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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12 Mar 11
Greetings, special ones.
I’ll return to the breakfast table after launching this. Little Kaden and Nicholas are there (Thano’s two little ones). I’ve already done a jog with Kaden. He thoroughly enjoys those excursions with me and Max (the dog). There’s a lot on the agenda today…some of which is preparatory for the kick-off of the idea I refer to below. I’ve got a time-line to follow…with this Thursday as the deadline for setting up my presentation.
Also on my agenda is the need to complete all the finishing touches on at least one of the 5 garden sheds we’ve made up recently. I want to get it parked by the road with a FOR SALE sign on it. They’re kind of neat little buildings. We’ll see what happens.
Have fun with your day. Be blessed.
Love, Dad/Ray
12 March 2011
Proverbs 12
Focus: “He who works his land will have abundant food, but he who chases fantasies lacks judgment.” Proverbs 12:11.
I’m viewing this statement as both a principle and a promise. To be very honest with you, I’m embracing it as though it were a life jacket while navigating a difficult passage in stormy sea conditions—or as a parachute while flying in a plane with one of its two engines malfunctioning. Insofar as our present financial and business status is concerned, that’s just about the size of it. We’re stretching ourselves and investing hard work, time, and resources in an idea that we are still not absolutely sure will take off and thrive. The end of this month should give us a pretty good idea as to whether these ideas will float and fly—or sink and crash. The point is, this experimental business expansion idea will help to determine whether we are on a course to HAVE ABUNDANT FOOD (and realize some long-range goals), or whether we have merely conformed to the style of HE WHO CHASES FANTASIES. On the other hand, we are not all freaked out and growing ulcers. Our level of trust is bigger than that. But you can understand why one of our favorite songs right now is “WITH CHRIST IN OUR VESSEL WE CAN SMILE AT THE STORM.” And speaking of songs, very often of late I will pick up my guitar after delivering morning tea to Becki in bed, and we sing together, “The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases. His mercies never come to an end. They are new every morning, new every morning. Great is Thy faithfulness, O LORD! Great is Thy faithfulness!”
So what does it mean to WORK YOUR LAND? I take it to mean a good deal more than acquiring a piece of property that you maintain and develop into an income-generating state. In the sense that I believe God intends here, YOU ARE A PIECE OF LAND! He has planted in you a unique blend of giftings, interests, talents, aptitudes, ideas, “creative juices,” and resources—with the assignment to use them, not just to meet your own needs, but to honor and serve Him. And to neglect their development and use is to choose a course that is well below your potential.
CHASING FANTASIES is definitely a common lifestyle. It’s like having a bunch of wishes and dreams but failing to assemble and implement any kind of realistic practical plan for achieving those wishes and dreams. An extreme example could be one who uses up the remainder of his Welfare check to buy lottery tickets—when he isn’t at home eating pizza, drinking beer, and watching TV—all the while dreaming about some day owning a horse ranch. (Isn’t it sad that even our US Government preys off and promotes an addiction to CHASING stupid FANATASIES.)
A couple other verses in this chapter stand out to me in this regard. Verse 14: “From the fruit of his lips a man is filled with good things as surely as the work of his hands rewards him.” Verse 24: “Diligent hands will rule, but laziness ends in slave labor.”
The adventure goes on.
“Imagination is more important than knowledge.” - Albert Einstein