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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7 Aug 11
Hello, dear people.
A beautiful day here. We’ve filled it with two gospel sing sessions at two assisted living facilities. Good times.
I face another big week…maybe more work than I can handle. But we’ll give it a good shot.
Blessings upon you and yours.
Love—Dad/Ray
7 August 2011
Psalm 97
Focus: “The LORD reigns, let the earth be glad; let the distant shores rejoice.” Psalm 97:1.
Sure—there’s a lot of poetic rhetoric here, but is that all it is? I think not. This psalm begins with a simple straight-forward thesis—“The LORD reigns.” So does He reign? Is He reigning? And are you glad that He reigns? Are you happy about the way He has chosen to do His reigning? Lots of people don’t think He’s reigning—and if He is, they don’t like the way He’s doing it.
I, for one, am glad about His reign. Of course, I have an edge over many others—over non-seekers. For reasons I cannot fully explain I have chosen to be a seeker—I have come to embrace the reasonableness of Jesus’ words in Matthew 6:33 that urges, “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness,” and have experienced something of the benefit of that disposition—a benefit that the writer describes in verse 11 of this psalm: “Light (personal revelation) is shed upon the righteous and joy on the upright in heart.” So, strange as it may seem, this that I cannot fully understand makes a whole lot of sense to me. Does that make sense? There is definitely a mystical/spiritual side to faith. God has clearly chosen to exercise this medium in His reign and relationship with those who seek Him. “The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children” (Romans 8:16).
“Let the distant shores rejoice” implies the idea that the Sovereign God of the Bible is not just for a select few—not just for those whose culture happens to be programmed for “Christianity” as opposed to some other religion. The Biblical gospel is global, international, and world-wide in its scope and importance. “For you, O LORD, are the Most High over all the earth; you are exalted far above all gods” (religions, idols, ideologies—v. 9). “The heavens proclaim his righteousness, and all the peoples see his glory” (v. 6). The previous psalm also offers support to this and affirms that the Sovereign God of the Bible not only reigns, but he is sufficiently sovereign so as to bring things to a final conclusion and call everyone on planet earth to judgment. “Say among the nations, ‘The LORD reigns.’ The world is firmly established, it cannot be moved; he will judge the peoples with equity…he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples in his truth” (Psalm 96:10, 13).
“The more you observe politics, the more you’ve got to admit that each party is worse than the other.” - Will Rogers