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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31 Jan 11
Good morning, special ones.
Can you believe it! Last day of January! Already!
It’s another big list before me. While my lists can be overwhelming and daunting, I don’t know of any other way to be free of the “OUT OF SIGHT—OUT OF MIND” trap that could mess me up in a hurry if I were to allow it.
We have a lot more adventure ahead of us. Whatever befalls us (and a lot has and will), Becki and I agree that we will do our utmost to not allow the loss of two important commodities of life: (1) The joy of the Lord, and (2) A sense of humor. What about you?
Be blessed today.
Love, Dad/Ray
31 January 2011
Proverbs 31
Focus: “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute.” Proverbs 31:8.
So, who is “King Lemuel”—the stated author of this last chapter of Proverbs? I checked my “Unger’s Bible Dictionary” and learned that nothing is clearly known about this person. It did mention, however: “The rabbinical commentators identify Lemuel with Solomon, which seems the most likely conjecture.” If this is the case, this wise mother who gave him this “oracle” in verses 2 through 9 had to be Bathsheba. She is concerned for the sound-minded, fair, and compassionate rule of her son who is to become king.
In the course of our pastor’s message yesterday, he reported an unconscionable statistic—that the number of known murders of human pre-born babies (abortions) within the USA has now reached 50 million! I can’t get my little head completely wrapped around the magnitude or ugliness of that fact! So, “Turn up the music, pass me another beer, and let’s have some fun!” seems to be a common conditioned response of a people who are more in love with their independent free-for-all of self-centered pleasure than they are with a clean conscience supplied them by a Holy God.
I am inclined to make mention of this horrible reality because it strikes me as one of the best examples of a people group “who cannot speak for themselves.” There are, of course, many other people groups who can be represented by this description.
We may not be literal authoritative kings, but we all rule in measure. May the Lord give us guidance in knowing when and where to lend influence in behalf of “the rights of all who are destitute.” May He help us to avoid attitudes of intentional ignorance and side-stepping of responsibility that is characterized by “OUT OF SIGHT—OUT OF MIND.”
Lord—help us to help others. Amen.
“Abortion is advocated only by those who have themselves been born.” - Ronald Reagan