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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17 September 2010
Passage: Philippians 2:19-3:11
Focus: “I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection…” Philippians 3:10.
            We don’t normally think of the word “the” as being one that is full of inspiration and encouragement.  But it occurred to me the other day, while meditating on these things, that “the” could be, in fact, one of the most inspiring words in the Bible.  Take for example Jesus words in John 11:25-26: “I am THE resurrection and THE life.”  He is not A resurrection or LIKE a resurrection or symbolic of resurrection.  HE IS THE RESURRECTION!—WITHOUT WHOM THERE IS NO RESURRECTION!  And He is not A life, or life-LIKE, or representative of life.  HE IS THE LIFE!—WITHOUT WHOM THERE IS NO LIFE!  This is either a bunch of idealistic overstatement—or it is THE TRUTH (which is also what Jesus claimed to be!).
            Since Paul has been enabled to comprehend a measure of this TRUTH, is it any wonder, that he would make this revolutionary confession of faith and priority? “I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.”
            Please ponder.
 
            “Suffering from TRUTH decay?  BRUSH up on your Bible!”