2007 picture of Ray SparreInsightful 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  |
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 3 July 10
                Greetings, dear ones.
                It’s sunny and warm out now.  Nice day.  I guess we’re going to attend the rodeo this evening at our local Buckeroo.  That’s a big annual event here in Molalla.  Wish you could join us.  I have lots to do before then.
                Have a happy 4th.  And keep looking up.  The fireworks is about to begin!
                                Love, Dad/Ray
 
3 July 2010
Passage: 1 Thessalonians 4
Focus: “Now we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus to do this more and more.”  1 Thessalonians 4:1.
                Concerning the practical details of living to please God and doing His will, you will never find a better passage of advice and instruction than this brief one between verses 1 and 12.  That being the case, it could be a very positive pursuit for any serious disciple to commit this passage to memory.  It has always been, and always will be, a vital standard of practical godliness to hide His Word in our hearts that we might not sin against His design (Ps. 119:11).  Such a discipline helps us to prevent being infected by the dirty moral and spiritual bacteria of this world’s thinking and provide substantial ongoing victory over the universal sickness of sin.  It can also help us avoid being a “Christian heathen” (see verse 5) who has an outward “form of godliness” (II Tim. 3:5) but produces a kind of fruit that is not much different from that of an unbeliever.  Paul is telling us here that the sure way to avoid this kind of condition is to NOT be coasting and satisfied with how we’ve been doing, but to continue to pay even more careful attention to the principles and precepts of godliness, stretching ourselves to DO THIS MORE AND MORE.  I take that to mean that there is no safe room for leisure—that we should reach higher, dig deeper, and become increasingly more intense in our objective to please God—at least don’t allow slacking off.
                Paul stresses here that “It is God’s will that you should be sanctified” (verse 3.  See also 5:23 and I Pet. 1:2). Sanctification means to be made holy, to be separate from the world, to be free from any bondage to sin, and to gladly seek and serve God.  Let us understand clearly that this is not a condition created only by God independent of man’s participation.  Quite the contrary.  God has designed that your sanctification be achieved only by means of a sacred partnership—you with Him.  Oh, yes, “we are saved by grace.”  But saving grace is an elusive rainbow apart from the substance of good works. “Faith (i.e., saving grace) without works is dead” (Jas. 2:26). (I suggest you use a concordance and do a listing of New Testament emphasis given to “good works.”)
                I can absolutely guarantee that you will NEVER be a seriously-weakened believer if you can lay hold of a life (attitudes and actions) that prioritize pleasing God…and will DO THIS MORE AND MORE.
 
                “Freedom without purpose leads headlong into chaos.”