Insightful Musings on the New Testament
by
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 is following, and an archive of all his daily devotional writings for 2010.

|  Daily Reading Guide  |  2010 Devotion Archives  |
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 19 May 10
    Good evening, dear ones.
    The time is now 8:57pm.  I get so distracted that I didn't get this off again as early as intended.  Oh well.  At least I have a measure of routine going here.
    I've run the sawmill a good deal today and feel the irritation of a lot of sawdust down inside my underwear.  Besides that my eyes are starting to cross with the sleepies.  After sending this I'm off to the shower then the bed.  Good night!  Oh yes, I better feed the dogs and cat first.
    Love, Dad/Ray.
 
19 May 2010
Passage:  Luke 4:1-13
Focus:  “…he was tempted by the devil.”  Luke 4:2
            Why does God tolerate this dirty devil?  Why does He allow Satan to run around tempting people to oppose God and His will?  Why doesn’t God just snuff him out with one blow of His mighty power and rid the earth of him forever…and return His creation to an Eden-like condition of purity and perfection?  While we may never completely comprehend a totally satisfactory answer to these questions while on this planet, we do know that God does indeed tolerate the devil.  And we see here that God not only permits Satan to interfere and influence men’s minds, but He actually allows him to have a go at His own Son.  If that is so, you can rest assured that he will not pass you by…especially if you are closely associated with the Son.
            Be reminded that there is no means of protection against this enemy that can substitute for the power of the Word of God wielded from the heart of a true believer.  You will do well to hide it in your heart and develop competence in its use and application.  Take note that in each temptation launched by the devil, Jesus defeated them by His use of the “sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God” (Eph. 6:17).
            And be reminded that the devil’s ministry of temptation is not a one-time deal.  Verse 13 says, “When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time.”  You can bank on it—he’ll be back.  Be ready!  (1 Pet. 5:8-9; 2 Tim. 2:15; Eph. 6:10-18)
 
            “The devil is an equal opportunity employer—ALL who work for him will go to hell.”