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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22 Aug 10
            Greetings, dear ones.
            I need to run meet someone shortly, so I’ll make this short…and get it off.
            We sure don’t need to look far to find people in need.  May you continue to absorb the light and grace of the Word so that you can be a channel of the same to others.
                        Love, Dad/Ray
 
22 August 2010
Passage: Romans 11:22-36
Focus: “For from him and through him and to him are all things.  To him be the glory forever!  Amen.  Romans 11:36
            It would be well worth our effort to commit this doxology passage to memory (vv. 33-36).  It touches the root of man’s most typical problem in his relationship with God.  I think it would be safe to say that almost all spiritual and moral failure among humans stems from a kind of pride and self-centeredness that militates against God’s glory.  Man persistently says with his attitudes and actions, “I want some glory for me, too.”
            Within the test of chapter 11, I notice 3 particular words that help to identify this root problem:  (1) “…do not boast over those branches” (v. 18).  Boastfulness is unbecoming to believers when it involves the blessings and benefits of God that are received by grace. What do we have that is not received?  (2)  “Do not be arrogant but be afraid” (v. 20).  Arrogance is that distorted attitude that presumes that God exists for me.  He is there to bless me, to help me, to answer my prayers, to heal my body, and to meet my needs.  Me, me, me, and my, my, my.  Too often that becomes the basis of a man’s theology.  So much so that a man will deceive himself into thinking that he is actually doing God some kind of service to call on Him.  Paul puts it this way, “You do not support the root, but the root supports you” (v. 18).  That is, God does not exist for you, but you exist for God.  (3)  “…so that you may not be conceited” (v. 25).  Conceit is defined as “a vain and exaggerated opinion of oneself.”  When a person or group of persons begins to think that they are the special privileged and exclusive people of God, there we find the makings of cultism and general imbalance.  It is a wandering from the path of humility.  It generates a spiritual pride that is destructive to the glory of God.
            It is simply impossible to read this passage with understanding and walk away with attitudes of boastfulness, arrogance, and conceit.  “TO HIM BE GLORY forever!  Amen.”
 
            “The strength that comes from confidence can be quickly lost to conceit.”