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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8 Dec 10
            Greetings, special people.
            Rain is pounding on the roof again.  It has been on and off all day—sometimes very heavy.
            Whereas my mornings lately have been so congested with work and other things, I haven’t been getting in my jogs.  So I yielded this evening to Becki’s invite to join her in her water aerobics class at the community pool. That made for a decent workout.
            Until next time, keep looking up.  Just about everything I heard on the radio today indicates that our entire world is in desperate shape.  Best to seek the Alpha and Omega!
                        Love, Dad/Ray
 
8 December 2010
Passage: Revelation 1
Focus: “Grace and peace from him who is, and who was, and who is to come…I am the Alpha, and the Omega…the Almighty…I am the First and the Last.”  Revelation 1:4, 8, 17.
            My puny little bald head is trying to take all this in—trying to grasp the scope of what is established and implied here.  Is this truth about THE TRUTH true?  If so, then all of history is truly HIS STORY. It’s all about Him.
            So why in the world do I get all consumed, pre-occupied, and high-centered on ME and MINE when it’s really all about HIM and HIS?!?!  Whew! I’m taking some deep breaths…but I’m still overwhelmed. My perspective has been expanded…again.  I’m lifted from the trap of viewing my little blip of existence through a key hole.  
            This is bigger than I can comprehend, but it only makes good sense that submission to the One Who is the Beginning and the End is wisdom.  To resist or rebel is quite the opposite—can we say stupid?  And speaking of wisdom, I just read Proverbs 8 (Read a chapter of Proverbs for each day of the month—so on the 8th read chapter 8).  That chapter portrays WISDOM as a personality who makes herself available to anyone willing to break away from the stupid crowd and seek her.  Her final appeal in that chapter goes like this: “Blessed is the man who listens to me, watching daily at my doors, waiting at my doorway.  For whoever finds me finds life and receives favor from the Lord.  But whoever fails to find me harms himself; all who hate me love death” (Proverbs 8:35-36).
 
“If ignorance is bliss, why aren’t more people happy?”