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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12 July 10
Good evening, dear ones.
It’s late for me…at 10:18pm. Hard to keep my eyes opened…and when they
are open, hard to keep them focused. The adventure goes on. Tomorrow
will be another episode. Not sure how the plot will play out.
Sleep tight. Good night. Love—Dad/Ray.
12 July 2010
Passage: 1 Corinthians 5
Focus:
“What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church?
Are you not to judge those inside?” 1 Corinthians 5:12.
This
matter of judging meets with a lot of misunderstanding and controversy.
There are those who would like to make a blanket judgment call by
quoting, “Judge not that ye be not judged.” They are the ones who
really don’t do enough of the right kind of judging, and overlook all
manner of violations to Biblical ethics and morality within their own
ranks. Then there are those who seem so fanatical about their judging
that they impose all kinds of rigid standards for behavior on everyone,
particularly those of their own group.
Let’s assume
that Paul’s judgment is right judgment as he reprimands the Corinthian
church fellowship for being too accommodating of “sloppy agape” (love
without boundaries) over a case of incest within their own group. That
which sets us apart from the world, Paul affirms, is the moral compass
that God provides in the form of His Word—the Bible. So while we are
required to heed that compass in order to maintain a healthy
relationship with our Lord and protect the integrity of our mission and
message, we are not in a position to impose every form of Biblical
morality upon the culture at large.
If a group makes
up a new game that utilizes the court and equipment of tennis, but
modifies the established rules, it may be a game with some similarities
to tennis—but it’s not really tennis. Tennis has a set of universally
accepted rules. The only way to play REAL tennis is to play by those
rules.
Make a commitment to play by the essential
rules of the Kingdom—and be ready to pass judgment on those who violate
them—including you.
“Wrong is wrong, even if everyone is doing it. Right is right,
even though no one else does it.”