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 April 11
Greetings on this Monday morning, dear people.
I hope this finds you bright-eyed and bushy-tailed—all raring to go to take on a new day and a new week.
“Ring!” I just got off the phone with a guy that invited me to take on a full day of sawmilling tomorrow—and I accepted. We sure do need some cash flow around here. I’ll need to leave about 6:30am in the morning…so I may be late getting out my next devotional. We’ll see. Getting everything ready today will require a good deal of time…amidst my impossibly long list.
This and other calls already have taken away my jog time…so that’s tabled again. Oh well.
Have a great day. Just don’t try to do it by LOVING THE LORD with only a little fringe of your heart. That’s like trying to fry snow!
Love, Dad/Ray
11 April 2011
Proverbs 11
Focus: “The truly righteous man attains life, but he who pursues evil goes to his death.” Proverbs 11:19.
What is the author really saying here? We could argue that righteous people go to their death too—and people given to evil are also alive! Both live. Both die. So what? Well, you and I both recognize there is a spiritual and eternal component implied here—an orientation of heart and soul that make the big difference in life’s quality and destiny.
The phrase “truly righteous” captivates my attention. That would indicate to me a state of being that goes beyond average, mediocrity, and superficiality. But speaking of average, let me raise this question: What is the average among average believers who become TRULY RIGHTEOUS and ATTAIN LIFE in the truest sense of the expression? I would suggest that it plays out to be about zero in ten. In other words, average believers don’t make it—mediocre Christians with a shallow superficial faith who are quite satisfied with that condition, who don’t want to move beyond, and who fear becoming fanatical cannot know LIFE as God intended. He reserves that ONLY for the TRULY RIGHTEOUS. And if an average believer does decide to move ahead with full surrender and SEEKING FIRST HIS KINGDOM AND RIGHTEOUSNESS, they cease to be average!
Fear of becoming a “religious fanatic” is common. “Don’t get carried away with this faith stuff—and risk becoming so heavenly-minded that you become of no earthly good!”—so goes the rhetoric of many. But I can assure you that Noah, Abraham, Moses, Elijah, David, Daniel, Peter, and Paul would not buy that line. Nor would Jesus. Listen again to His words in Matthew 7:13-14: “Enter through the narrow gate (…the way of the TRULY RIGTEOUS). For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction (DEATH), and many (…including average, mediocre, and superficial believers) enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it (…because it’s beyond average).”
May I offer again this growing conviction: CHRISTIAN FAITH WITHOUT PASSION DOES NOT WORK RIGHT—it does not yield the results and benefits that God’s AMAZING GRACE intends. But let’s not leave this hanging as a negative thesis as the positive side is so real, dynamic, and available: LOVING GOD PASSIONATELY, EARNESTLY DESIRING TO BE TRULY RIGHTEOUS, AND SEEKING TO PLEASE HIM FULLY WINS IT ALL—AND THEN SOME! And it all boils down to your choice—and mine.
“Passion is universal humanity. Without it religion, romance and art would be useless.” - Honore de Balzac