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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25 May 10
    Good morning in general...and you in particular.
    Late rising...thus a late beginning to the work.  We had someone drive through our place last night about 2am...so we were able to get little sleep after.  We don't have a clue as to who they were or what they wanted.  It's just hard to imagine that it was anything legitimate.
    It's raining again.  That is kind of messing up some of my plans.  Aren't you glad that MY plans don't rule the planet?
    Have a great day in the morning...afternoon...evening...etc.
        Love and prayers, Dad/Ray
 
25 May 2010
Passage:  Luke 7:1-35
Focus:  “Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me.”  Luke 7:23
            This is not one of the traditional “Beatitudes,” but it gives some special insight into another kind of condition for receiving the blessing of God.
            It is quite apparent that John the Baptist was having some questions in his mind at this point concerning whether or not Jesus was indeed the Messiah.  Maybe the unfolding ministry and influence of Jesus as the Messiah was not as fast and dramatic as John had previously envisioned and it raised some doubts.  It’s good to know that Jesus was not alarmed or offended by John’s question.  Nor is He offended by your honest fluctuations of faith.  He only wants you to be continually reminded as to His trustworthiness.  That’s how He directs John.  Jesus actually makes reference to His fulfilling the Messianic prophecy of Isaiah 35:5-6:  “Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped.  Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy.”  Whereas Jesus had been doing an abundance of miracles just like those described by Isaiah, He was saying to John, “Check it out.  You be the judge.  Do I not have here the credentials of the Messiah?  Trust Me.”
            “The just shall live by faith” (Heb. 10:38) is a high-ranking scriptural principle.  True faith, however, does not require crystal clear perception and complete understanding.  It only requires our walking in the light that we have.  I confess, for example, to having a large number of unsettled questions about a lot of Bible doctrines.  But that must not be allowed to impair my confidence that God is true, that He is good, and that He has everything under control.  Deuteronomy 29:29 has been a stabilizing influence down through the years of my own pilgrimage, “The secret things (things not yet clearly revealed) belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law.”  That helps me understand that I am not responsible for what I do not or cannot know…only for what I do and can know.  Furthermore it seems that God will never permit me such an abundance of vision and understanding that I no longer need to “live by faith.”
            BLESSED IS THE MAN, therefore, who does not give up or surrender his faith in Christ just because of a shortage of understanding or because Christ does not appear to be performing in ways we would expect or prefer.  Let’s make sure we measure up to this condition for blessing.
 
            “Faith will not always get for us what we want, but it will get what God wants us to have.”