Redeem The Day

Today is a gift from God.

And I am not talking about the date of today. But I am talking about “TODAY”

Whenever you read this that will be your today and it has significance.

It’s a second chance to do things right. It’s an opportunity to try again where you have failed.

It’s an opportunity to wipe the slate clean.

You may have messed up yesterday but today you have another chance to do things

differently.

Read what 2 Corinthians 6: 2 has to say about the importance of “today”

“For He says:

“In an acceptable time I have heard you,

And in the day of salvation I have helped you.”

Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day

of salvation.”

In other translations it says, today is the day of salvation.

Today is the day of God’s favor and

Today is the day of salvation

Don’t allow yesterday’s mistakes and sins hold you back today.

Repent and allow God to speak to you anew today.

And He is speaking.

“Today, if you will hear His voice,

Do not harden your hearts.”

Hebrews 4:7

If you need forgiveness, today is the day to receive it.

If you need a second chance, today is the day.

Today is a gift from God.

Receive what He has for you today.

Bless you friends

Rolain

You Have A Compelling Story.

For the past couple of weeks I have been catching up on the Olympics. In times past

I never really watched it. I would watch a race here and there but that was it. I was

never really interested in Olympics as a whole but this year has been different.

I have been engaged and I am enjoying it so much. A few days ago I was wondering

why I enjoyed it so much and it came down to one thing – the compelling stories.

No matter the discipline there is a compelling story to follow. That was what has kept

me engaged and on the edge of my seat. For example, the men and women’s

BMX Freestyle competition. There have been some amazing stories on both the men and women’s side

but I want to focus on the women.

First of all, this was the debut of BMX Freestyle. That was history in the making.

Then Charlotte Worthington from Great Britain won the gold medal which was amazing

but her story continues. The way she won was even more amazing.

She successfully attempted a backflip 360 which has never been done in any women’s

competition ever. On the biggest stage in the world she did a backflip 360 for the first

time ever, landed it and won the gold. Talk about a compelling story!

And as I listened to compelling story after another I thought about you and me as sons

and daughters of God.

Do we have compelling stories too?

And the answer is a resounding yes. God has a compelling story for you and me.

Jeremiah 29:11 confirms this truth,

“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you,

plans to give you a hope and a future.”

I think about Nick Vujicic who was born without arms and legs and in the beginning he struggled

to reconcile why he was born and tried to take his own life but God intervened and turned his

life around. Nick has travelled the world encouraging and inspiring people with his story.

What a compelling story right…

In the word of God I think of Esther. She had no parents and was raised by her uncle but God

used her to save an entire nation!

I also think of Paul who hated Christians and did his best to exterminate them. He imprisoned them

and killed them but God stopped him and turned his life around. He gave him a new purpose and

new direction and used him to bring the word of God to the Gentiles and so much more.

I share all those stories to encourage you that God has amazing plans for your life. He has a

compelling story for you.

But it doesn’t end there. You have an enemy who doesn’t want you to accomplish God’s purpose

for your life. He is trying to stop the compelling stories God has written for you from happening.

There is a war.

You need to stand up and trust God with everything within you.

You also need to stand up and do your part by taking the steps of faith He is leading you to take.

This is a bit of what makes up a compelling story.

You need to be strong and courageous like Joshua as he led God’s people into the promise land.

God kept telling him to be strong and courageous and not to be afraid.

So as you walk in the amazing purpose and plans God has for you remember that He is with you.

He will never leave or forsake you and will bring your compelling story to completion.

He is fighting on your behalf.

Put all of your trust in Him and step out in faith as He leads because He has a compelling

story for you.

Bless you friends

Rolain

Don’t Give In To Fear.

One of the enemy’s main goals is to put you and keep you in fear.

He wants you bound and paralyzed by it and he wants you to think you

are all alone. But that’s not true. You are not alone. God is with you.

Recently I was reading the story of Nehemiah and I saw something interesting in his story.

As he was doing the work God had called him to do, which was to build the walls of

Jerusalem, he had opposition. There were men who didn’t want him to succeed and they

used fear to try to stop him. Let’s look at a few scriptures.

“For they all made us afraid, saying, Their hands shall be weakened from the work,

that it be not done.

Now therefore, O God, strengthen my hands.”

Nehemiah 6:9

“Therefore was he hired, that I should be afraid, and do so, and sin, and that they

might have matter for an evil report, that they might reproach me.”

Nehemiah 6:13

“Also they reported his good deeds before me, and uttered my words to him.

And Tobiah sent letters to put me in fear.”

Nehemiah 6:19

As you can see, Nehemiah’s enemies were using fear to try to stop him.

But Nehemiah did not let it stop him. Instead, he put his trust in the

Lord to help him.

I share his story to show you that the enemy is still using the same strategy today.

He is using fear as a weapon against you to try to weaken your hands or to get

you to do something rashly or to doubt God and so much more.

But like Nehemiah you must bring your fears to the Lord.

Make a decision to choose trust in God over fear no matter how intense it is.

Because at the end of the day you have nothing to fear because God is with you.

He is on your side and He will never let you down.

God bless you friends!

Have a great weekend.

Rolain

What God Thinks About Our Imperfections.

As I begin I want to ask a question.

Do our imperfections stop God’s grace from operating freely in our lives?

For the answer let us look at Matthew 1.

I want to focus on the genealogy of Jesus Christ because it is there that we find the answer.

You would think that list would be comprised of the who’s who at the time.

The rich and powerful, the superstars and such like people. But that was not the case.

The people on that list were the complete opposite. They were anything but perfect.

What I want to do is focus in on five women that were mentioned on that list.

The ONLY five women mentioned and I don’t think that was a mistake.

The women were Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheba and Mary.

I am not going to talk about Mary because we know she was the mother of Jesus.

So let’s talk about the other women.

Rahab – We know she was a proustite but the direction of her life changed when she

welcomed and hide the spies by faith. Despite her past the Lord turned her life around.

Her imperfections, her past, her past sins did not stop the Lord from doing something

amazing in her life.

Bathsheba – At a time when kings were supposed to go for war, David stayed behind and

got into trouble. He slept with Bathsheba and had a child with her. To hide the fact, he got

Uriah her husband killed.

In a dark time, the Lord gave them Solomon and they found favor and grace. When

there didn’t seem to be a way out the Lord made a way for them.

Ruth – Ruth was a Moabite and was in a unique position.

“No Ammonite or Moabite or any of their descendants may enter the assembly of the LORD,

not even in the tenth generation.”

Deuteronomy 23:3

The Moabites had a curse on them because they tried to stop Israel when they came from Egypt.

There was nothing Ruth could do about her nationality. She was born into it but that didn’t stop God from blessing

her in amazing ways. The Lord was with her despite her nationality.

Tamar – To read Tamar’s story you will have to go back to the book of Genesis 38:6-30

Judah had three sons and he got Tamar to marry his firstborn son. But he displeased the

Lord and was killed. She was then given to his second son and once again he displeased

the Lord and was killed. So Judah decided to not give Tamar his third born son because

he was afraid he would lose him too. But Tamar had a plan. She disguised herself as a

prostitute and slept with Judah and they had kids.

(this is a very condensed version of the story)

That was crazy right but that is the Tamar that is in the genealogy of Jesus Christ. She was a descendant

of Jesus Christ!

As you read all these women’s stories its clear to see how God did amazing things considering the

diverse things that happened.

The lesson is a simple one,

Don’t let your failures, your sins, where you were born and so much more make you believe that God

can’t use you.

He is not hindered by your imperfections. They don’t limit Him one single bit.

Trust Him to use you in amazing ways.

He loves and cares for you.

And to answer the question I asked in the beginning. The answer is no.

Our imperfections don’t stop God’s grace from moving in our lives.

Bless you friends

Rolain

Envision Something Different For Your Life.

Envision big things for your life because God already does.

But it can be hard to do that at times when your current circumstances are

anything but great. When things don’t seem to be working out and you are

having a bad day, week, month or year. But no matter how negative your circumstances

are at the moment the truth is, God has amazing things prepared for you. And we see

this truth all throughout scripture.

Before Abraham was called by God what kind of life was he imagining for himself? Let me

change that a little bit.

“Before God intervened in Abraham’s life.”

We don’t really know. But what we do know is that God took him outside and told him to look up

and try to count the stars if he could.

“He took him outside and said, “Look up at the sky and count the stars-if indeed you can count

them. Then He said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”

Genesis 15:5

What was happening there?

God was helping Abraham see something bigger for his life.

What about Gideon?

Before the Lord intervened in his life he thought he was the least of the least. We know that

because when the angel of the Lord called him a “mighty man of valor” Gideon told him what

he had known all his life.

“Pardon me, my lord, Gideon replied, but how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in

Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.”

Judges 6:15

But once again, God showed him a bigger picture. He helped Gideon see differently and that’s

another thing to note. We need the Lord’s help to see all that He has for us. After all, He is the

one who created us and our purpose.

He is the one who has prepared the amazing things we are going to walk in.

And that is why we need to envision something different for our lives.

Don’t the let the difficult and negative circumstances blind you to what God has in store for you.

Keep hoping, and trusting Him.

Envision something different for your life because He already does!

Bless you friends!

Rolain

When People Let You Down

“Then Jesus said to the crowd, “Am I some dangerous revolutionary that you come with

swords and clubs to arrest me? Why didn’t you arrest me in the Temple? I was there

teaching every day.

But this is all happening to fulfill the words of the prophets as recorded in the Scriptures.”

At that point, all the disciples deserted him and fled.”

Matthew 26:56 NLT

“At that point, all the disciples deserted him and fled.”

Jesus’ closest friends abandoned him when He needed them the most. In His darkest hour

there was no man standing with Him. But His trust was not in man but in His Father.

And even though man let Him down and deserted him, His Father didn’t.

That is a truth we can hold on to when people let us down, because it will happen.

When people let us down, God will not fail us. He will never leave us or forsake us.

He won’t desert us.

And that is why we need to trust in the Lord completely.

Who is your faith in when things get difficult?

Are you trusting in people or in the Lord?

I am also reminded of Paul who had people abandon him as well,

“The first time I was brought before the judge, no one came with me.

Everyone abandoned me. May it not be counted against them.

But the Lord stood with me and gave me strength so that I might

preach the Good News in its entirety for all the Gentiles to hear.

And He rescued me from certain death.”

2 Timothy 4:16 NLT

Once again we see this amazing truth in action.

When Paul’s friends abandoned him the Lord remained by his side.

He delivered him from the enemy.

In a dark time of Paul’s life when it seemed like he was alone, he really wasn’t.

The Lord was with him.

So as I conclude I want to encourage you to trust in the Lord completely.

He will not fail or forsake you ever. He will remain faithful to you.

And remember that when people let you down, He won’t.

Bless you friends

Rolain

With So Many Reasons To Live In Fear, Trust God Instead.

There are so many reasons to live in fear today.

You don’t have to go far to find fear. It’s all around us.

It’s on television, radio, the newspaper, Facebook feeds, WhatsApp Group Threads and so much more.

So what must we do when we come face to face with fear?

For the answer let’s get into the Word Of God.

In the second book of Chronicles chapter twenty, King Jehoshaphat was given some bad news.

A huge army was about to attack him. Let’s read what happened next,

“Then there came some that told Jehoshaphat saying, There cometh a great multitude

against thee from beyond the sea on this side Syria; and behold, they be in Hazazon-tamar,

which is Engedi.

And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout

all Judah.”

2 Chronicles 20:2, 3

When the king heard the news he feared. He didn’t try to hide it or ignore it.

But instead of allowing fear to overwhelm and paralyze him he set himself to

seek the Lord for help against the mighty army that came against him.

And when he sought the Lord for help, the Lord fought for him and destroyed

the army that came against him.

So like Jehoshaphat, seek the Lord for help when you are face to face with fear.

He will help you always.

He will hear your prayer as you cry out to Him.

Put your trust in Him in times of fear.

Bless you friends

Rolain

What Are You Holding Onto In Difficult Times?

When you are in a difficult place, what are you holding onto?

Are you holding onto God’s Word or man’s word?

God’s Word is sure, reliable, trustworthy and dependable and that’s

what you should be holding onto.

In the book of Acts chapter twenty-seven we read a very interesting story.

Paul is imprisoned and is on his way to Rome because he appealed to Caesar.

They boarded a ship and reached a place called Fair Havens but instead of staying there

until the seas become a bit more calm the centurion decided to proceed with the journey.

Paul warned them that he could foresee loss of cargo and even loss of life.

But the centurion decided to listen to the captain of the ship which makes total

sense because the captain had experience and he probably sailed those seas hundreds of times.

But look at what happened when they listened to the captain’s advice,

“We took such a violent battering from the storm that the next day they began to throw the cargo

overboard. On the third day, they threw the ship’s tackle overboard with their own hands. When neither

sun nor stars appeared for many days and the storm continued raging, we finally gave up all hope

of being saved.”

Acts 27:18-20

The captain’s advice was wrong even though he was the most experienced and even though

he probably sailed those seas hundreds of times.

As we face the storms of life we need to hold on to God’s Word over any other word.

That’s the only word that can and will get us through the storm.

Man’s word will fail and disappoint but not the Word of God.

After that Paul told all the men that an angel of the Lord appeared to him and told him that no

soul would be lost. Paul held on to the word of the Lord and encouraged the men to do so.

And what the angel spoke came to pass. There were no souls that were lost. Everyone reached land

safely.

“The rest were to get there on planks or on other pieces of the ship. In this way everyone reached

land safely.”

Acts 27:44

We can depend on God’s Word because it is sure, trustworthy, reliable and dependable.

“Praise be to the Lord, who has given rest to his people Israel just as he promised. Not one word

has failed of all the good promises he gave through his servant Moses.”

1 Kings 8:56

Bless you friends

Rolain

Faith In God Makes The Impossible Possible.

Abraham and Sarah had an impossible situation.

God promised them a son but Sarah couldn’t have children and they were old.

But faith in God made it possible for them to have a child.

As you trust God for the impossible know that your faith in Him makes the impossible

possible. Don’t be intimidated or discouraged when nothing seems to be happening.

We serve a God who does the impossible.

Luke 1: 37 tells us that nothing is impossible with God.

I use an illustration to teach this truth. I attempt to put a needle through a balloon

without it popping.

Click the link below to see how the illustration turns out.

Have a great weekend friends.

Bless you

Rolain

Surrounded…

There are times when it feels like the enemy has us surrounded and is going to finish off the job.

Times when it seems like we are about to be overrun and left for dead.

But in those times there is hope for us.

I was encouraged as I read the Word a few days ago.

The king of Aram wanted to get rid of Elisha so he found out where he was and at night had the place

where he was surrounded. In the morning Elisha’s servant saw the army surrounding the city and he

freaked out. He went to Elisha to tells him the “bad news” but Elisha was as cool as a cucumber.

This is what Elisha said to him,

“Fear not, for they that be with us are more than they that be with them.”

2 Kings 6:17

But Elisha went further. He prayed that his servant’s eyes be opened and after the prayer the servant saw the

hills filled with a great and mighty heavenly host outnumbering the enemy.

And that is what I want to encourage you with. Just like the servant saw, there are more with you than they

that are against you. It doesn’t matter how many enemies come against you, the fact and truth remains.

Let go of the fear and trust the Lord. He is fighting for you and is stronger and far greater than any enemy

that threatens you.

“Though an host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear: though war should rise up against me,

in this will I be confident.”

Psalm 27:3

God bless you friends and have a great weekend

Rolain