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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10 Nov 10
Good morning, Special ones.
There’s enough daylight now to see the river (creek)
roaring by…with coffee-brown water. Lots of rain. And more to come.
And I have to go out and work in it. I need to get to fold up my mill
and tow it to a new job to saw up a big bunch of fir and cedar logs for
a guy. If he wasn’t applying pressure that he only has this week free
for this project, I’d say, “Let’s hold off for drier weather.” Oh,
well…here goes another adventure.
Have
fun…in doors…or out. He is still LORD of all…in or out.
Love, Dad/Ray
10 November 2010
Passage: John 8:48-59
Focus: “Before Abraham was, I AM.” John 8:58.
The cat is now clearly out of the bag. There is no
more room for guessing or wondering about what exactly this Jesus is
claiming. Without stammering, stuttering, flinching, or abstractions,
Jesus lays it clearly on the table—stating in no uncertain terms that
He is not only FROM GOD but ONE WITH GOD—HE IS GOD. “Before Abraham
was, I AM.” Wow!
You have to admit that if you were there with your heart
and mind set on a great sensational conquering Messiah, you too would
have expected to see a good deal more class—you too would most likely
be picking up stones—big ones! Here Jesus was, a normal-looking man
with no high profile credentials. The group thought they knew all they
needed to know about his family and origins. Some even put forth the
slam that He was a “Samaritan”—not a very respectable classification by
full-blooded Jews.
Try viewing this “little” situation from the window of the
“big picture” and you will recognize that there is nothing very unusual
about this case, insofar as God’s dealings with men are concerned. It’s
apparent to me that God has always chosen to work in ways outside the
box of man’s expectations and bias. The truths of God are not normally
broadcast with intense noise and flashing lights. They are not usually
dramatic, and definitely NOT dependent upon religious tradition. Nor
are they grasped through the medium of careful catechism and
intellectual skill. They are, however, imparted by the Spirit of God to
A HEART AFTER GOD. (Have I ever used that phrase before?) “The man
without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit
of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them,
because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Corinthians 2:14). “But God
chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the
weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly
things of this world and the despised things—and things that are not—to
nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him” (1
Corinthians 1:27-29).
The guy who is always boasting and spouting off with his
dogma, yelling his bias, shouting his oppositions, arguing,
complaining, criticizing, and defending, is most likely going to
distance himself so far from the truth that he will never hear the
“still small voice” of the Spirit of God. Imparting that important
lesson to Elijah when he was so bummed and discouraged, God chose to
use some dramatics. “The Lord said, ‘Go out and stand on the mountain
in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by.’ Then a
great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the
rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the
wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake.
After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire.
And after the fire came a gentle whisper” (“still small voice”—1 Kings
19:11-12). Selah.
Please sing with me…
“Shut in with God in a secret place;
There in the Spirit beholding His face;
Gaining new power to run in the race.
I long to be shut in with God.”
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“No one is so empty as when he is filled with thoughts of himself.”