Lauren Sparks

The Sparks Notes

Praying God’s Word Wednesday #26

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It’s National Coffee Day and I have a cup of Toasted Coconut as I open my Bible this morning.

 

In Matthew chapter 26, Jesus has found Peter, James and John sleeping when He had asked them to keep watch and pray.  In His disappointment after they let Him down during a troubling time, Jesus said:

 

Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.  The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.  Matthew 26:41 NIV

 

A friend pointed out about this scripture that “anytime we choose sin we fail to consider the future.” 

I sit so convicted of the ramifications of my sin on my life, but the passage also impressed on me that each time I sin, I fail my Savior as the disciples did.  

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Prayer:

 

He is so gracious to us in our mistakes and confessions.

 

Replace the pronouns with the appropriate ones for the person (or yourself) that you are praying for.

 

Praying for you in this.  And don’t forget to share this on social media or with a friend who could benefit.  It would mean so much to me.  And if you don’t want to miss a Praying God’s Word Wednesday, subscribe over on the right hand side of this page.

Lauren

 

 

Hi, Mom. I’m Home…and Grace and Truth Link Up

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The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death,[a] so that we may serve the living God!  Hebrews 9:13-14 NIV

 

For high school graduation, a relative gave me a laundry bag.  A practical, if unimaginative gift.  It said, “Hi, Mom.  I’m Home.”  During my college years I wore out that bag and a couple of baskets! Every time I planned to go back home to visit my parents, I saved up as much dirty laundry as I could.  Then hauled it many highway miles with me.  In fact, I saved my dirty clothes for so long that I never had any clean ones to pack for the trip!  I wore straight out of the dryer for the entire visit.

 

My mom didn’t do the laundry for me (she wouldn’t if I’d asked anyway).  I happily washed and folded my own clothes there because Mom’s machines required no quarters.  And at Mom’s house I didn’t have to worry that my jeans might get stolen from an unattended machine.  Totally happened to my Rocky Mountains (Anyone else remember those?).

 

When my sister and I came home on the same weekend or for the holidays, that washer and dryer ran around the clock.  We made sure to clean every shirt and pair of socks we owned while there.  After which we hauled everything back to school to hang in our closets – sparkling clean and pressed.

 

Do you know what dirty laundry we never have to carry around?  That which we perpetrated in our own lives.  The blood of Jesus washes us cleaner than any detergent could.

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Christ made the ultimate sacrifice of Himself so that we could be forgiven of our sins and made “whiter than snow”.  I thank the Father that nothing I’ve ever done can be held against me because I’ve trusted Him to expunge it.  No stain sets too dark or too stubborn for those who love the Lord and accept His gift of salvation.

 

 …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.  Hebrews 10:22 NIV

 

And now for this week’s featured link up post!

 

My writer heart just loves Lois Flowers’ Telling Our Stories (and a Giveaway).  Not only is her post a great philosophy for good writing, but I think it helps with good communication overall!  And the giveaway is so sweet!  Thanks, Lois.

 

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