From My Mess to His Message: Devotions that Carried Me Through

By Christopher Sparks

We all have "messes" in our lives. Some are big ones, and some are small ones. Some we make with our choices, some are made for us by others or by sickness. This book is the result of the "mess" I created with my sin. I found my life turned upside down. I was locked up in prison without my freedom, I disgraced my family, I drove my friends away, and I had lost my job. I hit bottom, and I finally realized that I needed a savior. I cried out to God to take back control over my life. Once I did that, I needed a place to start, and God lead me straight to His word. The devotions you will find on the pages of this book are the very words God gave me, as He gave them to me. They are His messages of hope and salvation to a hurting child that He loves. He carried me through that season of my life. No matter what it is you are going through in your life, as you read the pages of this book, you will feel the overwhelming love and care Jesus has for you. Day after day, the words He shares with you will heal you and clean up those messes you made by doing it without Him. God will get so much glory as we walk together watching Him turn your messes into His messages. He did it for me, I Know He will do it for you too.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Feb 19, 2018
• ISBN: 9781641146333

Book preview

cover.jpg

From My Mess to His Message

Christopher Sparks

Copyright © 2018 Christopher Sparks

All rights reserved

First Edition

Christian Faith Publishing, Inc

New York, NY

First originally published by Christian Faith Publishing, Inc 2018

ISBN 978-1-64114-632-6 (Paperback)

ISBN 978-1-64114-633-3 (Digital)

Printed in the United States of America

You Can Be Sure

by

Mary Carothers

Have you wondered how you could be sure that you’re saved?

Here is my answer for you:

1. Are you genuinely sorry for your sins?

2. Have you asked Jesus to forgive you and save you from the penalty of your sins that is eternal separation from him?

3. Have you asked Jesus to come into your life, your heart, and become your Savior?

If you can answer yes to these three questions, you can rest assured that it is the desire and even great joy of God to count you as his beloved child.

God knew long ago that mankind would mess everything up. So He provided our salvation by Himself. He did this by coming Himself as Jesus, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29). There is nothing any of us can do to earn salvation or deserve it. Jesus did it all, period.

Do you ever fear you may have lost your salvation because you sinned? That is a lie and trick of the enemy. God does not withdraw what He has given us. In Romans 11:29 (TLB), the Bible says, God’s gifts and His call can never be withdrawn. He will never go back on His promises.

Now that Jesus is your Savior, daily ask the Holy Spirit what His will is for you. The best way, I think, is to read and think about what He tells us in the Bible.

Happy walking with Jesus!¹

A great way to get into the Word every day is a devotional book like this one.

Set aside time every day. Begin with a simple prayer for God to open your heart to hear His message for the day. Then read the passage of the day and try to apply the passage to your life. Read the devotion, pray the simple prayer at the end, then listen for God. He will speak to you. God is good, and he cares 100 percent for you.

In Jesus’s name!

Acknowledgment

First and foremost, I wish to acknowledge Father God. Without His love and mercy, and without His sending of His only Son to die in my place, there would not be any reason to write a book of devotions. He is I AM.

Secondly, I wish to say thank you to Carol Trudell. She is my grandmother and my spiritual signpost. I wrote a page a day while I was in prison. I would send her a couple weeks at a time. She is the one who actually typed these words and without her expert translation of the hieroglyphics, this entire book would have only been a collection of Holy Spirit–inspired scratches on some paper.

My mom, Sandy Sparks, took all the words I scratched, and Grandma typed, and she edited and proofread them. This was her job before she retired and even though no one wants to go back to work after retirement, she took on the task of actually making these pages into the book you are reading right now.

Nicolas Sparks, my son, has two passions, books and art. It was these two things that linked us together while I was gone. It only seemed fitting that I asked him to draw the pictures for the month title pages. He managed to do it and yet still maintain honor roll at school. This is a hard-enough task in itself nowadays, and having a dad in prison made it that much more impressive.

Finally, without the love and support of my wife Nicole and my other three kids, Micaeh, Brianna, and Allison, I would not have ever made it through this experience. It was watching them heal as I focused on Jesus, who encouraged me to follow through and complete this project so that others could see God making messages out of their messes.

Thank you all!

Prologue

We make messes in our lives when we choose to sin. This was especially true in my life. For forty-five years, I walked through life knowing Jesus, but not really following Him. I made mess after mess, and I was pretty good at it too!

But God always has the upper hand. You can make many plans, but the Lord’s purpose will prevail (Proverbs 19:21).

My biggest mess landed me in jail, nearly cost me my marriage, my good name, and my job. I prayed that God would use my mistakes to teach me, my children, and anyone else who would listen. This book is the result of those prayers.

As I was struggling through this messy season in my life, the Holy Spirit urged me to study about whatever it was I struggling with as I walked. I chose to write these studies in the form of a daily devotional. You might notice these devotions do not start in January; I kept them in the actual order I wrote them in. My hope for you is that, as God has cleaned up my mess, the tools He used to help me survive might somehow help you, the reader too.

I believe unless good is brought out from our messes, the losses we suffer will not be worth all the pain.

I hope you enjoy getting to know God as much as I have. Writing about my loss, my pain, my suffering was worth it if you, too, get to know Him.

Christopher Sparks

---

. Article reprinted with permission. Foundation of Praise. Merlin R. Carothers. P.O. box 2518, Escondido, CA 92033-2518 (760-741-2755)

July 1

Plant the Seeds

Still other seed fell on good ground, when it sprang up it produced a crop 100 times what was sown (Luke 8:8, NIV).

When we go through hard times, it sometimes looks dark and hopeless. We can often feel that the darkness covers us up. This is especially true in my life right now. My life feels upside down. I have made mistakes that have cost me dearly. I feel the darkness of my sin all around me. It would be very easy for me to just give up, not even making the effort to get out of bed.

Today, God reminded me of a seed sitting on a shelf. That seed is quite content to just sit there on the shelf, but that is not what a seed was created to do. Seeds were made to be put into the ground. It is in the darkness of the ground that surrounds the seed where God begins to rouse the magic inside the seed. God changes the seed into something much greater than it was.

Changes happen in the times of darkness. When we go through our dark times, God begins to rouse the magic of the Holy Spirit inside us to change us into something greater than we were.

So if you are in hard times, like I am, be sure to keep looking up to God. Keep your faith in Him.

Remember that God promised us that All things work together for the good of those who love God (Romans 8:28).

We will end up exactly like the seed, changed into something better. We, too, will produce fruit one hundred times greater than we would have if God had not changed us!

Amen.

Heavenly Father, stir us up and work inside us. Help us go grow and produce fruit in this season of our lives. In Jesus’s name.

Amen.

July 2

Social Butterfly

How good it is when brothers live together in harmony! (Psalm 133:1).

I’m the type of person who loves to be around people. One of the things I miss most during my time of incarceration is good, hearty laughter. Real laughter. The pure joy shared by people who love each other and enjoy doing life with each other is something we all need.

Here, though surrounded by people, I don’t feel any love in the laughter I hear. It is nothing like the love of a group of family or friends sitting around a game table, sharing stories of life, laughing as they go.

Those feelings of love come because of today’s verse. God wants us to live happily together and to get along.

The best place to meet people who want to live in joy is the church. As churches get bigger and bigger, it is a little difficult to get to know people. For that reason, most churches have started small groups. These are groups where Christians can get together with other Christians who are hoping to meet people who share common interests and just enjoy each other. These are groups of Christians looking to do life together and do life together in harmony!

No matter where you are, get plugged in to a small group. Laugh, live, love, and do life together in harmony.

Amen.

Lord, I pray you put the right people in my life. May our times together be filled with laughter, life, and hope. In Jesus’s name.

Amen.

July 3

Life Trash

But everything that was a gain to me, I considered a loss because of Christ. More than that, I also consider everything to be a loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus (Philippians 3:7, 8).

Before we came to know Christ, we lived for the world. The world gives all kinds of illusions of what is good treasure. It is not treasure, though. It is trash and filth. When we fall for the temporary illusions the world gives, we pile junk and filthy rags onto our lives.

In today’s verse, Paul shows us that he took out the trash from his life. Once he met Christ, he began to see how ugly the trash in his life was. The Holy Spirit began to show Paul that God’s riches had lasting value in his life.

Once Paul’s eyes were opened, he left all he knew. He no longer did Satan’s work. He no longer lived for the worldly life. He left it willingly because he saw the power and value in following Christ.

If you are not living a life for Jesus, I urge you to take out the trash from your life. Ask Jesus to open your eyes so you can recognize the world’s lies.

Once you begin to know Jesus, God will start your blessing flowing. God will show you His power and life miracles. Things that only can come from God, not illusions of the world—that’s real treasure.

Holy life is waiting for you. Just throw away the old life and watch God work.

Amen.

Jesus, help me put all my value into knowing you. Lead me to the life you want me to live. In Jesus’s name.

Amen.

July 4

Truly Free

Therefore, if the Son sets you free, you really will be free (John 8:36).

In the United States, celebrate our country’s freedom every year on this date. We are fortunate because we enjoy many freedoms that people other countries do not have.

We are blessed with the freedom to travel anywhere we want to go. We can cross borders without any interference. We are able to speak freely about virtually anything we want. One of our biggest freedoms is that we can proclaim our love for our Lord Jesus. In some places in the world, people die because of the mention of His name.

We feel very free. But are we really free? If you don’t know Jesus, the answer is no. We are slaves to sin. Sin holds us captive and that captivity will lead to our death. We were born into that captivity and to that death.

But there is a way to escape the captivity and gain complete freedom: invite Jesus into your heart. Once we get to know Christ, once we start to walk with Him, learn from Him, and trust in Him, our freedom starts. We are no longer slaves to sin. We are no longer bound to die because Christ secured the freedom from death for us on Calvary’s hill. His death on the cross and His resurrection three days later have made us truly free.

God gave us this freedom because He loves us that much. What an awesome gift!

Amen.

Lord Jesus, thank you for the freedoms we experience here in our earthly lives I pray that we get to know you better and the freedom you won for us that day on the cross. In Jesus’s name.

Amen.

July 5

Only One Way In!

I assure you; anyone who doesn’t enter the sheep pen by the door but climbs in some other way, is a thief and a robber (John 10:1).

There are many different ways to enter a farm pen. You can jump a fence or find a hole in the fencing wire and scoot through to get in. The best way to get into the pen is to have the farmer open the gate and invite you in.

Jesus tells us that heaven is like this. To get in, to enjoy the eternal peace, He must open the gate to let us in. If we try to enter heaven any other way, we will not be welcomed. You can try to jump the fence or try to slip under it, but because you didn’t enter through the gate or get invited in, you will not be allowed to enter. God will treat you like a criminal, a thief, a robber, and chase you away.

To get to heaven, you must know the gatekeeper, Jesus. When you invite Him into your heart, He will invite you into the gates of heaven.

His love, mercy, and grace will embrace you like the loving Father He is. Go! Find the gatekeeper, and find eternal life, joy, and happiness.

Amen.

Father, my desire is to enter heaven. Thank You for sending your Son to be the Way. Please continue to lead me to the gate. In Jesus’s name.

Amen.

July 6

How’s Your Temperature?

Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith. Examine yourselves (2 Corinthians 13:5, NIV).

In midsummer, the southern half of the United States is hot! Walk outside midday, and you will feel the burning heat of the sun. The northern part of the United States can get bitter cold midwinter. Step outside in either extreme and your skin can become sunburned or frostbitten in a matter of seconds.

Such severe temperatures are very noticeable, and when you experience them, you will remember them.

God expects our faith to be extreme like that. Being a lukewarm Christian is not good enough for God. When you really know God, you will be on fire for Him. A person who has God’s light shining through them will see His Will come to pass in their lives. God’s love itself lights a fire inside of us.

Just like we can feel the extreme temperatures of our weather, God feels and remembers our faith temperature. Test and examine yourself. Are you on fire for Jesus? Is your faith temperature up?

Kindle your temperature by getting into the Word and speak and believe the promises God has made for you in your life.

Amen.

Lord, I want my faith to be extreme. As I take the time to examine myself, please bring to my mind the areas where I need to repent; then help me to be on fire for You. In Jesus’s name.

Amen.

July 7

Tough Decision?

But let your ‘yes’ be ‘yes’ and your ‘no’ be ‘no.’ Anything more than this is from the evil one (Matthew 5:37, NIV).

Being on the fence about an issue can cause stress in our lives. Think back to the last time you had to make a big decision. During the time while you were deciding what to do, I have no doubt you felt stress in areas of your life not even related to what you were trying to decide. This is where the evil one lurks.

The best way through this is to turn to all the sources of wisdom you have been given. Before anything else, start by asking God to guide you. Then, fast, pray, and turn to the Word so you can read what God has to say about the decision. There is also another source of wisdom available to you: members of the church body.

When God is leading you as you make your decision, even if the answer is not the way you pictured it, God will provide you with peace.

So when you are facing your next big, stressful situation, trust God’s leading, choose your yes or no, and let God take you through the rest of the process.

Amen.

Lord, as I struggle with decisions, please give me your unending wisdom. I know that if I walk in your will, all the details will be worked out. In Jesus’s name.

Amen.

July 8

Hold On

Though the mountains move and the hills shake, my love will not be removed from you and my covenant of peace will not be shaken (Isaiah 54:10).

God is telling us that some scary times will come in our lives. Mountains moving and hills shaking stands for big changes in our lives. Some of these big changes will be good, some will be bad.

But even when there are storms in our lives, God wants us to remember that He is still in charge. Change, though usually hard, is a good thing. Sometimes God has to shake things up in our lives to open our eyes. He is willing to move the earth to bring us to the healthy respect He deserves as our God.

Still, no matter how God brings us to change, even if it seems harsh, He tells us His love will not be removed from us; His covenant of peace will still always be there.

In the middle of those changes, the devil will lie to you. He will try to tell you that God forgot about you. He will even try to make you feel that God is against you. Do you ever hear those lies? Don’t believe them. When your world gets shaken up, and the devil gets louder, remember today’s verse. Commit it to your memory, then when the devil comes at you with his lies, speak it out loud to him.

God is always going to be there for us. All His actions are for our good (Romans 8:28), and He will always love us and keep His covenant with us.

Amen.

Father, even though change is hard, I trust you with my life. Silence the lies the Devil whispers in my ears, and open my heart for your will to be done. In Jesus’s name.

Amen.

July 9

Do You Want It Now?

Be silent before the LORD and wait expectantly for Him. Do not be agitated by the sinner who appears to prosper in his evil ways (Psalm 37:7).

People want good works and blessings to come from God immediately when we pray for them. After all, in Matthew 7:9, it plainly states, Keep asking and it will be given to you . . . God is a good God, and He does have the power to miraculously give us anything He wants us to have. Why then, does it sometimes feel like the people who do not follow God seem to get the better things in life? Have you considered maybe it’s not God who is blessing them?

Maybe you are asking God for money in time of need, but if you were not spending wisely before your crisis, God may allow you to be broke a bit longer to try to teach you good stewardship. The devil wants you to live by the seat of your pants but God wants you to put your trust in Him. The Bible says that if we are faithful over a few things, I will put you in charge of many things (Matthew 25:23).

God wants to give us everything we need, but not at a cost of causing us to sin. What God wants to see is our faith in Him growing. Hebrews 11:1 says, Now faith is the reality of what is hoped for, the proof of what is unseen.

Jesus shows us this in Mark 11:24: Therefore I tell you, all the things you pray for and ask for—believe that you have received them, and you will have them.

So in God’s perfect timing, if you pray and have the faith even as small as a mustard seed, God will provide you with exactly what you need, when you need it. Remember God may not act on our timetable, but He will never be late in delivering all the blessings you could ever want.

Amen.

Oh, God, we believe you are for us, and that nothing the devil can do will succeed against us. We believe in your perfect timetable. In Jesus’s name.

Amen.

July 10

God’s Got That

He erased the certificate of debt with its obligations that were against us, and has taken it out of the way by nailing it to the cross (Colossians 2:14).

God doesn’t measure the size of our sins; to God, even the smallest sin is still sin.

The Commandment tells us that we must not murder. Matthew 5:21, 22 tells us that murderers are subject to judgment, but someone who is angry with their brothers is also subject to judgment. In verses 27 and 28 it says, Do not commit adultery, but I tell you anyone who looks at another woman with lust in his heart, has already committed adultery with her.

No problem or sin is too big or too small for God to forgive and the good news is that it is really easy to receive that forgiveness. Romans 8:13 says, For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. Christ Jesus went to the cross to bear every single sin for those who believe in Him and ask Him to forgive their sin. Romans 3:23, 24 says, All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God but they are justified by faith, by his grace through the redemption that is in Jesus.

Asking for forgiveness is only the first step. God also gives instructions on how to avoid sin. In 1 Corinthians 10:13, we are told, No temptations have overtaken you except what is common to all men. God is faithful and He will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation He will also provide a way of escape, so that you may be able to bear it.

That escape may be as simple as running away (1 Corinthians 6:18). More likely, the escape will have to come at a bigger cost. If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. If your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off (Matthew 5:29, 30). Verse 30 says that it is better to go through life missing a part, than to have your whole body go to hell. That doesn’t mean we should start poking out eyes or chopping off limbs, but it does mean that you should get away from sin at any cost. If the people you hang out with are leading you to sin, get away. It’s time to change friends. If your sin is anger and your family or your job is causing you to sin, get away. Move from your family, or change jobs.

Give it all to God. He can handle all we put on him. Pray, and He will help you fight the sin in your life. Ask him to put the right people and situations in your way to help you to get closer to Him.

Remember He said, Come to me, all of you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest. All of you take up my yoke, and learn from me, because I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your soul. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light (Matthew 11:28, 29).

Amen.

Jesus, help us by giving us the strength to flee when sin and temptation come at us. We give you our burdens and take your yoke. In Jesus’s name.

Amen.

July 11

Whose Child Are You?

So God created man in His own image; He created him in the image of God (Genesis 1:27).

People tell me that my son is a spitting image of me. They are right. He will have to answer to that for his whole life! This describes me, too: I, also look like a younger copy of my father. My three daughters, although they do not resemble my physical traits quite as much as my son does, still share many of the same likes and dislikes. All four of my children were created in my image.

My point is that if an earthly father can pass looks and traits down to his children and it is obvious, imagine us, as children of God, having the image of our Heavenly Father imprinted on our lives.

Can people see the Heavenly Father in you? When we live a non-repentant, sinful life, we cover up the image of our Creator. Sin is ugly and it changes our image so we resemble Satan.

Look at your life; ask God to reveal to you all the sin you wear over His image. Then, give it all to Him. When we do that, the world will begin to comment about how unmistakable our likeness is to God our Father.

Amen.

Lord, I want your image to show brightly on me. Help me to be holy because you are holy. In Jesus’s name.

Amen.

July 12

Where Do I Look?

Finally my brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any moral excellence and there is any praise, dwell on these things (Philippians 4:8).

The world is a dark place. This is exactly the way Satan wants it to be. Just watch any news broadcast, and you will see how fast the world is spinning into the depths of hell. When we see all the senseless killings, rampant destruction, and widespread disease in the world today it is easy to get depressed. Everywhere we look, we see the effect of sin on the world.

But that is not what God wants us to be looking at. In today’s verse, Paul tells us to look for at all the good we can find and focus on it. Sometimes we have to make our own good out of our situations. In 1 Peter 4:12, 13 we are told, Don’t be surprised when a fiery ordeal comes to you to test you. Instead, rejoice as you share in the suffering of the Messiah, so that you can rejoice in great joy at the revelation of God’s glory. Rejoice in the storm because God’s glory is booming all around you. Be happy in times of trouble, because God will be there to show His mercy and love.

So when things seem hopeless and dark, and you are feeling depressed, speak to the darkness, chasing it away and choose to look around for all the good things that reflect God’s love for you and the mighty and awesome power of His creation.

Look for good. Dwell on joy and love.

Amen.

Heavenly Father, we rejoice in the times when we are tested. We look to all the good Jesus gave us on the cross. We focus on all the good you are. In Jesus’s name.

Amen.

July 13

Do You Need a Sign?

And God said, ‘This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature, a covenant for all future generations: I have placed a rainbow in the sky’ (Genesis 9:12).

People want signs and wonders as proof of God’s existence. The truth is God gives us one quite often. Imagine the beautiful rainbows that appear after a rainstorm; all those colors stretching across the sky, sometimes they are even doubled!

God made a promise to us, a covenant with us. He promised that when He sees the rainbow it will remind Him of His promise to never again bring a flood to destroy the earth and the living creatures. It should also remind us, not only of God’s promise, but to the fact that He exists. After all, He shows us this almost every time a storm passes!

Amen.

Lord, thank you for your covenant with us. Thank you for the beautiful rainbow you put in the sky to remind us how good you are! In Jesus’s name.

Amen.

July 14

Do Not Deceive Yourself

If we say we have no sin we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us (1 John 1:8).

We all sin. We were born into it. Jesus wants us to realize that fact. Satan likes to tell us that we don’t understand what God is saying in the Ten Commandments. Satan wants us to think of them as guidelines. He likes to make us think that the Ten Commandments have gray areas. They don’t. When