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.
| Sparre Home Page | Daily Reading Guide | 2011 Devotion Archives | 2010 Devotion Archives |
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21 May 11
Good morning, dear special people.
I don’t know much about this guy’s prediction about Jesus returning today. I think it’s absurd. Of course, it would be nice to go to heaven today…but I don’t think it’s going to happen in line with his predictions. I have some of my own ideas of what is going on…and what the outcome is going to be from all this…and it will not likely play out to build public esteem for people of Judeo-Christian faith. More likely it will contribute to unleashing a good deal more contempt and persecution from the secular left than we’ve seen yet. Whatever. To be sure, things are heating up. Has there ever been a more exciting time to be alive?
To be sure, when you stand before God is not near as important as the fact that YOU WILL STAND BEFORE GOD. And if you stay right, you’ll never be left.
I’m choosing to do my day as normal…and keep looking up.
Blessings. Love. Dad/Ray
21 May 2011
Psalm 19
Focus: “The commands of the LORD are radiant, giving light to the eyes.” Psalm 19:8b.
There is so much inspiration packed into this 14-verse Psalm, I’ve decided to give it another day of attention. But I’m having a hard time being selective with where I want to go with my focus. I’ve decided on the second half of verse 8. And now I’m having trouble deciding how to limit and contain my inspiration. What a wonderful problem!
Wouldn’t it be nice if God’s Word was so supernatural that every time you opened your Bible it had computer-like features? Certain important portions would flash in different colors of light, and when you simply touch that passage with your finger—poof!—out pops a clear concise exegetical explanation, telling everything that God wants you to know—with special guidance for that particular day—all with beautiful background music. Easy! No more study, research, careful critiquing, or hard work trying to figure it all out. But the fact is, God already has it all figured out. Difficulty is actually intended by the Designer in order to protect truth and make it available to only one kind of people—those who respond positively to His COMMANDS.
Let’s first understand that COMMANDS are essential requirements given by someone with authority. They are not optional. We shouldn’t have any difficulty accepting that the One Who created EVERYTHING has AUTHORITY. I’d like to draw your attention again to the greatest COMMAND of the Bible and suggest that it has vital connections with other essential COMMANDS. Of course, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and will all your mind” (Matthew 22:37) is at the top of the list. According to Jesus words in that context, there is nothing above that. But listen again to the COMMAND He presented to Nicodemas in John 3: “You must be born again” (John 3:7). That’s a big one too. He implies that there is none above that by affirming, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again” (John 3:3). So, not only is BEING BORN AGAIN essential for entering the Kingdom, you can’t even SEE it without BEING BORN AGAIN! Does this present a discrepancy? I don’t think so. In fact I’m seeing them as so vitally intertwined that they’re virtually one and the same! Truly loving God deeply and passionately is a result of seeking Him—“Seeking first the kingdom of God” (Matthew 6:33). (There’s another related COMMAND.) And it is this seeking and loving that actually generates regeneration—or causes BEING BORN AGAIN. Bingo! A flip is switched—I mean a switch is flipped—the lights come on! The bulbs were there all the time—just hanging out in the dark—but now they are activated, power is applied, and WOW!—one is able to see things never before seen. It’s a total worldview paradigm shift!
Look at this—I’ve already consumed my quota of words—and I’m just getting started! I’ll simply finish up by quoting from more of Jesus’ words to Nicodemas: “This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God” (John 3:19-21).
“Every generation needs regeneration.”