Jesus Know Your Pain

Jesus knows all of the pain we go through. He knows the grief, the sorrows, the disappointment,

the brokenness we go through. And that is why we need to go to Him with all those things.

He not only knows what we are going through but He is deeply acquainted with it because He

Went through all those things. He totally understands what you are going through more than the

Closest person in your life may know! 

“He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief,

as one from whom men hide their faces and he was despised, and we esteemed him not.”

Isaiah 53:3

What a title. The Man of Sorrows!

And that is why we need to go to Him with our pain, sorrow, brokenness and grief. He wants you to

Help you in your dark times, when you are in pain, broken and in grief. So don’t go through it alone.

Tell Him what you are struggling with. Be open and transparent with everything you are facing.

He cares and loves you so much.

But there is more!

There is a promise we need to hold onto in the valley of death, an amazing promise that He has

promised us.

“Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh.”

Luke 6:21

You may be weeping now but Jesus promises you will laugh. It may seem unlikely at the moment but

His promise will be fulfilled in your life. Don’t let the devil lie to you that things won’t change, that the

Darkness will stay. It’s not true. Hold on to God’s promises instead.

“Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning.”

Psalm 30:5

I love this!

So first we see laughter and now in this verse we see joy. There will be a turnaround in your life.

God is so good. He will bring healing to you.

“You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; you have loosed my sackcloth and clothed me

With gladness, that my glory may sing your praise and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks

to you forever!”

Psalm 30:11, 12

Because of Him there will be laughter, joy and now dancing!

How great is His love toward us!

So whatever you are going through at the moment, know that it won’t last. The Lord is with you and will

Help you. He won’t leave you in the valley of death.

And as I close I want to remind you to bring Him your pain, your grief, brokenness and sorrow.

He is the Man of Sorrows and knows what you are going through. He wants you to walk in the amazing

Promises he has for you. He wants to heal you and He wants you to walk in freedom.

Trust Him to make a way for you. You may not see how He will turn things around but that’s where faith

Comes in. Put your faith in Him to heal you of the pain you have.

You are His son and daughter and He will breakthrough for you.

He is not done with you friend.

Bless you

Rolain

God Is Not Finished With You

God doesn’t end things on a negative.

No matter how bad you have messed up know that His plan for your life is still on.

He has so much in store for you.

He is so much bigger than the mistakes you have made.

I think about Moses who messed up. Instead of speaking to the rock he struck it three times and because of his disobedience he never went with the Israelites into the promise land. And that’s where we all stop. But there is more to Moses story. It didn’t finish there.

“About eight days later Jesus took Peter, John, and James up on a mountain to pray. And as he was praying, the appearance of his face was transformed, and his clothes became dazzling white. Suddenly, two men, Moses and Elijah, appeared and began talking with Jesus. They were glorious to see. And they were speaking about his exodus from this world, which was about to be fulfilled in Jerusalem.”

Luke 9: 28-31 NLT

Moses appeared with Elijah to talk to Jesus about what He was about to do in Jerusalem. I don’t think its a mistake that Moses was one of the men speaking to Jesus. God had a bigger plan for his life than he even could imagine.

That encouraged me a lot today.

No matter how bad we have messed up, it’s comforting to know that God is not finished with us. The mistakes we make don’t determine what God’s plan for our lives will be. God in His mercy and grace gives us a second chance. He extends grace and mercy to us.

So as I come to the end of the post I want to encourage you with the truth that God is not finished with you. Be expectant for Him to move in your life. Be expectant for Him to do some incredible things in your life because He loves you and cares for you.

Bless you friends

Rolain

God Turns Our Ugly Story Into A Beautiful One.

“ And David comforted Bathsheba his wife, and went in unto her, and lay with her: and she bare a son, and he called his name Solomon: and the Lord loved him.”

2 Samuel 12:24 KJV

In David’s darkest time , in the midst of the monumental mess he made, God turned that situation around into something beautiful.

Solomon came out of that mess and the Word says God loved him.

I always think to myself, why didn’t God do something through Abigail who was an amazing woman. There was no drama there but I think it’s for a good reason. The reason I think is because God wanted to show how powerful He is.

The enemy had been victorious over David in the case of Bathsheba and Uriah. There was no doubt about that and I believe it was the devil’s end goal to stop David’s purpose. But God in His power went into that mess and turned it into victory so the defeat could be turned into triumph and God would get the glory, not the devil.

The enemy will not have the last say in your life friend. He would like you to believe so but it’s not true. God has the last say and as you are in a dark place right now know that God will turn your ugly story into a beautiful one. That’s how much He loves you.

And it’s not about what you can do, your strength, how intelligent you are etc.

It’s about God’s amazing grace, His love, His mercy towards us, His strength! The devil is totally powerless against all of that.

I am also reminded of Peter who also made a huge mistake.

“Jesus answered, “Die for me? I tell you the truth, Peter – before the rooster crows tomorrow morning, you will deny three times that you know me.”

John 13:38 NLT

Peter denied Jesus and if you are thinking of an ugly story that just about tops it. But once again his ugly story was turned into a beautiful one. The devil did not have the last say in Peter’s story. He thought he did but once again he was very wrong and he is wrong about your life. And we see the same pattern in Peter’s life.

Peter’s story was changed because of God’s mercy, grace and forgiveness. Jesus knew Peter would deny him.

“But I have pleaded in prayer for you, Simon, that your faith should not fail. So when you have repented and turned to me again, strengthen your brothers.”

Luke 22:32 NLT

So no matter how bad it seems know that God turns your ugly stories into beautiful ones.

We must not listen to the devil’s lies. He is going to try everything he can to get you to focus on the ugly. He is going to use that to bring in shame, condemnation and guilt. He is going to make you feel unworthy of being used and loved by God. He will try to isolate you so he can take you out. But it’s a lie.

God loves you and forgiveness is available to you. All you have to do is ask Him to forgive you and receive the grace He freely offers you.

So as I close remember that your story is not even close to finishing. He is turning your ugly into something beautiful.

Bless you friends

Rolain

God is Bigger Than Our Mistakes

Don’t let the devil lie to you that your sins are too much for God to handle.
Don’t let him tell you that you are beyond saving.
It’s not true.

God is bigger and greater than your biggest sins.

“Some were fools; they rebelled and suffered for their sins.
They couldn’t stand the thought of food, and they were knocking on death’s door.
“Lord, help!” they cried in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress. He sent out his word and healed them, snatching them from the door of death.”

Psalms 107:17-20 NLT

We will sin and fall, that’s a definite but there is grace, mercy and forgiveness available to us. God is ready to forgive us and all we need to do is go ask Him.

When his people cried to Him, He saved them from their distresses even though they were the cause of the pain they experienced, even when they made the mistakes.

The other thing the devil will try to lie to you about is your past. He will try to tell you that there is no hope for you and God is not going to forgive your past but that too is a lie. He will use condemnation, guilt and shame to try to stop you.

But the Word of God is very clear in Romans 8:1 when it says,

“So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.”

God is greater than the sins you have committed.
Grace, mercy and a second chance are available to you today so receive it.

Bless you friends!

Rolain

One Great Thing About The New Year

Happy new year to you friends!

I hope you had a great festive season with family and friends. I also hope you got a time to rest, recharge and reflect. I don’t know about you but I am so excited for 2022. I know God has amazing things in store.

One great thing about the New Year is the prospect of something new. New beginnings, new opportunities, new doors and so on. Everything is new, new, new

But I won’t be talking about that today. I want to focus on something else.

Another great thing about a new year is the second chance we get to either make things right, to do things the right way, finish a project, repair broken bridges in a relationship, to correct some mistakes made in the previous year, and the list goes on. Whatever that thing is a new year brings with it a second chance to try again.

And this is important to know because a lot of people carry shame, guilt, anxiety, fear and so many other negative things from the past year which has a definite impact on the current year. Those people end up believing that the New Year has nothing different to offer them.

If you are one of those people I want to encourage you that the God we serve is the God of second chances. No matter how bad you have messed up He wants to give you a second chance. Take Jonah for example.

God called him to go preach to the people of Nineveh but he ran away from doing what God told him to do. But instead of disowning him or punishing him, God gave him a second chance to do the right thing,

“Then the Lord spoke to Jonah a second time: Get up and go to the great city of Nineveh, and deliver the message I have given you. This time Jonah obeyed the Lord’s command and went to Nineveh, a city so large that it took three days to see it all.”

Jonah 3:1-3

The Lord spoke to Jonah a second time and instead of running away like before Jonah grabbed the opportunity to do it right. And because he did Nineveh was saved from God’s punishment.

I also think of Peter who denied the Lord three times. One would think he blew it for good but Jesus gave him a second chance.

We serve a God of second chances. So as we are now in 2022 don’t let the mistakes and failures of 2021 stop you from having a great year. Take the guilt, shame, fear and anxiety you are carrying to the Lord’s feet. He has a second chance waiting for you.

Bless you friends

The Beautiful Story of Our Lives

As I look at myself and all the imperfections I have, all the mistakes and sins I continually

make I am humbled by the Lord’s grace and mercy He has extended to me.

That’s not just my story but it’s OUR story.

God in his mercy and grace doesn’t leave us in our mess.

He cleans us up and changes us.

He forgives us and gives us a second chance.

And that is what I call the beautiful story of our lives because His love is beautiful.

I think of the woman in Luke 7:37 who the bible tells us was a sinner. We don’t

know exactly what she did but it is clear she was not popular in her community.

“When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “if this man

were a prophet, he would have known who is touching him and what kind of woman

she is – that she is a sinner.”

Luke 7:39

But even though the Pharisee had written her off as a lost cause, Jesus saw her differently.

He loved her and forgave her despite knowing all her sins. He didn’t reject her and cast her away.

So don’t listen to the lies that say you cannot be forgiven.

Don’t allow people to tell you that you are a lost cause. That’s not true.

Jesus loves you and extends grace, mercy and forgiveness to you no matter how badly

you have messed up.

You can go to Him for help anytime.

God bless you friends.

Rolain

Redeem The Day

Today is a gift from God.

And I am not talking about the date of today. But I am talking about “TODAY”

Whenever you read this that will be your today and it has significance.

It’s a second chance to do things right. It’s an opportunity to try again where you have failed.

It’s an opportunity to wipe the slate clean.

You may have messed up yesterday but today you have another chance to do things

differently.

Read what 2 Corinthians 6: 2 has to say about the importance of “today”

“For He says:

“In an acceptable time I have heard you,

And in the day of salvation I have helped you.”

Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day

of salvation.”

In other translations it says, today is the day of salvation.

Today is the day of God’s favor and

Today is the day of salvation

Don’t allow yesterday’s mistakes and sins hold you back today.

Repent and allow God to speak to you anew today.

And He is speaking.

“Today, if you will hear His voice,

Do not harden your hearts.”

Hebrews 4:7

If you need forgiveness, today is the day to receive it.

If you need a second chance, today is the day.

Today is a gift from God.

Receive what He has for you today.

Bless you friends

Rolain

When The Enemy Has Appeared To Have Won, God Steps In!

“When Uriah’s wife heard that her husband was dead, she mourned for him.

After the time of mourning was over, David had her brought to his house,

and she became his wife, and bore him a son.

But the thing David had done displeased the Lord.’

2 Samuel 11:26, 27

We all know the story.

David slept with Bathsheba and to hide what he did, he got Uriah her husband killed.

That was a dark season in David’s life, if not THE darkest.

All seemed lost for him. The enemy appeared to have won against him but God stepped

in! He intervened in David’s hopeless situation.

He stepped in and pulled David out of the dark pit he was in.

When Nathan the prophet confronted David he was quick to confess his sin and received

forgiveness. But there was more…

“And David comforted Bathsheba his wife, and went in into her, and lay with her:

and she bare a son, called his name Solomon: and the Lord loved him.”

2 Samuel 12:24, 25

As I read that verse I had a thought. Why didn’t Solomon come from David’s other wife Abigail?

She was amazing and had less “baggage.”

But I believe God used Bathsheba because He wanted to make a statement.

God took the darkest and ugliest situation in David’s life and turned it around.

The enemy’s proof of victory was no more. The “souvenir” he kept with pride was now turned

into a testimony of God’s goodness, mercy and power.

He could no longer brag about the destruction he caused in David’s life because God redeemed

the situation!

And God will do the same for you and me.

He will take the enemy’s victories and turn them around into powerful testimonies of His goodness,

mercy and power!

Even if you have messed up big time and it seems like the enemy has won, he hasn’t. The Lord

has the final say. When He steps in there is nothing the enemy can do to stop Him.

Forgiveness, mercy and grace are a prayer away. Call on the Lord for help when you are in trouble.

Call on Him when sin has made you stumble.

He wants to help you.

And with that I have come to the end of the post.

If you would like to support what I am doing here financially, you can do so with a few dollars a month.

Click here to support me.

Bless you friends

Rolain

We Have Access To God, Always.

“And Jesus cried with a loud voice, and gave up the ghost.

And the veil of the temple was rent in twain from top to bottom.”

Mark 15:37, 38

 

Jesus died on the cross so He could repair the bridge that had been destroyed in the beginning when Adam sinned.

When Adam sinned we were separated from God and that face to face intimate relationship was gone.

The new way of communication was a high priest who was the only one allowed into God’s presence, once a year.

So imagine having a need and not being able to pray directly to God. No matter what you were facing, you had to go to the high priest and tell him what you were going through, not God.

It’s so easy to take what we have been given for granted. But let’s not forget how privileged and blessed we are, to be able to enter God’s presence! We don’t need to wait for anyone if we are going through hard times. We can go boldly before His throne. We have been given an all access pass into His presence.

Because of what Jesus did, the door is open to us, not closed. The enemy would like us to believe that our sins disqualify us from entering God’s presence. He uses guilt and condemnation to achieve that purpose. But the door is wide open for us to run boldly into His presence to receive mercy and forgiveness.

Let’s not shrink back and try to go at life alone when the door is wide open for us. If we need help, the door is open. If we need strength, the door is open. For whatever we need, His door is open. He wants us to go to Him. That’s why the door is open.

You have an all access pass into God’s presence and not a day’s visa so use it!

 

On another note, I have started another blog. The blog was inspired by my other passion, children.

I have been serving in my church’s children’s ministry for fifteen plus years and still going on strong.

I will be talking about the experiences I have, lessons learned and mistakes made. The blog will also be focused on parents so I will be creating content for them too. I will posting bible lessons I have created, games I have played with children, activity sheets I have created and much more. So if you are a parent, or are serving in children’s ministry or you work with children then this blog is for you. I have left the link down below so head over there and follow me. I would appreciate it much.

https://thechildfriendly.wordpress.com/2021/03/06/encounter-god/

Bless you friends.

Don’t let your past be a stumbling block.

““But Lord,” exclaimed Ananias, “I’ve heard many people talk about the terrible things this man has done to the believers in Jerusalem! And he is authorized by the leading priests to arrest everyone who calls upon your name.”

But the Lord said, “Go, for Saul is my chosen instrument to take my message to the Gentiles and to kings, as well as to the people of Israel.”

‭‭Acts of the Apostles‬ ‭9:13-15‬ ‭NLT‬‬

 

Before the Lord appeared to Saul he had done some terrible things. He was killing and imprisoning God’s people and who knows what else. But despite all those things the Lord had a plan for his life. Yes Paul did some crazy things in the past but the Lord had a new future for him. Paul’s past didn’t stop the Lord from using him mightily.

If you have had an unpleasant past know that it doesn’t have to determine what your future is going to be like. The Lord has a wonderful future in store for you.

But here lies the challenge: Can we let go of the past?

The enemy wants us to hold on to it. That’s one of the strategies he uses to derail us.

There was a time the past was a reference point for everything I did. When new opportunities came I looked at them through the lens of the past. “I can’t do that because of my past” were the consistent thoughts I was having. But thanks to the Lord who was patient with me and changed all that.

Stop letting the past determine your future. The Lord has amazing things in store for you despite your past. No matter how dark your past has been, the Lord wants you. He wants to give you a second chance. Like Paul, will you say yes to Him?

Remember, there is no sin that is too much for God. No matter what you have done, there is forgiveness and grace. Don’t let the past keep haunting you. There is healing, forgiveness, grace and second chances in the name of Jesus.

Say yes to Him today!

Bless you friends

Rolain