Updates

Dear SCC & Friends, …other gods… ~Deuteronomy 11:16 Reflection #338                  Nothing teaches us about the preciousness of the Creator as much as when we learn the emptiness of everything else. ~Spurgeon~ We may think of idols and idolatry as a thing of the past or only in places marked by primitive cultures and religious superstitions. The truth is an idol isn’t just a carved statue or an exotic object of great value… Idolatry can be anything we love, trust or pursue more than…

Dear SCC & Friends, For the vision… ~Habakkuk 2:3 Reflection #337                  Vision is what could be before it becomes what is. ~Anon.~ The spiritual is not first, but the natural… ~1 Cor. 15:46 …When I was fourteen, nearly one hundred of us tried out for the freshman football team. In that era, not everyone made the roster… Coaches could cut you from the team, and parents had very little say…. I vividly remember the sweat and strain of “Football Camp” in the intense August heat…

Dear SCC & Friends, …should anyone complain? ~Lamentations 3:39 Reflection #336                  Why should any living mortal, or any man, offer complaint in view of his sins?  ~Lam. 3:39 Complaining is an expression of dissatisfaction, annoyance or frustration about something believed to be wrong, unfair, difficult or not the result we want. The opposite of complaining isn’t quietly pretending everything is good – It’s trusting the Lord is at work in present circumstances… Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean…

Dear SCC & Friends, I will sing… ~Psalm 89:1 Reflection #335                  He who sings, prays twice. ~Augustine~ I love to sing to the Lord… I just don’t do it enough. Listening to someone else sing and actually singing are two different things. It’s a bit ironic that some people who love music don’t like to sing that much. They listen and enjoy the best of secular and sacred music but rarely sing themselves be it in church or at home… Why? Maybe it’s…

Dear SCC & Friends, I am the way. ~John 14:6 Reflection #334                  We don’t really know Jesus is all we need until Jesus is all we know. ~Tim Keller~ A crisis may be defined as a turning point for better or worse in an acute situation… an emotionally significant event or radical change in situation. A crisis doesn’t make a person, it only reveals what’s in a person. …don’t be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing,…

Dear SCC & Friends, Without faith it is impossible… ~Hebrews 11:6 Reflection #333                  Faith always points us to God’s character, His Word and His will. It always involves confidence in God Himself… Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. ~Heb. 11:1 Biblical faith requires trust and confidence in God even when we do not see the “things hoped for” or understand what God is doing… For we walk by faith, not by sight… ~2nd Cor. 5:7 Noah obeyed God and…

Dear SCC & Friends, …the proper time… ~1 Peter 5:6 Reflection #332                  I remember reading somewhere about an organization called “Procrastinators Anonymous”. I was told they had been in existence for some years but had never gotten around to having a meeting. The truth is that right now counts forever… It is only in the amazing present that our lives intersect with time and eternity. God has made everything fitting in its time, but has also placed eternity in their hearts, without enabling them…

Dear SCC & Friends, …small things… ~1 Corinthians 1:28 Reflection #331                  Nothing escapes His eye… Our grandson was diagnosed with an “egg-sized” brain tumor when he was just five years old. It was very serious and would require two complex and dangerous brain surgeries near his hypothalamus, pituitary gland and optic nerves. The hypothalamus gland is the size of an almond and manages bodily functions such as blood pressure, hunger and thirst, mood and sleep. The pituitary gland is even…

Dear SCC & Friends, It was for freedom… ~Galatians 5:1 Reflection #330 Two hundred and fifty years ago… The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen United States of America                  WHEN in the Course of human Events, it becomes necessary for one People to dissolve the Political Bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the Powers of the Earth, the separate and equal Station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent Respect…

Dear SCC & Friends, He who isolates… ~Proverbs 18:1 Reflection #329                  It is not good for man to be alone (Gen. 2:48) is a statement that applies not only to marriage but to all of life. There is a difference between isolation and solitude… Isolation cuts us off from others and diminishes our faith… Solitude may involve being alone, but it strengthens faith and spiritual renewal… He who isolates himself seeks his own desire, he quarrels against all sound wisdom. ~Prov. 18:1 Self-serving isolation is contrary…

Dear SCC & Friends, A good man… ~Proverbs 13:22 Reflection #328                  One of my favorite movies is “Saving Private Ryan.” The closing scene shows a young Private Ryan transformed into an old man at the Normandy American Cemetery. His wife, grown children and grandchildren are in the background as he stands before the grave of the man who gave his life to save his. Ryan’s rescue came at great cost of life and limb… The scene depicts an extraordinary…

Dear SCC & Friends, I have been young… ~Psalm 37:25 Reflection #327                  A relationship with Christ is a sacred bond that no one can have for you… Jesus asked His disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” ~Matt. 16:13 followed by a very specific question requiring an answer, “Who do you say that I am?” ~Matt. 16:15 I remember praying as a teenager, “I may leave you, but please don’t ever leave me.” Even then, I knew I’d…