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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4 July 11
Greetings, dear ones.
Beautiful day for celebrating America’s Independence Day. But it’s not a real easy setting for doing this kind of writing…with two little boys all over the place…and Thano working at Safeway. After he does return from work, he’ll take custody of his little ones, and Becki and I will be free to join Ray and Lorna Wilson in attending the famous Molalla Buckeroo Rodeo this evening.
Have a good and blessed rest of the day.
Love, Dad/Ray
4 July 2011
Psalm 63
Focus: “Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you.” Psalm 63:3.
Here is another psalm that leaves no room for any doubt as to David’s passionate HEART AFTER GOD. And speaking of passion, let me again state my growing conviction that the only brand of Christianity that works and holds any lasting value is PASSIONATE CHRISTIANITY. Superficial and weak faith produces only superficial and weak results.
Ponder the words in this FOCUS VERSE—“your love is better than life.” As I give my best attention to those words, I have to agree. And that Biblical perspective helps to underscore the greatest tragedy of life—to have life and not have Life—LIFE that is only communicated via the reception of God’s love through the medium of Jesus Christ as Lord.
Consider human life with me and the absurdity of believing the lie of perverse science that asserts that human life is nothing more than an accidental combination of physical matter. If I were to approach someone of that persuasion with a challenge something like the following, I don’t know why it would not be a valid one: “OK, I’d like to ask you to think real careful about you. You are a living being of conscious existence—you breath, you circulate blood that delivers life-perpetuating resources to every part of your body—all without any thought on your part, you see, you hear, you speak, you taste, you smell, you feel, you eat, you digest, you sleep, you think, you reason, you dream, you plan, you create, you make problems, you solve problems, you love, you hate, you get happy, you get angry, you sex, you have the potential for procreation, you make choices, and you probably think I’m nuts. But, please pick up a handful of rocks and dirt. Study it carefully. Please give this your best and most intelligent thought as you consider and prepare to answer this question: WHAT ARE THE ODDS THAT YOUR HANDFUL OF MATTER COULD ADEQUATELY ACCOUNT FOR EVERYTHING WE’VE MENTIONED ABOUT YOU? Don’t be hasty with your answer. And try to avoid just answering according to peer pressure, personal preference, or worldview bias.”
I’ll go ahead and offer my own answer to that question—one I have thought through as carefully as I am able: The odds are absolutely zero! In other words, there is no way to reasonably and adequately account for my existence independent of God. And I believe that my answer is objective and intellectual, as opposed to ideological. It’s not just a matter that my Biblical worldview directs me to that answer, but that answer directs me to my Biblical worldview.
So, is it true that God’s “love is better than life?” If my answer is anything other than YES, I suppose I am essentially saying, “My life and what I want is better and more important than God and what He wants.” But if I answer with a resounding YES, I cannot hold back praise and worship—“my lips will glorify you.”
“Life can only be understood by looking backward, but it must be lived by looking forward.”