THIS IS YOUR SONG, NOT MINE!

Hi friends,

Hope you all are doing fine. It’s been a while and I’m happy to have something to share with you today.How can we make Jesus the Centre of our Life?

Often as we go up the path of life and grow up, we reach a stage where we take a hard look at ourselves and suddenly nothing seems so sure and certain. As new challenges and struggles arise, we may even look at ourselves in the mirror knowing that we have reached our limit as the Goliath in our life seems so insurmountable. In spite of numerous past victories, we may even suddenly shrink back intimidated by unfamiliar territory. It is often by over analyzing and reasoning that we are paralyzed into inaction. Past experiences and anxious thoughts often play on our minds and we are tempted into backing off or leaving the opportunity on the shelf for some other day when we are stronger. But the truth is that we may never get that chance again. And that open door is now closed. Who knows it may have been the passage into all that we have been believing God and praying for!

What then is the remedy or the way out? How can we avoid missing these chances because we feel we are not ready ? I would like to share with you these verses that spoke to me just this morning. 2 Chronicles 32:7,8 ⁷ “Be strong and courageous; do not be afraid nor dismayed before the king of Assyria, nor before all the multitude that is with him; for there are more with us than with him. ⁸ With him is an arm of flesh; but with us is the Lord our God, to help us and to fight our battles.” And the people were strengthened by the words of Hezekiah king of Judah.

Here are a few things that came to mind as I meditated on these words that spoke to my heart.

1)There is no denying that the battle is real and the enemy army is mighty. Even when we face our Goliaths in life we need to accept the truth that we are no match for them in our own strength. But the good news is that we are looking at Jesus ability ,not ours and so it really doesn’t matter how able we are or not!

2) “With him is an arm of flesh” meaning, they are just humans, but we have supernatural assistance with us. It does not make sense when we think with our logic or reasoning as we are talking about help in the spiritual realm which may not be seen with our physical eyes.

3)”It is the Lord who will help us and fight our battles.” We need to be in position and believe His Word that He will fight for us. That may often require us to take a step in faith and obey Him even when we do not feel like it. God always honors those who put their trust in Him. He just cannot ignore a person who is full of faith in Him.

4)In reality, we may feel we do not have what it takes to win but the truth is that God does not need our ability only our availability and our obedience. He will do the rest.

5) While on earth, there will be numerous battles one after the other. Life becomes so much easier for us when we make Jesus the centre of our lives. That way we can be sure of the victory all the time! Let Him be glorified each and every time. “He must increase and I must decrease.”

Click here to enjoy this beautiful song:    http://youtu.be/WKuuScgnlDE

 

 Have a blessed week!

Take care, God bless us,

Sparky Laurie

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