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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19 Feb 11
Hey there, hi there, ho there…You’re as welcome as can be (Do you remember the “Mickey Mouse Club” television series?)!
It’s already 9:46am…and we need to run off to another engagement.
I’m feeling a few muscles and joints this morning in ways that are not very typical. I had a little window of opportunity and took off last evening about 5:30pm and put in a couple hours of serious skiing at Ski Bowl. It was OK…but not as covered with fresh snow as I was expecting.
We need to run along. Blessings on you.
Love, Dad/Ray
19 February 2011
Proverbs 19
Focus: “What a man desires is unfailing love; better to be poor than a liar.” Proverbs 19:22.
Recent conversations have given opportunity for me to expound on my belief that domesticated dogs, in general, are a special gift of God to humans. I can think of no other animal on the planet with such a built-in disposition as that of a dog, whose passion and propensity in life (though there are exceptions) is to please his human master, to be sad when he leaves, and rejoice when he returns. (We beheld a display of that only minutes ago when we returned home from a breakfast meeting. Max, Thano’s dog, who for all practical purposes is OUR dog, met us with his typical excited joyous greeting. It kind of makes a body feel good to be that honored and needed.) The old quip that “A DOG IS MAN’S BEST FRIEND” is no overstatement, in my opinion. So the fact that a good dog’s nature is to LOVE his master with UNFAILING LOVE helps to feed one of man’s greatest needs—TO BE LOVED—a desire for UNFAILING LOVE. Little wonder that so many people, especially those who are neglected or lonely, become so attached to these amazing canine pets. The relationship serves as a kind of psychological therapy.
We should have no difficulty recognizing the importance of UNFAILING LOVE as it relates to marriage. Human experience constantly reveals the contrast between UNFAILING LOVE and FAILED LOVE.
The second part of the proverb may seem, at first, to not fit—to be irrelevant to the lead statement. But here is how I might link the ideas together: “Better to be deprived of human love (poor in love) than to try to gain it by deception (by lying, by being a hypocrite).”
Let’s give some thought to the GOD angle by raising this question: HOW SUCCESSFUL DO YOU THINK A PERSON WILL BE AT WINNING GOD’S UNFAILING LOVE BY BEING A HYPOCRITE (LIAR)? To be sure, sometimes questing for God’s UNFAILING LOVE and affirmation requires that we be POOR in human love and affirmation.
“Faults are thick where love is thin.” - James Howell