Insightful Musings on the Scriptures

by

Raymond P. Sparre
Northwest University class of '67

Greetings, dear people.

Here comes a big critical day for me relative to this project that has been front and center of late…the installation of a large frame to support a double-sided 8’x20’ mural at a park in Molalla. I need to have it placed and ready for a concrete pour tomorrow morning. Hopefully, the weather will cooperate.

As you do your day, please make a priority of remaining in tune with that “still small voice” or “gentle whisper” of the Spirit of God. Sadly, most people don’t get close enough to hear it. They assume that if God is as big and powerful as some say He is, He should be doing more shouting. To be sure, if He wanted to He could. Let’s face it—He doesn’t want to. For now He has chosen to speak very quietly to ONLY those who seek Him (Romans 8:16). However, when our Lord brings things to a final conclusion, the Scriptures foretell that He will announce his coming with some very big noise…like a SHOUT (1 Thess. 4:16-17)…in volume and intensity never before heard. Am I preaching again? Hey…why don’t we sing, “When the roll is called up yonder I’ll be there….”

Have a blessed day. Love, Dad/Ray

This passage paints another picture that displays the ugliness of human nature without God. Please pay attention. Take note that the main actors of this real drama who are causing all the ugly are actually the religious elite of their society—claiming all the while to be absolute representatives for God. There’s religion for you! Religion without relationship (personal relationship with God) becomes about as perverse and diabolical as it ever gets. History supports that.

Here is a lesson worth remembering: INTENSITY OF PASSION AND LOUDNESS OF EXPRESSION MAY GOVERN POLITICS OR WIN VERDICTS, BUT HAS LITTLE TO DO WITH TRUTH. (Coming to think of it, I’m observing that our own U.S.A. Government is largely governed by “squeaky wheels”—“special interest groups” who make a lot of noise—or lobbyists.) There was certainly a lot of noise and chaos displayed in this ordeal surrounding Jesus’ arrest, trial, and condemnation. Can you imagine being in such a mob that is agitated to such fever pitch, made up of people who cannot bear anything reasonable or orderly, and can only vent their anger with shouting? In this scene it was, “Crucify him! Crucify him!” (v. 21). Be reminded of the stark contrast between such human behavior as compared with God’s standard. His method of communicating truth to the human heart remains on the level of a “gentle whisper” (1 Kings 19:12). And only those who have adjusted their internal settings with A HEART AFTER GOD are able to detect those divine signals.”

Yesterday’s emphasis was on the importance of prayer. You can be sure that there wasn’t much prayer going on in the camp of “the chief priests and teachers of the law”—at least not REAL prayer. Yes, they said prayers all the time—that was their specialty. But their heart attitudes did not allow for authentic prayer that prioritized relationship with the Most High—and reveled in the grace of that relationship. Let me repeat: Please pay attention.