The Blessing of the Lord or the Bread of Sorrows?

Psalms 127:1,2 Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain. In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat– for He grants sleep to those He loves.

Hi friends,
Many times we want certain things in life and believe that if only we get that we will be fulfilled. We may even be ready to sacrifice many things in order to have that because we believe that once we achieve that we will be happy. We may have even prayed and believed to see that thing in our lives and have been disappointed as to why God never answered. We continue to prayerfully wait and in the mean time try out various things to make it happen for we know that it must be in accordance with God’s will. When finally we manage to get it, we realize that we have twisted God’s hand in to giving it to us with our efforts and prayers but though we received it, with it never came the anointing to carry out that task with ease or enjoy the blessing. We struggle and toil to make the thing work and in the process we slowly realize that the blessing was not exactly something that God intended for us at that particular time or season and that is why we sweat and toil but are ultimately unsatisfied and unhappy. This is called the bread of sorrows. Often we feel that our labor is in vain. There is a lack of holy ease and joy that always accompanies the blessing.

Last month I realized this over something that I wanted very badly. I presumed since it was a good thing,it must be in accordance with God’s will and leapt at the first opportunity without even bothering to ask the Lord what His will regarding it for me was. Very soon I struggled because of it rather than enjoying it when I realized that the Lord had sheltered me from it and had prevented me from getting it in the past because He loved me and knew very well in advance that I was not yet ready to enjoy the blessing.

This reminds me of the story of a little boy who cried for a knife to play with. The mother knew it was not the right toy for the boy as he would hurt himself playing with it but because of his continual pestering she finally gave it to the boy. The boy was overjoyed and started playing with it. It wasn’t very long before the boy cut his hand with it and came to the mother crying. The mother lovingly washed the wound and bandaged the little child’s hand and explained to him that this was exactly the reason she didn’t give the boy the knife in the first place.

Our heavenly Father knows what is best for us. Often the blessing we seek may be good but the time may not be right. He will bless us with it at the right time if we cease from our struggles and prayerfully and patiently wait for Him. Proverbs 10:22 “The blessing of the LORD, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it.”

Click to enjoy this song Unless the Lord builds http://youtu.be/qULtV42ft7s

Have a blessed week!

Take care, God bless!

Sparky Laurie

 

Accuser Or Intercessor?

Hi friends,

When we see a believer doing something wrong, what is our response? The normal response of criticizing and condemning and accusing OR the right response of interceding for that person in prayer? Every time we choose to be an accuser we imitate Satan who is the “accuser of the bretheren.” Every time we choose grace, we imitate Jesus who is our GREAT Intercessor.

This week I want to share something I came across a book by Patricia Lee Hulsey. Just sharing some points that spoke to my heart. You may download and read the whole book here.

The 3 Lies of the Accuser: (Shattering the Shackles of Shame – By Patricia Lee Hulsey)

There are 3 main areas that  Satan’s accusations always focus on:

1)    Doubt

2)    Destiny

3)    Denunciation

 1)    DOUBT :  

This was the modus operandi Satan employed right from the start in the Garden of Eden , then with Jesus in the wilderness and now with everyone of us today.

Egs: a) “Did God really say you must not eat any of the fruit in the garden?”- Gen 3:1

         b) “If you are the Son of God, change these stones into loaves of bread.”-Math 4:3

          c)“If you are the child of God, why doesn’t He answer your prayer ?”

Remedy :- FAITH IS THE ANTIDOTE FOR DOUBT.

Heb 10:22-23 “Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.”

2) DESTINY :

Satan always tries to fill our ears with the following insinuations when thinking about our destinies.

Egs: a) You won’t be able to reach your full potential.

         b)Your talents are already rusted.

         c)You have messed it all up beyond repair.

         d) You are too young/too old. It just will not happen.

Remedy:- We need to remember that God knows our abilities and disabilities and He will empower us – despite our weaknesses to fulfill our Destiny.

Eph 2:10 : “ For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

Thus He has already prepared us for good works.

3)    DENUNCIATION :

Denunciation means criticizing /condemning others. Satan wants to make each one of us an accuser instead of an intercessor.

The Modern Church would never have welcomed back a murderer like Moses,an adulterer & murderer like David, a disobedient minister like Jonah or a liar like Peter but our merciful Lord builds the Church with a foundation of  believers such as these.
Our Lord teaches us by his perfect example how we must never condemn such people but  forgive and encourage one another.

Heb 12:12,13 “Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. Make level paths for your feet, so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed.”

Gal 6:1 “Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted.”

The accuser always finds fault even with the anointed while the Intercessor provides a covering. Prov 10:12 “Love covers all sins.”

Friend, which do you choose to be today? An Accuser or an Intercessor?

Prayer : I turn from the spirit of accusation to the spirit of intercession. I reject doubt. I say to the accuser, get under my feet; you will not dominate my life. I will rise up to fulfill my destiny! I put my foot down on you and declare right now I will be an Intercessor.

                      Click to enjoy this beautiful song : My Redeemer Lives

http://youtu.be/9p4G2GbPYQA

Have a blessed week,

Sparky Laurie

Give them all to Jesus

 Rom 8:28 : “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

Hi friends,

Today I was reminded of a song I learnt in my childhood. The lyrics (given below) remind us that no matter whether it is that thing in our life that seems impossible or which we have endlessly been striving for, or even if it is that which seems destroyed beyond our repair, we just need to take our pretty rainbows, our shattered dreams and our broken toys to the Lord and He will turn those sorrows of ours into joys. Be encouraged today dear friend that nothing is wasted if we place it in the Lord’s hands!

Words and Music by Phil Johnson and Bob Benson.

Are you tired of chasing pretty rainbows?
Are you tired of spinning round and round?
Wrapped up all those shattered dreams of your life
At the feet of Jesus, lay them down.

Give them all, give them all, give them all to Jesus
Shattered dreams, wounded hearts, and broken toys.
Give them all, give them all, give them all to Jesus
And He will turn your sorrows into joy.

He never said you would only see sunshine,
He never said there would be no rain.
He only promised a heart full of singing
About the very things that once brought pain.

Give them all, give them all, give them all to Jesus
Shattered dreams, wounded hearts, and broken toys.
Give them all, give them all, give them all to Jesus
And He will turn your sorrows into joy.

Give them all, give them all, give them all to Jesus
Shattered dreams, wounded hearts, and broken toys.
Give them all, give them all, give them all to Jesus
And He will turn your sorrow into joy
And He will turn your sorrow into joy.

Click below to enjoy this song:  http://youtu.be/iWTcUTuL-n4

Have a blessed week,

Take care, God bless us all,

Sparkylaurie

Choose TODAY!

“Joshua 24:15 : “But if you don't want to serve the LORD, then choose today whom you will serve. Even if you choose the gods your ancestors served on the other side of the Euphrates or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you live. As for me and my family, we will serve the LORD."

Today, everywhere we go we are faced with choices to make. While driving, whether to go left or right or straight ahead. When at the supermarket purchasing washing detergent, again we are faced with a wide variety to choose from. At the candy store,there is Kitkat, Perk, Bounty, Twix, Galaxy etc to choose from. While at the restaurant, the waiter rattles to us a whole list of  available options, so many choices for us to choose from that we often end up confused! Watch this funny Kingfisher Ad below for illustration:

http://youtu.be/ee2xkZSdXBU

Often the choices we make in the above mentioned matters don’t make any marked differences in our normal life but there are certain changes like choice of job location, choice of spouse while getting married, choice of college for higher studies, etc that affect our lives to a certain extent. And we have to make these choices at the right time and with care. However in this post , I want to share with you a  life changing choice that you may not have made till now.

Friend, will you choose today whom you will serve? Will you serve the LORD JESUS Today? This choice is one that will alter your life forever.

Isaiah 35:8 “And a highway will be there; it will be called the Way of Holiness. The unclean will not journey on it; it will be for those who walk in that Way; wicked fools will not go about on it.”

Proverbs 16:17 The highway of the upright avoids evil; he who guards his way guards his life.

ALWAYS REMEMBER FRIEND, THAT YOUR DESTINY IS NOT A MATTER OF CHANCE BUT OF CHOICE! CHOOSE WISELY! CHOOSE PROMPTLY! CHOOSE TODAY! CHOOSE JESUS.

Enjoy this wonderful song by Brian Doersken that summons us to make that choice today!

http://youtu.be/XFs1d32K_ro    
     

I honestly hope that you have made that choice. Congratulations if you have. If you still have not, why don’t you choose today? All Heaven awaits your response. Choose while there is still time.

Have a pleasant week.

Cheers,

Sparky Laurie

JESUS has got us Covered!

Isa 59:1 “Behold, the LORD'S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear”

Hi friends,

All of us are familiar with the quote: “ A friend in need is a friend indeed”. Today, we live in a world where fair-weather friends are all too common. So when we have someone we can really count on, we need to return that kind of loyalty to them and be there for them; “to rejoice with them in their good times and weep with them in their rough times.”

 A term we use frequently among close friends and family is “I’ve got you covered” which means “You can trust me to back you up.” In other words, it is letting someone know that you'll be around to help out or protect them in any way you can.

 This is what our amazing Lord Jesus always does for us. So friend, if you’re going through a tough season in life and the skies above you are grey and cloudy, remember His promise to us was, is and will always be “TRUST ME, I’VE GOT YOU COVERED.”

Yes friend, covered with His LOVE, with His BLOOD, with His RIGHTEOUSNESS.

Oh what a good God we serve!

 Sharing with you some of my favorite verses where He says I’ve got you covered:

Isa 43:2 “When you go through deep waters and great trouble, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you.”

Heb 7:25 Therefore he is able, once and forever, to save everyone who comes to God through Him. He lives forever to plead with God on their behalf.”

Ps 94:14 “The LORD will not reject His people; he will not abandon His own special possession.”

Isa 26:3 “You will keep in perfect peace, all who trust in you, whose thoughts are fixed on you!”

Ps 9:10 “ Those who know your name trust in you, for you O Lord, have never abandoned anyone who searches for you.”

Click below to enjoy this song by Chris Tomlin : YOUR GRACE IS ENOUGH

http://youtu.be/wtnE_e1LylY

Have an awesome week,

Take care, God bless us all,

Sparky Laurie

Serving the Kingdom or the KING?

Hi friends,

Hope you are doing great. Quite recently, I was talking to one of my spiritual mentors and was sharing with her how in spite of wanting so very badly to work in the Christian Ministry and be put to use in the field of Christian Missions, somehow I never could get even near an opportunity and how I had also miserably failed in all my past efforts of making that happen. She shared with me an illustration and lesson so profound that it hit bull’s-eye. It was so good that I just felt I should share it with you too. And that’s how I came up with this post. Hope what you read blesses you as much as it did for me! ;)

Aunty reminded me of the Bible story of Zachaeus and the sycamore fig tree on which he climbed to catch a glimpse of Jesus who went about doing miracles and healing the sick.(Luke 19:1-10). 

The sycamore fig tree grows wild and nobody usually makes any effort to plant or cultivate it. It grows to great heights and has got low limbs which enable even a little child to climb it in order to get a better view. The fruit of the tree looks like a fig but its taste is unpleasant. This almost useless tree is the tree that helped the short-statured Zachaeus to catch a glimpse of Jesus by helping him to rise up above the crowd.

Often in life we may be like this sycamore tree, without any glory and seemingly useless but whatever we are , wherever we are and that which we have is exactly the way God had intended. If He wanted something else He would have made it or if He wanted us somewhere else He would have placed us there. If we continue to be faithful where He has placed us, we will be in His perfect will and that is exactly where He will use us to raise many other Zacheauses who are searching for and need our help to find Jesus.

Point to ponder : Everyone remembers Zacheaus and His transformation but hardly any of us actually remembers the sycamore fig tree that made all that possible. Are we willing to be that sycamore tree? Which one really matters?Being faithful or being famous? 

Let us decide today to be that sycamore tree on which others can climb in order to see Jesus. Let us not serve the Kingdom but the KING.  Enjoy this poem that I came across on the site Empowering Christian Women 

What is Ministry? 

Listening, when you'd rather fix the problem. 

Searching for the joy, when it's easier to say "it's not fair." 

Helping, when you feel like you're the one who needs the help. 

Telling God, "use me", when you'd rather ask to be rescued. 

Encouraging, even when you don't understand God's reasoning

Hugging when it feels awkward. 

Saying, "let's pray right now," instead of "I'll pray for you." 

Serving, when you doubt you have anything left to give. 

Comforting, by being the flicker of light in others' dark caverns.

~ Author Unknown

Related Post:   BRIGHTEN THE CORNER WHERE YOU ARE

Click below to enjoy this beautiful song: GO LIGHT YOUR WORLD by Kathy Troccoli

http://youtu.be/CVqR6kTu8lE

Have a blessed week!

Take care, God bless us all,

Sparky Laurie                              

The Joy of the Lord is my Strength!

Psalms 28:7 "The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song."

Hi friends,

How are you doing today? Is there a smile on your face this morning? If not, just allow one on your face right now. Forget the burdens of your yesterday, the fears of your tomorrow and just smile for this one  moment....and the next ...and the next. WHY? Well, coz you are alive,coz God is on HIS throne and totally in control of everything in your life. Friend, would you just say out aloud these words with me?

"I choose to be JOYFUL today. My life situations may not be 100% alright. I may not be all I wish I was. My bills may be unpaid. My body may be sick. My prayers unanswered. My loved one may be dying,  I may not even feel happy. But I choose to be  strong in the JOY of the Lord.

Lord, I choose to be JOYFUL coz I have breath in my nostrils,

I am JOYFUL coz I have eyes to see, coz I have Internet connection to browse with ,

I am Joyful coz I know that GOD loves me with an Infinite Unfailing Unconditional Love.

I am Joyful coz Jesus blood covers me with a robe of righteousness. 

I am Joyful coz I am fearfully and wonderfully made in God's very own image and that He is evermindful of me.

I am Joyful that I have His faithful promises to stand on and so no weapon formed against me shall prosper and every tongue that rises against me in judgement I will condemn for this is my heritage as the servant of the Lord and my righteousness comes from Him.

I am joyful bcoz God's favor surrounds me on every side.

 I am Joyful coz blessings and honor chase me all the days of my life.

I am Joyful coz the Lord anoints my head with oil and prepares a table for me in the presence of my enemies.

I am Joyful coz I choose to be strong in HIM. 

 I am Joyful with the Joy that His Holy Spirit gives me and it is His Joy that will give me the Strength to face and get thru today, tomorrow and every other day of my life.  - In Jesus Loving Name, Amen

Take a deep breath friend and feel the Joy arising in your spirit and flooding your whole being and now your face through your smile. Smile today and spread the JOY of the Lord! ;)

Click to enjoy these songs:

http://youtu.be/YqjivEw7gzE

http://youtu.be/iLxqHjctAN4

Have a JOYFUL week!

Take care,God bless us all!

Sparky Laurie

Freed from the Grip of Fear!

Romans 8:15 “For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father."

Hi friends,

In this post I’d like to tell you about how God freed me from a Spirit of Fear. The Bible tells us in 2 Tim 1:7  “God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity but of power, love and a sound mind.”

I remember how I dressed up as Red Riding Hood for a Fancy Dress Competition during my Kindergarten days. True, I never won the best performance which went to chirpy& pretty “Betty Bo Peep” nor the cutest performance which went to the adorable sleepy-head  “Deedle Deedle Dumpling My son John” but the trophy for most confident child on the stage that night was mine to keep! How in the world could this confident me turn into a person cowering in fear in the shadows, avoiding the lime-light at any cost? Well that’s what life sometimes does to the best of us!

In spite of having a happy childhood and excellence in both curricular and co curricular activities, I really don’t remember how and when the Spirit of Fear crept in me. It all started with a fear of failure. I slowly watched opportunities for excellence slip between my fingers. This was only the beginning and strangely even not winning was relief to me rather than trying and losing!  Slowly it became fear of being rejected by people. Due to some thoughtless comments by persons who didn’t even know me well, I realized how people may dislike you simply on the basis of what they hear or think even without giving you a chance to explain. That made me anxious and dreadful of all social situations. I felt as if everyone in the crowd belonged except me. Often I tried to get out of situations by flat out refusing to go but later on would try and go but the experience would be so wearisome and exhausting that it would take me almost a week to pick myself up emotionally. On the outside, all seemed well, inside I was crying.

All this while I prayed and tried to be brave. I tried to read all I could on how to face my fears. I knew what to do but when I was faced with the situation, it was as if my mind suddenly froze, memory became blank, mouth became dry and body became paralyzed. I don’t know any way to describe this better than I was “gripped by the spirit of fear”. There was absolutely nothing in my power I could do to entangle myself from it in spite of knowing exactly what I had to do and how to do it and that is what being paralyzed is all about, isn’t it?

With every passing day, I began to dread company, especially of those who I knew would not be sensitive/ kind but thoughtless & critical. I admit, at that time, it was so difficult for anyone to be around me and not offend me. I actually felt nobody could understand me and that they would unknowingly hurt me so I had to protect myself. I  began avoiding  people and situations as  I wanted to solve my problem first and then face people as the confident person I knew I was deep down inside. Though it made me feel less threatened as my outer life was now predictable, I knew how out of control my inner life actually was. Lists would dominate my day and though I made considerable progress I still knew in my heart that the real problem was not being dealt with. It was as if I was running away from my life. There were moments  especially after prayer and when I acted without over thinking that I would be happy and fine but at other times I got caught up in the paralysis of analysis ;dwelling on what I did wrong /how I appeared to people and how I should prevent turning people off, etc became my preoccupation. I realized that I also began having difficulty remembering things and slowly my health also started getting affected. Now I realize that worry & negativity had actually affected my immune system which made me have varied health problems one after the other. The fact that my support system was minimal due to my spouse’s demanding job and my being far away from the people who knew me and I could trust only made things worse. Opening up to a few Christians at church didn't help as they made me feel all the more condemned for not being “spiritual enough”. I knew I was doing everything I knew to but was still unsuccessful. Finally I began to isolate myself, extremely lonely but at the same time felt safe. I started spending time with the Lord and soaking myself in His presence and declaring His word over my life. The more time spent with Him the more I got to know His unconditional love & acceptance for me. I had finally found my safe place and could totally resonate with the psalmist in Psalms 46:1 “The Lord is my refuge and strength, a safe hiding place in times of trouble.”

It is during this time that I started blogging and sharing all that God was teaching me. Each day became an adventure as the Holy Spirit revealed more of me that needed to be healed, cleansed, sanctified, etc. I also learnt by now how to hear, receive and obey the Lord. The blessings became more evident in my life. I no longer ran after human comfort or understanding for I finally felt understood in Jesus. Slowly I began to declare “For God has not given me a Spirit of fear and timidity but of power, love and a sound mind” and take mini steps in obedience to Him. Some days were easy, some days were hard but with time, I learned how to ‘do things afraid’. However, many times negative responses of people (who didn’t know my inner struggles) discouraged me. Metamorphically speaking, it was as if I was being chased by an imaginary bear and so often in my dealings with others my words/actions may have appeared hasty/ curt, but for a person barely trying to survive at that time , even that effort was far beyond human capacity. Many of my old friends could not understand me now because of my extreme passion for the Lord and avoided me , some I chose to leave believing God for Godly friends & Divine Connections, which I am glad to say He has abundantly blessed me with today.

We also continually prayed for a home closer to church as that would enable us to spend more time in His presence (the only place I could relax.) It was as if I was in a constant  invisible battle with invisible enemies. Those who saw me frustrated/angry would naturally think of me as cranky/touchy as they would never know what I was actually going through. However, my battle was real and my life situations were not making it any easier for me. I was never afraid to die , for me living was what terrified me.

All this while I continued doing my duties faithfully believing that God could and would one day totally heal me. In the process however, Jesus went more from being my Creator & Savior to my Protector, Healer, Comforter, Teacher, Friend, my All in All. I began to long for quiet moments with the Lord as I now loved Him more for His heart than His hand. I could now pray, Lord I praise you for whatever it is that I am going through. Even though I don’t understand it fully, it has brought me closer to you & made me know you in a way that I would otherwise never have. I am in the best place I could be. Even if you never heal me fully, I will still love you for who you are. I had learnt to rest in Him even in the midst of the storm.

God showed me how I needed to now slowly get ready to move out from my comfort zone and reach out to help others. Honestly, looking around I could see possibilities all around me. God gave me fresh eyes through which I could see as He saw: the good in every one and everything. He had changed me so much in this time that I began to see, act and think with some of His love and kindness. However, when I started sharing with the world the pearls that He graciously gave me, I was faced with a new problem the Spirit of Rejection. Jesus taught me how to respond to this,  by not taking offense but by loving with His forgiving love. Next he taught me that being meek did not mean being a doormat. Many could see the new holy boldness in me and began accusing me of being controlling and not submissive. That again put me in confusion as I wanted to be a Godly woman of peace. Actually I was now troubled by a Spirit of Intimidation. I realized that even without doing anything wrong, I was being falsely accused. I realized the craftiness of the Deceiver and the folly of trying to please anyone but God.

I share this post with you in obedience to the awesome Holy Spirit. This is my testimony of how the Lord has freed me from the grip of fear. Even now from time to time, fear raises its ugly head to trouble me  but I choose to slam it down daily with the Rhema Word of God and by facing my fears and courageously doing the very thing I fear. As Meg Cabot says “Courage is not the absence of fear but the judgment that something else is more important than fear. The brave may not live forever but the cautious do not live at all. For now you are traveling the road between who you think you are and who you can be.”

Above all, when we are filled with the love of God, fear will definitely leave us. After all, the best antidote to fear is Faith. 1 John 4:18 : “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear, because fear is by suspicion, but he who fears is not grown up in love.”
                                                 
I love this song by Bob Fitts. The song starts with these amazing words : “ Say to those who are fearful-hearted, do not be afraid. The Lord your God is strong and with His mighty arm, when you call on His name, He will come and save you……” 

http://youtu.be/_w7RMj58Z_M

Have a blessed week,

Take care, God bless you,

Sparkylaurie