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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 6 July 10
                Hello, special people.
                It was a cold beautiful morning early—40 degrees—but she’s warming up out there and looking like summer.  Becki joined me on a walk about 7am…while I jogged along with 3 dogs—ours (Daisy), Thano’s (Max), and the neighbor’s (Bubba).  I’ve been busy with lots of stuff already.  And after I launch this, I’ll need to scan my huge list and identify which task is of highest priority.
                Hang in there and do the truth.
                                Love, Dad/Ray 
 
6 July 2010
Passage: II Thessalonians 2
Focus: “They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.” II Thessalonians 2:10
                God the Father is TRUTH.  Jesus is TRUTH.  The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of TRUTH and is given to lead us into all TRUTH.  The Word of God is TRUTH of which Jesus said that if you continue in, the positive results will be that “you will know the TRUTH, and the TRUTH will set you free” (John 8:31-32).  Is it any wonder then that Paul describes the very first piece of “the armor of God” as being “the belt of TRUTH” (Eph. 6:14)?  Is it any wonder that the greatest failure of a human being as described in this particular passage is to fail to “LOVE THE TRUTH and so be saved?”  And is it any wonder that Jesus specified that TRUE worshippers must “worship in spirit and in TRUTH” (John 4:24)?  To LOVE THE TRUTH is to love God. That’s the first and foremost command of all scripture.  To LOVE THE TRUTH is to love Jesus, Who claimed to be THE TRUTH.  To LOVE THE TRUTH is to walk in the Spirit.  To LOVE THE TRUTH is to love others according to His command.
                Contrary to a lot of modern thought, the natural human heart has a built-in resistance to TRUTH and goodness.  Remember Jeremiah 17:9?  “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure.  Who can understand it?” Please recognize this condition as your number one enemy--NOT Satan.  He can have no continuing hold on one who will continually LOVE THE TRUTH. Such a person is made free and cleansed thereby.  God’s antidote for our universal problem is His Word which is “living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart” (Heb. 4:12).
                The Bible gives me heavy-duty reason to be concerned for your very eternal soul if you do not LOVE THE TRUTH and show evidence thereof.  That means growing in your eager consumption, knowledge and application of God’s Word. It means becoming totally honest with yourself, with your husband or wife, with your children and family members, with the management of your money, with the way you work on the job, with the fulfillment of your schoolwork, and with absolutely every other person and part of your whole life.  Why should my concern be so great?  Because if you tolerate even one small known dishonesty or deception you automatically open a crack that makes you vulnerable to the subtle influences of the enemy kingdom who eagerly looks for such opportunities.  Cracks ALWAYS get bigger and help create more cracks.
                Please—let’s be people who truly LOVE THE TRUTH.
 
                “Beware of half-truth—you may have gotten the wrong half.”