Make a Way for the King.... Our King is coming!

“On that day Yahweh will become King over all the earth--Yahweh alone, and His name alone.”- Zech 14:9

https://youtu.be/uwsIC5m_neQ

Are you Ready?   

https://youtu.be/L7NJc1_t6q0?list=RDWtkTXBTTcAw

Sparky laurie

Forever God is Faithful!

https://youtu.be/3lPdtqgouCc

Sparky Laurie

Importance of Family Prayer

“But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”- Joshua 24:15

Hi Friends,

Today I felt the Lord leading us to learn about the importance of family prayer in our homes. The family is the basic unit of the Society. If we are to grow as effective disciples of Jesus, that must start first at home.The enemy always tries to separate the family members because He knows that there is power in unity when the different members come together. So make sure you set apart a suitable time everyday when all the members of your family could assemble together. The father is the head of the family unit just as Christ is the Head of the Church. The wife must submit to her husband as long as what He says in line with the Word of God. (1 Peter 3:1-7) Children submit to the parents.(Eph 6:1,2) If there is no family prayer already, take the initiative to start one. God always expects us to work as one unit. It is the Lord who has selected our family for us and we need to pray together in order to stay together no matter what storms come in our life.

Here are some guidelines. Feel free to do it in your unique way. Each family is special to God. Let the Holy Spirit lead you.
1)Start with a few songs. Invite the Holy Spirit to come to your house.
2)Make sure to teach the kids small choruses and memory verses.
3)Then the Father could select a particular portion and read from the Bible. Best is to go acc to Bible in 1 year reading plan which is available online. Take print outs.
While he reads, all members could try and see what that the passage means to them. each member can share their findings and we could put the different parts together to get a beautiful summary.
4)Each member could read different portions of the Bible.
5)Discuss openly what are the prayer needs to pray for and start praying for them.
6)Then someone could lead in prayer. For those who don't know, it may be awkward at first but just like learning a new language,with regular practice we improve.

7)Find suitable Scriptures to back up your prayers for speedy answers! * Ref Thought Conditioners
8)Remember the other members of the family too in case they are not staying with us.
9)Another thing that could be done is when any member of the family is having difficulty they could ask the other members to pray for them. I like to ask my son to pray for me when I have a headache etc. The Lord loves children and will be sure to answer their prayers speedily!
Intercede - Pray for other people who come to your mind. You could even have a diary to note the needs.
10)Pray for the Church pastors and leaders.
11)Pray for the leaders , Nation & the World
12)Pray for missionaries doing Gods work in different places.
13)Pray for any specific needs that God puts on your heart. (Pray for the things you want to see change in your family.)
14) Read Psalms 91 and pray for angelic protection.When the family comes together in prayer, all enemy forces are driven out and angels come in. And there will be more unity, peace and love in the home.
14) Say the Lords prayer together.

15)By doing this on a regular basis we develop prayer as a life style and the children also learn that no matter what we face in life, there is a place where the family can come together and we can minister to one another. You would be surprised at the power our little family actually possesses!

Lets make a promise today friends, "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."- Joshua 24:15 

Enjoy this beautiful song: (Its one of my personal favorites!)

https://youtu.be/XFs1d32K_ro

As we continue this way, we will see miracles in every home.
And do remember us in ur family prayer! :)

Take care, God bless,
Sparky laurie

Related post : THOUGHT CONDITIONERS

What is Faith?

Jer 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you. Plans to prosper you, to give you a future and a hope."

Hi friends,

Hope you’re doing well. Today I'd like to share something on Faith. What is the meaning of FAITH? Faith according to Philip Yancey means  "Trusting in Advance what will make sense only in Reverse." Lets take a look at Hebrews Chapter 11 which is the hallmark of faith chapter.

Faith is the confident assurance that what we hope for is going to happen.It is the evidence of things we cannot yet see. God gave his approval to people in days of old because of Faith.

1)By Faith Abel's anointing was more acceptable than Cain's- Not that Abel was better or holier but his faith.

2)By Faith Enoch was taken up to Heaven without dying....it is impossible to please God without faith.Anyone who wants to come to Him must believe that there is  God & that He rewards those who sincerely seek Him.- The key is not He rewards perfect people but that He rewards those that genuinely seek Him.

3)By Faith Noah built an Ark to save his family from the flood.By faith He condemned the rest of the world and was made right in God's sight. God sees what no man sees in us, He sees our heart.

4)It was by faith that Abraham obeyed when God called him to leave home & go to another land that God would give him as His inheritance. he went without knowing where he was going.- We got to walk on waves , doesn't matter we don't know where , but we know the One who is taking us there.:)

5)It was by faith that Sarah together with Abraham was able to have a child even though they were too old & Sarah was barren, Abraham believed that God would keep his promise. God can always be trusted. He does not change. He never lies. He will complete what he starts. As long as you know He said it, you can be sure, He will do it. 

All of these people mentioned above received God's approval because of their faith, yet none of them received all that God had promised. for God had far better things in mind... for we can't receive the prize at the end of the race until we finish the race."

Faith is the currency of Heaven!

Friends you may wonder who am I, without any theological training or credentials or any references to speak into your spiritual life? They even asked Jesus the Son of God , the same question. So it’s no surprise that you may doubt / question me. This is not about me , this is about Him. And truly speaking, we already know we are nothing without Him. But no one could deny the  power & authority of Jesus . A truly anointed man/ woman of God knows that it is God in them and not them. I am a carrier of His Glory! and choose to honor His presence more than anything in this world. Listen below to this video to understand more about being a carrier of His Glory and why God chooses the foolish things of this world to shame the so called wise! (1 Corin 1:27):

https://youtu.be/aMnj8Nx-lWs

Our God is a Resurrector of Dead Dreams. Do you know how painful waiting can be…for your Dream to come true? Year after year after year … My dream has always been to serve the Lord. Right from my very childhood I knew that’s what I wanted to do. And that dream kept me going no matter what came against me.  I accepted the Lord in the year 1996 at a college camp and it is the music of REX band that actually captured my heart & led me to the Lord. Sharing below some of those songs that made me accept  Jesus as my Lord & Savior years back. Hope it blesses you. You can read my Testimony here.

https://youtu.be/hyndNhqldaA  CHRIST HAS NO BODY NOW BUT YOURS

https://youtu.be/o7EneFC7uMk   GLORY GLORY LORD 

Yes Church, love makes us do the craziest things for the One we love! That’s why God Almighty sent His Only Begotten Son to die that painful , shameful death on the Cross of Calvary! He willingly died that death because He loved you that much .... Church, let us never allow that Sacrifice to be in vain… 

https://youtu.be/bZH13wFGffg

I am so excited as I wait expectantly and in wonder about what He’s about to do ….and friend, our God has never ever disappointed me…J We will let you know how you can come and be part of this wonderful experience. Start where you are , with what you have…Be the light that God has created you to be. Shine brighter every day and friend , you're invited to be part of this movement to shine for Jesus where you are with what you have in your hand... Stay tuned for more… as He leads… in His time …in His way!

Like always,

Keep us in your prayers,

Sparky laurie

4 Keys to developing a Powerful Prayer Life!

Hi friends,

Hope you're doing fine. Sharing an article written recently for a magazine. Hope it blesses you! 

Note*  (The celebrities enlisted below are from Indian background as the church was from there. However, as we are Kingdom citizens, we have no racial or national parameters :)  you may choose any celebrity of your choice!)

4 Keys to Developing  a Powerful Prayer Life!

 Let me begin by asking you a question. Who is your favorite celebrity, the one who inspires you the most? Maybe a cricketer like Sachin Tendulkar or a film star like Amitabh Bachan or Rajnikanth, maybe a leader or maybe a woman icon like Kiran Bedi or PT Usha. Now suppose you get a free ticket to meet with your favorite celebrity for about 30 minutes, how excited you would be! What all preparations you would make! You would immediately start planning what to wear, where to go, what to ask. Also you would definitely carry your camera with you to take as many photos as you can to treasure the memories of that meeting forever.

Now let me ask you another question, what if instead of that celebrity, you got an invitation to have a friendly chat with the God of this Universe? What would be your reaction? Would you be as thrilled or maybe even afraid? Would you be making the same plans we discussed earlier? Most likely the answer is NO. We are given an Invitation every single day by the biggest and the best celebrity in the whole world, our Lord Almighty and yet sadly, most of us choose to either ignore or postpone His invitation to spend time with Him.

Some people may say, I’d be happy to accept the Invitation someday but not right now, I don’t feel ready enough. The truth is we will never be ready enough so let’s go to Him today just as we are. Others will say yes, I’d like to but what can I talk about? Here are 4 keys from my personal experience that may help you. God wants everyone of us to  develop our own close prayer walk with Him.

√ KEY NO 1 : A Time of  Prayer - 

We can pray whenever we feel like as God’s lines are never busy. However, it is a good discipline to set aside the first & last portion of our day for prayer. Gradually we will learn to make prayer our lifestyle meaning we connect with God all through our day for eg: when we are driving to work, when faced with challenges during the day, before our meals, etc. (Psa 5:3, Psa 3:5, Psa 4:8)

√KEY NO 2: A Place of Prayer- 

It is good to find a quiet & comfy place where there’s less chance of being distracted/ interrupted. (Math 6:6)”But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private.”

√KEY NO 3: A Way of Prayer- 

There are no hard & fast rules for prayer. Prayer is simply talking to God from our heart & listening to what God has to say. The imp thing is to be honest & simple as God loves the childlike prayer the best. We don’t have to impress Him, He already knows us since He made us.(Jer 1:5) We can relax in His presence as He loves us just as we are. We can even ask the Lord to teach us to pray. In Math 6:9-13, we see the Lord’s prayer where Jesus taught His disciples how to pray.

Let me share with you 4 main elements of a Powerful Prayer:

This can be summed up in the acronym ACTS- they are : Adoration , Confession, Thanksgiving & Supplication

a) Adoration: means praising & worshipping God for who He is – His attributes- Faithful (1 Corin 1:9, 2 Tim 2:13), Holy (Psalms 22:3, Isa 6:3), Sovereign (Job 42:2,Eph 1:11), Love (1 John 4:8, John 3:16) etc & what He does (His works). During this time, we can sing songs of Praise & Worship.

b) Confession: means looking into our life & checking if there is anything displeasing in the eyes of God. Ask Him to reveal that to us & to forgive us because of the holy blood of Jesus. (Psalm 139:23,24, I John 1:9)

c) Thanksgiving: means expressing our gratitude & thanks to God for His blessings in our life. (1 Thess 5:18)

d) Supplication: refers to our prayer requests to God. This can be for our needs or for the needs of others (Intercession) (1 Tim 2:1-3, Heb 5:7.)

√KEY NO: 4  A Record of Prayer- 

Journaling what God speaks to us or keeping a written record of our prayer requests and ticking them as God answers them can be a great source of encouragement in our prayer life. (Habakkuk 2:2)

I am sure that if we apply these principles, our prayer life will become such a joy that we will actually look forward to having more chats with our Heavenly Father.

Let me end with some favorite quotes on prayer:

Ø  Mark 11:24 “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.”
Ø  “Satan trembles when he sees the weakest saint upon his knees.”-The Kneeling Christian
Ø  “Don’t pray when you feel like it. Have an appointment with the Lord and keep it. A man is powerful on his knees.” - Corrie Ten Boom
Ø  “Prayer is a shield to the soul, a sacrifice to God, and a scourge for Satan.”- John Bunyan
Ø  Philippians 4:6-7 “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Wishing you a blessed prayer life,

Sparky Laurie

Related post : SLOW DOWN TO THE SPEED OF LIFE:

Act Justly,Have Mercy,Walk Humbly Part 3

Hi friends,

Hope you are all doing well. In the last two posts we have explored the first two requirements God has of us from Micah 6:8 which are  to ACT JUSTLY and to  HAVE MERCY . Today let us study what the 3rd part -

               3)WALK HUMBLY –

The term "humility" comes from the Latin  word humilitas,  which means   "from the earth"(humus), “grounded” or "low". In other words it is meekness or modesty and is the opposite of arrogance or pride. Humility is a heart attitude and also a prerequisite to be great in the Kingdom of God.  Godly humility is not false modesty or being a doormat. On the other hand, it is being so comfortable with who we are in the Lord and therefore being able to put others first.

Psalms 25:9 “He leads the humble in justice, And He teaches the humble His way.”

All the men of God used greatly by God in the Bible were the most humble people who lived.

Gen 41:16 “Joseph then answered Pharaoh, saying, "It is not in me; God will give Pharaoh a favorable answer."

Numbers 12:3 “Now the man Moses was very humble, more than any man who was on the face of the earth” Hence was greatly used by God

In Math 11:29 Jesus said  “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” He is indeed  the very epitome of Humility ; we see this portrayed especially in Philippians 2:5 -11 “ have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God,  did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being  made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself  by becoming 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, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

 In Mark 9:35   Jesus sat down and he called the twelve and said to them, “He who wants to be first shall be last, and the servant of every person.”

He demonstrated this in John 13:3-5 which says: “ Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.” We see here that Jesus was so secure in His identity and purpose that He could willingly wash His disciples feet. When we know fully who we are in Christ and what His assignment  of us really is,then and only then will we be able to joyfully serve our brother, honoring him more than ourselves (Rom 12:10 ) 

There are great rewards for walking in humility.

1 Pet 5:5,6 “Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another  for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.”

Prov 15:33 “….before honor comes humility.”

Prov 22: 4 “The reward of humility and the fear of the LORD are riches, honor and life.”

Related link :Click  MEEKNESS IS NOT WEAKNESS 

Would you like to really see how humble you are? Here’s a checklist of 9 characteristics of a humble person acc to Joyce Meyer. I recently came across it and felt it a pretty good yardstick to measure those areas where we yet need to improve…Caution it can be eye opening! J

Click here for Joyce Meyers 9 Characteristics of a Humble Person !

Let us sing with King David : WHO AM I THAT YOU ARE MINDFUL OF ME ? SONG  

2 Sam 7:18 “Then King David went in and sat before the Lord and said, ”Who am I , O Lord God , and what is my house, that you have brought me thus far?”

This beautiful Video sums it up all 3 posts we have just seen perfectly… ENJOY!

Click below to sing : SHOW JUSTICE,LOVE MERCY,WALK HUMBLY - by Andy Bromley 

Related posts-  PART 1 ACT JUSTLY , PART 2 SHOW MERCY,

CHRISTIANITY  W/O CHRIST 

Hope you enjoyed this post. Have a blessed week!

Love and prayers,      

Sparky Laurie

Act Justly, Have Mercy,Walk Humbly Part 2

     

Hi friends,

         Hope  you are all doing well. In my previous post I mentioned to you how God had been speaking to me through Micah 6:8 as to what He requires from us. We saw Part 1 which describes what it means to Act Justly, today let us study what the second part means   

2) HAVE MERCY –                                 

                              

  

According to Zech 7:9, "True justice actually means to have mercy." Now let us see what mercy means.

Mercy means compassion, pity, forgiveness, kindness, sympathy, understanding, benevolence.

To understand this better let us see what MERCY is not  . The opposites of Mercy are Cruelty, unkindness, meanness, nastiness, brutality/malice, spite, vindictiveness, viciousness ruthlessness, heartlessness, harshness.

The above words are easily a clear description of the world we live in today. Tuning in to the morning news would give you the visual imagery of the same.

Lam 3:22-23 “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”

Psalms 136:1-26  Repeatedly tells us from 1^st verse till last verse :  “O give thanks to the Lord for His mercy endures forever.”

Mathew 5:7 “Blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy.”  

                             

There is a small difference between LOVE and Mercy. MERCY means extending LOVE even when the other doesn’t deserve it. It is easy to Love but what about MERCY ? This is an area I struggle a lot  and He has been repeatedly reminding me how when  I didn’t deserve MERCY both He and many loved ones in my life had extended me MERCY.As He opened my eyes I could see what I was blind to earlier and this brought a new prayer on my lips "Lord Make me Merciful just as you are Merciful." Do for me what I can never do in a 1000 years no matter how hard I tried. And the process of Sanctification continues as He’s teaching me…to be Merciful….
Luke 6:36  “Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful”

1 Pet 1:13 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to His great mercy, He has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead”                

No matter how kind we may be, living in this fallen world often fills us with spite due to bitter experiences in our life, especially when the good we do is repaid by evil. Our natural inclination is then to harden our heart and become harsh in our dealings with those causing us pain. This will cause us to lose our sensitivity to the still small voice of  the Blessed Holy Spirit who leads us into all righteousness empowering us to be Holy even as our Father in Heaven is Holy. In fact Mercy is actually a FRUIT of the SPIRIT.

 Related post :SPIRITUAL FRUIT SALAD

Knowing all we have gone through and going through and will go through, He still commands us :
Mathew 9:13 “ Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”
When tempted to justify our unkind actions and blame our hard heartedness on our compelling circumstances, let us remember Our Precious Lord Jesus lying bruised ,broken ,naked ,humiliated and alone on that Cross. 

The ISV Bible says Jesus kept saying, "Father, forgive them, because they don't know what they're doing."

Related post :PERSONALITY OF GOD - PART 4 HUMANITY 

And what were we complaining about? The Good News is that our God is so rich in Mercy and we can be sure that no matter how badly we mess up and miss the mark, we can always find Mercy as we rush to His Throne of Grace with tearful eyes and repentant heart. He is a Good Good God whose mercies endure forever.

Heb 4:16 “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” 

Ephesians 2:4-7 “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ- by grace you have been saved – and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.”                                   

We can be sure that as we learn all other things by sheer dependence on the Holy Spirit, we can learn Mercy as well.

Psalms 23 :6 “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Click below and enjoy these  catchy  MERCY SONGs :   

2) Some Mercy for ME ! Greater is the one Living inside of me

 by MERCY ME -

Prayer : Lord fill us with your mercy. Help us to be merciful to ourselves and to others just as you are Perfect Father.Make us more like your Blessed Son Jesus. Holy Spirit empower us .-Amen

Hope you enjoyed this post. Next post we will examine part 3 in the series.

Have a blessed day!

Sparky Laurie

Related posts : PART 1 Act Justly , Part 3 Walk Humbly