My Sheep Hear My Voice!

 "My sheep hear My Voice and I know them, and they follow Me."- John 10:27 

Hi Friends,

Hope you are doing fine. All of us know John 10 which speaks about Jesus as our Shepherd. No matter what we are going through, we can get through it if we hear the voice of our Shepherd and follow His instruction. This morning as I was reading this portion, I felt the emphasis on how we should hear the right voice. Just listening to any voice that comes to us is one of the biggest mistakes we could make. The same mistake that Eve made in the Garden of Eden. In the cacophony of voices around us, how do we know which Voice to listen to and which voice to ignore and which voice to totally reject. Based on this Scripture portion, let’s see how we can recognize and obey the right Voice- the voice of our Shepherd Lord Jesus Christ

1) The Right Voice is selfless, the wrong voice is selfish – “The thief comes only to steal, kill and destroy but the Lord comes to give us sustenance and abundant life.” – John 10:10 The Voice that is selfish and does not have our good interests in mind is the voice we should ignore totally. The Word says in John 10 that our Good Shepherd even gives up His own Life to save the sheep. That’s how selfless the love of our Shepherd Jesus is. (John 10:11)  

      2) The Right Voice is true, the wrong Voice is false- The Word of God says in John 14:6 says "I am the Way, the Truth and the life." However we read in 2 Corin 11:13-14 that there may be many false voices around us that may appear good but are deceitful and we should never fall for these voices as “even the devil masquerades as an angel of light.”

       3) The Right Voice is personal and intimate (John 10:3) ;the wrong voice is manipulative and controlling – The Shepherd knows His sheep and calls each of them by a special name. The Sheep know the Voice of their Shepherd and follow Him alone. The enemy doesn’t really care for the sheep , they just want to use us to fulfil their evil motives and though the voice of the enemy may be persuasive as with Eve in the Garden , we should always recognize the cruel manipulations behind the wrong voice and stay away from it immediately. Arguing or thinking on the suggestions of the evil one  will only lead us to confusion. Thank God that we have a Shepherd who cares for us so much that if we seek Him He always answers us.(Jere 29:13)

     4) The Right voice, draws us to the Word while the wrong voice drives us away from the Word–The Sheep runs away from the Wrong Voice as they do not know the Voice of the Stranger- The Lord’s Voice is always recognizable as gentle and will always be in line with the Word of God but the stranger's Voice never lines up with the Word of God. We too should flee the wrong voice as we have nothing in common with this Voice and the enemy would use even the smallest bit of attention that we give that voice to fill us with doubt as he did in the Garden of Eden and distract us from the wonderful plans that the Lord has for us. (Jere 29:11)

      5) The Right Voice will save us while the wrong voice leads us to danger – Our Lord Jesus willingly lays down His life for us to save us from danger (John 10:15,18) there is always a hedge of protection when we adhere to the Voice of our Shepherd. However, the hireling flees in times of danger as he does not care about the sheep. (John 10:12,13) He leaves the sheep, and the wolf comes and catches and scatters the sheep. John 10:28 says That Our Good Shepherd gives us Eternal Life and we will never perish and no one can snatch them out of His hand.

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, thank you for being our Good Shepherd. We shall not lack in anything. (Psalms 23:1,2) Please keep our ears attuned to hear only Your still small voice; help us to recognize Your still small Voice and always obey You Lord. Forgive the times we have unknowingly and carelessly heeded to the Wrong voices around us – the Voice of our Flesh, the Voice of people around us, the Voice of the Enemy. Help us to be Yours and Yours alone and to hear Your Voice more and more clearly Lord in these Last Days. We surrender to You Our Good Shepherd, You who loves us so much that You went to the greatest extent to prove your Love for us by willingly laying Your Own life for us that we could  enjoy Abundant Life here on Earth and ever afterwards forever.

Hope and pray that we, His sheep will always hear His Voice alone!

https://youtu.be/aaLhqh3Yb44?si=QyCyu68a25HEmiFl

God bless,

Sparky Laurie

 

Created to Blossom!

"Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in Him."- Jeremiah 17:7

Hi friends,

Hope you are doing good! This morning I came across this beautiful passage in Jeremiah 17 which calls us to be the blessed of the Lord. The blessing or the curse depends on our choices. These are some truths that can be universally applied to each one of us no matter which walk of life we come from! First let us discuss the three kinds of people who can actually lose out on the blessings of God.

1) The One who puts his trust in man-  Jer 17:5,6 -

 Jeremiah actually calls this kind of person as a cursed one. Since he puts his trust in man and puts his strength in flesh. He goes on to describe the condition of this man  is like a shrub in the desert place. The growth of this plant is stunted meaning its barely alive. It is also called a lonely bush in the wilderness. This is its survival strategy as there is very little water and nutrients in that parched place due to low rainfall & poor soil (salt land). When we put our trust in people, it is sure that they will disappoint us sometime or other in life! Our Anchor in life should always be God and not people, no matter how powerful or influential they may be, our God is bigger than any other person on this earth.

Antidote - Psalms 118:8,9 "It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man. It is better to trust in the Lord, than to put confidence in princes." NKJV

2) The One who trusts in his Own heart- Jeremiah 17:9,10

Nowadays there's a popular saying, " go by your heart." Though this may seem like the right thing to do, the Word of God speaks differently about this. Jeremiah 17: 9,10 says "the heart is deceitful above all things and also is desperately wicked." 

Proverbs 28:26 says "Whoever trusts in his own mind is a fool, but he who walks in wisdom will be delivered."

 Proverbs 3:7 says "Do not be wise in your own eyes, fear the Lord and depart from evil." 

As long as our hearts and minds are surrendered and sanctified by the Blessed Holy Spirit we can make wise decisions but if we put our trust in our human knowledge or past experience, we may be wrong. Wrong choices without being guided by the blessed Holy Spirit may cause us to make wrong decisions and thereby lead us away from the blessings God has kept for us. 

Antidote - Psalms 37:5 " Commit your way to the Lord, Trust also in Him and He will help you."- NLT

3) The One who trusts in his  Riches- 

In Jeremiah 17:11, we come across another beautiful imagery that explains this point beautifully. Here we read about "the partridge that broods but does not hatch" - this refers to the Jewish belief that the  partridge is a bird that steals the eggs of other birds and adds them to her own. So when the eggs hatch, the chicks leave the partridge because they really don't belong to that bird. Similar is the case of people who have acquired riches unjustly. Such wealth disappears just when the owner is counting on it for security. 

Psalms 49:16-20 NLT also speaks about this :" Be not afraid when a man becomes rich, when the glory of his house increases. For when he dies he will carry nothing away; his glory will not go down after him. For though, while he lives, he counts himself blessed —and though you get praise when you do well for yourself— his soul will go to the generation of his fathers, who will never again see light. Man in his pomp yet without understanding is like the beasts that perish." 

Even Jesus speaks a parable about a rich man who built bigger barns to store more crops - Luke 12:16-21. We read that God calls this man a fool. In spite of all the wealth that he amassed, He could not be truly blessed.

Antidote - Proverbs 11:28 "He who trusts in His riches will fall, but the righteous will flourish like a green leaf.

THE TRULY BLESSED ONE !

How then can we be blessed? We can find the key in Jeremiah 17:7-8. 

Psalms 1: 2-3 describes them. Those who trust in the Lord are those who take delight in His Word. They will be like a tree that is planted by rivers of water and thus brings forth its fruit in its season. Their leaves will not wither, and whatever such people do, they will prosper.

They are the ones who trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on their own understanding .In all their ways they acknowledge Him and He directs their paths." Prov 3:5,6

How can such people who are totally surrendered to the Lord not be blessed by Him? They are the ones who are blessed to be a blessing. We are called and created  not just to survive here on this earth but for so much more! We are called to Blossom and Bloom where God has planted us.

Let's enjoy this song Blossom by Shyju Mathew which reminds us that we are called to Blossom! Hope you enjoy it as much as I did !
https://youtu.be/Jnnib4qZg8A?si=FnGm662COkQw42Xz

Have a blessed week! 

Sparky laurie

His eye is on the Sparrow & on Me! :)

"God doesn't  abandon or forget even the small sparrow He has made. How then could He forget or abandon you?"- Luke 12:7 Passion Translation.

Hi friends,

Hope you are doing fine. Today morning as I awoke I could hear these words "His eye is on the Sparrow."  We all know that the Sparrow is a very small bird often overlooked because it is so small and insignificant! Mathew 10:29-31 " You can buy two sparrows for only a copper coin, yet not even one sparrow falls from its nest without the knowledge of your Father. Aren't you worth much more to God than many sparrows? So don't worry. For your Father cares deeply about even the smallest detail of your life."   In the Bible, the sparrow represents God's love & care for His creation as well the importance of humility and trust in God's provision.

If the Lord cares so much for that small bird then how much more we matter to Him? In this life, we may go through different situations where we may be overlooked or misunderstood or belittled just because we are smaller or appear weaker than others, yet we should remember that we read in 1 Tim 4:12 "Don’t let anyone belittle you because you are young. Instead, show the faithful, young and old, an example of how to live: set the standard for how to talk, act, love, and be faithful and pure."  Moreover , God in spite of being the Creator of all mankind, never despises anybody. He celebrates His children. He only has love, acceptance and good plans for His children. The world may look down on us, criticize, ridicule, mock or even reject & hate us ..but our Lord Jesus has gone through that path and suffered even the Ultimate Rejection when the Holy Father God turned His face from our beloved Jesus just because He carried our sins on Himself! None of us will ever go through that kind of sorrow or rejection.

Similarly, we should never limit God nor ever underestimate what He can do with someone who is totally dedicated and surrendered to Him. It really does not matter how small or insignificant we may appear to others. We have a God who uses a stammerer like Moses, a  ruddy shepherd boy David. a young maiden like Mary, a fearful Gideon and a coward like Peter. We have a God who specializes in using the misfits and imperfect people to fulfill His will. We read in 1 Corin 1:27 " God purposely chose what the world considers foolish  in order to shame the wise, and He chose what the world considers weak in order to shame the powerful. He receives the Glory."

Now, let's learn something from the Sparrow. The sparrow is a singing bird and has a beautiful Voice and its chirping and singing can be heard all over. Sometimes we hear the bird's song and that brightens our day.  In the same way, we may not be recognized or noticed by anyone but we can praise and worship God from where we are and give Him the Glory. That 'song' or whatever we have in our hand, be it our time/ talents/ treasure; God will take it and will use it to encourage another weary traveler on this journey called life. Nothing is ever wasted in His hands!

{The song "His eye is on the Sparrow" originated in the year 1905 by Civilla Martin. She describes the context out of which the hymn was born: “Early in the spring of 1905, my husband and I were sojourning in Elmira, New York. We contracted a deep friendship for a couple by the name of Mr. and Mrs. Doolittle—true saints of God. Mrs. Doolittle had been bedridden for nigh twenty years. Her husband was an incurable cripple who had to propel himself to and from his business in a wheelchair. Despite their afflictions, they lived happy Christian lives, bringing inspiration and comfort to all who knew them. One day while we were visiting with the Doolittle s, my husband commented on their bright hopefulness and asked them for the secret of it. Mrs. Doolittle’s response was simple: ‘His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.’ The beauty of this simple expression of boundless faith gripped the hearts and fired the imagination of Dr. Martin and me. The hymn ‘His Eye Is on the Sparrow’ was the outcome of that experience.”}

https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/resources/history-of-hymns-his-eye-is-on-the-sparrow

Let's sing a modern version of that beautiful song :  Sparrow - Audrey Assad

Hope this blessed you as much as it blessed me!

Sparky laurie

GODFIDENCE !!!

 “Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit says the Lord Almighty.”-Zech 4:1

Hi friends,

Hope you are doing fine. In my previous post, we saw that Confidence is one of the most important traits we should possess for success in our life. There is however a difference between having Self Confidence and Confidence in GOD. As we think about it, often self-confident people think that they are able to achieve anything in their life by their willpower or talent. The truly wise know that of our own we are not able to do anything. Even the Lord says in John 15:5 “that apart from Him we can do nothing!” Does that mean we should not trust ourselves and not to try to do anything in life? Actually,  it’s just the opposite; the ones with their Confidence in the Lord are the ones who will go to the greatest heights in life in His power & strength and achieve the impossible because of HIM. As I was ruminating over this thought,  …a new word came to my mind; - GODFIDENCE …I just looked it up and found that surprise of surprises there is a word like that! It is the belief that we can do anything because of our firm belief that it is HE who strengthens and enables us to do so. Philippians 4:13 says “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

We can attempt the Impossible and know that it is the Lord who has done it through us and so we will give Him all the Glory. The more we use what He has given us and in His name , the more He will empower us and we will be so grateful to Him that we will say like the psalmist says in Psalms 118:23 “This is the Lord’s doing and it’s marvellous in our eyes.”

The Bible is full of such men and women who did exploits in His name and brought Glory to our Lord. Daniel in the Lions Den, Moses in the Wilderness and David when he stood against & defeated the giant Goliath. We too are called to defeat the Giants in our life in His name and power.

One thing however we should remember is that the moment we depend on our ability we will not be able to accomplish His will in our life. We need the power of the Holy spirit to do what God has called us to do. Peter walked on the water when he fixed his eyes on the Lord. However when he saw the waves he remembered his frailty and panicked but the Lord took hold of him immediately. The same way, we can rest assured that as long as we are walking with our eyes fixed on Jesus the author and Finisher of our faith , we may slip but we will never drown for His eye is upon us always! Just like an eager mother watches her little toddler take his first tottering steps…encouraging the baby to take small steps…always ready to reach out and help the baby in case he falls, in the same way, our Father is EL ROI – the God who sees and watches us take steps as He directs us :) 

Sharing a song that speaks about facing our Giants with  GODFIDENCE!

Enjoy CONFIDENCE by Sanctus Real :  https://youtu.be/SNNTVD_dTxU

Have a blessed week!

Sparky laurie

 

 

 

TRUTH BE TOLD !

 "But you shall know the Truth and the Truth Shall Set You Free! " - John 8:32

Hi friends,

Hope you are doing fine. Today, I'd like to share some thoughts on this lovely song that I came across sometime back.

Everyone knows that Confidence is one of the most crucial elements to succeed and win in today’s rat race. If we look around, one thing that we can see is no matter what people go through ; they put on a strong face and their best foot forward. Many people especially the youth of today go through many hardships behind closed doors and yet we would never know that until something bad happens and we are too late. This lack of openness and transparency among us may also be one of the causes of the rising rate of suicides and other shocking destructive behavior like the school shootings etc. Much of such tragedies could be avoided if we realized that its okay not to have all the answers and that we don’t need to be filled with shame and hopelessness if we feel we don’t fit in sometimes. Truth be told, none of us has it all together and all the time. We all have seasons of great joy and sorrow, ups and downs. 

The key that helps us get through this all is to first and foremost admit that we need help and to approach someone we can confide in, sometimes a friend you can trust or a teacher, pastor, parent, or someone who would be able to help you. And of course, the best person we could confide to is our Lord Jesus Christ who never misunderstands us and is always happy to help us out no matter how messy a situation we are in! And when we cross over from that state to a better one, there’s so much we have learnt that we are then anointed to offer the same comfort to another person who God will put in our path. The best thing we can do to help someone is point them to the Cross to the Savior who saved us and loves us. “A safe place for the sick, the sinner and the Prodigal…”

I love this song by Matthew West which speaks to us about this problem and how to address it. May it bless you today!

Have a blessed week,

Cheers,

Sparky laurie

 

 

My Battle Cry is Jesus !

Philippians 2:10,11 " ...that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow, in heaven and on the earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."

Hi friends,

Hope you are doing fine. This week I'd like to share with you a song that I came across rather accidentally but which has ministered to me so wonderfully. Its called Battle Cry! (written & recorded by Aaron Lee.) The word battle cry is a word or a phrase that is shouted by soldiers going into battle to express solidarity and to intimidate the enemy. 

This song as I understand it is mainly about how sometimes we get so weary with the constant spiritual warfare coming against us. What we need to remember at such times is that it is not us, but Jesus who will do the warfare for us. He has already won the fight for us (about 2000 years ago) when He died for us on the Cross and was resurrected on the Third Day! We can run to shelter ourselves in the arms of our Lord where we can rest and our wounds can heal. Just like in any war, when the army needs direction , they turn to their Commander who will always give them the right advice at crucial times , in the same way, we too can turn to our Chief Commander Jesus who will guide us with His Voice .He has promised us that His Holy Spirit will never leave nor forsake us. And because of this ,we can march confidently behind the Lord Jesus and be sure that we are more than Conquerors coz this fight He has already won! So our Battle Cry is the name of Jesus - The name above every name!

Do sit back and enjoy this blessed song : 

  

Click here for the Story Behind the Song by the writer Aaron Lee

Have a blessed week!

Sparky laurie

Fully Known & Deeply Loved!

" But by the Grace of God, I am what I am, and His Grace towards me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I , but the grace of God which was in me."- 1 Corin 15:10

Hi friends,

Its been a while since I've jotted down something. Hope you are doing fine in His Grace! I recently came across this beautiful song which has ministered to me through some of the toughest phases in my life!It is a song that comes straight from the Father's heart and resonates with every fiber of my being. Hope it blesses you as much as it blessed me!

No matter who we are, how old or young we are or from which part of the world we come from, it is a common factor that we all want to be understood, accepted and loved. However, often we may be  misunderstood, rejected  and even hated by people who think they know what we are. Yet, we can be grateful for the few people in our life who know us inside and out, our failures and victories, our strengths and weaknesses and love us deeply for who we are. Such is the love of our Loving Father, our Creator. In Psalms 139:13- 16 it says " You knitted me together in my mother's womb....Your workmanship is marvelous! ....You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed." This means that no matter what we think or feel or others tell us , we are no accident. We are created by Our Father God for a definite time and purpose. Since He crafted us with His hands , none of what we say, think, do or imagine surprises Him. According to Luke 12 :17 : "Even the number of our hairs is known by Him." That is how intimately He knows us and how unconditionally He loves us. 

Often in life we have to put our best foot forward before we approach people but with God we can come just as we are... there is only love and acceptance for us; His children! Just like a small puppy who has rolled in a muddy puddle and rushes to his Master when He hears him coming, we too can rush into the loving arms of our Lord & Savior no matter how broken and shattered we may be. People may doubt us or speak bad about us but we have a God who sees and knows us and will take us and cleanse us with His Holy Blood and fill us with His Living Word. As David sings in Psalms 40:1-3 : The Lord picked me up from the miry clay, set my feet on a rock to stay; put a song in my mouth to sing ...a song of Praise to my Lord & King." That's what our Lord does with us;  so we can always rest with this assurance in our Heart that our Lord loves us so much that He gave His only begotten Son Jesus to die on the Cross of Calvary for us so that we could enjoy abundant life here on earth and ever after. (John 3:16)

Hope you are blessed and do enjoy this wonderful video of this song by City Alight . Always remember that no matter where you are at this point in your life.  You are known , You are loved! 💓

Have a wonderful week !

Sparky laurie