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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 7 Aug 10
            Good evening, folks.
            It’s past my bedtime…10:09pm.  Interesting day.  Sure didn’t play out the way I expected.  We just returned from a run to Tillomook.  I had done this composition early…but didn’t manage to get it off before we had to leave.
            Sleep well.  And have a blessed day tomorrow.
                        Love, Dad/Ray
 
7 August 2010
Passage: Romans 1:1-17
Focus: “…that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith.”  Romans 1:12.
            In the Solomon Islands, where we lived for many years, a word was coined in pijin English to describe the close relationship and attachment that goes on between people of the same tribe and language group—“wantok” (one talk, or one language).  Two people may meet at some remote point in the islands, far away from their home villages, but when their mutual home language is identified, suddenly that chance meeting is animated and injected with friendship and fellowship.
            One of the pleasures of my life is meeting people from all kinds of backgrounds and hearing and learning from them and their unique experiences.  And when those encounters happen to reveal a mutual Biblical faith that ascribes Lordship to Christ—BINGO!—it’s like meeting a WANTOK—suddenly we have been elevated to a level of relationship that is above just pleasure—it’s JOY—it’s the epitome of fellowship—we’re speaking the same heart language with the same family blood line—the Blood of Christ.  It’s a little bit of heaven on earth.  And it becomes a recipe for encouragement.
            I trust that you know what I’m talking about.  If not, you should…and you can.  It all flows out of a simple positive response to the call that Paul describes in verses 5 and 6 of this reading: “Through him (Jesus Christ) and for his name’s sake, we received grace and apostleship to call people from among all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith.  And you also are among those who are called to belong to Jesus Christ.”
 
            Just the other day I saw a lady wearing a T-shirt with this message: “Friends don’t let friends go to hell.”