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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12 Dec 11
Good morning, special ones.
It is another gorgeous cold day…about 24 degrees F this morning. I did a jog, put the garbage by the road for pickup with little Nicholas on my shoulders, selected and hauled some material for Kash to mill, and am now finally back at the computer with plans to get these two devotionals off my desktop.
Our lives are destined to be even more complicated as of Sunday around 12:20pm. I returned from church shortly after that to see flashing lights and a bunch of activity in front of our place…then noticed Thano’s Toyota pickup with the front bashed in at a sharp angle in the ditch. As I turned in, I noticed the other vehicle involved…an S-10 pickup with his front bashed in. Fortunately there was no injury to either Thano or the other driver. But guess who will now need to taxi him everywhere he needs to go? I think it may be a long time before he’s driving his own rig again. It was totally his fault.
Blessings still outweigh the bummers by a long shot. The adventure goes on.
Love, Dad/Ray
12 December 2011
Proverbs 12
Focus: “A righteous man is cautious in friendship, but the way of the wicked leads them astray.” Proverbs 12:26.
If it is true that “birds of a feather flock together”—and if it is understood that you and I are a couple of birds—then it makes sense to me that we should be more concerned with our feathers than with our flocking.
Allow me to spin some of this into this FOCUS VERSE. “A bird of righteous feather knows that he will typically be rejected by those of compromising average feather. And since he is convinced that his righteous feathering is superior to the compromising average type, he is very cautious with his flocking. He recognizes that many, if not most, other birds are controlled by peer pressure and allow popular compromising average feathering to be their aspiring feather standard that profoundly affects their flying and flocking.”
Friendship requires an affinity of values in one or more sectors of life. And the more sectors that are shared with mutual affinity, the deeper the friendship potential. Perhaps the most critical relationship for testing and proving these principles is marriage. This special bond, and the statistics flowing out of it, demonstrate that friendship is far more important than gender attractions. It also underscores that caution and reality are far more important than impulse and fantasy.
A primary reason for Bible believers to be cautious in friendship is bluntly stated by James—“You adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God” (James 4:4-5). Also, Paul warns, “Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?” (2 Corinthians 6:14). Another vital piece of Biblical advice relating to the wisdom of caution in friendships is in the next chapter of Proverbs—13:20—“He who walks with the wise grows wise, but a companion of fools suffers harm.”
Whatever else you do with your life, make sure you pursue close friendship with your Maker. Use decisive caution and resistance toward anything that would divert you from that priority. “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and will all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment” (Matthew 22:37-38). Question: If you are not His friend, what does that make you?
“One loyal friend is worth ten thousand relatives.” - Euripides