Insightful Musings on the Scriptures

by

Raymond P. Sparre
Northwest University class of '67

Hello, my fine unfeathered friends.

Earlier the sky looked clear…but while I was out placing the garbage cans by the road, I noticed the ominous-looking sky to the south…and now things are darkening up. After launching this, I’ll try to crank out a little jog.

The little boys are here…Kaden and Nicholas. They arrived at 5:30am. Their presence will have a lot to do with how the day takes shape. Lots on the list.

May your day be a good one. Love, Dad.

It is of supreme importance that we gain an understanding of WHO Jesus is. I cannot believe that He is just a great example of piety and moral excellence. He is not just a man who was mightily empowered by God to preach and perform miracles. He is not just the founder of a renowned religious system. The over-all scriptural revelation leaves only one conclusion for me: HE IS GOD. If you have any doubts whatsoever, I encourage you to study the whole and gather the facts with an attitude of heart that seeks God and His truth. Don’t trust the conclusions of others or even your own independent judgments.

Needless to say, the teachers of the law who were in the presence of Jesus on this particular occasion were wrong in their judgment of Jesus’ true identity, but they were right when they reasoned, “Who can forgive sins but God alone?” Being only half right made them grossly wrong.

I am quick to confess to a limited understanding of the incarnation—this great display of God becoming man. But that’s okay. Why should I stumble over my finiteness in my fledgling struggle to comprehend infiniteness? I simply do not have the capacity to comprehend anyway. All I can do is accept the adequate evidence that JESUS IS GOD. And I must accept the scriptural fact that GOD ALONE can forgive MY sins. Read again the prophetic lines of Isaiah 9:6.