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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1 Oct 10
            Greetings, dear ones.
            October 1!  It’s been a whole year since I wrote out that word.  I need to re-train my fingers.  They’re still in the habit of writing “September.”
            When I inspected the sky this morning about 4am, it was a gorgeous clear moon-lit scene.  Now it’s overcast.  What happened?  I guess that’s the way life goes…  But the SON is always shining.  So keep seeking His weather—whether or not the weather is doing what you want. His weather will help you weather life well—including today.
            Have a blessed day.
                        Love, Dad/Ray
 
1 October 2010
Passage: Hebrews 5:11-20
Focus: “Imitate those who…inherit what has been promised.”  Hebrews 6:12.
            The whole verse reads like this: “We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.” Let’s examine the main thoughts.
            DO NOT BECOME LAZY.  No one can legitimately get away with blaming laziness on an inherited disposition.  “My grandfather was lazy.  My father was lazy.  And I just can’t help it—I’m lazy too!”  Let’s agree that laziness is basically a choice—no less than the fact that diligence is a choice.  We simply need to choose which road we will travel.
            IMITATE THOSE WHO DEMONSTRATE FRUIT THAT YOU DESIRE OVER THE LONG HAUL.  Role modeling really is a powerful form of teaching, training, and motivating. It is appropriate for us all to locate people in our world of relationships, or even in history, who inspire us by their lives and the qualities they demonstrate over time.  It is very likely that if we would but copy their views, values, and lifestyle, we could actually reproduce their kind of fruit.  One of the popular problems we see around us, however, is that far too many seem to select crummy role models—and end up with crummy lives.
            FAITH AND PATIENCE.  There is nothing crummy about faith and patience—or diligence with godliness—faithfulness.  These are the very qualities required within the universal law of SOWING AND REAPING that ensure a good harvest.  They protect one from laziness, shame, and the great crime of “crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace” (6:6).  Indeed, this approach serves as “an anchor for the soul, firm and secure” (6:19).  “All other ground is sinking sand.”  Following this course will generate good quality people “who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil” (5:14).
            INHERIT WHAT HAS BEEN PROMISED.  As I think carefully about it, there are very few promises made in any kind of relationship that are truly unconditional. Almost every good promise requires some kind of good action in order to obtain it.  The promises of God are really quite worthless for us personally if we are not willing to pursue their conditions personally.  Be assured that lazy conformity (or compromise) with the world (or with our lazy sinful nature) will never get for us the desirable results that God intends (promises) for His people.  While faith without works is dead, you can be sure that faith with diligence is LIFE—living faith.
 
            “The best incentive plan: GET BUSY, OR YOU’RE FIRED!”