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  |
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

15 June 10
            Good morning, dear people.
            Coming to think of it, I didn’t have anyone quiz me more about what I found in my boot the other day.  But, that’s OK…I’ll tell you anyway.  It was a BAT.  Yup!  A bat…the kind that flies around at night and eats little bugs.  But he sure couldn’t do much flying when I kind of squished into the toe of my boot.  I didn’t really inspect him close enough to discern whether I killed him or whether he was already dead.  Whatever.
            Another thing I meant to do yesterday is send you a special version of the parable of the Lost Son.  I’ll stick it on here as an attachment.
            This notebook computer seems to be performing OK now…so I’m back working from it.
            Be blessed.
                                                          Love, Dad/Ray
 
15 June 2010
Passage:  Luke 16
Focus:  “Hell” Luke 16:23
            Some people don’t believe in HELL.  But Jesus does.  Otherwise this story He tells about Lazarus and the rich man is utterly ridiculous.  Oh, yes, there are some factors in this revelation of heaven and HELL that are hard to understand.  But let’s take some time to list a few points from this account that we can and must understand.  I hope you will take time to read the passage again for yourself.
1.      EVERYONE DIES.  Wealth, fame, poverty, education, success, etc., make no difference.  Every human being possesses a physical body that is headed for death.

2.     DEATH DOES NOT END EXISTENCE. Physical death is clearly the doorway to a very real conscious eternity.

3.     ACCEPTANCE OF GOD’S WORD AND REPENTANCE IN THIS LIFE DETERMINE ONE’S DESTINY IN THE NEXT LIFE. This story clearly underscores this as the highest priority of life.  To do so means eternal luxury.  To fail to do so means eternal poverty. Notice that the beggar becomes a rich man and the rich man becomes a beggar.

4.     HEAVEN IS HEAVENLY AND HELL IS HOT.  Jesus describes heaven for the Jews as being a wonderful place with “Father Abraham.”  Hell, on the other hand, is a place of fire, torment, and agony.

5.     THERE IS NO PASSAGE BETWEEN THE TWO REALMS.  Death finalizes destiny.  There is no adjustment of that destiny.  There is no purgatory or movement from one place to the other.  Jesus refers to it as a “great chasm.”  And it seems to be a triangular chasm between this life, heaven, and HELL.

6.     PEOPLE IN HELL CAN SEE INTO HEAVEN.  But those in heaven don’t see into hell.  I suppose that such a view would actually mess up heaven.  This idea is also indicated in the words of Jesus back in Luke 13:28: “There will be weeping there, and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob…in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves are thrown out.”

7.     PEOPLE IN HELL ARE HAMMERED WITH REGRET. I have a hunch that one of the most hellish features of hell will be the vivid playback of memory that forces one to recall and see clearly all the unnecessary dumb choices made in life.  It would make for endless self-condemnation.  “Why was I so stupid?  Why was I so blind?  Why was I so persistent in rebelling?  Why didn’t I seek God?  Why didn’t I pay attention to what was so clear and inevitable?  Why was I so arrogant?”  Man!..that would be hell!

8.     PEOPLE IN HELL CAN HAVE A GREAT EVANGELISTIC BURDEN THAT THEY NEVER HAD IN THIS LIFE.  Notice the rich man’s concern for the eternal welfare of his family once he experiences the reality of HELL.  Without trying to be profane, he wanted Lazarus to be miraculously raised back to life and go to his family to scare the HELL out of them.

9.     MIRACULOUS SIGNS ARE NOT EFFECTIVE TOOLS OF EVANGELISM.  No amount of supernatural phenomena is going to generate the true conversion and salvation of a person who does not have a hunger for God and His Word.

            Suffice it to say, hell is BAD NEWS!
           
            “One thing that makes the Good News so good is knowing that the bad news is so bad.”