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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 4 Aug 10
            Good evening, dear people.
            It’s been a full day…and isn’t over yet.  Still have stuff to do. So I better keep at it.
            Have a good night.
                        Love, Dad/Ray
 
4 August 2010
Passage:  2 Corinthians 11:16-33.
Focus: “…God…knows that I am not lying.”  2 Corinthians 11:31
            As we read through this section and feel Paul’s heart, it’s pretty clear that he has been hurt by the very ones he loves so dearly and desires so desperately to help.  Some of the Corinthian believers were apparently misrepresenting Paul and rejecting his ministry in favor of some other more sensational pseudo-apostles who were bending the gospel message to suit themselves.  So he takes some time here to defend himself and presents quite a sensational list of credentials of his own (vv. 22-29).  In view of the possibility that there would be some who may not believe his record, he adds one final comment for emphasis, saying, “The GOD and Father of the Lord Jesus, who is to be praised forever, KNOWS THAT I AM NOT LYING.”
            Ordinarily, I am not very impressed when people use such statements.  I’ve been exposed to a good deal of the natural dirty contents of human hearts. I’ve witnessed too many occasions where people make such a comment as this, not to defend their innocence, but as a deceitful smoke screen tactic to defend and cover up their guilt.  They will say, “GOD KNOWS THAT I AM NOT LYING” with a straight face that is already accustomed to lying. Or, “God is my judge.”  Or, “May God strike me dead if I am not telling the truth.”
            Do you know what it’s like to be misunderstood, misrepresented, and rejected by those whom you love?  I do.  I confess that I carry some scars of this nature to this day.  In some of these cases there seems to be absolutely nothing more that I can do or say to repair the relationship and change people’s views and attitudes.  I believe that whether or not I ever use such a statement as Paul uses here to defend myself before people is not nearly as important as that I be able to confidently use it in the inner chamber of my own private mind.  GOD KNOWS THAT I AM NOT LYING. Sometimes the whole matter needs to rest right there.  It becomes the declaration and foundation of a clear conscience before God.  I wouldn’t want to trade that for anything.
            (Read again Proverbs 1 – 4 with the understanding that personal heart-level integrity is wisdom.)
 
            “Complete honesty in little things is not a little thing at all.”