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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15 Feb 11
Dear special people.
I’m way behind my schedule. Two little grandkids are already here. If this were an audio message, you’d hear the noise in the background. I’ve talked some with Kash and lined out some of his work. I have a huge list of objectives. So, bye for now.
You certainly don’t have to get down on your knees and stop doing what you’re doing to pray that prayer in Ps. 19:14. Pray that prayer without ceasing and you’ll be fine.
Love, Dad/Ray
15 February 2011
Proverbs 15
Focus: “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.” Proverbs 15:1.
If I had a better memory, I could be pretty fluent with a large volume of jokes and funny stories. I’ve sure heard a lot of them. But there’s one I’ve never forgotten and have repeated many times over the years. It pictures a guy who drops into a chair in front of a psychologist. The psychologist calmly and respectfully asks, “Well, sir, what seems to be your problem?” The guy bangs his fist on the table and with a raised voice and scowl on his face responds, “I just can’t seem to get along with people, ya big fathead!” I wonder why?
While I agree that words have power, I do not conform to the “Word of faith” theology (which some have rephrased as “name it and claim it,” or “blab it and grab it”). Rather than take apart the extremes of that ideology, let’s simply give some attention to how Solomon underscores the power of words in this chapter. I’d like to quote 5 other verses.
VERSE 2: “The tongue of the wise commends knowledge, but the mouth of the fool gushes folly.”
VERSE 4: “The tongue that brings healing is a tree of life, but a deceitful tongue crushes the spirit.”
VERSE 7: “The lips of the wise spread knowledge; not so the hearts of fools.” (It’s good to remember that words are the products of hearts.)
VERSE 23: “A man finds joy in giving an apt reply—and how good is a timely word!”
VERSE 28: “The heart of the righteous weighs its answers, but the mouth of the wicked gushes evil.”
Notice also verse 29 as it relates to words spoken to God: “The LORD is far from the wicked (bad hearts and words) but he hears the prayer (good hearts and words) of the righteous.”
I often refer to David’s prayer in Psalm 19:14. Can you think of a more important heart condition and prayer? “May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.”
“A great anecdote is worth a volume of biography.”