God is taking you somewhere…

It can be frustrating not knowing where your life is going. At times it feels like you going around in circles

and at times it can feel like you are wandering about aimlessly. Then there are days when it seems like

nothing is happening. But I want to tell you that in the midst of all those things, God is directing your

life. Even when you can’t make sense of the things happening in your life God is in total control.

There is nothing to be worried about. You don’t have to lose sleep wondering what next.

The Lord cares about every detail of your life. Everything about you and your life matters to Him.

 

Look at how God led Peter. The way God leads us is so amazing!

In Acts 9:32 we are introduced to a man names Aeneas who lived in Lydda. Aeneas was paralyzed

and had been bed ridden for eight years. Peter goes on to heal him and the whole town of Lydda

and Sharon turn to the Lord! (Acts 9:35)

That was really amazing but the Lord was not done directing Peter. In a nearby town called Joppa a woman

named Tabitha fell sick and died. The disciples heard Peter was in Lydda so they called for him.

When Peter arrived in Joppa he raised Tabitha from the dead which brought more people to the

Lord. (Acts 10:5). But the Lord was not finished with Peter. In a town called Caesarea there was a man

named Cornelius. He was a Gentile and until then the good news was only been proclaimed to the Jews.

Salvation was closed to the Gentiles until then. One day an angel of the Lord appeared to him and told

him to go to Joppa to call Peter.

 

“And now send men to Joppa and have them call for and invite here a certain Simon whose surname is 

Peter; He is lodging with Simon a tanner, whose house is by the seaside.” 

Acts 10:5, 6

 

The Lord knew exactly where Peter was. He knew his address. He knew who he was staying with.

Off course He knew, the Lord led him there!!

Because Peter was in the right place at the right time he was instrumental in the Gospel being preached

to the Gentile’s.

Because the Lord directed Peter’s steps he was able to be at the right place at the right time. On his

own Peter would never have been able to pull that off.

 

The Lord is directing our every step friends. Even if it doesn’t seem like it, He is.

It may feel scary but the way He leads us is amazing! Be expectant. Bring your frustrations to Him.

He really does have amazing things in store for you. It may seem like you are in the middle of nowhere

but the Lord is taking you somewhere. His hand is on you and He is directing your every step.

The way He leads us is so amazing!

Bless you friends!

 

How to see God when life is difficult.

What problem are you dealing with today? What is getting you stressed, anxious and fearful?

As children of God we know the answer is to call on God but it’s harder said than done.

We live in a world that’s full of negativity. A world that doesn’t acknowledge a Savior.

A world that promotes bad news in every facet of life.

It’s not hard to find hopelessness, negativity, discouragement and the list goes on.

And the trap we keep falling into is accepting all that negativity. We accept a truth that’s made up and a truth

that is not a truth.

 

We need to be very careful what we are feeding our selves with today. The enemy’s goal is to destroy our

faith in God. If he can do that he can do his work which is to kill, steal and destroy.

But there is a way to fight his devices and it’s found in Mark 5.

There was a woman who had an issue of blood for twelve years. She had spent all she had on doctors but

was getting worse. Her situation was bleak. For twelve years she was in pain with no hope of healing.

She just kept getting worse but one day she heard about Jesus.

 

The words tells us,

“She had heard the reports concerning Jesus, and she came up behind Him in the throng and touched 

His garment. 

For she kept saying, If I only touch His garments, I shall be restored to health.” 

Mark 5:27, 28

 

The circumstances around her were bleak but when she heard about Jesus things changed. She had faith in

Jesus and changed her confession. She charged her environment with faith using her words.

We are surrounded by so much negativity but we don’t have to accept it as our reality. Jesus is

our answer.

We can change the result with our words. Instead of letting fear, hopelessness and anxiety determine

our situations we can inject faith in those situations and see God move and do the impossible.

The woman kept saying. 

We need to charge our environment with faith so much that we begin to see victory, and breakthrough.

We can’t let the negativity and hopelessness in the world steal our faith in God.

No matter how bad things get there is always breakthrough and deliverance because God is with us.

The enemy doesn’t want us to see God as the answer.

 

Put your faith in God today. Charge your environment with faith.

Faith in God is what will get you through the hard times.

Faith in God’s ability will bring you the deliverance and healing you need.

 

Bless you friends

 

Rolain

 

 

 

Hope is not lost because God is with us…

“Then He said to me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, 

Our bones are dried up and our hope is lost; we are completely cut off. Therefore prophesy and 

say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Behold I will open your graves and cause you to come up

out of your graves, O My people; and I will bring you [back home] to the land of Israel. 

And you shall know that I am the Lord [your sovereign Ruler], when I have opened your graves

and caused you to come up out of your graves, O My people.” 

Ezekiel 37:11-13

 

I love reading the story of the dry bones coming to life. But I love it even more now because I saw

something I hadn’t seen before. In the scripture above God tells Ezekiel the meaning of what just

happened. The Israelite’s had lost hope. They thought they were doomed.

But God wanted them to know that hope was not lost even in the bleakest of circumstances.

 

They thought all hope was lost,

 

“Behold, they say, Our bones are dried up and our hope is lost; we are completely cut off.”

 

But hope was not lost.

 

Are you in a place where you have lost all hope? Are you in a place of despair, in a place where you

can’t see a way out. I am writing this to tell you that it’s not over. As dark as things seem

the Lord will make a way for you. Don’t be afraid to hope again.

 

The Lord will breath life into your dead situation. You will live again.

The Lord is not going to sit idly by as the enemy kills, steals and destroys.

There is hope for you friend!

 

The Lord asked Ezekiel a very important question in the valley of very dry bones;

 

“Son of man, can these bones live? 

 

The answer to that was a resounding yes! The dry bones would live again. You will live again!

Hope in the Lord today. Your situation is not hopeless. The Lord is turning it around.

 

“Thus says the Lord God; Behold, I will open your graves and cause you to come up out of your 

graves, O My people” 

 

Don’t abandon hope. Put all of your trust in Him and see Him do the impossible in your life.

Watch Him bring the dead back to life and turn darkness to light in your life.

 

Bless you friends

 

Rolain

Let’s talk about the dead things in our lives

“The Jews said, see how [tenderly] He loved him! 

But some of them said, could not He Who opened a blind man’s eyes have 

prevented this man from dying.”

John 11:36, 37

 

Lazarus had died. Jesus could have saved him but got there late, four days late!

Everyone agrees that the outcome would have been better if Jesus got to him in time.

 

“Martha then said to Jesus, Master, if You had been here my brother would not have died.” 

John 11:21

 

“When Mary came to the place where Jesus was and saw Him, she dropped down at His feet, 

saying to Him, Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.”

John 11:32

 

But I noticed something not just in this story but throughout the new testament. Jesus was not

intimidated by death. While everyone stopped and came to a conclusion because of death,

He moved forward.

Jesus saw death as something to be conquered which He did.

 

That gives me hope.

When a dream appears to be dead or hope lost, Jesus is beckoning us to keep trusting, to keep hoping.

He is calling us to not give up, to keep believing because He brings the dead things to life!

We may have been disappointed over and over again but we need to remember that Jesus is stronger

than death. Its not “the end” for you.

 

Jairus experienced this truth. His daughter was deathly sick so he went to Jesus for help. (Mark 5:22-43)

He found Jesus and took him to his home. But on the way some men came to him and told him

that his daughter had died. It was all over for him it seemed. But listen to Jesus’ words,

 

“Overhearing but ignoring what they said, Jesus said to the ruler of the synagogue, 

Do not be seized with alarm and struck with fear; only keep believing.” 

Mark 5:36

 

Jesus brought his daughter back from the dead! Death didn’t stop Jesus.

When everyone stopped at death Jesus moved forward and pushed death aside!

 

What is dead in your life? Where has hope been lost?

Look to Jesus because He brings dead things to life. Its not over yet.

Keep believing in Him.

He is the God who performs miracles!

 

Break the limitations we have placed on ourselves Lord. 

You see no limitations! 

You only see breakthrough! 

Amen! 

 

Rolain

 

 

“Welcome back to reality”?!

“Welcome back to reality” was what a friend said to me a day after returning back from Kenya.

I had gone to Kenya for about two weeks and it was hard going to a place that is improving and growing

while things at home are stagnant.

Kenya is growing rapidly and stuff works which is the total opposite in my country.

 

Anyway, the day after my return one of my friends said “welcome back to reality”

I was really bothered by that statement. When he saw my resistance he said it again. I rejected his

statement completely.

I didn’t want to make the circumstances in my country my reality.

Before I went to Kenya had I made them a reality? Maybe I did but I wanted that to change.

 

What’s your reality? Is it in line with what God promised you or is it something entirely different?

We are constantly being pushed to take on a reality that is not what God has for us. We have settled

for a reality that is way below the level God would have us live at.

 

Think about the man who was crippled for 38 years (John 5:1-17). What was his reality? Did he ever see himself

healed in his reality?

Was hopelessness his reality?

 

We need to take a deeper look at the reality we live by. Who gave us the reality we are currently living by?

It’s so easy to adopt a way of thinking, a way of speaking, a way of living.

 

The good news is this, the reality we are living by can change.

That’s what happened to the man who was crippled. For 38 years he was living in a reality that

was not God’s reality. God wanted him healed and living a full life.

The enemy on the other hand wanted him bound. he wanted him living in hopelessness.

But Jesus came and changed his reality. 

 

We have hope friends.

You don’t have to accept the reality you are living by today.

The limitations people have put on you don’t have to be your reality.

The circumstances you live in don’t have to be your reality.

God can and wants you to live by His truth. His truth is liberating. His truth is full of life,

joy, peace and so much more goodness.

 

What is your reality? Let God determine what your reality is.

There is so much He has in store for you.

Bless you,friends.

 

Rolain

Dried up but not finished…

I love eating fresh chillies. When I go to the supermarket that’s one of the first things

on my list.

Anyway, I bought a packet of fresh chillies a few weeks ago but made the mistake of putting them

in the fridge. A few days later they started turning color. I took them out of the fridge and made

a decision to throw them away. A few days had gone by and I still had not thrown them away. By then

some of them had dried up.

 

But one evening as I was cooking a thought came to me. I decided to try one of the dried chillies and to

my surprise it was hotter than a fresh chilli. I am not talking about a little hotter. I am not exaggerating

when I say it was 6 to 7 times hotter!

(And yes, it was at that time I realized how to make dry chillies……haha)

 

As I pondered on this I was encouraged. The chilli was about to be thrown out. It seemed like it had

come to the end of it’s life but there was so much in store.

Did the chilli even know the potential it had??

It may have dried up but it was brimming with untapped potential.

 

Don’t let anyone count you out. Don’t count yourself out! There is so much God has put in you.

Like the dried up chilli there is so much more in you than you realize.

The chilli was designed that way by God. It’s not a mistake that it gets hotter when dried.

You may think you have reached your max but that’s so far from the truth.

Don’t give up friend. God’s plan is still being revealed in your life.

There is so much more to discover and walk into.

 

Bless you friends…

 

Bring it all to God.

“Therefore humble yourselves [demote, lower yourselves in your own estimation]

under the mighty hand of God, that in due time He may exalt you.

Casting the whole of your care [all your anxieties, all your worries, all your concerns,

once and for all] on Him, for He cares for you affectionately and cares about you watchfully.”

1 Peter 5:6, 7

 

I want to focus on the last part of that verse today. The word says to bring ALL your anxieties,

worries and concerns. But how many times do we try to deal with problems on our own.

I had to stop myself the other day from worrying, from trying to solve a problem on my own.

The truth is the Lord wants to fix every problem we face.

 

The call is to bring everything to Him. We don’t need to carry a single thing.

But because we have been taught to be strong we try to go at it alone. But all that will do is

tire you out. The more I try to go at it alone the more worn down and weighed down I feel.

 

Like I have said so many times before, the Lord is not impressed with our show of strength.

He is impressed with our faith in Him, with the confidence we put in His ability.

Give it all to Him and don’t hold on to anything.

 

Blessings to you friends.

 

Rolain

When you are having a bad day…

“This is the day which the Lord has brought about; 

we will rejoice and be glad in it.”

Psalm 118:24

The day ahead didn’t look good. I had just got up and was thinking about the day.

The problems I had were big and I had no answer to them. But as I got into my quiet

time Psalm 118:24 stood out to me. I know it was God speaking to me.

Even though I had big problems I was at peace knowing God was in control. And that’s

what Psalm 118:24 is talking about. There will be bad days because we live in a broken

world and because we have an enemy but because God is the Creator He has filled our

days with goodness, mercy, peace, happy endings, breakthrough, healing, victory and

the list goes on and on.

No matter how bad our days get know that God is in control. He will make a way for you

through the trials and hardships of the day. When you get up declare Psalm 118:24.

When I got to the end of my day I realized God had sorted all the problems I got up

thinking about. As I gave Him each problem He helped me and came to my rescue.

The enemy’s plan was to mess up my day but God stepped in and delivered me.

Find God in your day for this is the day He has made.

Bless you friends.

Rolain

God cares about the little details of your life.

Something happened to me a few days ago that solidified the truth that God cares about

the little things in my life. Let me tell you about it.

 

I was playing mini basketball at lunchtime and as I was playing one of my cufflinks broke.

I was a bit stressed because most of the shirts I wear require cufflinks. In the larger scope of

things, this was not a huge train smash. It would throw me off financially but not by a lot but there

I was stressing about what I was going to do. I don’t know about you but there are days

when the simple things seem like mountains. What you would usually swat away in a second becomes

a real burden on your mind. Anyway a few days later I attended a meeting and

at that meeting, a friend handed me a small black box. After the meeting, I opened the box

and in there was a pair of cufflinks!

 

What! How did my friend know I needed cufflinks? I hadn’t told him I needed a new pair

of cufflinks.

He didn’t know, but God knew.

 

God cares about everything we go through. No matter how small the problem God cares. You don’t

have to worry and stress about anything that comes your way. Just bring it to Him in prayer.

There is a story in the bible that drives this point home.

 

“When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices

so that they might go to anoint Jesus’ body. 

Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb, and they 

asked each other, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?”

Mark 16:1, 2

 

“Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?”

 

The problem the ladies faced wasn’t a matter of life and death? With the help of a few strong men,

the problem would be resolved but in the next verse, we learn that the stone which was very

large had been already rolled away by an angel!

The seemingly large but really small problem was taken care of.

 

God cares about everything you go through in your life, no matter how small.

There is no problem that is too small for Him. Bring it to Him in prayer.

Bring everything you are going through to Him in prayer.

He will help you, always!

Blessings to you, friends!

 

Rolain

 

 

 

 

Is the door really closed??

As I considered my options I couldn’t help feeling discouraged. It seemed like I would not

get the breakthrough I was looking for. Should I even keep trying to pursue this opportunity

I asked myself?

 

I have been seeking the Lord for the next steps in my career and I took the step and tried something

new but I was stopped dead in my tracks. Did I hear God wrong?

Was this the direction he wanted me to go in?

 

We all have doors the Lord wants us to go through but there are times when it seems like the door is

tightly shut. At times it feels like the doors the devil has closed can’t be opened again but the Lord helped me

to see the truth.  The devil is not that powerful. He doesn’t have the power to close a door and keep it closed.

 

“And to the angel (messenger) of the assembly (church) in Philadelphia write; These are the words

of the Holy One, the True One, He Who has the key of David, 

Who opens and no one shall shut, Who shuts and no one shall open; 

I know your [record of] works and what you are doing. See! 

I have set before you a door wide open which no one is able to shut;”

Revelation 3:7-8

 

“And the key of the house of David I will lay upon his shoulder; he shall open and no one shall 

shut, he shall shut and no one shall open.” 

Isaiah 22:22

 

From God’s word, it is clear that when God opens a door, the devil has no power to close it and when

a door is closed he has no power to open it. So just because the devil closes a door doesn’t mean

it will stay closed. That door will be opened. We must not let him deceive us into believing the door

can’t be opened. When I got this understanding I continued pressing forward. I did not give up.

I have faith God will breakthrough for me.

 

Before I go any further I want to add something,

The only time we should stop trying to go through a door is if God has said no but other than that,

we need to by faith keep going through the door. So what I am writing about are the doors the devil tries

to close. Those are the doors we need to bust open.

 

All doors the enemy has closed are meant to be gone through. It can be so discouraging when

things don’t seem to be working out but don’t stop praying and moving in faith.

 

The enemy is always trying to close doors that God wants us to go through. In the book of Ezra,

we read how the Israelites started rebuilding the temple in Jerusalem. They were making progress but the

Samaritans opposed them. (Ezra 4:4) They didn’t want the Israelites to finish so they wrote and sent

a letter to the King of Persia who was the ruling power at that time. The letter was malicious and was

the enemy’s way of closing the door on the Israelites. The Samaritans got their wish because the

king commanded the building of the temple to be stopped immediately.

The door had been closed.

 

“Then the work on the house of God in Jerusalem stopped.” 

Ezra 4:24

 

But that was not the end of the story.

All the doors the enemy closes can be opened. He has no power to keep any door closed. Always remember

that.

 

In the next chapter the prophets, Haggai and Zechariah prophesied to the Israelites. They encouraged the

people to start building again which they did. The Samaritans tried to stop them again this is what

happened;

 

“Now therefore, Tattenai, governor of the province [west of] the River, Shethar-bozenai, and your associates,

the Apharsachites who are [west of] the River, keep far away from there. 

Leave the work on this house of God alone; let the governor and the elders of the Jews build this house

of God on its site.” 

Ezra 6;6-12

 

You can read all of the good things the king decreed but the point is this,

 

The enemy tried to close the door of opportunity on the Jews but he had no power to do anything.

The door God opened for His people would stay open no matter how hard the devil tried.

 

Don’t give up when the door seems to be closed on you. If God has not closed it then the

door is still open. The devil has no power to close and keep a door closed.

It is only God who has that power.

 

What to do when a door seems to be closed by the devil? 

 

The bible is very clear on what we are to do when that happens.

 

“Keep asking and it will be given you; keep on seeking and you will find; 

keep on knocking [reverently] and [the door] will be opened to you. 

For everyone who keeps on asking receives; and he who keeps on seeking

finds; and to him who keeps on knocking [the door] will be opened.” 

Matthew 7:7-8

 

Don’t give up on the things God has put on your heart. Keep asking, keep seeking and

keep knocking.

Don’t be discouraged when things don’t work out. Keep looking to God. Keep praying to Him.

Things will work out for you. He will breakthrough for you!

Don’t let the devil deceive you in thinking the door can’t be opened. It’s not true.

Every door that he “closes” is not really closed!

Be encouraged today friends.

Bless you.

 

Rolain