Insightful Musings on the Scriptures

by

Raymond P. Sparre
Northwest University class of '67

Good morning, dear people.

No time for an exercise walk for Becki as she’s hurrying to get ready to run off with her friend and director for BIAOR (Brain Injury Alliance of Oregon) to the other side of the state for a conference. She’ll just be gone one night. I guess I can handle that.

Sad news: Yesterday I described Hondo as a “passionate baby sitter” for the kittens. I had relocated them to a dog house outside with a barrier so the mommy could go in and out but restrict the babies. Hondo continued his fascination and we figured all was well. We don’t really understand exactly how his canine psychology works. Maybe he was too passionate with his fascination and oversight. But the fact is that he caused the death of one of the kittens. It’s heart-rending. (Of course, the most certain thing in life, even for a cat, is death. That fact certainly helps to fuel my Biblical worldview.) And, of course, Hondo received the beating of his life that hopefully translates to learning—but we are upgrading the kitty security in behalf of the remaining three nonetheless.

May your day go well. It is indeed another “time of need.”

Love, Dad/Ray.

If I can comprehend the heart attitude of what it is like to be a father, I have a basis for comprehending the heart attitude of Creator God—our Supreme Father. A healthy well-balanced father has a special level of love and care for his children. I won’t claim to be perfectly “healthy and well-balanced,” but I sure know something about those attachment bonds and feelings that accompany my own experience as a father. Drawing such a parallel can provide us with a huge amount of comfort, confidence, and trust in approaching this Father God. It gives us a wonderful basis for our approaching “the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” (Heb. 4:16). And now that my age and experience equips me to see more clearly the BIGGER PICTURE, I can’t seem to find any time in my entire existence that is not a time of need—a time when I am NOT absolutely dependent upon Him.

Far be it from any of us to be duped by the notion that saying (religion) the “Lord’s Prayer” is one and the same with praying (relationship) the “Lord’s Prayer” at heart level. After all, you can teach a parrot to say prayers. To help reinforce that awareness, let’s briefly review the main components of this prayer outline that Jesus presented to His disciples.

• FATHER—My Sovereign Designer and Source, to Whom I am accountable.
• HALLOWED BE YOUR NAME—He is to be revered as absolutely holy and worthy of my worship and praise.
• YOUR KINGDOM COME—I make it my highest priority to comply with His Kingdom rule in my own life, and promote that orientation in the lives of those around me.
• GIVE US THIS DAY OUR DAILY BREAD—Even the essentials of my physical life are made possible by His design and provision.
• FORGIVE US OUR SINS—I need forgiveness for my own violations of His Kingdom rule in my life.
• FOR WE ALSO FORGIVE EVERYONE WHO SINS AGAINST US—Oh really? But here is the Jesus-established standard for receiving His forgiveness—being an extension of God’s forgiveness by being a forgiver.
• AND LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION—Lord, help me to be a good student who learns by means of wisdom (A HEART AFTER GOD) rather than by means of stupid (a heart after self and everything else but God)—the result of yielding to destructive temptations.

Please say a heart-level, “Amen.”