Insightful Musings on the New Testament
by
Ray Sparre, NU class of '67

Ray has a wealth of experience as a Husband, Father, Pastor, Missionary, and student of the Word. He believes and practices his faith where the rubber meets the road. You'll find his writings to be practical, insightful, and grounded in a truly Christ-centered world view.

Below are links to a printable daily Bible reading guide which Ray is following, and an archive of all his daily devotional writings for 2010.

|  Daily Reading Guide  |  2010 Devotion Archives  |
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20 May 10
    Greetings, dear special people.
    I could sure use some freedom from rain.  I was just outside a few minutes ago loading up a friend with some lumber I cut for him.  It's not only wet...it's cold!  Just over 40 degrees.
    There are some phone calls I need to make, so if you don't mind, I'll pull out of here, send this, and get on with the calls. 
    Have a great day.
        Love and prayers.  Dad/Ray
 
20 May 2010
Passage: Luke 4: 14-40
Focus: “All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this.”  Luke 4:28.
            Let’s take this situation apart.  Notice that in verse 15 it says, “He taught in their synagogues, and everyone praised him.”  That’s nice.  Jesus is getting a kind of standing ovation.  Notice verse 22: “All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips.”  Things are looking great.  Jesus’ approval ratings are high.  But just 6 verses later it’s like a bomb goes off.  It says, “All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this.”  They proceeded with an attempt to throw Him over a cliff.  What a difference!  What in the world happened?  What did Jesus say that set them off?  As I read it again, He was just relating some well-known stories contained in their own sacred writings.  As I try to figure it out, it seems clear that it was Jesus’ application of those stories that fueled this dramatic turn in public sentiment.  He was rebuking their national arrogance.  He was meddling with their popular attitudes of superiority and spiritual pride…and they didn’t like it one bit!  They had the firm idea that they, the Jews, had special exclusive rights to God—that God liked them more than anyone else, that they were better than anyone else.
            Beware of any such notion in yourself.  Avoid the temptation to sing “Amazing Grace” something like this: “I deserve God’s love and prosperity.  He sure is blessed to have ME!”…rather than the right way, “Amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me.”
 
            “A snob is an inferior person with a superiority complex.”