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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24 Dec 10
Merry Christmas, dear people.
7:32am is the current time on this Friday morning. There is a good deal on our agenda for the day. There are some final preparations to do, a Christmas lunch at Wilsons, a Candle Light Service at the church, and a late evening planned with friends.
May your celebration and activities be blessed as you honor THE SAVIOR WHO IS CHRIST THE LORD!
Love, Dad/Ray
24 December 2010
Passage: Revelation 16
Focus: “Go, pour out the seven bowls of God’s wrath on the earth.” Revelation 16:1.
On this day before Christmas, we are presented with the theme of God’s wrath. Doesn’t seem quite fitting, does it? However, an overview of Biblical revelation would indicate that the Christmas story is really one that discloses God’s plan and provision for escape from exactly that—the super bowls of God’s wrath.
It is good to consider how big GOD’S WRATH really is. If, for some reason, my neighbor gets mad at me, it’s most likely no big deal since he has limited resources for giving me a bad time. But if I make the Sovereign God of the universe mad—a Who has unlimited resources—man, that’s a different story—that’s a BIG deal—that’s HELL!
I’ve been inspired with Psalm 16:11:“…in thy presence is fullness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.” That’s really a description of heaven. But turn that around into its converse and you have a description of hell that could read this way: “To reject relationship with the Almighty when He has done so much to invite it and provide for it causes one to receive His justice, anger, trouble, and misery for evermore.”
There are those who like to make fun of the narrow-sounding “turn or burn” rhetoric of some passionate gospel preachers. But my processing of Biblical revelation would conclude that that message is a whole lot more accurate than the mushy “unconditional love” message of others. I’m convinced that God’s love is extremely conditional. This passage supports that fact—and hell is proof. The only options before us really are TURN—or BURN. (And look at the 4th bowl. Talk about global warming!)
I’ve said it many times before—and I’ll say it again: THE REASON THE GOOD NEWS IS SO GOOD IS BECAUSE THE BAD NEWS IS SO BAD.
“Never judge a summer resort by its postcards.”