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 July 10
                Hey there, nice people.
                It’s a gorgeous Sunday afternoon at present…but a little coolish for this time of year.  We’ve done the two Gospel Sings today at two assisted living centers.  We even managed to squeeze in some good naps.  That’s important for old people, you know.
                A big week is coming up.  On the other hand, I guess it’s really no bigger than any other…with exactly 7 days and 24 hours per day.  It’s just that there is a big amount of stuff to stuff into it.
                Blessings. Love.  Dad/Ray
               
 
18 July 2010
Passage: 1 Corinthians 10:14-11:1
Focus: “I do not want you to be participants with demons.” 1 Corinthians 10:20.
                Paul begins this section with the stern command to “flee from idolatry” (10:14).  By that he means that believers must flee from any contaminating mixture of their faith—anything that can neutralize the purity and effectiveness of their worship and relationship with the Lord.
                It is apparent that Paul had a deep concern that the Corinthian believers develop a quality of faith that would achieve real lasting victory over sin, self, and Satan.  He understood that any retention of superstitious beliefs and magical practices from their pre-conversion lives would certainly render their Christian faith ineffective.  I have shared in that concern during our years of cross-cultural experience where animism and various forms of magic was the norm.  For example, it was common for a person to partake of Holy Communion on Sunday, then use various forms of “custom medicine” (medicines prepared with magical ceremony) during the week to treat various forms of “custom sickness” (ailments believed to be caused by magical “poisoning).  It was difficult for many to understand that such involvement with the supernatural outside the Kingdom of God is to make them to be PARTICIPANTS WITH DEMONS.  This is one reason why I believe that the simple thesis that THERE ARE ONLY TWO KINGDOMS is such a pertinent and practical one in the establishment of a pure form of effective Biblical Christianity.
                I have been made very sad in many cases to learn that the only kind of Christianity that many of our island people knew was, in fact, this contaminated and neutralized form—a form that would prevent them from developing a true and victorious conversion with its accompanying benefits and blessings.  In this way a large portion of the lump is leavened and Christianity becomes a sad case of “the blind leading the blind” (Mtt. 15:14) and a treadmill of wrong standards for judging spiritual matters (2 Cor. 10:12).  When nominal Christian people willingly or ignorantly become PARTICIPANTS WITH DEMONS, the demons always win and the result is always a false form of Christianity—powerless to achieve real redemption and victory over sin.             
                Beware. “I do not want you to be participants with demons.”
 
                “Christ will not live in the parlor of our hearts if we entertain the devil in the cellar of our thoughts.”