Insightful Musings on the Scriptures

by

Raymond P. Sparre
Northwest University class of '67

Good morning, dear ones.

I don’t really like what the clock is telling me. Oh well… Becki and I pulled off a WOG this morning, and I came home with about 2 pounds of blackberries again.

Well, it happened again. Becki read to me the draft I presented…and as she approached the end with that quote from Isaiah 51:11, I cried again. What’s going on? Do I need help? I certainly had no intention of putting forth a tear-jerker. Maybe, however, my being touched from hearing God’s Word is safer than getting all worked up over just hearing man’s chaos and hopeless confusion.

Incidentally, I made a declaration of war this morning—war on fleas. I’m inclined to blame Bimbo for inviting them into our home to live and raise their families. Phooey! Bimbo is gone, but not his lousy fleas. I’m planning a massacre.

Speaking of fleas—what’s the difference between a flea and an elephant? Well, an elephant can have fleas, but a flea can’t have elephants! There you have it.

Off to work I go. And what is my line of work? I’m a fund-raiser—raising funds for paying the bills. May the Lord bless your fund raising.

Love, Dad/Ray.

Why did the tear ducts of my eyes break forth like a flood this morning when I read this verse out loud to myself in the solitude of my studio? I don’t really understand my own emotions. And some things come along to trigger them to my own surprise. Is it possible there could be something of the Spirit of God at play here? Is it possible that I’ve simply come upon another Biblical expression that highlights God’s highest purpose and priority for all people living everywhere in all time on planet earth?—His righteousness? I think so.

Very likely you get about as bummed and irritated as I do with all the @#%$&**?! being reported via the news. It seems to present an endless stream of bad reports of bad stuff that bad people do to other people. And there are piles of stories about people who appear to be good people in good positions with good responsibilities to uphold the common good, only to learn, by some hole in the veneer that exposes the charade, revealing that they are actually bad people bent on the same @#%$&**?! as all those other bad dudes—and have been all along. What do you suppose is the percentage of those reported to be engaged in this kind of bad stuff who truly embrace a HEART AFTER GOD—one who “hungers and thirsts after righteousness (doing and being right before a Holy God—Matthew 5:6)”—one who seeks “first the kingdom of God and his righteousness” (Matthew 6:33)? The answer would have to be around 0%.

I quite like listening to some of the conservative talk-show people on the radio when I have accommodating work and travel time to allow it. They often present some very compelling arguments to expose the absurdity of progressive liberalism—that, according to my understanding of the terms, is another word for full-on socialism only a few steps away from Marxist communism—political ideologies that have pitiful historical track records. (Check out AGENDA DOCUMENTARY at www.agendadocumentary.com ) However, we have to admit that even within the fence of conservatism and capitalism one may find evidence of corruption, exploitation, and abuse. The point to make is that there is no such thing as a political system that can possibly meet man’s deepest needs, change his dirty heart (the NATURAL SIN NATURE), and qualify him for heaven (eternal life—God’s promised utopia). So all the arguments and controversies within this arena are absolutely futile at affecting any real change—MAN IS TOTALLY INCAPABLE OF CREATING UTOPIA IN THIS WORLD. On the other hand, can you, in your wildest imagination, think of what life on planet earth could be like if every individual really did in fact SEEK FIRST THE KINGDOM OF GOD AND HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS?

Be encouraged. That day is coming! “The ransomed of the LORD will return. They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away” (Isaiah 51:11). And I can hardly wait!