Insightful Musings on the Scriptures

by

Raymond P. Sparre
Northwest University class of '67

Greetings, dear ones.

I can finally carry on with my sawmill work again. Following my eye exam yesterday morning, I called in at a shop where a guy helped to free up the frozen shaft on the component. At home I was able to get that part ready to reinstall, but also took time to repair the three other ailing components. Those parts where not yet frozen up—but with grease nipples that won’t accept grease, they have to be on their way. I wasn’t finished till around 7pm. I was very thankful that I had vested special effort at installing lights in the mill shed so I could carry on with my work under lights.

Becki and I did our walk/jog excursion on our own place. I felt fine. My heart rate seems to have returned to normal. By trial and error, we’re getting some ideas for identifying the cause.

Time to get on with the big list. A guy just called to beg me to fabricate another pair of stylized braces for his ranch entry arch—ready for pick up tomorrow. I did a pair for him before—and he loved them. So that’s added to the list.

Have fun with your list. Blessings.

Love, Dad/Ray.

The cat is now clearly out of the bag, so to speak. There is no more room for guessing or wondering about what exactly this Jesus is claiming. Without innuendo or abstraction, Jesus lays it clearly on the table—stating in no uncertain terms that He is not only FROM GOD but ONE WITH GOD—HE IS GOD. “Before Abraham was, I AM.” Wow!

You have to admit that if you were there with your unenlightened unregenerate heart and thinking set on the traditional view of a great sensational conquering Messiah, you too would have expected to see a good deal more class and charisma—you too would most likely be picking up stones—big ones! Here Jesus was, a normal-looking man with no high profile credentials. The group thought they knew all they needed to know about his family and origins. Some even put forth the slam that He was a “Samaritan”—not a very respectable status in the view of full-blooded Jews. Not only that, they added that He was “demon-possessed!”

Try viewing this “little” situation from the window of the “big picture” and you will recognize that there is nothing very unusual about this case, insofar as God’s dealings with men are concerned. It’s apparent to me that God has always chosen to work in ways outside the box of man’s expectations and bias. The truths of God are not normally broadcast with intense noise and flashing lights. They are not usually dramatic, and definitely NOT dependent upon religious tradition. Nor are they grasped through the medium of careful catechism and intellectual skill. They are, however, imparted by the Spirit of God to A HEART AFTER GOD. (Have I ever used that phrase before?) “The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Corinthians 2:14). “But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him” (1 Corinthians 1:27-29).

The guy who is always boasting, spouting his dogma, yelling his bias, shouting his oppositions, arguing, complaining, criticizing, and defending, is most likely going to distance himself so far from the truth that he will never ever hear the “still small voice” of the Spirit of God. Imparting that important lesson to Elijah when he was so bummed and discouraged, God chose to use some sensational dramatics. “The Lord said, ‘Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by.’ Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper” (“still small voice”—1 Kings 19:11-12). Selah.

Please sing with me…