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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6 Sept 10
            Good morning, dear ones…
            At least there is still a little bit of morning left.  It’s now 11:39am.  Things are slow—slower than normal as Becki is not yet out of bed.  Not real sure what’s going on.  Her equilibrium is kind of whacked.
            In the event that there are some who receive these messages that have not downloaded a copy of the reading schedule I’m using, and would like one, I’m sticking a copy on here as an attachment.  I hope it transmits OK.
            With or without LABOR DAY, I guess I’d better get on with the labor of the day.  I have a sizeable list.
            May you know His presence and blessing.
                        Love, Dad/Ray
           
6 September 2010
Passage: Ephesians 1:1-14
Focus: “To the saints in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus.” Ephesians 1:1.
            Try counting the number of times the expression “in Christ” (or its equivalent) appears in this brief reading.  In this New International Version, I tally 11 times.  Study notes in my Bible also indicate that this expression appears 36 times in this letter to the Ephesians, and 160 times in all of Paul’s writings.  If repetition implies importance, I think we have something very important here.  The core message of it is quite in harmony with the general New Testament presentation of the Gospel.  What’s the main idea?  It is both simple and profound.  It is the TRUTH that ONLY IN CHRIST do we know and gain the blessings and benefits of God’s incredible plan of salvation.  So let’s review this bottom line of the Gospel once again: CHRIST IS NOT JUST A PLAN FOR ACCESSING GOD, HE IS THE PLAN.             And we can be sure that Jesus’ awesome claim in John 14:6 is no understatement at all: “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”  I admit that this is a theme we have dealt with often in these readings.  But I think we cannot touch on it too often.  I hope you agree.
            Please note that the counterpart to being “in Christ” is to be “in Adam”—or a continued bondage to the old natural sin nature. We could list lots of Bible references that present this idea, but at least consider 1 Corinthians 15:22: “For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.”  The old status of being “in Adam” is characterized by disobedience, sin, ignorance, lethargy, guilt, fear, and death.  But the new life of being “in Christ” is characterized by new power to live in victory over sin, life in the Spirit, righteousness, love, peace, and eternal life.  Wow!  What a contrast! Let’s be reminded that it all boils down to a matter of CHOICE.
 
            “There are only two classes of people—the saints and the ain’ts.”