter just be a holiday! It is more than that…..

Anyway, that was a side note. That was not the main topic. On Saturday I read a scripture that really got me thinking. It is from Judges 14:3, 4 and it says,

His parents said to him, “Isn’t there a woman among the girls in the neighborhood of our people? Do you have to go get a wife from the uncircumsised Philistines? 

But Samson said to his father, “Get her for me. She’s the one I want – she’s the right one.”

(His father and mother had no idea that God was behind this, that He was arranging an opportunity against the Philistines. At the time the Philistines lorded it over Israel.)      Mesage.

As I read this passage a few things came to mind. Samson’s parent’s had no idea that Samson’s desire for a Philistine woman was part of God’s plan. He was behind that. But I think Samson had no idea as well. I don’t think he knew God gave him a desire for Philistine woman because it would lead to events that would lead to the down fall of the Philistines! He may have known, but I strongly think not.

But what does that mean? Could that mean there are things in our lives that are confusing and that look out of place that God is behind???

Samson’s parent’s must of been confused, and worried. But the fact remains, God was behind it. It didn’t seem like it, but He was.

God is behind a lot of things in your life. And it’s poosible you may not even have the slightest clue.God knew how He was going take down the Philistines. The parents didn’t. God knows how your life is going to take shape and you don’t but He want’s you to trust Him.

As I read this passage I was encouraged. Encouraged in the fact that God is in control of my life. Even with those things that don’t make sense at all. Now I know He is behind it all. Nothing is happening in my life just for the sake of happening. God is orchestrating all those things to meet an end, a good end!

That could be you. There may be things happening in your life that just don’t make sense at all! God may be behind it. Ask Him and seek answers. Did the parent’s eventually know the plan? I don’t know. They knew what the angel told them but did they know where their son’s desire would lead him too? Did they know it would lead to the deliverance of Israel? I don’t know. Let us trust God in the midst of confusing times. When things don’t happen as you expect, trust God! When something happens that confuses you trust God! He has a plan and His plan is always good.

Rolain.

They truly missed it……….

Then they brought Jesus from Caiaphas into the Praetorium (judgement hall, governor’s palace). And it was early. They themselves did not enter the Praetorium, that they might not be defiled (become ceremonially unclean), but might be fit to eat the Passover [supper].
John 18: 28

I was reading this verse when it occurred to me how far off the mark the pharisees were. They did not enter the Praetorium because they didn’t want to defile themselves!! If they defiled themselves they would not be able to partake of the Passover meal. Are you serious???!!!!  Didn’t they know the Passover was a shadow of Christ? They had the Messiah with them, the sacrificial Passover lamb but they didn’t realize it!!!!

That got me thinking about the Pharisees. How did they get so blind? We can learn a lot from them for sure. The one thing that came to mind was law and tradition. To the pharisees everything was about law and tradition. You had to do this and do that. Wash your hands in this way, pray this way, you have to, you have to……
And because of that attitude their hearts became hardened. Grace was not part of their vocabulary.
We need to be careful. Are we living by law or by grace?

Now a great crowd of the Jews heard that He was in Bethany, and they came there, not only because of Jesus but that they also might see Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead.
So the chief priests planned to put Lazarus to death also,  John 12:9, 10

The Pharisees were out of control and they were supposed to be spiritual leaders!!!
Another attitude that contributed to their crazy behavior was the fact that they thought works was enough! They relied on their own strength to get them to heaven. They thought by doing, they could obtain salvation. They prayed, tithed, went to church, memorized scripture, fasted, all because they thought it would impress God…..How wrong they were. Our works in the sight of God, are like filthy rags! Works are not enough.

Something else to notice about is this, to the pharisees everything was about what you could see. They focused all their attention on the external instead of what was on the inside. They measured themselves and other people on outward appearances!!! They ignored the heart. They never searched their own hearts. They never realized their hearts and become hardened. What a shame.

All these things blinded them. They blinded them and hardened their hearts. Let us be careful how we walk. Ask God for wisdom. Let us not be like the Pharisees who missed God. We can easily be misguided just like the them. Let us be aware of the enemies devices…….

Rolain

What Does Your Tomorrow Look Like?

What is the difference between you and the next person? What is the difference between someone who drives around in an expensive Range Rover Sport and you? What is the difference between a family that travels to the best resorts in the world every holiday compared to a family that are struggling to make ends meet? What is the difference between a person who stays in a penthouse in a high priced suburb compared to someone who stays in a shack in a poor part of town?
What is the difference between a teenager who gets accepted into the best universities and the teenager who is struggling to get accepted at any university?

Believe it or not but there is an underline similarity in all these cases. I live in a place that overlooks one of the most expensive penthouses in the city. So one day as I was sitting and staring at it I started thinking, why am I here and not there? Why are the people who stay at the penthouse, at the penthouse and not here or anywhere else? Why do they drive the cars they drive which are very expensive and why am I struggling to buy a car?

The reason is simple but hard to come to grips with. My mentor taught it to me. I remember the first time he highlighted it, I was rocked. I tried to think of other reasons which I, did find. But he taught me this was one of the main reasons I was were I was. The reason is, in the way I think compared to the way they think! And that is the underline similarity between all those cases I mentioned in the beginning. And because the way we think is different our expectations are different. Thier expectations in life are higher compared to my expectations. Let me give you an example of how that works.
There is a guy who thinks about travelling all the time. He reads magazines on travel and he watches travel network. He is totally obsessed with it. What do you think his expectation is? Travelling! On the other hand we have another guy who is thinking of failure in his business. He worries and complains that things are not going his way. He losses all hope that it will get better. What is his expectation? Failure.
I hope that illustration has helped you to understand how our thinking can determine our expectations.
And please understand what I am saying. I am not saying bad things happen to people because they think wrong. We live in a broken world and because of that we cannot escape brokeness. What I am trying to show you is that you have a part to play in the story of your life. And the way you think is one of the main things that will determine where you are tomorrow. Just thought to make myself clear on that.

Which boat are you in? What does your “tomorrow” look like? What you think about today will determine your “tomorrow”. And remember that the difference between you and someone who is crazy successful is in the way you both think. Begin to change the way you think.
I will end this post with two scriptures:

For the rest, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is worthy of reverance and is honourable and seemly, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely and lovable, whatever is kind and winsome and gracious, if there is any virtue and excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise think on and weigh and take account of these things [fix your minds on them].
Philippians 4:8

For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.
Proverbs 23:7

Rolain.P

5 Practical Things To Do To Get Closer To Your Purpose.

1 – Read Your Word: This is your starting point. One of the main ways God speaks to us is through His Word. His plan for your life is in the Word. Get hungry for the Word. It is the key.

2 – Pray: What is prayer? Prayer is simply talking to God. How much time do you spend talking to God? A relationship is pretty much ruined without proper communication and that holds true for your relationship with God. He knows what you going through but He wants you to speak to Him about it. He wants to hear what challenges you facing. He wants you to speak to Him about the deepest issues of your heart.
The thing is this, prayer is a sign of faith. When you come to God in prayer you are declaring your faith in Him.

3 – Do the small things faithfully: The best way to explain this step is with a scripture. Luke 2: 51, 52 says,
And He went down with them and came to Nazareth and was [habitually] obedient to them; and his mother kept and closely and persistantly guarded all these things in her heart.
And Jesus increased in wisdom (in broad and full understanding) and in stature and years, and in favour with God and man.

Jesus was the Son of God yet He submitted to His earthly parents. He could of just done His own thing but He didn’t. He was obedient to his parents. They were like any other parent in that time so I am guessing Jesus had chores to do, He was sent to the shops, He was probably asked to clean the house at times and so on. I am guessing He was reproved as well when He was naughty. But in the light of all these things we see that He was obedient to do the menial things. He was obedient to do the small things. To accomplish your destiny you will need to do the small things as well.

4 – Learn: If you know what you called to do there is a season of learning. There is a time to practice. You don’t get up one day and find yourself just doing great things. It starts with you practicing. You need to learn as much as you can about what you want to do. And there is a time to become skillfull at what you doing.
I would suggest you read as many books as you can. Speak to as many qualified people as you can. If possible get to do what you want to do part time. That will be a very eye opening experience for you.

5 – Have a Mentor: We all needs mentors. We have never been on this road before and that is why we need mentors because they have been on this road we have just started on. They can help us identify the traps we just can’t see. Because they have been on this road we have just started on they have acquired experience. We need that experience. We need the wisdom they have gained. Insanity is described as doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results. So a mentor keeps us from insanity because he or she keeps us from doing the same things that made them fail by showing us a different way. Do you have a mentor? A mentor is someone you trust and someone who you know will tell you the truth no matter what. He or she will not be afraid to confront you and show you the ugly parts of you. That is a true mentor.

And those are the 5 practical things you can do to get closer to your destiny. They will really help you on your journey to accomplishing your destiny.

Rolain.P