Insightful Musings on the Scripturesby
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 |
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11 Feb 11
Good morning, special people.
I doubt that you have been traumatized by not receiving my little transmissions over the last couple days. But circumstances have squeezed out time for that. Back before Christmas, we booked the rental of a mountain cabin where our nearby family could spend a couple nights. It was an investment in making memories rather than giving stuff. We had a good time.
I’m not sure when I’ll be able to patch the holes in the flow for this month—gaps for the 9th and 10th. I am definitely facing time pressures. We’ll see.
May you be blessed as you travel through TODAY.
Love, Dad/Ray
11 February 2011
Proverbs 11
Focus: “The integrity of the upright guides them…” Proverbs 11:3.
It’s always good to have a travel plan before taking off on a trip. And fundamental to going anywhere, of course, is knowing WHERE you want to go—as well as HOW you’re going to get there. As the saying goes, if you don’t know WHERE you are going, you’ll never know when you get there! And if there is no reasonable available means for satisfying the HOW question, you don’t really have a travel plan—only imaginary fantasy.
In this case before us, let’s agree on a few things. Our destination is the achievement of God’s will for our individual lives. Let’s pick up on Paul’s articulation of that goal: “Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:13-14). That’s WHERE we want to go. Right?
Now consider the HOW part. Our FOCUS verse divides that into two parts. First, it involves being UPRIGHT. The equivalent to that idea throughout this volume is RIGHTEOUS or RIGHTEOUSNESS—calling for a RIGHT response to the revelation of God that allows right relationship with Him. Secondly, it involves INTEGRITY—the integration (related word) of UPRIGHTNESS or RIGHTEOUSNESS into every crook and cranny of your personal your life. Those two qualities blended together create a very adequate vehicle fitted with a GPS guidance system that is guaranteed, if properly used, to get you to your desired destination.
Verse 5 carries some of this same idea: “The righteousness of the blameless makes a straight way for them.” Properly using God’s provision will prevent wandering or getting side-tracked on crooked and dangerous paths.
Verse 8 indicates that this GPS plan also includes ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE. “The righteous man is rescued from trouble.” It is not a guarantee that there will be NO trouble, but that there is a wonderful back-up plan for help in time of need.
We could carry on with lots of related ideas. Suffice it to say that this approach to living is sure to create in you A HEART AFTER GOD—making for a wonderful successful trip to your wonderful destination.
“Failure to prepare is preparing to fail.” - John Wooden