What’s the deal with fear?

I was deep in thought thinking about how I was going to make it.

Wondering how the bills would get paid.

Wondering how my life would turn out in the midst of such opposition.

As I thought on those things fear gripped my heart. I was afraid.

 

But it was at that exact moment that I realized something about fear.

 

Fear was not going to tell me everything would be okay.

 

I should expect no encouragement from fear. It is not an option thinker. All it thinks and

sees is negative. It’s not optimistic.

It will never direct me to God in any situation.

It wants me paralyzed.

It wants me to fail.

It doesn’t want me to see God.

It wants me hopeless and discouraged.

 

Fear chooses to forget God in difficult circumstances.

It can’t love, it can’t trust, it can’t hope.

It focuses on the worst possible outcome in any situation we face when it knows there is a better

outcome in God.

Fear ALWAYS sees the negatives in everything and CHOOSES to ignore the positives.

Or in other words, it chooses to see the dead ends, the failure, the death and refuses to see

light at the end of the tunnel, the hope, the answer!

 

And that is why we can’t listen to fear. As I let fear grip me, all I thought about

were the negatives.

 

But the truth of the matter is that there was another option.

There was a better and more positive outcome if I allowed my faith in God to take the lead instead of fear.

Let me rephrase that, there IS a better and more positive outcome…

 

“For God did not give us a spirit of timidity (of cowardice, of craven and cringing and fawning fear), 

but (He has given us a spirit of power and of love and of calm and well-balanced mind

and discipline and self-control. 

2 Timothy 1:7

 

As we walk out our faith in God, fear will always try to get in the way. It will try to disrupt the faith

we have put in God. Let us fight against fear no matter how long it takes.

This battle can’t be won in our own strength. We need God’s help to show us the areas we

have allowed fear to dominate us. We need His help to overcome Fear so we can move forward

in what God has for us.

The Lord is with us in this fight and leading the charge!

Bless you, friends.

 

Rolain

 

 

 

Let faith lead you and not doubt, anxiety and fear.

“The just shall live by faith.”

Galatians 3:11

 

I was challenged a few days ago as I thought about this scripture and what it meant for me.

It’s not talking about having faith occasionally and it’s not talking about faith as an event.

Instead this verse talks about faith as a lifestyle, as the driving force behind everything we

do.

As I live my life there needs to be an expectation that God sees and is working things out

for my good. I need to believe He is faithful to what He promised and even though

things are hard, He will deliver me and that my best days are yet to come.

I am not where I am by accident, so there needs to be a conviction that God has led me here

and He is directing my every step. The things that are happening in my life are not a coincidence.

The things I am believing for will come to pass. He has a purpose and plan for the gifts and talents

He has given me. I was not an after thought when He made me so there is so much more in store.

That’s what it means to live by faith and that’s what I feel I was challenged about as I read that

verse.

 

When things don’t go the way we want or we encounter difficult times that’s when

it becomes harder to hold on to faith, to live by faith. The difficult things we face can distort our

vision. We can lose sight of how great God is and instead of living by faith the doubts, fear, and anxiety

lead us. Instead of faith we become discouraged and hopeless. We lose sight of the big picture and

go into survival mode. But that’s not the way God wants us to live.

 

The just shall live by faith. 

 

In everything, He wants us to trust Him. In sickness, He wants us to trust Him for healing, in financial

turmoil He wants us to trust He will provide, in economic hardship He wants us to hold on to the truth

that He is our provider. When the door is closed He wants us to believe He can open the door.

When faced with a dark and grim life, He wants us to believe He has a future and an expected end

for us, that our lives will get better.

 

Don’t fall into the trap of getting by. As you work, or go to school have faith. He wants you to believe.

Because the truth of the matter is this;

 

The Lord is working on your behalf

The Lord is directing your every step

He is your Shepherd so you won’t lack

You were created for a purpose

Your life has meaning and relevance so even though it doesn’t feel that way, He is busy making sure

everything He planned and promised for you comes to pass!

 

Be expectant. Don’t take your life for granted. Don’t give up hope.

The Lord is in control and that’s all that matters.

Live by faith!

 

Blessings to you friends.

 

Rolain

 

 

You don’t have to stay as you are!

Therefore if any person is [ingrafted] in Christ (the Messiah)

he is a new creation (a new creature altogether); the old 

[previous moral and spiritual condition] has passed away. 

Behold, the fresh and new has come! “

2 Corinthians 5:17 (AMP)

 

“The old has gone and the new is here!”

 

I love this passage of scripture. It really is good news for us as

sons and daughters of the Most High.

A few weeks ago I did a test that helps you identify what your

God given gifts are. I have done this test several times

throughout my life. In the past I always had a really low

score for administration which wasn’t good.

But when I did the test this time around, my administration

gift wasn’t low any more. It wasn’t in the top three but it was high

enough.

That really left an impression on me. Change had happened and

I have the Lord to thank for that.

The Lord is constantly working on me. Day by day I am being

renewed into the person He created me to be.

Does that mean I won’t make mistakes? No!

Does that mean change is a walk in the park? Heck no!

 

“And Saul was [not only] consenting to [Stephen’s] death

[he was pleased and entirely approving].”

Acts 8:1

 

Paul was a mess but God intervened in his life and turned it

around in such an amazing way. Paul is our example.

If God could totally transform Paul into a mighty man of God

who did mighty exploits for the kingdom, He can certainly do the

same thing in our lives.

 

What is your attitude towards change?

 

We need to change our attitudes.

God wants to change us but we need to get our attitudes

right.

If you think you will never change you are wrong. The Lord

has already made you new!

Who you are now can change with the Lord’s help alone.

You cannot change yourself! You need help.

 

The point of this post is to make you see that you can change

because you have already been changed into a new creation.

You may see flaw after flaw as you look at yourself but remember

the Lord is with you. He is with you changing you to be more

like Him.

You don’t have to stay as you are.

 

“The old has gone and the new is here!”

 

God bless you friends!

 

Rolain

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It could of been me…….

I had a busy day yesterday. The school holiday is about to

start which means camps! I went to visit a camp site yesterday

and was quite pumped after viewing it. Our kids will love it there.

 

But on the way back to work I saw two things……firstly I saw

a mountain bike in the middle of the road! I tell you the truth.

It was in the middle of the road upright and no rider in sight.

What made it weird was the road we were on was deserted.

So to see this bike in upright position in the middle of the

road was something!!!

I thought of taking a picture but the idea came too late.  😦

It was funny and weird, not something you see everyday!

 

The other thing I saw were kids in school uniform. On our way

to see the camp site we saw kids in uniform but didn’t

take any notice of them but on our way back the driver told

us that these were the same kids we passed as we came. These kids

had to walk about 15 kilometers back home and that means they

had to make the same journey to school.

Everyday they walk an average of 30km!

 

Instantly, I thanked God for all He had given me. And I thank

Him on a daily basis for His goodness. That got me thinking

though. Why do we have what we have? There are so many

people all over the world who struggle to get a meal a day,

who can’t get basic education, who live on the streets, who don’t

have any clothes and the list goes on.

 

As I see it,

I could of been born homeless but I wasn’t.

I could of been the child with no family but I have one!

I could of been the one scraping the bins for something,

just something to eat that would take me through the next

day!

I could of been the one freezing with no clothes, having

nothing to keep me warm through the night,

It could of been me…..

 

This is what I concluded:

 

God gave me all that I have so I could be a blessing!

He gave me all that I have so I could make a difference in

someone’s life.

I am humbled by all that He has given me and I realize I am

to use it for the advancement of His kingdom. He didn’t give

me all that I have so I could lavish it all on myself.

This is not about condemning those who have but I want

you to realize God has more planned for you that extends

beyond you.

His plan for your life is rarely about you alone, it’s about other

people, touching others. He wants us to spread the love of

Christ to others.

When you think about God’s plan for your life understand

that God wants you to touch others.

It may be as simple as giving a blanket to someone who needs

it,

buying some food for that person on the streets,

giving money to the beggar,

befriending the unpopular kid in school,

telling someone about Christ,

and the list goes on.

 

Be thankful for what you have. Don’t take it for granted!

This is a hard message! It was not easy writing it. I look

at my life and realize I should be doing more. The story of

the ten talents come to mind. I want to be faithful with the

talents God has given me.

The things I have been through, the experiences I have had,

the testimony I have is part of God’s plan to touch people.

God is so good…..

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

Why we have been blessed……

Everything that we have – right thinking and right living, a clean slate and a fresh start –  comes from God by way of Jesus Christ.                              1 Corinthians 1: 30, 31 (Message)

I love this scripture. Everything we have is from God. We have so much to thank Him for. As I was thinking about this scripture another thought came into my head. Why?

Why has He given me right thinking?

Why has He given me right living?

Why has He cleaned my slate?

And why has He given me a fresh start?

Yes, it’s to bless me. God has blessed me and He keeps on blessing me. And yes, it’s because He loves me. No one can deny that. But something I went through made me look at this scripture very differently.

We had a busy day at work and being the designated driver I had to take the staff home. I thought it would be easy so I agreed. We cleaned up and locked everything up and with one of my best friends off we went to drop the staff off at home, at their doorstep. We left work at 10 pm and finished at 2 am! We were lost for a full hour. How did you get lost you might be thinking??? Some of the workers live in a place where there are no roads, we nearly got stuck with the car. No street lights, no nothing! We were truly driving by faith and thank God we saw someone walking around at that time of night whom we asked for directions. They helped a bit. We got to the workers home and it was literally a mud hut. There were no neighbourhoods, no lights, nothing. Just pitch darkness!  This was their home. This is were they lived. This was their life.

Where am I going with this? I am getting there. God has given me so much. It might not be a million dollars or an MTV crib but it’s still precious. He has given me knowledge, He has given me the ability to see in a way other people cannot, why? And this is what I am getting at. God has given me all that He has given me so I can be a blessing! My destiny, your destiny is not about you but it’s about other people, helping other people.

What is your story? He has given you a fresh start so you can minister to someone else. There are people waiting for you, waiting to hear what you have to say, waiting for you to show them the way. God has given you everything so He can bless you and so you can be a blessing to someone else! It may not be much but that’s how God works. He uses the little we have to do great things through us. God bless.

Rolain

When the doubts come……

 

“If you can do anything, do it. Have a heart and help us!”

Jesus said, “If? There are no ‘ifs’ among believers. Anything can happen.” Mark 9: 22

That is a very bold word from our Lord don’t you think? As bold as it may seem this is what I believe God is saying. The man had asked the disciples to heal his boy but they could not so when Jesus came down the mountain the man must of thought it impossible.

I have to admit and say there are things that I ask God without even thinking twice. I just know He will come through and then there are things that are harder to ask for. But from this whole passage we see this should not be so. We are to trust in God. Mark 11:22 says,

And Jesus replying, said to them, Have faith in God [constantly]. (Amplified)

When we come to God we must not come doubting. It must be in total trust. But the story continues and we see something very important.

No sooner were the words out of his mouth than the father cried, Then I believe. Help me with my doubts! Mark 9: 24

We want to believe and we do believe but doubts get in the way. What are we supposed to do? The man cried out to the Lord for help. We need help when it comes to our doubts. If you don’t struggle with doubts then bless you……But for those who struggle with it then look to God. There are no “ifs” in God’s vocabulary and there shouldn’t be in ours.

You may be in a place where you think “it’s too much, I can’t ask God for that” or “can He really give me what I have asked for” but know that there are no “ifs” when it comes to God. It’s either, ‘yes’ or ‘no’.

Nothing is too big for God. Bring your requests to Him in total faith and if you struggle with doubts then cry out to him for help. He will help. He wants to help us in our areas of weakness…..God bless

Rolain.

4 Lessons to learn from Joseph about destiny…..

Some time ago I wrote a post entitled, “3 lessons  from David about destiny“. Well this time I am going to touch on someone who is another inspiration to me – Joseph. His story was pretty amazing as you know and there are things we can learn from him about destiny.

1. Joseph had a dream but as we see, it was not all roses for him. Yes he had a dream but he had no idea what he was about to go through for that dream to come to pass. I don’t think he had the slightest idea he would be sold into slavery or be wrongfully accused. As far as he was concerned, he had a dream……
Please note, I am not trying to instill fear in you concerning dreams. All I want you to see and know is, there is so much more to your life than what you see.  There is a process that must take place. That process will involve testing. With testing comes reward, if you pass! Don’t be afraid of the testing, because God will be with you through it all. He was with Joseph when he was sold into slavery, He was with him when he was wrongfully accused. He was with him in prison. God was with him through it all…….He never abandoned him for a single moment! That is great news for all of us.

2. But the Lord was with Joseph, and he [though a slave] was a  successful and prosperous man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian. Genesis 39:2

This verse shows us, even though Joseph was in a hard place God was with him. Wherever you are just know that God is with you. If you are on the right path you will have favour.

3. But think of me when it shall be well with you and show kindness, I beg of you, to me, and mention me to Pharoah and get me out of this house. 
For truly I was carried away from the land of the Hebrews by unlawful force, and here too I have done nothing for which they should put me into the dungeon.   Genesis 40:14, 15

Joseph tried to take things in his own hands. He tried to direct his own life. He got tired of waiting on God. I can identify with Joseph. When the chips are down and nothing is working for you there is a temptation to take the steering wheel and drive but we always need to remember, God is control. He knows exactly what He is doing. I constantly try to keep this on mind always. He is in control and He knows exactly what He is doing.

This is the point. At times we try to do things on our own because we are not patient. We give up waiting on God because we think He has forgotten us or abandoned us. But that is not the truth. God knows exactly where we are.

4. After two full years, Pharoah dreamed that he stood by the river [Nile]. Genesis 41:1

Can you imagine how he must of felt. The butler was a free man but he never said anything to Pharoah for two whole years……..I wonder what he must of being thinking. Did he give up on God? Did he complain? The one thing he had to learn was patience. Yes he tried to take matters in his own hands but he had to be patient. He had to wait and trust in God. We will need to do the same. God’s call on our lives is not a day journey or even a year long journey. It takes a much longer time. Will you be patient and wait on Him?

And that is all I would like to share with you on the life of Joseph………God did amazing things through him. Please note that the way God worked in the life of David is completely different compared to the life of Joseph and it will be different for us. There are a few things we can learn that are universal but in the whole scope of things, God will work differently in each of our lives. The plan He has for us is exciting, fulfilling and amazing……Praise be to God, the maker of our dreams!!

Rolain

Is Doing Something Great For God the Most Important Thing?

Solomon was the wisest, richest, most prosperous man that ever lived! He was the son of one of the greatest kings that ever lived. What a resume!! God had amazing plans for Solomon no doubt.
But somewhere down the line he missed it. There is a very important lesson to learn from his life.
Solomon had it in his heart to finish off the temple his father David wanted to build for God. But as Solomon was building God says something pretty profound to him. It could of been a warning. Whatever it was it was profound. This is what God told him:

The word of God came to Solomon saying, “About this Temple you are building – what’s important is that you live the way I’ve set out for you and do what I tell you, following my instructions carefully and obediently.
Then I’ll complete in you the promise I made to David your father. I’ll personally take up my residence among the Israelite’s – I won’t desert my people Israel.”  1 Kings 11-13

Wow right!! Could it have been possible that Solomon thought building the Temple would bring him closer to God??? Did He think God would love him more because of what he was building??? Did he think God would be even more pleased with him because of this “great work” he was doing because it was great!!!????

How many of us are like that. We rely on our works and think that’s enough but it’s not. Your destiny is not determined upon how much you do. It is determined on your obedience to living according to God’s word. So for example, you may travel around the world meeting the needs of orphans. That doesn’t mean God is more pleased with you than with the person who followed the call of God to serve in his local church to be a kids minister!!! Being a pastor doesn’t mean God loves you more than a young person who serves in his youth group!!! What matters is if you are following the path God has laid out for you and if you are listening to Him!!!

And this is what I think God was trying to tell Solomon. Let us determine to be people who do what God tells us to do and who follow the path God has laid out for us.

Rolain.

Relationships From A Friend’s Point of View……

 

Relationships!! When I say that I mean between a man and a woman. How do we carry ourselves around each other? As a man I see how we need help and grace! We are to honour God in the relationships we have, we are to put Him first as well. This post is directed more towards the men because as men we are called to lead. We are the ones who called to be the head. As men we can be so clueless at times hence this post. So if you are in a relationship and you don’t have a clue about what you supposed to be doing then this is the post for you. If you are not yet in one then this will help as well.

These are the thoughts of one of my best friends. She was kind enough to let me share it because I think it will give you an idea into how to treat a woman but more than that it will teach you how to honour the women God has placed in your lives.  It will teach you to treat her the way God wants you to treat her. We live in a world where relationships are painted as some small thing but it’s not. God created relationships.  We need strong relationships in our lives to grow and as men it’s our responsibility to lead the way. Women need us to be strong to lead. They need us to lead them deeper into God but to do that you as a man have to know! How can you be that man if you are clueless??? So let us move on.

*please note that this is not how all women think. This is how my friend thinks but she is a woman but not just any woman but a wise woman so I think there is a lot we can learn as men from what she has shared!!!
I am going to highlight a few things from what I have read and if I see a need to expound more on a point I will.

THOUGHTS OF A WOMAN ON RELATIONSHIPS

– In any interaction with a lady you BOTH need to decide, are we bringing each other closer to God or further away, and this also is true if she is just a friend, God needs to be at the centre.

This is so true. She is so right about that. If God is not at the centre of your relationship you are in trouble. God needs to be the focus of your relationship. He is not second or third or fourth! He is first!!
Men, it is our job to initiate where the relationship is going. It is our responsibility to lead the relationship towards God. Do not wait for the woman to start the conversation. You lead her! I read a quote the other day that said, “The greatest thing a man can do to a woman is to lead her closer to God than to himself.

– Games are for the court, field or the computer not a relationship and that goes for a friend too! You playing games and trying to get a reaction out of her leaves room for miscommunication, misinterpretation and it proves you are secure.

– A lady’s heart is a precious jewel and should be treated as such.

– Women are emotional, get over it and get used to it, it does not make them weak. Emotions are human. It’s HOW she deals with her emotions that is important.

– Study her, but she is not a test to be passed or failed. Never stop learning about her.

– (I really like this one 🙂 ) Be aware that a lady is always thinking 5 steps ahead of you in regards to this relationship whether purely friendship or something deeper, she is ALWAYS thinking and quite possibly taking what you say out of context, women look at details and will analyse them so you need to know that what you say IS IMPORTANT even if you are “joking”.

– The pace and direction of any relationship is dependent on the man. You are the leader, take responsibility for that. If she ends up going in the direction of a serious relationship do not blame her, you lead her that way!!!
(that is a hard one men)

– Your word means something…keep it and if you have not, man up and tell her!

– The best thing that you can do is be honest with her.

– You have no business  telling a lady how you feel about her if you are not prepared to act on those feelings.

I think I will stop there. I have given you a lot to think about. Relationships are so important. We need to guard the relationships we have. I hope your eyes have been opened but just beside been opened I hope you have been enlightened!!!
This is just a little of what I have been given but the bit I have shared should help you. Let us learn to honour God in the relatonships we have with each other!

Rolain.P