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 |
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
25 Mar 11
Dear ones…
Another day is emerging…more rain on the roof. Nevertheless, with or without rain, I’m going to make myself do a jog. I’ve allowed pressures of late to bump that routine.
I really hope you have a great day. Stay clean—even if you have to do some dirty work.
Love, Dad/Ray
25 March 2011
Proverbs 25
Focus: “Like a muddied spring or a polluted well is a righteous man who gives way to the wicked.” Proverbs 25:26.
Pretend that I’m outside spreading some compost fertilizer from the chicken yard in a flower bed, using an old cup to scoop it out of the wheelbarrow and place it where I want. You happen by about then and, after a little chit-chat, you say, “May I bother you for a drink of water?” I say, “Sure, no problem”—and I dump out the remaining contents of the cup, reach for the nearby hose, fill the cup with water, and say, “Here you go.” What would you do? If you were of a reasonably sound mind you would quickly conclude that I wasn’t—and you certainly would not want to drink what I offered. You know what this cup has been doing and containing, and you see the floaties in the water—yuk! Repulsive! That cup’s reputation prevents you from wanting to drink from it.
May I suggest that YOU are a cup—a container of water in the midst of a very thirsty world? You may contain some of the life-giving WATER OF THE WORD, but how pure is the container? Who in the world wants to drink from a dirty cup?
If I come to recognize that I have impurity in my life, who is going to make me clean? Is Satan? Certainly not! Is the world around me? Quite the opposite! Is God going to do it independent of my cooperation? No. But He does provide all the cleansing products for ME to use. So the buck really stops with ME—and with YOU—YOU have to apply the WATER OF THE WORD that contains the high-powered detergent of the Holy Spirit. “’Therefore come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you, I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.’ Since we have promises, dear friends, let us purify OURSELVES from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God” (2 Corinthians 6:17-7:1).
“The serene, silent beauty of a holy life is the most powerful influence in the world, next to the might of the Spirit of God.” - Blaise Pascal