Have you watched the Life changing Movie 180?

Dear friends,
 Just sharing with you this life changing movie- "180" that I recently came across. I suggest you finish off your chores and make yourself free for about half an hour to enjoy this truly shocking award winning documentary. Do watch patiently till the end , it is truly worth it! If you were  blessed , do pass this along to someone else whom you feel may need it.

Pls click : http://youtu.be/7y2KsU_dhwI

Visit Way of The Master for some good audios / videos and other evangelistic tools and resources  by the same author Ray Comfort . Don't forget to check out his famous audio  HELL'S BEST KEPT SECRET. Its one of the best that I have listened to!

Have a great day!

Take care, God bless,

Sparky laurie

WHAT IS PRAISE & WORSHIP ???

“Come, let us worship and bow down. Let us kneel before the LORD our maker, for He is our God and we are the people he watches over, the flock under his care.”(Psalms 95: 6-7)

Hi friends,

I’d like to share a few thoughts with you as regards 2 words commonly used by the Church today - PRAISE & WORSHIP.  What do they mean?

 Worship  is “to love, admire, or respect somebody or something greatly , excessively and unquestioningly.”

 When we are filled with awe, admiration, gratitude and respect we want to just let that person know how much they mean to us and this is what WORSHIP is. When we are so full of love and gratitude to the Lord for who He is and what He is doing in our lives, we start to make utterances about His greatness. This is Praise.

Praise is  “physically expressed worship / words that express approval or admiration, e.g. for somebody's achievements / good qualities.”

When we praise and worship God, our heart is joined with the Father’s heart and there is nothing that pleases Him more than us becoming one with Him.

Praise & Worship is one of the strongest weapons in Spiritual Warfare as when we begin to do so, God comes and inhabits the praises of His people and it is at this time that He is closest to us and every work of the defeated devil- sickness in our body or mind, pain in our heart, every kind of loss or lack leaves and miracles begin to take place. If only we knew how much power there is in true Praise and worship, we would run to our prayer chambers every time trouble came and praise God instead of doing anything else and that would get us quicker answers and permanent solutions for any and every problem in our lives.

We have a God who knows us inside out, who is well aware (even better than us ) of every detail of our situation and He is always ever so ready eagerly waiting for us to call on Him but we need to come to Him in the way that He has specified. I came across a good illustration by Steve Foss. He says that just like if we had to approach the Queen ,we would have to follow a certain protocol in order to talk with her and only when we are trained will we be allowed to go into the presence of such powerful people; here we are going into the presence of Almighty God- THE KING OF KINGS- THE ROYALTY OF ALL ROYALTIES and yet how much of the Fear of the Lord do we have when we approach this All Powerful, Holy, Magnificent , Just & Righteous but most of all Loving Savior?

In this post I share with you a few of my favorite worship songs. It must be remembered that the Music by anointed men and women of God only help in creating a spiritual atmosphere for us- for true worship to happen, we need to tell our Loving Heavenly Father in our own simple words how much He means to us and thank Him for all the mercies He has shown to us personally. No one else can do that for us. Our God longs for a personal intimacy with each of His children and there is no doubt that He will respond to us if we call on Him with a pure and childlike heart putting away all our pride/arrogance & lofty thoughts and ideas . Our worship must always come from a heart full of love and gratefulness , hungry for more of His love.

Hope these songs will help lead you to worshipping the Lord.Do let me know if you were blessed.

1) LORD YOU HAVE MY HEART - LENNY LE BLANC

http://youtu.be/EVN3476M_vY

2) I'M SO IN LOVE WITH YOU - DARREL EVANS
http://youtu.be/_dmC_brFPWU

3) YOU ARE THE ONE THAT I LOVE - LENNY LE BLANC

http://youtu.be/tqoSOHeqVBE

4) THIS IS MY DESIRE TO HONOR YOU - MICHAEL W SMITH
http://youtu.be/OHRZxkluZ_Q

5)TAKE ME INTO THE HOLY OF HOLIES

http://youtu.be/7vG9Cx767mc

6) ABOVE ALL -  MICHAEL W SMITH

http://youtu.be/eckskOzB1-Y

7) AT THE CROSS - HILLSONG

http://youtu.be/994VRkTu4cc

8) RESTLESS - AUDREY ASSAD
http://youtu.be/UuhYZrn4flo

 

 Have a blessed week,

Take care, God bless,

Sparky laurie

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EVERYTHING HAPPENS FOR A REASON

Romans 8:28 :  “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.”

SMILE.... KNOWING THAT THERE'S A BIGGER PICTURE!

I recently came across this funny TV Commercial which actually spoke a message to me. In it we see this guy who unknowingly escapes many fatal accidents just by chance. The advertisement is about how  he  rides like a breeze inspite of all the dangers around as he had the powerful Amaron battery with him but the moment he parts with the battery, he loses the power and  is endangered! Get ready for a good laugh.....

Click : http://youtu.be/_5oYtcjI06M



Moral of the Ad: Saved by Amaron Battery? ;) ……Ok laughs aside….let’s reflect a lil now…Friends, we have the hand of the  Almighty God- [much, much powerful than any Amaron battery ] shielding us from so many unknown dangers. Who knows how many of the annoyances and irritations of our  lives may actually be blessings in disguise?

1)The best example would be how my husband due to sudden chicken pox couldn’t accompany his 5 friends on a trekking trip to Ponmudi  hill station. He must have felt sad and left out at that moment wondering  why the disease had to have struck him at such a time but believe me when I say that it couldn’t have come at a better time; he understood  later when he heard of how all 5 of his friends who had gone on the trip had drowned in the river due to a sudden undercurrent on that fateful day. If it were not for the chicken pox would he be alive to tell me the story of that unforgettable tragedy? What do you call that....  Coincidence? Chance?

2)I know another incident when my School Principal testified of the faithfulness of God  when he realized how closely he had escaped death by missing a train by a few minutes. Ironically my Principal, a real stickler for punctuality couldn’t believe how he could have missed the train that day but had he made it on the train that day, that might have been his last train journey as he had purchased the ticket to be on the Peruman Train which is one of the largest train tragedies in Indian history.

3)I have heard a similar testimony by an amazing couple in the Christian Music Ministry(Glen and Teresa L’arive)of how they got a wonderful offer in the US and everything was ready but at the last minute something didn’t work out and they were very disappointed as to why that happened but later they knew since it was in the very vicinity of the 9/11 tragedy that their new office was located and they praised God for His loving intervention that actually saved their lives. For more such amazing incidents click here . How reassuring it is that in this world so full of confusion and insecurity, we can be secure as nothing happens without God’s knowledge.

I truly believe that there are no accidents or coincidences in the life of a believer only God ordained interventions and grace filled moments.We need to give Him the glory that is duly His. We need to gratefully recognize his great love and protection in our lives rather than foolishly brush away His careful concern for us by calling it chance or luck or destiny.

So the next time you get delayed because of a traffic jam /you forget your car keys/spill coffee on your dress/have a last minute phone call on your way out of office/ …smile and say it doesn’t matter….this minor inconvenience may just be the hand of God protecting me from some major tragedy round the corner. I challenge you to go a step further and thank Him for that annoyance and I tell you, one day when you see the bigger picture you will be glad you did!

“Every happening, great and small, is a parable whereby God speaks to us, and the art of life is to get the message.” - Malcom Muggeridge

Enjoy this lovely song LORD YOU ARE MY REFUGE :

 Click : http://youtu.be/oVvS76343uM

Have a blessed week!

Take care, God bless,

Sparky Laurie

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Sept 20th 2011 TILL DEATH DO US PART

Dear Friends,

I just came across this lovely song which shares with us the key to a perfectly happy and blessed marriage. I’d just like to share a few personal thoughts on this. For those of us who have tied the knot, we know how marriage can actually bring out both the worst and the best in us.

Ecclesiastes 4: 12 says “Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him. And a threefold cord is not quickly broken.”- This refers to the power in unity.  One person can be easily overpowered but when there are two it is more difficult and when three it is impossible to break. The three fold cord refers to three parties agreeing and in a marriage it refers to GOD and the HUSBAND and WIFE in agreement.

If we try to get all our needs met by another person (however wonderful and loving they may be), we will always be disappointed and this causes unnecessary pain to each other but when we give God our first priority and ask Him to satisfy us with His love so that we can love our spouse better, He will bless us and our marriage so that now instead of fixing our eyes on each other, we both fix our eyes on the Lord and this actually enables us to love each other better.

 The Bible becomes our Marriage Manual, the Holy Spirit our Guide, Prayer our time of Agreement and we start to enjoy the adventure of married life. Trust me, it works God wants to help us in our marriages too.

There is one prayer that I always pray as regards to our marriage:

“Lord, you who brought us together, keep us together. The Family that prays together, stays together.”

Enjoy this lovely song THE MARRIAGE PRAYER sung by John Waller and his wife Josee Waller:   Click : http://youtu.be/t4_sfgjRcfI

Father, I said till

Death do us part

I want to mean it

With all of my heart

Help me to love you

More than I love her

 Then I know I can

Love her more

Than anyone else

And bring her in

Your presence today

Make her what

You want her to be  

 [Chorus:]

I pray to hear her heart

I pray she'll love you more

I pray to cherish and serve her

 And we'll bring you glory today, I pray

Father, I said till

Death do us part

I want to mean it

With all of my heart

Help me to love you

More than I love him

Then I know I can

Love him more

Than anyone else

And bring him in

Your presence today

Make him what

You want him to be

Chorus: Bridge:  Lord, help me love her

As you love the church, your bride

(Josee) Help me submit to him

As I submit to you, my life

Chorus: (2x)

This is my prayer Amen

 Let this be our prayer too, today and every day ! Have a blessed week!

Take care, God bless,

Sparky Laurie

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WHEN HEART IS FULL,WORDS ARE FEW

Rev 7:17 : “For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; he will lead them to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."

Hi,  I just came to know about the unexpected demise of the husband of a very dear friend of mine. How can I comfort my grieving friend? I dedicate this post to HER , my special friend :

A one in a million friend who clicked with me in an instant and who understood me almost effortlessly.

A hospitable  friend I knew I could always run to at any point in life and know without a doubt that I 'd be welcomed with smiles & open arms.

A kind friend who patiently listened (without interrupting / judging) allowing me to talk  just because she knew how much I needed to let the steam out.

A thoughtful friend who would never forget my Birthday which incidentally was one day after hers!

A generous friend who would always remind me of her love through simple heartfelt tokens  like flowers from her own garden or yummy homemade goodies.

An encouraging friend who held my trembling hand and told me that I looked gorgeous on my Wedding Day.

A well-wishing friend who cried Goodbye as I left my parent's home to step into my marital home.

A comforting friend who sat by my bedside and read Bible passages  to comfort & encourage me when I was weary and discouraged.

A caring friend who was my first visitor at the hospital and the first to cradle my newly born into her loving arms

A selfless friend who was the first to shower my little one with sweet kisses as she sang sweet lullabies putting both me and my baby to sleep.

A Godly friend who  cried prayers to God as she watched me cry in excruciating pain caused by my surgically removed  gall bladder.

A loyal friend who would fight for me and stand by me if not always in words always in action.

A peaceful friend who the very thought of always filled my mind with joy and serenity.

A bosom friend who though hundreds of miles away was always closer to heart than even some who were just inches away.

A true friend who I knew would correct me when I was wrong but always so gently that I wouldn’t even know the rebuke.

A blessed friend who has been an angel sent to me by God ; one of the biggest blessings in my life

An unforgettable friend who I am proud to call FRIEND and who I will forever treasure.

From the above words, I think you understand how much this friend means to me and yet when I heard the news, I was at first in a state of unbelief & shock and then I felt sadness and Pain. I felt her pain….and wondered why God allowed this to happen to such a noble, kind and meek soul as her and yet for some things in life we will get answers only later. What could I say to my dearest friend in the whole world to comfort her at such a time as this?

A hug is something that goes a long way in saying the unsaid but even that was not possible ; us being hundreds of miles away! So a few broken words, painful sighs & then some mild reassurances through the phone ; [words were few as heart was full..] and then I hung up and cried. I then did the only thing to do - I PRAYED asking the Holy Spirit  to be her Comforter to comfort her in ways I couldnt and give her supernatural peace through this storm in her life. After that I wrote her a mail including some verses of  comfort & a few Christian songs to cheer her up. It is then that I felt peace.

Have you dear friend experienced the loss of a loved one – person / even pet ? Or maybe you know someone who has ? If you have, you know exactly what I'm talking about – the helplessly painful and unexplainable feeling…. something that neither words / anything in this world can heal. I learned something new today : At moments like this , we don’t need to play Doctor. We just need to call the DOCTOR : OUR GREAT PHYSICIAN ;  HEALING FOR THE WOUNDED HEART MUST COME FROM THE HEALER ALONE.

These are the moments of quietness which need to become moments of POWER-and for that, they need to be MOMENTS OF PRAYER.

God never promised a life without pain,
Laughter without tears or sun without rain.
But He did promise strength for the day,
Comfort for the tears and the light for the way,
And for all who believe In His Heaven above
He rewards their faith In His everlasting love. - Author Unknown

Let us take a moment to remember my friend and family as well as anyone  who is grieving the loss of their loved ones. Rev 21:4 says “He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever."

Enjoy this Song by Jeremy Camp (an anointed musician who himself has experienced the grief of loss).The song reconfirms the message in the above verse :

CLICK HERE:   http://youtu.be/UlXp4PBi7oc

 

 Take care, God bless,

Sparky Laurie

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OUT OF THE MOUTHS OF BABES YOU HAVE ORDAINED PRAISE

Hi, just came across these amazing Videos of Children singing Praises to God. It brought praise to my lips, tears to my eyes, goose bumps to my arms and these Scriptures to my mind.

Psalms 8:2 : “From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise because of your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger.”

Mathew 21:15-16: But when the chief priests and the teachers of the law saw the wonderful things he did and the children shouting in the temple courts, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they were indignant. “Do you hear what these children are saying?” they asked him. “Yes,” replied Jesus, “have you never read, “‘from the lips of children and infants you, Lord, have called forth your praise’?”

Joel 2:28 : “And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions”

 Mathew 11:25 : “ At that time Jesus said, "I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children.”

Enjoy these breathtakingly beautiful Videos:  

1) AMAZING GRACE -  JOTTA.A

Click here :  http://youtu.be/O_tb2KKjUpM

 2) ALELUIA - JOTTA.A & MICHELY MANUELY

Click here : http://youtu.be/pnl9sGSNMqU

Hope you enjoyed these songs. How amazing that our Lord is able to do more through simple & believing children than through complex & unbelieving grownups; perhaps that's why He reminds us in Mathew 18:3 to become like little Children, to enter the Kingdom of God."  ( related link : LESSONS FROM LITTLE CHILDREN)

Have a great day!

Take care, God bless,

Sparky Laurie

FIT AND READY FOR THE MASTER'S USE- THE 5 IDENTICAL JARS

This post is for those of us Christians who long to be put to the Master’s use. Many times in life we may wonder why God who loves us all impartially speaks only to some and answers the prayers of some more quickly than others. Today I’d like to explain why this is so with a picture that comes to mind:

Just suppose we wanted to pour some wine into a vessel, we go to the kitchen and take 5 identical jars:

 1)    1 st jar is already filled with oil till the brim.

2)     2^nd jar  is  half filled with oil.

3)    3^rd jar is half filled with water.

4)    4^th  jar is empty but not washed and so unfit for use.

5)    5^th jar is empty,washed and ready for use.

This is very similar to our Spiritual lives. God wants to bless each and every one of us His children with every spiritual blessing. Yet the problem is not with Him but with us. Let us understand by taking each of the 5 jars one by one:

1)    The 1^st jar was too full for the Master’s Use- not necessarily with bad things but still full. This refers to our getting too busy in life- doing this and that and many good things too but when God comes to  bless us, we are not able to make space for Him because our lives are too tightly packed.

2)    The 2^nd jar is half filled,there is some space but if we pour wine into it, it will not be fit for drinking. It will in fact render useless even the oil that already is in it- This refers to those who half heartedly try to seek God but are actually filled with worldly logic and reasoning. They may be the successful people of the world but just like the oil and wine mixture is useless, such mixed up Christians are useless both to the world and to God. They are unable to take a stand about any one thing. There is no middle way- either  God or the world - we have to choose.

3)    The 3^rd jar half filled with water refers to those Christians who have a simple life and not necessarily as worldly as the 2^nd category but they are half filled and so even if we pour wine into this jar, the wine will be diluted and will lose its flavor,fragrance and taste.

4)    The 4^th jar is empty but not clean and so even if wine is poured it will be made impure by the smell or traces of  the substance that earlier was in the vessel. These refers to the Christians who have emptied themselves but  are not yet sanctified by the water of the Holy Spirit which is the anointing of God and so are unfit for use.

5)    The 5^th jar is empty,washed and ready  As long as the vessel is open, there is no guarantee that the vessel will be 100% pure all of the time as some dust or dirt may fall on it. So there must be a daily cleansing involved in order for the vessel to be ready for use and when the wine is poured in, it will carry the color, the fragrance ,flavor and the sweet taste of the Wine that is poured. The same is applicable to us too when we live in this fallen world, we may also become polluted but  as we undergo a daily sanctification by the waters of the Holy Spirit, God will cleanse us and pour out His blessings on us and our lives will be filled with new meaning and purpose and we will become more like Christ each day.

It always encourages me that God doesn’t want our fullness but our emptiness, He wants to fill us and make us whole. He doesn’t want us to get our act together and then come to Him. He has already sent us the detergent to wash away the stubborn stains of our sins and that is the pure blood of Jesus and the water is His Holy Spirit. Only a willing obedient heart is what He looks for.


Enjoy this Powerful Video : What can wash away my stain? NOTHING BUT THE BLOOD OF JESUS.

http://youtu.be/8W-KDlQPpuo

 Have a blessed week,

Take care, God bless,

Sparky Laurie

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