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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21 July 11
Hello in the afternoon, dear people.
Once again, a lot of things got in the way of sending this earlier in the day. Sawmilling work, log work, chainsaw troubleshooting and repair, sign work…whatever it takes. I even checked out a small building project for a small park.
Earlier, about 2:45am, we were brought awake with Max just outside out bedroom… he was going nuts yipping and barking…obviously chasing a critter around. I didn’t want to…but I finally got up and did what I expected…administered a bit of lead poisoning to a big raccoon that Max had cornered under our back deck. Those critters are bad news to our chickens. Max was so pumped full of adrenaline surrounding that combat, it took a long time for him to settle down.
Have a blessed evening. Love—Dad/Ray
21 July 2011
Psalm 80
Focus: “Restore us, O God; make your face shine upon us, that we may be saved.” Psalm 80:3.
The kind of backsliding that damages one’s relationship with God is never a sudden event, but a slow process—a gradual indifference brought on by gradual neglect. The same kind of falling away and falling apart happens in marriages—once sweet and intimate, slowly becoming sour (at least dull) and distant. A wise believer recognizes this natural and subtle cause and effect and takes measures to protect and maintain. A wise spouse does the same.
Here lies the great value of memory and history. Things are going bad—but remember how it used to be? That is exactly the method that Asaph is exercising to reach a diagnosis for Israel’s sickness. It’s a simple comparison of the past with the present—and suddenly lights come on, understanding kicks in, errors and mistakes are identified, and remedial action is engaged. “We used to be vibrant and healthy, but now we’re suffering and sick. We need revival!” Good deduction.
No—you can’t go back to “the good old days.” But yes—you can reflect on “the good old days” so as to examine what went right, what went wrong, and why. It can have huge value in managing your present. And to be sure, we all need revival—continual revival—daily revival. “Restore us, O God; make your face shine upon us, that we may be saved.”
“As we must account for every idle word, so we must for every idle silence.”