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 has followed, and an archive of all his daily devotional writings for 2010 and 2011.
| Daily Reading Guide | 2011 Devotion Archives | 2010 Devotion Archives |
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2 Jan 10
Greetings, dear people.
It’s already been a very full day. Whew!
I have decided to edit the mailing list I’ve been using for sending these tidbits of literature. I don’t wish to presume that everyone on the present list wants to continue receiving them. So I’m going to ask you to send me a brief response IF YOU WISH TO CONTINUE receiving. In about one week I will simply drop the addresses that don’t respond. That seems reasonable enough to me.
Tomorrow is going to be a full one too. I probably should begin building my list right now.
Have a good night and a blessed first week of the year.
Love, Dad/Ray
2 January 2011
Proverbs 2
Focus: “My son, if…” Proverbs 2:1.
Do you see where I’m going by stopping so abruptly with the “Focus” verse above? It is obvious to me that there is a big IF CLAUSE in this chapter. And the more I think about it, the more it seems consistent with the whole of the Bible. God’s Word presents to us an IF-THEN arrangement—IF YOU WILL—THEN I WILL—or IF YOU DO THIS—THEN YOU WILL GET THIS—or IF YOU DO WHAT YOU CAN in response to His Word, THEN HE WILL DO FOR YOU WHAT YOU CANNOT DO.
In this case it takes the first 4 verses of chapter 2 to establish the IF side of the equation, and the next 7 verses to expound on the THEN. It is particularly noteworthy how the THEN section begins. It actually makes a perfect circle right back to the main premise that we addressed yesterday—“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge” (Proverbs 1:7).
In order to best catch the point that inspires me, I want to quote the first 5 verses, highlighting the IF and THEN terms. “My son, IF you accept my words and store up my commands within you, turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding, and IF you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, and IF you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, THEN you will understand the FEAR OF THE LORD and find the knowledge of God.”
I have to draw this conclusion: I cannot achieve real wisdom without the fear of the LORD—and I cannot achieve the fear of the Lord without wisdom. They are as closely related as “heads” and “tails” are to a coin.
“Many complain of their money—few of their judgment.”