Psalms 138:8 “The Lord will fulfill His purpose for me, your love O lord endures forever…do not abandon the works of your hands.”
Hi friends,
This post is special. On my birthday last year, I started blogging and have kept at it ever since; sharing with you lessons the Lord has been teaching me thru the ups and downs of life. It has honestly been one amazing experience and I truly have enjoyed every bit of it!
I’d like to share a few things that come to mind as I have a quick mental flashback of my first blogging experience. Uncertain about the whole thing but eager to learn and determined to do my bit to share His light& love, I began to draw word pictures on the canvas of this blog. Initially I wondered whether this was helping anyone, sometimes I was excited to share new ideas, many times the posts were something I came across and had to pass along for the blessing they were to me. Often it was something the Lord stirred in my heart quite unexpectedly.Some posts were written during dark moments when I shared with you His Everfaithful Love. Other times it was anointed praise & worship songs by men and women of God that added meaning to my spiritual experiences. I take this opportunity to thank you for joining me in this spiritual journey.Each one of you are dearly precious to the Lord and are covered by prayers.
Putting my heart out in the posts is a deliberate move made as I felt the world needs to know that though Christians may not have it altogether all the time , yet since it is Christ who lives in us (Gal 2:20),we have within us the same resurrection power which gives us the grace to be joyful overcomers in this life. We are more than conquerors through Christ who loved us. (Rom 8:37). As Joyce Meyer wisely put it, “If my Mess can become my Message and your Miracle, so be it!” Take me Lord and use me for your Glory. Let you increase and I decrease. Let your name be magnified through my life is my prayer as I continue this blogging journey in His Name and for His Glory!
Friend, I'm living testimony of His Mercy & Grace. I encourage you today that if you have tried everything in life /may have reached rock bottom/ maybe even be lying flat with your face to the ground, know that is the best place to be. Only when you get up from there, look into the face of Jesus and no longer at your frailty or even your strength to make it in this life. For the truth is that this life was never meant to be a journey without Him. You may run your best race but you will never reach anywhere without Him. So I suggest you to save yourself the trouble and accept the Lord Jesus today if you will! Even if you may have accepted the Lord, you may have lost your first love for Him and need to get right with Him. True Humility is not saying I am nothing, but saying I am what I am because of Him. It’s okay to make mistakes as long as we truly repent and move on avoiding the same pitfalls again. True Christians are not necessarily Perfect People however they need to be growing daily into Christ-likeness. There are 3 steps in the walk of every true Disciple of Christ. They are :
1)Justification – This is by faith and is immediate. When we accept salvation as the free gift of God through Jesus Christ our Lord, we are justified. (Rom 5:1, Rom 10:9, 2 Cori 5:17)
2)Sanctification- This is a life- long process by which we become more and more like Jesus in character and grow in spiritual maturity. We will be not be judged but our deeds will be judged. (Heb 10:29,30, 1Corin 3:13-15, 2 Corin 5:10, Rom 8:17)
3)Glorification - where God will transform us into the exact likeness of Christ. (1 John 3:1,2, Rom 8:30)
Just sharing 25 Random Thoughts I have come to learn this last year.
1)While here on this earth we have been given certain responsibilities to carry out & duties to perform. We need to know what they are & do them faithfully & consistently, not unto man but unto God.(Col 3:23)
2) Loving God, Loving Ourselves and Loving Others should be our 3 main priorities in life and definitely in that order.(Luke 10:27)
3)Our Body is the Temple of God and not a Trash Receptacle and so we need to be careful of what we allow inside it. Avoid that which contaminates our Body, Soul & Spirit.(1 Corin 3:16, Phil 4:8,9)
4)The Word of God is the answer to all of life’s problems. We need to feed on it as often as we can.(Heb 4:12, Psalms 119:130, Psalms 19:7)
5)Some unfortunate / unexpected/ inconvenient/things may happen in life and though we may never know why they did happen , we can rest with the full assurance that God allowed it in our lives for a Divine purpose. (Is 55:8,9 & Rom 8:28)
6)For effective testimony, we need to be able to walk like Peter on the turbulent waters by fixing our eyes on Jesus and not on the waves that thrash against our boat of life.(Mathew 14:29-32 & Isa 32:2)
7)Sometimes we just need to keep quiet and wait patiently & prayerfully.(Psa 46:10,Isa 40:31)
8)Some people will like us for no reason at all and some people won’t (again, for no reason at all!) (James 4:4, Psa 25:14, Rom 5:11,1 Corin 1:9)
9)Be as wise as serpents but as gentle as doves.(Mathew 10:16,John 14:26, James 1:5)
10) Live your own life for you will die your own death. (Prov 29:25,Gal 6:4,5, 1 Corin 8:23)
11)Do good for no reason , expecting nothing in return.(Math6:4, James 3:13 & Col 4:5-6)
12)We have ears placed on either side of our head and above our mouth so that we listen twice, think first and then prayerfully speak.( James 1:19)
13) We need to wait for the initiatives from Heaven rather than do what we think is right in a particular situation. Sometimes we just need to delay our responses and doodle in the dirt like Jesus did. (John 8:6-8,Prov 3:5,6)
14)Life is not a popularity contest and it is the quality not the quantity of our friends that really matters. Jesus said “Love your enemies” coz there would be enemies and always remember that God has placed them in our lives for a purpose; very often they are the very persons God uses as sandpaper to smoothen our rough edges and thus bring out the best in us. (Prov 18:24, Prov 17:17,Luke 6:35, Gen 50:20)
15)There is power in declaring out loud the promises in the Word of God regarding all the blessings & good things we would like to see in our lives (protection, provision, health and wholeness , finances, relationships, families, etc)(Math12:37 & Prov 18:21)
16)Observe the Sabbath and keep it holy & partake of the Holy Communion as often as possible.(Deu 5:12 & 1 Corin 11:23-26)
17) Make every problem a prayer point. If still worried, let us pray some more. Pray all your fears away and then praise God for the victory already won for us at the Cross of Calvary.(Phil 4:6, Rom 8:26,Luke 21:36, Dan 9:23)
18)Heaven & Hell, God, devil and angels are all real. We are at war 24/7. Let us put on the full armor of God for the enemy of our souls prowls around like a roaring toothless lion seeking whom he may devour but thank God we have the powerful Lion of Judah to fight for us.(Eph 6:12, 1 Pet 5:8, Joel 3:16)
19)When unhappy about something in life, thank God for the things we already have. Above all, thank God for the gift of His beloved Son Jesus by whom we have victory in every area of our life. (Philippians 4:6,1 Chron 29:11-13, 2Corin 9:15, John 3:16)
20) Shine your light where you are. We need not look for a better place coz if God wanted us elsewhere, He would have placed us there. Let us not hide the light that Christ has placed in us and let our good deeds be reason for the Father’s Glory. (Mathew 5:14-16, 1Tim 4:12,13)
21) Never underestimate what God can do through a totally yielded & sanctified vessel. He wants our availability and not our ability.(1 Corin 1:27-29, Jer 1:6-10)
22) Honor your parents and submit to the authorities Christ has placed in your life but also keep in mind that all authority is subject to Christ’s authority.(Rom 13:2, Eph 1:21-23)
23) “Manage your emotions, don’t let them manage you”- Joyce Meyer(Prov 25:28, 1 Pet 1:13, 1 Thess 5:6)
24)Taking Offense is a Bait of Satan- John Bevere. It opens the door of our heart to a lot of unnecessary evils. Forgiveness is the antidote. (Isa 30:15, 1 Corin 13:5, Col 3:12)
25) Praise & Worship is one of the most power spiritual weapons we can ever use. We confuse/ infuriate the devil when he throws everything he knows against us to disturb us and we just joyfully praise God for who He is and what He has already done for us. (2 Corn 10:4, Psalms 149:6-9,2 Chron 15:14,15)
Have an awesome week!
Take care, God bless,
Sparky Laurie