2007 picture of Ray SparreInsightful 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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15 Nov 10
            Greetings, special people.
            It looks pretty dark and wet out there…but not really raining.  I’ll go check it out in a few minutes when I launch my jog.  The time is presently 7:50am.
            I sure have a long list of objectives.  Between signs, sawing, and scrambling around with the stuff in between, I stay pretty busy.
            He is Lord—even of this day.
                        Love, Dad/Ray
 
15 November 2010
Passage: John 11:17-57
Focus: “Do you believe this?”  John 11:25.
            I urge you to take time to memorize these two verses—John 11:25-26: “I am the resurrection and the life.  He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.  Do you believe this?”
            Notice that the condition to this awesome promise is “He who believes in me.” So I hereby repeat Jesus’ question: “Do you (I mean YOU) believe this?”—and what He said?  If your answer happens to be something like, “Mostly yes…but not fully,” a good follow-up question would be, “What would it take to influence you to fully believe?”  Notice that for some in this narrative—those who did not want to believe—even seeing a dead man raised to life was insufficient to convince them.  But the wonderful benefit to those who really believe, any and all reasons for fearing death is now completely removed.  I’ll choose that over the alternatives any day!
            Let’s review some key exchanges in this passage.  Jesus said to Martha, “Did I not tell you that IF YOU BELIEVED, you would see the glory of God?” (v. 40).  Then Jesus prayed while standing before the open tomb of Lazarus, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me.  I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, THAT THEY MAY BELIEVE that you sent me” (vv. 41-42).  Many of the people “who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, PUT THEIR FAITH IN HIM (believed)” (v. 45).  But the angry and frustrated Jewish leaders exclaimed, “If we let him go on like this, EVERYONE WILL BELIEVE IN HIM (Oh—how terrible!), and then the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation” (v. 48). Do you see what’s going on here?  These guys are now fabricating the appearance of a noble concern for their nation as smoke screen for justifying their hatred of Jesus.  “So from that day on they plotted to take his life” (v. 53).  Such is the natural outcome of refusing to believe.  Indeed, no one can peacefully coexist with the claims of Christ without believing.
            Why is believing so critically important?  Because BELIEF DETERMINES BEHAVIOR—and BEHAVIOR CONFIRMS BELIEF.  For “faith (belief) without deeds (evidential behavior) is dead (worthless, not true)” (James 2:26).
            In chapter 6 of John, Jesus presents Himself as THE BREAD OF LIFE (6:35).  In chapter 7 He claims to be LIVING WATER (7:37-38).  In chapter 8 He is THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD (8:12).  In chapter 9 Jesus clearly states that He is THE SON OF MAN (MESSIAH) (9:35-37).  In chapter 10 Jesus says He is THE GOOD SHEPHERD (10:14).  And now in chapter 11, Jesus states that He is THE RESURRECTION AND THE LIFE (11:25).  The BIG question remains: DO YOU BELIEVE THIS?
 
“Part-time belief, like a part-time job, will not fully support you.”