Insightful Musings on the Scriptures

by

Raymond P. Sparre
Northwest University class of '67

Morning, Zane.

I did a little jog with the dogs on some trails around the Middle School at Colton this morning. The K-9s sure love it. Now I have to get on with some urgent milling…which requires picking us a couple small-diameter 20-foot logs from a nearby property…from which to glean a couple 6”x6”x20’ timbers.

I seem to continue getting requests to do more tree work—removals and trimming. When am I going to stop doing this stuff?! I also had a request to help with a very tall Douglas Fir that is seriously leaning on some branches of another tree and threatening a house. That will be a major challenge and calls for a lot of precarious climbing. How long can I keep this up?

Have a good day as you make sure you’re staying awake. Love and prayers—Tua (Ray)

We all know that sleep dulls the senses and causes one to become desensitized to reality. The danger of spiritual sleep is the main idea here—a condition that causes one to become insensitive and out of touch with spiritual reality, and its relationship to physical reality. I’ve acquired enough real life experience to know that this is a serious danger along the course of living my life. To help me avoid such a condition, I’ve taken time to process these special messages to the churches at Thyatira and Sardis (today’s reading), added a few other idea, and have formulated several novel, practical, and revolutionary axioms—never before conceived by humans (tongue in cheek). After each statement it could be appropriate to pause and add the comment, “Duh!” (I’m sure you could add some of your own.) Maybe I should write them out and tape them to my bathroom mirror just to help me remember…

• IF YOU’RE ALWAYS AWAKE—YOU’LL NEVER BE CAUGHT SLEEPING.
• IF YOU’RE ALWAYS READY—YOU’LL NEVER BE UNPREPARED.
• IF YOU’RE ALWAYS HOLDING ON—YOU’LL NEVER LET GO.
• IF YOU’RE ALWAYS STRONG—YOU’LL NEVER BE WEAK.
• IF YOU’RE ALWAYS WELL FED—YOU’LL NEVER GO HUNGRY.
• IF YOU’RE ALWAYS HYDRATED—YOU’LL NEVER BE THIRSTY.
• IF YOU ALWAYS REMEMBER—YOU’LL NEVER FORGET.
• IF YOU’RE ALWAYS CLEAN—YOU’LL NEVER BE DIRTY.
• IF YOU’RE ALWAYS IN LOVE—YOU’LL NEVER BE OUT OF LOVE.
• IF YOU’RE ALWAYS MOTIVATED BY POSITIVE PASSION—YOU’LL NEVER BE BORED OR APATHETIC.
• IF YOU ALWAYS OVERCOME—YOU’LL NEVER BE OVERCOME.
• IF YOU’RE ALWAYS ALIVE—YOU’LL NEVER BE DEAD.
• IF YOU ALWAYS HAVE PEACE—YOU WILL NEVER BE RULED BY FEAR AND ANXIETY.
• IF YOU ALWAYS DWELL IN THE SECRET PLACE OF THE MOST HIGH—YOU WILL NEVER DWELL IN THE PUBLIC PLACE OF THE MOST FOOLISH.