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 Nov 11
Good evening, dear special ones.
Full day. Thankful it didn’t rain as much as predicted. That allowed us to get an outside job done without getting too soggy. But they are reporting some real bad stuff for tomorrow…heavy wind and rain. Go ahead and tell me to go fly a kite. Since Thano’s two little ones will be here, maybe I will…show them how I can do loops and rolls, etc. with my stunt kite. I still don’t know what I want to be when I grow up.
I hear the cat yeowling at me outside. He thinks I have no business to be here at the computer when it’s his supper time. “OK, kitty…I’m coming.” Then I’ll shut up the barn, hit the shower, and go to bed.
Have a good night of rest…and don’t wait till Thursday to be thankful.
Love, Dad/Ray.
21 November 2011
Job 31
Focus: “Does he not see my ways and count my every step?” Job 31:4.
This chapter leads me to explore the idea of INTEGRITY. What does INTEGRITY mean to you? Are you a person of INTEGRITY?
The practical definition for INTEGRITY that Job implies in this chapter is one I choose to embrace. It goes something like this: INTEGRITY—THE INTEGRATION OF THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD INTO EVERY CROOK AND CRANNY OF MY BEING, LEADING ME TO DO WHAT I KNOW IS RIGHT BEFORE HIM EVEN WHEN NO ONE ELSE IS LOOKING.
Let’s get something straight—when a person does intentional wrong—something they know is in violation of Biblical revelation, they are clearly demonstrating that they do not truly believe in the God of the Bible—at least not at that point in time. How can it be otherwise? Doesn’t that make logical sense? After all, “Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account” (Hebrews 4:13). But in view of our universal built-in Jeremiah 17:9 affliction, people come up with all kinds of mental (and theological) tricks and gadgets to support, justify, and defend the flimsy appearance of their faulty INTEGRITY.
Remember, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom?” A healthy “fear of the LORD” is exactly what Job is claiming in this his final speech. “Does he not see my ways and count my every step?” (Similar to Psalm 139:1-4.) A few verses later he asks, “What will I do when God confronts me? What will I answer when called to account?” (v. 14). He added, “For I dreaded destruction from God, and for fear of his splendor I could not do such things” (v. 23).
Job begins the chapter with this claim—“I made a covenant with my eyes not to look lustfully at a girl” (v.1). In a culture like ours that designs and preys on lust, that’s a tall standard—but a critically important one. It speaks of the need for setting personal rules and boundaries in advance of inevitable temptation triggers. And the task of managing and monitoring them must engage a whole lot more than one’s eyes—it encompasses every one of the senses and the thought processes that accompany them (See Romans 6). We’re talking about vital Biblical MIND CONTROL. Whew! Did someone say that living a successful life of victory over SIN, SELF, and SATAN was easy? It’s anything but an accident!
Verse 15 is about as good a statement as you will ever hear for denouncing class or racial prejudice that seeks to establish superiority over inferiority—“Did not he who made me in the womb make them? Did not the same one form us both within our mother?”
I remember a common oath we as kids would make to add convincing weight to our telling the truth when there was suspicion we weren’t—“Criss-cross my heart and hope to die!” Job spends a lot of time with that kind of affirmation. He does so with several IF-THEN exchanges. I counted 19 “ifs” and 5 “thens.” I’ll only cite the last one: “If my land cries out against me and all its furrows are wet with tears (…from the workers I’ve abused), if I have devoured its yield without payment or broken the spirit of its tenants, then let briers come up instead of wheat and weeds instead of barley” (Job 31:38-40).
The chapter ends by stating, “The words of Job are ended.” After 6 chapters of intense thought and verbal expression, I picture Job flopping back onto his mat, absolutely exhausted. He still has his INTEGRITY, but he really didn’t have to spend so much time and effort defending it. All that speaking didn’t add to it. He could go on talking and defending until he’s blue in the face, but it would have no changing effect whatsoever on the biased minds of his critical “friends.” Their general views were cast in concrete.
“If I take care of my character, my reputation will take care of itself.” - Dwight L. Moody