Hi there, welcome to a safe haven...a place where you cud just lean back and relax to spend a few moments to reflect on whether you have lit your candle today."Don't curse the darkness;instead, light a Candle" someone once said...We may not be able to do much to overcome the darkness around us;but let that not stop us from doing our lil bit to make this world a brighter place.Hence the blog ....His Lil Spark in the Dark!
Just wanted to share a few thoughts I was inspired to write as I came across this Beautiful Video- a song that tells us how the LOVE of GOD and our pet dog is similar in its completeness and sincerity! …..sometimes more than we humans can ever fathom!
Watching it brought fond memories of my first pet puppy TIGER and truly about 18 years later, I can still feel the warmth and affection of my pet all over again! These are the parallels between GOD and my DOG that I came up with :
1)BOTH PROTECT US FROM DANGER.
2)BOTH LOVE TO SPEND TIME WITH US.
3)WHEN WE MESS UP ,WE CAN RUN TO THEM WITHOUT FEAR OF BEING ACCUSED.
4) BOTH LOVE TO SEE US HAPPY AND KNOW JUST HOW TO MAKE US SMILE.
5)BOTH UNDERSTAND OUR SILENCES.
6)BOTH ARE ALWAYS WAITING FOR US TO RETURN
7) BOTH LOVE US UNTO DEATH FOR WHO WE ARE , NOT FOR WHAT WE DO.
“Be like the rose that perfumeth the hand that crusheth it.”
This week I’d like to share a lesson we can learn from the rose flower that perfumes the hand that crushes it.
What is our normal response when someone hits us? To strike back and yet as Christians,we know better. This week I'd like to share with you the 8th Fruit in our SPIRITUAL FRUIT SALAD : MEEKNESS – a highly unpopular if not totally alien trait in today’s upside down world which preaches the gospel of SURVIVAL & Self preservation at any cost with the modus operandi of blowing one’s own trumpet and getting rid of anything/ anyone in the way.
What Meekness is NOT :
Contrary to popular belief, meekness is not cowardice /lack of conviction.It is NOT mere human niceness. Meekness is also not being a spineless doormat who does not know to be assertive. MEEKNESS IS NOT WEAKNESS.
WHAT THEN, IS MEEKNESS?
Meekness is GENTLESNESS, a virtue that draws courage, strength, conviction and a good disposition from God and not from self.It is "ABSOLUTE POWER UNDER PERFECT CONTROL.”
Let's see what the Bible says about MEEKNESS:
Mathew 5:5 : “Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.”
Numbers 12:3 : “Moses was the meekest man on the face of the earth and hence was used greatly by God.”
Jesus set the perfect example of meekness. Mathew 11:29 : “ Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.”
Isa 53:7: “He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.”
Philippians 2:5-10 : “Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death— even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth.”
The Lord esteems the meek :Isaiah 66:2“This is the one I esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit, and trembles at my word.”
The Lord takes pleasure in the meek:Psalms 149:4 “For the LORD takes pleasure in his people: he will beautify the meek with salvation.”
The Lord raises up the meek:Psalms 147:6 “The LORD lifts up the meek: he casts the wicked down to the ground”.
When treated wrongly/ unjustly, we may feel like retaliating and giving the person who offended us a taste of their own medicine and yet what the Lord teaches us is not to resist an evil person.Mathew 5:39 : “when someone slapsyou on one cheek,turn the other one also to him”
It can be very difficult to obey God in this area especially when treated unjustly, but we can rest assured because Deu 32:35 says : “ Venegance is the Lord’s and He will repay the wrongdoers.” So we just need to trust the Lord to deal with those who offend us.
When it gets hard to forgive, we can remember our Perfect Lord Jesus ; the epitome of meekness, The triumphant Lion of Judah and yet the humble Lamb of God - Meek and Majestic at the same time!
Let me conclude with a suitable verse: 1 Peter 3:4 “ Clothe yourselves with the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God.”
Click to enjoy this beautiful song : HOW GREAT IS OUR GOD.
Just sharing a lovely poem I came across. It is about the FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT mentioned in Gal 5: 22-23. Hope you enjoy it!
Walking in the Spirit means living every day
Looking up to Jesus and following His way.
And when I give Him all of me
Just like a mighty tree--
My actions will become sweet fruit
For all the world to see.
Galatians 5 lists all nine fruits
The Spirit wants to grow
And if you read them for yourself
You will be sure to know
That LOVE comes first--the kind you choose,
Not feelings you may lose,
But actions that show sacrifice,
And branch out the Good News.
And then comes JOY, that you can hold
No matter what life brings
It's the Song of all God's promises
The glad heart daily sings.
Sweet PEACE comes next, a quiet heart
Though life may twist and turn,
Then PATIENCE shows it wants no part
Of sparks that quickly burn.
KINDNESS is an active fruit
It treats others with care
The love of Jesus is the root
That spreads it everywhere.
GOODNESS knows and does what's right--
Its actions match God's teaching
It spreads His shining, perfect light
Into a dark world reaching.
FAITHFULNESS is like a rock,
A firm and steady friend
Who never leaves you hanging--
But is loyal to the end.
GENTLENESS is tender strong.
It turns the other cheek.
It rarely ruffles when it's wronged.
(It's a synonym for "meek.")
And then at last, fruit number nine,
(Its growth requires practice).
It doesn't lash out, pout, or whine,
Or prickle like a cactus.
It doesn't need to over-dine
Or lick clean the ice cream bowl;
For with the Spirit/Helper, you can have fruit SELF CONTROL.
When you put the nine together,
A fruit salad you will make
That proves to all the world your life
Is lived for Jesus' sake!
This week I'd like to share a post written some time back.It is the familiar David and Goliath story.Here are some life lessons we can learn from it that God has revealed to me. Hope it encourages you today!
Living in an imperfect world, we all face our own Goliaths in life. What is the giant in your life today? Is it debt, unemployment, sickness, rejection, relationship failure, loneliness ? Whether we admit it or not, we have all been there. Many times we just stood like the tiny shepherd boy David in front of the 9 feet tall Goliath in our life; knowing with every fiber of our being that we don’t stand a chance of success. The easy thing is to stay where we are, wishing that somehow the giant would just disappear from our lives. Instead, the giant just comes back like Goliath did, again and again for forty days (1 Sam 17:8, 16) challenging you to fight him.
How did David (an inexperienced and young shepherd boy) who was the youngest of Jesse’s eight sons even end up in the place of battle? That was no place for a teenager like David. I’d say he was way out of league and even got reprimanded by his oldest brother Eliab for that (1 Sam 17:28). David could have taken offence then and there, shrugged his shoulders and walked away. However, that is not what he did. He knew that he had not done anything wrong. He had come to the battlefield in obedience to his father who had asked him to take food for his brothers and to bring back assurance that they were well (1 Sam 17:17,18).He was in no way ‘conceited or wicked in heart’ as accused by his brother, instead he was obedient and faithful, doing what he had been instructed to do by his father. He didn’t go out looking for an opportunity to be a leader or a hero, God placed him where He could use him. Yet he was misunderstood. Often in life, we may be wrongly accused and may wonder about the injustice. It is easy to take offense and to walk away hurt, but in the process, we walk away from the blessing too. We have to stay right where we are and finish what we have started. In vs. 30 we see that David turns and asks someone else for information and is so persistent that he is finally brought before King Saul who tells him clearly that he has no military experience and reminds him of Goliath’s military career. Many times in life we may come across occasions when we may not be qualified or experienced enough for the task. Others may question us, try to talk us out of our dream, remind us of the million reasons why we may not be suitable.If however, God has put a dream in our heart, we can trust that He can make it happen. “God doesn’t call the qualified, he qualifies the called.” It is important not to give up our dream which actually is the key to our destiny!
The next lesson we can learn from this passage is we have got to recognize what is in our hand. God always blesses us when we use what we have. There is no person on planet earth who God cannot use. It is up to us to first of all recognize and then use the gift or talent that He has given us in the best way that we can. Our mistake is that often we wait for something big to happen before even starting. Instead, we must use the many little opportunities available around us. That is what David did as a shepherd boy. When reminded of his inexperience, he tells King Saul about his past experiences of killing a lion and bear in the name of the Living God. He used what little he had and God honored him. The secret was that David knew that even those incredible successes were not his (a young, inexperienced, little shepherd boy) and so what difference does it make if the opponent is a lion or a bear or giant Goliath? The battle was not David’s, so the opponent didn’t really matter to him. His confidence was in the Lord and he confesses it in vs. 37.
He convinces the King that he is the one to fight Goliath; which in itself is amazing! Saul blesses him but wants to prepare David for the battle. In vs. 38 we read that Saul dresses David in his own tunic (which probably is the best in town), gives him a coat of armor and bronze helmet as well. Poor David couldn’t even walk with all this heavy artillery and so he wisely takes it all off. The lesson we can learn here is that we needn’t try to fight the battles in our strength. If we use our worldly logic and reasoning (weaponry), we will fall off balance just like little David did with all the heavy war clothes. He just used what he knew best to use (a sling and five smooth stones).He knew the victory was already his because the battle was the Lord’s.
We see that in vs42-44, Goliath despises David and even makes fun of his modus operandi. Yet another lesson to learn. When we are on the battlefront just before the fight there will be a taunting, a mockery reminding us of the sheer ridiculousness of what we are doing and how we are doing it. Our response should be the response David had. In vs. 47 he declares aloud that God didn’t need his sword or spear or strength to defeat Goliath. He would give Goliath into the hands of the Israelites for His glory.
An important lesson to learn here is that God used David (the youngest of eight boys) to defeat the 9 ft Philistine warrior who taunted the Israelite army. We can never tell of what God can do with someone who is totally surrendered to Him. As we can see in 1 Corin1:27-29: “But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things - and the things that are not-to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him”-NIV
Thus, let us courageously face the Goliaths in our life by surrendering totally to Him, knowing that the victory is ours when the battle is the Lord’s!
Here's this week's musical treat: MY LIFE IS IN YOU LORD
This post is very different from any I have written. It has 2 parts.
The 1st part is a Tribute or a Love song to my loving Lord Jesus who has miraculously brought me thus far. My heart is full of gratitude, love ,admiration and awe as I look back over the past years, ….my cheeks are wet with tears proudly declaring that HE has faithfully carried me through it all and brought me to where I am today.
The 2nd Part of this Post is a Dedication or A Promise to Follow Jesus all my Life. And for those of you who’d like to know Why Jesus is such a Big Deal to Me, I’ve written this poem to share that with you.
Why is Jesus Such a Big Deal to me? Let me tell you why…
He gave me KNOWLEDGE when I was foolish.
He gave me WISDOM when I was confused.
He gave me STRENGTH when I was weak.
He gave me COMPANIONSHIP when I was lonely.
He HUGGED me when I was hurting
He BANDAGED my heart when it was broken
He HEALED me when I was sick.
He SOOTHED me when I was in pain.
He COUNSELLED me when I needed guidance.
He ENCOURAGED me when I was discouraged
He DEFENDED me, even when I was guilty.
He SANCTIFIED me when I needed cleansing
He CORRECTED when I was wrong.
He gave me CONFIDENCE when I was fearful.
He PROTECTED me when I was in danger.
He taught me BOLDNESS when I was timid.
He PROVIDED for me when I was in need.
He was my LIGHT when I was in darkness
He was my WAY when I was lost
He was my JOY when I was depressed.
He gave me DIRECTION in life when I didn’t have any.
He has been EVERYTHING to me, ALL I ever needed.
Now you tell me friend , isn’t that reason enough for Him to be A Big Deal for Me?
HE is my LIFE and I will follow HIM forever.
Hope you enjoyed this post.Would you like to have this wonderful Jesus as the Lord of your life? Just say this prayer with me:
Click to enjoy this Dedication Song : I WILL FOLLOW YOU:
Last week, we saw Part 1 : 3 I’s of Recognition. This week let’s see the 3 A’s related to it.
1)Ambition
2)Attitude
3)Allegiance
Let us see them one by one:
1)Ambition :
Are you ambitious by nature? I’m a very ambitious person in that I want to make things happen and definitely in a Big Way. We live in a Society driven by highly ambitious people. Though a certain degree of Ambition can actually be a good motivation to reach places in life, it also has a harmful side if taken to the extreme. The best example for this is how Lucifer the Morning Star who was also once an Archangel of God due to his excessive ambition to become bigger than His Maker was filled with Pride and thus lost all he once had; his dignity and position and was driven out of Heaven. In pursuit of being recognized by others, let us never forget what we already have. It is all about Never Forgetting our Roots no matter how much we succeed in life. Bob Marley sums it up beautifully: ”Don’t forget your history, nor your destiny.”
2)Attitude :
If you want to be Recognized in Life, the best way is to develop a Winner Attitude. “Life’s battles don’t always go to the faster or stronger man, but sooner or later the man who wins is the man who thinks he can.”-Vince Lombardi. Before you start arguing with me about how hard it is for you and that you have given up trying, I am going to introduce you to 3 people who I love with all my heart and who have reminded me many times in my life through their life stories of how to believe in yourselfin spite of whatever life throws at you.The next time you are tempted to give up, just remember them:
Jessica ( BA Psychology) Motivational Speaker from USA is also a former dancer and double black belt in Tai Kown-Do. She is the first lady in history to pilot a plane without arms. Today, she cooks, eats, washes dishes, curls her own hair, puts on her make- up, contact lenses and writes and types with her feet. A Certified Scuba Diver, she also likes to ice skate.
An inspiring woman - a real heroine not only for her achievements but also for the joy she radiates and her amazing sense of humor. “When asked about her plans on marriage….she said that she looks forward to it and laughingly replied “the hardest part will be for the suitor to ask my hand from my parents.”…. Talk about gutsy…talk about attitude! And this brave woman leaves us with a challenging question … “I do not have arms but that does not determine where I can go…. And you, what do you lack to touch the sky?...”
All three of the above are recognized the world over because they all had one thing in common. They all had WINNER Attitudes.
3)Allegiance:
Our Allegiance must always be to the Lord alone for He alone is worthy of it. Col 3:23-24: “And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not unto men, knowing that from the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance, for ye serve the Lord Christ.”
We all need Recognition, we are made that way but let us strive for the Applause that really matters- the Recognition of the Father who says: “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”(Mark 1:11)
Click to enjoy this beautiful Video: “When it’s all been said & done, there is just one thing that matters!” http://youtu.be/HkdaiSaiYEc
I was a person just like you, happy and successful in life, quite comfortable…not in search of any truth and definitely not in search of Christianity. However when I accidentally came across a group of radical youngsters totally dedicated to Christ; living a life of genuine joy, maturity and authenticity, I was curious. This curiosity got the better of me and I tried to learn more about why they were different and that lead me to accepting Christ right in my youth. It was not CHURCH I wanted. I wantedthe Christ in those Christians and was ready to do what it took for that, and that’s why I joined Church.
I truly believe CHRISTIANITY IS A RELATIONSHIP with JESUS rather than a RELIGION.Going to church alone will never make you a Christian,Christianity is a total transformation from the INSIDE OUT not from the OUTSIDE IN.
Iam not a religious person, never have been and never will be. In fact, my spiritual journey (like I mentioned above) was never a search or an obligation; it was more a love-decision than a religious one. I loved Jesus with all of my being because of who He was and who I was not.My Christian walk started in the pursuit of learning how to become more and more like HIM on a daily basis and it still continues….
This BLOG is just my simple way of sharing what the Lord is teaching me everyday in my Spiritual walk with Him. If what I write brings any hope or encouragement to you, the purpose is served. I regularly pray that the Lord makes this blog available only to those whom He feels need it and to use it to minister to them as He wants. Know one thing for sure,I do not believe in coincidences and truly believe that you have read this ONLY because He wanted you to.
GOD DEARLY LOVES YOU! He wants to help you.Will you allow Him to?
I am just a signboard pointing to HIM. Nobody compels you,the choice to accept Jesus is yours ALONE. But remember,that will be the MOST IMPORTANT CHOICE IN YOUR LIFE THAT YOU WILL EVER MAKE!
Take care, God bless,
Sparky Laurie
Click to enjoy a fav song of mine : THIS IS THE AIR I BREATHE...
