The Answer to Fear

“When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me?”

Psalm 56:3

There are a million reasons to be fearful today. Global pandemics, war, sickness, starvation, debt and so many other things can easily thrust anyone in a state of panic and fear. But amidst the fear there is a way through for you and me. In Psalm 56:3 the writer states,

“When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.”

The answer to fear is trust in Jesus. He defeated fear a long time ago and because of that we have somewhere to look to when fear is banging on the door of our hearts and minds threating to take permanent residence. When we are paralyzed by all the terror filled news around us, we have Someone to run to and take shelter. The Lord is our Strong Tower of Refuge. He is a trillion times a trillion stronger than fear. Fear is a defeated foe.

But fear wants us to believe it is stronger. It wants us to forget that God is on our side. It wants us to forget God in the midst of the chaos but we must not give in to fear because the Lord is with us through the darkest of times.

The answer to fear is looking to Jesus and knowing beyond a doubt that He is with you.

As I end this post I came across a painting of Daniel that encouraged me so much. I hope it encourages you like it did me.

Bless you 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

When bad things happen…

“Even when bad things happen to the godly ones, 

the Lord will save them and not let them be defeated by what they face.” 

Psalm 34:19 (TPT)

 

Life can be unpredictable. One moment you are having a great day then the next moment

something bad happens.

It makes me think of the time I had a car accident. One moment I was trying to sleep in the back

seat and in the next moment the car lost control. Thankfully no one was injured.

God saved us that day because at the speed we were going we

should have come out much worse.

 

But the thing is this, even though life throws curve balls at us God can be depended upon.

When bad things happen we can turn to Him for help because He will save us. No matter what

the enemy throws at us we will survive it because God is true to His word. We may fall but

we will also get up again and again and again. We won’t stay down.

If you are in trouble today pray to Him. He will help you.

He will save you from the trouble you are facing.

 

He protects us from every trouble!

 

Enjoy your weekend 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

For our good…..

“And we know that for those who love God all things work together
for good, for those who are called according to His purpose.”
Romans 8:28

All things work together for good to those who love God.
I love this!
As I look at all the bad things that have happened in my life to this point
it’s comforting to know that the Lord is working all those things together for my good.
The good and the bad all being worked together for my good!
What an amazing thought!

Life may be hard at the moment but take heart friend, He is working all things
together for your good.
You may have had a difficult past that you think you can’t recover from but be encouraged,                                                              the Lord is working your situation together for good.
Things may seem dim, bleak and hopeless right now but it will get brighter.
There will be a turn around I assure you. The darkness will turn to light. the closed
door will open, the defeat will be overcome by victories.
Hold on to this word because it is also prophetic. ALL THINGS are being worked
together for your good even if it doesn’t seem like it. No matter how hard the enemy
tries to derail your life the word says YAH is working ALL THINGS together for your good!

Will you take Him at His word? Will you believe Him?
His word is true and cannot be challenged. As you look at your life rest in the knowledge that the
Lord is at work in your life. You are not alone. His hand is on you.
He is so good! He is faithful and He can be trusted. Put all of your hope in Him.
Bless you friends….

Rolain

 

The war we find ourselves in……

“Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to make war against the rest

of her offspring – those who obey God’s commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus.”

Revelation 12:17

 

As I read this scripture a few days ago certain things began to make sense.

The hardships I face when I try to live for YAH, the difficult times,

the distractions that get in the way EVERY TIME I decide to spend time with Him,

the sin that so easily begets me,

it’s all part of the enemies plan to derail me….us.

The shame, the disappointments, the condemnation, the unforgiveness that you carry is all

part of the arsenal he uses.

 

The enemy has declared war on us.

His plan is to kill, steal, and destroy and that doesn’t only mean physically.

He wants to destroy any hope that we have, he wants to destroy the dreams YAH has placed

in our hearts.

He wants to destroy everything good in our lives.

He doesn’t want to see us happy, prospering, winning, and at peace.

 

I am reminded of Lazarus when he was raised from the dead. That was a joyous time for him

and his sisters. He died and was now alive! What a miracle, what a moment!

And yet…..there were still people who were angry that Yeshua raised him from the dead!!!!

It dumbfounds me totally!!

 

“Then many of the Jews who had come to Mary, and had seen the things Jesus did,

believed in Him.

But some of them went away to the Pharisees and told them the things Jesus did.

Then the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered a council and said, “What shall we do?

For this Man works many signs. “

John 11:45-47

 

The Pharisees were supposed to be rejoicing and praising YAH for the miracle they had just

witnessed and heard about but that didn’t happen. That is an accurate picture of how the enemy

thinks about us.

The enemy doesn’t want anything good happening to us.

 

THE GOOD NEWS

I don’t know if he understands this but no matter how much he wants us to fail, and see

us destroyed it’s not his call!!

He is a defeated foe and doesn’t have any say in the matter.

Yeshua paid for us when He sacrificed Himself on the cross.

The enemy has declared war on us but he will not win. We belong to Yeshua now.

The enemy has no say about what happens in our lives.

Bad things happen because we live in a broken world but Yeshua will carry us

through all the trials we face.

 

“Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all. “

Psalms 34:19

 

We will fall down for sure but the enemy will not keep us down, he is not strong enough to keep us down.

The Lord will keep picking us up and there is nothing he can do about that.

 

“For a righteous man may fall seven times and rise again, but the wicked shall fall by calamity.”

Proverbs 24:16

 

The most elaborate thought out plan of the enemy will always be stifled by YAH. It will not

succeed against you.

 

“No weapon formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue which rises against you in

judgement You shall condemn.”

Isaiah 54:17

 

We need to trust Yeshua every step of the way.

When we fall we need to confess our sins.

When we are weak we must call out to Him for help.

He is the One who will keep us.

In our own strength we don’t stand a chance against the enemy but only as

we look to the Lord do we have a chance.

The enemy has declared war on us, yes,  but he has been defeated.

Yeshua is with us protecting us against the enemy!

That is really good news!

 

Bless you friends…..

 

Rolain

 

 

 

 

Things to ponder on Christmas day…..

It is Christmas day! I hope everyone is having a fantastic day. I have been pondering on some things today, things I would like to share with you!

The birth of Jesus gives us hope and I would like you show you how.

Jesus could have chosen any family to live with but He chose Joseph and Mary! They were simple people. He could of chosen to be born into a rich family, one with influence and power but He didn’t, why?

He could of chosen to be born in a palace, a place of prominence but instead He was born in a manger!

He could of chosen to reveal Himself to men of power, and men of prominence solely but His glory was revealed to shepherds as well.

Jesus settled down in Nazareth but this is what Nathanael had to say about Nazareth:

Nathanael answered him, [Nazareth!] Can anything good come out of Nazareth? Philip replied, Come and see! John 1:46

The question I ask myself is, why???

And even through out His life we see this same pattern, Jesus using seemingly useless things to spread the good news!

On Christmas day today I would like you to see your importance. You may look at your life and think, “How can God use me, I have nothing, I AM nothing”

Consider this, He has a plan for you! 

You may look at the coming year and think, “it’s not going to work out, it’s going to be a bad year”

Consider this, He will turn things around for your good. You will have a great year!

Christmas is evidence that Jesus has given us a glorious second chance at life. 

It is evidence that things WILL turn around in your life.

It is evidence that winter’s do come to an end! 

It is evidence we serve a God who really loves us.

It is evidence God has an amazing plan for our lives! 

It is evidence the enemy will not and cannot have the last say in our lives! He is defeated! 

 

Merry Christmas. Honor Him by remembering all He has done for you! He is so good….!!!!    Amen!   🙂

Rolain

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cleansing the ‘temple’………….?

 

For as long as I can remember I have always looked up to King Josiah. He had a heart after God. Unlike his predecessors He followed hard after God. He didn’t turn to the left or the right. He loved God with all of his heart. This past week I read his story and there were a few things that stood out to me.

 

– When the king heard what was written in the book, God’s Revelation, he ripped his robes in dismay.                  2 Kings 22:11

 

–  Then the king ordered Hilkiah the high priest, his associate priest, and The Temple sentries to clean house – to get rid of everything in the Temple of God that had been made for worshipping Baal and Asheroth and the cosmic powers. He had them burned outside Jerusalem in the fields of Kidron and then disposed of the ashes in Bethel. 

 

– He fired the pagan priests whom the kings of Judah had hired to supervise the local sex-and-religion shrines in the towns of Judah and neighborhoods of Jerusalem. 

 

– In a stroke he swept the country clean of the polluting stench of the round-the-clock worship of Baal, sun and moon, stars-all the so-called cosmic powers. 

 

– He took the obscene phallic Asherah pole from the temple of God to the Valley of Kidron outside Jerusalem, burned it up, then ground up the ashes and scattered them in the cemetery. 

 

– He tore out the rooms of the male sacred prostitutes that had been set up in The Temple of God; women also used these rooms for weavings for Asherah. 

 

– Then Josiah demolished the Topheth, the iron furnace griddle set up in the Valley of Ben Hinnon for sacrificing children in the fire. No longer could anyone burn son or daughter to the god of Molech. 

 

– As Josiah looked over the scene, he noticed the tombs on the hillside. He ordered the bones removed from the tombs and had them cremated on the ruined altars, desacralizing the evil altars. 

 

 

I could go on and on. Please read the whole chapter to see how extensive the cleansing was! Josiah didn’t hold back. Once he heard the word he did everything in his power to make things right.

As I read this chapter I believe God spoke to me. He challenged me to have Josiah’s attitude towards sin. Josiah didn’t tolerate it at all. The land he cleansed and the temple he cleansed are a picture of our bodies, of our lives. He did not compromise with sin. He saw all the idols and images that were set up and he tore them down. What idols need to be torn down in your life? He was ruthless with sin. He didn’t play with sin. I want that same attitude concerning sin. There is sin I take seriously but there is other sin I take too casually! There is nothing casual about sin. I serve a HOLY GOD. Yes, I am a sinner and I have flaws but what I can do in my own power I should do……

Josiah did everything He possibility could and why? Because he loved God!!!!

 

In verse 25 of 2 Kings 23 it says,

 

There was no king to compare with Josiah-neither before nor after- a king who turned in total and repentant obedience to God, heart and mind and strength, following the instructions revealed to and written by Moses. The world would never again see a king like Josiah. 

 

It is time to cleanse the “temple”. Let us not take sin lightly. Let us take it seriously. As Josiah took care of the sin in his land God set him apart. There is a truth we need to know as we plan on taking on sin, we can’t fight sin on our own. We need to ask God for His help. What God wants of us is to see sin as He sees sin. I had taken sin lightly but it was sin that put Christ on the cross, OUR sin……

 

With all that said, how do you treat sin in your life? Are you as zealous as Josiah when it comes to dealing with sin or do you have a laid back attitude? This is a challenge for all of us.

 

God, please help us be like Josiah! He never tolerated sin. He never became comfortable with sin. He saw sin the way God saw sin. Josiah loved God so much that his love translated into a hate for sin! May we have that same love for God……..

( Please note: As I post this I have sinned extensively today and yesterday and day before that…… I have found it extremely hard not to sin! No matter what I try do blows up in my face! I can’t believe it….I have tried day after day but it seems like I have sinned even more!

But is this not the story of our lives? Is sin not a daily struggle which we face ? So how does the “Temple”get cleansed? It get’s cleansed by relying on His righteousness! He paid the price for us. Sin has been defeated. Our job is to trust in His grace and mercy in which He so abundantly gives).

My conclusion has to change then. Have an attitude like Josiah’s toward sin but rely on God’s mercy and grace everyday because we will sin, that is a fact but He provides us an opportunity to ask for forgiveness! We need to realize we can’t deal with sin because it was already been dealt with by Jesus. He died and rose so we could be free  from sin!  Amen

Rolain

 

Rolain

I Heard Him Clearly!!!

I have had a crazy week! It has been one thing after the other going south! But I guess it comes with the territory.
I discovered something interesting in the midst of all the craziness. Something I did not expect which got me thinking.
As all this craziness was happening I nearly lost it. My strength collapsed. My hope was lost. It is one of those times where you realise there is nothing you can do. I had no answers to the problems that were before me. I just broke down because I felt so helpless.
But this is the interesting thing I discovered in all the craziness, I saw God clearly! His presence was tangible. It’s like the problems I was going through were amplifing His presence! The bible made sense when I read it. I literally felt strength coming into me as I read His word. I felt His hand upon me as I looked to Him. It is amazing. My time with God was different.
The problems have not gone away but I am not freaking out. I have hope now. My quiet times with God are real. God speaks to me and I can hear Him clearly, much clearer than before.
I want this in my life. I need God to be real to me all the time. I almost hear myself praying for hardships because that means more of God! It’s crazy how that works.
I know God is for me. But in times of peace and everything going great it’s often hard to see it. It is mostly in times of trial and pain that we get to see God clearly.
I don’t want to forget that my God is with me. I want to experience Him in new ways everyday regardless of what is happening in my life because He is my God.

Rolain.P.