Is That The Truth?

There are so many “truth” out there that are not truths. We are constantly bombarded by “truths” which are really lies.

But the truth we need is found in Jesus. He is the TRUTH!

It’s only as we spend more time with Him that the lies we have believed can be exposed and the amazing truths He has

for us be revealed.

Mind you, the devil has been feeding us lies all of our lives through so many mediums – television, social media, people

around us…and the list goes on.

For a lot of people they were not taught to question what they were told especially if it was from a “credible” source.

They just believed or can I say “we” simply believed. I was one of those people.

I was told a lot of things and I just believed. But when I got born again a lot of those things I believed didn’t make sense.

What the Word said and what I was told didn’t match up and over the years the lies have been exposed.

It’s literally taken years for lies to be torn down in my life.

As I spend more and more time in His Word and prayer the lies are being broken down.

We need to question the “truths” we have accepted.

The real truth is found in Jesus. What He tells us is truth and we need to hold up what we have believed prior, to the Word

of God. What is not in step with the Word of God needs to be disregarded. We need to bring the lies to Jesus.

He is the only one that can break the lies that have bound us for so long. He is the lie-breaker if there is such a term 🙂

We need to always remember that God’s truth is stronger than every lie the devil has told us.

I think of the Israelites who chose to believe lies instead of the amazing truth God had for them.

Instead of believing God would be with them as they went to possess their promise land they feared. They believed they

didn’t have a chance against giants. They believed that the giants were stronger than the God they served!

The “truth” the Israelites accepted affected how they saw themselves, how they saw their circumstances and how they saw

God which lead them to lose the inheritance God had for them.

Like I said, there are so many lies disguised as truths that we are being told on a daily basis. But we need to stand them up

to what Jesus is telling us and if it’s not the same then we need to discard it.

For my last example I think of Jairus.

His daughter was near death so he went to find Jesus which he did. But on his way back some messengers met him along

the way and told him to not worry the Master any longer because his daughter had died. That was the ‘truth” he was told.

But the TRUTH had another truth for Jairus – his daughter would live!

“Jesus paid no attention to what they said, but told him, “Don’t be afraid, only believe.”

Mark 5:36

Remember, God’s truth is stronger than every lie the devil has told us.

And in this case, His truth was stronger than death!

Jairus’ daughter was raised from the dead.

So as I come to the end, be careful what you are accepting on a daily basis. Even if people around you are telling you

it’s useless to keep believing a thing, or even if they are saying it’s dead, believe the truth.

Believe what Jesus is revealing to you every time no matter how “credible” the source is that is telling you lies.

Bless you friends

Rolain

There Is A Reason To Wait.

“And the king said, “All this misery is from the LORD! Why should I wait for the LORD any longer?”

2 Kings 6:33 NLT

Waiting can be so hard. It really isn’t for the faint of heart.

But we wait even though it’s hard because the LORD is faithful and good.

He doesn’t make us wait for nothing!

He doesn’t make YOU wait for nothing!

He will never waste your wait.

The Israelite king was frustrated and was in despair. His people were under siege and the food ran out.

People were desperate and he blamed Elisha. So he sent a messenger to take off Elisha’s head but he also sent him with a message,

“Why should I wait for the LORD any longer?”

At times it feels like that. It’s hard to see the benefit of waiting when nothing seems to be happening or when things are actually getting worse.

But I want to encourage you to continue holding on and waiting on the LORD. He knows exactly where you are. He will breakthrough for you very soon. He will answer your prayers shortly.

You just need not to give up. I read a quote that I love that I want to share with you,

Good things come to those who Believe,

Better things come to those who are patient

and the best things come to those who Don’t Give Up.

– unknown

I love that.

DON’T GIVE UP friends.

God will never fail you. He cares about you and knows what you are going through.

And He loves you so much.

“I wait quietly before God,

for my victory comes from him.

He alone is my rock and my salvation.”

Psalm 62:1, 2 ESV

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

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

Faith Has A Voice!

“We having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written,

I believed, and therefore have I spoken:

We also believe, and therefore we speak.”

2 Corinthians 4:13

What are you speaking today?

Are you speaking about everything that’s wrong in the world and all that’s not going

right for you or are you speaking out the faith, God has put in your heart because that’s

what you should be doing.

In the scripture above, Paul is talking about speaking what he believes, speaking what he

is trusting God to do for him and that is very important for us to.

There is power in our words so we should be very careful of the words that come out

of our mouths. Now, I am not saying we ignore all the bad things happening around us

and act like they don’t exist. What I am saying is that in the midst of the hardships, trials,

and challenges and when things don’t seem to be going our way, we should be speaking

out what we are trusting God to do for us.

Whether its healing, financial breakthrough,

whatever it is, we need to speak out our faith because faith has a voice so don’t remain silent!

Bless you friends

Have a great Easter/Passover weekend!

Rolain

Tear down the old perceptions given to you.

God had amazing plans for David’s life but unfortunately no one saw the amazing potential God put in him.

When Samuel visited his family to choose a king, his father literally forgot about him! Samuel had to press Jesse if there was anyone else! Crazy right.

His brothers didn’t see a thing.

(1 Samuel‬ ‭17:28‬)

 

And then David was brought before king Saul because of the way he spoke about Goliath. He was fearless and courageous. But even then, king Saul didn’t see what God saw.

 

“And Saul said to David, You are not able to go to fight against this Philistine. You are only an adolescent, and he has been a warrior from his youth.”

‭‭1 Samuel‬ ‭17:33‬ ‭AMPC‬‬

 

“You are not able to go to fight”

 

He didn’t even know David and what he had gone through till that point. But he told David, he couldn’t fight the giant!

Man saw nothing when they looked at David but God saw a mighty warrior and that meant everything.

I touched on a bit of this in my previous post, we need to be careful who we allow to define who we are. God is the true source and He knows who we really are.

You need to break free of words, ideas and other people’s perceptions of who you are that have kept you living below your true potential. It’s clear from David’s story that no man really knows your true potential. They may have an idea but they don’t know the full potential God has put in you.

But breaking free can only be done by the power of God. You need the Holy Spirit to come in and reveal the true picture of who God created you to be and He will if you ask Him.

As you take the step be assured the Lord is with you. He desperately wants you to know who you really are. He wants you to know and experience the amazing things He planned for you more than you will ever know.

So make the decision today!

 

Bless you friends!

 

Rolain

A two letter word for doubt.

“How long has this been happening? Jesus asked the boy’s father. He replied, “Since he was a little boy.

The spirit often throws him into the fire or into water, trying to kill him. Have mercy on us and help us,

if you can.” What do you mean, “If I can?” Jesus asked. Anything is possible if a person believes.”

Mark 9:21-23

 

“Have mercy on us and help us, if You can?”

 

Why would the man ask for help if he doubted the Lord’s ability?

But before I go on a tangent and criticize the man I need to confess something. I have realized

the amount of times I use the word “If” in my conversation. It’s instinctive so it was hard to catch it

but recently I have been noticing how many times I have been using it.

When it comes to the Lord ability it’s either He can do it or He can’t. The word “if” suggests doubt

and uncertainty in the Lord’s ability.

“I would love to do this or that “IF” God comes through for me”
“I am believing for that situation to change “IF” the Lord hears my prayer”

 

These and more were the kind of statements I would make not knowing that I was casting doubt

on the Lord’s ability. The truth of the matter is that He can! He always can!

There is never an “IF” when God is involved. He is more than able to answer your prayer, to turn

things around in your life.

This year I have decided to get rid of the word “IF” from my vocabulary. It will mean intentionality

on my part. It will mean being more aware of the words that come out of my mouth. It will mean deliberately

choosing faith over doubt even when things don’t seem to be working. The issue is never God’s ability but if

we really believe Him. That’s what I took away from what I was shown.

The Lord wants us to believe in His ability because He is more than able. Deal with the doubts and misgivings

you have. Be honest about them and bring them to Him. He wants us to be in a place of faith and trust always.

It’s faith that pleases Him.

 

“The father instantly cried out, “I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!”
Mark 9:24

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

 

 

Let faith lead you and not doubt, anxiety and fear.

“The just shall live by faith.”

Galatians 3:11

 

I was challenged a few days ago as I thought about this scripture and what it meant for me.

It’s not talking about having faith occasionally and it’s not talking about faith as an event.

Instead this verse talks about faith as a lifestyle, as the driving force behind everything we

do.

As I live my life there needs to be an expectation that God sees and is working things out

for my good. I need to believe He is faithful to what He promised and even though

things are hard, He will deliver me and that my best days are yet to come.

I am not where I am by accident, so there needs to be a conviction that God has led me here

and He is directing my every step. The things that are happening in my life are not a coincidence.

The things I am believing for will come to pass. He has a purpose and plan for the gifts and talents

He has given me. I was not an after thought when He made me so there is so much more in store.

That’s what it means to live by faith and that’s what I feel I was challenged about as I read that

verse.

 

When things don’t go the way we want or we encounter difficult times that’s when

it becomes harder to hold on to faith, to live by faith. The difficult things we face can distort our

vision. We can lose sight of how great God is and instead of living by faith the doubts, fear, and anxiety

lead us. Instead of faith we become discouraged and hopeless. We lose sight of the big picture and

go into survival mode. But that’s not the way God wants us to live.

 

The just shall live by faith. 

 

In everything, He wants us to trust Him. In sickness, He wants us to trust Him for healing, in financial

turmoil He wants us to trust He will provide, in economic hardship He wants us to hold on to the truth

that He is our provider. When the door is closed He wants us to believe He can open the door.

When faced with a dark and grim life, He wants us to believe He has a future and an expected end

for us, that our lives will get better.

 

Don’t fall into the trap of getting by. As you work, or go to school have faith. He wants you to believe.

Because the truth of the matter is this;

 

The Lord is working on your behalf

The Lord is directing your every step

He is your Shepherd so you won’t lack

You were created for a purpose

Your life has meaning and relevance so even though it doesn’t feel that way, He is busy making sure

everything He planned and promised for you comes to pass!

 

Be expectant. Don’t take your life for granted. Don’t give up hope.

The Lord is in control and that’s all that matters.

Live by faith!

 

Blessings to you friends.

 

Rolain