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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31 Dec 10
            Good evening, dear people.
            We made it home from our excursion to Seaside—had a good time there. We had breakfast this morning with old friends at Seaside, Richard and Marcia Ralls.
            It’s hard to believe that tomorrow morning will be next year.  And now I have to make a decision as to how or whether or not to proceed with this kind of writing. Any suggestions?
            Good night at 8:22pm.  And have a blessed NEW YEAR.
                        Love, Dad/Ray
 
31 December 2010
Passage: Revelation 22
Focus: “Outside are the dogs…”  Revelation 22:15.
            While I believe that dogs are a special gift of God to men, it is clear that God did not make them in His image and likeness and place them on an equal plain of moral responsibility with humans.  It is, therefore, a perversion of His design to ascribe equality to dogs.  And when men abandon their moral responsibility to their maker, they become dog-like in their approach to living—managing their course by instinct and feeling rather than by principle and belief.
            Within verse 15, Jesus amplifies His use of the term “dogs” with five descriptions that bar people from this heavenly state: (1) “Those who practice magic arts.”  (2) “The sexually immoral.” (3) “The murderers.”  (4) “The idolaters.” (5) “Everyone who loves and practices falsehood.”
            I would judge that the most subtle of all these disqualifying sins is number five—“falsehood.”  According to Jeremiah 17:9, falsehood is part of our human DNA: “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure.  Who can understand it?”  Therefore, I would urge that we individually give very careful attention to this popular human weakness and be intolerant of every form of deception and dishonesty. According to Kingdom standards, it’s very bad stuff!
            Besides this instance, please take note of the emphasis given to this form of sin as this book of Revelation comes to a close.  “…all liars—their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur.  This is the second death” (Revelation 21:8).  “Nothing impure will ever enter it (heaven, the New Jerusalem), nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful…” (Revelation 21:27).
            Finally, be reminded of Jesus words to the Samaritan woman: “Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth (total honesty), for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.  God is a spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth” (John 4:23-24).