A time of endurance…

“So Moses and Aaron gathered all the elders of the Israelites. 

Aaron told them everything that the Lord had told Moses. 

Then Moses did the miracles for all the people to see. So the 

Israelites believed. They heard that the Lord was concerned about them

and had seen their troubles. Then they bowed down and worshipped

Him.” 

Exodus 4:29-31

 

The Israelites were in bondage for a really long time. Things had been really

difficult for them. So when Moses and Aaron told

them that God was concerned about them and had seen their troubles they must have

been encouraged.

 

But the hope they had quickly disappeared when the pressure intensified. The joy, the hope,

the faith they had was replaced with doubt, fear, and anxiety. They were not patient with the

Lord. They wanted the deliverance to happen that very instant.

 

“As they were leaving the meeting with the king, they met Moses and Aaron. 

Moses and Aaron were waiting for them. So they said to Moses and Aaron, “May the 

Lord punish you. You caused the king and his offices to hate us. You have given them 

an excuse to kill us.”

Exodus 5:20, 21

 

That story spoke to me today. We need to endure as we wait for God’s promise

to materialize in our lives. His promise for our lives, our families, and our countries will be

contested against by the enemy. There is no way he is going to just sit and let you

stroll into what God has promised you. he is the adversary and by the very nature of

that name he opposes and fights against everything good that God has prepared for us.

 

The Israelites thought it would be a walk in the park but it wasn’t. They had to trust God with

all that they had. They had to believe His word was true. They had to endure.

God’s promise was true and He would deliver them and they needed to understand that no matter

how bad things got.

 

“He sent a man before them, even Joseph, who was sold as a servant. His feet they hurt with fetters;

he was laid in chains of iron and his soul entered into iron. 

Until his word [to his cruel brothers] came true until the word of the Lord tried and tested him.”

Psalm 105:17-19

 

When the promise seems like a fantasy we must keep trusting, we need to endure. His promise

is true, it will come to pass. The Lord is not a man that lies. His word is sure and if He promised

it will come to pass.  Difficulty doesn’t mean the promise won’t come to pass.

There is nothing that can stop the word of God from coming to pass.

Hold on in the storm. Endure, put your faith in Him.

He will fulfill what He promised you.

 

Bless you, friends…

 

Rolain

 

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The Lord gave him a picture…..

“Then God led Abram outside. God said, “Look at the sky. There are so many stars

you cannot count them. And your descendants will be too many to count.”

Abram believed the Lord. And the Lord accepted Abram’s faith and that faith made

him right with God.

  

Genesis 15:5, 6

The Lord led Abram outside and gave him a picture of his life and that’s the way it’s supposed to be.

But as I look back at my life I see how I allowed people to give me a picture. The enemy was in the mix

as well and did everything in his power to enforce the picture he had given me

because I didn’t know better. It took years to break the negative picture I had been

given and thanks to God the healing is still ongoing.

The Lord has a picture for you too. The picture is amazing and glorious but there is so much opposition

from the enemy. he doesn’t want you to walk in the plan God has for your life because that’s what the picture

is about. It’s about where God wants to take you. It’s about what He has in store for you.

But the enemy uses fear, abuse, manipulation and a whole lot of other things to blind you to God’s picture.

Don’t accept the enemy’s pictures. They are all lies.

his pictures get you depressed, fearful, anxious, greedy, and weak.

his pictures are all void of goodness, peace, love, fulfillment, faith, joy and every other good thing

God is.

Reject them at every turn. But you need help. You need the Lord’s help.

The good news is this, the picture you have now can be changed. That’s what happened to me.

My picture was really bad but the Lord came and changed it. He replaced the dark, hopeless,

fearful picture and replaced it with His life-giving, fresh, new, energizing picture!

And that’s what He does for us as His children.

As I end I will leave you with a scripture that sums up what I have been talking about,

“Call to Me and I will answer you and show you great and mighty things, fenced in and hidden, 

which you do not know (do not distinguish and recognize, have knowledge of and understand).”

Jeremiah 33:3

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

Take a step, attempt, try……

I went to a camp recently with the kids that I teach. It was our first time going to this particular

camp site and the kids really enjoyed it. Compared to other camp sites this one had a lot more activities.

One of the activities we did was the climbing wall. It was really high and after the kids got their turn, I gave it

a shot and got half way up. My arms felt like lead and I had no power to pull myself up to the top.

I have to admit it was a bit intimidating before I did the climb.

The kids responses were varied. Some were afraid, some were hesitant, and some were happy.

 

Anyway, after the exercise the instructors got the kids together for a feedback session. After all the feedback,

the instructor said something that really stuck with me. He didn’t have a sheet that rated everyone

on how high they went and there was no prize giving ceremony for the people that made it to the top.

Instead, he congratulated everyone for attempting. In his eyes, attempting the course was winning.

The mere fact of putting on the harness and taking the first step up the course was the victory. It didn’t

matter to him who won.

 

That really struck me. There is so much emphasis today on being number one, and winning but could that

be a partial picture?

Is there a place for a first step, an attempt, pursuing, trying?

 

The journey we are on is long and hard. Yeshua is not looking for number one. His desire is for us to

finish the race. No matter how difficult things are take the step, attempt, try. If you fall, get back up and

try again. Just don’t stay in one place, don’t freeze, don’t give up. Rely on Him for strength.

 

Bless you

 

Rolain

 

Watch what goes in……

THOUGHT OF THE DAY

contaminate:

to soil, stain, corrupt, or infect by contact or association

 

Today I will be talking about the contamination that happens in our hearts. We really do need to be careful

what we hear, who we hang out with, what we watch, what music we listen to….

Because it’s through those things we can contaminate ourselves.

 

Let me share a story with you of something that happened this week;

I was with some people who were speaking really negatively about a situation concerning the country.

The more the conversation went on the more uneasy I became. I could literally feel the fear creep in to me

as they spoke. I wanted to get out of there but I didn’t. I stayed. (wrong choice)

 

There is so much in this world that can contaminate and pollute our hearts so we must be on our guard

at all costs (Proverbs 4:23).

What are you listening to on a daily basis?

Who are you hanging out with?

What are you watching?

 

It’s hard to hear Yeshua’s voice when your heart is corrupted. It’s especially difficult to move in faith

when fear has entered your heart.

It’s hard to pray for healing when all you have filled yourself with, is words of death.

Stay away from toxic conversations. Reduce the amount of news you watch or read if that’s what gets

you out of peace?

Stay away from things that make you fearful and terrified, anxious and worry.

Those are the things that contaminate and pollute.

Guard your self at all costs!

 

Bless you

 

Rolain

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

He leads us on purpose……

“Within your heart you can make plans for your future, but the Lord chooses the steps 

you take to get there.”

Proverbs 16:9

There is one fact we can’t deny, the Lord is directing our every step. I look at where I am and where

I have been and can clearly see the Lord’s hand in where I am now. I could have never in a thousand

years planned where I am now. I shudder to think where I would be today if I was left alone to direct

my own steps.

But I can also see countless times I fought, scratched, shouted to go the way I thought was right,

because the Lord’s way didn’t seem to be the best, the times I thought He made a grave mistake.

At the time it didn’t make sense, it was confusing and frustrating but the Lord kept urging me to trust

Him even when I didn’t understand what He was doing. We can trust His leading.

Let’s look at the word for a bit and go deeper into a story that shows us how the Lord leads our steps.

From the time of Yeshua’s birth to His death and resurrection, the good news was only preached to the

Jews. After His death his followers reached out to His chosen people, the Jews. No one saw the bigger

plan. Yeshua had died for everyone and not just the Jews so He needed someone – Peter.

“Now as Peter went here and there among them all, he came down also to the saints who lived at Lydda.”

Acts 9:32

This was important because in Lydda, Peter healed a man who was paralyzed and was bedridden for 8 years.

When he healed the man the word tells us everyone in Lydda and Sharon  turned to the Lord (Acts 9:35)

Peter being in Lydda was important because in a nearby town of Joppa a woman named Dorcas who was well

known by the community died. The disciples in Joppa heard Peter was in Lydda and since it was so close

they sent for him. (Acts 9:38)

Side note: Peter may have had no idea why what was happening was happening but the Lord did. There was

something much bigger going on that Peter wasn’t aware of. But as the Lord directed Him, he followed obediently. 

Let’s move on.

Peter arrived in Joppa and brought Dorcas back to life. (Acts 9:40) which was amazing. Peter may have thought

that was why he had come to Joppa which was partly true but there was more. Something much bigger,

something that would impact the world. It’s while Peter was in Joppa that we hear of Cornelius the Roman

centurion who was visited by an angel and was commanded to send for Peter.

Peter goes without reservations and sees the “Gentiles” receive the Holy Spirit like the Jews!

The way of salvation was now officially opened to the “Gentiles” and Peter was instrumental in that happening.

He was obedient to the the Lord’s leading. He never complained or grumbled. He trusted!

Don’t take Lord’s leading lightly. You are where you are for a reason. Stay humble, be obedient, trust

that He knows what He is doing. He sees the bigger picture and we don’t but that’s okay because He has

our best interests at heart. We just need to trust Him and know He would never led us to destruction.

There is a purpose in His leading, there is love in His nudging.

Bless you friends.

Rolain

When faith fails….

“Jesus asked the boy’s father, “how long has he been like this? 

From childhood,” he answered. It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. 

But if You can do anything, take pity on us and help us.” 

“If you can? said Jesus. Everything is possible for one who believes.

Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” 

Mark 9:21-24

 

“If you can do anything” was what the man told Yeshua. He wasn’t sure He could

heal his son. Nothing had worked till that point.

But this is the thing, when coming to the Lord you need to have faith. Faith as small as a mustard

seed is better than coming to Him with nothing.

 

The man’s faith failed him……

I understand that totally. My faith in the Lord has failed a few times not because He failed me

but because I  was either impatient or I didn’t understand.

Nothing is impossible for Him and that’s the truth.

 

He helped the man in his moment of weakness.

He can do the same thing for you and me when our faith falls.

 

So when you lose hope, when you think He can’t do something cry out to Him for help.

He can help you in your moment of weakness.

He wants us to always come to Him in faith no matter how small it is.

The enemy on the other hand wants to destroy any kind of faith we have in YAH.

He wants us to worry, be anxious, and fear.

Don’t let him win. Don’t believe the lies he tells you.

 

The Lord is forever faithful. He can be trusted and no matter how bad things seem He will

come through for you. He will fulfill everything He promised you. He will never let you down!

Hold on to the word with all that you have. Come to Him in faith always no matter how small!

Bless you.

 

Rolain

 

….he doesn’t want us to remember!

Hey friends!

Last week I talked about how YAH remembers us. Man will

forget but not YAH, we are always on His mind.

 

Today though, I would like to talk about the importance of

remembering all the good things YAH has done for us.

It’s easy to forget the amazing things He has done. We

underestimate just how easy it is to forget. I believe it’s one of

the strategies the enemy uses to keep us in a state of panic,

anxiety, fear, and unbelief. He wants us to stay in a state of

forgetfulness….

 

“Remember the wonders He has done, His miracles, and the 

judgements pronounced, you His servants, the descendants of 

Abraham, His chosen ones, the children of Jacob.” 

Psalm 105:5

 

We need to do everything we can to remember all the good things

He has done for us. Just the other day a friend and I talked about

this.

We then decided to write those things down and what a time we

had. Things kept coming to mind. The time flew as we penned

down the great and mighty miracles He had done for us individually.

I was encouraged after remembering the great things He had done.

 

“So Joshua called together the twelve men he had appointed from 

the Israelites, one from each tribe and said to them. Go over before

the ark of the Lord your God into the middle of the Jordan. Each 

of you is to take up a stone on his shoulder according to the number

of the tribes of the Israelites, to serve as a sign among you. In the

future, when your children ask you, ‘what do these stones mean?

tell them that the flow of the Jordan was cut off before the ark of

the covenant of the Lord.” 

Joshua 4:4-9

 

The stones were to be a reminder of a great work YAH had done

for His people. Like I said before, we need to do everything to

remember the miracles and works YAH has done in our lives.

 

We need to remember what YAH has done, when we are going

through challenges, tough times, and adversity.

When we are feeling overwhelmed.

When we are feeling discouraged.

Those are some of the times forgetfulness can creep in.

We need to be intentional about remembering. It doesn’t

happen automatically. The enemy is working overtime to

ensure we forget the amazing things YAH has done in our lives.

But we can’t forget.

We must remember!

Maybe it means you write down the things He has done in your

life or you create some sort of memorial in your house that helps

you remember. We must be creative friends.

Remembering what YAH has done is a weapon we can use

against the enemy’s lies. Remembering will break the fear,

the anxiety we have.

Let’s remember all the great things the Lord has done for us!

 

Rolain

 

 

 

What do we do when we don’t see God’s entire plan for our lives??

“And behold, the word of the Lord came to him, saying, “This one shall not be your heir,

but one who will come from your body shall be your heir.”

Then He brought him outside and said, “Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if

you are able to number them. “ And He said to him, “So shall your descendants be.”

And he believed in the Lord, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.”

Genesis 15: 4-6

 

Happy New Year friends!! I hope you have had a blessed holiday. I am really excited for all YAH has

in store in the new year.

Without further delay let’s jump into the word today.

For a long time I have believed that YAH has an incredible plan for my life. I am not about to settle for

where I am in this season of my life.

And you shouldn’t settle too. Trust Him with your life and watch Him do wonders with it.

 

“YAH has a great plan for your life”

 

I have heard those words many times and I am guessing you have too but my question to you is, have

you fully grasped their meaning? I thought I had an idea but I was wrong.

Let’s take a look at Abraham,

YAH took him outside and told him to count the stars if he was able to.

“So shall your descendants be” YAH told him.

But did Abraham understand what that meant? Did he fully grasp what YAH was telling him?

 

What blows my mind is the fact that YAH spoke to Abraham about having descendants as countless as the

stars but at that time Abraham and Sarah couldn’t have children! (Genesis 11:30)

How crazy was that? It would have made sense for YAH to speak to a couple who could bear children, but no,

instead He spoke to a couple that COULDN’T have children!

He is the God who does the impossible! Why do you think He did that? He wanted to show how powerful

He was.

You may look at your life and think He can’t do the impossible but that’s just not true.

 

Something else that blows my mind about Abraham is that even though he and Sarah finally had a child they

would never be able to have descendants as countless as the stars without YAH’s help. I don’t even think they

knew what the Lord meant by that. They probably had an idea that YAH’s promise would transcended

their lives but I am not sure if they knew to what extent.

We are still benefiting from the promise YAH made to Abraham all that time ago!!!

There is was nothing Abraham could do in his strength to make sure he would have descendants as countless

as the stars, absolutely nothing!

Trusting YAH was the only way to ensure the promise would come to pass.

Every aspect of YAH’s plan for Abraham needed Him. Without YAH the plan would not work.

But there is something very crucial we need to understand about this whole thing, even though Abraham may

not have understood the full extent of what YAH was telling him the word tells us;

 

“And he believed in the LORD, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.”

Genesis 15:6

 

Abraham didn’t need to have the whole picture; all he needed was to believe the Lord.

 

You may think nothing can happen for you but things can and will happen. You need to believe in the

Lord like Abraham did.

We cannot stop believing in the Lord. He has a plan for our lives and even though we may not see

the full picture we must believe!

 

He has a purpose for your life and He wants to show you what it is. If you have no clue

then pray, ask Him to reveal it to you. He is not trying to hide it from you.

And if you do know the plan know that it’s not the entire picture. There is so much more, more than

you could ever imagine or make up. Trust Him to direct you step by step.

 

“Then He brought him outside and said, Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to

number them.”

 

As I close remember it’s your faith that is the key. It’s not your strength or willpower but your faith

in the Lord. How much do you trust Him? He will bring everything He has planned for to pass.

Every promise He has given you, He will fulfill……

 

  “And the Lord visited Sarah as He said, and the Lord did for Sarah as He had spoken.”

Genesis 21:1

 

Bless you friends.

 

Rolain

Put it all in His hands……

“Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous

to be moved.”

Psalm 55:22

 

This is something we have to learn continuously.

I have to remind myself to constantly bring it all into His hands. I find myself trying to handle life

on my own but that is not the way it’s supposed to be. The more I try to “handle it” the more

stressed I get and the more wrong decisions I make!

We were never meant to carry the troubles we

are carrying at the moment.

We were never meant to hold on to them.

They were meant to be put in YAH’s mighty hands.

He wants to take on the burden you have right now. The worries, the burden’s you are carrying

right now will crush you.

You don’t have to face the pain alone.

You don’t have to put on a brave face in the face of adversity.

Put it all in His hands!

 

You don’t have to worry about directing your life because He wants to do that. He wants you to trust Him

with your life. Put it into His hands and stop trying to drive!

Bring it all friends, the pain, the fear, the uncertainty, the questions, the shortcomings, the failures,

the confusion, the guilt and condemnation………

Don’t hold on anything, and most importantly don’t own anything!

Sometimes we take ownership of stuff we are not meant to take ownership for.

Put it all in His hands, full of faith He will take care of it.

As I conclude I would really urge you to meditate on Matthew 11:28-30.

 

 

Blessings to you my friends!

 

Rolain