Insightful Musings on the New Testamentby
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 has followed, and an archive of all his daily devotional writings for 2010 and 2011.
| Daily Reading Guide | 2011 Devotion Archives | 2010 Devotion Archives |
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
8 Jan 11
Good morning, dear people.
I was outside once this morning to see what Max (Thano’s dog…tho I guess he’s now ours too) was barking at. It was clear and cold…frost on the grass. It remains to be seen what daylight will reveal.
As I said before, I think it’s a good thing to update my address list. I know very well how easy it is to become inundated with an overload of emails with insufficient time to process them. So I am looking to a response from you by tomorrow as a means for determining your address list status—to continue or discontinue.
My list is another big one. Be blessed with yours.
Love, Dad/Ray
8 Jan 2011
Proverbs 8
Focus: “For whoever finds me finds life and receives favor from the LORD.” Proverbs 8:35.
It is interesting to note how the author of this section of Proverbs ascribes female personhood to WISDOM who pleads with the masses. “Does not wisdom call out? Does not understanding raise her voice? On the heights along the way, where the paths meet, she takes her stand…’To you, O men, I call out; I raise my voice to all mankind’” (vv. 1-4).
Notice also that female personality is ascribed to the opposite counterpart of WISDOM as well—FOLLY. She is presented in the last chapter as a “wayward wife”—“She is loud and defiant, her feet never stay at home; now in the street, now in the squares, at every corner she lurks” (7:11-12). Jumping ahead to chapter 9 we see her described this way: “The woman Folly is loud; she is undisciplined and without knowledge. She sits at the door of her house, on a seat at the highest point of the city, calling out to those who pass by, who go straight on their way. ‘Let all who are simple come in here’” (9:13-16)
WISDOM says, “I love those who love me, and those who seek me find me” (v. 17). That’s an encouraging promise. She concludes this chapter with this pronouncement: “For whoever finds me finds life and receives favor from the LORD. But whoever fails to find me harms himself; all who hate me love death” (vv. 35-36).
The bottom line looks like this: IF I DON’T FIND WISDOM, FOLLY FINDS ME.
“I would rather be the man who bought the Brooklyn Bridge than the one who sold it.” -- Will Rogers