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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31 Oct 10
            Greetings, dear people.
            We have Halloween upon us…the last day of the month.  It’s been a full day.  It’s been a fun day.  It’s been a good day. We enjoyed the presence of 4 couples around our lunch table.  I’ll name them as some of you will know them:  Elvin and Eunice Huston, Mick and Darlene Owings, Ray and Lorna Wilson, and of course, the two of us. Great fellowship.
            When I wake up in the morning, it will be November…soon it will be December…then the year will end.  Wow!  Even though I’m overwhelmed with the speed of passing time, it’s good to know that our times are in His hands.
            God richly bless you and yours.
                        Love, Dad/Ray
           
 
31 October 2010
Passage: John 4:27-54
Focus: “Could this not be the Christ?”  John 4:29.
            Notice what this woman did not do.  She did not run back to the village and proclaim, “Hey, folks, listen up!  I found the Christ!  You must go out to meet Him!”  Very likely most who heard such words would have responded, “Oh sure—right!”—and would have carried on with what they were doing.  But what this woman did do is (1) she gave a brief word of testimony of what Jesus had said and done to her, and (2) she appealed to the interest and curiosity side of people by simply raising the question, “Could this not be the Christ?”  I think we can learn a lesson or two from her.
            I remember very little of a course in Philosophy that I took a long time ago.  But I do remember that the professor was quite fond of the Greek philosopher/teacher, Socrates.  I remember that Socrates was a skilled technician in asking questions that would lead a student to desired logical conclusions.  This form of teaching and learning has come to be known as the Socratic Method.  It has, in many cases, proved to be far more effective than the cold, cut-and-dried lecture method.  It’s a method that the woman at the well used with her villagers.  And it was highly successful.  Many who went out to see and hear Jesus came to exclaim to this woman, “We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world” (John 4:42).
            Allow me to end up with a question: Can you think of some good questions to ask and raise in the minds of people you know or meet that could lead them to investigate for themselves the claims of Christ and the validity of God’s Word?
 
“Something is fishy if we are not fishing for men.”