In hard times we have a chance…trust God!

The Israelites didn’t stand a chance if God wasn’t on their side. They would have died

in Egypt in slavery had the Lord not saved them. They would have been swept away

by the powerful enemies that fought against them in the desert had God not stepped in

and fought for them. They would have been swallowed up by the giants that resided in the

promise land if God had left their side.

 

We don’t stand a chance if we go at life on our own, in our own strength and power.

We need the Lord so desperately friends. This life is hard, painful, disappointing but in spite

of all that God is with us. He is on our side and He will get us through the hard times we are

facing. It doesn’t matter what mountain is standing in our way, we will get over it because the

Lord is our strong tower of Refuge. He is our Protector and Deliverer.

 

“The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them; He delivers them from all their troubles.”

Psalm 34:17

 

“The righteous person may have many troubles, but the Lord delivers him from them all;

He protects all his bones, not one of them will be broken.”

Psalm 34:19

 

We will face hard and difficult times but we need to always remember that the Lord will be with

us through those difficult times. We don’t need to rely on our own ability and strength which is

useless in the day of battle.

We don’t stand a chance if we depend on our strength, intelligence, and ability but we have every

chance in the world when we put our hope and trust in God.

 

Bless you friends

 

Rolain

 

The man in chains……

Paul was one of the greatest apostles that ever lived. He was

a man who obeyed God 110%, no make that 150%, actually make

that 200%……I think you get the picture!  🙂  When I read the

life of Paul I am challenged by his obedience. Let’s look at the

things he accomplished because he was obedient.

 

He got to share the gospel with Felix who was Governor at

the time. He was a man who had lots of influence. 

Read Acts 24:10-26

 

Paul shared the gospel with King Agrippa and his wife

Bernice. God brought Paul before powerful men

and women to share the gospel.

Acts 25 and chapter 26

 

By the way he carried himself and his faith in God,

Paul was able to minister to the Roman soldiers

Read Acts 27:42, 43

 

Because of his obedience Paul ministered to a whole

tribe on the island of Malta.

Read Acts 28.

 

During imprisonment in Rome, Paul wrote a lot of

the books in the new testament. It is said he wrote,

Ephesians Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon.

After imprisonment it is said he wrote Hebrews,

Titus, 1 Timothy and 2 Timothy.

 

Now for the crux of the matter. I will share a scripture that I

believe is the key that opened the door to all the ministry he did:

 

After several days of visiting, a prophet from Judea by the name

of Agabus came down to see us. He went right up to Paul, took

his belt, and, in dramatic gesture, tied himself up, hands and feet.

He said, “This is what the Holy Spirit says: The Jews in Jerusalem

are going to tie up the man who owns this belt just like this and

hand him over to godless unbelievers.”

When everyone heard that, we and everyone there that day

begged Paul not to be stubborn and persist in going to

Jerusalem. But Paul wouldn’t budge:

Why all this hysteria? Why do you insist on making a scene

and making it even harder for me?

You’re looking at this backward. The issue is Jerusalem is not

what they do to me, whether arrest or murder, but what the

Master Jesus does through my obedience. Can’t you see that?

Acts 21:10-13

 

Wow right…..Paul had an understanding of obedience. He knew

being obedient allowed Jesus to work through him. And because

Paul was obedient, Jesus did a mighty work in him and through

him!

 

Let’s bring this principle home. God has a plan for each and

everyone of us but we can only walk in that plan when we are

obedient! That revelation hit me hard! I am in a situation where

I have a decision to make. I can either be obedient even though

it’s difficult and uncomfortable or disobey! But the word is very

clear, Jesus works through our obedience!

He has this amazing, uncomprehendible (if there is such a word)

plan for us. It’s just to big to fathom. I don’t think Paul knew all

that God had in store for Him but he simply obeyed, and

trusted! We need to do the same……

I want to live a life of obedience to God and I ask Him to

help me. I rebel a lot and I fight and push back but He wants

me to obey. He wants us to obey!

Will you learn a lesson from the man who lived a life of obedience?

Rolain

 

 

An interesting road…..!!!

THOUGHT OF THE DAY

 

The road of right living bypasses evil;

Watch your step and save your life.

Proverbs 16:17

 

We are on the road of right living and it’s an

interesting road indeed. The interesting thing

about this road is, it bypasses evil!!!

I don’t think that was a mistake.

As we walk on this interesting road we have

a decision to make:

Keep walking, don’t turn to the left or the right,

look straight ahead or

get distracted by the evil. Stop and allow the evil

to take you off the path!

 

The warning to us is, “watch your step and save your life!”

 

As you walk on the road God has for you watch your step.

It bypasses close to evil, within touching distance!

God would not allow us to walk that way if it could destroy us!

One thing is most definite, the road to right living will

not be an easy one…..! Watch your step friends!!!

 

Rolain

 

 

To say goodbye….

THOUGHT OF THE DAY

I have a confession to make, I hate goodbyes! I really really hate them. I had to say goodbye to a friend today and it was not fun! That got me thinking………

Why does it hurt to say goodbye?

Is it a reminder we are missing something? SOMETHING we as humans cannot function without, SOMETHING we cannot do without, that if we tried to do without we would die??!!

Just because goodbyes are a normal part of our lives doesn’t make it natural or something that was meant to be. It seems cruel. We go through the whole process of meeting someone only to have them leave!!

Are goodbyes meant to remind us that God is the ONLY one who can complete us and NO person can ever fill that gap no matter how great they are…..

(please bear with me as I rant!!!!)

Are goodbyes a reminder we are not home yet???

I long for home because when I am home there will be no more goodbyes!!! What a thought! In heaven we will never have to say goodbye ever again!!! Our friends and family will always be there but more importantly, Jesus will be with us! No one will ever have to say goodbye! I long for that day. But for now I know God has a reason He allows goodbyes to happen. I don’t know why exactly, I just know He has a plan!

I do admit there are things and PEOPLE we need to say goodbye to. We need people and at the same time we don’t. Some people really need to go because they are drowning us! But that is a post for another day!

All I am saying is, I hate goodbyes! They are never easy and I long for the day I will never have to say goodbye!!!!

Rolain

 

When the doubts come……

 

“If you can do anything, do it. Have a heart and help us!”

Jesus said, “If? There are no ‘ifs’ among believers. Anything can happen.” Mark 9: 22

That is a very bold word from our Lord don’t you think? As bold as it may seem this is what I believe God is saying. The man had asked the disciples to heal his boy but they could not so when Jesus came down the mountain the man must of thought it impossible.

I have to admit and say there are things that I ask God without even thinking twice. I just know He will come through and then there are things that are harder to ask for. But from this whole passage we see this should not be so. We are to trust in God. Mark 11:22 says,

And Jesus replying, said to them, Have faith in God [constantly]. (Amplified)

When we come to God we must not come doubting. It must be in total trust. But the story continues and we see something very important.

No sooner were the words out of his mouth than the father cried, Then I believe. Help me with my doubts! Mark 9: 24

We want to believe and we do believe but doubts get in the way. What are we supposed to do? The man cried out to the Lord for help. We need help when it comes to our doubts. If you don’t struggle with doubts then bless you……But for those who struggle with it then look to God. There are no “ifs” in God’s vocabulary and there shouldn’t be in ours.

You may be in a place where you think “it’s too much, I can’t ask God for that” or “can He really give me what I have asked for” but know that there are no “ifs” when it comes to God. It’s either, ‘yes’ or ‘no’.

Nothing is too big for God. Bring your requests to Him in total faith and if you struggle with doubts then cry out to him for help. He will help. He wants to help us in our areas of weakness…..God bless

Rolain.