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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14 April 11
Good evening, special people.
It’s now 6:27pm. I did 6 more hours of milling today, almost constantly being blasted by wind and rain. I could not have endured the sawdust-filled blast of wind in my face and eyes if I had not been prepared with a pair of ski goggles and a hood on my rain jacket. In those 17.75 hours, I sliced up 21 logs—most being just over 20 feet long, with an average diameter at the small end of about 17inches. I went through 13 blades.
Why am I telling you all that? I guess it’s just fresh data near the front of my mind.
Thano is out putting the mill back in the mill shed. This evening, we need to print up some t-shirts.
Blessings upon you and yours.
Love, Dad/Ray
14 April 2011
Proverbs 14
Focus: “He whose walk is upright fears the LORD, but he whose ways are devious despises him.” Proverbs 14:2.
The author of these proverbs is a diligent teacher who desires his students (children) to integrate and apply this basic theme to every part of their minds. Like painting their walls with a brush, he comes at it from one side, then the other, up and down and cross-hatching at angles, seeking to cover every square millimeter of their minds with this vital paint—THE IMPORTANCE OF THE FEAR OF THE LORD. Over and over he affirms that THE FEAR OF THE LORD IS THE KEY TO UPRIGHTNESS. But now he declares that UPRIGHTNESS IS THE KEY TO FEARING THE LORD. “He whose walk is upright fears the LORD.”
I believe that the basic hinge or pivot on which human destiny turns is INTELLIGENCE—man’s God-given capacity for objective reasoning—a major distinction separating man from beast. So a person does not need a healthy Biblical theology and worldview in order to develop preliminary UPRIGHTNESS. He does not need to be particularly brilliant to reason something like this once he realizes his own bent toward sinful selfishness: “Now, let me think this through…if I yield to my selfish inclinations and do dirty to my neighbor, it only stands to reason that he would likely do dirty back to me, maybe worse, and if everyone was like me and my inclinations—given to doing dirty to each other all the time without restraint, I can only foresee the destruction of our human society—it would be wall to wall dog-eat-dog—therefore I’m going to refrain from doing dirty and I want to encourage others to refrain from doing dirty.” History proves that doesn’t really work very well, but it’s a start in the right direction.
I suppose many will just leave it at that—trying to grapple and control their sinful selfishness by themselves. But I think there is another facet of objective reasoning that goes beyond. “Now just a minute—there is just too much evidence of design all around me. And if there really is design, there must also be a Designer. And if I have been designed, it follows that I am accountable to the Designer. And if this Designer is knowable, I want to know Him. It also stands to reason that if there is NO Designer, that everything is simply a big mindless accident, that we’re all a bunch of animals, why shouldn’t we just behave accordingly?” Bingo! Suddenly this person, by use of his INTELLIGENCE and WILL (choice) has put himself on a course that leads to UPRIGHTNESS and the FEAR OF THE LORD—the knowledge of God—a knowledge that makes everything else make sense.
If, on the other hand, a person persistently chooses to simply follow his own sinful selfish ways with no concern over how those ways hurt others, do you think he will be eager to seek God and hear about his personal accountability to Him? He will naturally MOCK and DESPISE the whole idea.
No matter how we slice it, I can draw no other conclusion—THE FEAR OF THE LORD IS ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL to the balanced healthy life the Designer intends.
“He who lives a life of love and charity is constantly at worship.”