Lauren Sparks

The Sparks Notes

An Update on Trust – One Word 2021

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Back in January, I shared my One Word focus for the year.  Trust.  I knew I lacked trust in our all-powerful God, so His leading in this direction did not surprise me.  I trust Him with my eternal salvation but not with the care and keeping of myself and my loved ones.  Not truly.  It makes no sense, but I have a feeling I’m not the only one.

 

I have some significant lessons I feel led to share with you, but I confess I’m not sure how to do so.  The biggest issue that I pray and plead with God about is not my story alone to tell.  So out of respect, I must be vague.  I value authenticity and wish I could be completely forthcoming, but I hope you will understand.  And I pray the message still comes across.  Here goes:

 

I shared several scriptures on trust in my original One Word post.  In the months since, I have been a faithful scribe, copying them in longhand almost every day for meditation and memorization purposes.  I have prayed fervently for God to take away this burden of distrust and help me place all the things in His capable hands.  And yet I still hold on.

 

What do I mean by distrust?  Uncontrollable shaking every time I got a phone call about the situation.  Mini panic attacks (never had those before).  Medication to sleep after learning new information.  Heavy anxiety.  No peace whatsoever.  Until God took my knowledge of the issue away.

 

God must have decided that if I couldn’t release the reigns to Him, He would take away any semblance of control I thought I had.  No more new information coming in.  No way to assert my opinions or even the truth of God’s Word into the situation.  I argued with Him.  (Of course, I did.)  How will I know when there’s a new development?  Who else will speak truth into this mess?

 

And in His kind way, God whispered, “I will speak truth into the mess.”  and “I love them even more than you do.”  and “I can handle it.”  I confess that this initially caused me additional anxiety.  But if I’m honest, I also felt relief.  I can’t know.  I can’t do.  I can only pray and be.

 

I prayed for God to help me trust Him and He has delivered.  Not the way I intended, but he did answer that prayer.  He told me in no uncertain terms that he could do this without my help.  And in the absence of information, my anxiety has plummeted.  God forced my obedience, and I thank Him.

 

I still pray daily for this situation.  And I am under no delusions that said situation will turn out the way I want.  But I can have some semblance of rest and peace that God is in control of it.  I need not interfere.  And in the end, He will make all things right.  It’s a promise.

 

My word for the year is TRUST.  And God is forcing me to do so.  Praise the Lord!

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God is our refuge and strength,
    a very presentb]”>[b]”>bb]”>] help in trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way,
    though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,
3 though its waters roar and foam,
    though the mountains tremble at its swelling.   Psalm 46:1-3

 

And now for this week’s featured post from the link up.

 

Sarah J Cullen for candidlychristian.com made me think about a very familiar scripture in a whole new way in Reconcile Like Jesus.  Give it a read and tell me I’m not the only one!  Thanks, Sarah.

 

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A “New to Me” Bible Study Method

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Summer 2021 marks my 35th year as a follower of Christ.  I wish I could tell you that I’ve been a serious student of God’s Word for all of that time.  That would be a lie, and I DO know the Bible tells us not to lie.  But the older I get, the more dear I hold this book.  And the more I want to know it.

 

As a member of the Gateway Bible Blogger’s Grid, I am fortunate to be offered free Bibles to review from time to time.  I don’t always accept, but when they presented me an opportunity to try a Thompson Chain Reference Bible, I wanted to check it out.

I have heard of Thompson Chain Reference for years, but I’m a little embarrassed to say, have never actually looked at one.

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This Bible (in English Standard Version), is an all-around great study Bible.  In addition to the alphabetical and numerical index of topics, it contains Outline Studies of the Bible, Biblical Character Studies, Bible Harmonies and Illustrated Studies, an Archaeological Supplement, a Hebrew Calendar, an ESV Concordance, an Index to the Scripture Atlas and Colored Bible Maps.  So much.  But what I really wanted to know – how does the Chain Reference Bible study method work?

 

Dr. Frank Charles Thompson began the original research for this in 1890 to enable Bible students to follow a single Biblical topic from Genesis to Revelation.  This version lists over 7.000 topics supported by more than 100,000 marginal references.  And a how-to section at the beginning of this book.  Whew!

 

Equipped with this knowledge, and unsure of a particular topic to study, I turned to the beginning of God’s Word.  In Genesis chapter 1, I settled on Omnipotence (referenced in verse 3).  And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.  My first thought?  This verse makes no mention of God’s power!  But I came to understand that the verse is ABOUT how powerful God is.  He spoke all of light into being!

 

The word “omnipotence” in the margin gave me a number to trace in the Numerical Index of Chain Topics.  There I found 12 Chain verses listed in bold type along with 27 others.  Dr. Thompson distinguished the bolded chain verses because he considered them the primary texts on the topic.  So depending on how much time you have or how in depth you want to go, you can choose to look up or follow all the passages, or just the key condensed offerings.  Either way, I was able to trace the idea of God’s omnipotence from Genesis to Revelation!

 

I took issue only with the size of the this Bible’s print.  I found myself getting the references and then looking them up on my phone for ease of reading.  But if I could put all the study helps I wanted in a bible with large print, I would have to put wheels on it.  So if you have younger eyes or a better correction than me, add this great study tool to your collection.

 

And now for this week’s featured post from the link up.

 

Elisabith from instaencouragements.com knocked me on my can in the best possible way with 3 Ways We Can Steward Our Bodies Well.  I know that physical fitness and all it’s spiritual implications is an issue for many of you.  You have been generous with your stories in this area.  So when I tell you that you should read this, I mean that I took 1/2 a page of notes.  From a blog post!  And then emailed it to two friends.  It’s that good.  Thank you, Elisabith.

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1. Share 1 or 2 of your most recent CHRISTIAN LIVING posts. (No DIY, crafts, recipes, or inappropriate articles.) All links are randomly sorted.

2. Comment on 1 or 2 other links. Grace & Truth linkup encourages community.

3. Every host features one entry from the previous week. To be featured, include this button or link back here on your post (mandatory to be featured, but not to participate).

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We encourage you to follow our hosts on their blogs or social media.

MAREE DEE – Embracing the Unexpected
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LAUREN SPARKS
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LISA BURGESS – Lisa notes
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