Posts from 2021

December 22, 2021 Dear SCC & Friends, …Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel. ~Isaiah 7:14 Update #94 Who could have cared about the birth of a baby while the world was watching Rome in all her splendor? Two thousand years ago the Roman Empire was rife with political intrigue, ethnic tension, and immorality. Palestine was occupied under the crush of Rome. All eyes were on Augustus, the Caesar who…

Dear SCC & Friends, The Magnificat And Mary said: “My soul exalts the Lord…” ~Luke 1:46 Update #93 …And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior. For He has had regard for the humble state of His bondslave; for behold, from this time on all generations will count me blessed. For the Mighty One has done great things for me; and holy is His name… His mercy is upon generation after generation towards those who fear Him. He has done mighty deeds with…

Dear SCC & Friends, …for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. ~Matthew 6:21 Update #92          Our neighbors are great people. This year they went all out with their Christmas decorations… a multi-colored, illuminated six-foot candy cane, lights galore throughout the yard and all very well done. We complimented them for their festive efforts, and then she implied they had nothing to look at when they saw our house… So, we upped our game and for the first…

December 1, 2021 Dear SCC & Friends, But when the fulness of the time came, God sent forth His Son… ~Galatians 4:4 Update #91          Advent is upon us…four Sundays leading up to Christmas Day. The Latin word for advent is “advenio” which literally means to come. Advent refers to Christ coming in the flesh. …And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and…

Dear SCC & Friends, Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; for His lovingkindness is everlasting. ~Psalm 118:1 Update #90          Four hundred years ago this month, the first Thanksgiving was held in Plymouth, Massachusetts. Governor Bradford made this first Thanksgiving Proclamation three years after the Pilgrims settled at Plymouth: “Inasmuch as the great Father has given us this year an abundant harvest of Indian corn, wheat, peas, beans, squashes, and garden vegetables, and has made the forests to…

Dear SCC & Friends, …In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world. ~John 16:33 Update #89 Historic evidence and personal testimony make it quite clear that we will have struggles in this present life. The Apostle Paul testified to it… I have fought the good fight (struggle), I have finished the course, I have kept the faith… ~2 Tim. 4: Contrarywise, there are those who believe this present life can be utopian…an imagined state of which everything is perfect. John…

Dear SCC & Friends, How blessed are the people whose God is the Lord. ~Psalm 144:15b Update #88 Most people hate being labeled, but for some of us there is nothing we can do about it. PK’s – “preachers’ kids” or MK’s – “missionary kids” know what it’s like to be boxed in by a label. I was raised as an MB – “military brat,” but never liked the “brat” part, as it intimates a badly behaved child. I must admit…

Dear SCC & Friends, Cast your burden upon the Lord, and He will sustain you; He will never allow the righteous to be shaken. ~Psalm 55:22 Update #87 Where would our lives be without experiencing a “good crisis” now and then? Wait, is there such a thing as a good crisis? It is good if good comes out of it. Crisis may be defined as a critical juncture or an acute turning point which may bring a radical change in…

Dear SCC & Friends, By the word of the Lord the heavens were made… ~Psalm 33:6a Update #86 “It ain’t the part of the Bible that I can’t understand that bothers me, it is the parts I do understand.” ~Mark Twain How did it all begin? In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. ~Gen. 1:1 By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible.~Heb.…

Dear SCC & Friends, The one who states his case first seems right, until another comes and examines him. ~Proverbs 18:17 Update #85 It is very easy to overreact, especially in the growing polarization of present-day culture. Scripture challenges us… This you know, my beloved brethren… But let every one be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger… ~James 1:19 We are all susceptible to something called “confirmation bias” …the tendency to receive and interpret new information as validation of our pre-existing beliefs.…

Dear SCC & Friends, So teach us to number our days, that we may present to Thee a heart of wisdom. ~Psalm 90:12 Update #84                Technology is a two-edged sword which frees and insulates at the same time… Freeing us to get more done in less time in order to do more with the “free time” it’s created. A friend of mine used to work late on Friday evening to clean up all his e-mails only to wake up to…

Dear SCC & Friends, Love never fails… ~1 Corinthians 13:8 Update #83                God will never love you more than He does at this very moment. In fact, He loved us while we were yet sinners… before we acknowledged His existence or gave credence to His place in our lives. But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you…