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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16 Feb 11
Dear special people.
I hope I don’t cause you to be frazzled by always indicating the hurry and pressure I feel at the outset of the day. But this is certainly the case again this morning. I need to line out some things here, then hurry to the mill to pick up a load of logs and get them transformed into full dimension 2x8s that a guy just ordered this morning…who gives the order an URGENT rating. At least it’s income-producing pressure.
Keep seeking and trusting.
Love, Dad/Ray
16 February 2011
Proverbs 16
Focus: “To man belong the plans of the heart, but from the LORD comes the reply of the tongue.” Proverbs 16:1.
The Message Bible puts it this way: “Mortals make elaborate plans, but God has the last word.”
At this point in our aging lives, we certainly have a lot of plans. They are putting us on another wild ride of adventure. Of course, that is consistent with the name we gave to our business—SAGA ENTERPRISES, INC. A “saga,” as you know, is an exciting tale of adventure. That has definitely been the nature of our course since deciding to attempt self-employment in 2001 following Thano’s head injury. I can offer no other bottom-line explanation for our relative success or survival than to affirmatively say, “God has helped us—God has intervened—God has blessed!” Yes, there has been a lot of diligence and hard work, but I’m convinced that all that effort would not have been adequate in itself. So here we are—making more plans—plans to stretch ourselves further and expand our business—in the middle of a recession?! How wild is that?! Our long-range plans are not just to build a big nest egg for retirement. But we have back-burner plans or dreams to build our financial base to the level that would allow us to implement some other overseas missionary plans.
This little disclosure of our personal lives can give you some insight into why this theme of seeking God’s approval and blessing is so important to me. My hunch is that this resonates with you too. Psalm 127:1 puts the general idea this way: “Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain.” In like manner, unless the LORD adds His blessing to these plans, it’s just a big exercise in futility!
Verse 3 offers another encouraging bit of related advice: “Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.”
Verse 9 is more of the same: “In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps.”
Finally, notice verse 33: “The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD.” This is not to presume that God is bent on controlling every flip of a coin, but it’s another way to affirm that God administers blessing to those who seek Him and His righteousness.
I do not wish to guarantee that our current business adventures (risks) will take off and sky-rocket with dramatic success. After all, verse 8 gives another angle of judgment: “Better a little with righteousness than much gain with injustice”…or with faulty plans. But I am saying that I’m BANKING on this principle of life and business.
“For a hundred that can bear adversity there is hardly one that can bear prosperity.” - Thomas Carlyle