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 |
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3 June 11
Good morning, dear ones.
I’ve already been out, grabbed a few logs with the track hoe, bucked them up, and set them beside the sawmill so Kash can zip them up. Things developed faster than I could keep up and I didn’t get in my jog.
In spite of it being clear and bright outside, the creek is running full and dirty with all the rain that has been bathing the place. Has Spring finally sprung? If it dries more, maybe we can get the garden tilled up and planted.
We finally took time to watch a documentary video last evening—AGENDA. I would highly recommend it. Go to www.agendadocumentary.com to check it out or order. Things are definitely heating up…and America is basically like the frog…
Blessings on your day. Love, Dad/Ray
3 June 2011
Psalm 32
Focus: “Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.” Psalm 32:1.
I cannot come up with a more attractive description of human condition than “BLESSED.” It’s a condition that indicates right (righteous) relationship with the Sovereign God. And whereas my Biblical worldview understands that this is NOT man’s natural condition, I believe it’s appropriate to turn this declaration around into a negative IF NOT form that could go like this: “Condemned or cursed is he whose transgressions are NOT forgiven (who is so deceived that he thinks he doesn’t need forgiveness), whose sins are still outstanding.” So after all is said and done, after the dust settles and life ends, here are the only two conditions possible—FORGIVEN/BLESSED or UNFORGIVEN/CONDEMNED.
I’m reminded of the story Jesus told about two guys who went to the temple to pray—an arrogant religious Pharisee and a depraved but repentant tax collector. You can read it in Luke 18:9-14. I just read that account again and it’s most interesting to see how Jesus described the prayer of the Pharisee—he “stood up and prayed about himself.” That is, he spoke to God in praise of himself. His attitude said, “God, you sure are lucky to have me on this planet—look at me—I’m about as good as it gets—certainly not like that tax collector jerk over there.” He was absolutely deceived by his own natural condition (which is deception according to Jeremiah 17:9). In contrast, the penitent tax collector was humble before God and said, “God, have mercy on me, a sinner” (Luke 18:13). He came to recognize his true natural condition before a Holy God. Jesus said, “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified (BLESSED) before God” (Luke 18:14). Think of it—pride gets UNFORGIVENESS AND CONDEMNATION while repentant humility gets FORGIVENESS AND BLESSING. Bottom line: HUMILITY seeks God—PRIDE seeks self.
Three great benefits of the BLESSED are cited in this Psalm: (1) PURGED OF DECEIT. “Blessed is the man whose sin the LORD does not count against him and in whose spirit is no deceit” (v. 2). (2) HIDING PLACE, PROTECTION. “You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance” (v. 7). (3) UNFAILING LOVE. “Many are the woes of the wicked, but the LORD’S unfailing love surrounds the man who trusts in him” (v. 10). For the life of me, I can’t figure out any good reason why anyone would choose to reject these benefits.
“One may go wrong in many directions, but right in only one.”