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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30 Nov 11
Good evening, dear people.
It’s been a full day. The highlight was watching Kaden play with his little dump truck and loader in a deep muddy mud-puddle out near where we were running the mill. It was a beautiful day for a mud bath.
Becki was away till about 7:30pm, attending her swim exercise thing at the local pool. It wasn’t till about 6pm that I was able to get back to the computer to finish this little composition. I didn’t want to send it before she proofed it. She approved of it. So if you don’t like it, blame her.
I feel my head starting to shut down. Have a good night of blessed rest.
Love, Dad/Ray
30 November 2011
Job 40
Focus: “Will the one who contends with the Almighty correct him? Let him who accuses God answer him!” Job 40:2.
I know—we are being repetitious around this theme concerning the dangers and foolishness of the kind of human arrogance that presumes to criticize and oppose Sovereign God, but here we go again. Personally, I think the repetition is deserved because our natural twisted sin natures have such a magnetic attraction to unreasonable inflated arrogance. So let’s consider this again.
Have you ever heard a little kid boast about what he would do if he met some big angry critter like a grizzly bear? We tend to call his expressions cute. “I would punch him in the nose…and I would kick him in the tummy…then I would cut off his head with the pocket knife grampa Henry gave me for my birthday!” But then the little family kitty scratches him on the arm because he’s been pulling its tail and he bursts into wailing like a stabbed pig!—“Wahhhhh—I want my mommy!” We smile. We understand that he’ll grow up—that time and experience will force him to learn some important lessons about life and limitations. But alas!—far too many who grow up never really grow up! They continue to live life with the arrogant self-deception that they are someone big, virtually invincible, and one to be reckoned with. Not long ago a grown-up man over 60 years old said to me with a straight face, “When I get to heaven, the Lord and me are gonna have a talk. I’m gonna have to tell Him a thing or two.” Listen dude—if you would be nervous about taking on an angry giant grizzly bear in the nude, what in the world makes you think you could successfully tangle with his Maker/Owner?!?! Is this guy not afflicted with a tragic case of stupid arrogant immaturity?!?! It’s no longer cute!
Let’s understand that everyone with a functional thinker is a theologian in a very real and practical sense. Everyone has a view of God of one sort or another. For some He is very important and worth seeking and learning about. For others He is not important and not worth a second thought. Most are somewhere in between. But all have and hold a personal practical theology nonetheless. In the same way, everyone is a philosopher. Everyone capable of objective thought has developed or is developing a philosophy of life. Values, morality, purpose, goals and objectives—they are all components of one’s personal practical philosophy. And it’s easy to see how these areas of thought and perspective overlap and inter-connect. Together they form one’s worldview.
Consider again the first thing the LORD says in this chapter: “Will the one who contends with the Almighty correct him? Let him who accuses God answer him!” I believe that a very important attitude of choice is contained in that lead question—one that I believe is very wise to adopt. Of course the correct answer to the LORD’s rhetorical question is a resounding heart-level, “NO!” It’s an attitude that I believe is vital to the development of a healthy and mature worldview. With that attitude, pieces of life’s puzzle come together with hope and purpose over time. Without it there is only confusion and purposelessness over time.
Job answers the question well in verses 4 and 5: “I am unworthy—how can I reply to you? I put my hand over my mouth. I spoke once, but I have no answer—twice but I will say no more.” Job properly recognized that his best response about then was quiet humility. You can be sure that his worldview was undergoing a major remodel.
So—how are you doing with your personal worldview project? Please don’t say you don’t have one.
“Unless we change our direction, we are likely to end up where we are headed.” - Chinese Proverb