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

In the face of overwhelming odds……

“And the Philistines gathered to fight with Israel, 30 000 chariots and 6000 horsemen and troops like sand 

on the seashore in multitude.” 

1 Samuel 13:5

 

Saul and his army were in serious trouble. The enemy outnumbered them 1000 to 1 (it could have been more).

The enemy had cornered them with no way of escape, they were trapped!

 

As I read this story I think about the battles, the trials, and the storms we face. They vary right?

Some are not as devastating, then there are some that have the potential to rip your world apart.

But whatever the case storms are difficult. They test us, they rock us to the core. They show us who we

really are and where our faith and focus are.

 

Saul and Jonathan were in real danger. To add to the fact that the army they were facing outnumbered

them 1000 to 1, they had no weapons! (read 1 Samuel 13:19-22)

The only people with weapons were Saul and Jonathan. It’s crazy to think they had 2 swords

between them!  How big was Saul’s army? He had a 600 strong army (read 1 Samuel 13:15)

 

So as you can see, their chances looked grim. But this is where the story gets interesting because against such

overwhelming odds something amazing happened. What happened is a lesson, a strategy for us to use as we

face the terrifying storms, the trials, and the challenges.

Let’s take a look at what happened;

 

“One day Jonathan son of Saul said to his armor bearer, “come let us go over to the Philistine garrison

on the other side.” But he did not tell his father.” 

1 Samuel 14: 1

 

So to backtrack a bit, the only people with swords were Saul and Jonathan but Jonathan decided to go over

to the Philistine garrison without telling his father which meant he had one sword.

With one sword Jonathan would face an entire garrison! Had he lost his mind???

Look at what he told his armor-bearer;

 

“Jonathan said to his officer who carried his armor, “Come. 

Let’s go to the camp of those men who are not circumcised. Maybe the Lord will help us. It doesn’t matter

if we have many people, or just a few. 

Nothing can keep the Lord from giving us victory.” 

1 Samuel 14:6

 

Jonathan was brave but his dependence was on God. That’s why he was so confident, so sure.

His faith wasn’t in his ability with a sword. His faith was in a God who was stronger than any enemy

he would ever face. And it wasn’t his sword that delivered him. It was his faith in God. That made all the difference.

And that’s how powerful faith in God is.

What situation are you facing today? What kind of storm are you in? Is your faith in God or are you focused

on something else??

It’s not the people you know, your intelligence, where you work,

how much you serve in your church that will get you through the storm.

It’s faith through and through. Faith really does move mountains.

Faith in God is not a lost cause.

There are times when it seems like God is silent and taking matters into our hands seems like the next

best thing but it isn’t. Give God room to move. Put all of your faith in Him and see the things He will do.

God knows everything. There is not a single thing that gets past Him.

In your darkest season trust Him. It’s your faith in God that makes all the difference.

Bless you, friends.

 

Rolain

 

 

 

A strategy to destroy a dream!

“Goliath stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, 

Why have you come out to draw up for battle?

Am I not a Philistine, and are you not servants

of Saul? Choose a man for yourselves and let 

him come down to me.  1 Samuel 17:8 

 

How could Goliath speak to the people of God

like that? These were the people of God for crying

out loud. Didn’t Goliath know who they were?

That is irrelevant because God’s people lost

sight of who they really were.

 

When Saul and all Israel heard those words of the 

Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid. 

1 Samuel 17:11

 

God loved His people, He had big dreams for His

people but…….

 

The Philistine came out morning and evening, 

presenting himself for forty days.  1 Samuel 17:16

 

….but for forty days Goliath came and defied the

armies of God! Why didn’t they just attack Israel?

We already know Israel was greatly afraid

when Goliath came out to taunt them.

They could of taken Israel out and in a way,

they did.

The enemy managed to instill fear in the heart

of the Israel. They didn’t stop after the first

week, instead, they taunted them for forty

days……

The enemy knew exactly what they were doing.

They knew the power of fear. For forty days

Israel saw the giant. That’s all they saw.

Fear made them see the giant and everyday the

giant kept on getting bigger. The stories kept

getting grander. During the forty days, Israel

saw nothing else but the giant. They never

saw a chance of victory, they never saw hope,

all they saw was a giant……

 

Fear blinded them from seeing God!

The army of God never saw their God!

 

You need to know that the enemy’s strategy has

not changed. He still uses fear to paralyze you, he

still uses fear to stop you from seeing God.

He still uses fear to destroy any hope you may

have. If he had his way, he would keep you in fear

for the rest of your life.

 

But then David came!

 

He had a relationship of God that was so amazing.

He loved God and his heart was for God. David

had a relationship with God that was like no other.

 

When he went to visit his brothers he was the only

one who saw something wrong. He was the only one

who didn’t fear the giant!

 

God’s presence in your life will break the hold

of fear.

Because David spent time with God he could easily

identify the fear and confront it head on.

Am I saying David never struggled with

fear ever? He battled with it indeed but as

he spent time with God he overcame it.

 

The enemy wants you in fear because he knows

that will get your focus off God.

But when you spend time with God, you will be

able to fight the fear. David didn’t rely on his

own strength. He trusted God as he approached

the giant.

 

As I read this story I realized the enemy will

do anything to stop us from accomplishing our

destiny. He knew God had a plan for Israel

but he used fear to stop them!

He might be doing the same thing to you today

but I am here to say there is a way out.

You don’t have to listen to the fear.

Look to God, trust Him, spend time with

Him! He is the answer.

Don’t be afraid of the future. God has an

amazing plan for your life. He is personally

guiding you.

I saw that so clearly today. There are some things

happening in my life that have made me fear but

God doesn’t want me to focus on the fear. He wants

me to look to Him and realize He is in TOTAL

control. Fear distorts the truth……

At the end of the day I made a decision to trust

instead of fear.

What will your decision be….?

 

Rolain

The disception of the media…..

Did any of you watch the Grammies? I didn’t but I heard so much, especially Katy Perry’s performance. So I decided to see what it was all about and I was shocked. How could they show such a performance on prime time television??? On top of that there was a mass gay wedding ceremony which happened during a performance by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis. As if that was not enough Jay-Z’s and Beyoncé’s performance was said to be way to explicit for children. I watched a bit of Katy Perry’s performance and heard about the other two. I couldn’t believe it. Let us rewind a couple of years. A lot of the stuff the media is exposing us to now would be unheard of back in the day. What was R-rated then would probably be PG13 or something like that nowadays. Our minds have been numbed by the media. Their strategy, show something horrifying, not too excessive but enough to do it’s damage. Our minds have been seared by the media. We are constantly bombarded by violence, same sex marriages, divorce, sex before marriage, and so on, surely there must be an effect. Katy Perry’s performance was satanic and should never have been aired but this is the world we live in. We are being exposed to all kinds of junk and our minds are being seared. I want to show you some of the responses I read about Katy Perry’s performance.

– Um, did we just witness actual witchcraft during Katy Perry’s Grammy performance?

– I’m like 99% sure Katy Perry just summoned satan during her performance.

– Now all the little girls that look up to Katy Perry will worship satan.

I will stop there……There were so many tweets about the performance but what got me was the lack of shock. The statements were said as a mere statement of fact and nothing more. No outrage, disgust, hate or anything like that. If there was there wasn’t much of it. My case is this, our minds are being seared and becoming more susceptible to what the media is showing us. We need to make a stand about what we watch and what we listen to. Our kids, your kids are being attacked and not in the way you think. You think leaving your kids watching television is good but it’s not. It is destroying them on the inside……! I just would like to appeal to you to make a stand about what you watch and listen to for you and your family…. The media is working hard and smart to change the way we think. This must stop. We can’t change what the media air but we can make a decision about what we watch and listen to. Our lives and families lives depend on it.

Rolain.