Insightful Musings on the Scriptures

by

Raymond P. Sparre
Northwest University class of '67

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15 April 10

Good morning, dear ones.

    With a watch reading like 8:28, you can probably imagine what scripture comes to mind.  Rom. 8:28: "All things work together for the good of those who love God..."  Maybe that's a good standard for the day...for every day.  If we simply make sure that our primary motivational focus is to love God, things will come out good.  What an idea!

Lots on the agenda.  I can already cross off jogging, and breakfast, and feeding the chickens.  Wouldn't it be nice if I could say my chores were done for the day...and I'd go fishing...or skiing.

Be good.  Blessings.

        Dad/Ray

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15 April 2010
Passage: Mark 8:27-9:13
Focus:  “On the way…”  Mark 8:27

            I trust I’m not grasping at straws as I pick up on this phrase.  It’s not like there are no other inspiring thoughts to expand on in this passage.  But I think there is a place in wholesome Bible study to chew on the small and often-ignored morsels of the Word along with the big hunks.

            This verse simply says, “Jesus and his disciples went on to the villages around Caesarea Philippi.  On the way he asked them, ‘Who do people say I am?’”

            The two main thoughts that are surfacing in my mind could go something like this:  (1) IT IS GOOD TO MAKE INTELLECTUAL AND SPIRITUAL USE OF THE MUNDANE WHEREVER AND WHENEVER REASONABLY POSSIBLE.  Life is short, yet full of mundane activity…activities and tasks that are important, time-consuming, yet do not always require a great deal of concentration.  Traveling has certainly become a large portion of the mundane in our modern mobile society.  Jesus and His disciples did not have the technological advantages that we enjoy to assist in travel.  They simply walked.  It took lots of time.  Even though many of us today are capable of traveling a lot faster, farther, and easier, it still takes a good deal of time…time that can be intellectually and spiritually wasted if we don’t apply some focus to make use of it.

            I’m thinking of a principle relating to this in the instructions to parents given in Deuteronomy 6:6-7.  “These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts.  Impress them on your children.  Talk about them when you sit at home and WHEN YOU WALK ALONG THE ROAD, when you lie down and when you get up.”  Do you see it?  Parents are admonished to use time sitting at home, traveling, going to bed, and getting up in the morning as opportunities to address and expound on the important things of life and faith.  Don’t let the roar of the radio, the sound of the stereo, or the trivia of the TV drown out and rob you of the opportunities and responsibilities that accompany the mundane.

(2) IT IS GOOD TO MAKE USE OF DIALOGUE IN FACING ISSUES, SHARING IDEAS, AND FORMULATING VIEWS CONCERNING ALL KINDS OF IMPORTANT MATTERS.  It amazes me how many people do not seem to take time to discuss important things…even lots of Christians.  They talk about all kinds of stuff, unimportant stuff, particularly enjoying gossip, but things like death, eternity, sexuality, God, and spirituality are regularly ignored topics.  And even though it is so clear that God only gives us one main mode for problem-solving in the form of language (words and their meaning), all too often, conflicts are never really resolved because they are simply not talked through.  Jesus sets an example here and gives us insight into the fact that God wants us to think about and discuss important things.

Are you looking for a good important topic to discuss around your next mealtime?  Maybe not…but why not?  (“Why not?” is a good topic in itself!)  How about the one Jesus raised when He was walking along with His disciples?  To apply it to us today, we could present it like this:  “Exactly who in the world is Jesus?”  That really is an important question to get nailed down in our minds…and the minds of our children.  Or how about the two questions Jesus raises a few sentences later?  “What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?  Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Mark 8:36-37).  These are definitely important things to think and talk about.