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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12 Aug 10
            Good morning, dear people.
            10:21am is much too late to commence my commercial work.  But there has been a mixture of work in the day already.  Balancing the urgent with the important is no small challenge.  I guess we’ll never break free of it this side of heaven.
            I hope your mix goes well…and stacks up to be blessed.
                        Love, Dad/Ray
 
12 August 2010
Passage: Romans 5:1-11
Focus: “Therefore since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ…”  Romans 5:1.
            Wow! I sure don’t have to get far into this reading before getting pumped with inspiration!
            I happened to hear David Jeremiah make a statement on the radio just yesterday while I was driving.  He said something like this: “One of the biggest challenges I’ve faced in getting people saved is to first get them lost.”  The point is that no one is going to understand the importance of SALVATION if they don’t first understand their LOSTNESS and desperate need.
            Let’s review the facts that are heavy upon us.  Firstly, “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23)—SINNERS, CONDEMNED—including you and me.  In that condition we are all under God’s WRATH.  And His WRATH is bigger and more absolute than any puny opposition from man.  Paul describes it this way in Ephesians 2:1—“As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins…”  But now, right here in this short reading, we are presented with one of the most incredible, mind-boggling, and glorious statements contained in Biblical revelation—beyond what the mortal brain could ever process—verse 8: “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: (I have to capitalize the text in the rest of the verse…because it is of capital importance!) WHILE WE WERE STILL SINNERS, CHRIST DIED FOR US.”  If that fails to move you…I think you need to be checked out.  I think we’ll need eternity to get that one figured out.
            Don’t miss the options we all face in relation to this Sovereign God: It’s either WRATH or PEACE.  To help confirm the idea, I want to quote verses 1 and 2 together: “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have PEACE with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand.  (Check out 1 Cor. 15:1-2)  And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.”  Verse 9 contains the wonderful phrase that we are “saved from God’s WRATH.”
            How much time do you need to contemplate your answer to this question: Which do you choose?—WRATH or PEACE?
 
            “Have old memories but young hopes.”