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

The Victory We Are A Part Of – An Easter Story!

Happy Easter to you all.

I hope you are having a great time celebrating the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.

This is a strong day for us as Christians, a day of power for sure. I am so excited about this weekend because of what it represents. This is what makes the Gospel the Gospel if you know what I mean. If Jesus never died and rose again we wouldn’t be here and Christianity would be nullified. The power of our faith is based on the death and resurrection of Jesus. Paul speaks about this in 1 Corinthians 15:13 so I encourage you to go and read that passage of scripture.

But I want to focus on another story in this post.

“Then Jesus uttered another loud cry and breathed his last. And the curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple was torn in two, from top to bottom.”

Mark 15:37

As we all know Jesus died on the cross. And for a brief moment the devil thought he had won. He thought he had victory over Jesus. And for a brief moment Jesus’ followers lost too. But that was not the end of the story…

“The women were terrified and bowed with their faces to the ground. Then the men asked, “Why are you looking among the dead for someone who is alive? He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead!”

Luke 24:5, 6

Jesus rose from the dead! He conquered the devil. He won the war.

He was victorious and because of what he did we too have that same victory. And that’s why this weekend is so powerful, so important. There is a grace for us if we will only see. We need to ask the Lord for his help because he was victorious for us.

So if you are in a dark place today, and it seems like the enemy is too strong and the giants are too many I want you to know that there is victory available to you. The devil does not have the last say in your story. Jesus does! He has the last say and it is good and it is final. His Word cannot be overturned by the devil.

When the curtain in the temple tore into two, our access to God was now cleared of all obstacles, We could now go to him anytime. We now have a direct line of communication to the Creator of the Universe, to the Lord of Armies.

So as you can see, a lot of important things happened that day when Jesus rose from the dead and that is why this is such a strong day for you and me. As I come to the end of this post I want to encourage you to reflect on what Jesus did on the cross and how that affects your life. I read a definition of what it means to be a Christian that challenged me recently that goes,

A Christian is someone who believes in the physical resurrection of Jesus Christ and lives in light of the implications of that event

I love that and I am so challenged.

With that I have come to the end of the post.

Have a great and blessed weekend friends.

Bless you!

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

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

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

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

The Lord gave him a picture…..

“Then God led Abram outside. God said, “Look at the sky. There are so many stars

you cannot count them. And your descendants will be too many to count.”

Abram believed the Lord. And the Lord accepted Abram’s faith and that faith made

him right with God.

  

Genesis 15:5, 6

The Lord led Abram outside and gave him a picture of his life and that’s the way it’s supposed to be.

But as I look back at my life I see how I allowed people to give me a picture. The enemy was in the mix

as well and did everything in his power to enforce the picture he had given me

because I didn’t know better. It took years to break the negative picture I had been

given and thanks to God the healing is still ongoing.

The Lord has a picture for you too. The picture is amazing and glorious but there is so much opposition

from the enemy. he doesn’t want you to walk in the plan God has for your life because that’s what the picture

is about. It’s about where God wants to take you. It’s about what He has in store for you.

But the enemy uses fear, abuse, manipulation and a whole lot of other things to blind you to God’s picture.

Don’t accept the enemy’s pictures. They are all lies.

his pictures get you depressed, fearful, anxious, greedy, and weak.

his pictures are all void of goodness, peace, love, fulfillment, faith, joy and every other good thing

God is.

Reject them at every turn. But you need help. You need the Lord’s help.

The good news is this, the picture you have now can be changed. That’s what happened to me.

My picture was really bad but the Lord came and changed it. He replaced the dark, hopeless,

fearful picture and replaced it with His life-giving, fresh, new, energizing picture!

And that’s what He does for us as His children.

As I end I will leave you with a scripture that sums up what I have been talking about,

“Call to Me and I will answer you and show you great and mighty things, fenced in and hidden, 

which you do not know (do not distinguish and recognize, have knowledge of and understand).”

Jeremiah 33:3

Blessings to you, friends

Rolain

The sisters believed and saw God’s glory…..

“Then Jesus said to her, “Didn’t I tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God.” 

John 11:40

 

Mary and Martha thought Yeshua would heal their brother but He never got to them in time. Lazarus

died and by the time He got there Lazarus had been dead for four days.

 

How hard that must have been for the sisters. They had put their hope in the Lord but He never

showed up in time. Lazarus had died end of story. Yeshua would have to pay his condolences

when He came but that’s not what happened. When He arrived, He challenged them in their faith.

The story was far from over.

 

“Then Jesus said to her, “Didn’t I tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God? 

 

The glory of God Yeshua was speaking about was answer to prayer, breakthrough, Lazarus being

raised from the dead.

But the sisters needed to keep believing if they were to see the glory of God!

 

That spoke to me this week. If I am to see the glory of God in my life I need to keep believing. 

What does the manifestation of God’s glory look like in your life today?

Is it healing, restored relationships, breakthrough of finances……

 

The sisters had put their faith in God. It was hard seeing their brother’s health fade away.

Where was the Lord? Had He forgotten about them? Did He love them as much as they thought?

(the bible tells us they had a close relationship)

But in a moment of time it seemed like their faith in God was misplaced. “He couldn’t even come on

time.

But the Lord as we know had not forgotten. He loved this family and would do something amazing

for them.

He would bring Lazarus back from the dead and that is why He challenged them to keep believing.

 

We need to keep believing friends. As you put your hope in God you WILL see the glory of God

manifest in your life. That’s the message today.

The glory of God will be manifested in your life so keep believing. The Lord is faithful and won’t

back down on His promises. Even when it’s difficult believe and see His glory!

 

Bless you friends

 

Rolain

 

 

 

He takes away shame….

“Later, Zechariah’s wife, Elizabeth, became pregnant. She did not go out of her house for five 

moths. Elizabeth said, “Look what the Lord has done for me! My people were ashamed of me, 

but now the Lord has taken away that shame.”

Luke 1:24, 25

 

I love this story for so many reasons. Elizabeth couldn’t have children and in her time people looked

down on her because of that. She didn’t decide to not have babies. She just couldn’t. It was out of her

control but I don’t think people understood that. They looked down on her because of it and that’s all

we need to know.

 

As I read this story it really spoke to me. As I look at my life there are a lot of things that haven’t

come to pass and sometimes it can be frustrating especially when it seems like the next person is

getting everything they prayed for and more. I have had to deal with people who thought there was

something wrong with me.  I have had to deal with the shame of unanswered prayers which is so

hard. Where do you even begin explaining why God hasn’t answered your prayers in a certain area??

There have even been times I thought God had forgotten about me because certain things had not

happened yet.

 

If you are in a similar situation as me then this story provides hope. Elizabeth was being ridiculed, and was

the talk of the town because she couldn’t have children but God did something amazing. He answered

her prayers and gave her a child. He took away her shame.

 

I believe God will take your shame, whatever it is. Just keep praying, keep trusting God. What you praying

and trusting God for will come to pass. Don’t lose heart. This is the thing, people will always talk. There

is nothing you can do about that but you can do something about your response. Don’t be discouraged

by other people’s words. God will fulfill what He promised no matter what the next person thinks. His

promises are never dependent on another persons opinions and ideas.

Maybe all your friends have gone to university but for one reason or the other you are still waiting to go,

God will answer your prayer.

You may still be single and the majority of your friends married. Just know that God knows exactly where

you are. Don’t panic or fret. He will answer your prayer.

Whatever it is, know that God will come through for you. He will take away your shame. Keep your eyes on Him!

Bless you friends.

 

Rolain

Watch what goes in……

THOUGHT OF THE DAY

contaminate:

to soil, stain, corrupt, or infect by contact or association

 

Today I will be talking about the contamination that happens in our hearts. We really do need to be careful

what we hear, who we hang out with, what we watch, what music we listen to….

Because it’s through those things we can contaminate ourselves.

 

Let me share a story with you of something that happened this week;

I was with some people who were speaking really negatively about a situation concerning the country.

The more the conversation went on the more uneasy I became. I could literally feel the fear creep in to me

as they spoke. I wanted to get out of there but I didn’t. I stayed. (wrong choice)

 

There is so much in this world that can contaminate and pollute our hearts so we must be on our guard

at all costs (Proverbs 4:23).

What are you listening to on a daily basis?

Who are you hanging out with?

What are you watching?

 

It’s hard to hear Yeshua’s voice when your heart is corrupted. It’s especially difficult to move in faith

when fear has entered your heart.

It’s hard to pray for healing when all you have filled yourself with, is words of death.

Stay away from toxic conversations. Reduce the amount of news you watch or read if that’s what gets

you out of peace?

Stay away from things that make you fearful and terrified, anxious and worry.

Those are the things that contaminate and pollute.

Guard your self at all costs!

 

Bless you

 

Rolain