Insightful Musings on the Scriptures

by

Raymond P. Sparre
Northwest University class of '67

Good morning, dear ones.

I read again my 2010 devotional…and decided to send it along.

Personally, I don’t have a high level interest for seeing the Bible fad movies. THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST. SON OF GOD. NOAH. I have a Bible, and my imagination and visualization is so active, I don’t think I need help from Hollywood. Besides, they always mess it up…if not in glaring ways, in subtle ways. I think it’s dangerous to let someone else assemble your Biblical worldview when you are old enough to read your own Bible. That’s just me. I wonder how many people recognize what a bombastic, blunt, rude, troublemaker Jesus really was. Of course truth is rude to anyone who doesn’t like it. Jesus’ first words in this reading were, “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written: ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught my men.’” Ouch. Scald. Burn. Sizzle. Jesus definitely does not coexist well with RELIGION.

I see Thano has already let the chickens out. He has about 30…plus a couple dozen chicks that are too young to mix with the rest of the gang. All those birds out there free-ranging are also creating a kind of mine field of deposits you should try to avoid.

Very rarely to I climb out of bed after 6am…but I did this morning…following a heavy workday yesterday. Besides removing a big tree right next to a house, I also ran the skid steer for over 3 hours up till almost dark spreading about 5 dump truck loads of gravel in a long driveway. At least it was a gorgeous day for wearing myself out.

Both little boys are here for the weekend. That means Becki will have her hands full…since Thano has to go to work. But then, her hands are still full even when he doesn’t go to work.

Enough trivia. Now a jog. Then changing graphics on a truck…then other sign work…maybe some wood fabrication of a large stylized sign frame…and maybe some more grass cutting.

I guess I got a little carried away. Blessings.

Love, Dad/Ray.

Take note of what begins this passage and prompts Jesus’ teaching. The Jewish legalists are irritated over seeing Jesus’ disciples eating in a way that violated their sacred tradition of ceremonial washing and state their complaint to Jesus. Jesus takes them by surprise when He responds with a hot rebuke against their glaring hypocrisy and their imbalanced preoccupation with tradition and ceremony over and above godly principles.

Please pay careful attention to what Jesus is really saying. He is delivering a key concept that is vital for a victorious Christian life. Jesus establishes its importance when he says, “Listen to me, everyone, and understand this.” If Jesus said that this is something important to understand, let’s agree that it is something important to understand. Let’s avoid the pitfall of being dull—a negative condition afflicting the disciples and which Jesus clearly condemned.

Throughout scripture we see the dichotomy of man addressed. We learn that man is composed of both an exterior (the outside, the physical, the outward appearance, the body), and an interior (the inside, the soul and spirit, the center, the heart). Jesus is proclaiming in no uncertain terms that the interior of a man is far far FAR more important in establishing either his righteousness or unrighteousness before God than his exterior.

Let’s understand that ceremony is a focus on the exterior. Rightly used, it is to be a true expression of the interior. So then ceremonial anything is really quite worthless if it does not involve the interior—the heart. A ceremonial wedding is not very healthy or lasting if it does not involve a heart-level love and commitment to each other as a husband and wife. A ceremonial baptism is of no value that does not accompany the heart condition of being “dead to sin, but alive to God” (Rom. 6:11). Ceremonial Holy Communion is of no value if it does not reflect the heart’s hunger for and identification with Christ (Gal. 2:20). Ceremonial conversion of going forward in an altar call and “saying” a prayer is useless if it is not a manifestation of a heart-felt love for Christ and surrender to His Lordship. Make sure that this important truth expounded by Jesus always remains within the boundaries of your understanding.