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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5 June 11
Greetings, dear people.
Way past my bedtime. Big day. We engaged in four major events in the course of the day. Too much to tell. And my head isn’t working just right at present. It needs a pillow where I do what an old friend described as “checking the inside of his eyelids for light leaks.”
Blessings. Love, Dad/Ray
5 June 2011
Psalm 34
Focus: “The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them.” Psalm 34:7.
This is a terrific psalm. The first four verses produce one of my favorite scripture songs. I wish we could join together and sing it right now. Since we can’t, I’ll simply cite those verses as I learned them, taken mainly from the KJV (King James Version).
“I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.
My soul shall make her boast in the LORD; the humble shall hear thereof and be glad.
O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt His name together.
I sought the LORD and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.”
I was amused to read the introduction to the psalm: “Of David. When he pretended to be insane before Abimelech, who drove him away, and he left.” I checked my Bible Dictionary and there was no mention of Abimelech in relation to David. I looked up the account and read it again in 1 Samuel 21:10-15 and noted that the King of Gath was Achish. So I looked up Achish and eventually learned that both “Abimelch” and “Achish” are not proper names as much as they are titles, similar to the title “Pharaoh.”
One thing for sure, David certainly met up with a lot of wild adventure during his earthly sojourn—dangerous adventure. His whole motivation for feigning insanity was for the sake of his own survival. If he remained in Israeli territory, he knew he could easily be killed by Saul. He also knew that he could easily be killed by the Philistines out of revenge—particularly if he were viewed as a threat. So he played the lunacy card.
Do you think that David’s survival was of his own doing? Do you think he remained alive only because he was such a cunning and skilled warrior? I don’t think so. And the evidence is abundant that David didn’t think so either. He survived and thrived against great odds because “The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them.” There is no other reasonable explanation. David’s HEART AFTER GOD along with God’s protection and heart after David made him virtually invincible—indestructible.
I recall that some Bible scholars speculate that the “angel of the LORD” is actually a description of the pre-incarnate Christ. I don’t have time now to research that and sort it out. Sitting right here, however, I don’t see any good reason to argue against that notion—mainly because I’m also recalling the words of Jesus when He said, “I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). I’m convinced that we who follow Christ are far more protected than we are allowed to know. And the fact that you are still drawing breath can only mean that He’s not finished with you yet.
“Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing.” - Helen Keller