What’s It Going To Be, GOD or Giants?

I was watching a live stream this week of an upcoming movie and the presenter was talking about a book he was reading from Eugene Peterson called Leap Over A Wall ( I think)

He talked about how David had a God-dominated imagination while Israel had a Goliath-dominated imagination. And because David had a God-dominated imagination he wasn’t afraid of the giant and that is why he stepped out in faith. He not only took on the giant but killed him. All he saw was how strong God was.

Israel on the other hand had a Goliath-dominated imagination and they cowered away in fear. All they saw was the giant and God was no where in sight. They were not able to get the victory because the giant was so strong in their mind.

And that really spoke to me.

It’s time to switch from a Goliath-dominated imagination where all you see is giants and not God, to a God-dominated imagination where all you see is God no matter the giants that come up against you.

You are sons and daughters of God and your portion is victory but the enemy wants to corrupt your mind. he wants you to believe he is stronger and there is nothing you can do. He wants you to forget about God and to not even consider Him as an option when the fight is at it’s thickest. Don’t let him do that.

Let God be all you see when the enemy rises against you. Let Him be the One you cry out to when you are overwhelmed and have no answers to the trials and tribulations you are facing.

God bless you friends

Have a great weekend!

Rolain

What it means to put your hope in the Lord…..

Hi all….!

It feels like it’s been ages since my last post. I have been

incredibly busy but it goes much deeper than that. The

drive to write left. I am serious. I woke up one day and

nothing! Conpletely nothing! It wasn’t because of a lack of

ideas….

The stuff I had didn’t feel relevant so I trashed it.

Maybe I was just being lazy, I don’t know.

Anyway I am back and ready…..(anyone else feel the same?)

 

There is a scripture that spoke to me this past weekend,

 

[What, what would have become of me] had I not believed

that I would see the Lord’s goodness in the land of the living!

 

Wait and hope for and expect the Lord;

be brave and of good courage and let your heart be stout and

enduring.

Yes, wait for and hope for and expect the Lord.

Psalm 27:13, 14

 

As we go through life we need to believe. We need to believe

things will change, we need to believe the winters will end, we

need to believe God will deliver us from our fiery storms!

Without a belief in God’s goodness, our lives will be miserable.

 

It’s not wrong to believe in the goodness of the Lord. It’s

not wrong to believe God will breakthrough for you. It’s

not wrong to believe in God period!

So if it’s not wrong, believe!

No matter how dark things are, believe.

No matter how impossible a situation seems, believe.

No matter the years you have spent waiting on God,

believe!

He will come through for you!

 

“Wait and hope for and expect the Lord”

 

I love these words. Wait, hope for and expect the Lord!

 

Wait on the Lord. It’s because He loves you that He makes

you wait.

Hope for the Lord. Put your hope in Him! Like I heard

someone once say, be a prisoner of hope. Never stop

hoping! The Lord is faithful and He sees your hope in

Him.

Expect the Lord to move on your behalf.

Expect the Lord to answer your prayers.

Be expectant!

 

As I have spoken on those three amazing words we must not

ignore the next part of that verse,

 

“be brave and of good courage and let your heart be stout

and enduring.”

 

It’s not easy to wait, hope for, and expect the Lord.

It’s a battle to wait

It’s hard to keep hoping

It’s a fight to be expectant

 

The word says as you do those things (wait, hope for, expect),

your heart must be stout and enduring, you must have courage and

be brave.

Waiting on the Lord, putting your hope in the Lord, being

expectant will stretch you to the limit. Even when you feel

like giving up hope, keep hoping, be expectant, wait!

Don’t let the darkness around you quench your faith.

As I close remember to wait on the Lord, put your hope

in the Lord and expect the Lord!

God bless you….

 

Rolain

 

photo credit: google images

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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