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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1 Mar 11
Greetings, dear ones.
Things are already heated up around here. Kash has come to work. Becki has just returned from picking up little Kaden and Nicholas for their scheduled two-day stay. And I’m overwhelmed with work. And before I get cracking with that, I’ve agreed with Kaden to take him jogging with me. I sure can’t get out of that now. So here goes another fun-filled Tuesday. Oh yes…I need to take the garbage out by the road when we head out for the jog.
Be blessed. Stay on course.
Love, Dad/Ray
1 March 2011
Proverbs 1
Focus: “The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel.” Proverbs 1:1.
Some knowledge of background is very helpful in understanding what’s what and who’s who. Just to do a little review, Solomon is the son of David, the most revered and renowned king Israel has ever known. David was truly a remarkable man and won the rating as being “a man after God’s own heart” (1 Samuel 13). Yet the perverse adulterous dirty tricks he played to take another man’s wife for his own, even plotting that man’s murder, is enough to make the reader of the account mad enough to want to kill him! I confess that I’ve had some of those thoughts and feelings. It certainly confirms that this “great” man was anything but squeaky-clean and flawless! Some reading the account get so mad at David that they actually extend their anger to God. Why? Because God didn’t blow David away! He didn’t punish him as severely as they think his crime deserved. Instead, God forgave him and even continued to bless him. How in the world can such a rotten scoundrel be called a “man after God’s own heart?!?!”
Hey, folks—I think we need to get this nailed down. And before we get too wound up over how bad David was, or how unjust God’s grace was, it might be a better response to consider that the story actually yields some wonderful encouragement and hope—encouragement that there is hope for you and for me! You see, the description of David as “a man after God’s own heart” is definitely not due to his perversity, but due to his repentance—his facing his sin and casting himself totally on God’s mercy and grace. I hope you are paying attention and connecting vital dots.
Enter Solomon. He was born of Bathsheba and assumed the throne following David. He was another amazing man. You know how that God blessed him with WISDOM and WEALTH as no other human being before or since. Nevertheless, he was human and definitely not flawless. The way I see it, all that WISDOM and WEALTH came together so as to become a virtual curse, offering him an extravagant platform for being the biggest dummy (FOOL) who ever lived. Why? Because he did not maintain that vital HEART AFTER GOD and wandered way off course morally and spiritually—until the end. (I mean—1000 wives! That’s not even intelligent!)
In this first chapter of Proverbs, Solomon makes clear his primary thesis: “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge…(v. 7).” He obviously allowed that thesis to slip from his own grasp and compromised it, becoming very cynical. But listen to his final overview of life at the end of Ecclesiastes. It gives encouraging evidence that Solomon too repented and reclaimed that original vital thesis: “Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil” (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14).
“Repentance is a hearty sorrow for our past misdeeds, and is a sincere resolution and endeavor, to the utmost of our power, to conform all our actions to the law of God. It does not consist in one single act of sorrow, but in doing works meet for repentance; in a sincere obedience to the law of Christ for the remainder of our lives.” - John Locke