Lauren Sparks

The Sparks Notes

  • Home
  • About
  • Favorites
  • Policies
  • Contact

What Does it Mean that the Word of God is “Living and Active”?

September 8, 2023 by Lauren 8 Comments

What does it mean that the Word of God is “living and active”?This question presented itself as I was working through a 10-week study with some others from my church called The Ways of the Alongsider:  Growing Disciples Life to Life by Bill Mowry.  We are learning to be better mentors and disciple-makers and it has been a wealth of good information for anyone who wishes to minister to others.  I consider this blog one of the ways that I disciple others.  By that I mean that God is constantly teaching me things and I try to pass on what I learn.  Not that I have mastered anything I write about, but as a form of accountability for myself!  And as with any good discipleship relationship, I most often learn from you in the process!

 

In this week’s study, our group discussed how learning and discovery are intentional pursuits in life.  I love to learn, and I hope you will get as much out of this lesson on Proverbs 2:1-5 ESV as I did.  This passage – so familiar to me – came to life when I was asked to underline the action words and circle the various adjectives and descriptors for wisdom.  For our purposes the verbs are in pink and the wisdom synonyms in red.

“My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you, making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding; yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God.”

 

From this passage alone we see that acquiring true wisdom, understanding and insight is far from passive.  We don’t grow spiritually by simply attending church on Sundays or reading a 5 min devotional on weekday mornings.  Both of those things are fine and good, but the true pursuit of wisdom and learning is active, intentional and purposeful.  We won’t stumble onto a deeper understanding of God and His Word.  The passage above tells us we need to receive the scripture.  Draw it deep into our being.  Treasure it – meditate on it, recite it, memorize it.

 

When we make our ear attentive and incline our heart we put ourselves in the position to take it all in.  Most of us have days so busy that we spend time with the Lord on the go.  But this should be the exception and not the rule.  We need to carve out a quiet place and a solitary time to spend absorbing all He wants to teach us.  Whenever possible.  We need to call out and raise our voices in prayer.  Asking God to show us what He has for us.  And we must seek and search.  Study.  Look at passages in multiple translations, look up the literal translations from the original language, read commentary and sit under good teaching.

 

Getting Real

 

This is a tall order.  Knowing God and His Word is hard work.  But it’s so worth it.  There is a payout bigger than we can ever imagine.  And as for my original question (based on Hebrews 4:12), the living and active nature of God’s Word can’t really be summed up nicely in a blog post.  There are many wonderful facets to these descriptors.  But in pondering the Proverbs passage, I feel like I uncovered one I had never considered.  That we must be active in our pursuit of it to glean all the wisdom we can.  What do you think?

 

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

 

I sometimes feel like Michele Morin lives in my head.  I may not feel like my life is out of control at this moment, but I have so many times before.  If you have ever felt that way, read Michele’s post on prayer.

 

The Link Up

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).

Grace and Truth_Meet Hosts

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

MAREE DEE – Embracing the Unexpected
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

LAUREN SPARKS
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

LISA BURGESS – Lisa notes
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

TAMMY KENNINGTON – Restoring hope. Pursuing peace.
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

 Now Let’s Link Up!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

 

If you liked this post, do me the huge honor of using the buttons below to share it to your favorite social media accounts. And if you want to get these essays emailed to you once a week, subscribe!  Lastly, my posts may contain affiliate links and I earn from qualifying purchases. If you buy anything from one of these links, I will receive a few pennies to help offset the cost of this website at no additional charge to you. Thank you in advance for your help.

Share this:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)

First Friday Prayers: Pain Awareness Month

September 1, 2023 by Lauren 14 Comments

You may have deduced by the title of this post that September is Pain Awareness Month.  Pain has been my companion for many years now and if statistics hold up, many of you struggle with pain too.  We live in a broken world; and sickness, injury and pain touch us all, whether it’s short and temporary or a long battle with no end in sight.

 

But we have a Savior who walked on this imperfect earth and sympathizes with our suffering.  And we know that He can and will heal in His perfect timing.  And He doesn’t waste our hardships.  2 Corinthians 1:3-4 NASB says:

 

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

 

Today I want to pray for myself, and those of you who are physically hurting.  My heart especially goes out to those who are longsuffering and those who seemingly have no hope for an earthly cure.  Our God is the Father of mercies and God of all comfort.

 

I’m praying for you in this. If you are in pain – physical or otherwise, please comment below or send me a personal message by clicking on the Contact link above.  It would be an honor to offer prayers on your behalf.  Don’t forget to share 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 First Friday Prayers post, subscribe over on the right hand side of this page.

 

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

 

Boy could I learn a thing or two about not taking offense from Lisa Blair!  Anyone else need a lesson?

 

The Link Up

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).

Grace and Truth_Meet Hosts

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

MAREE DEE – Embracing the Unexpected
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

LAUREN SPARKS
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

LISA BURGESS – Lisa notes
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

TAMMY KENNINGTON – Restoring hope. Pursuing peace.
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

 Now Let’s Link Up!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

 

 

If you liked this post, do me the huge honor of using the buttons below to share it to your favorite social media accounts. And if you want to get these essays emailed to you once a week, subscribe!  Lastly, my posts may contain affiliate links and I earn from qualifying purchases. If you buy anything from one of these links, I will receive a few pennies to help offset the cost of this website at no additional charge to you. Thank you in advance for your help.

Share this:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)
« Previous Page
Next Page »

Let’s Connect

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

About Me

I love Jesus, my husband and caffeine. The order of these can change depending on how tired I am. When my two daughters, stepson, and 4 grandchildren get to be too much, I practice yoga. God graciously allows me to share our adventures, victories and flub-ups from my laptop. May He be glorified here.
Read More

Subscribe for Updates

Enter your information below to receive the latest updates from the blog!

Recent Posts

  • Joy as an Active Pursuit: My Word of the Year
  • Speaking the Truth in Love
  • What Does it Mean that the Word of God is “Living and Active”?
  • First Friday Prayers: Pain Awareness Month
  • All Over the Place in August

Find Devotionals By Me in These Books and Click on Image for Order Information!

A 25-Week Bible Study with Topics from Abide to Zeal
A 26 week journey to a better prayer life.
30 devotionals for faith that moves mountains

For Sharing

Lauren Sparks

Like Podcasts? I’m on This One

…and This One! click to listen.

Click below to get a free trial of my favorite technology monitoring platform

Need More Than Just Monitoring? Find Filters and Accountability Here

Search This Site

Categories

Archives

Copyright © 2023 Lauren Sparks | Design by Traci Michele | Development by MRM

Stop!  Don't Miss Out!

I have a brand new e-book.  This was Not On My Bingo Card:  Essays on Cancer and Related Surprises is available to you FREE by simply subscribing to my blog!  

Invalid email address
I promise not to spam you. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Thanks for subscribing!