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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18 June 10
            Greetings in the morning, dear people.
            As soon as I send this off, I guess I’ll head out the door for a jog with a couple of grandkids, Devyn and Zane, who are chomping at the bit…two kids, two dogs, and one old man.  What an outfit!
            I hope your jog goes well…your jog through the day.  Be blessed.
                                                          Love, Dad/Ray
 
18 June 2010
Passage: Luke 18:15-43
Focus: “When the disciples saw this, they rebuked them.”  Luke 18:15.
            There is an implicit warning here that I think we should not overlook: IT IS POSSIBLE TO MISREPRESENT THE ONE WE CLAIM TO REPRESENT.  The disciples were actually rebuking the people for something Jesus encouraged.  When Jesus recognized the misrepresentation going on, Mark’s Gospel says it made Jesus mad.  That’s right—this “gentle” Jesus could get mad.  “When Jesus saw this, he was indignant” (Mk. 10:14).  Personally, I don’t think it’s very smart or safe for servants to make their Master mad.
            Is there another important lesson here?  How about this one?  IT IS POSSIBLE TO BE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE LORD’S WORK (ACTIVITY) AND STILL BE OUT OF STEP WITH THE MAIN MEANING OF THE MESSAGE.  Notice Jesus telling His disciples exactly what would happen surrounding His murder and resurrection, all in perfect fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy.  But then it says, “The disciples did not understand any of this.  Its meaning was hidden from them, and they did not know what he was talking about” (Luke 18:34).  Hey—these were inner-circle DISCIPLES!
            Notice too the implied lesson surrounding the blind beggar who saw clear enough to address Jesus as the Messiah—“Son of David” (vv. 38-39).  It seems that THIS BLIND OUTSIDER SAW BETTER THAN SOME OF THE SEEING INSIDERS.  Think about it.
 
            “Don’t put a question mark where God puts a period.”