2007 picture of Ray SparreInsightful 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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7 Nov 10
           
Hello, dear special people.
            Lots of rain overnight…and this morning.  But right now, looking out my window, it’s a pretty scene.  The river (creek) is sure enlarged. If I were younger, I might be tempted to put on my wetsuit and jump in and go for a ride…see where it goes.  Hey…why do I need to be younger?  Oh, but we have to get to our commitment at Country Meadows in Woodburn to do our scheduled Sunday morning Gospel Sing.
            This is the date for changing our clocks back…allowing an extra hour of sleep. I didn’t get that extra hour…but we remembered to adjust the clocks.
            May your day be blessed…and may you be a blessing.
                        Love, Dad/Ray
 
7 November 2010
Passage: John 7:25-8:11
Focus: “Thus the people were divided because of Jesus.”  John 7:43
           
There’s nothing new about this controversy.  So it is today.  People are still divided in their regard for Jesus.  Is He the Christ or isn’t He?  Is He worth listening to or is He a brilliant idiot?—or con artist?  Does He speak truth or is it all a wild fabrication?  Is he doing miracles by the power of God or by the power of the devil?  Is He truly sent from God or is He a regular guy from Galilee?  I suppose that the debate will go on and on till the end.  Whatever the judgment is that people make concerning Jesus, one thing is for sure if the Biblical record is true: THIS JESUS OF NAZARETH/GALILEE DEMANDS A DECISION!  A verdict (vote) must be made.  No one can hear the things He said or the issues He raised or the claims about Him without drawing conclusions—even if those conclusions for a period of time are not perfectly understood.  In the final analysis, when we are called from the arena of debate and deliberation, there are only two answers to choose from on the voting form: YES or NO.  And it is really the hand of omniscience that marks the final ballot FOR YOU—it is not marked BY YOU alone.  During the course of the controversy one may carry around a verbal or tentative decision card that says YES, but one’s accompanying behavior is monitored and made to be the weightier factor in the final vote than the verbal one.  One’s behavior really is the evidence of true belief.  A verbal YES must be accompanied by a behavioral YES in order to count as a final YES.
            Without doing a careful word study, let me add one more thought from this focus verse.  Notice that the text says that they were “divided because of Jesus”—not “over” or “about” Jesus.  I did check several translations and “because of Jesus” seems to be about the most accurate rendering.  QUESTION: Is it valid to suggest that if there is no real Jesus, there is no real debate?  Without Jesus, all that’s left is a huge quagmire of human opinion—“much to do about nothing.”  There would be no sides to the SAVED and LOST issue.  All would be condemned.  All would perish.  Based upon an overview of Biblical revelation, this Jesus really is the pivotal determiner of eternal destiny—“divided because of Jesus.”
            “That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart (indeed it is this vital combination of factors that controls behavior) that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.  For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved” (Romans 10:9-10).
 
“Be sure the goods in the window correctly represent the goods on the shelf.”