Building on “dry land”.

 

“By faith, Noah built a ship in the middle of dry land. He was 

warned about something he couldn’t see, and acted on what he 

was told. The result?

His family was saved. His act of faith drew a sharp line between 

evil of the unbelieving world and the righteous of the believing 

world. As a result, Noah became intimate with God.”

Hebrews 11:7 (MSG)

 

I love this passage of scripture. It’s pretty amazing if you ask me.

This passage highlights something very important about faith.

 

Noah was warned about a flood he had never seen before. So

by faith he starting building a ship on dry land. How crazy that

must of looked! I don’t think anyone had a clue what he was

doing! Noah stepped out in faith even though he had no

idea what a flood was and to add to that, he hadn’t

ever built or seen an ark before!

 

Before Noah saw a flood he had to build the ark.

He didn’t wait for the rains to start to begin building the ark.

It’s on dry land that he began building the ark!

 

I know it seems elementary but how many of us wait for God

to do something before we step out in faith?

We wait for a sign from God before we start moving.

But the very nature of faith requires us to take that first leap of

faith into the unknown!

 

The crazy thing is,

Those who wait on God to do something before they do anything

really don’t trust Him! (that really convicted me!)

It’s because Noah HAD faith in God he started moving!

He had never seen a flood or an ark but he trusted God!

God’s word to him was enough!

 

Where are you at the moment?

Are you building ships on dry land or are you waiting on the

rains to begin so you can start moving??

 

This is the thing, people will look at you funny.

A lot of people will misunderstand you. They will talk about you.

They will think you are crazy. They will laugh at you.

They will scorn you. They try and talk you out of it.

 

Noah could have gone through the same things but he kept

at it. He got up everyday to build the ark.

It didn’t make sense but he pushed forward.

All he had was a word from God but that was enough for him.

 

We need to start moving friends. We need to start building

ships on dry land.

God’s word is enough. It’s all we need.

The world wants us to believe it’s not enough.

The world wants us to feel, touch, reason things out but is that

what God really wants?

 

“But without faith it is impossible to please and be satisfactory

to Him. For whoever would come near to God must [necessarily]

believe that God exists and that He is the rewarder of those 

who earnestly and diligently seek Him [out]. 

Hebrews 11:6

 

Let go of the fear friends.

Stand on His word when the uncertainty comes.

God’s word to you may not make sense to the people around you

but that doesn’t mean it’s wrong!

 

I don’t think it was easy for Noah as he built the ark.

He had to fight the outside voices as well as the inner voices.

He clung on to God with all that he had and that made the

difference!

Hold on to the word of the Lord to you no matter how crazy it

sounds!

If you have been waiting for long and you are beginning to doubt

the word, don’t!! He is faithful and He will deliver on His

promise to you!

 

On that note it’s time to end this post.

 

Bless you friends!

 

Rolain

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When limitations are the only thing you see…..

I was laying down on my bed yesterday afternoon when a

thought came to me. A thought that woke me up and made

me think…..

 

“Just remember something, when you speak to God you are

the one who sees the boundaries and the limitations, not God!

God doesn’t see any boundaries when He speaks to us.”

 

I woke up instantly and wrote the statement down. As I

pondered on that thought I realized how true that statement

was, especially in my life.

How many times I have felt God say something only to

rationalize it away. But we serve a God who knows no

boundaries and the people who serve Him know every

boundary! But it must stop! God wants us to trust Him.

He wants us to look past the obstacles and the limitations.

 

 

“Elijah replied, “Hear the word of the Lord. This is what

the Lord says: About this time tomorrow, a seah of the

finest flour will sell for s shekel and two seahs of barley

for a shekel at the gate of Samaria.

The officer on whose arm the king was leaning said to the

man of God, “Look, even if the Lord should open the

floodgates of the heavens, could this happen?

You will see it with your own eyes, answered Elisha, but

you will not eat any of it.” 2 Kings 7:1, 2

 

We all know the conclusion of the story. God used four

lepers to save the city. But before that all happened

we know the city Elijah was in was under siege. There

was a famine and they were powerless to do anything.

No wonder the army officer said what he said. But

consider this, the army officer saw obstacle after

obstacle but God saw victory, life, and breakthrough!

 

Let’s take a look at another example. Think about

Gideon. God called him to save his people but what

does he do???

 

“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

 

Gideon saw obstacles and limitations. There are only

a few people in the word of God who believed the

first time! But for us to walk in all God has for us the

limitations must go. We surely need the grace of God

to see God as He really is. The first step is to recognize

we have put limitations.

The second step is to bring them to God and ask Him

to help us.

 

God has so much more in store for you.

We are not meant to deal with the “how” when God speaks,

we are just meant to believe. God will deal with the how.

This is something you must train yourself to do. You

train yourself by spending more time with God. He will

increase your faith. He will give you the peace you need

as you trust Him without limit.

 

I have failed so many times in my faith with God.

I have doubted Him and have even given up at times.

And that’s what it’s all about. I read a post today which was

extremely challenging. Karina asked the question,

Do you really believe Luke 1:37 which says:

“For with God nothing is impossible”?

Do you really believe, with God nothing is impossible??

Read her post here.

Remember, when God speaks we are the ones who see the

limitations and the boundaries, He doesn’t. When He

speaks into your life about your life He sees it as done!

 

Will you trust Him today? Will you make the decision

to look past the boundaries and limitations and believe

the One who doesn’t see the limitations???

 

Rolain

 

 

 

When you are faced with the impossible…….!

 

I have been talking to God about my life. I don’t know about you

but as I look at my life there are things I am trusting God for that are

way over my head. Things that are bigger than me.

I look at those things and I can’t even can’t make sense of it!

But it’s okay right?

Okay to dream big, okay to ask God for the unimaginable?

 

We all have something like that, something crazy and big!

Something only God can do….something you know that you

know only God can do!

 

But as I was meditating on the sheer absurdity of what I

was asking God, a friend of mine shared a scripture that opened

my eyes:

 

Jesus looked hard at them and said, “No chance at all if you think you can pull it off yourself. Every chance in the world if you trust God to do it.” (‭Matthew‬ ‭19‬:‭26‬ MSG)

 

There are a lot of things in life where we simply need God!

How many times do we try to do things in our own strength only

to fail?

God wants us to trust Him.

Whatever you are trusting God for no matter how big it is, please

know that you can trust the Lord!

 

You have a chance if you dare to trust Him, but no chance at

all if you try to pull it off by yourself because of your lack

of faith in Him!!!

 

So the word today is, trust! Trust the Lord when you are

faced with the impossible!

You have a chance in the face of the impossible if you will

trust Him but no chance if you try to do it on your own!

 

Rolain

 

 

 

 

 

I challenge your faith……

 

And it has often thrown him both into fire and into water, intending to kill him. But if You can do anything, do have pity on us and help us. And Jesus said, [You say to Me], If You can do anything? [Why,] all things can be (are possible) to him who believes! At once the father of the boy gave [an eager, piercing, inarticulate] cry with tears, and he said, Lord, I believe! [Constantly] help my weakness of faith! (‭Mark‬ ‭9‬:‭22-24‬ AMP)

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

Not a bad request I must say. The man was being modest.
Maybe he thought His prayer was too much, maybe he thought
Jesus couldn’t heal his son. Whatever the reason he didn’t
see the need to be specific, precise and definite in his request.

Jesus on the other hand saw things differently and He challenged
the man’s faith. Jesus was not cool with “maybe’s and if’s”…..
He wanted faith! After challenging the man’s faith, the man cried out
to the Lord, “help my weakness of faith”!!!

I can relate to this story so much. How many times I have been
afraid to be specific in my request, maybe because I was scared
I would not get what I asked for or I thought Jesus would say no!
But this is the thing, Jesus wants us to be specific!
We either believe God or we don’t, it’s that simple!
It’s either, “Lord heal my son” or “if you can, please heal my son!!”

I have two friends who have been trusting God to go back to
university. It’s been a battle for them. There were times it looked
like God was not going to come through for them, there were
times it seemed like everything was lost but as I write this post
one of them has already left for school and the other friend is leaving
sometime next week!!! What a faithful God we serve!

Your faith in God is not misplaced, when you put your trust in God
He WILL come through for you, He will answer you. The times of
testing will always come, the times of trial will always come but we can
trust Him.

“Why,] all things can be (are possible) to him who believes!” 

Don’t be afraid to trust in the Lord fully! Don’t hold anything back.
He is waiting for you to believe in Him. He is waiting for you to
trust in Him fearlessly! Step up your faith in Him. No matter
how hard it gets trust in Him! As you do that, no matter how long
It takes, He will answer you! That is the best news in the world! Don’t you think so…..😄

Rolain

 

 

What do you believe about prayer?

How does God answer prayers? Is there a formula, a to-do list we have to follow? Well, a friend was speaking to me about prayer and this is what he had to say:

Throughout the Bible, God told His people to do something first before he answered their prayers. 

– God told Moses to strike the rock, and then water would come.

– The prophet told the widow to bake him a cake first. She believed God’s promise through the prophet and was kept alive through the famine.

– Before Jesus could raise Lazarus from the dead, He tested the their faith first, He told the mourners to first roll away the stone, then because of their obedience He brought Lazarus back to life. 

– Jesus told the blind man to go wash in the Pool of Siloam, then he would receive his sight.

– He told the ten lepers to go show themselves to the priests. When they showed their faith by obeying and heading in that direction, only then did God do the miracle. As they went, they were healed. 

 

I thought what he said was very interesting. You may not have an answer to prayer because He wants you to take the first step? As I read what he was sharing, things started popping up that I know God would want me to do first. Not that He is unable to perform a miracle because He is capable.

With that said, I don’t think God expects us to do everything. He wants to see our faith in Him in the first step we take! Do you trust Him, then step out? Have you prayed and not received an answer? Maybe you need to take the first step, in faith that He has heard you!

Rolain

She was a nobody but faith………

This is part of three of my series on Hebrews 11. Read part two here. As I start this post I would like to share a verse that got my attention,

[Prompted] by faith Rahab the prostitute was not destroyed along with those who refused to believe and obey, because she had received the spies in peace [without enmity]. Hebrews 11: 31

Rehab is a hero of the faith but I wonder if she sees the same thing?? If we spoke to her now would she say she is a hero proudly? A lot of people read her story and are inspired and it is good but let us look deeper into her life. She was a prostitute and that meant a few things:

– She slept with men for money. It didn’t matter if the man was married or a drunk, or abusive, as long as they had money she would sleep with them.

– She was looked down upon by society.

– It’s very possible she struggled with a low self esteem

– She was finding it hard to make ends meet and maybe that is why she became a prostitute.

– She lived in fear (it’s possible she was threatened by men she slept with)

– No one respected her.

– She may have broken a few families up. It’s possible wives found out their husbands slept with Rahab and left!

– She must have dealt with guilt and condemnation on a regular basis because of the things she had to do. .

– Did she try to commit suicide???

I would like to make something clear before we move on,

I look up to Rahab and in no way am I trying to tear down her reputation and what God had done for her. I am trying to paint a picture of what she probably went through to make you understand what God saved her from. Because despite all the bad she did and all the bad that happened to her, through faith she was saved. Her name is recorded among the Greats because she trusted God! Because of faith she saved her family and was found in Jesus’s lineage!! (Matthew 1:5)

We need faith and without it we can do nothing pleasing to God. Do I understand what faith is? Not really. What I do know is God did amazing things through the people who trusted Him. No matter what people labeled them, or where they grew up, they turned the world upside down!

This is what the word says about these great men and women of faith,

[Men] of whom the world was not worthy–roaming over the desolate places and the mountains, and [living] in caves and caverns and holes of the earth. (Hebrews 11:38 AMP)

Think about all Rahab could of gone through. How could God use her, one could think but in the end what matters is He did! No one is too far off for God to use!

You might feel like you are of no use and your life doesn’t count for something. You might think you have committed too much sin to ever do anything great or you may be plagued with guilt and condemnation but know God has a plan for you! He wants to do great things through you and that is why He wants you to trust Him. Only God can turn your life into something great but you have to have faith in Him!

Rahab did that. She stepped out in faith to God despite what she had done and what people thought and saved the spies. As she used her faith her life changed never to be the same ever. What an amazing testimony for her. I am going to look forward to meeting her and hearing her story! Her story is an example of what God can do with someone who has faith in Him!

Our faith in God can do things we never imagined ever. It can open doors only God can open. Have faith in Him.

Rolain

The Danger of Comfort!!!

I love quotes a lot. One of my favorite quotes says,

“Ships in the harbor are safe, but that’s not what ships are built for”.

You will agree with me that this is a very popular quote. As I was thinking about it I decided to go and try and find stories of ships that were destroyed in the harbor. I couldn’t find even one story. I searched and searched with no luck. Seriously, I could not find anything. I didn’t find a headline that said, SHIP DESTROYED WHILE IN HARBOR! Nothing. Interestingly enough I found more than enough stories about ships that were destroyed out at sea. Then it hit me. We are scared to take risk at times. We prefer to be comfortable and we prefer to be safe but this is the thing, we are not made to live in the harbor. We are meant to be out there taking risks. We are meant to be stepping out like Peter in faith!!! It’s out at sea that we see God. Actually it’s where God meets us! It is out in the sea that we see the miraculous. Being in the harbor is safe and comfortable but there is no growth. Someone once said comfort breeds laziness and I think he is right. Out at sea is pain and sorrow, and fear of the unknown but better that than lazying around in the sun, thinking about what could of being and moaning over chances not taken because of fear!!!! Enough of saying, “I wish I could of” or “what would of happened if I” or “If only I”…….ENOUGH!!!!!!
You were NOT created to live in comfort and safety  but you were created to impact the world. You were created to grow and change the world around you. Amen……

Rolain

How God Works On Our Behalf……

Where are you at in this season? Are you satisfied with where you are? Are you in a place where you don’t need anything? Or are you in a place where you need God to come through for you? Have you looked at your life and come to a realization that you need more of God? Are you in a place where if God doesn’t come through for you, you will go under? Does it seem like you just pray and pray with no answer? If you are in that place I would like to share something God revealed to me.

When God revealed this to me I was trusting God for some things. I would pray and pray but nothing would happen. It was a really puzzling time for me because I was not getting what I was trusting God for. Puzzling and frustrating until God showed me what I was doing wrong. Please get me, praying is important. You cannot be an effective Christian if you don’t pray. But what I am saying is, you can’t just stop at prayer. There must be more. In that frustrating season i was reading the story of the four lepers in the book of Kings. They were in a really bad situation. Look at what the word says,

It happened that four lepers were sitting just outside the city gate. They said to one another, what are we doing sitting here at death’s door? If we enter the famine-struck city we’ll die; if we stay here we’ll die. So let’s take our chances in the camp of Aram and throw ourselves on their mercy. If they receive us we’ll live, if they kill us we’ll die. We’ve got nothing to lose.   2 Kings 7:3,4

I don’t know about you but that is a really bad situation!! But God managed to help them and a whole nation because of a simple act. They got up from where they were and starting moving!! And that is what God showed me. It is not enough to pray or to even desire. There needs to be more and that more is moving, you doing something!! So I was praying and trusting God but only as I started moving and doing something did God come through. Doors began to open, things began to happen. It is important in our trusting that we step out and do something. without works faith is dead. And the action may be something small, calling a friend, going somewhere, writing that letter, but do something!

As the lepers got up from where there were and started moving God did something amazing and that applies to you. This way that we follow is one of grace and I am in no way advocating for a works based life. The pharisees thought works would save them but they didn’t. What I am saying is, there needs to be a balance. There comes a time when we need to get up and act and that is the way God works on our behalf. A lot of the times we think God works by Himself, alone, but He works through people. That is the way He has chosen to move.

This is not an easy word. I am trying to walk in this daily. At times I forget I need to act. Sometimes I am just plain lazy, at times scared but if we are going to see God move on our behalf we will need to step out. My prayer for you is that God will show you what you need to be doing in your life at this moment. Amen

Rolain.