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Dear SCC & Friends, …I delivered to you of first importance that Christ died for our sins…He was buried, and raised on the third day… ~1 Corinthians 15:3-4 Reflection #161 Death …And it was now about the sixth hour, and darkness fell over the whole land until the ninth hour, the sun being obscured; and the veil of the temple was torn in two. And Jesus, crying out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into Thy hands I commit My spirit.” And having said this,…

SCC Reflection #160 Inbox Search for all messages with label Inbox Remove label Inbox from this conversation Saddleback Covenant Church <info@saddlebackcovenant.com> Wed, Mar 29, 2023, 2:23 PM to Saddleback   SADDLEBACK COVENANT     C      H      U      R      C      H               March 29, 2023   Dear SCC & Friends,   Hosanna! ~John 12:13   Reflection #160   I did my best, and God did the rest. ~Hattie McDaniel~ This week is Palm Sunday in which we celebrate Christ’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem. It is the beginning…

Dear SCC & Friends, …founded upon the rock ~Matthew 7:25 Reflection #159                  California has recently had a great deal of rain. Certain areas have experienced mudslides and flood related problems. The pelting rain takes a toll and reminds us of the importance of a good foundation. …like a wise man who built his house upon the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been…

Dear SCC & Friends, …practicing hospitality. ~Romans 12:13 Reflection #158                  As far back as you want to go in the history of God’s people, one of the duties of the righteous is hospitality. ~John Piper~ We are challenged not to just think hospitality or appreciate hospitality. Rather, we are called to practice it… to actually do it as part of our faith and works. Hospitality is not something to “sub out” or relegate to others… While the gift of hospitality is most certainly given to some, it…

Dear SCC & Friends, The very hairs of your head… ~Luke 12:7 Reflection #157                  God loves each of us as if there was only one of us. ~Augustine~ There are approximately eight billion people in the world. The average human being has approximately 100,000 hairs on their head. If you multiply that by the number of people in the world, it will be 8×1014 or 800,000,000,000,000 human hairs of which the Lord keeps a perfect account. Across the world, people lose 800 billion hairs a day, yet…

Dear SCC & Friends, When you pray… ~Luke 11:2 Reflection #156                  Prayer is essentially a conversation with God. It is not a monologue, but a dialogue; God’s voice is the most essential part. ~Andrew Murray~ Individual prayer is a private conversation, it’s confidential, it’s personal, it’s you and the Lord… one on one “alone in the closet”. To be a Christian without prayer is no more possible than to be alive without breathing. ~ Luther~ We are not called to preach without ceasing… teach without ceasing… or sing without…

Dear SCC & Friends, Put on my yoke… ~Matthew 11:30 Reflection #155                  A yoke is a wooden crosspiece that is fastened around the necks of two animals and attached to a cart or plow. If a yoke is improperly balanced, it will chafe and hinder progress rather than ease and facilitate the load they carry. The very nature of being properly yoked is to be in harmony and heading in the same direction. We have many different loads and burdens, both seen and…

Dear SCC & Friends, Don’t worry… ~Philippians 4:6 Reflection #154                  When I look back on all these worries, I remember the story of the old man who said on his deathbed that he had a lot of trouble in life, most of which never happened. ~Winston Churchill~ Psychologists have done extensive research on the impact of worry in our lives. The results are in, and it turns out ninety percent of what we worry about never happens. Furthermore, people handle the remaining ten percent much better…

Dear SCC & Friends, My times are in Thy hand… ~Psalm 31:15 Reflection #153                  One of my favorite movies is It’s a Wonderful Life. It’s the story of a man who harnessed his personal ambitions to what was needed for the good of others. At times he felt trapped into “an ordinary life,” but stayed the course building friendships and community while rarely thinking of himself. He did the right things and lived for the right reasons. Yet, through no fault of his own,…

Dear SCC & Friends, …One sows, and another reaps. ~John 4:27 Reflection #152                  The principle of the harvest is applicable to all of life. Sooner or later, everyone sits down to a banquet of consequences. ~Robert Louis Stevenson~ Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. ~Gal. 6:7 I have a paperweight on my desk that says, “Never, never, never give up.” ~Winston Churchill~ He also said, Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue…

Dear SCC & Friends, But no one can tame the tongue…. ~James 3:8 Reflection #151                  Words do matter. The tongue has no bones but is strong enough to break the heart. ~Anon.~ I must admit I like good words that edify and strengthen versus those that tear down and bring unnecessary pain. I once turned down an executive promotion for what I considered a very good reason, but “the boss” didn’t like it. He lit into me and said I’d be nothing but a “first-class ditch…

Dear SCC & Friends, Cease striving and know that I am God… ~Psalm 46:10 Reflection #150                  A diamond is just a lump of coal that did well under pressure. We are all a work in progress and process. For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. ~Philip. 1:6 When I started out as a pastor, I sometimes got frustrated that I wasn’t doing enough or could be doing more… pray…