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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6 Oct 11
Good afternoon, dear special people.
As I type these lines I hear two pieces of equipment running—Thano is outside my window running the pressure washer to clean the algae off the deck that makes it as slick as ice when wet—and Kash is out running the sawmill, cutting up some cedar logs for Camp Adams. There seems to be no end of work to be done. I can’t seem to keep up. Yet here I am sitting here, talking to you.
I trust your day will be one containing identifiable blessing.
Love, Dad/Ray
6 October 2011
Psalm 135
Focus: “Praise the LORD, for the LORD is good; sing praise to his name, for that is pleasant.” Psalm 135:3.
As is the case with so many of the psalms, this one is very Jewish. Listen to verse 4: “For the LORD has chosen Jacob to be his own, Israel to be his treasured possession.” Some may read this and be tempted to say something like, “Oh well…I guess this doesn’t apply to me since I’m an inferior Gentile.” Just a minute—I think it could be good for all of us to review the fundamental principles of the New Testament Gospel and understand that we Gentiles have been invited to join in and participate in the Jewish promise of blessing that God gave centuries ago to Abraham, the Father of the Jewish nation. Perhaps I will let the Jewish Apostle Paul clarify these things in no uncertain terms. “Put on your thinking cap”—an expression I remember from my second grade teacher.
“Consider Abraham: ‘He believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.’ Understand, then, that those who believe are children of Abraham. The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: ‘All nations will be blessed through you.’ So those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith. All who rely on observing the law are under a curse, for it is written: ‘Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.’ Clearly no one is justified before God by the law, because, ‘The righteous will live by faith.’…He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit…There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” (Galatians 3:6-11, 14, 28-19.)
Paul speaks to the same issue in Romans 10:12: “For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for ‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’”
To be sure, praising and worshipping the Lord, our Maker, is appropriate for EVERYONE.
“It doesn’t take such a great man to be a Christian; it just takes all there is of him.” - Seth Wilson