Updates (Page 6)

Dear SCC & Friends, Be anxious for nothing… ~Philippians 4:6 Reflection #284                That can’t be right! Be anxious for nothing must be a misprint…but it’s not. It’s to be a posture of heart… I’ve never met anyone who is totally free of anxiety, but it can be put in its proper place… Anxiety is not about what will happen but rather allowing ourselves to worry and project about what might happen. It’s our minds and errant emotions trying to control the uncontrollable. Our anxiety…

Dear SCC & Friends, …the plans I have for you… ~Jeremiah 29:11 Reflection #283                Virtually every good thing in my life has been in spite of me, not because of me. His grace has sustained each one of us when we didn’t know we needed sustaining. The Lord has both disrupted and directed our life to set us on a course. …for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure. ~Phil.…

Dear SCC & Friends, Come, follow Me… ~Matthew 4:10 Reflection #282                God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. ~1 Cor. 1:9 Fellowship with the Lord is personal and unique for each one of us. It is also expressed corporately and shared together with other believers… The term “personal” carries a lot of weight these days … personal trainer, personal preference, personal shopper, personal consultant, personal check, personal assistant, personal coach, personal space, etc.,…

Dear SCC & Friends, …a time to laugh… ~Ecclesiastes Reflection #281                The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.~Westminster Catechism~ Some of the best times in life are among friends and family when laughter is in the air. Recently, a friend of mine said he was too  “poker-faced” and needed to laugh more often.Seriousness is not a fruit of the Holy Spirit but joy is. ~Anon.~ Indeed, Scientific research reveals that laughter reduces stress,…

Dear SCC & Friends, Stand in the gap… ~Ezekial 22:30 Reflection #278                Joshua Chamberlain commanded the 20th Maine at the Battle of Gettysburg on July 2, 1863. Over 170,000 soldiers assembled for a 3-day battle which would determine the course of the American Civil War. Chamberlain’s orders were to hold the high ground of “Little Round Top” at all cost. A breach in their line would allow the Confederates to break through and outflank the entire Union Army. Six…

Dear SCC & Friends, Hope the Anchor ~Hebrews 6:19 Reflection #277                …for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure. ~Phil.2:13 Would you consider yourself an optimist or a pessimist? Do you see a partial glass of water half full or half empty? A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty. ~Anon.~ In one sense it doesn’t matter what we…

Dear SCC & Friends, And we know… ~Romans 8:28 Reflection #276 Faith points us beyond our problems to the hope we have in Christ. ~Billy Graham We live in a time-space world but belong to eternity. Jesus made it very clear that we would have trials and tribulations but also made it clear they were not to have the last word. These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have…

Dear SCC & Friends, Honor your father… ~Exodus 20:12 Reflection #275 The greatest privilege of my life is to be a father. We have four grown children. They are all married, and at present we have ten grandchildren. I think back about my dad and my grandfather… so many years ago but in some ways it seems like yesterday. Memories can make time stand still and give us moments of reflection elevating the goodness of God through every season of…

Dear SCC & Friends, Who can discern? ~Psalm 19:12 Reflection #274                Search me, O God, and know my heart…and see if there is any hurtful way in me ~Psalm 139:23 If I had known my blind spots, I would have fixed them. ~Anon.~ Blind spots are hidden from us especially when they don’t fit our preconceived idea of ourselves. Marriage is the perfect place for both good and bad attitudes to be revealed. We had only been married a few months when my wife said…

May 28, 2025 Dear SCC & Friends, …a time for everything… ~Ecclesiastes 3:1 Reflection #273                It’s what you learn after you know it all that counts. ~John Wooden~ Congratulations to the over six million high school and college graduates this year. Graduation ceremonies are designed to both recognize and validate honorable accomplishments. They serve as a demarcation point to close one stage of life while on the precipice of new ventures… Some graduates will be leaving their hometowns and families for the first…

Dear SCC & Friends, …Remember ~Psalm 143:5 Reflection #272                Without memory, there is no culture. Without memory, there would be no civilization, no society, no future. ~Elie Wiesel~ Today’s moments are tomorrow’s memories. The exhortation to remember reminds us how easy it is to lapse into forgetfulness. When we break bread, we do so in remembrance of Him. We are exhorted… Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth… ~Ecc. 12:1 …we are to forget none of…

Dear SCC & Friends, …mere talk… ~Proverbs 14:23 Reflection #271                The phrase “talk is cheap” is analogous to “a cloud without rain or a well without water.” …let us not love merely in theory with word or with tongue giving lip service to compassion, but in action and in truth in practice and sincerity… ~ 1 Jn. 3:18 AMP The venerable sage, Yogi Berra, once said, “A verbal contract is not worth the paper it’s written on.” When I…