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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8 April 11
Greetings, special people.
Lots on the list for the day. It sure is a pretty one so far…a bit of morning frost, clear and sunny at present…with the creek still going like crazy. If I weren’t so bound and strapped for income, I would head to the mountain as this looks like a day for idyllic ski conditions.
Go ahead and take on your MICRO work—as you maintain you MACRO view. Be blessed.
Love, Dad/Ray
8 April 2011
Proverbs 8
Focus: “I was there when he set the heavens in place, when he marked out the horizon on the face of the deep…” Proverbs 8:27.
Let’s read on through verse 29—“when he established the clouds above and fixed securely the fountains of the deep, when he gave the sea its boundary so the waters would not overstep his command, and when he marked out the foundations of the earth.”
Are you not in awe over the macrocosmic forces swirling all around you—even as I type and you read? Are you not humbled at knowing something of the magnitude and immensity of this CREATED universe as compared with the tiny infinitesimal smallness of YOU? Does it not prompt worship before the ALMIGHTY to recognize that your very existence is so absolutely dependent upon provisions and laws over which you have no control whatsoever?
Just yesterday morning a friend came by to borrow a level. I allowed him to take my fancy self-leveling laser level. Giving some thought to this whole matter of LEVEL or PLUMB prompts some thought along these lines. Level in relation to what? I guess it plays out to be a matter of level in relation to the HORIZON of where you are on the planet. And it’s interesting to consider that LEVEL here in Oregon is certainly not parallel by straight lines with what is LEVEL in Australia.
The fact that we occupy one of the smallest spherical planets in this solar system, traveling without sensation through space at thousands of miles per hour—yet sticking solidly in place—with my head pointing in the direction of people’s feet in India—separated not just by distance, but by vast oceans that basically stay put with predictable precision—it’s all way too marvelous for my little bald head to take in. But it sure is fun and inspirational to try. And, you know what?—I don’t want to stop trying—because I believe to simply treat all these marvelous wonders as “OUT OF SIGHT—OUT OF MIND” is to dull our appreciation of God’s Creative Sovereign Majesty and diminish our FEAR OF THE LORD—which is the beginning of what?
For extra credit, read Psalm 107.
“The mind once stretched by a great idea can never return to its original dimensions.”