Insightful Musings on the Scriptures
by
Raymond P. Sparre
Northwest University class of '67
Good afternoon, dear ones.
I ran to SW Portland this morning and picked up my cousin and wife so they could join us here in Molalla in attending the local parade through town at 10am. We have other things planned this afternoon and will wrap up the special day’s events by attending the local rodeo this evening that will end with a bang—fireworks.
Still no sign of Dandy. Not a clue as to what in the world happened to him. I just checked Craigslist to see what kind of canine critters are available. Not much. Besides that, I’m not really looking much forward to the screening process of selecting another dog.
May God bless America with whatever is necessary to achieve His purposes. To be sure, she’s in trouble. And may He bless you with the same.
Love, Dad/Ray.
Think of it! By God doing His part (love and grace) and you doing your part (faith and obedience), you can actually come through this dirty, dark, dangerous, disturbing, and deceptive world BLAMELESS! Now is that good news or what? This is not to say that there will be no bumps and bruises or no frustrations and failures. It does mean that IF, through it all, we learn to prioritize pleasing God and appropriating His Word, we will be able to remove from ourselves the universal cause for man standing guilty and condemned before a Holy God, and be abundantly ready when Christ returns for His “glorious Church, without spot or wrinkle,” absolutely blame-free. (Read again Rom. 8:1-2)
Let’s take a moment here to look again at verse 23 in its entirety: “May the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Please understand that half conversion (if that is possible) and luke-warmness are not adequate antidotes to the wrath of God (see again verse 9). If we are at all concerned with being right and repaired and ready before God, we MUST understand the high importance of our striving to be sanctified completely—“through and through” (see 2 Corinthians 7:1) to the point that our entire “spirit, soul and body” are made and maintained BLAMELESS. I judge that this is a reasonable and attainable pursuit for one with A HEART AFTER GOD, but absolutely impossible for anyone else.