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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29 June 10
            Greetings, dear people.
            I wish I could tell you that our fishing excursion was a great success insofar as fish is concerned.  It was kind of a failure in that sense.  But the boat performed well…and we had a good time.  The weather and wave conditions were quite nice…allowing a fairly easy launching from the beach at Pacific City.  I’m sure developing an ailing memory though…fitting my tank with my regulator, turning on the air—NOTHING!  I failed to have it filled since using it last.  I jumped in anyway using Andy’s tank.  Visibility was very poor…so no spearfishing this time.
            I need to run to Dallas.  It’s presently 8:13pm.  Bye.  Be blessed.
                                                          Love, Dad/Ray
 
29 June 2010
Passage: Luke 24:13-35
Focus: “How…slow of heart...!” Luke 24:25.
            Have you noticed that whenever someone visits the clinic or hospital, one of the first things the tending nurses will do is check the pulse.  The pulse rate is, of course, a measurement of how many times the heart beats in one minute as it pumps blood through the body.  It is a very important indication of the health of the patient.  If the pulse is too slow or too fast, it will give meaning to the doctor in diagnosing the problem and prescribing treatment. 
            It did not take “Doctor Jesus” very long to notice an unhealthy spiritual and intellectual pulse in the two disciples that He met on the road to Emmaus that day.  So after listening to their brief description of their sick condition, Jesus exclaims to them, “How foolish you are, and how SLOW OF HEART to believe all the prophets have spoken!”  And He began to administer the medicine of the Word.
            Let me call to your attention the fact that you and I are incapable of actually controlling the pulse of our physical hearts.  It is an automatic physiological miracle that God has established in our bodies.  But we are capable of controlling our spiritual and intellectual pulse to a large degree.  Notice that Jesus pinpoints the main cause of their unhealthy condition.  He says, in so many words, “You fellows have not been eating right…and you have allowed your anxieties to give you indigestion and an unhealthy pulse.”  What is the implied remedy for this ailment?  KNOW GOD’S WORD AND BELIEVE IT.  It will prevent us from being SLOW OF HEART.
 
            “We don’t change God’s message—His message changes us.”