Insightful Musings on the Scripturesby
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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23 Jan 11
Good morning, dear people.
Obviously I didn’t send my devotional production for yesterday. So here’s another double. Hope it doesn’t cause too much overload.
There’s a lot of stuff awaiting my attention…so I better get on with it.
Have a great day!
Love, Dad/Ray
23 January 2011
Proverbs 23
Focus: “Do not let your heart envy sinners, but always be zealous for the fear of the LORD.” Proverbs 23:17.
Functioning as a blood pump, my physical heart pretty much does what it wants to do. I don’t seem to have much control over it. I’d be in trouble if I was required to remember to voluntarily beat my heart. God knew I’d forget—so He made it involuntary. But when it comes to my psycho-spiritual heart, the central control center of my mind and emotions, I am highly responsible.
“Do not let your heart envy sinners.” So when it does, slap it up side the left ventricle and tell it to stop it! Well, that’s hardly how it works, but discipline is definitely called for—self discipline. That’s what self-discipline is all about, you know—controlling the heart—that is the mind and emotions.
The second part of the theme verse deserves our attention: “Always be zealous for the fear of the LORD.” How often is “always?” All the time. But zeal is not easily maintained on a constant basis—not even “zeal for the fear of the LORD.” If this is true, I believe that some deliberate choices and commitments must be made to a feeding plan for zeal—otherwise it will simply become starved, weakened, and die. That’s why a daily routine intake of The Word is so very important. God’s Word is a vital resource for the right kind of zeal.
Romans 12:11 is a parallel exhortation: “Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.”
Personally, I don’t think the Christian life is designed to work very well without zeal—a synonym for PASSION.
“Become a chronic enthusiast!”