Insightful Musings on the New Testamentby
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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22 Dec 10
Greetings, dear people.
Here it is…this late in the morning…and I’m still in my jog togs. But I’ve had to deal with a lot of stuff…and talk about a lot of stuff…etc. Thano is already out in the shop doing some work I’ve assigned him before he goes to work at Safeway around noon. I better get out there soon.
I guess I’d better keep moving. I’ve grown up enough to learn that if I don’t get some things done, they don’t get done. Duh!
Have a blessed day and you get your stuff done.
Love, Dad/Ray
22 December 2010
Passage: Revelation 13:11-14:20
Focus: “Because of the signs he was given power to do on behalf of the first beast, he deceived the inhabitants of the earth.” Revelation 13:14.
Let’s reaffirm that the highly refined art and craft of the kingdom of Satan is, in fact, deception. In contrast, the foundational theme of the Kingdom of God is TRUTH. I believe these simple and basic facts are of huge value in helping me sort out the stuff of life and guide me in the right course of action and belief. And it only makes sense that my best protection from deception is to stay as close as I can to the TRUTH.
Remember Matthew 24 where the disciples asked Jesus how they would recognize the end of the age? Do you remember Jesus’ first words of response to that question? He said, “Watch out that no one deceives you” (Matthew 24:4). That can only mean that deception will be a major condition surrounding end times. I think it is important to bear in mind the general fact that a person who is being deceived does not know he is being deceived. And it affirms that I need to be as alert and careful as I can to avoid being duped by any such deception. To do so, I need to employ a filtering standard for determining truth and error that goes beyond appearance, feelings, rhetoric, or even supernatural phenomena.
The second beast in our reading “performed great and miraculous signs, even causing fire to come down from heaven to earth in full view of men” (13:13). It looks to me like an appropriate response to beholding that kind of display is to say, “So what?!”…or “Big deal!” Why? Because a miraculous display is not necessarily a guarantee of TRUTH. His Word is TRUTH (Jn. 17:17). Is that true?
“The surest way to be deceived is to think one’s self more clever than others.” -- French Proverb