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 Sept 10
Good morning, dear ones.
We’re on a time line this morning…headed for a memorial service in
Bremerton, Washington. Need to hurry off.
Blessings. Love. Dad/Rahy
12 September 2010
Passage: Ephesians 5:3-21
Focus: “Find out what pleases the Lord.” Ephesians 5:10.
I
like visual aids. And I like things simple. May I suggest
that you take a piece of paper and lay it on a table in front of
you. Let’s let that paper represent the moral and spiritual scope
of the entire universe. Now draw a line down the middle from top
to bottom. In the left section write DARKNESS. In the right
section write LIGHT. Then in the left section write GOD’S WRATH
(from verse 6) and in the right section WHAT PLEASES THE LORD (from
verse 10). Maybe you could also label it GOD’S LOVE. There
you are…an overview of the entire universe from God’s
perspective. It’s as simple as that. There are only two
regions. And the simple question to raise for yourself is WHICH
REGION DO I WANT TO OCCUPY. It really is a matter of choice.
If you wanted to carry the graphic illustration further, you could
write in the left section all the FOOTHOLDS of the devil we listed
yesterday. In the right you could write out verse 9: “FOR
THE FRUIT OF THE LIGHT CONSISTS IN ALL GOODNESS, RIGHTEOUSNESS, AND
TRUTH.” I like to draw an outline representation of the Bible
around the edges of the right section showing that God’s Word sets the
borders for the Kingdom of God. Stepping outside that border means to
step into you-know-where. You can go on and on with this
illustration. I feel it is a worthwhile exercise. One
aspect of its value is that it helps to achieve the point of 2
Corinthians 4:18: “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on
what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen
is eternal.”
I would like to finish off here by quoting our entire reading for today
from the Message Translation.
“Don’t allow love to turn to lust, setting off a downhill slide into
sexual promiscuity, filthy practices, or bullying greed. Though
some tongues just love the taste of gossip, Christians have better uses
for language than that. Don’t talk dirty or silly. That kind of
talk doesn’t fit our style. Thanksgiving is our dialect.
“You can be sure that using people or religion or things just for what
you can get out of them—the usual variations of idolatry—will get you
nowhere, and certainly nowhere near the kingdom of Christ, the kingdom
of God.
“Don’t let yourselves get taken in by religious smooth talk. God
gets furious with people who are full of religious sales talk but want
nothing to do with him. Don’t even hang around people like that.
“You groped your way through that murk once, but no longer.
You’re out in the open now. The bright light of Christ makes your
way plain. So no more stumbling around. Get on with
it! The good, the right, the true—these are the actions
appropriate for daylight hours. Figure out what will please
Christ, and then do it.
“Don’t waste your time on useless work, mere busywork, the barren
pursuits of darkness. Expose these things for the sham they
are. It’s a scandal when people waste their lives on things they
must do in the darkness where no one will see. Rip the cover off
those frauds and see how attractive they look in the light of Christ.
“Wake up from your sleep,
Climb out of your coffins:
Christ will show you the light!”
So watch your step. Use your head. Make the most of every chance you get. These are desperate times!
“Don’t live carelessly, unthinkingly. Make sure you understand
what the Master wants.
“Don’t drink too much wine. That cheapens your life. Drink
the Spirit of God, huge draughts of him. Sing hymns instead of
drinking songs! Sing songs from your heart to Christ. Sing
praises over everything, any excuse for a song to God the Father in the
name of our Master, Jesus Christ.”
“Don’t try to grow an oak tree in a flower pot.”