Many evils………

I wonder at times why life has to be so hard and challenging.

Yes, there are good times, times of peace, times of joy but there

are difficult times, testing times, challenging times!

That is a truth we cannot escape! As long as we live on this earth

we will be faced with storms, times of testing, and times of distress!

 

But in the face of such truth there is another truth. A truth that

liberates us! It’s a truth that gives us hope, a truth that brings

clarity to the craziness we face on a daily basis!

 

“Many evils confront the [consistently] righteous ,

But the Lord delivers him out of them all.

Psalm 34:19

 

The word says “MANY EVILS” confront the righteous! In other

versions It says, “many troubles”!

Doesn’t that make sense? The word is clear, MANY EVILS will

confront us!

The enemy is consistently trying to take us out. The “EVILS” are

different for everyone but have the same intended end,

destruction, loss of hope, death! This is the enemy we face but……

THERE IS GOOD NEWS FOR US ALL…….

 

Many evils will confront us but THE LORD DELIVERS US

OUT OF THEM ALL!!!!

No matter the “evil” God has the last say! He has delivered us out of

them all! Take heart…..

His word is true. We have hope, there is light at the end of the

tunnel.

We are not alone, the enemy will not win! No matter what you are

going through the enemy will not have victory! We serve a really

good God!

 

Meditate on this truth!

The Lord has delivered us from every evil and trouble that

confronts us…….

Amen

 

Rolain

Remember God today!

And when, in time to come, your son asks you, what does this

mean?

You shall say to him, by strength of hand the Lord brought us out

from Egypt, from the house of bondage and bondmen.

Exodus 13:14

 

And it shall be as a reminder upon your hand or as frontlets

between your eyes, for by a strong hand the Lord brought

us out of Egypt.

Exodus 13:16

 

Out of all the miracles God performed this is the most talked about.

God has constantly reminded His people to remember what He did

at the Red Sea.

God delivered His people in a mighty way!

His people were called to remember what He did and He told them

to tell their kids. It is clear God didn’t want His people to forget.

The Red Sea moment was a reference point for the Israelite’s!

When they lost hope they would remember what God did for their

ancestors at the Red Sea, and in Egypt! We too are His people and

He is calling us to not forget!

How important is it to remember?

To answer that I would like to share something a friend shared

with me a few days ago,

 

“God is the God of the impossible.

Reasoning your way out of an impossible situation

is not as effective as reminding your way out of it! – Unknown

 

That stopped me cold in my tracks. How many times I have

tried to reason myself out of a situation. The more effective

way is to remember our way out of it!

That brings me so much peace right now because as I began

to think on it some more I realized God wants us to remember

the great things He has done for us. I believe

we all have our “Red Sea moments” that we can look back to for

strength! Don’t forget those times the Lord came through for

you! Those are the things He wants you to remember. He

performed those miracles so you could remember them when

your faith was been attacked!

As I think back on my life I see the small and the big things

God did for me and I know those are the “Red Sea moments”

God wants me to always remember!

When I am in doubt, when my faith is weak that is when I

need to remember!

 

Fight to remember! Write down what God did for you. Tell

people what God did for you!

When the storms come remember what you wrote. God’s

miracles in your life are not just for you but for your kids.

They are to be a testimony for generations to come!

How great it would be if your great great great kids could

talk about how God came through for you! How amazing it

would be if they used God’s miracles in your life as a reference

point for their own lives!

 

Last year is long gone but we are still here because God is with us!

He kept us with care! His hand is on us and we must make sure

we don’t forget!

Fight to remember the miracles, fight to remember the goodness

of God in your life. He is so good!

Rolain

Why “perfect” doesn’t work with God……!

In the past two weeks I have been feeling inadequate, not enough, useless, for the purpose God has for me. A door of opportunity has opened up for me but instead of proudly walking through it I have had doubts and more doubts! I have second guessed my ability and come up with a conclusion:

I am not the right person for the job. I am unequipped and unqualified for this. 

But as I had that thought I was reminded of Jesus and the disciples! Jesus had chosen them, entrusted them with the job of spreading the good news after He was gone! They would be His hands and feet, they were to be His voice! They had some VERY big shoes to fill….

These are the men Jesus called:

– They couldn’t stay up and pray with Jesus in His most trying time!  Matthew 26:45

– They fled and abandoned Him when He needed them the most. Matthew 26:56

– Peter denied Him.  Matthew 26:74, 75

– They struggled to understand what Jesus was saying a lot of the time! Matthew 15:16

– They couldn’t cast out a demon because they lacked faith.                 Mark 9: 17, 18, 19

– They fought among themselves.   Luke 22:24

 

This is what Jesus had to work with. These men who had so many faults, these men who let Him down so much, these are the men who turned the world upside down for Jesus. They gave their all for Him! These were the men Jesus commissioned to spread the good news! Despite their flaws Jesus used them and He still does the same thing today!

God knows your faults, your weaknesses, your failings, but He has CHOSEN YOU!

Don’t think He has made a mistake because He hasn’t!

Whatever your weakenesses know that He wants to use you! Will you let Him use you??

Don’t believe the lie that God can’t use you because you are not perfect! We are far from perfect but God can still use us!

As you can see, my fears and anxieties were very irrational. After having those feelings I realised something, God wants me to trust Him every step of the way. He knew I wasn’t qualified but He wanted me to trust Him to guide me.

I have a sneaking feeling this won’t be the last time He calls me to something out of my depth! My purpose is way out of my depth not because He is mean but because He wants me to trust Him. If I can accomplish my purpose in my own strength how would God be glorified?

God’s calling is always bigger than you, it is always out of your depth! With all your faults and short comings He wants you to trust Him! He has an amazing plan for your life…..!

Rolain

 

 

Pray for someone……

“And when he saw that it was pleasing to the Jews, he proceeded further and arrested Peter also. This was during the days of Unleavened Bread [the Passover week].

And when he had seized [Peter], he put him in prison and delivered him to four squads of soldiers of four each to guard him, purposing after the Passover to bring him forth to the people. 

So Peter was kept in prison, but fervent prayer for him  was persistently made to God by the church (assembly). Acts 12:3-19

This year I made a decision to change the way I pray! I can’t pray the same way I prayed in 2014. There must be a change! So I started praying for others more frequently. I decided to take it seriously. I always knew it was the right thing to do but this year I got more serious about it. And then I came across the scripture above! Let me show you how it challenged me:

Peter was in deep trouble. Herod had arrested him and was planning to kill him to please the Jews! But the bible tells us,

So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him. Acts 12:5

When I read this I realized something, our prayers have power, whether we are praying into situations we are facing in our own lives or whether we pray for people, our prayers have power.

The church prayed and Peter was delivered out of prison! He was rescued out of Herod’s hands! But get this, the church didn’t understand the power of prayer because when Peter came to their door they didn’t believe Rhoda! It can’t be so with us. We must pray with the understanding that our prayers are powerful and God answers prayer. I want to encourage you to pray for someone. Your prayer is important. It will make a difference in that person’s life.

The enemy doesn’t want us praying for each other.

Think about that! He too knows the power of prayer and he will do all he can to keep us from praying for each other. I will not stand for it, will you? Your prayer has the power to change someone else’s life!

Declare with me,

When I pray things happen.

My prayers have power.

When I pray chains are broken.

When I pray angels respond.

 

One last thing I want to share with you is this:

 

 

Peter was in the most hopeless of situations.

He was guarded by four squads of soldiers of four soldiers each.

He had two soldiers in his cell!

He was bound with two chains in his cell!

There were soldiers outside his cell!

 

If that is not a hopeless situation I don’t know what is. But it is through prayer Peter was set free! No matter how hopeless it seemed he was set free because of prayer! And that for me shows me the power of prayer. Don’t despise the power of prayer! When you pray for yourself or are praying for someone else, know your prayer has power!  God is so good……Amen!

Rolain

 

 

She was barren but……

And there was a famine in the land, other than the former famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went to Gerar, to Abimelech king of the Philistines. 

And the Lord appeared to him and said, Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land of which I will tell you. 

Dwell temporarily in this land, and I will be with you and will favor you with blessings; for to you and to your descendants I will give all these lands, and I will perform the oath which I swore to Abraham your father. 

And I will make your descendants to multiply as the stars of the heavens, and will give to your posterity all these lands (kingdoms); and by your Offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, or by Him bless themselves,  Genesis 26:1-5  (Amplified)

As I write this post there are a few things I need to make clear.

It is clear from the scripture I just shared that Isaac had an amazing promise from God. The other thing I would like to make clear is Rebekah was the one God had for him. They were destined to be together. (Read the story of Abraham and the servant – Genesis 24)

But there is a problem. I saw it and was like what???

Isaac was forty years old when he married Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean of Padan-aram, the sister of Laban the Aramean.

And Isaac prayed much to the Lord for his wife because she was unable to bear children; and the Lord granted his prayer, and Rebekah his wife became pregnant. Genesis 25:20, 21

God had a great destiny for Isaac. His posterity was to possess the land and through his posterity the nations would be blessed but God gave him a wife that was barren….!!!!!

That stunned me. Why would God do that? He could of easily chosen another woman for him, a woman who was fertile, right. But no, He chose Rebekah who was barren!

At first I was stunned but I realised something. The promises of God must be attained by faith! It is only by faith we can obtain what God promised us. It is only by faith that we will accomplish what God has called us to!

Yes, Isaac could have married someone who was fertile but where would faith come in? God wanted Isaac and Rebekah to put their trust in Him. And as they did God answered their prayers!

You may be in the most contrary of situations but trust God.

– You may be poor and God has said you will feed nations. Don’t look at your present situation, trust God!

– You may be uneducated but God said you are going to get that job. Trust Him!

– You may have nothing in your hands right now but God has said you are going to do great things. It’s not about what is in your hands. It’s about what God has said and if you will trust Him!  So trust Him and watch what He will do in your life…..

God wants us to trust Him! No matter what we are going through we can depend on Him! Faith is the key……

Rolain

Use your faith…….

THOUGHT OF THE DAY

One of my pastors wrote something so powerful that I would like to

share. It spoke to me and I pray it speaks to you too…..

 

Do you believe that God is able to deliver you from your situation?

It’s not what God can do for you, it’s what you can believe.

1 John 5:4 – This is the victory that overcomes the world, even 

our faith. 

The people who will enjoy the blessings of God in 2015 will

be the ones who use their faith. 

Your faith determines your blessing. 

Read Matthew 9:28, 29

According to YOUR FAITH let it be to you. 

 

I thought this was a word in season! The issue is not God’s ability.

He is well and able to deliver you from whatever situation you

are in. The issue is your faith! There is a lot to digest here.

I will end with this question,

Do you believe God is able to deliver you from your situation?

Rolain

What it means to have a purpose!

Most Christians know God has a plan for their lives.

But when they  are told God has a plan for them, a purpose,

What does that mean? What does that mean for us??

To answer that question I will look at the life of Abraham

the Father of faith!

 

“The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your

people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.

Genesis 12:1

• For Abraham, having a purpose meant having to leave

the familiar behind! He didn’t know where he was going but

He trusted God. He took everything he owned and moved!

Could that still apply today? Could God be calling us out of

our comfort zones to a place we have never heard of before,

to a place we have never been to before?

Is he calling us out of the familiar? Is it possible to experience

the new if you haven’t let go of the familiar, if you are in your

comfort zone??

 

 

“Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham”!

“Here I am, “he replied.

Then God said, Take your son, your only son, whom you love-

Isaac-and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt

offering on a mountain I will show you.” Genesis 22:1-2

 

Because Abraham had a purpose God tested him!

He told him he was to sacrifice the one thing he loved more than

anything else – his son! God tested with him with something

he held dear to his heart, his son!

Could it be possible that is our story too? Does God want to make

sure He is first in our lives by testing us?? We say we love God and

He is the most important thing in our lives, but is that the truth???

Only He knows!

 

After this, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision:

Do not be afraid, Abram.

I am your Shield,

your very great reward.

But Abram said, Sovereign Lord, what can you give me since I

remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of

Damascus? And Abram said, You have given me no children;

So a servant in my household will be heir.

Then the word of the Lord came to him: This man will not be

Your heir, but a son who is your flesh and blood will be your heir.

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.

Abram believed the Lord, and He credited to him as righteousness.

Genesis 15:1-6

 

Because Abram had a purpose he had to trust God! He had to think

bigger and grander! God’s purpose for our lives is huge but faith

in God is the key. God’s plan for your life will not make sense to

a carnal mind a natural mind! You need faith to see it and accept it!

We know without faith it is impossible to please God. He wants us

trust Him.

Something you need to look out for as you walk in God’s purpose

for your life:

 

Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. But she had

an Egyptian slave named Hagar, so she said to Abram, “The Lord

has kept me from having children. Go, sleep with my slave;

perhaps I can build a family through her.” 

Abram agreed to what Sarai said.

Genesis 16:1-5

 

You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to see what really happened.

Sarai knew what God had promised her along with Abraham but

what really happened? In Genesis 15 it tells us Abraham believed

God and it was counted to him as righteousness but in chapter 16

we read something different. Sarai suggests to Abram that he

sleep with Hagar and he agrees!  Why would Abram agree to that?

He clearly heard from God!

Did he think God had abandoned him?

Had he lost so much hope that he resorted to trying to make things

happen in his own strength?

Was he tired of waiting on God?

Did he focus on his old aged body and Sarah’s deadened womb and

let his carnal mind take over?

We really don’t know but what we do know is he agreed to go

along with Sarah’s plan! They had lost hope in God and set out

to accomplish God’s plan in their own strength!

They were discouraged and dejected!

 

There are things God

will allow and take you through to strengthen you. Like I said before,

it is by faith and faith alone you will accomplish God’s purpose for

your life. Yes, you will need to step out and do things but you will

need faith! If Abraham the Father of Faith could lose hope in God

and rely on his own strength what does that mean for us? It means

we have to be humble and admit we can’t do this alone!

God wants you to walk in the purpose He has for you. Don’t be

afraid.

Trust Him to lead you because He knows the way! He made the way!

Everything He does for you is because He loves you! Your purpose is

amazing and glorious! Be bold and confident as you step into it!

Rolain

 

Unseen……

THOUGHT OF THE DAY

Does God see me?

Does He notice me at all?

To answer that I want you to look with me at a man named Matthias. He was the thirteenth disciple! (Acts 1:26)

I wrote a post on him two years ago so I am not going to tell his story again. Instead you can read his story here.

But what I want to do is answer those two important questions.

“So now we must choose a replacement for Judas from the men who were with us the entire we were travelling with the Lord Jesus-from the time he was baptized by John until the day he was taken from us. Whoever is chosen will join us as a witness of Jesus resurrection.” Acts 1:21

For the entire three years of Jesus ministry we don’t hear of Matthias! He was in the background. What did he have to deal with in the three years of Jesus ministry? That question is hard to answer because there is not much on Matthias.

All we know is after three years he was chosen to take Judas Iscariot’s place. He was chosen to be a disciple!

He may have felt left out

He may have thought Jesus had forgotten about him,

but the truth of the matter is,

He wasn’t forgotten.

He was seen and noticed! God had a plan for his life!

Like Matthias, you are seen! You are not forgotten.

Your time will come. You may be in the background witnessing other people be exalted, getting married, and so on but your time will come. Be faithful like Matthias. He never left during the three years of Jesus ministry! He served God faithfully!

Did he deal with discouragement? Maybe!

Did he ever think he was not important to God? Maybe?

Despite all that he served God, he stuck with Him! That is all that mattered. He wasn’t seeking recognition with people.

Serving the Lord was what mattered!

Remain faithful to God this year. He sees you even if it feels like he doesn’t.

He is with you even if it seems like He has abandoned you! (that is a lie from the devil. He will never abandon you!)

He hears your prayers even if it seems like He has ignored you.

Happy new Year to you. 2015 is filled with such promise! God be with you all…..!

Rolain