One way to ensure your faith is alive and active……..

“So also faith, if it does not have works (deeds and actions of obedience to back it up),

by itself is destitute of power (inoperative, dead).

But someone will say [to you then], you [say you] have faith, and I have [good] works.

Now show me your [alleged] faith apart from any [good] works [if you can],

and I by [good] works [of obedience] will show you my faith.”

James 2:17, 18

 

The book of James was part of my daily reading this week.

I am always so challenged when I read the scripture I just shared.

But something happened this week that brought it to life for me.

I was at training this week and after we were done we prayed.

The guy praying thanked God for divine healing.

He thanked God for keeping us healthy and he also prayed that

God would keep us in good health!

 

We always pray but this week the prayer struck something in me.

I realized I was looking at faith and action working hand in hand.

We have a desire to be healthy and fit so we train but our faith is

in God to grant us a healthy life!

 

That got me thinking about faith and action.

James 2:18 is not suggesting faith works if there is action. It’s telling

us that faith only works when there is action!

Faith without works is dead!

 

One person acting out of his or her faith can do more than 100 people

professing their faith without action!

 

It’s so true friends. I want to be that person who shows they have faith by

their works.

I really needed to be reminded of this truth!

 

Now, it’s not my place to tell you what action you need to take.

That’s between you and God. You are the one who knows what steps

God wants you to take.

As I read this verse I knew almost instantly the things I needed to be doing

right now that I was not doing.

Now remember, you can’t just act for the sake of  doing

something. God will ask you to do something specific for the thing you having

faith for. Allow Him to show what that thing is.

He may want you to be patient and wait,

He may want you to give into something,

He may want you to befriend someone,

He may want you to start writing that first chapter of that book,

He may want you to serve in a specific area at your church,

and the list goes on and on……

You need to be sensitive to His leading.

Remember, don’t act for the sake of acting.

That could do more harm than good.

God is surgical in the way He works.

What action is it that God wants you to be doing right now?

 

One thing is crystal clear though,

 

“For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.”

James 2:26

 

We have work to do friends……

Bless you.

 

Rolain

A story about coffee and blessings…..

“Be intentional about being blessed”

 

Coffee led me to this revelation……  🙂

I am serious. Let me explain.

Someone owed me coffee about two weeks ago. It’s a long story but all you

need to know is someone owed me coffee.

A day passes, two days pass, a week then two weeks and still nothing.

I hadn’t collected the free coffee! (that’s insane right??)

In fact I was reminded to collect the free coffee last week but I forgot to!! (unacceptable for sure!!)

I was then reminded yesterday and I was what the heck???!!!

It’s a free coffee! One would think I hated coffee but that’s not true.

I love coffee.

Let me rephrase that,

I loveeeeeeee coffee!!!!

 

It was at that moment when  a thought came to me,

“Be intentional about being blessed”

 

I was supposed to get a free coffee but I let busyness get in the way.

I thought it was a good excuse but it’s not.

To get the coffee I had to be intentional.

There were things I had to do to receive the coffee……!

In this case I had to simply go and remind a friend to buy me the coffee but I didn’t.

 

I started thinking if there were other areas of my life I was doing the

exact same thing!

God wants me to have so much but if I let busyness and other excuses to get in the

way then I am the one who loses out.

 

Being intentional looks different for every person.

It could be declaring what God spoke over you

It could be obeying Him in that thing that He told you

It could be trusting God for something

It could be spending more time with Him

It could be waiting on Him

It could be reading more of the His word.

 

Remember, blessings are not just material things. They are also spiritual.

Blessings could be a new level of influence, a new gift, dominion and so on.

 

Whatever it is, be intentional.

God has so much in store for you but you need to desire it,

you need to get hungry, pursue Him with all that you have,

speak, declare, prophesy, but don’t just sit there doing nothing.

Open your mouth, lift up your hands, move your feet, whatever He is telling

you to do, DO!

 

Elisha was very intentional about being blessed. He followed Elijah everywhere.

He had to be separated from Elijah by a chariot and horses of fire (2 kings 2)

 

The blind man who was begging near Jericho was intentional about being blessed.

Let’s read his story,

 

^“As He came near to Jericho, it occurred that a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging.

 And hearing a crowd going by, he asked what it meant.

They told him, Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.

And he shouted, saying, Jesus, Son of David, take pity and have mercy on me!

But those who were in front reproved him, telling him to keep quiet;

yet he screamed and shrieked so much the more, Son of David, take pity and

have mercy on me!”

Luke 18:35-42

 

The blind man wasn’t silent as Jesus passed by. The Amplified says he screamed and shrieked

so much the more!!! I hope and pray you understand the message I am trying to get across.

Being intentional is going to be different for each and every one of us.

God will show you what you need to do.

 

But before anything else, be intentional about getting to know Him.

That must be the most important goal and desire in  your life.

If that’s not your main desire then the other stuff is pointless, it has no meaning.

It’s better you forget everything I have said in this post.

God will bless someone who loves Him and wants to be used by Him.

He will bless someone whose desire for Him far outweighs the desire for stuff.

He will not bless a selfish person.

He will not bless someone who is looking out for himself.

It’s the people who love Him with all of their heart, soul and mind

that make a real impact in this world!

Let’s be more intentional about being blessed!

Blessings to you friends!

 

Rolain

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

 

 

He didn’t understand surrender…….!

 

 

What does it mean to really surrender? I am interested to know how God sees surrender. Let us look at a story of the young rich man who came to Jesus. His story will help us see surrender the way God sees it. As you know the rich young man came and asked Jesus what he should so to get eternal life (Matthew 19:16) We read in a later verse that the young man had kept all the things Jesus had suggested. We will pick up the story from there:

 

“The young man said, I’ve done all that. What’s left?

If you want to give it all you’ve got, Jesus replied, go sell your possessions; give everything to the poor. All your wealth will then be in heaven. Then come follow me.”

That was the last thing the young man expected to hear. And so, crestfallen, he walked away. He was holding on tight to a lot of things, and he couldn’t bear to let go. Matthew 19: 20

 

The young man had followed the commandments unwaveringly and to some extent he may have thought it was enough. But it wasn’t. He may of thought he could hold on to those other things because he was following the commandments. He thought tithing, going to church, praying, fasting, listening to Christian music, and reading the bible was enough, He thought that was sacrifice and it is but it was not enough. The word says,

That was the last thing the young man expected to hear. And so, crestfallen, he walked away. He was holding on tight to a lot of things, and he couldn’t bear to let go. Matthew 19:22

What are you holding on to tightly? The young man couldn’t BEAR to let things go! He held on really tight but real surrender is being able to let those things go. I read this scripture a few days ago and instantly things came up, things that I had been holding onto tightly. I brought those things to God and asked Him to help me let go, I want to really surrender. God wants everything! Partial surrender is not surrender at all. He wants our all……! Will you surrender….??

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

Is Your Faith Really Faith?

I have spoken about faith a lot. Without faith it is impossible to please God but I read something that made me ask the question, is my faith really faith? As I write this, my prayer is you will see faith in a new light.
It was whilst reading the book of James that I questioned if my faith was really faith. This passage of scripture is very popular. I have read it many times but this time round it was different. I was really challenged by what I read. This particular portion of scripture speaks about faith and works. In James 2:14 it says:

What is the use (profit), my brethren, for anyone to profess to have faith if he has no [good] works [to show for it]? Can [such] faith save [his soul]?

It then goes on to say in James 2:18:

But someone will say [to you then], You [say you] have faith, and I have [good] works. Now show me your [alleged] faith apart from any [good] works [if you can], and I by [good] works [of obedience] will show you my faith.

According to James who was inspired by the Holy Spirit, real faith works hand in hand with action. You cannot have one or the other. It is not just believing and doing nothing. He paints a picture of two people. It almost seems like a competition is taking place. It is “faith” which is faith without action vs “works” faith with works. And in this competition “faith” without action loses. He is saying our faith is not really faith until it is accompanied by action (works)! Believing is not enough because according to James 2:19 he says:

You believe that God is one; you do well. So do the demons believe and shudder [in terror and horror such as make a man’s hair stand on end and contract the surface of his skin]!

There are a lot of things we are trusting God for but we need to realise that sitting and waiting is NOT faith! In the things that we have faith for there is a part we have to play.
Please understand, I am not advocating we do things in our flesh and not trust in God. What I am saying is, in the things we are trusting God for there is a part for us to play. Let me give you an example.

Saul and Jonathan and the army of Israel were trapped by the Philistines but to make matters worse Saul and Jonathan were the only ones with swords (1 Samuel 13:22). Saul and Jonathan had “faith” in God. Saul’s “faith” led him to enquire of the Lord through the priest Ahijah (1 Samuel 14:18,19) while Jonathan’s “faith” led him to act. Jonathan’s “faith” led his nation to victory ( 1 Samuel 14:23).
I hope you see as Jonathan stepped out and did his part God STEPPED UP and did His part and that is how it is supposed to be, that is real faith! Our faith needs to be accompanied by works!

James 2:21 says:

Was not our forefather Abraham [shown to be] justified (made acceptable to God) by [his] works when he brought to the altar as an offering his [own] son Issac?
You see that [his] faith was cooperating with his works, and [his] faith was completed and reached its supreme expression [when he implemented it] by [good] works.

You may have faith that God will turn your life around but know you have a part to play. You may be trusting God to bring your destiny to pass but know you have a part to play. You need to act. If you don’t know your part ask God. He will show you what you need to do. You may trusting God for healing, also know you have a part to play. It might be changing your confession. (Some of us make things worse for ourselves by speaking death over ourselves.) It may be changing how you eat. I don’t know, but what I do know is you have a part to play. You may be in poverty and trusting God for financial breakthrough but you have a part to play. You may need to give more, maybe pay your tithes (which a lot of christians don’t do), it might be saving money….etc
Are you starting to see it? I really hope you can. God is faithful and will not abandon us. When we do our part which is a sign of our faith in Him, He will do His part which is the main part, which is the miracle part. I will end with James 2:26 which says:

For as the human body apart from the spirit is lifeless, so faith apart from [its] works of obedience is also dead.

Rolain.

My faith and Your faith. Part 3

This is the last part of the faith series. This makes up a very small part on the subject of faith. There is so much on it, that i don’t think a single person can declare that he knows everything there is to know on faith.

In this last part i am going to speak about faith concerning your destiny. We are all called to do something. We all have a reason for being on this earth. God created each and everyone of us with a purpose.
Jeremiah 29:11 says: For I know the thoughts and plans that i have for you, says the Lord, thoughts and plans for welfare and peace and not for evil, to give you hope in your final outcome.
So even if you don’t believe it, the fact remains, you have a calling and a purpose. A lot of people struggle with finding out what their purpose is. But please note that this post is about the importance of faith in relationship to destiny. This is the foundation to accomplishing your destiny. So even if you don’t know your calling, what i am about to share is important and i do believe it will help you.
I am going to be teaching from Romans 4:13-25.
This portion is talking about Abraham and his calling. I strongly urge you to read the whole chapter and the previous chapter to get the full picture. Let’s move. Romans 4:13 says:
For the promise to Abraham or his poserity, that he should inherit the world, did not come through [observing the commands of] the Law but through the righteousness of faith.
– I need you to understand that Abraham was not given a purpose based on his “works” but because of his faith! Faith in what? Because of his faith in God. You have a purpose. That is a fact, so what you need to do to see it come to completion is have faith in God.
We live in a world where a lot of emphasis is placed on how hard we work. How hard we work determines what we get. We have been taught the importance of independence. We have a lot of people who take pride in been independent. They don’t trust in anyone. They depend on themselves and no one else.
So when they give their lives to God they think they can have the same mindset. Their confidence as christians comes from how hard they work instead of God’s grace. They take pride in the fact they don’t need anyone.
Please get me right. I am not saying that work is bad. Work is needed. God desires us to work with our hands. Without work we would not be able to accomplish our calling. But what has happened over time is that people have relied on the fact that they work hard instead of relying on God. They think their destiny is coming to pass because of the strength of their own hands. They have failed to see it’s because of God’s grace.
We need to be able to see God’s grace operating clearer than our own strength and ability in view of purpose.
Lets move onto Romans 4:16. It says:
Therefore, [inheriting] the promise is the outcome of faith and depends [entirely] on faith, in order that it might be given as an act of grace (unmerited favour), to make it stable and valid and guaranteed to all his descendants – not only to the devotees and adherents of the Law, but also to those who share the faith of Abraham, who is [thus] the father of us all.
– Our calling, our destiny, our purpose, the fulfillment of it is based entirely on FAITH! This passage of scripture is clearly telling us that we need faith to walk in our destiny and the outcome of it depends ENTIRELY on faith. Faith is the key. That is how important it is to us. This is the way it is because we are able to see God’s grace. Because of the way God has ordained it we are able to see His greatness. God also wants us to view our destiny as a gift. God freely gave us this amazing gift. The least we can do is be thankful to Him for giving us this truly amazing gift. And that is why faith is important. It helps us see all these things. We are going to carry on with this topic but it has proved too much to put it all in one post. I will write a fourth post to conclude on faith concerning destiny.
Until then God bless you!!!!

Rolain.P