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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13 Feb 11
Greetings, special people.
I’ve already done a jog with Kaden (grandson, age 2 ∏) and Max (dog, age 3 ∏), and had my breakfast. Now I need to get on with preparing for church, etc.
May your day be blessed.
Love, Dad/Ray
13 February 2011
Proverbs 13
Focus: “A man’s riches may ransom his life, but a poor man hears no threat.” Proverbs 13:8.
I like the rendering of this verse in the Living Bible—“Being kidnapped and held for ransom never worries the poor man!” So, I’m not very worried. I also like the way the Living Bible paraphrase translation puts the verse just before—verse 7: “Some rich people are poor, and some poor people have great wealth!” It’s with this paradoxical spin that I’d like give some further attention.
Jesus made use of this paradox in the parable of “The Rich Fool” in Luke 12:21. This guy was very successful in business and accumulated a lot of wealth. After many years, he developed this retirement plan and said to himself, “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.” That’s what he said. That’s what a lot of people still say. They may think they’re pretty smart at developing such a plan. But then Jesus presents God as speaking. He always has the last word, you know. Rather than calling him smart or wise, God says, “You fool! This very night your life will be demanded of you.” Heart attack? Snake bite? Fell off a ladder? Car wreck? Whatever. At the end of the story, Jesus adds, “This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God.” Hover over the phrase “rich toward God” and ask, “How rich am I, really?”
Another verse further into Proverbs 13 catches my attention in this regard—verse 22: “A good man leaves an inheritance for his children’s children.” If it were a requirement of me to leave a big estate measured in money to my grandkids, then they will certainly end up being deprived and bummed—and I would have to render myself a gross failure. But if I can get a handle on TRUE RICHES (Please take time to read Luke 16:10-11)—being “rich toward God,” then I have reason to believe they can be most significantly benefitted. That (I’ll say it again) is one of my primary motives for composing these Bible-based ideas in writing, so that they may be preserved for posterity. Sorry, kids, but this is my primary form of estate planning.
“A penny goes a long way today.
You can carry it around for weeks before you find something you can buy with it.”