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.
| Sparre Home Page | Daily Reading Guide | 2011 Devotion Archives | 2010 Devotion Archives |
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
26 April 11
Good morning, dear fellow-sojourners.
Another day of adventure is before us. What will it hold? We’ll soon find out.
Garbage out, picking up grandkids, truck brakes repair, sign job appointment, lining out sawmilling, overseeing a planer operation, signing tax forms, etc., etc., etc…not to mention the need to decide what to do about a garden, how to straighten our messy space, follow through on unfinished projects, and what to do regarding some other business opportunities. Whew!
Have a great day in the morning…and afternoon…as you keep your mind “stayed on Him.”
Love, Dad/Ray
26 April 2011
Proverbs 26
Focus: “Like one who seizes a dog by the ears is a passer-by who meddles in a quarrel not his own.” Proverbs 26:17.
Speaking of grabbing dogs, I’m going to risk taking you to one of my memory chambers and present one of my “rare and beautiful treasures” (Proverbs 24:3-4). It may be kind of rare, but it’s not very beautiful—in fact I think it’s rather shameful. This incident happened early in my missionary experience on the small island of Ebeye in the Kwajelein Atoll of the Marshall Islands—about 1973. I was there with a group of missionary peers studying the Marshallese language. I was not a very good cultural anthropologist at the time—and while attending one of our evening church services, I became irritated with this stinking mangy dog that was allowed to wander in and out of the building and was laying right near my feet. I guess my own cultural baggage influenced me to view that lousy critter as a kind of defiling desecration of “the House of God.” I bumped the dog with my foot in hopes he would get the message of being unwelcome and leave. Instead he snapped at me, also irritated that I would have the audacity to disturb him. Now he pressed a button, and my irritation escalated to anger. The scene intensified as neither dog nor human was willing to yield to the other. I didn’t really want to cause a scene—but I sure did! I finally grabbed him and picked him up to carry him out—thinking this guy has to go, and I would show him who had the upper hand! Suddenly I was involved in a dogfight! I was not only angry now—but stubborn—not about to back off now! I succeeded in carrying him out—but he sure didn’t go quietly—and the service in progress had to pause while this crazy visiting missionary had to finish his dogfight. Outside, I raised the yelping, snapping fur bag over my head and slammed him to the ground. “Take that!” He did—and managed to get up and run off howling. My hands and forearms were all scarfed up and bleeding. It really wasn’t a very fair fight—I mean, I never bit him—but he sure bit me! I returned to the house where we were staying and did my best to dress my wounds—and modify my perspectives. Was it worth it?
Let’s hear it again: “Like one who seizes a dog by the ears is a passer-by who meddles in a quarrel not his own.” I was a PASSER-BY visitor meddling in someone else’s culture. If the local pastor and people were OK with mangy dogs in the building, how could I hope to impose my values? The point is, I have my hands full disciplining myself, and should not be wasting my time and effort trying to discipline someone else’s culture—and dogs.
Do Jesus’ words relate? “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?...You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye” (Matthew 7:3-5). To be sure, keeping my eyes free of offending sawdust is a constant ongoing challenge. This QUARREL is MY OWN.
“He who conquers others is strong; he who conquers himself is mighty.” - Lao-tzu