Insightful Musings on the Scriptures
by
Raymond P. Sparre
Northwest University class of '67
Greetings, dear people.
We took off fairly early to visit our naturopathic doctor in Beaverton. We spent so much time in horrible traffic that we ended up a half hour late.
We are now down to 8 kittens from the litter of 11. 3 didn’t make it. Last night was the first time I’ve let them stay outside. They had a shed there nearby in and under which they could find protection. I was a little concerned when I only found 5 of them this morning. But then, about the time we commenced our walk/jog, the other 3 came out from under our front deck. It was a happy reunion. Someone is coming today to take 2, and someone else came yesterday to speak for one.
Six kittens are on the roster now. Someone came yesterday and picked up two.
Last evening we did a run to the airport to pick up Thano who spent a week at Deer Park near Spokane, visiting extended family. He’s now coming close to the end of his Safeway vacation time.
Time to get out and carry on with my sawmill work.
Blessings on the rest of your day.
Love, Dad/Ray.
I’ve been around a lot of “yoyo” believers—up-and-down Christians—those who are inconsistent in their performance and their resolve to serve the Lord. That description of their general condition is not due to a recent conversion experience, making them “baby believers,” or young and immature in their faith. Instead that up-and-down inconsistency seems to have been accepted as a consistent lifestyle of inconsistency—rendering a kind of perpetual immaturity.
Suddenly I’m smitten by a sobering fact—a kind of “aha moment”: The main reason this syndrome is so easy to identify is not just because I’ve spent a lot of time around so many of this type, but because I’ve spent so much time being around ME—in whom I recognize a propensity toward inconsistency.
The writer of Hebrews boldly confronts his readers who may be contaminated with this typical affliction—“In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food” (6:12).
Question: What is the most effective strategy for waging war against a bad habit? The best answer is not just to kick out that bad habit—but to replace it with a GOOD HABIT. Verses 11 and 12 contain some very valuable key words that should be interpreted as GOOD HABITS. Check it out. They are DILIGENCE, IMITATE, and PATIENCE. Let me put forth the math this way: DILIGENCE+IMITATION+PATIENCE = A HABITUAL HEART AFTER GOD.