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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9 Sept 10
Dear ones…
It’s already 8:47am. And my agenda is big. Better get on
with it.
Love, Dad/Ray
9 September 2010
Passage: Ephesians 3
Focus: “…rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms…” Ephesians 3:10
I am convinced that the Bible is the Word of God and discloses all that
God wants us to know. At the same time, it clearly does not disclose
everything. (Deut 29:29) Nor could our little cranial computers
handle it. The information given is altogether adequate, but we still
“see but a poor reflection as in a mirror” (1 Cor 13:12). There is a
lot of stuff that is simply left out that we just don’t know.
We have a small indicator of such a gap in verses 10 and 11 where at
least one of God’s reasons for performing a plan of salvation for man
is stated—“His intent was that now through the church, the manifold
wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the
heavenly realms, according to his eternal purpose which he accomplished
in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Without our knowing all the details, it
would appear that there is some kind of cosmic wager going on in high
places over the souls of men, which contributes to the conflict between
the Kingdom of God and the kingdom of Satan. We have another small
glimpse of this kind of thing in the book of Job where Satan, while
being the allowed adversary of God, is subservient to God. (That’s an
important point to make right there. Please get your head and heart
wrapped around this vital TRUTH. “What, then, shall we say in response
to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? Rom 8:31)
I’m not going to try to figure it out. But one thing is pretty clear:
YOU AND I ARE NOT ONLY ON DISPLAY BEFORE THE EYES OF MEN, BUT ALSO
BEFORE THE EYES OF BOTH GOOD AND EVIL RULERS AND AUTHORITIES IN THE
HEAVENLY REALMS.
Be reminded of the information and
instructions Paul makes in the 6th chapter of this same epistle.
“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the
full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s
schemes, for our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against
the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark
world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms”
(Eph. 6:10-12).
I don’t know how you process this piece
of revelation insight. But it sure seems to me that if we can grasp
even a portion of this fact, it will go a long way toward prompting us
toward holiness and righteousness before God even when no one is
looking…because there is no such thing as a time or place when NO ONE
is looking. Indeed there is a whole lot more looking out there than
meets the eye. Think about it.
“Satan’s ploys are no match for the Savior’s power.”