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Monday, February 27, 2012

Our Mighty Spiritual Weapon - The Powerful Blood of our Lord Jesus


Gen 3:15 "And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel."

Hi friends,
Hope you are all fine. The word of God says in 2 Corin 10:4 "The weapons of our warfare are not according to the flesh, but of the power of God, and by it we subdue rebellious fortresses". There are many such spiritual weapons for every warrior in the army of God. One of the mighty spiritual weapons we can use in our spiritual warfare is the Powerful Blood of Jesus.

Enjoy this powerful teaching on Restored Dominion by Creflo Dollar from his website.
"God has a purpose for everything. When Jesus was brutally beaten and crucified on the cross, blood flowed from His back, head, hands, feet, and side. Each place from which His precious blood flowed has eternal significance. In the exciting single message Dominion Restored, Creflo Dollar teaches on the significance of the blood that flowed from Jesus’ feet and how it restored our dominion over the devil."


Click on either of the links below to listen : RESTORED DOMINION:


http://www.creflodollarministries.org/Broadcast/Broadcast.aspx

I love the declaration that we are led to make at the end of the sermon :
"By faith in the blood of Jesus, I receive dominion stolen restored back to me. Jesus allowed His feet to be bruised for us to bruise the head of satan all the days of our life."- Amen
Enjoy this beautiful chorus about the POWER IN THE BLOOD: http://youtu.be/BjIYL7GBHZQ


Have a victorious week!
Related post : SANCTIFIED BY THE BLOOD

Take care, God bless,
Sparky Laurie





Wednesday, February 22, 2012

25 Random Thoughts on my 1st Blogoversary!

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


Wednesday, February 15, 2012

REST IN RESTLESSNESS

Mathew 8:27 : “What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him!”
All of us are caught in this rat race of life where the stronger, the smarter ,the faster man /woman is the winner. Yes, friend even after having accepted the Lord, we may struggle with areas that have become so ingrained in us that they may be impossible for us to get rid of. Thank God for grace. Thank God we have a God who cares not only for our souls but our whole well being- body, spirit, soul.As long as we are alive there will be some or other storm in our life and if we wait for every storm of to pass in order to enjoy our life we will wait forever.God wants us to stop praying for the storm to pass and instead to learn how to rest in the midst of it.
The Lord revealed to me recently how I just could never REST from my efforts to make things alright. He showed me how weary and worn out I had become. It was around this time that I heard a man of God saying that the anointing God has given us is first and foremost for us and then for others, this was the beginning of my breakthrough.Verses like the ones below came alive to me and I realized how badly I needed to  quit striving and start resting like a child in his mother’s arms.


Psalms 23:1-3 “The Lord is my shepherd; I have everything I need.He lets me rest in green meadows and leads me beside peaceful streams.He renews my strength.He guides me along right paths,bringing honor to His name.”
He guides us along right paths and that will bring glory to Jesus name.

Mathew 11:28-29 “Jesus said, Come to me all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you because I am humble and gentle and you will find rest for your souls.For my yoke fits perfectly and the burden I give you is light.”
Jesus not only invites us to come to Him with our heavy burdens but promises that He will teach us how to handle life’s burdens.

Isa 40:30,31 “Even youths will become exhausted and young men will give up.But those who wait on the Lord will find new strength. They will fly high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.”
The world that we live in today guarantees no tension free zone for anyone, young or old we all have our own wearisome burdens but thank God that if we wait upon our Lord, He will strengthen us to soar high like eagles,to run and not get weary,to walk and not faint.

Isa 58: 11 “The Lord will guide you continually, watering your life when you are dry and keeping you healthy too.You will be like a well watered garden like an ever flowing spring.”
How amazing that we will be guided continually by God Himself.He will keep us well-watered with living waters in our driest seasons and we will be like a spring for others to drink from too.
Isa63:14 “As with cattle going down into a peaceful valley,the Spirit of the Lord gave them rest.You led your people, Lord and gained a magnificent reputation.”
It is the Lord who gives us rest.We need not even try to rest, it is His gift and He gets the glory!
Luke 11:41,42 “My dear Martha ,you are so upset over all these details.There is only one thing worth being concerned about.Mary has discovered it and I won’t take it away from her.”
Sitting at the Master’s feet and spending time in His word is the best place to be when we are troubled over things too difficult for us to solve.
It is easy to be at rest when the climate is favorable but the real test comes when we can be at rest in the eye of the storm. That is the place where our faith is really tested. When the storm comes and the waves thrash against our boat can we sleep peacefully like Jesus did on the storm tossed boat? We need to learn to as we mature into His likeness. We have the same authority that our Lord Jesus had over the wind and the waves as it is no longer we who live but He who lives in us! And it is at that moment the watching world will say just like the disciples did that day in Mathew 8:27  : “What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him!”

Let that be our testimony; far more powerful than any sermon we could give!

Enjoy these amazing songs:

AT THE CROSS : It is at the Cross that Jesus finished it all for us and hence we can be at rest forever!



RESTLESS: Till we rest in God



PRAYER: HEAVENLY FATHER, WE LONG FOR THE REST THAT ONLY YOU CAN GIVE US. WE ASK YOU LORD TO QUIETEN OUR SOULS AND GIVE US THE PEACE THAT PASSETH ALL HUMAN UNDERSTANDING THAT YOU HAVE PROMISED US IN YOUR WORD.THANK YOU LORD. IN JESUS NAME, Amen.

Have a wonderful week.

Take care, God bless,

Sparky Laurie