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 |
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
31 Mar 11
Greetings, dear people.
I sure had no idea I would be into tree climbing yesterday when I sent out my devotional. But I was…and it got a bit wild. And right now I need to get over to Camp Adams to take on some creative logging. I’ll be targeting a bunch of cedar logs that are already on the ground. My skid steer is on the trailer and ready to go to work. So I better go now. Bye.
Love, Dad/Ray
31 March 2011
Proverbs 31
Focus: “A wife of noble character who can find?” Proverbs 31:10.
Good question? But here’s another question: “A husband—or even a person, no matter their gender—of noble character who can find?” If we understand the fact and reality of an inherent NATURAL SIN NATURE that afflicts us all, we have to applaud the grace of God and the wise godly choices of a person who makes it into the class of nobility—the class of NOBLE CHARACTER.
You will not likely find NOBLE CHARACTER represented in glamour, cover-girl, or soft porn magazines. You will find some very attractive tantalizing beauty, but if you were to explore and research real character sketches behind those pretty faces, you would normally find moral bankruptcy. So from my perspective as a Christian male, there is nothing more beautiful and attractive in the mature female community than a female-looking woman who is able to combine that look with NOBLE CHARACTER. In fact, plainness is transformed into amazing beauty when this combination is made.
Verse 30 presents the core quality that makes this woman (or anyone else, for that matter) so outstanding. “Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.” On the basis of the fundamental principle that THE FEAR OF THE LORD IS THE BEGINNING OF WISDOM, it follows that this woman would be a wise and excellent performer in her role as wife, mother, creative businesswoman, and member of the community.
Our world sure could use some more Proverbs 31 women! And how about some more Proverbs 31-like men?!
“A beautiful lady is an accident of nature. A beautiful old lady is a work of art.” - Louis Nizer