Don’t take your “foot off the pedal”….keep hoping and trusting!

“One day some men from the tribe of Judah went to Joshua at Gilgal. One of those men was Caleb

son of Jephunneh. He said to Joshua, “You remember what the Lord said at Kadesh Barnea. He was

speaking to the prophet Moses about you and me. 

Moses, the Lord’s servant, sent me to look at the land where we were going. I was 40 years old then.”

Joshua 14:6, 7

 

Caleb is officially one of my favorite bible characters now. I get pumped up every time I read

his story. He was one of the spies that was sent out to spy out the promise land and he was one

of two spies who believed YAH would deliver the Canaanites into their hands.

His faith in YAH was crazy!

His story challenged me so much. In Joshua 14, he goes to Joshua to ask for the mountain YAH promised

him all that time ago.  Let me rephrase that, he tells Joshua to give him the mountain YAH promised

him. There was no asking…..

 

The crazy thing about this story is that Caleb was promised the mountain when he was 40 years old.

And at the age of 85 he was ready to take what YAH promised him. (Joshua 14:10) He waited 45 years for

the Lord’s promise. His faith didn’t waver in all that time. He held on firmly to what the Lord promised him.

 

I don’t know about you but my faith is stirred every time I read that. The Lord is faithful and will

not fail to fulfill what He promised us. We need to make sure we don’t give up and falter in our faith.

If you do falter then get back up. Put your hope in the Lord again. Don’t stay down, don’t

stay discouraged.

No matter how long it has been, hold on to your faith. Hold on to the Lord’s promise.

Caleb didn’t let his age stop him from possessing the Lord’s promise.

At 40 his faith was in YAH and at 85 his faith was still in YAH and stronger than ever!

Don’t let anything stop you from trusting YAH.

 

He never gave up or lost hope. He was patient and confident in the Lord’s faithfulness! His trust

was not in himself, no. His faith was in the Lord.

 

“So give me the mountain country the Lord promised me that day long ago. Back then you heard that

the Anakite people lived there. And the cities were large and well protected. 

But now with the Lord helping me, I will force them out, just as the Lord said.” (italics mine)

Joshua 14:12

 

Wow! That faith!

 

It’s not too late. The Lord has not forgotten about you so don’t throw in the towel! Hold on to the promise

even though it seems like it’s not going to happen.

To be honest with you, there were things I stopped praying about but after reading about Caleb I am back.

That’s what the Lord wants, for us to keep holding on to the promises He has made. No matter what people say,

hold on to the promise.

Don’t let go it. The Lord is faithful and will fulfill what He promised!

 

ACT ON IT – Firstly, write down the things YAH promised you.

Secondly, Go boldly to YAH and ask Him for those things you have stopped praying about

Thirdly, Talk to someone about it.

And lastly, Is there something you need to start doing? Caleb’s faith was in the Lord but he

had to go fight. What do you need to do today as a demonstration of your faith in YAH?

 

And that is it friends. Hold on to the promise of the Lord until he brings it to pass. There will be plenty

opportunity to give up but don’t. The Lord is is faithful to us always!

Bless you.

Rolain

You first…..

“Aaron shall bring the bull for his own sin offering to make atonement for himself

and his household, and he is to slaughter the bull for his own sin offering.” 

Leviticus 16:11

 

Before Aaron who was the high priest could atone for the Israelites he had to atone for

himself and his family first.

If he skipped that, the probability of dying in the tabernacle increased hundredfold.

He had to make sure he was okay before he could help the next person.

Why is this important?

 

It’s important because we need to have the same attitude if we want to help someone else.

I am not saying you must achieve perfection if you want to help someone else.

On the contrary, help where you can but make sure you are being helped.

Make sure you are being helped as you help others.

Don’t be arrogant and think you don’t need help.

 

You can’t do much if you are empty. Let YAH fill you continually. Let Him work on you continually.

Bring to Him your shortcomings and weaknesses daily. Cry out for His grace every chance you get.

It’s an honor for us that He chooses imperfect vessels to use. He could do everything by Himself

but He chooses to use you and me!

And that’s why you need to be first…….

 

Rolain

 

 

 

He cares about purpose.

“Those who had seen it told them how the man who had been demon-possessed had been healed.

Then all the people of the country of the Gerasenes and the surrounding district asked Him to leave them, because they were overwhelmed with fear. So Jesus got into the boat and returned [to the west side of the Sea of Galilee].

But the man from whom the demons had gone out kept begging Him, pleading to go with Him; but Jesus sent him away, saying,

 “Return home and tell [about] all the great things God has done for you.” So the man went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him.

Luke 8:36-39

 

The man who had been delivered begged Jesus to take him

but Jesus said no! What an asset he could of been

if he had gone with Jesus. What a testimony he had but Jesus

said no! The man was just beginning to get to know the Savior

and he would know so much more if he had gone with him

but Jesus said no!

 

It might be hard to understand but this is what the man

had been born for. He was to declare the great things the Lord

had done in his life and he did. Jesus cared about the man’s

destiny and wanted him to accomplish it!

 

“But the man from whom the demons had gone out kept begging Him, pleading to go with Him; but Jesus sent him away, saying, “Return home and tell [about] all the great things God has done for you.” So the man went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him.”

Luke 8:38, 39

 

Jesus wanted the man to accomplish his purpose. He wasn’t

being cruel. He knew what would happen if the man obeyed

and stayed. A lot of people would have their lives changed forever!

A lot of people would get to know Jesus through the

man’s testimony! That was his purpose. That’s why he had to stay!

 

 

Let’s bring it home.

Jesus has a purpose for you and He wants you to

accomplish it.

A lot of people will be saved when you do what He has created you

to do and a lot of people will get to know Him because of the great

things He has done in your life.

As I end I want to leave you with a thought,

are you walking in what God has purposed you to do? People

lives are going to be changed as you do…….

 

Bless you

 

Rolain

 

 

 

 

 

 

A beauty to unveil……

He has made everything beautiful in its time.

He has also set eternity in the human heart;

yet no one can fathom what God has done from

beginning to end.    

Ecclesiastes 3:11

 

“He has made everything beautiful in its time”

 

Merry Christmas to you all. I hope you had

an amazing holiday so far!   🙂

Let’s get started…..

This scripture has really ministered

to me in this season. There are a lot of things I am

waiting on God for and at times I get frustrated, I

get discouraged, I lose sight of things but this verse

brought a lot of things into context. In 2016 I have

resolved to wait on God. There is a reason He wants

me to wait….let me not get ahead of myself. Let me

explain what I am taking about.

 

The world has conditioned us to think “instant”but God

teaches us to wait. I want you to see

there is a “time” that has to pass as you wait on God. When

you wait on God you put yourself in a position to see His

beauty unravel in your life.

We are too impatient at times.

Let’s look at a passage of scripture for a moment,

 

“He sent a man before them, Joseph, who was sold as

a slave.

His feet they hurt with shackles;

He was put in chains of iron,

Until the time that his word [of

prophecy regarding his brothers]

came true,

The word of the Lord tested and refined

him.

Psalm 105:19

 

This passage of scripture in my opinion perfectly

illustrates what I am trying to say.

God gave Joseph a glimpse into his future but

there was a “time” that had to pass. Was it easy,

heck no. He was sold as a slave to a foreign land to a

foreign people. He was in chains and shackles and it

was painful. In the time of waiting he was being refined.

The word tested him. Waiting is never easy friends.

But we see something amazing in the midst of his trials.

God was making something beautiful. At first it seemed

like there was only ugliness but God had a plan. He was

creating something beautiful of his life. Joseph had to wait on God.

Was he confused, most probably, but he continued to trust

in God.

 

Because God loved Joseph he made him wait!

 

Just because something hasn’t come to pass in our lives

doesn’t mean God has abandoned us even though at

times it feels like it. Like Joseph, God makes us wait

because He loves us. He makes us wait because He

wants to give us His very best!

Making us wait is His way of showing His love for us.

 

Waiting is one of the processes God uses to bless us.

 

As I have waited on God I feel like my love and trust in

Him have been tested to the core. There is nothing like

waiting on God to reveal where your faith and heart are at.

 

When I got that revelation, I saw impatience for what

it really is.

Impatience stifles God’s beauty in our lives.

If we are impatient we are saying we don’t trust Him.

We must stop being impatient. We must learn to wait

on God.

The way God sees waiting and the way we see waiting

are very different. We must see waiting as an expression

of love, a very real love that God has for us.

 

I want to see His beauty in my life and even though it’s

hard I will wait on God. I don’t want to disqulaify myself

from His goodness because of impatience. He loves me

and that is why He makes me wait.

My life is in His hands. I have waited for a long time

already but if He is calling me to wait even more

then I will do it because I trust Him!

 

My encouragement to you friend is, keep on waiting.

God loves you so much and has only the best for you.

Don’t give up or let up. Wait on the Lord. He will come

through on His promise. He will not let you down. He is

making something beautiful in your life.

Will you wait?

 

photo credit: google images

 

Rolain

 

 

 

 

 

The Tuesday that changed everything……..

I have not written in a while. Not because I had nothing to write about, but because I was involved in a car accident! To be honest I didn’t want to write, I guess it was shock! It is not easy writing about the accident but after a week I know God has been challenging me to write about what happened!

 

Last Tuesday……

I was on my way to do shopping when a man ran out on the road unexpectedly! Thank God it was raining because it made me drive slowly! Anyway this guy ran out on the road and before I knew it he was in front of me. I tried to avoid him by turning sharply away from him but I was not successful. I hit him with the side of my bumper which sent him falling to the other lane.

But another car going much faster bumped him and sent him flying in the air. He landed on his head. I was not alone in the car so we jumped out of the car and ran to the man. We called the ambulance a few minutes after that. When they finally arrived they tried to revive him but it was too late, he had lost too much blood. He was declared dead…….

I can’t begin to describe to you the feelings and emotions that I went through. I was in shock! I couldn’t believe he had died! I just stood there in the rain looking at the corpse! I saw life leave him…….

 

God’s goodness……

During this traumatic time a few things happened which I can only describe as God’s amazing love. A friend who I had not seen for at least 5 years saw my car and stopped to help!! I had seen him earlier in the day which was amazing in its self but a few hours later in another part of town he stopped to help me! That was God indeed.

In a few minutes of him leaving another close friend of mine who heard the news arrived! As a guy I was putting on a strong front for the people that were at the scene but when my friend came he understood. He saw through the front I had made. I broke down when he came. We embraced and he kept on telling me, “It wasn’t my fault”! Once again I can’t tell you what that did for me! God knew what I needed. It wasn’t something I could put into words but He knew. When I stopped crying my friend left. But those few minutes he spared were so crucial that day! Sometime after that another friend came. He was driving when he seen me. He turned his car around and came and asked if I needed anything. There was nothing he could do at that precise moment so he left but as I left the scene of the accident with the police he returned with a hot cup of coffee! I had been in the rain the whole time and I was freezing but I never noticed it until he handed me the cup of coffee….!!  God is so good.

 

Lessons learned…..

Things have changed since that day. My relationship with God has gone deeper. It’s crazy to think but a few weeks before the accident I would have days where I would get nothing from the word, just dryness! Nothing would jump out at me but after the accident, it was like I was reading a different bible. The bible I was reading was alive. Every day had something new and something for me, something I could hold on to. My prayer times where different. In actual fact they still are. Something has changed. It’s like the blinders have been taken off. I see God more clearly! When I read my word I see Him, when I listen to music (worship music) I hear Him, I see Him in people when they come to encourage me, and pray for me, when I spend time with Him I feel Him!

Whatever pain or tragedy you are going through know that God has a plan in the midst of the pain! He wants you to run to Him. And as you run to Him, He will comfort and deliver you. He will not leave you to go through the pain alone! He will be with you every step of the way! His hand will be on you……That’s a promise!

 

Today……..

I am still waiting on the police. They are still working on the case and I am waiting for them to come to a decision. They can press charges or let it go. I am believing for the latter! I would really appreciate your prayers in this time!

I am much better than last week. I realize I will never forget what happened that day and I need to make a decision how I go from here. I can live in guilt and blame myself and I can live in fear of driving and so on or I can trust God!

Rolain

What happened when God said, Yes!!!

“They set out and went to Bethel to inquire of God. The people of Israel said, “Who of us shall be first to

 go into battle with the Benjaminites? God said Judah goes first.” 

The people of Israel marched out against Benjamin and took up their positions, ready to attack Gibeah.

But the Benjaminites poured out of Gibeah and devasted twenty-two Israelite divisions on the ground. 

The Israelites went back to the sanctuary and wept before God until evening. They again inquired of God,

 Shall we again go into battle against the Benjaminites, our brothers? 

God said, Yes, Attack. 

 

And they again inquired of God. The Chest of God’s Covenant was there at the time with Phineas son

 of Eleazer, the son of Araron, as the ministering priest. They asked, 

Shall we again march into battle against the Benjaminites, our brothers? 

Or shall we call it quits? 

And God said, Attack. Tomorrow I’ll give you the victory. 

Judges 20: 18-28

 

This is a very interesting story. It is interesting because,

The Israelites were told to attack the Benjaminites and only after the third attempt were they successful!

THEY SOUGHT THE LORD for direction and it was The Lord who

told them to attack!!!! God told them to attack and they got defeated twice…… A lot of people were killed

during the first two attempts! Was there confusion, yes! But God told us to attack, must have been the thought

on people’s minds. Did we make a mistake hearing God’s voice, must have been another thought. But this is the

point, God had told them to attack!

 

I didn’t get it at first. How could that be? How could God tell them to do something only to fail? I asked

God to show me the lesson He wanted me to learn from this story. The lesson is this,

There may be things you are trusting God for. You may have even heard Him say yes, but that doesn’t

mean instant success. There will be times where you will doubt what God told you to do. But there is a reason.

God wants you to trust Him.

Just because God said “yes” doesn’t mean no problems and trials, and challenges, and questions. Keep on fighting,

Keep pressing on towards what God told you to do. You may be in a place where nothing seems to be working.

Maybe God wants you to keep at it. Don’t lose hope. He has not abandoned you.

You may have lost a lot as you followed what God told you to do and you are now regretting stepping out.

Your story is not over. There is a reason you are going through what you are going through.

He can be trusted…..

Rolain

 

 

A testimony within the scars……

Scars, everybody has some sort of scar be it physical or emotional. When you get hurt a scar is made and usually a scar is for life. It will be with you for the rest of your life. A lot of people see scars as a bad thing because it reminds them of a very difficult season in their lives or it may remind them of a very specific event in their life.

I have physical scars and emotional scars. As I look in the mirror I see the scars and they remind me of a time I was physically abused as a child. Then there are the emotional scars. Certain situations trigger them, for example Father’s day. It reminded me of an absentee father who was abusive and I wanted to have nothing to do with. But thank God that has changed!

I have been taught to see my scars differently. I have been taught to see them as a testimony. What do I mean by that?
I mean, my scar can be a testimony to myself and someone else. They can be encouraged and know they are not alone because of what I went through. It’s a testimony because the enemy didn’t win. I am still here. A testimony because it can be a tool to impact a whole lot of people. I can look at the scars and realise that God saved me from the pain. In the darkest time of my life he came through. But it needs me to get the focus off myself and start focusing on others.

Yes I had a difficult time growing up. Yes it was devastating.

But I see how God had a plan in all of this. God wanted to use the pain I had gone through to minister to people but my perspective had to change.
God is good and He has a plan. He always has a plan……

A lot of people have gone through a lot of bad stuff and in no way am I suggesting you just forget and act like nothing happened. You were abused, taken advantage of, raped, robbed, ignored and a whole host of other unspeakable, horrible, evil things. It takes time for pain to heal. A lot of prayer, a lot of help, a lot of people standing by your side helping you. It takes God’s mercy and grace and power for healing to happen.

This post is to let you know that God has a plan for you. Your scars are a reminder of the pain you went through and you can stop there but realise your scars can be a testament of God’s saving power and it can save a lot of people because there is a testimony within your scars!

 Rolain

The word being declared….!!

I have been taught, the word of God in our mouth is just as powerful as the word of God in God’s mouth. Our word’s have power and even more so when we speak the word. There is power when we declare things over our lives, family and other things. There is a scripture I want to declare. It may be applicable to you or it might not but that’s OK. God has really been giving me a lot of scripture, scripture which I believe I should share. I am going to be declaring Psalm 21: 1-7 and I will personalize it because that is what I do at times. I will read it from the Amplified version.

I shall joy in Your strength, O Lord; and in Your salvation how greatly shall I rejoice! 

You have given me my heart’s desire and have not withheld the request of my lips. Selah

For You send blessings of good things to meet me; You set a crown of pure gold on my head. 

I asked life of You, and You gave it to me – long life forever and evermore. 

My glory is great because of Your aid; splendor and majesty You bestow upon me.

For You make me to be blessed and a blessing forever; You make me exceedingly glad with the joy of Your presence. 

I trust, rely on, and is confident in the Lord, and through the mercy and steadfast love of the Most High I will never be moved. 

 

I hope this word ministers to you as it has ministered to me…….

Rolain