Insightful Musings on theScriptures
by
Raymond P. Sparre
Northwest University class of '67
Greetings, dear ones.
He who wakes up to face a new day, should do so. I’m feeling very profound this morning.
I’m not entirely sure of what we will face today. We’ve actually rented a beach house at Neskowin for 3 nights…a late Christmas and anniversary fling. Becki and I will be there tonight. Then, Friday and Saturday nights, Andy and Delaine and gang will be there. Lots to do before takeoff. We may try to pull things off so Thano can join one night.
May your goings and comings go well…and blessed.
Love, Dad/Ray
5 January
Passage: Matthew 5:1-20
Focus: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:3.
I’d like to attempt paraphrasing this idea in my own words. “The person who makes good use of his intelligence, who grapples with the big issues of cause and effect, who recognizes spiritual reality beyond physical reality and arrives at the firm conclusion that he, in himself, is not big enough or smart enough to safely determine his own course through life and beyond. In other words, this person knows he desperately needs God. His perspective and attitude of heart are the qualities that position him for receiving God’s attention in the form of grace that leads to God’s friendly presence in time and eternity.”
A sobering deduction can be drawn from this by calculating the outcome of an opposite attitude. For if a person concludes that he himself is sufficient for the task of successfully doing life and eternity, that he has no need of God, there is no biblical way that he will end up in a heavenly state. The opposite of “blessed” is “cursed.”
This deep sense of desperately needing God is amplified in verse 6: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.”
O, what thoughts! O, what promises! O, what a destiny!
"He should not preach about hell who can do it without tears."
- Dwight L. Moody
- Dwight L. Moody