God loves To Come Through For Us

“But she said, “I swear by the Lord your God that I don’t have a single piece of bread in the house.

And I have only a handful of flour left in the jar and a little cooking oil in the bottom of the jug.

I was just gathering a few sticks to cook this last meal, and then my son and I will die.”

1 Kings 17: 12

The widow at Zarephath was in a crisis. The little food she had left was about to run out.

She had gone to gather a few sticks she could use to cook the last meal for her and her son then die.

Like I said, crisis.

But God came through for her. He sent Elijah and when she obeyed him by making him a meal

first the Lord provided for her in an amazing way.

“So she did as Elijah said, and she and Elijah and her family continued to eat for many days.  

There was always enough flour and olive oil left in the containers, just as the Lord had promised

through Elijah.”

1 Kings 17:15, 16

I share this scripture because it teaches us a truth about our God – He loves to come through for us.

No matter how bad things get God has got your back.

No matter how deep you are in trouble, God will help you out.

When there seems to be no way out of the trouble you face, He will ALWAYS come through for you.

Throughout scripture we see this truth play out over and over and over.

With Daniel when he was thrown in the lions den

With David, when King Saul was hunting him down

When Hannah was being ridiculed for being barren

When the Israelites were trapped by the Red Sea as the Egyptians chased them

I could go on and on but I think you get the picture.

God loves to come through for you.

So in whatever trouble you find yourself no matter how bad it is, remember that

God is for you. He wants to help you.

Ask for His help always!

Bless you friends

Rolain

Silence The Negative Voices At All Costs

“But they laughed at him.

After he put them all out, he took the child’s father and mother and the disciples who were

with him, and went in where the child was.”

Mark 5:14

Negativity is all around us. That’s a given.

But we don’t need to live it out in our lives. The enemy is trying to use it to bring us

down but we must not let him succeed. We need to fight against the negativity

that comes our way, the voices that say we are ugly and the voices that say we will

never amount to anything, that nobody will love us and so many more words that

we are told.

In the scripture above we see that Jesus had to do the same thing. He had arrived

at Jairus house to heal his daughter but the people in the room laughed and made

fun of him.

And what did Jesus do?

He chased them out of the room. He didn’t give negativity a chance.

We can’t give negativity a chance.

What is your environment like?

What are you watching, listening to and reading on a daily basis?

What king of thoughts do you have of yourself and your situation? Are they

positive or negative?

What kind of words do you speak everyday?

All these things need to be looked at if you want to change your environment, if you want to

change the negativity that comes your way.

Encourage yourself with the word of God.

Surround yourself with the right friends.

Change what you read and listen to, replace negative words with positive ones.

But do something. Don’t just let negativity infiltrate your life without fighting it.

Take the necessary steps to change your environment.

God has amazing things in store for you and He is with you every moment of your life.

Bless you friends

Rolain

There Is More To Your Story

“The chariots of God are twice ten thousand, thousands upon thousands;

the Lord is among them; Sinai is now in the sanctuary.

You ascended on high, leading a host of captives in your train and receiving

gifts among men, even among the rebellious that the Lord God may dwell there.”

Psalm 68:17, 18

The first thing I want to say after reading that amazing verse is that you have victory.

The Lord went out and conquered. He was victorious over all His enemies and because

of that we have victory.

The word says he led out a host of captives.

Who were those captives? Sickness, poverty, anxiety, fear you name it.

He defeated them all and because we are His children victory is our portion.

But at times it seems like the enemy is so strong. It seems like he is winning from

every direction. Where ever we turn we seem to be losing BUT..

The same thing happened to Jesus.

The devil thought he had won over him when He was crucified.

End of the story he thought.

Victory he thought.

But he was so wrong. There was still more to the story, much more.

Jesus defeated death and rose again and saved us all!

So no matter how bleak it seems, remember there is more to your story.

It’s not over yet, no even close. The devil may seem to be winning at the moment but he doesn’t

have the final say.

Jesus does and He has defeated all your enemies!

Bless you friends

Rolain

God Knows Where You Are

God has your address. He knows exactly where you are.

Whatever you are facing at the moment know that God knows. You are not alone.

This truth is shown in the story of Sarah and Hagar.

Sarah couldn’t have children so she let Abraham sleep with Hagar.

But when Hagar gave birth to a son, Sarah got jealous and after speaking to Abraham,

chased her away.

Hagar wandered in the desert and was in trouble but God knew exactly where she was, not just

physically but spiritually. He knew what she was going through.

In the desert alone God found her and blessed her by telling her the plans he had for her son.

“She gave this name to the Lord who spoke to her: You are the God who sees me,”

for she said, I have now seen the One who sees me.”

Genesis 16:13

We serve a God who sees us where ever we are.

I also think of Jonah who tried to run away from the Lord. He found him and provided a huge fish

to shallow him.

In the deep, in the heart of the earth where no man could hear Jonah’s cries for help God knew exactly

where he was. In a place where no man could reach him God reached him. He heard his prayer and

delivered him.

“In my distress I called to the Lord, and he answered me.

From the deep in the realm of the dead I called for help, and you listened to my cry.”

Jonah 2:2

As I close know the Lord knows exactly where you are.

You are not alone in whatever you are going through.

Bless you friends

Rolain

The Illusion Of Strength

“The king is not saved by his great army;

a warrior is not delivered by his great strength.

The war horse is a false hope for salvation,

and by its great might it cannot rescue.”

Psalm 33:16, 17

There is a tendency at times to try to go through life on our own. We try to show God we

got everything under control. We think He is impressed with our show of power, intelligence

and wit so we “power through” life when we should be looking to Him for strength.

You carry the weight of the world on your shoulders and think it’s cool but it’s not.

In the world, showing how strong, independent, powerful you are is celebrated. We see this

in terms like “self made man or woman” But it’s not so in God’s kingdom.

He wants you to trust Him. He wants you to give up control and let Him take the steering wheel.

Surrender to Him in faith. Let Him do the heavy lifting.

I was working on a project recently and was getting frustrated and overwhelmed. As I stopped

to see what was going on I realized I was going at it in my strength. I never asked God for help.

I repented and asked Him to help me. I stopped trying to figure things out on my own and started

praying more and seeking His guidance.

He wants us to rely on His strength, not our strength.

Turn to Him for help always.

“He takes no pleasure in the strength of a horse or in human might. No, the Lord’s delight is in those

who fear him, those who put their hope in his unfailing love.”

Psalm 147:10, 11

Bless you friends

Rolain

Let Go Of Negative Labels

Throughout our lives we have been picking up labels from family, friends, teachers, coaches, you name it.

But this is the thing, the majority of the labels we picked up are not accurate and

at times downright destructive. We need to be careful what labels we have adopted

and from where.

Take Moses for example.

God called him to lead His people out of Egypt. So as He called him,

He gave assurances that He would be with him but there was one thing

that was giving Moses second doubts about his ability to carry out what

God had called him to do. And that thing was the label or labels he was holding

on to.

“But Moses said to the Lord, “Oh my Lord, I am not eloquent, either in the past

or since you have spoken to your servant, but I am slow of speech and of tongue.”

Exodus 3:10

Instead of saying “yes Lord”.

He almost let the labels he had stop him from walking into what God had for him.

And also note, God knew the potential Moses had. He knew the great things He would

do through him but Moses didn’t see any of that because of the labels he held on to.

And that’s the danger of holding on to the wrong labels. They limit what we think

God can do and blind us to the opportunities available to us.

We need to measure up every label we have, to what God says about us. We measure

them up to His word. If words spoken to us are not in line with what God says in His Word

then it needs to go.

And we also need to be careful about what we say to ourselves. That’s what happened to

Moses. He may have told himself and believed he was slow of speech and not eloquent

and in his mind those labels disqualified him from doing what God told him to do.

You probably know yourself better than anyone on this planet but at the end of the day

you need to remember that you did not create you, God created you!

And because He created you He knows every little thing about you. There is nothing He

doesn’t know about you but you on the other hand you don’t have the full picture. You don’t have all

the information. There is stuff missing.

So stop with the “this is the way I am” statements.

Stop with the “I am clumsy, I am forgetful,

I can’t do this, I can’t do that” statements.

You don’t have all the pieces to the puzzle so why label yourself and make “absolute” statements

about yourself?

God is the only one who can do that so go to Him to tell who you are, what you can do and the

amazing opportunities waiting for you.

Ask Him for help as you do this. There is no way you are going to get rid of the negative labels

in your life by yourself. Ask Him to show you what negative words you are holding on to.

And ask Him to replace those words/labels with His truth, with His Word.

And as I close I want to end with a quote I read that I love. It says,

“Let no label stick unless it was put there by God.”

Have a great weekend friends!

Rolain

Silence In The Enemy’s Camp

“By this I know that you delight in me;

my enemy will not shout in triumph over me

Psalm 41:11

David had a lot of enemies in his life.

Strong enemies that wanted him out of the picture.

People that wanted him to fail, get sick, die you name it.

Even close friends became his enemy (Psalm 41:9)

But in Psalm 41:11 he made an amazing statement. He knew God favored him

and delighted in him because He never allowed his enemies to shout in triumph

over him!

In other words, because God delighted in him, He never allowed his enemies

to have victory over him.

I love that.

Because it’s the same for you. God delights in you and will not let the enemy shout

in triumph over you. They will not have victory in your life no matter how hard they try.

Even in the case of Bathsheba, it did seem like the enemy had victory over David. It seemed

like God’s purpose for his life came to an end because of what he had done but God in His

grace gave David another chance. He gave him the opportunity to repent and when he

did he received redemption and a second chance. There were no shouts of triumph in

the enemy’s camp in that regard.

As I close I want to encourage you with that.

The enemy WILL NOT have victory over you because the Lord favors you and delights in you.

When you fall He will pick you up.

The Lord will fight for you against the enemies that come against you and win.

Bless you friends!

Rolain

What Truth Are You Living By?

Some years back I took a course on Cognitive Psychology. It was a God-send for me because

prior to taking the course my mind was a mess. My thoughts were destructive, I had no self-esteem,

I didn’t think I could amount to anything and so many other destructive mental issues.

The core principle of the course is,

“We behave and act, not in accordance with the truth as the truth might be.

We behave and act in accordance with the truth as we believe it or perceive it to be.”

There were a lot of “truths” I had to unlearn that I had picked up growing up. And the course

helped me change those “truths”. Being a Christian doing the course was a huge benefit to

me because I had met the TRUTH so I was replacing the old “truths” with His Truth.

I share this because there are so many “truths” out there and not all truth is truth.

Where did you get the “truths” you are currently holding on to?

Are they based on the Word of God or are they based on something you read on the news,

on social media or something you watched on TV and the many other sources out there?

We need to be careful where we get our “truths”

Looking at the Word I think of Gideon.

His truth was,

“So he said to Him, “O my Lord, how can I save Israel?

Indeed my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my Father’s house.”

Judges 6:15

He grew up being told his clan was the weakest and was probably reminded that he was

the least. That’s the “truth” he adopted but it wasn’t true. God had another truth for

Gideon. And not just any truth but THE truth.

God’s truth for Gideon was that he was a mighty man of valor.

Man’s truth for Gideon was not God’s truth for him and that’s important to note.

God has a TRUTH for you that’s totally different to the truths out there. You don’t have to

live by the “truths” you have been given by people that tear you down, that tell you can’t

make it, that you will amount to nothing, that you have no future to look forward to and so

many other negative things. God has a better and greater truth for you.

It was a similar story for the woman with the issue of blood. (Luke 8: 43-48)

For twelve years she tried to find a cure to her ailment. But the answer was the same for

every doctor she went to. There was no cure for her no matter how much money she spent.

That was the “truth” she was given.

But one day she heard about Jesus and in faith decided to lay aside the “truth” she was

told for twelve years and got a hold of the real TRUTH. And once she did that she received

her healing.

The “truth” she had been told for twelve years was no match for Jesus. I don’t know how many

seconds it took to touch the hem of Jesus’ garment but that was enough to nullify the “truth”

she previously held. And that’s why it’s important to go the right source for truth.

The truth we find in Jesus is more powerful than every other “truth” out there.

His truth liberates and frees.

The wrong “truth” binds, instills fear, and limits God’s power in our lives.

So as I close I want to encourage you to take a look at the truths you are holding onto.

If it’s not helping you then it needs to go.

Look to Jesus who is TRUTH.

In Him we find real truth for every area of our lives.

Bless you

Rolain

What Hard Times Teach Us About God

We don’t face difficult times for the fun of it. The world is broken and there is nothing

we can do to escape the tragedies that come our way but there is a hope for us in the

midst of the darkness. As we walk through the valley of the shadow of death we can

be guaranteed that the Lord is with us. He won’t let us be consumed by the enemy.

Look at what happened to Daniel. (Daniel 6)

The king had intended to promote him but the governors around him were jealous

so they tricked the king into making a law that banned anyone from making any

requests to any god besides the king. But as was his custom Daniel opened his window

and prayed to God.

The jealous people saw this and took him to the king for punishment.

The penalty for disobeying the king’s command was a trip into the lion’s death.

Daniel was in serious trouble.

But in one of his darkest times the Lord never left him. He protected him in the lion’s den.

The lion’s den was the enemy’s way of destroying Daniel but instead of death, Daniel

experienced the faithfulness of God.

I also think of Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego and how they were in trouble when they

refused to bow down to the king’s idol. The penalty for disobeying the king’s command

was death by fire but once again, instead of dying in the fire, they saw the Son of God!

In their dark time the Lord showed up for them and delivered them in a powerful way.

I want to remind you that in your difficult times, the Lord is with you like He was with

Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego.

In the fire, and in the lion’s den the Lord is with you.

Trust in the Lord like they did.

As I conclude I want to share Isaiah 54:17 with you

“No weapon that is fashioned against you shall succeed,”

Bless you friends

Rolain

The Only Reason To Worry And Panic

There is only one reason you have to worry and panic and that’s if God is not with you.

If He has abandoned and disowned you then I would say you have plenty much

to fear.

There is a scripture where this sentiment is echoed.

“If it had not been the LORD who was on our side,

Let Israel now say-

If it had not been the LORD who was on our side,

When men rose up against us,

Then they would have swallowed us alive,

When their wrath was kindled against us,

Then the waters would have overwhelmed us,

The stream would have gone over our soul:”

Psalm 124:1-8

The author is thinking about what would happen if God was not on their side.

He sees how the enemy would totally annihilate them. They would have no chance without God.

And that’s what I am talking about here.

Without God on your side then you can worry, panic and fear.

But that is not the case with you and me because He is with us. He is fighting for us.

When enemies stronger than you come against you, the Word says, He is your support.

So bring Him your fears, and worries. He will not leave you helpless friends.

Bless you

Rolain