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  |
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

23 Aug 10
            Good morning, dear ones.
            Yup! The thermometer said 40 degrees.  That’s crazy for August!  It could be all this global warming.
            Wow! It’s after 8am already.  I better get this off, do my jog, and take on the work of the day.
            Blessings. Love.  Dad/Ray.
 
23 August 2010
Passage: Romans 12:1-16
Focus: “Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.” Romans 12:11.
            Please don’t be duped by the notion that you can read this passage between verses 9 and 13, then go out and successfully do what it says on your own, by yourself, by the effort of your human will.  It ain’t gonna happen!  And to prove this point, TRY IT!  The fact remains that ONLY ONE PERSON IN ALL THE UNIVERSE CAN TRULY LIVE OUT THE CHRISTIAN LIFE—CHRIST HIMSELF.  AND THE ONLY WAY YOU CAN IS IN AND THROUGH HIM!
            My own experience certainly bears this out.  Being the human being that I am, and left to my own resources, my spiritual zeal tends to be a “yo-yo”—up and down, rise and fall—influenced and dictated by my environment and circumstances.  But Paul here promotes a do-able standard that has nothing to do with such externals.  It has everything to do with the conditional requirement of Romans 12:1-2 and Galatians 2:20.
            NEVER BE LACKING IN ZEAL.  We are called here to excitement and enthusiasm.  That requires a serious maintenance program that continually replenishes something that is continually depleted.  It involves regular intake and exercise in the WORD OF TRUTH (2 Timothy 2:15).
            KEEP YOUR SPIRITUAL FERVOR.  You can only keep something you have, and have the power to keep.  God knows you CAN keep your spiritual fervor IF you want to, and IF you do so on His terms—by His standard—which is “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27).
            SERVING THE LORD.  Here, in simple concise form, is the PURPOSE OF YOUR EXISTENCE!  If we are not serving Him, we are automatically serving something or someone very inferior.  If Biblical revelation is TRUTH, that’s just the way it is!
            “Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands.  SERVE THE LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing” (Psalm 100:1-2, KJV).
           
            “The happiest people are those who discover that what they should be doing and what they are doing are the same.”