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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25 Nov 10
            Good morning, dear special people.
            It’s another cold one.  But I am THANKFUL.  Sure, I’m surrounded with a lot of mess and challenge, but also with evidence of HIS BLESSING.
            I hope you have a great thankful THANKSGIVING day.  “To God be the glory—great things He hath done!”
                                                                    Love, Dad/Ray
 
25 November 2010
Passage: John 18:1-27
Focus: “The servant’s name was Malchus.”  John 18:10.
            I’m going to do something very different this time.  I’m going to take some of the Biblical facts from this account and spin a bit of fiction from my own imagination.
            Malchus was troubled—more like tormented.  Questions filled his mind like thick smoke—questions he could not seem to answer.  He replayed the events of the last eight hours over and over—and each replay prompted more questions.  But one idea stood out as an immediate plan—one he hoped would help him resolve the rest.  He would simply wait for daylight and return to the Gethsemane grove where he, along with a gang of others who were all hyped up by the priests, were led by one of Jesus’ defecting followers to catch Jesus, arrest him, and take him into custody.  He still couldn’t figure it out.  Was it all a dream?  Was it real?  Or was it a mixture?  Crazy!  
          He clearly recalled the sudden struggle he encountered there—a struggle for his life—when one of the guys with Jesus whipped out a sword and turned violent.  “Since I was closest to him, I guess I became his first target,” he reasoned.  Malchus’ right hand returned to touch his right ear.  There was still the stubborn evidence of blood on his cloak—but his ear was there—really there—when he knew it had been cleanly removed by that guy’s sword—unless it was a dream.  Just bizarre!  (See Luke 22:51)  
          As daylight began to offer definition to his course, he headed out—alone.  It was nearly sunrise when he reached the grove. He had no difficulty locating the very spot where they had encountered Jesus and his followers.  Sure enough—there was the blood—and, oh no—there is was!  It had been trampled into the dirt, but clearly recognizable—a human ear—his ear!  “Oh, no—what do I do now?!” he muttered out loud.  He picked it up with trembling hand and placed it in his satchel.  Whew!  This was certainly not over.  He knew he had some more serious thinking, even praying, to do.
            OK—what would you do?  May I suggest that you carefully examine the evidence—all the evidence—and determine to follow that evidence on to BELIEF?  
 
“Faith is the gate between man’s peril and God’s provision.”