Lauren Sparks

The Sparks Notes

Esther and the Golden Sceptor

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Photo by King’s Church International on Unsplash

That title sounds like a good movie title doesn’t it?  The preacher at our church taught on the book of Esther in the Old Testament recently, and per usual, I saw some aspects of the story with fresh eyes.  Now, I did also hear the music in my head from the Veggie Tales version of the narrative with a cucumber King Xerxes and a green pea Uncle Mordecai.  My special needs 18 year old is a big fan.  But I digress.

 

I have loved the story of Esther since I was a girl.  I’m not the only American female enamored with royalty.  The popularity of the Disney princesses and Harry and Meghan attest to that.  But the bravery and loyalty of this young woman inspired me and captured my imagination as well.  Without taking the time and space to cover the entire 10 chapters of Esther here (our pastor did so beautifully), I will encourage you to read through this sweeping saga on your own.  You can find it just before the book of Job which is just before the book of Psalms – close to the mid point of your Bible.  I do, however, want to tell you just a piece of the story so I can explain how something that happened thousands of years ago (and long before the birth of Christ) brought me to a fresh encounter with Jesus.

 

To summarize, King Xerxes, with the urging of a trusted advisor, issued an edict that all the Jewish peoples in his vast kingdom were to be destroyed, killed and annihilated on a single day in the not-too-distant future.  His young queen Esther, being Jewish, was in danger.  Her beloved uncle encouraged her to approach the king and “beg for mercy and plead with him for her people.”  Esther 4:8 NIV  The queen was afraid because any man or woman who approached the king in the inner court without being summoned would be put to death, her position as his wife not withstanding.  Only the king extending his gold scepter to his visitor would spare the life.  Esther showed great courage by presenting herself to her king and great relief when he extended his scepter.  She convinced him to save her people and has gone down in history as someone God placed in position to carry out His plans.

 

What struck me anew about this story is the law that no one, not even family could approach the king unsummoned.  Anyone wishing to see Xerxes had to send a message requesting an audience with him and wait to see if he granted permission.  Esther knew her request was too urgent for royal protocol and therefore knew she had to break it – regardless of the consequences.  And yet I have open access to the King and Creator of the universe.  The most powerful and majestic Ruler who ever was, is and is to come holds out a golden scepter for me 24 hours a day and 7 days a week.  I don’t have to request an audience with Him or be granted permission.  Hebrews 4:16 says, “Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”  I’m not sure if it’s more accurate to say I don’t have to be summoned, or that I’m always summoned, but I am profoundly grateful.

 

How can someone like ME approach God with confidence?

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I assure you it is not because of anything I am or have done.  God is good and perfect, but Romans 3:23 says that I (and in fact every human) is flawed and sinful.  That creates a gap between us and God.  Jesus lived a perfect life and died a sinless death in order to bridge that gap for us.  All we have to do is believe in Jesus as the one and only source of salvation from our sins (John 3:16).  He is the pathway to God.  He throws open the throne room to bring our requests – our very lives – before the Lord of heaven and earth.  And through that door we enjoy the golden scepter of God’s love, forgiveness and unfathomable mercy for eternity.

 

I would love to talk with you more about how you can have this kind of confidence before God – no matter who you are or what you have done.  He loves you and He waits patiently for you.  Leave a comment here on this post or jump over to my comments page to send me an anonymous email.  If you are local it would make my day to have coffee or lunch with you or if you live too far away we can chat by phone, text or email.  He adores you.  And it’s my absolute favorite thing to talk about.  Until then…I’m praying Numbers 6:24-26 for you.  May “The Lord bless and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.”

A Contemporary Take on C.S. Lewis

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For someone who has been a believer in Jesus for over 3 decades, I’ve been relatively slow to come to the writings of C.S. Lewis.

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Widely acknowledged as one of the most prominent literary voices of our faith, I read Mere Christianity (I highly recommend) a few years ago and have since added his A Grief Observed and most recently The Screwtape Letters.

 

I struggled the most reading the latest, a fictional tale of temptation as told through the lens of a senior demon and his nephew.  The mentor wrote 31 letters to the younger tempter full of advice for how to secure a single soul for the devil.  I found most fascinating the subtlety of the enticements.  Screwtape, the senior advisor tells his nephew that “the safest road to hell is a gradual one – the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts.”

 

Although the book is fictional, I think the ideas behind the way we are lured away from following Jesus hold up.  Scripture tells us that Satan masquerades as an angel of light and his servants as servants of righteousness.  For example, a man does not typically find himself happily married one day and cheating on his wife the next.  It’s a progression of “smaller” sinful thoughts and behaviors allowed to run unchecked that more likely build up over time to escalate in an affair.  The story made me think about what “gentle” temptations the main characters might employ to lead an entire family away from Christ if the letters were written today.

 

For Dad, the demons might send an inappropriate pop-up into his line of sight.  They might convince him that his curiosity was perfectly normal and that once he clicked on it, visiting the site again wouldn’t hurt anyone.  That no one would know if he looked at it again and again, and that it was a totally normal part of male sexuality.  Soon the participation in on-line pornography would lead to a complete dissatisfaction in his marriage and a gorge-sized distance between himself and his wife.

 

For son, a fun video game can be parlayed into a full-blown obsession, keeping him up all hours of the night and encouraging him to opt out of church and youth group activities in favor of an on-line only community and the solitary loneliness of his room.  Grades could suffer and social skills decline jeopardizing his future.  And why would he spend time reading the bible or praying when the colorful, hi-tech graphics on the screen beckon?

 

For daughter, social media and popularity – all fun and games at first – slowly take first place in her heart as the temptation to check “likes” and “follows” is always in the palm of her hand.  Texting and FaceTime – an easy way to stay in touch with friends soon interferes with her relationship with her parents and siblings.  A second secret Instagram account allows her to talk to people and do things that her parents don’t know about.  Watching videos on YouTube exposes her to language and situations that her parents would never allow if they knew.  Comparing herself to the curated lives of others and the FOMO she experiences when she’s allowed a glimpse into what she is excluded from causes her to spiral into a dark depression.

 

For mom, finding fun activities to do with the kids slowly morphs as they age into an over-scheduled life.  Private lessons for everything from music to dance to sports dot the calendar.  Select sports teams fill the Sundays and Wednesdays the family once worshipped together and there is barely an evening to sit in the chairs at the family dinner table.  Mom is basically chauffeur now and no longer has time for ladies bible study, mission opportunities or even spending time with friends.  Her life is all about giving the kids what they want.  And it’s rather lonely.

 

But the tempters failed in The Screwtape Letters.  Their “patient” fell in love with a Christian woman who taught him how to love Jesus.  And when he died, he entered heaven with all of God’s glory.  The better news is that the same victory awaits us.  2 Corinthians 10:4-5 says, “The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world.  On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.  We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”  Arguments, pretensions and thoughts – the little, subtle things that precipitate a person’s walk away from God.  We have the power to obliterate them if we are in Christ.

 

We all sin in subtle and not-so-subtle ways (Romans 3:23).  But Romans 5:8 lets us know that God loves us in spite of it and made a way for us to come to him.  But the BEST news is that belief in Jesus is the weapon we need to fight the fires of hell.  “If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.  For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.”  Romans 10:9-10  

 

*All scripture references from the NIV version of the Bible.

** If you choose to use the links in the first paragraph to order the books (or anything else from Amazon), I will get a few pennies at no additional charge to you to help offset the cost of running this website.  Thank you in advance!

Do You Prime?

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Before you start to think this is any type of advertisement or endorsement for Amazon, let me confess that I am not a die-hard.  I have subscribed to the Prime program on and off through the years depending on how helpful/ financially beneficial it seemed for my family in any given season.  But I am currently in an “on” season and have found “Prime” to be a relatively universal language.  If you aren’t a fan of the “Zon”, I ask that you reserve those feelings for your own blog or social media account.  I simply felt that with Christmas right around the corner, it might be fun to share some of my favorite things that are easily accessible to everyone – whether or not you might choose to get them online.  (In the interest of full disclosure, if you click on my link to purchase the product or anything else, I will receive a few cents at no additional cost to you to help offset the expenses of running this website.  And thank you very much.)

 

To start, my current obsession is this Bible study aid.  It looks like the throwback four color pen you used to get excited about in elementary school, but 3 of the four colors are highlighters (albeit thin ones) for underlining and one is a black pen.  All four cooperate nicely with flimsy Bible pages and won’t bleed through.  Loving it!

 

The Bible Study Pen – Carded  $2.99

 

True confession, I have not actually used the next product because I am still using up a much more expensive, similar product.  But a nurse at the hospital whose lashes were to die for told me this is what she uses.  If it can produce even close to the same results as the products out there that cost 3 times as much, I’m here for it.

 

Nutra Luxe Lash MD, 3.0ml – $43.85

 

The next product I bought on the endorsement of my best friend Patsy.  We both sit through all day tournaments and do some traveling for the sports our children love.  And someone is ALWAYS running out of phone battery.  This charger has a long battery life, charges relatively quickly and can accommodate up to 3 devices at once!  The solar powered aspect comes in handier for Pats who attends regular baseball practices and tournaments outside, than it does for me sitting in temperature controlled gyms for volleyball (God bless my daughter for choosing an indoor sport).  But I still love it and have taken to carrying it all the time in my oversized mom purse.  I have not tried the little fan that came with it, but if I were outside at a baseball tournament, I might!

 

Power Bank Solar Charger – 24000 mAh – $39.99

 

Also on Patsy’s advice (What?  She’s my fave!), I got these short charging cords to go with it that can just stay plugged into it all the time.

 

VOKOO Short Lightening Cables – 5 pk – $9.99

 

I ordered this book for a gift.  I have already devoured it and think all my girlfriends should too.  It is from my absolute favorite non-fiction author and it’s about friendship.  These precious and funny stories will have you texting or calling your girls immediately for a GNO.  If you haven’t read it, you should.  But buy extra copies to give to your friends that are extra!

 

Nobody’s Cuter Than You  – Paperback – $14.92

 

OK, this next thing may not be as handy to you as it is a glimpse into my life.  If you don’t already use kitchen shears, let me enlighten you.  I have an entire counter-top crock filled with scissors we only use on food and food packaging.  They work soooo much better than a fork and knife to cut everything from pizza to raw chicken.  Since I have an 18 year old who often needs very grown up food cut up into toddler size bites for safety, I often longed for my kitchen shears when out at restaurants.  Until I found these.  They are small, portable and slip into a cover for safety.  I keep them in my oversized mom purse all the time and wish for my shears no more.  I’m sure they work well on things besides pizza and chicken tenders, too!  And you get all 3 pairs!

 

Plus Pen Style Compact Twiggy Scissors – $13.99

 

While we are sort-of on the subject of food, I love this healthy pita bread and can’t always find it at my grocery store.  It’s low calorie, low carb, high fiber and still tastes like bread!  I use this mystical unicorn for Gyro’s, sandwich wraps and breakfast tacos.  And I love knowing I have a back-up location to get it.

 

Joseph’s Flax Oat Bran and Whole Wheat Pita Bread – $14.99

 

And last, I love this easy to wash and wear dress.  I know the style is a little summery, but the colors are fall-ish and the price is right.  Heck, if you live in the south like I do, you probably have several more weeks you could wear it!  If you think, however, that you can order it but style it on the shoulder instead of off, you would be wrong.  One sleeve is shorter than the other, forcing you to wear it as the model or look crooked.  Don’t ask me how I know.

 

Verdusa Women’s Color Block Half-Sleeve Split Loose Shift Maxi Dress (because that just rolls off the tongue) – $22.99

 

There you go.

My favorite things I have “primed” (who knew that could be a verb) in 2018.

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 You may not feel closer to Jesus after reading this post, but maybe it was helpful!  In the comments tell me the best thing you have ordered online recently.  I need ideas for Christmas too!  Happy shopping!

 

 

 

 

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