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Dear SCC & Friends, …clouds without rain… ~Jude 1:12 Reflection #235                  Authenticity is the quality of being genuine or real. Hypocrisy is advocating behaviors that one does not practice. The word hypocrite comes from the Greek word hupokritēs meaning “stage actor.” A hypocrite is someone pretending to be something that he or she is not in order to receive recognition or gain… At some level we all struggle with hypocrisy… acting gracious in public with a different attitude in private……

Dear SCC & Friends, In all labor… ~Proverbs 14:23 Reflection #234                       Work can be defined as a mental or physical effort done in order to achieve a desired result. It is an action focused on results… In all labor there is profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty. ~Prov. 14:23 The old country song, “Take This Job and Shove It,” is a disservice to both the dignity and necessity of work. Viktor Frankl, Nazi Holocaust survivor and renowned…

Dear SCC & Friends, …enter His rest… ~Hebrews 3:18 Reflection #233                       Getting more done in less time may be efficient, but it does not come without a price. The Lord has given us much to do, and it is rest that gives healthy balance. Rest means to cease work or movement, to refresh and recover strength. It’s the sabbath principle of ceasing from our labors and entering into His rest and renewal… For the one who has entered His…

Dear SCC & Friends, …the full armor ~Ephesians 6:11 Reflection #232                  Every Christian is engaged in spiritual warfare whether they know it or not. The Lord is our sanctuary and salvation and polar opposite from the “god of this age”…Satan blinds the hearts of the unbelieving… Time is on his side. He’s outlived Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and is hell bent in deception, destruction and death. He’ll be judged at the consummation of the age, but until then …be on the…

Dear SCC & Friends, If we confess… ~1 John 1:9 Reflection #230                  The primary way to uncover our sin is confession. Every day my conscience makes confession, relying on the hope of God’s mercy as to be more trusted than my own innocence. ~St. Augustine~ The first to plead his case seems just, until another comes and examines him.~Prov. 18:17 If you have children, you understand the “blame game”… He did it first! She started it!… On and on…

Dear SCC & Friends, Give us this day… ~Matthew 6:11 Reflection #229                  Draw near to God and He will draw near to you… ~Jam. 4:8 The Lord calls us to walk one day at a time. So often past hurts and future concerns rob us of the present tense joy and blessings of life… Give us this day our daily bread speaks of God’s blessing and provision in the here and now. Yesterday is history, tomorrow is mystery, today…

Dear SCC & Friends, …a watch in the night. ~Psalm 90:4 Reflection #228                  Be on your guard, stand firm in the faith, be courageous, be strong. ~1 Cor. 16:13 The Jews like Greeks and Romans, divided the night into military watches instead of hours. There were three watches… sunset to 10:00 p.m., 10:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m. and 2:00 a.m. to sunrise. Nearly every former military person knows what it is to pull guard duty which at times can…

Dear SCC & Friends, …need of endurance… ~Hebrews 12:1 Reflection #227 Endurance is a state of lastingness, and trials are the crucibles by which endurance is forged. ~Anon.~ …let us also lay aside every encumbrance, and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith… ~Heb. 12:1-2Modern culture shapes ideas and behavior, but it is the Word of…

Dear SCC & Friends, By faith we understand… ~Hebrews 11:3 Reflection #226 Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. ~Heb. 11:1 Faith is a sounder guide than reason. Reason can only go so far, but faith has no limits. ~Blaise Pascal~ Our five senses – taste, touch, sight, hearing and smell are designed by God to help us navigate and understand the time-space world we live in… Faith doesn’t deny the five senses…

Dear SCC & Friends, …gives life to the world. ~John 6:33 Reflection #225                  For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. ~Jn. 3:16 Our world is full of sinners who by their very nature sin. The Greek word hamartia means “missing the mark.” Statistics reveal that one out of one have missed the mark since creation. That’s you and me …for all…

Dear SCC & Friends, …proven character… ~Romans 5:4 Reflection #224                  Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others say you are. ~John Wooden~ My grandfather never finished high school and worked for the U.S. Postal Service from age 18 to 65 until he retired as an assistant local postmaster. Today he might be called an underachiever…Why?… Because he didn’t make much money and…

Dear SCC & Friends, Honor your father… ~Ephesians 6:2 Reflection #223 All of us have a story, and this is part of mine. We just celebrated the 80th anniversary of D-Day… June 6th, 1944. I couldn’t help but reflect on my father who arrived in France on December 10, 1944. Six days later, the bloodiest European battle of WWII began and ended with an estimated 90,000 casualties. Winston Churchill stated that the Battle of the Bulge was undoubtedly the greatest…