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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7 June 10
            Greetings on this nice Monday morning.
            Becki finally gathered enough circumstance and motivation to join me in a jog/walk…I jog, she walks.  Very pleasant morning to do so.  We took off with the two dogs about 6:30am.  Daisy is using her recently-broken leg more and more.
            I need to get off some more phone calls.  I’ve already done some. A fellow is approaching me to supply him with some premium timbers for the restoration of an old 78-foot schooner…both fir and oak.  That’s calling for a good deal of research.  Interesting.  That really is my favorite kind of work—interesting work.  I’d prefer to leave the boring stuff for people who have a higher capacity for boredom.
            Be blessed…and His blessing is anything but boring.

                                                          Love, Dad/Ray


 
7 June 2010
Passage: Luke 12:1-21
Focus: “Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.”  Luke 12:1.
            Jesus uses a warning phrase twice in this passage that deserves our attention: “Be on your guard.”  (1)  The first is the one indicated above—“Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy” (12:1).  Make no mistake about it: Hypocrisy is like soaking up bread with battery acid. It’s a poison pollutant.  Please, please, don’t ever eat that stuff.  It is counter-productive to health and life.  It involves living a lie, and making oneself a friend and ally with “the father of lies” (Jn. 8:44).  (2) The second use of the phrase is in verse 15: “Watch out!  Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”  Greed is a preoccupation with self to the neglect and/or expense of others.  Self-centeredness becomes the primary influence of all decisions and choices.
            Sandwiched in between these two warnings is a non-optional non-negotiable command: “But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after the killing of the body, has power to throw you into hell.  Yes, I tell you, fear him” (12:5).
            As I contemplate the impact of these words, I am recognizing with fresh clarity that both hypocrisy and greed are symptoms of the core condition of NOT fearing God.  There is no way I can be comfortably hypocritical and have a healthy fear of God (truly believing in His transcendent Sovereignty) at the same time.  There is no way I can be comfortably greedy and have a healthy fear of God at the same time.
            The last phrase of the reading seems to sum up what is most important.  You may not be able to achieve all you wish you could, or get all the stuff you wish you could have, but you have the high privilege of being rich where it counts—“rich toward God” (12:21).
 
            “Don’t curse the devil openly and serve him secretly.”