Do You Have Unbelief In Your Heart?

It’s so easy for unbelief to creep into our hearts. And that is why we need to constantly check our hearts and see if we are

walking by faith or if we have unbelief in our hearts.

Unbelief can come so stealthily.

When things are not going the way we expect, or prayers don’t seem to be getting answered and it seems like we

are hitting a wall, that is when unbelief can creep in and the negative thoughts.

“When Jesus had said these things, he departed and hid himself from them. Though he had done so many signs

before them, they still did not believe in him,”

John 12:36-38

Jesus was doing amazing miracles, healing people, raising people from the dead and so on but he saw people’s

heart and saw their unbelief. He knew they didn’t believe Him in spite of all the great things He was doing.

We need to be careful too. Jesus has done so much for us but it’s easy to forget. Unbelief can do that.

Even when things are not happening, and our prayers don’t seem to be getting answered, we must determine

in our hearts to always trust in Him.

The Israelites failed to enter the promise land because of unbelief,

“So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief.”

Hebrews 3:19

I will say it one more time, It’s so easy for unbelief to creep into our hearts.

Let do the regular heart checks to see if we are walking by faith or if there is unbelief in our hearts.

As I close I want to share one more scripture,

“Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God.”

Hebrews 3:12

Bless you friends

Rolain

Keep On Believing

When faced with impossible odds and difficult situations we need to keep on praying.

We need to keep trusting and believing that God will come through for us even when our circumstances are

far from ideal. Even when things are going the opposite of what God has promised.

I was so encouraged as I read Luke chapter one. And it’s the story of John’s parents.

“But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will

bear a son, and you shall call his name John.”

Luke 1:13

We know Zechariah has been praying for a child because the angel was there because of his prayer;

“Do not be afraid Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard”

He kept praying and trusting God for a child in spite of the impossible circumstances he and Elizabeth were in;

“And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord.

But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years.”

Luke 1:6, 7

They were advanced in age and Elizabeth was barren but that didn’t stop them from trusting God for a child. That didn’t

stop Zechariah from praying. No matter how impossible it seemed, he kept praying, he kept trusting God.

As the years went by they didn’t stop believing. They did not give up.

And because they didn’t give up they received an answer to their prayers!

And that’s what I want to encourage you with.

No matter how impossible your situation seems, keep praying, keep trusting in the Lord. Don’t give up hope.

God will fulfill what He promised you.

Even though things are going wrong in your life and prayer doesn’t seem to be getting answered don’t stop.

Keep on believing that God will come through for you because He will.

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

Thank you for reading it and I would love to hear what your thoughts are on the topic.

And remember, no matter how impossible the odds seem, don’t give up praying, don’t give up trusting God.

Bless you friends

Rolain

Big Problems, Bigger God!

There will always be giants to fight, trials and difficult times that come our way but we must always remember that

no matter how big the giants are, or how threatening the trials and problems seem, that God is bigger than ALL the

problems we face.

In the midst of the problems you face remember that God is bigger.

There is NO problem that you are facing right now that is bigger than God.

And it’s especially important where you are focused. Make sure that you are not focused on the problem alone.

Focus on the Lord in the midst of what you are going through.

The enemy wants you to focus on the problems, and the giants that are in your way so much that they seem bigger and

stronger than God. That’s what happened to Israel when they faced Goliath.

Goliath stood and shouted a taunt across to the Israelites. “Why are you all coming out to fight?” he called. “I am the Philistine champion, but you are only the servants of Saul. Choose one man to come down here and fight me! If he kills me, then we will be your slaves. But if I kill him, you will be our slaves! I defy the armies of Israel today! Send me a man who will fight me!” When Saul and the Israelites heard this, they were terrified and deeply shaken.

1 Samuel 17:8-11 NLT

And this happened for 40 days and nights. (1 Samuel 17:16)

They were so focused on the GIANT problem in front of them that they forgot that God was bigger and much stronger than Goliath. But that was not the case with David. He knew God was bigger than Goliath. He was confident that God would destroy Goliath. (1 Samuel 17:34-37)

Friends, I want to encourage you to look to God in the midst of the difficult things you are going through today.

He is bigger than EVERY problem you will ever face.

No matter what you are going through call on Him.

You don’t need to go at it alone. You are not alone in the fire.

God is with you and He will deliver you!

“The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my savior; my God is my rock, in whom I find protection.
He is my shield, the power that saves me, and my place of safety.”

Psalm 18:2 NLT

Bless you friends

Rolain

When You Can’t See A Way…

There will be times when you are met with dead ends, closed doors and walls but you need to remember this simple truth,

God makes a way when there seems to be no way.

Think about the Israelites when they left Egypt. They got to the Red Sea and were resting there when suddenly they saw the Egyptian army marching towards them. In front of them was the Red Sea and behind them were the Egyptians. They were trapped. But God made a way for them through the Red Sea. They experienced breakthrough in the most unexpected way.

You may be in a tough situation and it seems like you are trapped with no way out but I want to remind you that there is a way even if you can’t see one because God is with you. He will make a way for you in the most unexpected way.

Before I move on I do want to make something clear. There are some dead ends and closed doors that are God-ordained and you need to be able to discern them. You need to ask God for wisdom and you need to ask Him if He has closed a particular door but that’s not what I am talking about in this post.

What I want to encourage you with today is that God will open closed doors and dead ends that are stopping you from moving forward in His purpose. He will make a way for you where the enemy has barricaded.

Don’t give up and lose heart when there seems to be now way instead trust God to make a way for you.

Bless you friends.

Rolain

What’s It Going To Be, GOD or Giants?

I was watching a live stream this week of an upcoming movie and the presenter was talking about a book he was reading from Eugene Peterson called Leap Over A Wall ( I think)

He talked about how David had a God-dominated imagination while Israel had a Goliath-dominated imagination. And because David had a God-dominated imagination he wasn’t afraid of the giant and that is why he stepped out in faith. He not only took on the giant but killed him. All he saw was how strong God was.

Israel on the other hand had a Goliath-dominated imagination and they cowered away in fear. All they saw was the giant and God was no where in sight. They were not able to get the victory because the giant was so strong in their mind.

And that really spoke to me.

It’s time to switch from a Goliath-dominated imagination where all you see is giants and not God, to a God-dominated imagination where all you see is God no matter the giants that come up against you.

You are sons and daughters of God and your portion is victory but the enemy wants to corrupt your mind. he wants you to believe he is stronger and there is nothing you can do. He wants you to forget about God and to not even consider Him as an option when the fight is at it’s thickest. Don’t let him do that.

Let God be all you see when the enemy rises against you. Let Him be the One you cry out to when you are overwhelmed and have no answers to the trials and tribulations you are facing.

God bless you friends

Have a great weekend!

Rolain

God loves To Come Through For Us

“But she said, “I swear by the Lord your God that I don’t have a single piece of bread in the house.

And I have only a handful of flour left in the jar and a little cooking oil in the bottom of the jug.

I was just gathering a few sticks to cook this last meal, and then my son and I will die.”

1 Kings 17: 12

The widow at Zarephath was in a crisis. The little food she had left was about to run out.

She had gone to gather a few sticks she could use to cook the last meal for her and her son then die.

Like I said, crisis.

But God came through for her. He sent Elijah and when she obeyed him by making him a meal

first the Lord provided for her in an amazing way.

“So she did as Elijah said, and she and Elijah and her family continued to eat for many days.  

There was always enough flour and olive oil left in the containers, just as the Lord had promised

through Elijah.”

1 Kings 17:15, 16

I share this scripture because it teaches us a truth about our God – He loves to come through for us.

No matter how bad things get God has got your back.

No matter how deep you are in trouble, God will help you out.

When there seems to be no way out of the trouble you face, He will ALWAYS come through for you.

Throughout scripture we see this truth play out over and over and over.

With Daniel when he was thrown in the lions den

With David, when King Saul was hunting him down

When Hannah was being ridiculed for being barren

When the Israelites were trapped by the Red Sea as the Egyptians chased them

I could go on and on but I think you get the picture.

God loves to come through for you.

So in whatever trouble you find yourself no matter how bad it is, remember that

God is for you. He wants to help you.

Ask for His help always!

Bless you friends

Rolain

God Knows Where You Are

God has your address. He knows exactly where you are.

Whatever you are facing at the moment know that God knows. You are not alone.

This truth is shown in the story of Sarah and Hagar.

Sarah couldn’t have children so she let Abraham sleep with Hagar.

But when Hagar gave birth to a son, Sarah got jealous and after speaking to Abraham,

chased her away.

Hagar wandered in the desert and was in trouble but God knew exactly where she was, not just

physically but spiritually. He knew what she was going through.

In the desert alone God found her and blessed her by telling her the plans he had for her son.

“She gave this name to the Lord who spoke to her: You are the God who sees me,”

for she said, I have now seen the One who sees me.”

Genesis 16:13

We serve a God who sees us where ever we are.

I also think of Jonah who tried to run away from the Lord. He found him and provided a huge fish

to shallow him.

In the deep, in the heart of the earth where no man could hear Jonah’s cries for help God knew exactly

where he was. In a place where no man could reach him God reached him. He heard his prayer and

delivered him.

“In my distress I called to the Lord, and he answered me.

From the deep in the realm of the dead I called for help, and you listened to my cry.”

Jonah 2:2

As I close know the Lord knows exactly where you are.

You are not alone in whatever you are going through.

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

Don’t Give In To Fear.

One of the enemy’s main goals is to put you and keep you in fear.

He wants you bound and paralyzed by it and he wants you to think you

are all alone. But that’s not true. You are not alone. God is with you.

Recently I was reading the story of Nehemiah and I saw something interesting in his story.

As he was doing the work God had called him to do, which was to build the walls of

Jerusalem, he had opposition. There were men who didn’t want him to succeed and they

used fear to try to stop him. Let’s look at a few scriptures.

“For they all made us afraid, saying, Their hands shall be weakened from the work,

that it be not done.

Now therefore, O God, strengthen my hands.”

Nehemiah 6:9

“Therefore was he hired, that I should be afraid, and do so, and sin, and that they

might have matter for an evil report, that they might reproach me.”

Nehemiah 6:13

“Also they reported his good deeds before me, and uttered my words to him.

And Tobiah sent letters to put me in fear.”

Nehemiah 6:19

As you can see, Nehemiah’s enemies were using fear to try to stop him.

But Nehemiah did not let it stop him. Instead, he put his trust in the

Lord to help him.

I share his story to show you that the enemy is still using the same strategy today.

He is using fear as a weapon against you to try to weaken your hands or to get

you to do something rashly or to doubt God and so much more.

But like Nehemiah you must bring your fears to the Lord.

Make a decision to choose trust in God over fear no matter how intense it is.

Because at the end of the day you have nothing to fear because God is with you.

He is on your side and He will never let you down.

God bless you friends!

Have a great weekend.

Rolain

Envision Something Different For Your Life.

Envision big things for your life because God already does.

But it can be hard to do that at times when your current circumstances are

anything but great. When things don’t seem to be working out and you are

having a bad day, week, month or year. But no matter how negative your circumstances

are at the moment the truth is, God has amazing things prepared for you. And we see

this truth all throughout scripture.

Before Abraham was called by God what kind of life was he imagining for himself? Let me

change that a little bit.

“Before God intervened in Abraham’s life.”

We don’t really know. But what we do know is that God took him outside and told him to look up

and try to count the stars if he could.

“He took him outside and said, “Look up at the sky and count the stars-if indeed you can count

them. Then He said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”

Genesis 15:5

What was happening there?

God was helping Abraham see something bigger for his life.

What about Gideon?

Before the Lord intervened in his life he thought he was the least of the least. We know that

because when the angel of the Lord called him a “mighty man of valor” Gideon told him what

he had known all his life.

“Pardon me, my lord, Gideon replied, but how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in

Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.”

Judges 6:15

But once again, God showed him a bigger picture. He helped Gideon see differently and that’s

another thing to note. We need the Lord’s help to see all that He has for us. After all, He is the

one who created us and our purpose.

He is the one who has prepared the amazing things we are going to walk in.

And that is why we need to envision something different for our lives.

Don’t the let the difficult and negative circumstances blind you to what God has in store for you.

Keep hoping, and trusting Him.

Envision something different for your life because He already does!

Bless you friends!

Rolain