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

It’s not your burden to carry…..

I have been worrying about a certain situation this week. It actually started last week. It wasn’t too

serious but enough to warrant a response from me. But in the midst of the worrying a few thoughts came

to me. Was my worrying warranted? What does YAH think when I worry?

Surely it’s okay to worry here and there?

 

Reading the word brought some clarity and that is what I want to share.

No matter how bad things are, no matter what comes our way, His desire for us is to always bring

our problems to Him.

He doesn’t want us wasting even a second worrying.

The call to not worry is a command from the Lord.

Let’s look at a few scriptures in light of this,

 

“Do not fret or have anxiety about anything, but in every circumstance and in everything, 

by prayer and petition (definite requests), with thanksgiving, continue to make your wants

known to God.” 

Philippians 4:6 (emphasis mine)

 

“Peace I leave with you; My [own] peace I now give and bequeath to you. Not as the world gives

do I give to you. 

Do not let your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. [Stop allowing yourselves to be agitated

and disturbed; and do not permit yourselves to be fearful and intimidated and cowardly and unsettled.]

John 14:27 (emphasis mine)

 

There is no suggestion or invitation here. it’s definite, resolute.

And that is so for a reason.

 

We worry about things but the Lord wants to take it all.

He doesn’t want us to waste time worrying because He cares for us and loves us. He wants to help us.

He is stronger than anything we will ever face and He knows that.

 

So as I end I want to make us see that worrying does not accomplish the purposes of the Lord in any way.

Worrying opens the door to anxiety, stress, fear and a lot of other harmful things.

When worry comes we need to take it to Him instantly. Don’t hold on to it.

Whatever you are worrying about today know that it’s not your burden to carry.

It’s the Lord’s burden, He wants it to take it from you. Will you let Him?

 

 

“Are you weary, carrying a heavy burden? Then come to me. I will refresh your life, 

for I am Your oasis. 

Simply join your life with mine. Learn my ways and you’ll discover that I’m gentle, 

humble, easy to please. You will find refreshment and rest in me. 

For all that I require of you will be pleasant and easy to bear.” 

Matthew 11:28-30 (TPT)

 

Bless you friends

 

Rolain

 

 

When will the Lord answer us?

Is this the day?

Is this the day the door opens?

Is this the day my prayers are answered?

Is this the day I get my breakthrough?

 

The truth is I don’t know the day but that’s not the point. The point is to be expectant.

The point is to put your hope in the Lord. Today could be the day but if it’s not keep trusting,

Keep declaring, Keep doing, fully confident the day is coming.

The question is no longer, “will the day come” but “when is the day”.

 

The enemy will try to deceive you into believing the day won’t come. He will try to make you believe

the sickness is permanent, the lack is permanent, the broken relationship is permanent, the addiction

is permanent, the list goes on and on but he is wrong.

Your answer to prayer will come, it might be already here, the sickness will leave, you are healed,

what the enemy stole will be restored, poverty will be broken off your life…..I think you get the

picture.

 

Mephiboseth was a cripple and didn’t have much going for him. As a baby his nurse fled with him but

in her haste she dropped him and he became a cripple. He didn’t have a say in the

matter. (2 Samuel 4:4) Talk about an unfortunate circumstance.

But when all was lost something pretty amazing happened.

 

“The king said, Is there not still someone of the house of Saul to whom I may show the [unfailing, unsought, 

unlimited] mercy and kindness of God?”

2 Samuel 9:3

 

There is nothing Mephibosheth did differently to get the kings attention. No one went to the king and

appealed on his behalf, no. He was a nobody in one instant and in the next he was eating at the

king’s table! And that is why we must live a life of expectancy and faith.

I don’t think Mephibosheth had any idea his life would change so drastically. But as sons and

daughters of the King we can be expectant. A life without hope is death. What David did

for Mephibosheth is a picture of the Father’s heart I believe. We don’t deserve His goodness, grace

and mercy but He has given it anyway.

Like Mephibosheth the Lord can do the same thing and more. We need to be expectant always.

 

 

Expect YAH to move in your life today.

Expect an answer to your prayers.

Expect healing, expect deliverance, expect breakthrough.

The Lord is faithful. He won’t let us down.

Have a great weekend friends……

 

Rolain

 

 

 

Expect Him to move in your life today……..Part 2

I wasn’t planning to do this but after I wrote the first part I realized

I had to go deeper. I want to break this topic down and talk about

the process, how do we

“Expect YAH to move in our lives today?”

I am going to introduce three things that could help you.

 

1. Bring your past to Him

You may have had a difficult past but you can let go. You don’t

have to let it dictate what your future will be like.

Bring your past to the Lord. He doesn’t want you holding on to

it any longer. Your future is brighter and full of hope.

I used to hold on to the past so tight that it became a part of me.

I used to wear it like a badge everywhere I went. And even though

what happened to me was serious, YAH wanted me to release it

to Him so He could show me a future He had planned for me.

Friends, don’t let your past ruin what YAH has for you now…

 

“Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old.

Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not 

perceive it.” 

Isaiah 43:18

 

2. Change the words you are speaking

 

“And behold, a woman who had suffered from a flow of blood for

twelve years came up behind Him and touched the fringe of His

garment; 

for she kept saying to herself, if I only touch His garment,  I shall

be restored to health. ” 

Matthew 9:20, 21

 

The woman kept speaking what she was believing for. There is

power in the words we speak. What comes out of your mouth

has an impact on your life. Speak life, speak what you believing

for and don’t fall into the trap of speaking negatively.

 

“A good man eats good from the fruit of his mouth, but the desire of

the treacherous is for violence. 

He who guards his mouth keeps his life, but he who opens wide

his lips comes to ruin.” 

Proverbs 13:2, 3

 

3. Spend more time with YAH 

I put this as the last thing because I find it so hard. I am constantly

fighting distractions left, right and center. And the crazy thing is, I

created most of the distractions!! That’s so messed up!

We need to spend more time in His word, more time speaking to

Him and listening to Him.

 

 

I will leave you with those three things to ponder on.

I hope those points will help you on your journey.

The Lord wants to move in your life for sure. Be expectant.

Bless you friends…..

 

Rolain

 

 

 

 

Will you say “yes” to Him?

“Now there was in Damascus a disciple named Ananias. 

The Lord said to him in a vision, Ananias. And he answered,

Here am I, Lord. 

And the Lord said to him, Get up and go to the street called 

Straight and ask at the house of Judas for a man of Tarsus

named Saul, for behold, he is praying [there].”

Acts 9:10, 11

 

I hope we all know the story of Ananias. God spoke to him

to go to Paul. At that time Paul was causing great suffering

among God’s people. He was imprisoning them and killing

them.

So when God told Ananias to go to Saul it was not

surprising he had reservations about going to him.

 

“But Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard many people

tell about this man, especially how much evil and what 

great suffering he has brought on Your saints at Jerusalem;

Now he is here and has authority from the high priest to 

put in chains all who call upon Your name. “

Acts 9:13, 14

 

But read what God tells him,

 

“But the Lord said to Him, Go, for this man is a chosen

instrument of Mine to bear My name before the Gentiles

and kings and the descendants of Israel; “

Acts 9:15

 

But I love how Ananias responded to God,

 

“So Ananias left and went into the house. And he laid his 

hands on Saul and said, Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, 

Who appeared to you along the way by which you came here, 

has sent me that you may recover your sight and be filled

with the Holy Spirit. “

Acts 9:17

 

Ananias said yes to God! That’s all that mattered to him at the

end of the day.

 

I share that story to show you that God uses simple, ordinary,

obedient people to carry out His will!

You don’t have to be anyone grand, you just need to be obedient!

I don’t know about you but I want to be used more by God.

I don’t want fear to stop me.

Ananias may have been afraid but that didn’t stop him from

obeying God.

We are God’s hands and feet in this earth.

So the question is, are we obeying His voice or are we

expecting someone else to answer His call?

Do we think we are too insignificant to be used by Him?

That is a lie from the enemy.

God loves you and wants to use you in a mighty way.

He is not waiting for you to become a millionaire to use you,

He is not waiting for you to get your life “sorted” out before

He can use you.

 

Please understand something, without God’s grace and favor

on our lives we wouldn’t be able to do anything.

But we have been filled with His holy Spirit and that

means we can do anything no matter our past, no matter

our skin color, no matter what people label us as.

Remember Gideon

Remember Moses

Remember Peter

Remember Mary

Remember Rahab

 

These people were not qualified according to the world’s

standards.

They were nobodies but not to God.

He saw them differently.

He saw greatness in them.

He validated them and that was the most important thing!

 

The word today is simple, God needs you!

He wants to use you.

You are His hands and feet.

He is looking to and fro across the earth to see who will say “yes”

to Him!

Will you say “yes” to Him today??

Bless you friends….

 

Rolain

 

 

How to make your life count……

 

Do you want to stand out? Then step down.

Be a servant. If you pull yourself up, you’ll

get the wind knocked out of you.

But if you’re content to simply be yourself, your life

will count for plenty.

Matthew 23:11-12 (MSG)

 

I really love this. To stand out in the world, we do crazy

things to get people’s attention. The world teaches us to

push whoever is in our way, we are taught that the other

person doesn’t matter, we are taught to tear down anyone

who is better than us, steal, cheat and a whole host of other

things must be implemented if we are to stand out but that

is just not true!

 

To stand out we must be willing to step down and …….

BE A SERVANT!!

 

Standing out is about putting others first. It is about sacrificing

what you want to help someone else. It is about serving others.

God will make a way for you when you truly stand out!

Jesus is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords and yet He came to

serve. He didn’t force people to worship Him but instead He came

to serve. He didn’t seek the limelight. Standing out requires

humbleness. There is no way you can truly stand out if you

are proud.

 

The true heart of a believer always wants to serve.

The limelight is not the most important thing in his or her life.

Pleasing God is the most important thing.

Will you truly stand out for God today?

 

photo credit: google images

 

Rolain

Don’t stay there!!

I have been feeling overwhelmed lately.
I have been looking at various situations in my life and have
felt dejected.
It all feels hopeless.
I thought I was strong enough for the battle but
I was wrong.
I thought I could handle the pressure but
I was wrong.
The waiting is difficult
I look at the situations and realize there is nothing I can
do….there is nothing Rolain can do!

How many of you have been at that place?
How many of you have been at a place of
hopelessness, where hope has seemed to vanish?
A place where the problems seem too much, too big
for you to take on?

In all of my thinking a thought came to me.

I could either stay in that place, or I could look to
God, the One who is in control of my life.

I could stay in a place of hopelessness or
I could trust Him to turn things around.

I could stay in a place where I think nothing is
happening or I could chose to speak about the things
God is doing in my life even when I don’t see them?!

I could stay in this place and talk about how bad it is
Or I could praise God because He has a plan for me and is
Bringing it to pass….!

Remember this: If you are in that place, you have a choice. You can either stay in that place of hopelessness where you think God doesn’t seem to be doing anything or you can see all the amazing things He has in store for you!

It’s okay to have days where you feel overwhelmed, and so on but don’t stay there! Move to a place of faith! Move to a place where you can see God move because the truth of the matter is, He is always moving!

God has great things in store for you!
He has made your life beautiful.
He is leading you in ALL of your steps!

Rolain

The true face of grace……

Grace is wild. 

I didn’t understand what that statement meant when I first read it. I asked my friend
who had posted it and got some idea but only now am I beginning to understand what
it really means…….Grace is wild indeed!

As I sit here writing this post I realise I am where I am because of God’s grace. It is
because of God’s grace that I am here.

My life in its entirety is a testament of God’s grace!
Forget intelligence, wit, resourcefulness and so on…..

My life is a testimony of God’s grace and nothing else!

The reason I am alive is because of God’s grace

The reason I have hope and a destiny is soley because of His grace
Looking at my life it doesn’t make sense why I am here doing
the things I am doing. With the kind of past I had I should be
poor, lost, abandoned, without hope, purposeless and so much more….
but His grace brought me here…..

I may not have reached my destination but it’s because of His grace
I am even traveling!!!
Do we really understand how amazing His grace is..???

Because of His grace I am doing things in normal situations I am

not supposed to be doing. Some of those things are:

 

I teach kids every Sunday but when I started I stuttered badly!

God enables me every time I teach. I don’t stutter now! That is grace!

I love writing but I never pursued it at school. I have never went to

writing school.

 

I have lived in a country that has had one of the worst economies in

the world. The country came to a stand still, we ran out of food and

our dollar crashed and yet I am still here……!

 

Because of abuse I had NO self esteem, nothing whatsoever!

I avoided crowds and hated speaking in front of people. I hated

myself but here I am today knowing who I am and helping others

discover who they are in God. I don’t know about you but that

is grace! The person I am today is because of God’s grace!

 

God’s grace is not to be taken lightly. It’s His grace that carries us

everyday!

We have a chance at life and we have favor because of His grace!

We can face giants because His grace is on us.

We can walk through the valley because it’s His grace that leads us

out of it.

 

I have come to the conclusion that the enemy has no concept of grace.

He doesn’t understand it. If he did he would stop fighting. He would

stop trying to fight against God’s people because he would know his

efforts are useless because God’s grace is with us and protects us! He

may not understand but we do…..

If grace has got me this far what more my future?! I can look with confidence at my future because I know His grace is with me. Grace opens doors that I can’t open in my own strength.

Grace enables me to face giants

Grace gives me permission to ask the impossible.

When we are humble we begin to understand grace more fully!

Pride hides the true face of grace!

My desire and prayer is that you will begin to see more of God’s

grace in your life. His grace is truly amazing!
Amen

Rolain

How to pray for your future wife!

This post is a response to a post I read a few days ago, a post that  challenged me to the core. If you are a single woman I urge you to read it. The title of the post is called, “Dear Future Husband” and it is written by Samantha Hardcastle. You can read it here.

Men, I urge you to read it as well. It is an excellently written post and I think as men we need to know the kind of women we want and Samantha does a great job of holding up a Proverbs 31 woman. Anyway, let’s start. After reading the post I realized how important it is for us as men to do our part. We too need to pray for our wives. Samantha says,

‘These women don’t know if he has brown hair or orange hair – if he enjoys his coffee black or sweet – or if he’s been through hell and back. But they all share a common thread that all too easily, could be a lost art in one’s love life – and that is the act of praying.”

Men, prayer is important. Prayer is powerful and not to be taken lightly. I say that to you and to myself as a reminder. But I would like to go further with this because as men our responsibility is so much greater not because God made men better than women, but because God has a plan. We are to be the head. We are called to lead our families. We are called to protect and take care of them. The responsibility we have been given is very serious. So the question stands, how are we as men to pray for our wives?

I mentioned the first point. The actually act of praying is very important and key.

For the second point I would like to share something else from Samantha’s post,

“As I go through my past letters, a common theme I have prayed over him is that He would be a bold man for the things of God, bold in loving others, bold in living selflessly, bold in risking his personal comfort for more of Jesus. A man who is bold is the kind of man I want to hold”.

Another way of praying for your future wife is by preparing yourself in your singleness.

What habits need to be changed now? We don’t start when we get married, no! We start now. Ask God to show you habits that are not honoring to Him and ask your closest friends about the things you do that annoy them. Maybe you talk with food in your mouth or people can hear you from the other side of the world when you eat. Maybe you like getting up late every day or maybe you can’t resist flirting with other women, I don’t know. Just change habits that need to be changed.

Have a vision. As a man you are going to lead your family but how will you lead if you don’t have a vision? Let me rephrase that. How can you lead your family if you don’t know what your purpose is? Everyone has a purpose from God. Ask God to show you His purpose for your life.

Seek God with all of your heart. I put this third but it’s actually the most important thing a man can do. Without God we are nothing. He must be first in your life. He must be your consuming passion. He must be the one who occupies your thoughts constantly. He must be the one that completes you. Please listen to me on this point. A woman will not complete you. God is the only one, I repeat , the only one who will complete you…..The media has lied to us through movies and music that a man or woman will complete us but that is so not true. GOD IS THE ONLY ONE WHO WILL COMPLETE YOU. Ladies, if you find yourself relying on a man for meaning and purpose then you have been deceived! God is the only one who can give you that.

I will stop there for today. I have lots to share but I will stop there. I hope you got the gist of what I am saying. As men we need to pray for our wives too. They need our prayers as we need their prayers……It’s a two way thing.  Be vigilant; don’t take the assignment you have been given by God lightly. Your future wife is depending on you, she is praying for you!

Rolain

What praise is…..

THOUGHT OF THE DAY

I got up this morning and did my daily reading of the word and a word jumped out at me. It’s a word that has blessed me so many times. But this morning, I was blessed by it even more. Here is what I read:

Hallelujah!

You who serve God, praise God!

Just to speak His name is praise!

Just to remember God is a blessing –

now and tomorrow and always.

From east to west, from dawn to dusk, keep lifting all your praises to God!

Psalm 113:1-3 (The Message)

 

Wow right!!!! This verse does something for me every time I read it.

We serve a really really really big God. He deserves all our praise and worship.

So…….if you serve God, praise God! He has done great things for you. (Oh, and that is not a suggestion, it’s a command. God commands us, not to make life hard for us but because He knows there is a blessing when we do it).

Just to speak His name is praise – what power He has!!! Where just to speak His name something happens!!!  Jesus!

Just to remember God is a blessing – now and tomorrow and always – Get rid of those things that hinder you from remembering Him daily. Not just daily but constantly through the day. IT IS A BLESSING TO REMEMBER GOD!

And lastly, lift up your praise from dawn to dusk! He has done great things and is doing great things. Doing that magnifies God in your life. He gets bigger the more you praise Him. This is your challenge and my challenge. Let us give Him the praises He deserves.  Amen

Rolain