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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3 Nov 10
            Dear ones…
            It’s another pretty scene out this window.  Of course it would be prettier if we would just take time to clean the window.  Oh well…some day.  Following the recent rains, there’s a pretty serious flow in the creek.  We regularly refer to it as “the river.”
            Lots on the agenda.  I need to punch out more cedar boards with the sawmill, etc., etc., etc.
            Be blessed.  Be a disciple.
                        Love, Dad/Ray
 
3 November 2010
Passage:  John 6:1-24
Focus:  “…and a great crowd of people followed him because they saw the miraculous signs he had performed on the sick.”  John 6:2
            Their motivation for seeking out and following Jesus is revealed.  I guess there’s nothing really wrong with that as an initial motivation—as long as they come to recognize that all these miraculous signs were not an END, but A MEANS TO AN END.  And what is the END to which miraculous signs should be a MEANS?  To recognize and accept that Jesus is the Christ of God and man’s only hope of eternal life (salvation).
            While the crowd may have expected to behold more miracles done to the sick, they never dreamed they would get in on a miracle feast.  Apparently that miracle on the heels of preceding miracles generated a movement within the crowd that determined to make Jesus their king.  They probably were not as concerned with whether or not He was the Messiah as they were with the fact that He did super-duper miracles that could meet all their medical and material needs.  They figured they couldn’t find a better candidate to serve as their king.
            More miracles were yet to come for the disciples.  While they were trying to make their way across the sea in very difficult condition, Jesus came walking up to their boat on the water.  You have to admit—that’s rather unusual.  Then when He got into the boat, suddenly, without warning or explanation, they found themselves at the shore of their destination.  It was all done with the divine intention of confirming WHO Jesus was.
            Jesus’ disciples went on from these miracles to mature and serve in their conviction that Jesus was indeed man’s only hope for salvation from sin. Why?  BECAUSE THEY WERE DISCIPLES!  So I simply recommend that we make sure that we are that—DISCIPLES in the truest sense of the word—not following those who follow Jesus just for the show and material benefits.
 
“He is wise who learns to obey where others tend to go astray.”