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 Mar 11
Gninrom doog, dear ones.
Sorry. Lots of things are kind of upside-down and backwards...including our government and world…so I decided to say “Good morning” backwards. Whatever.
I made a little blooper yesterday with the date…stating it was the 14th when it was really the 15th. Oh well. I probably make a lot more bloopers than I/we catch.
I have to be ready to move in and set up our business presentation display tomorrow morning…so I’m strapped with a lot of detail work. Should be interesting. It will consume the entire weekend. I’m not sure about how I’ll get off these devotionals during that time frame. More adventure.
Be good. Be blessed. Love, Dad/Ray.
16 March 2011
Proverbs 16
Focus: “Through love and faithfulness sin is atoned for; through the fear of the LORD a man avoids evil.” Proverbs 16:6.
Turn LOVE AND FAITHFULNESS around into their opposites of HATRED (at least less than love) AND DISLOYALTY and you have a sure-fire recipe for conflict and breakdown in human relationships. Thankfully such violations and broken relationships can be repaired and restored through sincere contrite attitudes of LOVE AND FAITHFULNESS if both parties participate.
But let’s think beyond the little “sins” that mess up people-to-people relationships and give some attention to BIG SIN that separates a man from God. It occurs to me that whether we come at it from the God side or the human side, the statement remains valid—THROUGH LOVE AND FAITHFULNESS SIN IS ATONED FOR. It makes sense to me that without God’s incredible LOVE AND FAITHFULNESS there would be no ATONEMENT. And without man’s LOVE for God and FAITHFULNESS (full of faith) to Him there would be no effective ATONEMENT benefits for him personally. Consider: (1) THE GOD SIDE. “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!” (1 John 3:1) “For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations” (Psalm 100:5). (2) THE HUMAN SIDE. “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and will all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment” (Matthew 22:37-38). “Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful” (1 Corinthians 4:2).
Through a respectful fear of gravity, a man avoids jumping unassisted from tall buildings. Duh! And THROUGH THE FEAR OF THE LORD A MAN AVOIDS EVIL.
“Did you hear about the undertaker who closed his letters with the words— ‘Eventually Yours?’”