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 Aug 11
Dear special people.
Yes…it’s been several days since I’ve pumped out a devotional. Lots of water under the bridge (and under the boat too). Lots of work pressure, preparation for getting off to our college reunion in Sedro Wooley, then we did a great get-away with 3 other couples on Orcas Island in the San Juan group. I towed my old boat up there and it served us well. It was all more perfect and idyllic than anyone could have planned or anticipated. All of us are thinking we might like to try it again next year. It will definitely be a tough act to follow. There is nothing more fun than God-centered fellowship that is characterized by mutual love, acceptance, and respect with the total absence of tensions. I think there are many who have no idea what that is like.
We returned last evening. Now we face the pressure to catch up and get up to speed with the work load. Once again, I can’t be sure I can keep up with producing these compositions. We’ll see.
Be blessed. Be wise. Love—Dad/Ray.
4 August 2011
Psalm 94
Focus: “Judgment will again be founded on righteousness, and all the upright in heart will follow it.” Psalm 94:15.
Whew! This psalm has hit me with waves of inspiration in such volume that I can only begin to relate here. It’s still more than I intended.
In the course of some casual conversation yesterday morning surrounding the conclusion of a wonderful vacation excursion, one of our friends, Bill King, commented on his application of Proverbs 4:23 as it relates to integrity in business and the importance of maintaining a clear conscience. The more I have thought of that since, the more profound and expanding that spin has become. Let me quote that verse here: “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life (NIV).” The KJV puts it this way: “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.”
It is reasonable for me to believe that the Biblical use of the word “heart” would include more than just emotions and affections, but integrity, a clear conscience, as well as a careful maintenance of the gift of objective reasoning or intelligence. In other words, the “heart” encompasses the whole sector of human psychology for which we are personally responsible and accountable before our Creator. So we can say, “Keep your affections and values, your clear conscience and integrity, your character and your attitudes, your objective reasoning and general intelligence, with all diligence, since from those formations everything else in your life is formed.”
If we can agree that the word “judgment” in the FOCUS VERSE involves the function of the mind to make determinations about what is good and bad, right and wrong, and that “righteousness” means that which is true and correct by God’s standards (as opposed to human opinion), then a case for personal responsibility is made—responsibility to make intelligent use of the gifting of intelligence that God has given. So here is that axiom again—THINK RIGHT (righteous, wise), LIVE RIGHT (righteous, wise)—THINK WRONG (wicked, foolish), LIVE WRONG (wicked, foolish). It’s really quite simple math. It’s a matter of fundamental cause and effect.
I can’t be sure this is making as much sense to you as it is to me. All I know is that when a person loses or abandons the God-given gift of intelligence, that person loses something of crucial importance. Without diligence, potential intelligent wisdom too easily degrades to stupid foolishness. It is to this non-diligent person that the psalmist here appeals in verses 8 through 11: “Take heed, you senseless ones among the people; you fools, when will you become wise? Does he who implanted the ear not hear? Does he who formed the eye not see? Does he who disciplines nations not punish? Does he who teaches man lack knowledge? The LORD knows the thoughts of man; he knows that they are futile.”
Think about those lines—in your wildest imagination, and your most gymnastical reasoning, can you make any intelligent sense whatsoever of the notion that the intricate mechanism of hearing just kind of accidentally invented itself? What about the incredible sense of sight?—the optics, the focusing, the iris light adjustments, the nerve transmitters—isn’t that quite beyond the possibility of accident? So the psalmist is presenting a warning that I might paraphrase something like this: “Be careful how you manage your mind—how you reason. Exercise these gifts with great care, because the One who gave you thinking, hearing, and seeing also knows, hears and sees all of you, right down to the very thoughts and intents of your heart, and will hold you accountable.”
“All the upright in heart will follow” this sound Biblical advice.
“Crises and deadlocks when they occur have at least this advantage, that they force us to think.” - Jawaharlal Nehru