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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26 Aug 10
            Good morning, dear people.
            I was expecting to see what the weather people have been predicting…clouds…leading to rain.  So far, there’s no sign of that weather change in our little valley.
            I have graphics to create, logs to mill, firewood to split, caskets to build, accounting to do, machines to set up, grass and weeds to cut, equipment to service and repair, business contacts to call, and fish to catch…and I know I won’t get it all done today.  In the mix, I keep meeting opportunities to talk the Gospel.  Whew…what fun!  I know I’m going to die some day…but it won’t be from being bored.
            Have a great day.  I hope you stay full of hope.
                        Love, Dad/Ray
 
26 August 2010
Passage: Romans 15:5-13
Focus: “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace, as you trust him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13
            Two things are for sure:  (1) There is a great deal of hopelessness and despair in our world.  (2)  If we stay close to “the God of hope” we will never be snared and carried away by hopelessness and despair.
            The whole scope of biblical HOPE is a wonderful and important one.  It is a theme that deserves our attention.  But rather than try to expound on it, I’m going to bite my lip and simply list here several scriptures that contain this theme…and let the scriptures speak for themselves.
            Ps. 33:18-22:  But the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love, to deliver them from death and keep them alive in famine.  We wait in hope for the LORD; he is our help and our shield.  In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name.  May your unfailing love rest upon us, O LORD, even as we put our hope in you.
            Ps. 2:5-6:  Why are you downcast, O my soul?  Why so disturbed within me?  Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.  My soul is downcast within me; therefore I will remember you from the land of the Jordan, the heights of Hermon—from Mount Mizar.
            Ps. 130:5:  I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I put my hope.
            Ps. 146:5-6:  Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD his God, the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them—the LORD, who remains faithful forever.
            Ps. 147:10-11:  His pleasure is not in the strength of the horse, nor his delight in the legs of a man; the LORD delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love.
            Isa. 40:30-31:  Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength.  They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.
            Rom. 15:4:  For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.
            Rom. 5:3-5:  Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.  And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.
            Eph. 2:12-13:  …remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world,. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.
            Col. 1:27:  To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
            1 Thes. 1:3:  We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.
            Heb. 6:19:  We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.  It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain.
            Heb. 10:23:  Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.
            1 Jn. 3:2-3:  Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known,  But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.  Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure.
 
            “When you reach heavenward, you never get a handful of mud.”