Is it game over for us?

“Let it be known and understood by all of you, and by the whole house of Israel, 

that in the name and through the power and authority of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, 

Whom you crucified, [but] Whom God raised from the dead, in Him and by means

of Him this man is standing here before you well and sound in body.” 

Acts 4:10

 

“Whom you crucified, [but] Whom God raised from the dead” 

 

Peter and John’s statement to the high priest and Sadducees spoke to me. The enemy’s

plan was to destroy Jesus and it seemed like he was able to carry out his plan when

Jesus was crucified but that’s not what happened. Just when the enemy thought he was victorious

God intervened and changed the narrative. Jesus was raised to life by the power of the Holy Spirit.

The enemy who seemed to have won, lost and lost in a spectacular fashion.

 

Like I said earlier, this spoke to me because when it seems like the enemy has the upper hand

he really doesn’t. God has a plan for us and that plan is of victory.

It may seem like the game is over and the enemy has won but it’s not over and he hasn’t won,

not by a long shot.

It may appear hopeless but keep trusting God. He will turn your bleak situation around.

Joseph experienced this truth in such an amazing way. This is what the word says about him,

 

“And the patriarchs [Jacob’s sons], boiling with envy and hatred and anger, sold Joseph into 

slavery in Egypt; but God was with him, 

and delivered him from all his distressing afflictions and won him goodwill and favor and wisdom

and understanding in the sight of Pharoah, King of Eygpt, who made him governor over Egypt

and all his house.” 

Acts 7:9, 10

 

Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers. His situation was hopeless indeed. There were no relatives

in Eygpt, everyone spoke in a foreign language, and he was a slave so that meant he was treated like an

animal. The game seemed like it was over. It seemed like the enemy had won.

But the Bible tells us that “God was with him.”

And because He was with him Joesph was delivered from all his distressing afflictions. What the enemy had

planned for him came to nothing. The Lord saved him and turned his situation around.

And that’s the God we serve. He is helping us in the most difficult of situations.

He will always reverse what the enemy is trying to do. What the enemy has planned will not come to pass

in our lives. This is not the time to give up. We need to keep trusting. God will save us even when it

seems like victory is nowhere in sight. He will save us when things are at their worst. We are not defeated.

So if you are in a place where you feel like there is no hope and no chance of things turning around know

that God will turn things around in your life.

He can be trusted.

Bless you, friends!

 

Rolain

 

What the past teaches.

The past has not been easy. It’s been difficult and at the time it was hard to make sense of all that was

happening. But the past as difficult as it was revealed an important truth, a truth that helped me face

the storms and trials of today.

 

As crazy as the past has been I am still here. When I was going through it all with no idea of how things were

going to turn out God carried me through it. No matter how dark things got God always carried

me through and continues to.

 

The lesson is this; If God could deliver me back then, He will do it again today. 

 

Learn a lesson from the past. The Lord will be there for you as He was back then. Whatever storm you in

now, know that God will deliver you like He did before. Look at all the things He has brought you through

and be at peace knowing He will do it again and again.

 

Sometimes we go through some really intense times and think this is the time when our luck runs out but

listen to me, it won’t happen. God will never let you down no matter how many times the enemy tries to

destroy you.  he won’t win. And that’s the lesson the past teaches.

God will always be victorious. He will always bring you through the darkness.

 

Bless you, friends.

 

Rolain

Why you need to be excited about your life even when nothing seems to be happening for you………

Is there a reason to be excited about your life? 

 

That’s the question I have been meditating on for the past couple of days. My country has been

going through a tough couple of weeks and it has been hard to see a future when things look so dark.

But the darkness is not only in Zimbabwe, it’s all over the world. And the darkness wants to get us

off our game. It wants us so discouraged that we lose hope. But we need to keep trusting no matter

the darkness.

 

But it’s not just the tough times in my country that made me think about “what my life could be”

As I looked at my weaknesses, the things I am supposed to be doing that I am not doing, and

flaws that are too many to mention I got discouraged. I have messed up so much. I have blind spots

that I am relying on God to expose. With all those things against me I found myself asking,

Can I really be excited about my life with all the flaws that I have?

 

That kind of question demands an answer and an answer is what I got.

 

I do have a reason to be excited about my life because God is in it. 

 

Not only is He in it but He created it. He is the author of my story. I have every reason to be

excited about my life. I need to pump myself up, raise the expectation, because He is in control.

He has crazy things in store for me. His word says,

 

“Never doubt God’s mighty power to work in you and accomplish all this.

He will achieve infinitely more than your greatest request, your most unbelievable dream,

and exceed your wildest imagination! He will outdo them all, for His miraculous power

constantly energized you.”

Ephesians 3:20, 21

 

 

You may think there is nothing to get excited about in your life but that’s not true. Because God

is at the helm you can expect an amazing life even though things may be hard now.

Nothing may be working for you at the moment but remember this,

Winters end!

Keep trusting God. Hold on to His promises. Expect Him to move on your behalf and yes,

 

You have a reason to be excited about your life….. because He is in it.

 

 

Blessings to you friends.

 

Rolain

When in doubt and fear, remember the good things the Lord has done!

Walking in faith is not an easy thing to do. There will be days you will get discouraged and doubt if

the Lord will come through for you. I have been learning to be patient as I wait on Him for my answer

to prayer but there have been days when believing is really hard. I had one of those days a few days ago.

As I brought my requests to Him thoughts of doubt flooded my mind. Will He really answer my prayers,

I thought. But as my mind was racing I began to think about the things He had done so far. I began to pull

out all the things He had already done for me. As I did that my faith began to increase. At the end of the

exercise my faith was restored. I was full of faith and AM still full of faith He will come though for me,

that He will answer my prayers.

 

And that got me thinking about how powerful remembrance is. We don’t give it the credit it deserves

but it is powerful.

 

“Remember His wonderful deeds which He has done, His marvels and the judgments from His mouth.”

1 Chronicles 16:12

 

There are so many scriptures on remembrance if you want to get deeper understanding. What I experienced

was the effect it had on me as I did it. It increased my faith. My hope was renewed. Because the fact of the

matter is that the Lord HAS done amazing things for me. In different seasons of my life when I needed a

breakthrough, when I was in chains, when I was in darkness, when I was desperate, He came and saved me,

He came and picked me up, He came and fought for me, He came and delivered me.

 

I know the Lord has done amazing things for you too. What you need to do though is remember those

things constantly. They will help you in really tough times. The only time remembrance doesn’t

work is if nothing has happened and as we all know, that is not possible. Yeshua is constantly doing

great things throughout our lives.

 

“If you should say in your heart, ‘These nations are greater than I; how can I dispossess them? you 

shall not be afraid of them; you shall well remember what the LORD your God did to Pharaoh and to

all Egypt.” 

1 Chronicles 16:12

 

As long as we live we will always be faced with giants and they come in different forms and sizes. But

we need to remember the giants that have come in the past which the Lord defeated! There are many

defeated foes. That will help you as you face the giants standing in your way now. That’s what David

did, remember?

 

“I, your servant, have killed both a lion and a bear! Goliath, the Philistine who is not circumcised, will be 

like the lion or bear I killed. He will die because he has stood against the armies of the living God. 

The Lord saved me from a lion and a bear. He will also save me from this Philistine.”

1 Samuel 17:36, 37

 

David remembered how the Lord delivered him from the lion and bear and and that is why  I think he was

so confident when he went to face Goliath. He remembered how powerful the Lord was. We need to remember

the good things the Lord has done for us more frequently. Forgetfulness is a thief and we must not allow it to

continue stealing.

Let’s ask the Lord to help us in this area.

 

Will you do something for me as I close? Write down the top ten things you think are amazing that the

Lord has done for you. Ten is the minimum. If you want to write more feel free to write more. The Lord

has done so much for us and there is so much He is about to do. Let’s not forget. Let’s always

remember the things He is doing because He is always doing.

Also feel free to share a few of the things He has done for you in the comments below. Your testimony

will bless someone!

Blessings to you friends…..

 

Rolain

He takes the painful things in our lives and makes them beautiful…….

*I was reminded of something I wrote some time back and that is why I am writing this post today.

This post is dedicated to everyone who has made mistakes and think God has turned His back 

on them. As you will read, that is not true. He loves you and will do all He can to get you back 

on track.*

 

“And when the morning was past, David sent and brought her to his house, and she became 

his wife and bore him a son. But the thing that David had done was evil in the sight of the Lord.” 

2 Samuel 11:27

 

This was one of David’s darkest periods of his life. He slept with Bathsheba and got her husband killed.

To make things worse he was blind to his sin. He never repented, he never confessed his sin. Somewhere,

somehow his heart became hardened. I want to stop here for a bit.

 

We all make mistakes, we all mess up in life. What we need to pray for is for the Lord to correct, and to intervene

like He did for David. He could have left him in his sin but He didn’t. He confronted him about what he

did and delivered him. Because He loved David, the Lord sent Nathan.

The Lord knew David wasn’t going to snap out of sin on his own so in His mercy and grace He stepped in.

We need YAH to step in for us always. We can’t fight sin on our own. We need Him.

 

David messed up bad but the Lord didn’t abandon him. He was patient with him even when he was blinded.

He was blinded for nine months but the Lord never left. When the baby was born the Lord sent Nathan.

We need His mercy and grace more than we know. We will fall, we will make mistakes but the Lord

will not abandon us when we do. He will pick us up, He will confront us and He will deliver us.

 

But the biggest thing we need to overcome is thinking the Lord’s plan for our life, His goodness, and His

mercy stops when we mess up.

That’s not true. There is hope. Let me show you why I think so,

 

“David comforted Bathsheba his wife, and went to her and lay with her; and she bore a son and she 

called his name Solomon. And the Lord loved [the child]. 

He sent [a message] by the hand of Nathan the prophet, and [Nathan] called the boy’s [special]

name Jedidiah [beloved of the Lord], because the Lord [loved the child].”

2 Samuel 12:24, 25

 

Out of the horrible mess David was in, the Lord turned it into something beautiful. And that’s how

good Yeshua is. David’s life was not over. The Lord didn’t take back all the amazing things He promised

him. I think of David’s other wives, Abigail to be precise. She was amazing. Surely YAH could have used

her to show David how great, and amazing He was?? He didn’t. Instead, He took a

horrible moment, a terrible situation in David’s life and turned it around into something beautiful.

 

There is a lesson here for all of us. The Lord can take what’s painful, what’s horrible and turn it into

something beautiful. David could not take the glory for what happened. All glory went to YAH.

It was very clear He had performed a miracle in His life.

Don’t throw in the towel today. You may be in distress, guilty, condemned because of something

you have done but the Lord can turn it around. He has not abandoned you friend. He has not

turned His back on you. And that is why He is our God!

No matter how dark your past has been, He can and will light it up. There is nothing too hard for

the Lord. Put all your hope in Him. Call out to Him. Don’t stay silent.

With that have a great weekend friends….

Blessings to you.

 

Rolain

 

 

Spend time with God today…..

THOUGHT OF THE DAY

Don’t underestimate the power of a quiet time.

This is something the Lord has been showing me in this season. It seems like the amount of distractions

have increased exponentially today. But we must keep at it, we must fight through, we must put down the

phone/turn off the TV and spend time with Him.

This is something we must take seriously. Let me show why;

 

“The council members were astonished as they witnessed the bold courage of Peter and John,

especially when they discovered that they were just ordinary men who had never had religious training.

Then they began to understand the effect Jesus had on them simply by spending time with him.

Standing there with them was the healed man, and there was nothing further they could say.”

Acts 4:13

 

“Then they began to understand the effect Jesus had on them simply by spending time with Him.”

 

I love this so much. Something happens when we spend time with Yeshua. We are empowered, we are

changed. Look at the disciples for instance,

They had changed. The Pharisees who killed Yeshua noticed something different in them.

They were bold, and fearless and had just performed a miracle. They had only seen that in one other man,

Yeshua!

Time with Yeshua had changed them. They were no longer the same. They were filled with the Holy Spirit.

All of this and more happened as they spent time with Yeshua.

I have found this to be true in my life. The more time I spend with Him the more sensitive I am to His voice

and leading. The more empowered I am…..

 

The world is getting darker and darker in need of light. We can be that light, the answer to the darkness but

we need to spend time with Him. The disciples were able to turn the world upside down because of the

empowerment they got from spending time with the Him and I believe that’s His desire. He wants us to

be a light in the sphere’s we are in.

It’s in His presence we find peace, purpose, identity, strength, joy and love. So in other words everything we need.

The answers to the storm we are facing are found in His presence.

The strength we need to endure are in His presence.

The wisdom we need now, is in His presence.

There is always room to be better and I want to be better. I want to spend more time with Him.

Let’s do all we can to spend as much time as we can with Him…..

Blessing to you

 

Rolain

 

 

 

Run to Him always……

THOUGHT OF THE DAY

“Be glad that you are His. 

Let those who ask the Lord for help be happy

Depend on the Lord and His strength. 

Always go to Him for help. “

Psalm 105:3, 4 (ICB)

This is something so easy to do but do we always do it?

Do we go to the Lord for help ALL the time?

I don’t. I catch myself at times striving in my own strength, worrying, fretting, and panicking.

I forget to go to Him always.

But the word is clear, “Always go to Him for help”

Don’t hesitate, ask Him for help. Even if you made the mistake, the wrong decision, go to Him

for help. He is our strength and able to help us in every situation we going through no matter

how difficult and complex.

“Some sat in gloom and darkness.

They were prisoners suffering in chains.

They had turned against the words of God.

They had refused the advice of God Most High.

So he broke their pride by hard work.

They stumbled, and no one helped.

In their misery they cried out to the Lord.

And he saved them from their troubles.

He brought them out of their gloom and darkness.

He broke their chains.”

Psalm 107

Psalm 107 is one of my favorite chapters in the bible. It shows us how merciful YAH is and

in the midst of our weaknesses and failings He extends grace to us and helps us.

Yes, we are weak, and yes we are going to make mistakes but don’t let guilt and condemnation

stop you from asking Him for help. The enemy is behind that. He wants you to keep silent.

He doesn’t want to see you delivered, freed and helped.

ACT ON IT  – The action point is simple today: Think about areas in your life you haven’t asked YAH for help

and cry out to Him. Ask Him for help right now!

Make sure you write down the things that come to mind so you can have a record of how YAH helped

you in difficult times.

If you can’t go to Him for help because you feel guilty and condemned then meditate on the following two

scriptures (there are so many more)

1. Romans 8:1

2. Psalm 103:8-12

And that is all I have to share with you today. He is our Helper!

Bless you friends.

Rolain

Awakening…..

“The hand of the Lord was upon me, and He brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord

and set me down in the middle of the valley, it was full of bones. And He led me 

around among them, and behold, they were very dry. 

And He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, “O Lord God, 

You know. 

Then He said to me, Prophesy over these bones and say to them, O dry bones, hear

the word of the Lord. ” 

Ezekiel 37:1-14

 

I was so encouraged by this passage of scripture this week. I can identify with the valley of dry bones!

I know what you are thinking, “don’t you mean you can identify with what Ezekiel was doing Rolain?”

No, I mean it, I can identify with what YAH showed Ezekiel!

I know there are dormant places in my life that are “very dry”.  There are dead areas in my

life that need awakening, what about you?

The prophet was taken to a land full of dry bones, very dry bones and was asked a question,

 

“Son of man, can these bones live?” 

 

I believe the Lord was speaking to me through this verse. “Can these bones live?”

“Can the dead areas in my life be revived anew?”

“Can the dormant things in my life rise?”

 

If you are feeling the same way and asking the same questions, the answer is yes,

These bones can live again!!

The dead areas in your life can come to life….

 

After asking Ezekiel the question YAH told him to prophesy to the dry bones.

Always remember that before YAH did anything, He spoke it out first. That’s the pattern

we see in the word. He always spoke what He was going to do before He actually did it.

Our words are powerful like we can’t believe. We need to learn to speak more, to prophesy

over situations in our lives. Complaining and grumbling about what’s happening in

our lives will not help our situation, it will only make it worse.

 

There is one more part to this story I want to share. Let’s look at another scripture,

 

“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 indeed cut off.’ 

Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will open 

your graves and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will bring you into

the land of Israel.”

Ezekiel 37:11, 12

 

Where it seemed like there was no hope, the Lord assured them He was with them.

There seemed like there was no way but they were wrong, the Lord would make a

way for them. They were not cut off as they thought. The Lord loved them and would save

them.

 

We have hope friends….as long as the Lord is with us, we have hope.

No matter how dead a situation is, the Lord can and will revive it. He is the God who

lets dry bones live again! It’s time to speak up. The enemy wants us silent because

he knows what our words backed up by YAH’s word can do!

Have a great weekend to you all!

 

Rolain

Why we need to endure in a broken world…..

This is crazy. There is so much bad happening in the world

at the moment. It’s enough to make you go crazy.

And it’s not just in one place, no. It’s everywhere. War, famine,

natural disasters, economic meltdown, and so on. You don’t

have to go far to know all the bad that’s happening in the world.

At times, the bad gets really overwhelming. It all feels so hopeless.

What is the answer in such perilous times and make no mistake

about it, we are in very perilous times. If you are not careful

your faith can get snuffed out by the bad that is happening around

you. I deliberately moderate the amount of news I ingest.

It’s guaranteed that if I spend a significant time watching the

news or reading it I will be left in a state of fear.

In times like these the prospect of heaven seems really

appealing.

 

“God will wipe away every tear from thier eyes; and death

shall be no more, neither shall there be anguish (sorrow and

mourning) nor grief nor pain any more, for the old conditions

and the former order of things have passed away. “

Revelation 21:4

 

I don’t know about you but I want that.

 

Things on earth can

be so diffcult so what is the answer?

Does God enjoy seeing us suffer?

Does He want us to have a hard life?

Does He have a plan in the midst of such tragedy?

 

I have to say, being born in Zimbabwe makes it a bit

easier to deal with what’s going on in the world. Our country

has gone through some incredible challenges which I have

talked about countless times. We have had to trust God

with everything we have got. The pressure we have

experienced has forged iron in us. The people who have

stayed and endured have come out stronger in faith.

 

God has a plan for keeping us in this broken world. In fact

I want you to see how imperative it is you endure all the

pain and hardships on this earth. Yes, we are just passing

through and yes we are not citizens of earth but we need

earth more than we think. Look at what James 1:2-4 says,

 

“Consider it wholly joyful, my brethren, whenever you are

enveloped in or encounter trials of any sort or fall into

various temptations.

But let endurance and steadastness and patience have full play

and do a thourough work, so that you may be [people]

perfectly  and fully developed [ with no defects], lacking in

nothing. “

 

 

Let me be clear, without the trials, and pain we encounter

on a daily basis we would not be fully developed. That’s what the

word is telling us. There would be no endurance, patience and

steadfastness built into us. We would be incomplete without hard

times and storms.

 

(let that sink it for a bit)

 

We need heaven but at this moment we need to endure on

earth for a bit longer! You may be fed up with the craziness

that is happening all around you but hold on, don’t give up!

God has a plan and He is in control.

 

So when something crazy happens to you or you hear of

bad things happening in the world don’t fret or panic. Like

James said, we need to count it all joy when those things come.

Instead of destroying us those things make us grow into the

people God created us to be.

Don’t run away from trials and storms.

Look to the Lord.

In a world so broken God wants us to step up, not back down.

 

Let me say it again, without pain, without trials, without storms,

without hard times we will not be complete. We need not pray

for those times but when they come our way our trust should

be found in the Lord…..

He is a good God who is directing our every step through the

most intense darkness the world has ever seen.

Will you shrink in fear when you hear or read of all the craziness

happening in the world or will you allow God to build patience,

endurance and steadfastness in you??

That is the question….

 

Bless you!

 

Rolain

 

 

 

In the darkness God has an answer!

We are going through a difficult time in our nation Zimbabwe.

Just look at the news and you will see

what I mean. In this kind of atmosphere it is very easy

to think ones life is pointless and aimless. Can God make a way

for us in such darkness?

Is this intense darkness stronger than God’s glorious

light?

How will God’s plan work itself in such circumstances?

 

You may be in the same situation I am in, a situation where

things seem so bleak, so dark. What is the answer?

For the answer, let’s go to the word.

There is a man I would like to talk

about. Things looked bleak for him. His life

seemed like it was over. There was no answer in sight for him.

His name was Aeneas!

 

“Now as Peter went here and there among them all, he went

down also to the saints who lived at Lydda.

There he found a man named Aeneas, who had been bedfast

for eight years and was paralysed. “

Acts 9: 32, 33

 

Aeneas was paralysed.  His circumstances told him his life was

over. He couldn’t move.

He was bed-ridden for eight years and paralysed. I can’t

imagine how he felt. Did he have hope things would turn around?

I highly doubt it. But even though he was bed-ridden for eight

years God had a plan for his life. Even though he was paralysed

God had a plan.

 

“And Peter said to him, Aeneas, Jesus Christ (the Messiah) [now]

makes you whole. Get up and make your bed! And immediately

[Aeneas] stood up.

 

Then all the inhabitants of Lydda and the plain of Sharon saw

[what had happened to] him and they turned to the Lord.”

Acts 9:34, 35

 

Did you see that? ALL the inhabitants saw what happened

and turned to the Lord! It’s amazing to think the key to a

whole town’s deliverance and salvation came through a

paralysed man! The enemy had a plan for Aeneas and we know

this because sickness and death are not part of God’s plan. It’s

the enemy that kills, steals and destroys.

But God’s plan prevailed because God is always stronger

than the enemy. There is not a time the enemy is stronger than

God, never!

 

When I read this story I was in awe. How God works is beyond

what you and I can comprehend.

I don’t know if Aeneas knew what God was going to do.

I don’t know if he knew God would use him to turn the hearts

of an entire town or city…..

 

What I do know is that Aeneas had been bed-ridden for eight

years and was paralysed but God had a plan for him. No matter

how bleak things seem God has a plan. No matter how dark

things may appear God has a plan. His plan will prevail.

Trust in the Lord.

That’s my declaration.

God bless you friends….

 

Rolain

 

photo credit: google images