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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5 June 10
            Beautiful morning to you.
            It sure is pretty out there now.  But I’m still now sure exactly how to direct this day.  There are still variables to deal with.  So wait until tonight to ask me what I did today.
            At 8:56am, I’m out the door to do a jog.  I know, it’s kind of late. Be blessed.
                        Love, Dad/Ray
 
5 June 2010
Passage: Luke 11:14-36
Focus: “He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters.”  Luke 11:23.
            Taking into account the whole of Biblical revelation, I’d like to attempt a concise paraphrase of these words by Jesus: “He who joins with me participates in the solution.  He who rejects me remains a part of the problem.”  Of course, the universal problem is SIN. The exclusive solution for this problem is JESUS.
            Jesus goes on to give an authoritative disclosure of how things work in the evil spirit world (verses 24-26).  It’s spooky.  Who else could present this kind of information?  It helps to confirm the huge devastating consequences of rejecting Christ and His Lordship.  So when one rejects the invitation influences of the Kingdom of God, he unwittingly and automatically (by default) makes himself open and vulnerable to the influences and controls of the enemy kingdom.  So every person faces the real option of either becoming a “house of God” or a “haunted house.”  And the only way to be the former over the latter is to “SEEK FIRST THE KINGDOM OF GOD AND HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS…” (Matt. 6:33).
            While Jesus was teaching along these lines, a woman in the crowd distracted by a form of MARIOLOTRY (the worship of Mary, the mother of Jesus).  She said, “Blessed is the mother who gave you birth and nursed you.”  Jesus replied by saying, “Blessed rather are those who HEAR (hearing ears) the word of God and obey it” (Lk. 11:27-28).  Don’t let this get by you.  This is not only a statement describing mankind’s solution in general, it is YOUR SOLUTION in particular!
 
            “How tragic that so many pay a high price for being lost…when salvation is FREE.”